This Would Be Paradise (Book 2) (18 page)

“What did Ethan tell you?” I didn’t want to step on his toes.

“He said there was an accident.”

“He’s right.”

She put down her fork. “You’re not goin’ to tell me either?”

“Because I don’t know what happened.” I shrugged. That was the partial truth.

She blew a puff of air out of her nose, like a bull, and crossed her arms. “Do Amanda and I still have to go to school?”

“Of course,” Ethan interjected, even though she’d asked me.

Someone pushed open the front door, almost causing me to fall off the stool in surprise. I hadn’t been expecting anyone to come barreling in. A girl I didn’t recognize stood at the entrance, sobbing.

Zoe stood up from the couch. “Misha, what’s wrong?”

The girl looked around twelve, her face puffy and red.

Chloe leaned over to me. “She’s in our class too.”

“It’s Miss Reina,” Misha said. “She’s dead.”

At least they’d identified the body.

Zoe wrapped the girl in a hug. “It’s going to be okay.”

“Reina was the other teacher ‘sides Zoe and Krista,” Chloe said, filling in the blanks.

Another link that could very loosely be traced back to Darren: he was dating Zoe, and Zoe happened to work with the victim. This wasn’t looking good for him.

After Zoe left to usher the crying Misha back to her condo, Roy and Amanda walked in.

Amanda ran over to Chloe. “Was that Misha?”

Chloe bobbed her head. “Apparently Miss Reina is dead.”

Amanda’s mouth hung open.

“Who’s Miss Reina?” Roy asked, eyeing the two mini gossipers.

“One of the teachers,” Chloe answered.

“Is it all clear out there?” Ethan asked.

“Looks like they moved everything to the clinic and hosed down the street,” Roy said.

I walked over to John, out of range of the younger ears. “Was there a funeral for the last woman?”

“A short one. They buried her on the edge of the cul-de-sac.”

“How soon after the body was found was the funeral?”

“Pretty much the same evenin’.”

“And that doesn’t strike you as odd?” I asked.

“Yes, it does,” John said as he rubbed his bruised jaw. “The quicker the body goes into the ground, the less chances there are for people to poke around.”

His face looked sorer today, the purple bruising out in full force. His left eye was still swollen, but at least it wasn’t shut all the way like yesterday.

“They’ll probably do that again,” I groused, “I doubt they’ll do an autopsy.”

“Don’t really think they need an autopsy in this case though,” John said.

A thought hit me. “If she was attacked by an infected, wouldn’t she have come back?”

John let my theory sink in. “Clare didn’t turn either.”

“So that for sure rules out an infected as the culprit, leaving us to figure out who, not what, did this.”

John sighed. “Should I start callin’ you Nancy Drew?”

“Well, I am blonde.”

“So,” John said. “I noticed Ethan didn’t come home last night.”

I froze. In the excitement of the morning, I’d completely forgotten about that.

“Ah,” was all I could say.

“I ain’t ever had to deal with young girls before, but if he does anythin’ you don’t like, you can come to me,” John said, making both of us feel awkward.

I laughed. “You’re worried about Ethan doing something?”

“Guess you’re right. I should be havin’ this conversation with him instead.”

I playfully punched him in the arm. “I’m offended.”

“Just be smart,” John said in all seriousness.

“No babies, got it,” I joked.

“Don’t know why I said anythin’.” John shook his head. “So there’s somethin’ else I didn’t mention before, when you told us ‘bout the mercenaries. I honestly didn’t think much of it until this mornin’, but there’s also been a disappearance while we’ve been here. One of the guys up and vanished in the middle of the night. Wyatt said he decided to leave, but the guy he was stayin’ with told us afterward that Gerald wouldn’t do that without sayin’ somethin’. He said Gerald had left behind his favorite pair of hikin’ boots, which he would never do.”

“Great, more shit to deal with. You think these incidences are related?” I asked.

I’d be tightlipped this time around about my supposed immunity.

“Dunno, but I your right ‘bout Wyatt bein’ crooked.”

“I’m glad you’re on my side, but Ethan’s in pretty deep.” I motioned toward Ethan, who was talking with Roy.

“That’s gonna be a problem,” John admitted.

I felt like conspiracy theorists plotting in a shadowy corner, but our lives were at stake, so I didn’t feel as crazy as I probably should have. I couldn’t trust anyone in this new world, it seemed. Like my dad used to say, “If something is too good to be true, you better hold on to your wallet.” Maybe I got my trust issues from him.

Everyone left Ethan and Zoe’s condo to return to their regular routines despite the horrific morning discovery, while Roy and I were left to our own devices. We sauntered outside and started walking down the sidewalk.

“So we go from one problem to the next, huh?” Roy said.

“We just can’t catch a break.”

“Do you think the mercenaries have their hands in this place too, like the apartments?”

I looked around, worried someone might be listening in. “There’s no way to tell yet, but after what John told me about a guy from Hargrove going missing, we can’t rule them out. Can you do me a favor?”

“Of course.”

“Please don’t mention my scratches from the infected.”

“I won’t,” Roy promised.

“I was talking to John and I think I’m gonna snoop around Wyatt’s condo to see if I can find anything. I just need the right opportunity.”

“How about during Reina’s funeral tonight?” Roy suggested.

“How do you know it will be tonight?” Had he talked with John too?

“I was speaking with Crystal before I met up with you guys in Ethan’s condo. She told me then.”

“Don’t you think Wyatt will notice I’m missing from the funeral?”

“You could go after. Crystal also said that they had a celebration of life sort of thing after the last death and it would be the same for Reina. Chances are Wyatt will be there the whole time to keep up appearances.”
Perfect.

I patted Roy on the back. “Good thinking, I’ll do that.”

“You mind if I come with you when you check it out? I want to see his broadcasting equipment and check if he’s in contact with the mercenaries.”

“I thought you had the trucker radio from Tim?”

“I tried it and got nothing.”

The mercenaries were Roy’s only lead in finding his wife, if she was still alive.

“Are you going to try and find her?” I hesitantly asked.

Roy licked his lips. “I want to so badly, but I have Amanda to look after.”

“I can help.”

“Thank you,” Roy said, sincerity ringing in his voice.

We walked in silence for a minute. Mentioning Tim had made my thoughts drift toward the apartments. I didn’t really want to bring up the subject of going back for the people who had exiled Roy, but I’d made a promise to Mac that we would come back for them once we found Hargrove.

“I feel like I should warn you that I still have to go back to the apartments and get everyone,” I said, breaking the silence.

“I figured. When do you think you’ll go?”

“Not sure yet. I
was
going to bring it up to Wyatt, but now I’m thinking of talking to Byron.”

Wyatt wasn’t my biggest fan at the moment—not to mention I was planning to break into his condo tonight. Byron seemed nice enough, just hard to understand, and he was part of the “inner circle
.
”

“You want to go find him right now?” Roy asked. “It’s not like we have anything else to do.”

“Sure. I assume Byron will be at the clinic with the body, and if not, I’m sure someone can point me in the right direction.”

Thanks to our aimless walking, we had ended up close to the clinic. We only had to walk a few more meters before we reached the front door, and inside we found Byron was sitting in one of the waiting room chairs.

“Cher, what brin’s ya here?” he asked with that big grin of his as he stood.

“You, actually,” I said.

“I’m flattered, but ya with Ethan, no?” He winked at me.

I rolled my eyes. “I told the survivor group I was with before Hargrove that I’d come back for them once I found this place.”

“Ya askin’ me for permission, you?” Byron gave me a smirk this time.

“I guess?”

“How many?”

“About twenty,” Roy answered. “One’s a registered nurse. They have lots of guns and ammo too.”

Byron thought about it for a second before saying, “I’ll give Wyatt da heads up, but brin’ ‘em down.”

“There’s space here for all of them?” I asked. I had no idea how many condos were full versus empty.

“Dis here’s a safe haven. Can’t be turnin’ folks out.”

“All right then, I’ll head out tomorrow for them.” The sooner we brought them back, the better. I didn’t want Mac and the others to think I had forgotten about them. And it wouldn’t hurt to have more people on our side; it’d make it easier to deal with the corrupt leadership in Hargrove.

“Ya gon’ go by yaself, cher?” Byron raised a brow at me.

“I’m going too, and I’m sure we can find a couple more,” Roy said. I was surprised at his offering to help the people who had sent him away. I was going to say something, but I decided against it. I’m sure Roy had his reasons.

“Sounds like ya got ‘er under control,” Byron said before he was waved into one of the rooms by Oscar.

Roy and I walked back outside, already planning for the trip tomorrow. This was going to be a busy next twenty-four hours. I was excited to see the others again. I was sure everyone would love Mac—Elaine, not so much. I bet she’d get along great with the sergeant though.

“You think we need another vehicle?” I asked. We couldn’t fit that many in the Mazda.

“They have that big truck and an airport shuttle van back at the apartments,” Roy said. “But we should bring some gas with us to be safe.”

“All right. Let’s unload the car.”

We got to work unloading the rest of our supplies from the Mazda, which we still hadn’t done. It felt like we were unloading the groceries from one of my mom’s infamous Costco trips. I was dragging my feet on unloading the car, because I liked the idea of being primed for a quick getaway, and with the murder this morning, it made even more sense to be ready to leave on the fly.

“I didn’t think we had that much,” Roy said as we placed the last of the bags on the kitchen island.

“Better safe than hungry.”

“I left two full gas canisters in the trunk in case they need it to fill up their vehicles.”

I had to ask, “Will you be okay going back there?”

Roy fiddled with one of the plastic bags as he considered my question. “I’ll be fine. I just don’t know how they’ll react.”

“Well they knew I’d come back for them once we found Hargrove, so they’ve had a while to mull it over.”

They had to realize that if I did bring them to Hargrove, Roy would be here as well. Unless they’d been hoping he would meet his end along the way.

“Hey,” Zoe said from the wide-open front door.

“Want to help us unload all this?” I motioned to the pile of stuff.

“Seems fun, but I was wondering if I could talk to you alone?” Zoe asked.

“Sure, how about we head out back?”

As Zoe and I left the condo, Roy shouted, “No, don’t worry. I’ll unpack the rest of this!”

I snickered as we rounded the house and plunked down in the lawn chairs in the backyard—a tiny lot squared off by a short, white fence that offered no privacy from our neighbors. Perfect. Some Condos had bigger backyards, but those spaces were reserved for the livestock. Zoe and I hadn’t had much quality time to talk since the whole apocalypse thing. We used to talk for hours about everything, from exams to her revolving door of boys.

She’d once been serious about a guy—The Douche, as I’d dubbed him—but he cheated on her, destroying her trust in relationships. Since then, she’s never stuck to one guy for long, preferring flings and one-night stands. I could tell she was secretly waiting for that one guy to sweep her off her feet; Zoe was a hopeless romantic at heart.

“So what’s up?” I asked.

“Two things, actually,” Zoe said. “First, Ethan wasn’t in the condo this morning.”

She shot me a scandalous look.

I waved it off. “Old news already.”

“I assume you two finally sealed the deal?” Zoe wore a big grin.

“I should’ve known this would be a gossip session.” I sighed.

“About damn time!”

“Although I’m not too happy that he’s so engrossed in this place already.” I frowned.

“Well they do have a pretty good setup here,” Zoe said.

I groaned. “Not you too.”

“I didn’t say it was perfect. I’m pretty scared, actually, considering the two murders now, which is kind of why I’m here.”

I leaned in. “Do you know something?”

Zoe looked torn, as if she didn’t know whether she should say anything.

“You know how they’re trying to blame Darren?”

“So I’ve heard.”

“He left the condo in the middle of the night last night for over an hour and a half.”

“Did he give you an explanation?”

“No, but he’s always had issues sleeping. He used to toss around all night, the way you did, except he’d get up and do something until he could fall asleep. He’s left before in the middle of the night.”

I tried to digest what she was implying. “Did he leave the night of the first murder?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Did he ever come back wearing different clothes?”

“It’s always dark when he comes back, so I never noticed.” Zoe started tapping her leg with her hand.

“Has he ever been violent toward you?” I asked, my protective tone coming out.