Never Tell Them, N.L. Hinkens [unputdownable books txt] 📗

the truth—that he suspected he was somehow involved in Katie Lambert’s disappearance—but maybe he could pass his request off as a benign appeal for help. After all, Sonia struck him as the type who liked to lend a helping hand. She’d given him the benefit of the doubt, so far, unlike her mother who signaled her disapproval of him at every opportunity.

”I found something this morning that might help jog my memory,” Ray went on. ”It was a map of the Blue Ridge Mountains with a highlighted trail. I must have been intending to hike it before the accident. Or maybe it’s a fishing spot I’ve been to before—there’s a stream nearby. At any rate, I was thinking it might help to go back up there and see if it jogged my memory. You know how they always say nature heals.” He paused, then twisted his lips into an apologetic grin. ”The thing is, I can’t drive myself. I would rent a car, but the doctor hasn’t cleared me to drive yet and—”

“I’d be happy to take you if you think it will help,” Sonia interrupted. ”My mom can watch Henry for a few hours. She’s getting around much better these days.”

Ray raised a skeptical brow. “I doubt she’ll go for it—the part about you driving me, I mean. She’s made it clear she doesn’t trust me.”

Sonia shrugged. ”I won’t tell her. I’ll say I’m going to a job site, and you have to go to the hospital for a follow-up appointment. Why don’t you call an Uber to pick you up at your place so she’s not suspicious? I’ll meet you in town.”

“Well, if you’re sure,” Ray responded.

“It’s not a problem. I can even hike the trail with you, in case you get disoriented or something. How far is it from here?”

Ray squeezed his jaw. “It’s about an hour’s drive.” He didn’t add that he estimated it would take another hour to hike to the end of the highlighted trail after that—a hike he would be making alone. If the coordinates led to Katie Lambert’s grave, he couldn’t risk Sonia finding out.

They glanced up at the sound of the front door opening.

“That’s probably my mother,” Sonia said.

Evelyn shuffled into the kitchen, frowning almost imperceptibly when she spotted Ray. She slipped off her coat before joining them at the table. “I’m surprised to see you here, Ray. I thought you had plans to do something with Henry today.”

Ray exchanged an uncomfortable look with Sonia. He’d rather not relay what had happened at the park, but Evelyn would find out soon enough. He was under no illusions that anything that happened in the neighborhood escaped her attention.

”I took Henry to the park,” he said. “We bumped into a little girl from his preschool. Everything was going great until Henry told her mother I wasn’t his dad. She called the cops on me.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. ”I explained the whole situation to them, that Henry’s mother passed away recently, and that he was just trying to get attention. The cops were decent about it, but they drove me home so they could verify my story with Sonia.”

Evelyn pinned a hawk-like gaze on him. ”But she can’t really verify anything, can she? The only story she can verify is the one you told us.”

“Mom!” Sonia protested. “Give him a break. He’s had a rough morning and he’s still recovering from the accident.”

“Is he?” Evelyn pursed her lips. ”It’s pretty convenient that his memory was wiped out. There are plenty of questions I’d like answered myself.”

Ray stood abruptly, the chair leg screeching on the travertine floor. ”I should go.”

“Why don’t you let Henry stay and play for a bit so you can get some rest,” Sonia suggested. “The kids will enjoy hanging out together.”

Ray glanced at his watch. ”I think I will go lie down for an hour. My head’s pounding.”

“I’ll bring Henry back over later,” Sonia said, seeing him to the door.

Back in his mother’s house, Ray sank down on the couch, reeling from everything that had happened. The incident at the park had been extremely stressful. His heart had been juddering against his ribs the whole way home at the thought of the police discovering Katie Lambert’s driver’s license. Not to mention the fact that he still hadn’t found Henry’s birth certificate. What if the police had asked to see it? It would have looked incredibly suspicious if he hadn’t been able to produce it, especially in light of what Henry was telling people. He had to locate that birth certificate ASAP. He would have to make a trip back to his old house right after he checked out those coordinates. He shifted onto his side and adjusted the cushion behind his head. Gradually, his eyelids grew heavy, and he abandoned himself to the heavy feeling seeping through his bones.

He woke with a start at the sound of the doorbell. Henry! Had it been an hour already? He pulled himself up on the couch and rubbed his eyes, muted images flitting through his mind like ghosts. He’d been dreaming of the fight again. Raised voices, exchanged blows, the stench of fear and blood—always the elusive face.

Suddenly, a new memory from his dreams sprang to mind. Rough-sawn timber, a whiff of woodsmoke. A gasp escaped his lips when it dawned on him. The trail he’d highlighted wasn’t a hike he’d been intending to take. He’d taken it before.

It led to a cabin in the woods.

18

Ray stumbled to his feet and hurried to answer the door, his mind a blur of activity—streaming images he couldn’t process quickly enough to comprehend. Pressing his fingertips to his temples, he willed himself fully awake before wrenching open the door. “Hey, sorry to keep you waiting, Sonia.” He grinned at Henry and made an awkward attempt to ruffle his hair.

“Are … you all right?” Sonia asked, blinking at him questioningly.

“Yes, I’m fine, thanks. I conked out on the couch.” He made a point