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“Brilliant, Fiona!” Carol Ann claps her hands together. “That’s exactly what we need to erase your memory. Daiquiris.”
Fiona nods. “Aye. Sex and the City and strong drinks. Golden.”
“Silence,” Carol Ann adds, her eyes heavy on me, “is golden.”
I agree to their plan. I take a long, hot shower. Shave all the hair off my body—an indulgence I’ve not had much time for since arriving. I smooth a sweet-scented sugar scrub over my skin, exfoliating till I have dolphin skin, a weird thing I like.
Afterward I take my time, drying every inch of my skin with a fluffy towel. Blow-dry my hair out smooth and silky and pull on comfy black leggings and a long-sleeved tee and sweatshirt. Tug my UGGs over my socks to keep my feet warm.
The entire time I’m preening, I’m telling myself that I’m staying in tonight. That I’m not risking everything by sneaking off to the police station later on.
We go to the big room and while the girls mix drinks in the kitchen, I manage to snap a pic with my phone of Collins’ card from where it hangs on a bulletin board. Fiona and I settle into the lumpy blue couch.
I don’t know that I ever remember having DVDs and it’s funny watching Carol Ann load the disc into the machine. She joins us, me in the middle. I’m on edge, tense energy flowing through me and keeping me wide awake and restless.
I’ve never been a fan of the series and now, it’s almost impossible to focus. When the episode ends, before the next one can come on, I stand up, stretching. “I’ve got to go to the restroom. Be right back.”
Fiona pops up from the couch, headed toward the kitchen. “Alright. We’ll refill the drinks.”
Buzzing on rum and busy trying to find the remote control to pause the DVD, Carol Ann doesn’t give me a second glance.
I leave the room, stepping out into the wide, empty hallway. There’s no one around so I sprint down to the women’s restroom to save time. Taking the single handicapped stall, I lock the door behind me.
My heart thumps as I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial Collins’ number.
His deep, thunderous voice answers on the first ring. “DI Collins.”
“Hi there, um. My name is Kitt and I’m calling you because, well...” I take a deep breath. Just spit it out already. “I was there last night.”
“The American from the research center. You’re saying you’re a witness?”
“Yes,” I say.
“It’s urgent that we speak as soon as possible.”
“I was the only witness to the crime. I saw a truck. A Toyota?—”
“Wait,” he interrupts. “Before you share any details, we need to get you to the station where we can properly record your statement. I’m sending you a car. I’ll call this number when the car arrives. Until then, just stay put in the lodge.”
“Okay, will do.” The plan feels safe enough to me. Straight from the lodge to a car with a cop inside, to the police station where surely, I won’t be in any danger, then I’ll be escorted back here.
Where I’ll beg my friends for forgiveness.
But how to get out of here unnoticed? I leave the restroom, walking down the long hall that leads back to the big room. When DI Collins calls to tell me the car is here, I’ll just make like I have a call coming in from home that I have to take and step outside. Hopefully, the daiquiris will have dulled the girls’ sense of determination to keep me put and I’ll make it out no problem.
Back on the couch, I’m sitting there, spine straight, pretending to laugh at the right parts but on the inside I’m a tight, spiral-bound spring of nerves. Finally, my phone dings.
A text, not a call. I look down. One word.
Here
I pop up from the couch way too quickly. “Guys,” I say, slipping the phone in my back pocket. “I just got a text from home. I need to go call back. Don’t pause it.”
Luckily, their eyes are glued to the screen. Fiona smiles to herself. “Okay, but be quick. This is the good part. Mr. Big.”
Guilt following me like a cloud, I leave the room, headed to the front entrance of the building. I grab my down coat with the fur trim from where it hangs from a hook on the wall. The heavy doors of the threshold are before me. I grab the handle, realizing I have a choice. I can push down on this handle, open this door, step out into the cold, dark night, and do the right thing.
Or I can go crawl back in my bed.
