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Some awareness trickles back into her eyes, and she releases it. “I had to. I didn’t have a choice. You would’ve gone to prison. I couldn’t let her ruin your life too.”
Nothing I’ve ever heard has affected me as intensely as what she just said. She did this for me. She killed her mother to protect me. “It’s going to be okay. Listen to me.” I cup her face and look into her eyes. “Everything is going to be okay. I want you to go inside and let me handle it this time.”
The shake of her head is instant and adamant. “No, I need to do this. I need to bury her. For good.” She takes a deep breath, pulling herself together. “I’m okay.”
I’m in awe of her strength and determination. “Alright. Can you go grab the shovels from the shed? I’ll get her to the graveyard.” We’re too exposed standing here under the bright light, visible from the driveway. I’m not going to waste time getting my ATV out or anything. She can’t weigh a hundred pounds.
Calli nods, looking down at the body again.
“Go ahead. Don’t look back. You don’t have to look at her again.”
Relief softens her face as she whispers, “Never again.”
As soon as she turns away to walk to the shed, I pull Mallory’s head out of the puddle of blood, strip my hoodie off, and tie it around the wound so there won’t be a trail of blood. I throw the body over my shoulder and rush toward the graveyard. I’m not overly concerned with getting caught. No one shows up here unannounced at night. Lee only came last time because he knew we were dealing with a threat, and I didn’t answer my phone. My concern is getting her out of Calli’s sight. No matter how much she may have hated her mother, I worry how she’s going to feel when what she’s done sets in.
I set the body down at the edge of the woods nearby where it isn’t visible before I go through her pockets. No phone or ID to worry about this time, only the cash Calli gave her. If I had to guess, she’s been living on the street, maybe in the woods.
Calli walks toward me through the graveyard, and I meet her halfway. “Where did you put…?”
“Out of sight for now. Are you sure you want to do this? I can take care of it.” When I move to put my arm around her, she steps back, shaking her head.
“I’m sorry. I’m just…I’m holding it together and if you hug me, I might not so…let’s just get to work, okay?”
“Alright. This is going to take a while, with it being only the two of us this time. If you need a break—mentally or physically—take it. Do you hear me?”
She nods without replying and silence reigns for the next couple of hours as we dig. I’d give anything to know what’s going on in her head but if she needs space to zone out right now and not think about any of this, I can do that.
It isn’t until she turns and starts gagging that I toss my shovel down and go to her. She waves me back. “It’s the blood on me. It stinks so bad. I need to wash it off.”
“Okay, let’s take a break, go back to your cabin and?—”
“No. Stay. Keep digging or it might be daylight before it’s finished. I’ll jump in the shower and come back.”
I don’t like it, but I nod. “Ring my phone if you need me and I’ll be right there.”
Once she walks away, I activate her porch camera to keep an eye until I see her make it safely inside and turn on the notifications, so I’ll know when she leaves. Then I shovel like hell. The faster I can get this done, the quicker I can comfort her and put all this behind us.
Sweat coats my skin, attracting the dirt like a magnet. My back and shoulders scream in protest at the sudden vigorous exercise but they’re easily ignored. All I see is Calli’s face, her voice confessing that she did this for me. When I shot Carl, no part of me expected her to have to do the same. It wasn’t a favor she should have ever had to return, especially by killing her own mother.
It takes nearly an hour to get the grave deep enough. It doesn’t need to be as wide as our last, which helps. Plus, the ground is soft but not too wet or heavy. I scoop up the body again and carry it to the hole. My hoodie is soaked in blood whenI remove it from her head. It’ll need to be burned later. After a moment of consideration, I don’t mimic what Lee did, cutting off fingers. If these bodies are found, we’re done for regardless. A DNA test would link her to Calli. There’s no reason to think anyone will come looking. She certainly didn’t have any friends or any help, judging by the state of her.
After I dump the body in and toss a dozen or so shovelfuls of dirt to cover it, I take a break to call Calli. She’s been gone too long. She shouldn’t be alone. Before I can call, a notification shows up from her camera as she leaves her cabin.
After another couple of minutes, she approaches me, holding out a bottle of water. Her wet hair is pulled up into a bun, and she wears an old sweatshirt and worn leggings. “Take a break before you give yourself a heart attack.” She winces and looks up at me, her lips nearly forming a smile. “Sorry, poor choice of words.”
“I’m fine. All I need to do is finish filling it in.”
Her face is puffy from crying, but she seems more alert, more herself as she starts shoveling in the loose dirt. Between the two of us, we get the hole filled with plenty of time to spare before sunrise.
“I’m not sorry,” she announces, tossing her gloves aside and sitting in the grass beside the grave. “I don’t care if that makes me a horrible person just like her. She’s been a monster in all my closets, peeking out to remind me she’s still there and can start screwing with me again at any time. I’m glad she’s gone. I’d do it again.” She looks up at me. “For both of us.”
“You aren’t a horrible person. There’s only so far any of us can be pushed. You’re nothing like her.” One thing puzzles me. “She looked like she was homeless. If she’s known all this time, why wait all these months to show up?”
Calli’s laugh is bitter. “Because that’s what she always did. Give you time to feel safe, to remember how good things arewithout her, before showing back up to ruin everything again. It was part of her game. She got off on it.”
“You’re safe now.”
“Are you going to be able to look at me the same?” she asks, averting her gaze as I sit beside her and pull my gloves off.
