Page 108 of Wrong Mail

That’s all there is now. Her, the road, and enough distance from this house to call for help.

But drugged like this she is a dead weight, more than I can carry. I lift her anyway. I get my shoulder under her arm, and we come up off the boards together. She sways into me. I hold her, steadying myself for a moment.

That's when she goes rigid in my arms.

Something catches her attention. Her eyes have gone past my shoulder, to the dark mouth of the room. They fix there and won’t move. I’ve never seen her so afraid. The fear is all in her eyes, because the rest of her body is too drugged to show it. One hand lifts an inch off my arm and stops.

I start to turn.

Behind me, one of the subfloor boards shifts with a small dry creak beneath someone's weight.

I never heard them enter.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Iturn, and David is in the doorway.

For one second, none of us moves. The flashlight lies where I wedged it, throwing its beam low across the floor. The light catches him from below, hollowing his eyes. Rain runs from his coat. His breath comes hard, like he’s been running.

He looks at me first. Then he sees Julia.

Whatever he came here to say dies in his face.

"No," he says. It is not a denial yet. It’s shock.

"How could you?" I ask.

His eyes come back to mine. "Mallory."

"I found the bag."

"What bag?"

"The bag in the garage, David. The syringe. The tape. The notebook. The plans."

His face empties.

"You killed the Ericksons," I say. "Lena. The people in Oregon. All of them. You brought Julia here. And I slept beside you every night."

"No." He takes one step toward me. I drag Julia back with me, and she makes a broken sound against my shoulder.

David stops.

"Mallory, listen to me. This is Henry. He set this up."

"Stop lying."

"I'm not."

"You couldn't tell me where you were Tuesday."

"I followed him," he says. "Henry. That's where I was Tuesday. That's where I was tonight. I was trying to find out what he was doing."

"You're lying."

"I'm not." He’s close to crying now. "I am telling you the truth."

"No," I say. "The police know. Rodriguez knows. It's over, David. Get out of our way."