Page 93 of Call Off the Dark

She rose from the table and approached him so they could speak in hushed tones. “I guess I do need to make dinner to give him the meds.”

“Honestly, I’m not sure he needs the meds.”

Her shoulders lifted a little. “Was he doing better today?”

Isaac shook his head. “I don’t know what game he’s playing, but Wade knows I’m not dead. I’m pretty sure he’s known this whole time.”

She recoiled at the thought. “Why do you say that?”

“Wade is controlling and manipulative. Always has been.”

“I don’t know . . .” Helen thought about it. Controlling, yes. But manipulative? It didn’t seem possible that Wade had been putting on a performance three nights ago in the bedroom when he’d told her Isaac was dead. If Wade was capable of lying that convincingly, it would mean anything and everything he’d ever told her could be a lie.

As if he could read her mind, Isaac said, “He never even told you I existed.”

“He didn’t really share much about his childhood. It’s possible that I asked, ‘Do you have any siblings?’ and he said, ‘No,’ and left it at that, and that’s not exactly a lie.”

Isaac gave her a look to indicate that it was a weak argument.

“If he believed you were dead,” Helen said, “that would mean he no longer had any living siblings, wouldn’t it? Omitting information that’s painful isn’t the same as lying, is it?” There were plenty of things she didn’t want to talk about with Wade. She was guilty of exactly the same thing.

“Do you really think he believes I’m dead?”

“Yes!” But after a moment, she added, “I think so, but I don’t really know.”

Isaac made a derisive sound. “So he just goes out to the trees and shoots the shit all day with his dead brother?”

“What?” Helen couldn’t hide the shock from her face, but she kept her voice low. “What do you guys talk about?”

“Anything, all day.”

“Both days you went out to the trees?”

“Not as much the first day. But yeah, all day today, we talked.”

“Did he try to talk to you about your soul moving on in peace, or anything like that?”

“My soul moving on?” Isaac laughed. “No.”

Suddenly feeling paranoid, Helen went to the opening that led into the living room and down the hall. She peered around the corner to make sure Wade wasn’t coming back before she said to Isaac, “He doesn’t act that way here. He barely talks to you at all.”

“That’s my point, Helen. He’s putting on a show here. For your benefit.”

“Why?”

“I couldn’t figure it out at first, but I’ve been thinking,” Isaac said. “Wade likes to play the white knight, but really, he just wants what he wants at any cost. Why do you think he keeps you out here all alone?”

“He doesn’t. He just likes the solitude and we make do and . . .” Helen stopped. Her words sounded hollow even to her. The last few trips to town, Wade had gone without her, and now he didn’t want her to go into town without him. Everything she did all day was in support of his efforts to manage the trees and live off the land.

“Did you ask him then?” she said.

“Ask him?” Isaac echoed.

“Yeah, if you think he’s lying to me, if you think he’s making this whole thing up about you being dead, why don’t you say something?”

“I thought about that too.” Isaac ran a hand through his hair absently. “But if I’m wrong, and he really is unstable and having delusions, I don’t know if confronting him is the best thing. We should keep drugging him and then when he’s thinking straight, we can convince him we need to take him to a doctor.”

“But what if you’re right and he’s lying?”