Lily might be right. I don’t know.
I guess you need proof in order to go to the authorities. Or to go to somebody.
I’m not sure what the next step is. It’s probably not up to me. But I do know one thing, and I’m taking care of that right now.
I’m not a monster and never will be.
It doesn’t take me long to walk down my road and stop at the gate that warns intruders away. The one with the No Trespassing sign and the camera on the ground. This time I know I’m being watched. I know they’re expecting me.
The wrought-iron gates aren’t locked.
The choice is up to me, he said, and this is my choice.
I slip through the gate and keep walking.
Daylight is almost gone, and when I head into the woods at the base of the Staunch mansion, I have to watch my footing in the shadows.
Wade is still down below, still chained to a rock at the base of the small waterfall, still being doused. He’s slumped over, not really able to sit but resting sideways on the rock.
I nudge him to see if he’s still conscious. He jerks and moves and then flails his arms.
I put my enclosed fist out toward him, then open my hand.
“It’s yours. You can go.”
He just looks at me with confused, frightened eyes.
“Take it.”
For a moment I wonder if he’s so tired and hungry and out of his mind that he thinks he’s dreaming. A shaking, bony hand finally takes the key.
He knows just like I do that he shot me, that I should be dead.
Maybe he believes I’m a ghost. I don’t know.
I’m not sure what he’s going to do once he frees himself.
This is the man that hurt Jocelyn and tried to kill you.
I’m not trying to be noble here. I shot him. He shot me.
Somehow we’re both alive to talk about it.
I walk away from Wade, hoping that we’re now even.
When I get to the top of the hill and leave the forest behind, I see a figure sitting on the deck. It’s dark—too dark now—to really make out who it is. But it’s not Staunch—this person is smaller. It looks as if he’s sitting in a wheelchair. Like an old person might.
Like someone who could be your great-grandfather might.
I stare and wonder if I’m going to hear voices whispering to me. Or if the wind is going to suddenly start blowing and getting creepy. But nothing like that happens.
The figure on the deck doesn’t move, but just faces out, looking down at me.
I’m tempted to wave, but I don’t. I leave the Staunch property behind.