Hush by Kate White

Jackbut of Keaton. She could see his butchered body all over again, lying in the bloodied sheets.
    Why did I come here? she felt like screaming as she stood frozen in place.
    She needed a plan, she told herself, something to keep her from going crazy. She turned around and walked across the hall to the guest room. This will be my room now, she decided as she laid her duffel bag on the wooden luggage rack. She would organize the room and later tackle the garden. And next it would be time for dinner and then for bed. When she felt calmer tomorrow, she would work on the presentation.
    After changing the bedding in the guest room and dragging in some of her possessions, she put on shorts, a T-shirt, and a pair of wilted gardening gloves. As she stepped onto the porch, the phone rang, making her jump. It can’t be the police, she thought, scolding herself for being so skittish. They had no idea she was here—unless of course they talked to Maggie.
    She let out a small sigh of relief when she heard Molly’s voice on the other end of the line.
    “So I’m sitting here on pins and needles,” Molly said. “Tell me what’s going on.”
    “You don’t sound as if you’re on pins and needles,” Lake said. “You sound as if you’re in a car.”
    “I’m just driving up to the fish market on Ninth Avenue. I’m doing a dinner tomorrow night. So tell me about Jack’s little visit. What was that all about?”
    “He claimed he needed to get some papers—but it seemed odd to me.”
    “Odd how?”
    “Like he was looking for an excuse to come by.”
    “Like he wants to get back together?”
    “You’re kidding, right?”
    “Actually, no. How did he act toward you?”
    “Molly, you can’t be serious. The guy just filed for full custody. That’s hardly a strategy for wooing me back.”
    “Guys rarely behave logically when it comes to women.”
    “Trust me, that’s not it. Here’s what I think—that his coming by for the papers was a ruse so he could snoop around the apartment to see what I’ve been up to.”
    “You mean, like he’s trying to find incriminating evidence?”
    “Maybe. God, I don’t know. He’s like a complete stranger to me now and it’s impossible to read him.”
    “What if he did want to get back together? Would you?”
    A month ago she might have answered yes, but she realized now that Jack’s custody bid had burned off the last feelings of love she felt for him.
    “No. Not in a million years.”
    “Okay, then. So tell me about the murder. The Post said the cops don’t have a clue who did it. Is that true?”
    Lake wished she didn’t have to talk about Keaton.
    “I have no idea. The police interviewed everyone at the clinic, but it’s not like they’re letting us in on anything.”
    For a brief moment, she ached to confess everything to Molly. By coming clean she could ask for guidance, and potentially soothe the twisted, tortured feelings inside her. Yet she couldn’t. Her friendship with Molly was still relatively new, and she didn’t know if she could totally trust her. She also couldn’t put Molly at risk legally.
    “Are you upset about it?” Molly asked. “It must be so weird for you.”
    “Uh—yeah, the staff seems fairly freaked out by it.”
    “But what about you personally? The guy was getting pretty flirty with you. It must be upsetting.”
    “It’s not like I knew him,” Lake said, hearing the defensivenessin her voice. “And would you please drop the ‘He was getting flirty with you’ stuff. That’s the last thing I need going around.”
    “You’re not a suspect, are you?”
    “No— of course not. But the situation is a mess.”
    Suddenly she wanted nothing more than to get off the phone. Talking to Molly was churning everything up again.
    “Look, I better get going,” Lake said abruptly. “There’s stuff I need to do while I’m up here.”
    “Are you okay up there by yourself? You’re not scared, are you?”
    God, she thought, this is going from