An Unquiet Grave

CHAPTER 48

The car was quiet except for the scratching noise coming from the backseat. Louis looked in the rearview mirror. Doug Delp had his head down and was scribbling in his notebook.

Louis looked back at the road. He didn’t know if he could trust Delp. But he did know now that he could trust his own instincts. And his instincts were telling him that there was a story that needed to be told about Hidden Lake and that Delp was the only one who could do it.

Phillip was sitting silent in the passenger seat. He had agreed to let Delp write the story, but only after Louis had convinced him that Hidden Lake needed to be exposed and that Delp would be sensitive to Phillip’s privacy. But Louis hadn’t told Delp that Claudia was alive. Or that she and Phillip had a child.

He planned to. But he wanted to make sure he got something from Delp in return.

As they drove through the endless cornfields, Louis continued to tell Delp everything he knew about Hidden Lake. Ives, Seraphin, the rapes, it all came spilling out of him.

When Louis got to the part about being locked in the tunnels, he paused, his eyes trained on the road. After a moment, he went on, his voice as steady as he could manage. He started to talk about hearing the girl’s screams and stopped again.

Louis’s eyes flicked up to the rearview mirror. Delp was looking at him, waiting for more.

“You want to come back to that part?” Delp asked.

“Yeah.”

Louis glanced over at Phillip. There was a sadness in his expression, like hearing the story had made him regret what he had put Louis through.

Louis used the rest of the drive to finish the story, pausing only once, when he got to what had happened in the boathouse. Delp was still writing when Louis turned onto the lakeshore road. Then his head shot up, his eyes swinging left, to the gray lake.

“Where are we?” Delp asked.

“Be quiet.”

Louis turned into the drive and parked behind Enid’s car and the black Jag. He looked at Phillip. Phillip was sitting back, shoulders stiff, eyes unblinking. His hands were clasped together in his lap. Louis waited for him to move. Or breathe.

The front door to the house opened and Rodney came out, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his slacks. Phillip pushed open the car door and slipped out, hesitating a moment before he walked to the porch.

Rodney said something, then stuck out a hand. Phillip did not take it. Rodney spoke again; then the two of them walked inside the house.

Delp leaned on the front seat. “What’s going on? Who is that guy? What the hell are we doing here?”

“Shut up.”

Louis sat watching the house, glancing down at his watch. One minute, two. . five.

He opened the car door and got out. “Stay here, Delp.”

Louis shut the door on Delp’s protests. He walked to the porch and opened the front door, slipping inside. He closed the door quietly and stood for a moment in the foyer.

It was quiet. Louis heard a sound and looked to the living room on his left. Enid and Rodney were sitting across from each other, stiff on their chairs.

Whispers. Coming from the sunroom at the back of the house. Claudia’s soft voice. Phillip’s softer answer. But he couldn’t hear anything that was being said.

Louis bowed his head. I shouldn’t be here.

He turned and left, closing the door behind him.

Delp was standing by the Impala, a cigarette in his shivering hand. He tossed it to the ground as Louis came near.

“Claudia DeFoe is in that house, isn’t she?” Delp said.

“Yes,” Louis said, looking back to the house.

“You’re not going to let me in there, are you?”

“Not yet.”

Delp paused. “Quid pro quo,” he said.

“That’s right,” Louis said.

Delp’s eyes went to the house. “What do I have to do?”

“You’re good at finding things, Delp,” Louis said. “There’s someone I want you to find for Phillip.”