Her teeth almost glow in the moonlight as she smiles. “I was hoping we could talk.”

I glance down at my watch pointedly. “I’m in a bit of a rush.”

“It’ll just take a moment.”

I nod. “We can talk out here. You’ve got one minute.”

“I just…” She chews at her thumbnail, which is gnawed down to the quick. “I’m nervous about what we did. What if somebody traces it back to us?”

“That won’t happen. It’s been months. Nobody is looking for him.”

“They might. If they find the body.”

“They won’t.”

“You don’t know for sure. And I’ve been thinking about it…” Her lips twist downward. “There’s video footage in the casino. If they find out when he disappeared, they could look at the footage and figure out I was the one talking to him right before. They might see us leaving together. Or maybe they’ll have footage from the garage.”

She might be right. It’s another reason Patricia has become a liability. I’ll have to do something about it. But not now. “I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“I just want to know…” Her eyes lock with mine. “What did you do with his body?”

“What?” I almost choke. “Patricia, I am not going to have this discussion with you. Trust me. Everything is fine.”

“I want to know where the body is. I need to know. Please tell me.”

I grunt in disgust. “Your minute is up. I have to go.”

“Is it in the house somewhere?”

I hesitate a beat too long, and her eyes widen. “You have the body in the house?” she gasps. “My God. Where is it?”

“I can’t discuss this with you.”

“But, Dr. Hale—”

“Look.” I pause one more minute to address her. That’s all she gets—I can’t babysit this girl any longer. “The only people who know about this are the two of us. All we have to do is keep the secret.”

Patricia’s eyes don’t blink once as she stares into mine. “My mother always says the only way two people can keep a secret,” she says, “is if one of them is dead.”

And then her fingers bite into my arm. A cold feeling comes over me, and I realize I have made a terrible mistake. I should never have gotten Patricia involved in this. I knew exactly how dangerous she was.

And now I am going to pay the price.

Please forgive me, Luke…

Chapter 50

TRICIA

Present Day

Adrienne Hale is hardly the first person I have killed. Not even close.