We'll Never Tell (Secrets of Ravenswood) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Darby watched the production with us. She didn’t
seem too heartbroken over the breakup.”
    “What about you? Are you
doing okay?”
    A shadow dulled the warm
glow in Juliette’s eyes. “Kim had her baby while you were gone, but at least
Mike had the decency to tell me about it himself. Oh, I signed the final
divorce papers not too long ago.”
    Sam laid her hand over
Juliette’s clenched fist and squeezed. “Are you sure you won’t let me beat the
crap out of your ex?” She flexed her right bicep. “I could take him. He’s
bigger than me, but I’m tougher.”
    The shadows in her
friend’s eyes faded, and she laughed out loud. “You’re everybody’s savior.
That’ll never change.” Shrugging, she picked up her sandwich. “I’m over Mike.
Honestly. It’s been over a year since I kicked his sorry, cheating ass out. The
baby got to me a little, I’ll admit, but I’m fine. Really.”
    Sam narrowed her eyes,
searching for a lie on her face, then let out a sigh of relief. “Maybe you
really are over the son of a bitch.”
    “I said I was.” Juliette
affirmed then frowned. “You looked worried when you said you wanted to talk.
What’s going on?”
    A familiar shiver ran
down Sam’s spine. She dropped her sandwich onto the wrapper and pushed bits of
lettuce around with one finger. “We found a body this morning.”
    A gust of wind shook the
firs behind them, and a soggy sheet of newspaper blew beneath the table. Sam
stepped on it then raised her gaze to meet Juliette’s wide-eyed stare.
    “I thought the hiker was
okay?”
    “He was. The body Ethan
and I discovered had been buried for some time. Years, I’d guess.”
    Leaning forward,
Juliette planted her hands on the table. “Ethan? You were with Ethan Thorne?”
    “We got paired up for
the search. Don’t make a big deal out of it.” She hunched her shoulders.
“Anyway, we’ve got way more to worry about than my five year old indiscretion.”
    Juliette’s dark brows
lowered. “Spit it out, Sam. You’re making me nervous.”
    “I think the body might
belong to the woman we saw in the woods that night.”
    There was no need to
explain which night she was talking about. Though they almost never mentioned
it, Sam was certain her friends thought about that night as often as she did.
    The color drained from
Juliette’s face. “How can you be certain?”
    “I’m not, but the
remains weren’t far from the clearing where he pushed her onto the rock. It
looked like a pink jacket buried with the bones.
    Juliette covered her
mouth. “Oh God.”
    “It shook me. Ethan
wondered why I freaked out.”
    “We have to tell
someone, Sam. We should have told our parents or the sheriff when it happened.”
    “You were the one who
begged Darby and me not to.”
    She closed her eyes and
rubbed her temples. “It was stupid. I was scared out of my mind and so afraid
he’d hurt one of us if we told.”
    Reaching across the
table, Sam pulled Juliette’s hands down and squeezed. “It’s been over seventeen
years. I don’t know what possible good it would do to talk to the authorities
now.”
    “DNA testing or
reconstruction, or whatever it is they do could reveal the woman’s identity.”
    “True, so maybe we
should wait until they figure out who the body belongs to before we say
anything. What if I’m totally wrong? Maybe the person buried in the woods died
five years ago, or ten. Maybe the woman we saw that night survived the blow to
the head.”
    “You don’t believe
that.”
    She let out a gusty
breath. “I want to. Telling myself she was still alive was how I coped all
those years ago.”
    “I guess a few more days
won’t matter.” Juliette wrapped up the remains of her sandwich and dumped them
into the bag. “I wonder where he is now.”
    Sam strained to hear the
low spoken words. Her appetite gone, she dropped her own unfinished sandwich in
the bag with Juliette’s and wiped her hands on a napkin before wadding it into
a ball.
    “He