Under the Altswood Sky (The Altswood Saga #2)

Chapter 10 - Imposter

Chapter 10 - Imposter

"All rise."

I stood as everyone else did when the final speaker concluded his speech, though my attention was locked elsewhere.

"You okay?" Annabelle whispered, leaning in. "You seem a little agitated."

"Just restless," I muttered in response.

It was strange enough that Maire Reeve was back in Bottle Island, given that it was the place where her best friend had died, but it was stranger still for her to return after she had made herself such a successful life outside. What was it that the newspaper called her? A millionaire philanthropist, or something similar.

But Maire's blue handprints were still dyed into the floor of the Bottle Island police station. If we dug deep enough into her digital presence, the tenth page of the Google search for her name would probably reveal that picture of her being dragged kicking and screaming into the station after Beatrice was killed.

As processional music played over the speakers, signalling the conclusion of the memorial, I watched Maire make her way towards the door, her heels clicking. She was leaving, but she wasn't bothering with saying goodbye to any of the other attendants. Did she even know anyone here?

Don't serial killers always return to survey the impact of their damage?

"I'm just going to get some fresh air," I said to Annabelle.

I took off before I heard a response.

The wind almost slammed the hall's doors in my face as I slipped out, narrowly avoiding a collision.

And Maire was nowhere to be found.

"Surely she couldn't have left so quickly," I muttered.

Perplexed, I wandered around the building, following a whim. I found her perched on a long bench in the small garden at the back.

She was facing the other direction, but from her movements and the thin trail of smoke that billowed from her face, I guessed she was smoking a cigarette.

I walked over, pausing to see if she would hear my approach. When she didn't respond, I pulled my legs over the bench and plunked myself down next to her roughly.

Maire jumped, giving me a side-eye. The suspicious glance quickly transformed into recognition.

"I know you." She dropped her cigarette into the grass, stepping on it with the sharp toe of her high-heeled shoe. "Luca Fern."

Clearly she only knew me through online articles.

"It's pronounced Loo-sha," I said, holding back the sigh. "I think my dad accidentally skipped out the i between the c and a on my birth certificate and now he's just covering it up."

Maire humoured me with a vague hmmm, brushing her hair back. The shiniest jewel I had ever seen adorned her finger. 

"And what are you doing out here, Luca without the i?"

I shrugged. "Needed some fresh air. What about you?"

"Some pretty heavy stuff inside," Maire replied, just as quickly as I had asked. "Seems like Bottle Island is just one tragedy after the other."

"Not much has changed, huh?"

At this, Maire glanced at me sharply. Her perfectly lined eyes narrowed, showing the slightest creases in her dark eyeshadow. She rummaged through her purse before answering, taking the time to light another cigarette and inhale. Maire Reeve had very clean and well-manicured hands for such a heavy smoker.