Hidden in the Shadows by T. L. Haddix

and went to the door. When Marsha opened it, her eyes widened. For a long moment, she didn’t speak. Wyatt was surprised by her appearance. She’d aged more than the intervening six years could account for.
    “What do you want?” she finally asked.
    “We need to talk.”
    “No. We don’t have anything to talk about.” She started to close the door.
    Wyatt stopped her with a hand on the wood slab. “It’s about Julie.”
    A tense silence passed, and then Marsha finally nodded. “Fine. Come in.” She led him into the living room, but didn’t invite him to sit. “You have my attention. What about my sister?”
    He pursed his lips. “Okay, straight to the point, no niceties. That’s fine. Who’ve you talked to about Julie’s death?”
    Marsha crossed her arms. “Excuse me? What do you mean, who’ve I talked to? I’ve talked to a lot of people. She was my sister; I’m allowed to discuss her.”
    “No, Marsha. I don’t mean about the ALS, or the fact that she’s gone. I mean, who have you told how she died? The truth about how she died?” Wyatt thought he would have been gratified to see her face lose its color, but to his very great surprise, he felt only pity and anger.
    “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she stammered. “And you have some nerve, coming into my home and…”
    “And what, Marsha? Asking you who else knows you helped Julie kill herself?”
    She sucked in a breath and started around him. “We’re done.”
    “I received a letter. A blackmail letter. Your secret isn’t a secret anymore.” His words stopped her as effectively as someone jerking her to a halt with a string. “I need to know who you’ve told.”
    “You’re assuming I know what you’re talking about.”
    Wyatt turned to face her. “Are you really going to keep up this pretense? That you didn’t have anything to do with Julie’s death? We both know that isn’t true.”
    “If you thought I helped Julie kill herself, why didn’t you arrest me six years ago?”
    Wyatt clenched his jaw. “You know why. You destroyed the evidence.”
    “What did this letter say?” she asked, her voice faint.
    “That unless I pay a certain amount of money, the information is going to be made public. And if it does go public, I can’t protect you. You could face serious charges, Marsha. Assisted suicide is a crime in Indiana.”
    The look she sent him was full of loathing and despair. “Don’t pretend you give a tinker’s damn about me. Do you have any idea what the last few years have been like for me, being without her? Julie was more than just my sister. She was my best friend. Every damned day I’ve had to live without her, while you’ve gone on like she never even existed.”
    Her vitriol shocked him as much as her words. “That’s not true.”
    “Of course it is. You forget, I know what your marriage was like. I know the truth about the great Wyatt Dixon. You want everyone to think you’re such a fine, upstanding cop . The big hero. But you’re a pathetic excuse for a man. You look good on paper, I’ll give you that. But once you’re out of the limelight? You’re just a paper cutout. You never loved Julie.” Her voice grew louder as she listed his flaws. “She deserved better than you. She deserved someone who loved her, who put her first. That wasn’t you, but you’re what she got. It’s your fault the last decade of her life was miserable.”
    With each accusation, Wyatt felt himself grow colder. Her words held a lot of truth, as much as he hated to admit it. Still, he knew he wasn’t the only person who shouldered blame. “Julie could have left at any time.”
    Marsha gave a brittle laugh and wiped the wetness from her cheeks. “That’s rich. She could have left… and you would have just let her go? I don’t think so. That would have hurt your career.”
    “Oh, for God’s sake. That’s bullshit, and you know it. If Julie had come to me, told me she wanted out, told me about the