Chapter 35
Evie
The Patch Job
The sound of Skye drawing in a deep breath caused me to bolt upright and throw myself in her direction. I slapped my hand over her mouth just as a bloodcurdling scream came from her throat.
. “Shh… it’s okay. Everything’s fine. It’s—” I tried to say but she slapped me away.
“Fine? Bryce just murdered someone!” she wailed. “Evie, we need to get out of here.” She pulled back and looked around frantically.
“Actually, that’s probably a good idea,” Sebastian said, rising from the pool chair. “Evie, take Skye back to my house. We’ll deal with this.”
“Deal with it?” Skye’s eyes were so wide and red with tears. She was losing it. Would she call the police?
Suddenly I was more scared of her than Bryce—and the dead lawyer floating in the hot tub. I knew how Bryce and Sebastian felt about my mission, but I had no clue what Skye was thinking.
I stood and grabbed her hands, tugging her up. “Let’s go. I’ll explain everything.”
Skye shook like a tiny dog, sobbing all the way through Fred’s house.
I paused at the front door and placed my hands on her shoulders.
“Skye,” I warned. “All of these houses have cameras and security and neighbors watching. You cannot walk out looking like this. I’m going to give you a moment to fix yourself, and when we step through that door, we’re going to be laughing and acting like nothing is wrong. Do you understand me?”
“But, Bryce, he—he—”
I put a finger to her lips. “We’re not going to talk about that. I don’t know if there are cameras watching us right now.”
Her head whipped around, looking up to find cameras.
“Skye, focus on me,” I said, keeping my voice calm and steady. “Don’t look around.”
She looked up, blinking tears away rapidly, then nodded. “Okay. And you’ll explain everything?” she asked, her eyes shiny and pleading.
I threaded my arm through hers and plastered a smile on my face.
“Of course, bestie. Now, let’s do the best acting of our lives. Act drunk.”
We strode out the door, pretending to be tipsy and giggly. We stumbled over each other until we made it back to Sebastian’s. I typed in the code on his front door and pushed her inside, instantly dropping the act.
The dogs came running in, and I bent down to greet them.
“Explain. Now, please,” Skye pushed.
I looked up and stood, patting my thighs.
“Come,” I called to the dogs, heading to the living room. My suit was still damp, but it was the least of my concerns right now. I sat down on the couch, surrounded by Cujo and Precious, with Skye sitting on the edge, her body turned away from me.
“My mom didn’t kill herself. She was murdered,” I started. “I’ve known this whole time, and I came here to get my revenge.”
“Revenge?” She cocked her head, and then turned all the way to face me.
“Yes. There were six of them that night. They raped her, stabbed her in the stomach repeatedly, and then hung her from the ceiling. Then they paid people to cover it up.”
“Why would they—”
“Because they can.” I shrugged. There really was no other reason for these people to hurt others this way—except that no one was stopping them.
Until me.
“So... Bryce knew? And Sebastian?”
“They do. They are helping me get through my list.”
“And Fred...”
I looked away in shame, having gotten more people roped into this. “He was one of the six.”
“Oh, my God. Evie, I am so sorry.” She scooted closer to me, causing the dogs to scurry back. She threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly. “Fuck him so hard.”
I patted her back and hugged her. Skye never let go of a hug first, and tonight, I needed that. When I let her go, she sat back and crisscrossed her legs. Suddenly she was back to her bubbly self.
“Okay, so go back. Tell me everything. When did Bryce find out?”
I explained the timeline starting with day one of seeing Sebastian.
“That’s where Glenn went?” she gasped. “You tried cocaine?” she added as I continued with my story.
Her commentary was oddly charming, and it relaxed me. I confessed everything easily, and when I was done, it not only felt freeing, but I didn’t feel judged or like she was going to turn me in.
“This is literally the most bonkers story I’ve ever heard, but I am loving all of this for you,” she exclaimed when I was done. “And Bryce and Sebastian are helping you?”
“Well, you too, I guess.” I cringed. “By not telling anyone.”
“Oh, boo.” Her eyes softened as she used the endearment. She reached for my hands. “Your fight is my fight. Let’s kill some bastards.”
“Really?”
“Really. I mean, I don’t know if I could actually stab someone, or poison, or like—” she shuddered “—do what Bryce did, but I’m in.”
We hugged, and just then, Sebastian and Bryce came in. The dogs lifted their heads but remained in place as they walked into the room carrying all the pool gear we’d left behind.
I stood, and so did the dogs.
“What did you end up doing with the body?” I asked.
Sebastian shook his head. “Nothing. We’re leaving it there.”
“What?” I shook my head. “You can’t. They’ll—”
“Think it was suicide,” Bryce interrupted. He pulled out his cell phone and then another. “We were trying to figure out what to do but didn’t want to get electrocuted.”
“That and the fucking maid saw us come in earlier,” Sebastian pointed out. “We tried to write a note but couldn’t get the handwriting right. Then Bryce suggested—”
“AI voices,” he said with a smirk.
Bryce turned one of the phones on, unlocked it, and tapped something on the screen. Fred’s voice suddenly filled the room, startling me.
“This is the last will and testament of Frederick Castle. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. There are things that have been weighing on my conscience that I can’t move past. I’m sorry. I leave everything to my ex-wife. I leave no children behind. Goodbye, and I’m sorry.”
The room fell silent as we listened to what sounded exactly like the deceased man.
“How the...” Skye frowned.
“That’s unethical,” I shook my head. “And coming from artists—do better.”
Sebastian scrunched up his nose.
“Now, I’ve never used the stuff, and I probably never will again, because fuck AI. But I needed to cover up a murder, and this was the best idea we had. Can we all agree that none of this is exactly ethical?”
“Okay, but the AI use might be worse than the murder.” I smirked. Skye crossed her arms across her chest and stayed close to me, keeping a united front.
Sebastian’s shoulders slumped, and he threw his hands up. “Well, by all means. Any better ideas?”
“We could try the note again.” Bryce shrugged. “My handwriting is shit.”
The room erupted into a small fight as we discussed other alternatives to covering up Fred’s untimely end.
It was oddly difficult to make the decision. AI stole from people like us. Artists. We kept going back to the ethics of AI use, and the more time that slipped away, the louder our voices grew.
“Do you know how bad it is for the environment, Sebastian?” Skye yelled.
“Okay, we’re not going with the AI!” I shouted over them.
They all turned to look at me.
“It’s too...icky. Let’s do something else. Actually... Come on. We’re going back.”
Returning to the scene of the crime, putting on the drunk act once more.
“Did it have to be a toaster?” I asked Bryce.
“It rhymed,” he protested. “Live, laugh...toaster bath.” The last bit drifted off in a whisper.
“Since when are you a poet?” Sebastian smirked.
“Hey, I’m more than just an ex-cowboy turned movie star. I have other interests.”
“Guys,” Skye warned. “We need to finish this. People probably saw us come in and out of the front. We need a good reason for it.”
“Right.” I nodded. Suddenly, Skye was the levelheaded one, and it was throwing me off.
“So, let’s fish the toaster out, and...” I looked around.
“Toss the blender in instead?” Sebastian suggested.
I started to say no, but then Skye interrupted.
“Actually, that would make sense. We make some margaritas, toss the blender in, then call the police. When they come, we’ll say we were drinking, having fun, and started to run low on margarita mix.
Evie and I went back to Sebastian’s to look for some, but we took too long, and you two came to get us.
We returned, empty-handed, only to find that he’d been so drunk, he’d tried to make the drinks while sitting on the ledge of the hot tub and slipped. ”
We all stared at each other. Bryce lifted the phone with the AI voice recording again, waving it in the air.
I rolled my eyes.
“It’s the best we’ve got.” I sighed.
I reached for the phone and tossed it into the hot tub.
As it hit the charged water, there was a quick flash, telling me it was fried.
I went to the bar and watched as Sebastian and Bryce carefully unplugged the toaster and fished it out.
Fred’s body floated lazily in the tub, his head still underwater.
Good.
Skye joined me behind the bar and pulled out the blender.
Humming a tune, she ducked down and popped back up with a bottle of tequila and a nearly empty jug of margarita mix.
She gathered everything and took it over to the men, who plugged in the appliance.
Sebastian held it while she poured the cocktail into the blender.
Bryce then took it from her and warned us to stand back as he tossed it into the water.
Another pop and zap of lightning came upon impact with the water.
We stared in silence as the cord ripped from the extension and slipped beneath the water, disappearing under the bubbles. No one said anything until some time later, when Skye cocked her head.
“Which do you think Fred would have preferred? Sugar or salt on the rim?”