Chapter Thirty-Two #2
Mary was already moving, her gaze narrowing. “She could be the killer. Maybe she’s on the run, and she left her things so people would think she’s dead.”
Harmony nodded. “Or maybe she’s the next victim. Could be either.”
Harmony didn’t say which option she found more appealing.
Tosh swore as he raked a hand through his hair. “This is insanity.”
“We passed insanity weeks ago,” Torie muttered, calm for once.
Mary was still, looking almost mystic as she stood in front of them. Something was brewing inside her, and no one was sure what was coming.
“If you want the real truth, every single one of us has blood on our hands.”
Tosh glared at her. “You’ve lost it, Mary. You’re going to get us all thrown in jail.”
“I don’t even care anymore. I’m so sick of this, of the lies and betrayal.”
Torie glared. “You love playing the victim, don’t you? Well, at least the rest of us don’t pretend we’re someone we’re not.”
“Bitch!” Mary lunged, and Torie took a step back.
Zach caught her. Barely. “This is getting out of hand. It needs to stop.”
Mary turned on him. “You think you can fix everything, don’t you, Zach? The bruises, the evidence, the old wood. Why don’t you try fixing yourself before you attempt to help anyone else?”
Zach’s face hardened. “I don’t try to fix anyone. This is your mess to clean up.”
“This is stupid. We can’t turn on each other,” Harmony said.
All heads turned to her, and it wasn’t friendly. Cass shivered as she stepped a bit closer to her cousin.
“You enjoy our pain. I don’t care anymore. You do whatever you want,” Mary hissed.
“I don’t enjoy pain. I just know that pain makes things real.”
“You think we’re damaged. You’re worse than all of us,” Torie said.
Cass lost her composure. “At least she doesn’t lie like you. You’re jealous of every woman who breathes near Tosh. Hours before Lisa died, you told me you’d rather see her dead than touching him.”
Torie slapped Cass so hard the sound cracked like a whip.
Zach grabbed Cass. Tosh seized Torie.
“Get your hands off me,” Torie screamed. “Do you think I killed her? So what? The world is better off without that skank!”
Everyone went silent as the words cracked the air. Mary’s eyes widened. Zach stepped back, still holding Cass, who stumbled. Harmony didn’t move.
“Mary, you say everyone has blood on their hands, but it looks pretty clear who has the most of all,” Harmony finally said.
“Is there something you want to confess to?” Hale asked, suddenly in the middle of them.
Torie looked at her wide-eyed as she stepped back, shaking her head. “No, I hated her, but I didn’t kill her.”
“We need to talk more,” the detective said. Torie looked like she was about to run. There was a tense silence. As Vega stepped forward, a gunshot rang out.
Silence turned into screams as Cass spun, grabbed her arm, blood sticking to her fingers, then dropped to her knees. For a heartbeat no one moved. Then Zach lunged forward and cradled Cass, blood spreading over her clothes.
“Cass!” Harmony shouted, dropping to the ground, tears and panic filling her eyes. The author was no longer composed.
Hale had her firearm pulled and was looking around. Vega scanned the rooftops.
“Shots fired!” Durante shouted into his radio.
People dropped behind planters and benches, hands over heads. Someone screamed “Get down!” and the plaza buckled into a panicked wave.
“Where did that come from?” Hale snapped.
“We don’t know,” Sergeant Durante yelled.
“Find out!” Hale screamed.
“She’s fine. She’s fine. She’s fine,” Harmony kept saying over and over again, but her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
“She really is going to be fine, Harmony. It only grazed her arm. It’s not life-threatening,” Zach promised as he continued cradling Cass.
Sirens approached.
Torie kept screaming. Tosh was in shock. Cass was sobbing. Zach held onto her. The people scattered.
“Someone is orchestrating this,” Hale said. “They want fear. If any of you are helping them—even by keeping silent—then you’re a part of the violence.”
Her gaze swept them, then lingered on Harmony.
“Writers like structure. What do you see?” Hale asked.
“They’re telling a story.”
“What will the ending be?” Hale asked.
Harmony met her eyes. “They want applause.”
Vega stepped forward. “Then none of us clap.”
He signaled the deputies. “There’s a midnight curfew. No one is to be alone. Walk in pairs or stay inside. If you see anything that looks like . . . art, then call it in.”
The remaining people left the plaza. Harmony watched everyone, then glanced up at the hills where darkness was settling as if it were merely waiting to come out and play.
Somewhere out there, more planning was going on.
The story refused to end. Secrets had been bared that day, but the truth was still hiding behind closed lips.
***
Later that night, a flash of red silk was found at the Botanical Gardens, snagged on the massive cactus thick with thorns that didn’t look made for mercy.
It was Janie’s dress, draped across it like a warning or a clue.
Pinned to the bodice with a polished abalone brooch, a white card with three words: Where is she?
***
Cass was bandaged and released. Harmony drove her home in a golf cart. Once inside, they locked the door.
“I’m sleeping in the chair tonight.”
“You’ll regret it,” Harmony said. “Your back will retaliate.”
“My back can file a complaint, and join the lawsuit from my arm,” she said. “I’m not moving.”
Harmony smiled despite the ache in her chest. She crossed to the window, lifted the blind just enough to peek out. Something slid beneath their door. They both froze.
It was another note. She looked at Cass with more confusion than fear.
“What is it?” Cass asked.
“We should throw it away without reading. Someone wants us afraid. We fight back by not giving them our fear.”
“We need to know, Harm. I was shot today. We can no longer bury our heads in the sand and pretend this isn’t happening.”
Harmony swallowed, but she opened the note. She looked over to Cass and shook her head.
“What does it say?” Cass demanded.
“It says, Are you having fun yet?”
“We’re not safe,” Cass breathed, true terror in her eyes.
“I think we’re safe because they don’t want this game to end. When we stop hearing from them, that’s when we should truly be afraid.”
Cass’s eyes widened. She wasn’t sure who she should be afraid of anymore. She just knew that she wasn’t going to stick around for long enough to find out. This vacation was long past over.