Chapter 16 #2
Time passed. Nora was introduced to more people.
She gave Ollie endless thanks for the internship.
She drank a cocktail, then a half glass of wine, always conscious that she didn’t want to lose control like the people around her.
She wondered what her mother and father would think, then felt ashamed at the idea.
“I’m sorry,” she breathed to the sky, not loud enough for anyone to overhear.
As night fell, the fairy lights strung overhead flickered on, casting a magical glow.
Nora leaned against a pillar, watching the crowd.
Her uncle was on the opposite end of the beach with Ollie and several other men she’d met at the sailing party.
She recognized a few of the women from the sailing event as well, girlfriends of the men who’d brought their wives.
She wondered how many of the wives knew about the girlfriends, wondered how much of that was prearranged and okayed.
She guessed that some of the women were in the dark, but not all of them.
It was then that she spotted her Aunt Cynthia, tucked away to the right in the shadows, whispering excitedly with a handsome, slightly younger man.
Nora’s blood ran cold. She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that this was the man Aunt Cynthia was having an affair with.
This was the man with the sports car. The way Aunt Cynthia looked at him reminded Nora of herself, chasing Max in Manhattan, effervescent with joy.
Aunt Cynthia never looked at Everett like that.
“I need to talk to you.” A voice rose out from the darkness, meant only for Nora’s ears. Nora froze, her eyes dancing, searching for Max. And then she spotted him, leaning on the other side of the pillar, facing another direction so that nobody knew he was talking to Nora.
“Where have you been?” Nora breathed.
“Meet me on the opposite side of the garage in five minutes,” Max said.
Nora rolled her eyes. She didn’t want to live in a spy drama. She wanted to tell Max to calm down, that she had more power than she’d had before and would talk to whomever she liked. But before she could, he slipped back through the crowd.
Five minutes later, Nora padded through the back of the house, exited through the side entrance, and worked her way to the other side of the garage.
It was convoluted, but it made her feel safer.
Max was already waiting for her, his face earnest. Immediately, she shuddered at how much she loved him. She hated how much she’d missed him.
“Max,” she whispered, so grateful to say his name again.
Max took both of her hands in his. “Nora, rumors are flying all over the place about your aunt and uncle. I’m worried.”
Nora frowned. “The thing about them,” she hurried to explain, “is that they’re actually a lot nicer than we give them credit for. I mean, look at all they’ve done for me?”
But Max shook his head. “It’s not about you. It’s bigger than that. It’s about people getting hurt by them. It’s about them, taking people out of the world, so that they can continue playing their weird game.”
Nora gaped at him. “I can’t believe that they killed your father, Max,” she said. “It’s insane. It’s too much.”
“Whether or not you believe it, it happened,” Max shot back. “And it’s going to happen again. Everyone knows that Cynthia’s boyfriend is here. Everyone knows that Everett is planning something. It’s why they had this party in the first place. Everett wanted to scope out his prey.”
“That’s not true,” Nora said. She felt skittish with disbelief.
“Just watch out for them,” Max said. “And when Cynthia’s boyfriend disappears? You’ll know this is all the truth.”
For a long, awful moment, Max pressed his hand against Nora’s cheek, then kissed her with a passion that frightened her. He then hurried away, headed back for the party. Nora remained behind the garage, reeling.
But when Nora returned to the party, she nearly walked headlong into her Uncle Everett, in conversation with none other than Cynthia’s boyfriend.
The two looked chummy, Everett with his arm slung over the boyfriend’s shoulder as he drank a cocktail.
The boyfriend didn’t look nervous, as though lying to people like Everett was his modus operandi.
“Nora!” Uncle Everett said. “Have I introduced you to my new friend Hank? Hank, this is our darling niece, Nora. Isn’t she wonderful?”
Nora shook Hank’s hand, her own shaking. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Hank came to the island to fix up his parents’ old property,” Everett explained. “But he’s been doing a little work for my company and me. Haven’t you, Hank?”
“That’s right.” Hank grinned.
Nora tried not to give anything away, to smile at the pair of them as though she hadn’t a thought in her head. But of course, she was spinning. Was this what Max was referring to? Was this Everett, playing with his prey before he struck?
Eventually, Nora made an excuse and slipped away. But standing in the shadows on the opposite end of the party, she kept tabs on her uncle and Hank, watching as they drank another round and then another. She was stone-cold sober and on the brink of screaming.
And then, she watched as Everett again wrapped his arm around Hank, turned him around, and led him away from the party.
Anxiety shot through her. She needed to find Max and tell him what was going on.
She needed to call the police before Uncle Everett murdered Hank.
But as she raced around the party, she couldn’t find Max and had no idea where else to turn.
When she discovered her Aunt Cynthia, flirting with a server and sipping champagne, she stopped short, gasping for breath.
“Nora, what on earth has gotten into you?” Aunt Cynthia demanded.
Nora continued to gasp, searching for the right words.
She needed to tell her aunt that Uncle Everett was onto her, that he was going to kill her boyfriend regardless of what she wanted.
She imagined telling Aunt Cynthia that Everett was unsafe to be around, not only for them but for the children.
She wanted to tell her that she didn’t have to live like this.
But then, two figures appeared at the edge of the bonfire, drinking and laughing together. Nora squinted, just barely making out Uncle Everett and Hank, still together. Hank was still very much alive.
“Honey, do you need to go upstairs?” Aunt Cynthia asked. She squinted at her, as though realizing that Nora wasn’t up to hanging out with her swanky friends.
Nora stuttered. “I’m fine! I’m fine.” She flashed a smile, trying to calm down her beating heart. “I wanted to tell you that I’ve been so grateful to you. That it’s been such a wonderful party.”
Aunt Cynthia’s face softened. “It really has been, hasn’t it?” She said, her tone shifting. “Although the fish croquettes were a disaster. I’m going to call the owner of the catering company tomorrow and make sure they’re all fired.”
Nora tried to laugh, marveling at how sinister she sounded. It was impossible to tell whether she was joking or truly liked flaunting her power like that. Nora prayed that vitriol would never be directed at her.