Chapter 11 Murder She Wrote
MURDER SHE WROTE
Summer
It had been a week since I slept with Thaddeus, and I was still sick to my stomach about it.
No, really, I couldn’t stop vomiting. Every time I thought of him on top of me, or behind me, I needed to hurl.
Despite how much I wanted to stay home in my comfy clothes and eat ice cream by the gallon, when I wasn’t vomiting my guts up, I had places to be.
As I hurried out of the house, I glanced at the for-sale sign in Ashley and Henry’s front yard.
Damn, just like that, everything had changed.
That house would always be haunted by all the great memories we’d shared as a group while Thaddeus was in prison.
To me, the house was (other than that one night) a Thaddeus-free zone.
Just the thought of him made me queasy again. Shaking it off, I headed to my car.
My court case for attempted murder was pending, and the lawyer I’d hired called me last night to tell me he’d found a way for me to walk free, and that he was optimistic about the outcome, so he wanted to meet today to discuss it.
The poor man didn’t know that I didn’t care one bit.
Soon, I’d face a more serious charge when I successfully killed Thaddeus.
Solely at Olivia’s urging, I retained the attorney.
She fretted about losing me as an employee if a guilty verdict led to me being disbarred.
She was kind enough not to mention that a conviction would also mean years in prison, which would make working for her fairly difficult.
Luckily for Olivia, there were plenty of young, passionate attorneys looking to make a difference.
She wouldn’t have any problems replacing me when I was locked away, so I didn’t feel too guilty about abandoning her like that.
I had only one priority: murdering Thaddeus.
I made the quick drive with my hot thermos in hand, avoiding the coffee shop and the chance of bumping into You Know Who. I went straight to my lawyer Sean Harrow’s office, pretending I was eager to discuss the strategy.
“You’re on time,” he said as I placed my cup down and slid into the leather chair in front of his desk.
“Yes. What’s the strategy you found?” There was no point in wasting time. He charged by the hour.
“Plea deal. Kind of.”
I scrunched my face up. “Huh?”
He smiled at me but didn’t speak. I was just about to repeat my huh? when a knock came at the door. John Fitzgerald entered the room.
“Summer Cohen, we meet again.”
My stomach churned, and bile rose to my throat. So, Thaddeus wasn’t the only Fitzgerald who made me sick to my stomach. “What’s happening here?” I looked between the men for an explanation.
My attorney jumped to his feet and gave John his chair. “Mr. Fitzgerald will get Thaddeus to drop the charges. The DA didn’t want to prosecute this case anyway.”
I stilled. Why would John help me? Also, how? Sometimes Thaddeus was stubborn, even with his father.
“Why?” I asked.
John Fitzgerald looked confused. “Do you want to be in prison? According to my son, it’s not a place anyone would want to go.”
“I mean, why the hell would you help me?”
“Summer, it doesn’t matter,” Sean interjected. “We should thank Mr. Fitzgerald.”
Damn. My little attorney was so impressed with the Fitzgeralds that he was now acting like I wasn’t the one paying him.
“She’s right. I’m not helping the daughter of the man who murdered my wife for no reason.”
Murder? It was an accident! Oh God, I couldn’t do this. I stood, ready to leave.
“Public relations is essential for our business right now,” John said, catching my eye. “I can’t have you and Thaddeus in round three of a trial.”
Now, that checked out. John put business before anything. Fine. If he could convince his piece of shit son to do that, it would solve all my problems. Thaddeus would drop the charges, giving me enough time to plan the perfect murder.
“Okay,” I said, shrugging.
“Not so fast.” He held out an arm to stop me from leaving the room. “You’ll also do your part to help Fitzgerald PR.”
My eyes blazed at him. “Like hell I will.”
Sean Harrow looked at me, confused. “It’s jail or you cooperate. Don’t be stupid, Summer. It’s an easy decision.”
As long as Thaddeus was dead before I got sent away, I didn’t care.
“Okay. Go to prison. I’ll pull all my contacts so you can get a speedy trial,” Mr. Fitzgerald said.
Fuck. This wasn’t a murder case that could drag on for months. They could try me and drag me off in a few days. That wasn’t enough time to enact my plan.
“Wait.” I rolled my eyes.
Fitzgerald smirked. “I thought so. Now, everyone in Tarrytown knows of the bad blood between our families. You’ll leave the legal aid office, come work at Fitzgerald, and show everyone the past is the past.”
One thing about rich men is that they always had all the audacity that only money could buy.
“Leave my job?”
“You heard me.”
Taking deep, sharp breaths, I glared at him. “Me, work at Fitzgerald?”
“Yeah, you! Working alongside Thaddeus, proving the past is behind you. Weren’t you the one who preached about forgiveness? Now it’s time to lead by example.”
The use of that F-word made my body stiffen.
“I was na?ve. Your son was right. When someone you love one is taken, forgiveness is impossible.”
John chuckled. “I won’t tell him you admitted that. Anyway, you don’t really have to forgive each other.”
“You just said . . .”
John stood as if this conversation was finished. “Publicly, the two of you will rebuild the Starlight property. I don’t care if you want to kill each other outside of the public eye.”
Kill? Yeah. The corners of my mouth twisted upward. I’d get access to Thaddeus on a daily basis.
“Summer, it’s a good idea,” Sean said.
“Come to the office tomorrow, and we’ll get you set up,” the cocky bastard said when I hadn’t even agreed yet.
“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth.
“I thought so. Shit, convincing you was way easier than it will be with that son of mine!” John added before the door slammed behind him.
The smile still remained on my face. No need to damage a perfectly good car. I just needed to get my hands on another pistol. Then I’d just walk into the building and put a bullet into Thaddeus. Wait, did their building have metal detectors downstairs?
“Summer. Summer, are you listening?”
I grabbed my coffee and purse. There was a lot to do. Most important, I had to tell Olivia I was leaving.
“Send me the bill.”
Olivia sounded confused but was understanding when I explained that I was going to work at Fitzgerald.
After our talk, I called Marni to see if she could fit me in.
Everything was going so fast, and maybe I needed to talk to someone I could trust. The good doctor had a spot, and I ran over after lunch.
“Are you okay?” Marni inquired, her face filled with worry.
I sidestepped her and tossed myself onto my favorite couch. “I’m great.” I could hear the note of glee in my voice.
“Really?” she asked, studying me so intently you’d think I was a recently invented species.
“Yes.”
“Why?” She looked at me skeptically.
Obviously, I wasn’t going to tell her about my newest murder plot; she’d be bound to report me.
Instead, we chatted about everything else.
During my last session, I’d already told her about my plan to murder Thaddeus, and how badly it had gone.
Conveniently, I kept the part about us sleeping together to myself.
It was too embarrassing to talk about—even to her.
She’d been concerned but chalked it up to a moment of weakness.
I promised I’d never do such a thing again.
The lie had come easier than I thought it would.
In today’s session, I wanted to talk about Fitzgerald. Marni had the same reaction I’d had when I told her about starting to work for the bastards: mouth open, eyes wide and filled with a mix of shock and concern. She lowered the pad and pencil and stared intently at me. “Summer, why?”
I bit my lip. “I have no choice. You remember how my stupid plan to kill Thaddeus went bad?”
She nodded, looking a little panicked, probably wondering if she needed to make a call of some kind.
“Well . . .” I gave her a brief overview of my conversation with John Fitzgerald and my lawyer.
“Okay. I understand why John Fitzgerald would want you to help their image. I just worry this will be difficult for you.” Marni cleared her throat.
I smiled, and Marni looked alarmed. “What’s so funny?”
While John thought he was using me, I got exactly what I needed.
I spoke slowly, focusing my gaze on the glass of water on the table in front of me.
“Everything was robbed from me because of him. My dad, years ago, along with the love of my favorite holiday. My friend group is now in shambles. The profession I adored and my favorite passion project is now also gone. Meanwhile, Thaddeus and the Fitzgeralds are unscathed.”
“Let’s not talk about them right now. I want to focus on your options. Is there any other way out of this than working for the Fitzgeralds? With your attempted murder, which we’ll need to talk more about, by the way, I don’t think it will be healthy for you to spend any kind of time with Thaddeus.”
My grin returned. “Well, it might not happen. John still needs to convince Thaddeus. He may be hell-bent on sending me to prison.”
Shaking her head, Marni studied me. “Do you still think about killing him?”
Hell fucking yes! It was the only thing motivating me to get out of bed every morning. I shook my head and looked her right in the eye.