Chapter 16
“She’s fucking dead!”
Those are the words I wake to.
It takes my groggy mind a moment to wade through the murkiness.
Last night, I got my revenge.
I got revenge for us all.
As hard as it was for me to let go, I allowed Kit to take over.
Pretty sure I passed out in his bed after that.
“Who?” Kit groggily asks.
I wonder what happened with Jack.
I can deal with that later, however, because what Dandy reveals changes the course of everything.
“Fucking Rebecca Bloom! She’s dead! They found her in the university gym. She was decapitated!”
“Fuck,” Kit curses under his breath before jumping out of bed and dressing in a pair of blue jeans.
My sleepy brain still can’t comprehend what Dandy has revealed. “Dead?”
“Yes, Hallie, fucking dead! It’s all over the news!” Dandy reaches for the remote and switches on the TV.
We silently watch as the news anchor recounts the gruesome discoveries made. No suspects, but the police are ruling it murder.
“No fucking shit, Sherlock,” Dandy says with a smile. “She has no fucking head!”
The reality of this soon hits hard, and I understand why Kit looks troubled. Dandy doesn’t get it.
“Guys, this is good news, right? Rebecca is the bad guy, and bad guys deserve to get their fucking heads cut off.”
“No, Dandy, this fucks everything up,” Kit replies, tugging at his hair. “Jack agreed to turn on Rebecca, but now that she’s dead, we have no collateral.”
“But you can still reveal what he did, right?” Dandy says, understanding the dilemma.
“Yes, of course we can. But what if the girls get cold feet? It will be Hallie’s word against Jack’s, and who do you think everyone will believe? Hallie’s life is now in danger because I bet Jack will find the girls he assaulted and make them a deal in exchange for their silence. Or worse…”
Kit doesn’t need to fill in the blanks. We all understand he means Jack will silence them for good.
I sit up against the headboard, silent.
“We needed that confession. That was the only way to ensure both Jack and Rebecca paid for their crimes. Fuck!” Kit says, exhaling deeply.
With Jack confessing, no one would dispute him, and Rebecca would be shamed forever. But with her being dead, I feel cheated.
I wasn’t even the one who got the honor.
So, now, the question is, who did?
“I’m sorry, I thought this would be something to celebrate. But now I see that Rebecca was more valuable alive than dead.”
Dandy has hit the nail on the head.
“What can I do?”
“Nothing for now, Dandy,” Kit replies, looking at me. “Just keep an ear out.”
“Of course.” Dandy feels guilty for revealing the news, but it’s not his fault.
He meets my eyes, and I see the glimmer of remorse.
Oh, Dandy, what have you done?
I want to ask him, but I can’t in front of Kit, since Rebecca and Dandy’s history is private. And I made a promise to Dandy.
Dandy’s eyes water before he soon leaves us alone, closing the door behind him.
Kit and I sit quietly, watching the news together as we both try to figure out the same mystery—who killed Rebecca?
“Who do you think it was?” I’m the one to break the silence.
Kit leans against the dresser, eyes glued to the TV. “I don’t know, but I think you might have an idea?”
I nod but am afraid to share who I think it is.
“We’re in this together, Hallie. Tell me who.”
I fidget with a blanket thread, avoiding his gaze. “There are three people who I think it may be. Jupiter, Jack himself, or…Dandy.”
I nervously make eye contact with Kit.
“I think it may be Jupiter to send a message to me. Perhaps she wishes for me to know that she still has power over me, and killing Rebecca is taking away my control. But it could be Jack, since we’re using Rebecca as collateral. Take that away, and Jack is back in control.”
Kit appears deep in thought.
“And Dandy, well, you know how loyal a friend he is to me. Perhaps he wanted his own revenge for what Rebecca did to me. He lost me when I left, and in turn, he also lost a piece of himself.”
But Kit isn’t buying it. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“It’s not my story to tell,” I eventually confess as I promised Dandy I wouldn’t tell anyone about what happened between him and Bobby and what Rebecca did to him.
But his problems with Rebecca make him a prime suspect.
The more I think about it, I can’t avoid the signs pointing to Dandy. It makes sense. But the other two suspects are just as guilty.
“I need a minute,” Kit says, turning and leaving the bedroom.
“And for that reason…Rebecca Bloom needs to die.”
Dandy’s words plays over and over in my mind, and I wonder if maybe he’d had enough. Knowing everything she did to us both, Dandy had every right to do what he did if he is, in fact, the killer.
Those familiar, overwhelming feelings creep in, but I won’t let them.
I grab fresh clothes and take a much-needed hot shower. I dress and wonder what happens now. I need to speak to Kit about what happened with Jack last night.
I’m brushing my teeth when there’s a knock on the bathroom door.
Kit enters a second later.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, seeing the worried look on his face.
“I can’t find Dandy.”
Under ordinary circumstances, we wouldn’t be concerned. But because of what happened and my suspicion regarding Dandy’s possible guilt, Kit and I are worried.
“I’ll put on my shoes.” I quickly race from the bathroom and slip into my sneakers.
Kit and I are out the door soon after.
We’re both happy to sit in silence as we drive, our minds attempting to process what’s going on. I don’t want to believe Dandy killed Rebecca, but my gut tells me that it’s him.
Even if it was him, I’m not angry. In fact, I feel honored he would do that for me. He thought he was doing the right thing. And besides, he too deserves his revenge for what Rebecca did to him.
How can I be angry when I wanted to get my own revenge? He just beat me to it.
Yes, it’s not ideal, but we’ll work something out.
What other choice do we have?
“Where are you, Dandy?” Kit says under his breath, hands clenched on the steering wheel.
I reach across and place my hand on his wrist. “We’ll find him.”
“I can’t let him down. Not again. I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to him.”
“Nothing is going to happen to him.”
“We don’t know that.”
He’s right, but I choose to believe Dandy will be all right. He has to be. We haven’t come this far for it to end this way.
“Can you try his cell again?” Kit asks, his concern clear.
I do as he asked, but no surprise when the call goes straight to voicemail. I’ve sent a bunch of texts in hopes that he will read them.
His location is disabled. Dandy doesn’t want to be found. And for now, we must respect that.
We drive around for the next few hours, Kit asking if anyone has seen Dandy. No one has.
“We can’t find him because he doesn’t want to be found.”
Kit nods, his exhaustion clear. We’ve not eaten or had anything to drink all day.
“How about we grab something to eat?”
“Of course. Sorry, I should have pulled over earlier.” I’m stopping so Kit can take a break, not because I need to eat. I hate seeing him this way.
This is all because of me.
We pull into a diner and grab a booth. I look over the menu. Even though I’m not hungry, I know I should eat something because I don’t know when I’ll get the chance again. Kit will look for Dandy until he finds him. No matter how long that takes.
That’s the type of person he is.
We order our food, knowing most of our meal will remain untouched.
Kit checks his phone, disappointed there’s no message from Dandy. However, his phone rings a few seconds later.
Kit looks torn whether he should answer it.
“Dandy?”
He shakes his head and jumps up from the booth. “I need to take this.”
I watch as he walks through the diner and heads into the outside dining area, hinting he wants privacy.
I wonder who it is. He seems to ignore a lot of calls, which isn’t anything to be suspicious of. But something scratches at the surface, alarming me that there’s something more.
Something he doesn’t want to tell me.
The server places our milkshakes in front of me. I take a sip, my mind a thousand miles away, when my phone dings.
Reaching for it, I almost scream when I see it’s a text from Dandy.
Come on, ladies. God wouldn’t have given you maracas if he didn’t want you to shake ’em. Please come alone. I need my best friend.
I laugh at the classic Dirty Dancing line. Typical Dandy.
My loyalties are torn, but I won’t let Dandy down again.
When the server walks past, I ask if I can borrow her pen. She doesn’t ask questions. Scribbling a note on a napkin, I leave it on the table, hoping Kit understands.
I found Dandy. I’ll text soon. Let me save you this time.
I quickly leave and am in an Uber a couple of minutes later.
I hope my hunch is right.
I’m on eggshells the entire drive, but when I arrive at the Riverses’ house, calm overcomes me. We looked here earlier, but Dandy didn’t want to be found. Kit mentioned his mom is on a cruise, so the house was empty.
I don’t bother knocking on the front door and make my way into the backyard. Instantly, nostalgia hits home. So many memories were made here in this tree house. And that’s where I know Dandy is.
I climb the familiar steps, and when I poke my head through the trapdoor, I see Dandy. He’s leaning against the wall, legs crossed, reading an astronomy book.
I sigh in relief as I climb into the tree house.
I sit beside him and nudge his shoulder with mine. “You owe me a dance.”
He half smiles, his mood low.
“What’s going on?”
He sighs, leaning into me. “I’m a bad person.”
“Dandy, you are so far from being a bad person,” I correct. “Trust me, I know bad people, and you’re not one of them.”
“You have to say that as my best friend.”
“Well, this is true, but I do actually think it. But tell me why you think you’re a bad person.”
I brace for any confession with no judgment. Whatever he’s done, we’re in this together.
“Rebecca’s death brought me happiness. The first time I’ve been happy in a very long time. It felt as though I regained a piece of myself. That makes me a bad person.”
Maybe I was wrong then.