33 Gemma
Gemma
The moment Gemma set eyes on Lily, she wanted to launch herself across the expanse of hardwood floor that separated them and strangle her.
This was all her fault. Her and her stupid stunt, which she’d roped Gemma into participating in, just like she had with all her silly hazing rituals back in college.
Ever since she’d first met Lily, the woman had wielded some sort of odd power over her.
Whatever Lily wanted to do, they did. Whatever Lily told Gemma to do, she did.
Was it because Gemma had been so lonely growing up?
An only-child thing? Had she craved a big sister so badly that she let Lily step into the role and manipulate her?
“Where is he? Where’s Lincoln?” Lily said.
Silence. Gemma felt that no one could quite wrap their heads around what they were dealing with.
They had lost Lincoln. They had lost Juliet.
Trevor had died in the most gruesome way possible.
And now, here was the person who had thought it would be fun to screw with their heads yesterday.
And also the man who was abusing the woman who lay dead outside on the patio.
She took a deep breath. Someone had to step up.
“I’ll take you to him,” she said.
“I’ll come,” Daisy offered.
Gemma noticed that Lily didn’t seem at all surprised to see her sister.
Maybe it was Daisy who had managed to get in touch with her and tell her what had happened.
Daisy put her arm around Lily’s waist as they walked down the hall to the billiards room.
Marley said something to Marshall and then followed.
“Lily, where have you been?” Marley whispered. “We’ve been trying to call you.”
“I know. My phone . . . I was in town,” Lily said absently. “Gemma didn’t tell you?”
Marley shot Gemma an accusatory look.
“Yes, she’s been on the island for the last few days,” Gemma said. She tried to convey what she was thinking with her eyes. Which was Don’t ask me. I don’t know why she wanted to be close by. And also Now is not the time; she’s about to see her dead ex-husband.
Marley seemed to get the second half of the message, at least, because she cleared her throat and looked contrite.
At the door of the billiards room, Marley and Gemma paused.
Lily took one look at the sheet-covered body and ran to it, tears flowing as she fell on her knees next to the couch.
She didn’t make a move to uncover Lincoln.
She just sat there and cried. Marley hovered awkwardly, and Gemma crossed her arms over her chest, no idea what to do.
Sit with Lily? Hug her? Leave her alone?
Daisy stepped into the room behind her sister. “I’ll stay with her,” she said.
Gemma was ashamed by the relief she felt. Then shouting erupted from the great room, and Marley flinched, looking back over her shoulder. Would the misery of this weekend never end?
“Thanks, Daisy,” Gemma said. “We should probably go find out what that’s all about.”
Marley and Gemma hustled back down the hall to rejoin the group and found that Marshall had Josh shoved up against the wall closest to the door and was shouting in his face.
“You killed my brother, you psycho!”
“What are you talking about? Get off me!” Josh shoved Marshall hard, and Marshall went reeling back. Three pillar candles of varying sizes were knocked off a side table and rolled across the floor. Gemma stared at them, wondering why no one had thought to light them.
“He killed Lincoln!” Marshall spat.
Josh threw his hands up. “It wasn’t me, man!
I left the party early, as soon as Coco P.
was done with her set. That’s what I was trying to tell you earlier!
She and her people wanted to get ahead of the hurricane, so I escorted them back to their hotel.
I left at, like, eleven thirty. There were six people in the truck with me. Ask them!”
Gemma saw the others exchange dubious glances.
It was a bit difficult to believe Josh. He looked completely strung out, eyes wide and bloodshot, a five-o’clock shadow seemingly moments from becoming a full-on werewolf beard.
He was still wearing his clothes from the party the night before, with Lincoln’s blood making a constellation across the front of his wrinkled white shirt.
There was a bandage wrapped around his right hand.
“You’re a liar.” Droplets of spittle hit Josh in the face, and he flinched, closing his eyes, disgusted. “You attacked him! You said you were going to end him! We all heard it!”
He slammed Josh backward again, and the rear of Josh’s skull cracked against the wall.
“Marshall!” Marley cried, and Marshall seemed to remember where he was. Who else was there. He looked over at his wife, and after a long breath, he released Josh and took a step back. Josh wiped his face with the cuff of one sleeve.
“So where have you been since then?” Suzy asked. “Did you stay with Coco P.?”
Josh gave a snort. “Uh, no. I called Lily, and she let me crash with her.”
Hazel narrowed her eyes, moving Thomas from one arm to the other. Gemma looked at the baby’s peaceful face and almost wished she were him. “Crash with her where, exactly?”
“She’s got an Airbnb near town.” Josh touched his mouth, then looked at his fingers, checking for blood. “She flew out a few days ago.”
“Why?” Marley asked, looking at Gemma. “What is she doing here?”
“Damned if I know,” Josh answered before Gemma could.
“She called me during the party and asked me to come pick her up and bring her back here so she could quote-unquote ‘surprise the girls,’ and I was like, no way. Because I knew you’d kill me,” he said to Hazel.
“But then the storm came in, and I got stuck in town, and she put me up. Ask Lily. I had to crash at her place. I’ve been with her since, like, midnight on Friday. ”
It was a little odd, Gemma thought, that Josh kept pointing out all the eyewitnesses he had lined up, but it wasn’t like she could blame the man.
At this point he seemed to have a tighter alibi than any of them.
Josh moved toward the dining table, where there was still an ice bucket, glasses, and a pitcher of water set out.
He poured himself a glass and gulped it.
Marshall, chest still heaving, gave him space.
“Wait a minute—how did you two even get here?” Suzy asked. “There’s a tree down across the road.”
“Yeah, we saw that,” Josh said, scratching at the back of his neck, glancing warily at Marshall as if he might suddenly explode. “We went around and took the access road. Took freaking forever.”
“Access road? What access road?” Sean said and looked at Hazel. “Did you know about an access road?”
“Of course I know about the access road,” Hazel said, rolling her eyes. “This is my house, remember?”
“A fact that seems to come up a lot,” Gemma said under her breath. Hazel shot her a scathing look, and Gemma’s face burned. She couldn’t believe she’d said that out loud. Hazel seemed about to offer a comeback, but Suzy interrupted her.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” she demanded, standing. “We could have gotten out of here by now!”
“No one is leaving until we find out what happened to Trevor and Lincoln,” Hazel spat.
“And Juliet,” Marley added absently.
“Wait, what? Where’s Juliet?” Josh asked.
Gemma looked around at the rest of them, wondering who would break the news and how.
“She’s dead,” Marshall spat.
Well. That was one way.
“Marshall!” Marley said on a gasp.
“And pretty convenient that you just happened to walk through the front door minutes after we found her,” Marshall continued.
“Marshall, stop,” Hazel ordered.
“What? He could have done it! There’s a staircase that leads from the deck to the patio. He easily could have gone down it and then around the house to the front. It’s the perfect plan.”
“Oh my God, Marshall. Stop talking!” Marley shouted. “Our friend is dead. Josh is her husband. Whatever else any of us thinks, we all know he loves her. So just stop!”
Marshall seemed to realize what he’d just done and how callously he’d done it.
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, hands now on his hips.
Gemma was so glad the girls hadn’t woken up in the commotion—that they weren’t here for this.
Knowing them, they’d passed out with their Beats headphones on, each listening to different music or YouTube videos.
The number of emotions that crossed over Josh’s face were innumerable. Gemma almost couldn’t believe he could handle all of it at once. Shock, disbelief, anger, fear, and back to disbelief. He actually cracked a smile as he put his water glass down.
“This isn’t funny, you guys.”
“I’m so sorry, Josh, but it’s true.” Marley moved toward him. “Juliet, she . . . she fell, and she . . . she’s—”
“Where is she?” Josh asked.
“On the north patio. She fell from the sundeck.” Suzy sounded on the verge of another round of tears as she rubbed her own arm up and down. “She’s out there now.”
Josh tore out of the room, leaving the door open behind him. Lily and Daisy walked back in from the hallway, Lily looking a lot worse for the wear. Gemma stared at her as she fell into the nearest armchair, like her body could no longer carry the weight of what had happened.
Gemma felt sorry for Lily. She did. On some level. But just then, as they all heard Josh’s wail of anguish from outside, all she could think was, You did this, Lily. And I helped.