So Then There Were None

by Annie Adams

  "Isn't this near where Chad found Sydnee?" I asked.

  "Hmm? Oh, yeah." Alex replied after a pause.

  "Which one do you remember most?"

  "Which what?"

  "Which girl at the pool?" I nudged him with my elbow. "I know you're thinking about it."

  He slid his arm around my waist as we continued walking toward the shore. "This one. I'm remembering her in the hot tub."

  "Oh, how you lie.”

  He laughed quietly. “I’m not lying,”

  “Well, you’re definitely smart to say so, anyway," I teased.

  "I am smart. I proposed to you, didn't I? I think I'm the smartest, luckiest guy on the planet."

  He could have picked any woman—he was just that handsome and smart and amazing. Sometimes I still wondered why it had been me. I leaned into him. "I think I'm the one who lucked out."

  "Aren't you two the sweetest things ever?" a voice said, not more than a few feet ahead of us.

  I sucked in a breath and froze. Alex stepped forward and in front of me. So very gallant.

  I peered from behind Alex’s arm and squinted, trying to adjust in the dim light. “Kourtnee! We didn’t see you,” I said, trying to steady my voice despite my racing heartbeat.

  She sat on a flat-topped boulder wearing a black hoodie that had helped her blend in to the surrounding dark rocks, which lined the path down to the water. A quiet chuckle escaped her lips, which were now pursed around an unlit cigarette. “Obviously.”

  “Wait, weren’t you just at the…” I thought back to the pool scene. Given my distraction at the time, I wasn’t surprised I couldn’t remember whether or not I had seen Kourtnee there.

  “You got to see that too, huh?” The cigarette bounced on her lips as she spoke. She lit it with a lighter then blew the smoke out the side of her mouth, directing it away from me and Alex without turning her head. “Were you there, Alex? Guess you lucked out if you were.”

  “Uh…maybe not the words I would use,” he said uneasily.

  She shifted uncomfortably on the rock and made a quick grabbing motion at something behind her back.

  “I got to see the show here.” She made a little jerk of her head toward the sand beach. “They wanted me to come with them, but I’ve got other plans.”

  Not wanting to pry—well, let’s be honest—I knew I shouldn’t pry, so I didn’t, but I truly wanted to know what her other plans were.

  “Were you there when they found Candee’s phone?” I asked. This immediately brought an image of Audra and Regan with their contrasting light and dark skin, standing behind the cell phone they displayed along with all the rest of their exposed bodies, at the hot tub’s edge.

  “Yeah, I actually found it right around here. I was on my way from my campsite to the beach to meet the others.”

  “No other signs of Candee?” I asked.

  “Just the phone. I guess she’s probably the next victim,” she said while making air quotes, her cigarette propped between two fingers. She took a nervous drag, her lips making a kind of popping sound as she sucked in. “Not that I care. I’m not interested in the stupid game.”

  “Oh my gosh,” I said out loud, without meaning to. Megan had found a charm shaped like a cell phone earlier.

  “What?” Kourtnee asked.

  I wished I hadn’t said anything. I was terrible at making things up on the fly, and I didn’t want to share that little tidbit of info with Kourtnee, even if she claimed she wasn’t playing the game.

  “Do you smell smoke?” Alex asked.

  “Sorry,” Kourtnee said as she held her cigarette down near the base of the large rock.

  “Oh, no, I didn’t mean that. I can smell wood smoke. Like there’s a fire.”

  “Don’t look at me this time,” Kourtnee said rather defensively.

  “I’m gonna go check it out,” Alex said.

  “We’ll see you around,” I said to Kourtnee, which sounded stupid and awkward. To compound my embarrassment, I found myself giving a little wave with my fingers. Rough and tumble girls, like Kourtnee, had always intimidated me. Talking to her took me back to school day memories where I felt like the wimpy kid asking to hang out with the athletes at the playground. She, and others like her, had an edge—an attitude that implied they had earned their merit badges for being cool—while I was just a sheltered girl from small-town Utah with no clue how you even found one of those badges.

  I turned and followed Alex, whose pace was just short of running, toward the sandy part of the island.

  The source of the smell became obvious as we approached the beach. This was the site of the bonfire which, thankfully, had been built near the water. It wasn't the kind of bonfire one might see on Guy Fawkes Day, but it was a fire that had been left unattended.

  I had a guess that alcohol must have been involved in encouraging the mob to strip off their clothes and leave a burning fire, but who knew what other motivations there could have been.

  I joined Alex in scooping up wet sand to put out the fire.

  All of the stripped-off clothing littered the beach in rumpled piles of color. I noticed a reflection of the flames from one of the piles—it was K.C.'s red dress. Once the fire was out, I picked it up and gave it a little shake, then placed it on top of an outstretched towel. I would take it with me when we went back inside. I couldn't imagine why she would have left such an obviously expensive, custom-made dress in a pile near a fire.

  "What were they thinking?" I wondered out loud.

  "I have no idea. I've seen some crazy things on the job, but this was..."

  At his mention of his job, I thought again of things he must have encountered, most of which he wasn't allowed to tell me. And most of those things, I imagined, put him in great danger. I knew that he loved the undercover part of his job, and I supported him in it, but I hated that part of his career. I felt a little tug at my heart, followed by an overwhelming blast of anxiety that wouldn’t leave.

  I rushed over to Alex and hugged him again.

  "What's up, Q?"

  "I miss you."

  The vibration of his laugh, rumbling in his chest, felt warm and comforting.

  "What are you talking about? I'm right here."

  "I was thinking about how much I miss you when you're gone. I don't know why it came out that way."

  "Well then, I miss you too." It was dark by then and his handsome face took on an almost otherworldly glow, with the moonlight washing everything in silvery blue. "When I’m gone it kills me to be away from you, where I can't feel you next to me like this." He hugged me back and we stood there like that for a long while.

  His hand found the back of my neck and he threaded his fingers through my hair. The evening stubble on his chin left a scratchy, but pleasurable, sting as he traced my jawline with his lips until they met mine.

  His kiss was soft and slow. I wound my hands behind his neck, and he scooped me up and carried me to the grassy area just above the beach. We continued to kiss as he laid me down and covered my body with his.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  We lay there on our backs, holding hands and looking at the stars. It seemed like magic the way all those billions of shiny stars popped into the sky, where only fifty miles away, in the city, it would be considered lucky to see any.

  Crickets chirped and a gentle breeze ruffled the leaves of Box Elder trees and the needles of Ponderosa pines. “What were you about to tell Kourtnee when I smelled the fire?” Alex asked.

  I paused to think for a moment. “Oh. I was trying to think of something to tell her, because I didn’t want to tell her what had popped into my mind when she said she found Candee’s cell phone.”

  “Wait a second…Okay, now I’m following. What popped into your mind?”

  I shifted onto my side and propped my head up on my hand. “Candee’s charm.”

  He turned to face me and propped his head up, too. “You think Candee’s charming?” he said.

  I giggled with uncharacterist
ic vigor. It probably had something to do with the late hour. “No, the charm she pulled from the wedding cake.” Still feeling overly-giddy I leaned forward and brushed my lips against his, giggling all the while.

  He chuckled and I felt his smile spread across my mouth.

  A yawn overtook me and I lay on my back, snuggled up against his solid chest.

  He tapped my nose with his finger. “We should go upstairs, it’s late.”

  “No,” I protested. “I don’t want to go back where everyone else will be. Let’s just stay here a while longer.”

  “Whatever you say, my love.” He slid down onto his side and crossed his arm over my body. I felt like I could melt right in to him.

  After a few moments of quiet cuddling I asked, “Do you think Kourtnee is the murderer?”

  “This makes you think about murder? I’m going to have to watch myself.”

  “I would never,” I teased. “But we need to think about who the murderer is. We’re all going home tomorrow.”

  After a long pause he answered. “What makes you think it’s Kourtnee?”

  “She sits back, watching everyone. She’s made sure to let it be known she’s not interested in playing the game.”

  “That makes her suspicious?”

  “It’s kind of like, ‘The lady doth protest too much,’ you know?”

  “Maybe,” he said after another long pause. “You could be on to something.”

  “Do you know what she meant when she said she wasn’t responsible this time? I think she was talking about the fire.”

  He quietly sighed. “I’ve never talked to her about it personally, so I don’t feel like I should spread rumors…but I think she’s aware that all of us know something happened.”

  “What was it?”

  “They say she started a forest fire.”

  “On purpose?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  I sat up. “Really?”

  “I don’t know any details. I’ve never asked.”

  My noble fiancé. I wish I could say that I was the same way when it came to gossip.

  “Where did it happen? Was anyone hurt?”

  “I don’t really know.”

  “Did she serve time?”

  “All I know is that she was gone for a while. I wasn’t really close to the group at that time—I was working by then.”

  “I wonder if she had to—” A yawn overtook me in the middle of my own sentence.

  “Let’s go back inside, Quince.”

  “I’ve always wondered what happens to people who start big fires. Like if she had to pay any restitution.”

  “I really don’t know. I heard Audra was involved somehow, but those were just rumors.”

  “Audra? What would she have to do with it?”

  He groaned as if he were being tortured.

  “I’m just curious. I’m spending a lot of time in close proximity to complete strangers. It would be nice to know if they were convicted criminals or escaped circus performers.”

  “What?” He eventually laughed at my dumb joke. “Audra knows people. She probably hooked Kourtnee up with some friend of her father’s—a lawyer or politician, I assume.”

  “Were they close?”

  “Who, the lawyer and Audra? Hard to say.”

  I rewarded his teasing with a little love tap on the arm. “No, I meant Audra and Kourtnee, of course.”

  “I don’t really know them that well.”

  “Apparently Audra thinks she knows me well enough to be critical.”

  “That’s just Audra. She treated Eva like that when we were together.”

  I took a gulp of air and froze.

  I managed a laugh, which helped me to expel the breath I’d been holding. “You’re going to think this is funny. I completely misunderstood you. I thought you said that you and Eva used to date.”

  “We did,” he said as if it was common knowledge.

  I leaned away from him. “What?”

  “You knew,” he said matter-of-factly.

  “Well, now I know why she was so comfortable parading through our room while you were naked only a few feet away,” I said as I stood.

  “Quincy, you’re overreacting.”

  “Really?” I turned in the direction of the lodge and started walking.

  “Come back—I didn’t realize you didn’t know.”

  If I could swim, I just might have considered jumping into the lake at that very moment and returning to the mainland. Of course I couldn’t, and the lake was massive, but I wasn’t feeling too rational at the time.

  After covering a few yards, I stopped and collected myself, then returned. I’d made a commitment to Alex and I needed to stick with him—even when things felt tough. And this definitely felt that way.

  “Hey, nothing happened when Eva was in our room.”

  “I know. You told me that. And I…believe you. But you never told me you and Eva had a thing together.”

  “It wasn’t a big deal. Everyone has lots of girlfriends or boyfriends at that age. Admit it, you’ve had boyfriends that I don’t know about.”

  “Well, no, actually. I just had the one.” I’d gotten under the spell of a boy in high school and made the mistake so many girls do. I dropped just about everything else in life, got married and moved away with him. Thankfully, somehow, I’d had enough sense to finish high school. I finally found a way to escape his physical and emotional abuse, and made my way home.

  It wasn’t until I met Alex that I trusted myself enough to date anyone again. And here that trust had been knocked a serious blow.

  “C’mon. You had to have dated other guys.”

  “No, Alex. When I told you there was no one else, I meant it. I didn’t realize that your version of telling me about everyone from your past meant only the ones you were okay with me knowing about. For some reason, you didn’t want to tell me about Eva—even after I found her in our room, for no good reason, while you were taking a shower.”

  “Yeah, well I was just as surprised to have your ex-husband show up on my doorstep. Oh, except he wasn’t your ex, you were still married. You are still married.”

  I sucked in a giant breath. He’d actually taken things that far.

  “That was different! And the paperwork is done—I’m almost divorced.”

  “But you’re not.”

  That was it. I looked up at him and though there was barely enough moonlight, I could see the hard set of his jaw. I wondered if he could see the hurt in my eyes.

  “Well, thanks for your accuracy. You’re very literally correct. I guess since I’m still not quite divorced, we shouldn’t be here at all.”

  “Quincy—”

  “I’m a married woman. I shouldn’t be here with a man who isn’t my husband. Being a bridesmaid to his friends and appearing in their pictures. It’s scandalous. I should go.”

  I started back toward the lodge once again.

  “Quincy, it can’t be okay for you to omit things, but not me.”

  I stopped and put my hands on my hips. My breathing was heavy and harsh. It wasn’t from the climb.

  I turned back around. Alex stood at the bottom of the incline.

  “I didn’t realize I was still married. You know that. And you and I weren’t even close to being engaged when that happened.”

  He held out his arms and let out a frustrated groan. “I know. I’m sorry.” He ran his hands through his hair and sighed. “Can we go inside and talk?”

  I stepped toward him and then walked past. “We do need to talk, but I can’t right now.” I could hardly breathe, it felt like I was wearing a corset and the laces were being pulled tighter and tighter. I grabbed K.C.’s dress. “I’m going inside.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  I trudged to the back entrance of the lodge. A motion detector light came on, illuminating the doorway and startling me at the same time. I’m sure it had worked, as Alex and I passed it on our way outside, but I was probably focused on him at t
he time and didn’t notice. I pushed on the handle to the door only to find it locked. “This again,” I grumbled.

  I leaned against the back of the building and gazed out in the direction of the lake, only able to clearly distinguish anything inside the yellow perimeter cast by the security light. I still seethed over what had just happened with Alex and tears leaked out of the corners of my eyes.

  Standing there alone, I felt vulnerable and exposed. It was dark and late in an unfamiliar place. Who knew what or who roamed around out there at night? A fast moving shadow swooped in near my head, startling my heart into my throat. I plastered myself against the building like a chameleon, trying to blend into the background. I was embarrassed and relieved when I realized it had been a bat, dining on the insects that swarmed under the light above my head. I’d let myself entertain the vision of gargoyles falling from the sky.

  Feeling silly and overly dramatic, I closed my eyes and tried to think rationally instead of letting my anger and fear dictate my actions. Alex and I did need to talk. And I was behaving like a child. I went back the way I had come. All I wanted to do was grab him and hold him and apologize.

  It took a while for my eyes to adjust to the darkness again. Once I could see, I jogged back to the bottom of the hill of grass.

  “Alex,” I called.

  The only response I got was from a mosquito buzzing next to my ear. I walked farther down near the bonfire. Maybe Alex had taken a time-out to sit at the lake’s edge and listen to the water. That’s what I would have done. But that was the problem—I was only thinking about what I wanted and how I felt—I hadn’t thought very much about his feelings.

  He said it wasn’t a big thing between him and Eva. But, had it been hard for him to come here, surrounded by his old life? What if I’d returned to a wedding in my ex-husband’s town? How awful would that be?

  I had really screwed this up.

  I hoped he and I had just returned to the lodge using different routes. Maybe he was back at the room already. A bird called in the distance, a strange sound I hadn’t heard before. Also strange that it called at night. It sounded large and mean. Just more motivation to go inside. I went back to the lodge.