by Kodi Heart
“You told me to go to Robyn’s. I called 911 and I planned on waiting. I went with you to her house and I’ve stayed out of the way because...” I knew the strings he was pulling to cover for Robyn and me.
Grant broke through my bewilderment. “Paul left me a voicemail. It sounds like they got a lead that you’re up in Sandpoint. Paul’s up there trying to find you. I’m not sure how long we have before he starts stalking me to get the information they need.”
I turned to look at his strong profile. Dropping my arm, I let my hand fall to my lap, helpless. I was helpless. “What are we... I mean, what should I do?” I could recognize that it was coming down to being me – just me. I didn’t need to take Robyn or Grant down with me.
“I just need to stop by my place, and then I'll take you to Robyn’s. Are you okay with that? I wish I could take you to your house, Liv, but I think the best thing is for you to be with Robyn or me until this is over.” He recognized that something was going on and I wasn’t responsible. If nothing else, the attack the night before had proved I wasn’t capable of attacking him and being with Robyn at the same time.
Nodding bleakly, I folded my arms and hunkered into the seat. I suddenly felt very vulnerable alone with him. Of course, I was okay with going to Robyn’s. There was nothing I could do about any of it anyway.
Once we got to his house, I sat on a boulder he’d had placed on the corner of his landscaped yard. I loved the natural feel to the yard. Scottish moss wended its way up the dried tree trunk standing beside the boulder. The yard had no flowers in place, at least any that were solely bloomers. He didn’t have irises or roses, but ferns and grasses bloomed in the shaded crevices he’d created around the yard with multiple boulders and fallen trees and driftwood. Grant had a terrific eye for keeping a natural feel while bringing in a manicured technique.
The rainstorms hadn’t reached Spirit Lake yet, but the clouds followed close behind us. They rolled across the sky with an angry curve to the majority of the dark gray masses.
I enjoyed the last breeze of autumn. Pretty soon the air and the temperatures would turn frigid, and being outside would be more of a headache than anything.
Picking at the river rocks filling the bed at my feet, I ignored the spot where I’d fallen the night before. I didn’t need to dwell on something that wasn’t going to help me get out of my predicament. I just needed to get to Robyn’s and finish the book that was waiting for me.
Afternoon light glinted off little shiny flecks in the metallic spots on the rocks around me. Then something caught my eye – a red half-moon smaller than a dime. The red didn’t fit in the gray hues and tones of the river rock, standing out like a spot of fresh blood.
I knelt down, picking it up and placing the tiny shape in my palm. It was a fingernail. Bright red, and had been broken on the edge of the steps. I stood, going over everything in my head. How would a red fingernail get there? Pacing back and forth, I studied the place where I’d found it and returned my attention to the small piece. Little chips and cracks in the paint were barely discernible along the non-torn edge.
Did Grant have a girlfriend? Was he seeing someone and not telling me? I suddenly felt like maybe I was the one who was being led along. He could tell me. Dating other people wasn’t impossible. I didn’t want him to think he had to hide anything from me. I had dated David because dating Grant wasn’t possible. Not right then.
“Here’s a jacket. It’s starting to get colder. Robyn doesn’t keep a lot of coats handing until November.” Grant approached from the front door, dropping a jacket around my shoulders. He leaned over, inspecting the fingernail in my palm. “What's that? Looks a fingernail. Did you break a nail?”
“It’s a nail. I don’t wear red. I find it...” Wait, I had seen one exactly like that, but it was intact. I usually teased Kami and Robyn about their bright colors and hooker nails and shoes. I never wore the same kind of clothes. I was all about practicality and heels didn’t help me maneuver steps. I swallowed, meeting his eyes with fear pooling in my stomach. “Grant, I think it's Kami.”
The attacker the night before hadn’t been huge. They’d crashed into me and we’d both fallen to the ground. I kept my nails short, bitten to the quick, because I was always so nervous about my deadlines and making sure my writing was precise.
But this was the nail of someone who took great pride in their fingers – normally. Someone who had taken great pains at one point to paint the long nail in an expensive paint. Robyn had mentioned Kami’s nails had gone downhill. If the one in my palm was a nail of Kami’s, I would have to agree with Robyn. Her nail had snapped off, too brittle to withstand the fall.
That was so unlike Kami. What kind of stress was she under?
“Why do you think it’s me?” From the shadows on the other side of the garage, hidden in the same protection Grant used for his truck, my friend stepped out into the sunlight. Kami pulled a black hood off her hair, allowing her blonde curls to tumble around her shoulders. She lifted her chin, flashing the shiny metal gun in her unmanicured hand. Her arm shook. “Why do you say that? I want to know.”
Grant and I squared up to Kami, but Grant out himself ahead of me by a solid foot with his hands out at waist level. We both watched her.
My heart sank. She was my friend. What was she doing? She had to be unstable. “What’s going on, Kami? This...” But the fire in her eyes quieted my questions. She hated me. I could sense it more fully than the temperature of the air or the pine scent swirling around us.
“You... You don’t get to talk. Not right now. Do you hear me?” She ended on a screech, her hand thrusting the gun toward me with each word, tremoring with an off rhythm that wasn’t natural.
Grant spoke slowly, keeping his tone neutral. “Was that you last night?” His shoulders were relaxed, like he wasn’t worried about a woman attacking him, but I knew better. Grant didn’t trust the smaller people. He’d told me once that dangerous people came in packages we didn’t suspect.
I’d never suspected Kami. She was a co-victim – someone who had understood what I’d gone through with David. We worked together on our books, our characters, she’d stayed with Robyn and me during writing sprint weeks and she’d worked her way into my small group of people I adored.
“Yep. You’re distracting Livvie. I have too much to do since...” She lifted her chin, eyes sparkling with unshed tears. “I’m sorry, I don’t have time for this. I have a deadline, too, you know?”
“Why did you come back?” I asked even though she’d told me not to talk. I didn't understand what was going on. She was my friend. I’d helped her. She was like that friend who was a mentee as well as confidante. I had let her into my circle with Robyn. We didn’t let just anyone in. “Is this because I haven’t gotten to your book? I’m getting there.”
She shrugged one shoulder, her tremors smoothing out as she settled into her stance. “Please, you’re never going to make my book a priority unless I do it for you. I came back to finish the job. I always complete what I start. I can't let him distract you. David,” Kami closed her eyes, squeezing them tight before opening them again. “I knew he was hitting you. I knew he was emotionally wrecking you. But I didn't care. You were distracting him and that helped me. He was leaving me alone and I was getting my books done.”
I worked my mouth to talk but I couldn’t.
She continued, her anger mounting. “And then, you guys broke up. It was the worst thing and the greatest thing. I missed him and I needed his support. Then he stole my manuscript. Do you realize that he went got your email when you were sleeping and he got your agent information and your old publisher’s information? Do you understand that? He used you. He turned in my whole series which he took while I was sleeping, and he pitched it to your agent. He took everything. My whole series, everything I've been working for. Gone.”
Kami stared at Grant, then at me, and then back at Grant. A smug smirk dried her tears. “You know what, though? I proved to be a better friend.
I tested Tesha’s scene and got rid of the thief in our midst. You... You did nothing but focus on your burgeoning career. Then, this fool is getting in the way of your writing and looking at my stuff. I have so much riding on this next series. Of course, I had to kill David. He took everything. He lied to me about loving me when he was still trying to get back together with you and he stole my series. No way was he going to get away with my work, and benefit from it, and be with you. That wasn’t going to happen. I’m done with being used.”
I cocked my head to the side. She was still my friend, she'd been betrayed, and I felt bad for her – even though she’d tried to kill Grant and framed me for it. “Why did you use Tesha’s scene?” I don't know why that bothered me so much. Tesha didn't deserve to be set up. Kami had implicated a lot of people and ruined a lot of lives.
Kami scoffed. “She's not smart enough to do anything with it. I told her red would be better. She argued with me. Guess what? I proved her wrong. Red was perfect for that scene. It really popped especially with the gray of the rain storm and the muted colors of his clothing. Just because I’m not published yet, doesn’t mean I don’t know what I’m talking about.”
Grant had shuffled to the side, closer to the garage door and the corner of the house. I wanted to reach out to him, but I didn’t want to draw attention to him putting distance between us. Somehow it would distract her. Somehow it would divide her attention.
Kami slowly flicked her gaze between Grant and me. She laughed, the sound dry and mocking. “Do I look stupid to you? I know how this works. I’ve read all the best thrillers.” She moved the gun muzzle opposite her eyes, one trained on me and the other on Grant. As her gaze moved to focus on me, the gun shifted to Grant – back and forth, back and forth – in a horrible tango I didn’t know the steps to.
My lungs constricted. Would I ever breathe normal again? I held out a hand, my sudden movement drawing both the gun and her gaze. I spoke softly, making her work to hear me. “Kami, please. Don’t do this. I can see why you did that to David.”
“No, you can’t. I love him. He shouldn’t have died. You were supposed to. I had it planned for you. If he wasn’t trying to get together with you, he wouldn’t have stolen my manuscript. He was with me while he was trying to get back with you. But then...” She lowered the gun a couple millimeters, and then brought it back up. “I didn’t know until the night he hit you at the library what he was doing. So... I changed my mind. I opted to kill him and make it look like you did it.” She winked. “Now that’s bestseller plotting, don’t you think?”
I was speechless. My friend had wanted to kill me and then changed her mind to frame me for it. “I can’t believe I didn’t know how much you hated me.” My shoulders slumped forward and I spoke softly. I was terrified she would try to kill me right then, but I needed closure of some kind. I didn’t have very many real friends and one of them confessed to the desire to kill me.
She stepped forward a half step, her taunting smirk shifting to an anxious reassuring frown. “No, Livvie. I don’t hate you. I just don’t think it’s fair that you get everything. It’s nothing personal. We can still be friends.”
Grant stepped to the side again, his boot sliding across the round river rock between the driveway and walkway.
Kami shifted her gaze to Grant, screaming, “I said don’t move!” She jerked the gun his direction and pulled the trigger.
The shot reverberated off the home and garage, shattering the afternoon calm and pushing the tension of our conversation into a hard pop.
I screamed, reaching for Grant with outstretched hands and straight arms, but my feet felt cemented to the ground. Death was supposed to be restricted to the morbidity of night, where bullets whizzed in the darkness. This was ridiculous!
Grant grabbed his arm and stumbled to the side, rocks rolling and scratching beneath him. He fell against the garage door, a red streak behind him as he slid to the ground.
Kami killed David in the woods. What would hold her back from killing again?
Chapter 18
I yelled out, running to Grant. Kneeling beside him, I placed my hand on his uninjured shoulder and leaned across him in a lame attempt to protect him. “What is wrong with you, Kami? You didn’t have to shoot him. He doesn't want to get in the way. I promise. I can't help you, if you're in prison or dead. I can't help you, if I'm dead.” Tears coursed down my cheeks, each one plopping on my hand and spotting the dark color of Grant’s shirt. “Were you trying to intimidate me with that bone pen?”
With the gun still held out, Kami jerked back, her finely plucked eyebrows arching in rejection. “I don't do bone, honey. I'm not tacky.” She moved a little bit further down the driveway, maybe to get the sun out of her eyes to see us better. “And by the way, your character analysis on my series was horrible. It was like you never even read it. Did you? Were you lying when you sent me the critique? It was that awful.”
Shadows from the clouds above us moved across her face. She lifted her gun and narrowed her eyes. That had to be it. I was going to die. Grant was going to die. All because this prima donna writer didn’t like my analysis of her work. Thankfully, I didn’t waste my time on her newest work. I turned my face away and closed my eyes.
A solid bong rang through the air. I half-whirled back, opening my eyes to watch Robyn yank her shovel from across the back of Kami’s head. Kami’s eyes rolled back and she fell to the ground, her gun bouncing away from her.
“Don't ask for help then.” Robyn’s mutter barely reached me as I threw my body over Grant’s chest, in case the gun misfired. My best-friend looked at me and tossed the shovel to the side. She rushed to us, coming to stoop beside Grant and reach out to me. “I already called the cops. They’re on their way. I asked for Paul.”
Inspecting my face, Robyn reached out and pushed a chunk of my hair back. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? I can't believe it was Kami. I thought it was David’s brother. How did you figure it out?”
Sirens sounded in the distance. The Timberlake Fire District was fast in responding. They didn't have much more to do in that area. I was grateful they were so conscientious about their jobs. I ignored the tears still running down my cheeks, unchecked. “He’s hit. I’m not sure how bad.” My voice was hoarse and I chewed on the soft inside of my bottom lip.
The bright red of the fire truck showed through the brown trunks and green needles of the pines shielding Grant’s place from the road. Robyn ran to the end of the driveway to flag them down. She didn’t bother running around Kami, she just leapt over her body as she sprinted toward the end of the driveway.
I squeezed my fingers gently into Grant’s shoulder and leaned over him to check for a pulse. I know he was alive, but I needed to feel it for myself. I had to touch him, feel his warmth.
His eyes fluttered open and he tried to straighten out. “It’s just a flesh wound. I’m fine.” But the pallor in his face proved he lied. Our gazes met.
I pushed my sleeve at my cheeks, minimizing my crying as much as possible. The ache in my chest made me whisper, “I thought I lost you.”
“I need a lot more to happen to me before you could get rid of me. Next time you choose to argue with one of your girlfriends, can you do without a gun pointed at me? It’s hard enough listening to you talk about a man you were both with.” His eyes held mine for an indeterminable amount of time. He winced as the rocks shifted beneath him and we finally broke eye contact.
The reprieve was welcome because I was getting lightheaded from lack of oxygen. He made it difficult for me to breathe.
“Do you think it’s okay, now? Do I need to hide from Paul when he gets here?” I glanced behind me as Robyn walked beside a man with shoulders bulging out of his t-shirt under suspenders.
“You’re going to be fine. I need to do this.” Grant reached up with his good hand and pulled me to him. Our lips crashed together and I forgot about Robyn coming our way and Kami lying on the cement feet from us.
When we pulled apart, t
he relief that released my shoulders was almost unbearable. Glancing up, I caught Robyn’s questioning glance and I knew I had a lot more to face than a murder charge. Thankfully, I was cleared of that one.
My worry held my hand in place on Grant’s shoulder until the paramedics arrived and wheeled him away on a stretcher.
Epilogue
The following Friday was anticlimactic and I couldn’t be happier.
“Congratulations on finishing your book! Robyn said it’s amazing.” Tesha leaned close and side-arm hugged me as she claimed her seat in the Post Falls Library conference room. She whispered, “And on the other stuff.”
I touched her hand on my shoulder and shared a secret smile with her.
I was back at my house, thanks to Grant speeding up the process with Davis. I'm not sure how he got him to do it, but I was grateful there wasn't any more tape at my house.
The police had collected all the evidence they needed, but didn’t get rid of the blood stain on the porch. Stormy seemed to be just fine. She wouldn’t come to me when I was sitting on the deck, but she had no problem dropping mouse heads by my back door. I hoped they were presents. Mom used to say that the heads were presents and the behinds were curses.
Mom wasn’t a cat whisperer, though, so I’m not sure how reliable her information was.
Craig walked in, more than a couple days’ worth of stubble on his face and his hair hadn’t been tamed. He slid into the back corner seat and I stood, approaching him to make sure he was okay. “Craig, how are you and your wife? I feel bad we outted you. We needed your alibi.”
He sighed, his shoulders slumping in his lined button-up shirt that hadn’t been pressed or washed in a few days. “It's okay. It was bound to happen. We're trying to work things out. We'll see how it goes.” But he looked beaten, as if he was a chained man. “I think I might have to move out.”