by Marlie May
Her head tilted, and her short blonde hair slipped across her shoulder as she frowned. “Is that what she told you?”
“It’s what happened, right? She said she was spending the night at a friend’s, but came home to get something and found the house burning.”
“She was inside our home that night.”
My voice rose, and I know I sounded defensive. Confused. Concerned. “She said she ran around to the back door and went inside, found you lying on the kitchen floor. She dragged you out.”
“I escaped all on my own.”
My world cracked around me. “She said she ran back inside again but couldn’t reach her father or brothers.”
“We think Alex escaped out the front door. They found her on the lawn, soaked through from the fireman’s spray, her body burned almost beyond recognition.”
Tears streamed down my face. I didn’t understand. “She said she heard their screams, but she couldn’t reach them.”
I heard screams. All the time.
“I’ve taken comfort in the fact that they died of smoke inhalation almost immediately. That’s what the fire inspector said.”
My mind flashed back to the yacht. To that night.
“You know you want to open it,” I said.
Brianna’s grin matched mine. “I shouldn’t. I promised myself I’d wait. My birthday isn’t until Wednesday.”
I nudged her hand that held the box. “Do it.”
“Should I?”
If it was me, I would. I’d never be able to wait.
I lifted the bottle of champagne I’d stolen from the galley. To hide the evidence, I’d pour it into plastic glasses, then stuff the bottle deep in the trash. “Tell you what. Come up on deck, and we’ll open it together.”
“All right.” Excitement filled Brianna’s face. “We will.”
Now, I remembered.
I left her in the main cabin and climbed the stairs to the open deck. Humming along with the music playing from the speakers, I crossed to the rail where I dropped down onto a lounge chair. Around the ship, the sea glistened dark and smooth with barely a hint of a wave.
I jolted back to the present.
Had I given Brianna the gift?
And why had Alex lied about rescuing her mother?
“Funny that Alex would make up a story about dragging me from the kitchen,” Alex’s mom said. “She’s not…well, she hasn’t been the same since the fire.”
“Something this bad can change a person.”
“I’m sure that’s it. And I imagine everything’s easier to bear if she thinks she did what she could to save us. I wish I’d run back into the house, made more effort to find my boys and get them out. Trevor.” Her voice caught in her throat. “But I didn’t. I lay in the cool grass thanking the Lord I was alive while everyone else burned inside.” Tears trickled down her face, but she swiped them away and stood. “I guess I should be getting home, now, though. Alex will be wondering where I’ve gone if she wakes.” She dropped her hand onto my shoulder. “Thank you again. I’m glad she’s making a new friend.”
“She said her old ones ditched her.”
“Hmm. That’s not really what happened. Her best friends gathered around but she pushed every single one of them away.”
I’d assumed they’d cut her from their lives. Other than Sean, my friends had. “Why?”
“They stared.”
I could understand avoiding stares. If everyone else kept reminding you of what you’d lost, you couldn’t forget.
“Janine?”
My aunt’s tentative voice woke me from the dark moment I’d sunk into.
Alex’s mom had left and I’d remained alone on the front steps of the church.
“You ready?” Aunt Kristy asked, glancing toward the parking lot. A soft smile on her face, she reached out her hand to help me stand.
And even though my heart shouted a warning, I took it.
27
That night, a sound startled me awake.
My breathing coming out sharp pants, I bolted upright and my covers dropped to my waist. A quick glance around my room told me nothing.
What was happening?
In the drive, a vehicle engine rumbled to life. Tires crunched.
I slid out of bed and ran to my window that overlooked the front lawn.
Aunt Kristy’s SUV lights sliced through the dark as she took the vehicle down the drive. My clock said two-a.m. Where was she going?
Mom’s car still sat in the drive. Aunt Kristy had insisted I couldn’t use it yet. Drive alone by myself? Absolutely not.
I might spontaneously hit a tree.
But the key must lay in the front hall bowl with all the others.
Moments later, I raced down the driveway in Mom’s car. Dressed only in my PJs and slippers, I planned to be home before anyone knew I’d left.
It was doubtful my aunt knew she was being followed, but I hung a few cars back. I turned the music on low, then shut it off when it made me feel more agitated.
Where was my aunt going?
She wove through town, and when she turned onto a familiar street, my gut sank. My belly plunged the rest of the way to the center of the Earth when she pulled into the parking lot at Dad and Mr. Somerfield’s office.
Why come here this late at night? It wasn’t exactly business hours. Meaning, this couldn’t involve my estate.
She had to be up to no good.
Easing down the street, I parked on the side of the road opposite the lot and cut off the lights. I tapped the wheel and waited while my aunt got out of her car. She stood in the lot, looking around as if she waited for something.
Or someone. Mr. Somerfield soon joined her.
No! I’d thought…I’d hoped…I’d wanted to believe my aunt couldn’t be involved.
Why had I brushed aside the suspicion she’d planned it all along?
Pulling off a yacht explosion then trying to eliminate the daughter who’d surprisingly lived was not a task worthy of one person.
Two could do it easily.
They were in on this together. They’d always been in on it together. Mr. Somerfield wanted Dad dead so he could control the business. My aunt wanted to inherit my money.
Turning, they walked toward the building.
Heart in my throat, I leaped from my car and raced across the road. My slippers smacked om the pavement as I rushed through the lot.
Mr. Somerfield swiped his badge to disengage the backdoor lock, and they went inside.
The door clicked shut just as I reached it.
Crap. I wanted to pound on the glass. Shriek my lungs dry. Take a rock and break through to get inside.
My heart slammed in my throat, and my hair hung in damp tendrils around my face.
Most of all, I wanted to cry.
I had no idea what I would’ve done if I’d slipped through the door before it shut. The lobby wasn’t huge. They would’ve seen me.
I could’ve yelled at them. Hit them. Told them I knew what they’d done. Because them being here together after business hours meant only two things. They were either screwing around with each other or they had worked together to kill my parents and me.
Of course, if I’d gotten inside, they might have taken the opportunity to end my life.
That made my body quake.
While lights lit up the office five floors above, indicating they must be sitting up there scheming about ways to eliminate me as a threat, I slumped against the door.
I considered hiding in the bushes until they came back downstairs on the off-chance I’d overhear them speak about their plan. But if I did that, I’d have a hard time beating Aunt Kristy home. She’d notice if Mom’s car was missing. Then it would be clear I’d figured it out. They’d make sure I didn’t get the chance to tell the police.
Fuming, my hands shaking, I returned to my car and drove home. Once inside, I barricaded myself in my room with my desk and chair shoved against the door.
Sitting on my
bed, I called Manuel and explained what happened.
“I’m coming over,” he said.
“I think I’m okay. She seems to prefer subtle.” Not that I’d sleep as long as she was in the house. For once, insomnia was welcome.
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
“What will your dad and stepmom think of you staying at a girl’s house for the night?” I had no problem admitting to myself that I’d feel safer if he was here with me.
“I’ll sneak out. They’ll find my note at breakfast saying I had to go in early to school to open the library for Ms. Peterson.”
Another reason I was grateful I’d shared the front door code with Manuel.
In no time, he knocked on my bedroom door and I let him inside.
“I parked on the road and snuck up the drive.” He climbed underneath the blankets, dressed in a tee and sweats. I never would’ve thought the first time a boy spent the night with me it would be solely about protecting me. He wrapped his arms around me as I snuggled into him, my head resting on his chest.
“Do you think we have enough evidence to tell the police?” I asked.
“I’ve been talking to my father all along and I’ll fill him in on this, too.”
Oh-oh.
He continued, “He agreed your brakes were cut and he’s suspicious about the suicide set-up.”
“What does he plan to do?”
“He’s going to reopen the case. I, uh, did mention the formulas you found in Mr. Somerfield’s office and the fact that they show how to build a bomb.”
“Will he arrest me for breaking and entering?”
“I’ll deny it happened if he does. There’s no evidence outside the photos and they could be of anything as far as a court’s concerned. Like homework.” His arms tightened around my waist as if he imagined himself fighting off the police in my honor. “While my father was pissed you went snooping, he said it does look incriminating. Not enough for a search warrant but enough to put Mr. Somerfield on the list of suspects. I’ll fill him in on what you saw tonight when I get home from school tomorrow.”
“It may be nothing.”
“Lots of nothing often adds up to something.”
“A confession would clinch it.”
“Not much chance of that happening.”
The worst part was anticipating what they’d do next in their effort to eliminate me.
Even though I feared for my life, there was no way I could lay in a bed with Manuel without stealing a few kisses. Or him stealing them from me. I wasn’t sure I was ready to do more yet and he didn’t press me. But I liked how we fit together.
The moon slid toward the horizon and I fell asleep, my lips warm from his. Manuel being with me kept my nightmares at bay.
I woke to a knock on my door. “Janine?”
Crap. My aunt.
Manuel’s wide eyes met mine. He kissed me, quick. Again.
“Janine?” Louder, more urgent. In seconds she’d bust through the door.
My pulse fluttered, and I pushed Manuel toward the edge of the bed.
“Just a minute,” I said. At least she respected my boundaries enough not to barge in.
Manuel slid out of bed and ran for my bathroom. After he’d shut the door, I got up and peered into the hall. “Yes?” I could barely act civil because this woman wanted to kill me. There was no resolving that detail with counseling.
“I’m going into school, now,” she said. “Don’t forget, I have detention duty today. I’ll be late. But your friends will be here with you.”
To check up on me, she meant.
“Be safe today.” She hesitated in the hall, and I feared she’d change her mind and say she’d decided to remain at home today, too. But her vacation time had to be running out by now.
Frankly, I’d be infinitely safer without her around. “I’ll be fine.”
After staring at me for longer than I found comfortable, she turned and went down the stairs.
I shut the door and leaned against it, listening to her footsteps retreat. Keys jangled and the front door slammed. The roar of her SUV engine was soon followed by her tires in the drive.
Gone. Good.
Manuel crept out of the bathroom. “Coast clear?”
Biting my lip, I nodded. I got dressed in the bathroom, and we went downstairs.
Leaving his house early to open the library was a perfectly acceptable excuse but Manuel couldn’t get away with skipping school.
He paused at the front door. “I’ll be back as soon as school’s over.”
“Okay.”
My headache finally starting to fade, I spent the day watching TV and doing my homework. And fretting about how my aunt and Mr. Somerfield would try to kill me next.
Drowning in a bathtub? A robbery that turns sour?
Speculation wasn’t doing my nerves any good.
I was relieved when Sean arrived mid-afternoon. While he went into the kitchen for water, I used the hall facilities. As I was returning to the front parlor, the mail carrier pushed the mail through the slot in the door and it plunked onto the mat. I retrieved it and laid it on the hall table.
Something from the insurance company. Maybe the payoff for Dad’s totaled car.
Sean entered the foyer, two glasses of water in his hands. He offered me one, and I took a sip.
“You feeling okay?” He studied my face.
I bowled him over with a hug, nearly spilling his water. I’d been a wreck all day, worried something horrible would happen. Having him here made me feel safe.
What was I going to do to if Chief Sancini didn’t have enough evidence to pursue this? As my legal guardian, Aunt Kristy could have me committed. She could lock me in my room and throw away the key. She could poison me in my own home then say someone else did it.
I was at her mercy, and the thought chilled me.
I stepped away from Sean.
He ruffled my hair. “Hey, it’s okay.” His glance took in the hall table. “Mail come?”
“Yup.”
“Anything good?”
“If you’re into sales fliers.” It wasn’t even close to Halloween yet but the Christmas catalogs had already started arriving. “There’s insurance paperwork, though. Probably about Dad’s car.”
He lifted the envelope and waved it in my face, pulling it back when I tried to snatch it from his grip. “It’s made out to you.”
“All of it’s made out to me.” Aunt Kristy had a P.O. box. “I guess I should open it.”
Open it. My words to Brianna, hauntingly similar. A whisper of memory shot through me.
Me, standing on the deck, peeking down through a skylight, spying on Brianna who stood in the main cabin, the box in her hands.
“Janie?” Sean said, bringing me back to the present.
“Hmm?”
“You okay?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Keeping the envelope, I went into the parlor and sat on the sofa. Sean followed and dragged up his usual chair. He came by so often, I couldn’t figure out why my aunt didn’t just leave it where it was. She always insisted on returning it to its original place by the door.
I slit open the envelope and pulled out what I assumed would be a check.
Nope. I frowned as I read.
My heart stalled as I took in the words and my gasp rang out between us. This couldn’t be happening.
“What’s up?” Sean leaned forward. He set his water glass down on the coffee table and held out his hand. “Bad news? Let me see.”
With trembling fingers, I passed the document over to him.
His eyes widened as he stared down. “Wow. What is this?”
“A life insurance policy.” My voice came out dead because horror was filling me to overflow.
“It’s for a million bucks.” He whistled and looked up at me. “Who needs that kind of cash?”
Who indeed?
“It’s a policy payable if you die.”
“Yup.”
H
e coughed and smacked his chest as if the words were stuck in his throat. “The beneficiary is Kristina Davis.”
My aunt.
Who’d taken out a life insurance policy on me.
Obviously, my inheritance was not enough money.
28
I gulped back my fear.
Whipping my phone from my pocket, I texted Manuel.
I’m calling my father right now, he replied. Make Sean stay with you.
While I waited, I filled Sean in on the suspicions surrounding my aunt. I added details from what I’d found in Mr. Somerfield’s office and my belief that they were in on this together.
“Wow.” Sean’s eyes widened. They teared, which made mine water, too. “Brianna was collateral damage? That’s…” He shook his head, horror filling his face. “Your aunt and your dad’s business partner tried to kill all of you so your aunt could inherit your money and your dad’s partner could gain a controlling interest in their company. They succeeded with your parents and Brianna. I can’t freakin’ believe it.”
“Sound far-fetched?”
“Sounds highly possible.” After pacing the room, he paused and frowned. “Those formulas you found in Mr. Somerfield’s office. I thought they were homework.”
I was a crappy friend for lying to him for so long. I should’ve included him in the investigation from the start. He’d be as determined as me to see someone pay for Brianna’s murder.
I blinked down at the insurance policy. “I led you to believe they were homework.”
He brushed off my sort-of apology with a wave of his hand. “Sure, you said it was, but you didn’t have to. The handwriting on those papers? It’s your aunt’s.”
“She wrote out the formulas?” Of course. A chemistry teacher, she’d know how to create explosives. She must’ve shared the ideas with Mr. Somerfield, who I’d caught leaving the yacht before we left the harbor that night. He must’ve planted a bomb.
“Where’s the suicide note?” The last, Sean put in air quotes. He hunched forward, devastated by what I’ve revealed. “Can I see it?”