by Sarah Fox
She jutted her chin at the keys dangling from the ignition. “Drive.”
My predicament was only getting worse. I desperately tried to think of a way to disarm Justine, but I didn’t see how I could without getting shot.
“Justine…” I started, hoping to stall her.
“Drive!”
Her voice was filled with fury, but I also detected a note of panic. That scared me more than her anger. I didn’t want her acting more rashly than she already was.
I started the engine and put the car into motion. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll find out when we get there. Just keep driving.”
I did as instructed, wishing a car would pass by. Not that it would do much good. I didn’t know how I could get anyone’s attention without putting myself in even more danger.
Although I didn’t know our final destination, I could guess what would happen when we arrived there. I was the only one who knew Justine was involved in the murders. I didn’t doubt for a second that she was planning to get rid of me. There were miles of forest outside of town. It could take a long time for anyone to figure out what had happened to me, if they ever did.
Memories of my conversation with Joan fluttered to the forefront of my mind. Tassy was buried out there in the woods somewhere, her remains never discovered. The thought of Tassy steeled my resolve. There was no way I was going to end up like that. There was no way I wasn’t going home to Brett that night.
“Chester must have really loved you to kill his best friend for you,” I said.
“How do you know I didn’t kill Wally?”
I kept my eyes on the road, not wanting to see the gun. “You’re not tall enough.”
Although I wasn’t looking at her, I sensed Justine stiffen as a car drove past us in the opposite direction. She relaxed again once the other vehicle was out of sight.
“He didn’t want to do it at first, but I can be very convincing.” She sounded smug. “That night they were alone in the kitchen and an opportunity presented itself, so Chester took advantage.”
“And shoved Wally’s face into the liquid nitrogen.”
“I have to give him credit. I didn’t think he was capable of such creativity. I figured he’d use a knife or something. But Wally wanted Chester to help him figure out how to use the liquid nitrogen to make ice cream so he could show off at the grand opening. The Waffle King pretty much set up his own death.”
She was so matter-of-fact about it that a chill crept up my back and down my arms.
“Keep going straight,” she directed.
Instead of taking the turnoff toward the highway, I continued following the road along the curve of the coastline.
“But you killed Chester before he had a chance to get any money from Vicky. What went wrong?”
“He got some money, just not nearly enough. He watched Vicky open the safe one day and memorized the combination. Wally had nearly thirty thousand bucks sitting in there. Chester stole it and wanted the two of us to take off without waiting for more money.” She let out a derisive huff. “I’ve already had to start over once after my divorce. I’m not doing that again. The whole point of this was to have lots of money, to have a better life for me and my daughter. Thirty grand wasn’t going to cut it.”
Her daughter.
The thought of that poor kid sent a wave of sadness crashing over me. I did my best to shake it off. I needed to stay focused.
“So you shot Chester,” I said, hoping she’d keep talking.
“I didn’t want to shoot him. I didn’t want to kill him at all, but when I got ticked off about the money he realized I cared more about it than I did about him. After he tried to run me down with his car, I knew I had to get rid of him. My plan was to smother him while he was drunk, but he fought back so I had to use the gun.”
I struggled not to shudder at her callousness. “But why frame Lisa?”
“That was nothing personal. I knew she was already under suspicion and I saw her lose her bracelet at the coffee shop one afternoon. The opportunity was too perfect. I planted it at Chester’s apartment. Then I told the sheriff I’d heard about the bracelet found at the scene and hinted that it sounded like one Lisa wore.”
Anger mixed in with my sadness and fear. She had no remorse for all the terrible things she’d done.
I gave up on keeping her talking. The road dead-ended in less than a mile. If I was going to do something to help myself, I had to hurry up and act. I saw the Jepson property up ahead where Brett and his fellow workers were busy with renovations. I wished I had some way of reaching him, but I was on my own.
I tightened my already-fierce grip on the steering wheel. Short of crashing the car—which could get us both killed—I couldn’t think of a plan that wouldn’t get me shot.
A flicker of movement caught my eye. Up ahead, a deer darted across the road. I glanced Justine’s way. The deer had captured her attention too. The gun drifted to one side. I pounced on the opportunity and grabbed Justine’s wrist, smashing her hand against the dashboard.
She let out a cry of rage as the gun dropped to the floor by her feet. She shoved me hard and my shoulder slammed against the door. The car swerved. I barely kept it from crashing into the ditch.
Justine ducked down to retrieve the gun.
With a squeal of tires, I turned the car into the nearest driveway without slowing, hoping to get us closer to help.
Justine had the gun again. As she pointed it toward me, I latched on to her wrist, throwing off her aim. She tried to yank her arm out of my grip and I lurched over to her side of the vehicle. I had one hand on the steering wheel, but the car swerved wildly, leaving the long driveway for the grass.
I was about to hit the brakes when a loud bang exploded around us. The front passenger window shattered. My ears ringing, I yanked Justine back my way and the gun slid from her hand and fell into the footwell on my side of the car. She threw herself over my legs to get it from the floor. Her body weight pinned my foot down on the gas pedal.
“Justine!” I yelled at her, the car gaining speed fast.
We zoomed past a white Victorian and I swerved just in time to miss a gazebo.
I wasn’t as lucky with a garbage can. The car struck it with a clang and it flew across the yard.
Justine was still scrambling around for the gun near my feet. I tried to jerk my foot off the pedal, but it remained trapped. I yelled at Justine again, this time more frantically.
She bolted upright, the gun in her hand.
The car gave a massive jolt as it left the yard for the beach. We bounced up into the air, the car flying forward.
I saw the ocean ahead of us, rushing toward the windshield.
Then the car smacked into the water.
Chapter 29
The impact rattled my bones. My body slammed against the steering wheel before I was thrown back against my seat. I stared straight ahead, shocked by all that had happened in the last several seconds.
Icy water tickled at my ankles, jerking me back to the reality of our situation. We were in the ocean and the car was sinking.
Bitterly cold water trickled in around the edges of the doors. Neither of us was wearing a seatbelt and Justine was slumped forward against the dashboard, blood running down her face from a gash on her forehead. No airbags had deployed. Maybe the old car didn’t have any.
I couldn’t see the gun. A gushing sound drew my attention to the right. The car was now low enough in the water that the ocean was pouring in through the broken window.
Desperate to get my legs out of the numbingly cold water, I knelt on the seat. I tried to open the driver’s door but the pressure from the water kept it shut tight.
“Justine!”
She didn’t stir.
The freezing water was up over the seats now and it was cascading over Justine as
it poured in through the window. I grabbed her and heaved her my way. I could hardly move her. There was no way I’d get her out the window.
I needed to find help.
The water was nearly up to my chest now. Every inch of my body was either going numb or screaming with pain from the cold. I climbed over Justine’s legs and drew in as deep a breath as I could. I plunged head first into the onslaught of water, nearly gasping at the shock of the cold. My fingers grabbed the edge of the window frame and I fought my way out of the car. I was almost free when my right foot got caught on something. I kicked and flailed, panic tightening its vise around my already-burning chest.
My foot kicked free and I almost sobbed with relief.
Where was the surface?
Everything was dark. No, not completely dark.
I fought my way toward the light, desperate for air, knowing I couldn’t hold my breath much longer.
My lungs burned.
My body demanded that I breathe in.
Just as I opened my mouth, I broke through to the surface. I gasped in great gulps of air, then choked on a mouthful of salty water. Coughs racked my body as I desperately tried to get oxygen into my lungs. I was flailing in the water; my clothes heavy and pulling me down, down, down.
The water closed over my head again.
Someone grabbed me beneath my arms and hauled me back to the surface.
I’d drawn in three desperate, wheezing breaths of air before I realized someone was swimming with me, towing me on my back.
“You’re okay, Marley. I’ve got you.”
I wanted to cry at the sound of Brett’s voice, but I was too focused on trying to keep oxygen going into my lungs while coughs still shook my body.
We paused in the water and I got my first look at Brett as he found his footing in the shallows and scooped me into his arms.
“You’re going to be okay,” he said.
I shivered as he splashed toward shore.
“Justine,” I said, my teeth chattering together. “She’s still in the car.”
Two men ran toward us. Brett passed me into the arms of one of them.
“There’s still someone in the car,” I heard him yell as he splashed back out into the ocean. “Get Marley inside!”
The man not holding me charged into the water after Brett.
“Are you okay, Marley?”
I didn’t want to take my eyes off the spot in the ocean where Brett had disappeared beneath the surface, but I glanced up at the man who held me in his arms.
“Pedro?”
“Can you stand?” he asked.
I nodded and he set my feet down on the sand.
“Let’s get you inside.”
I checked over my shoulder for Brett and saw with relief that he was towing Justine to shore, his colleague waiting to help him get her out of the water.
A crowd was gathering on the beach. A woman hurried toward me and Pedro and I recognized her as Mrs. Jepson.
“You poor thing. Are you hurt?” she asked.
“No. Just cold,” I said, my teeth still chattering.
“We need to get you into dry clothes right away.” She put an arm around my shoulders and hurried me up to her house and in through the back door.
She steered me to a powder room and supplied me with fluffy towels, a plastic bag, and a purple tracksuit. Moving as quickly as I could, I peeled off my soaked clothes, dried off, and donned the tracksuit. I stuffed my soaked clothes into the plastic bag and rushed out to the back porch.
Justine was now lying on the ground near the porch steps, winter jackets piled over her. Brett was kneeling next to her. She opened her eyes and made a choking sound before coughing up water. Brett helped her onto her side, settling her in the recovery position. She moved a couple of her fingers, but not much else.
“She had a gun,” I warned Brett.
He glanced up sharply and then returned his attention to Justine, checking beneath the jackets covering her.
“She doesn’t have it now.”
Pedro switched places with Brett, taking over Justine’s care. Brett reached me in three swift strides but stopped short of touching me.
“I want to hug you but I don’t want to get you wet again.” He settled for kissing my forehead.
“You need dry clothes,” I said.
“Yes, I do. And you need to be inside where it’s warm.”
A siren cut through the air, drawing closer every second.
“Help’s almost here for Justine,” Brett said.
“She killed Chester and she was going to kill me too.”
A shadow passed across Brett’s face. He related that information to Pedro and then bundled me into his truck. We passed an ambulance as it turned into the Jepson’s driveway and in under a minute we were home.
Brett changed into dry clothes while I put the kettle on. When he reappeared in the kitchen, dressed in jeans and a sweater, I abandoned the cocoa powder I’d taken from the cupboard and practically barreled into him. He hugged me and I pressed in close to him, seeking out some warmth, but he was as cold as I was.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “You aren’t hurt?”
“I’m fine,” I assured him. “Thanks to you. I’m lucky you used to be a lifeguard.
He kissed me and then studied a sore spot on my forehead that was likely bruised. “You’re not dizzy or feeling sick?”
“No.”
“It’s a good thing you weren’t in the water very long. You should be okay as long as you keep warm.”
“You need to do the same,” I reminded him.
“I will.” He took over the job of making hot chocolate.
While he made the drinks, I dried my hair and changed into clothes of my own, dressing in layers with leggings under my sweatpants and two long-sleeved shirts under my coziest hoodie. I added thick socks and warm slippers before returning to the kitchen.
Brett pressed a mug of hot chocolate into my hands before pulling the hood of my sweatshirt up over my head. “You need to keep in all the heat that you can.”
We settled on the couch, under a couple of blankets. I snuggled up close to Brett and he wrapped an arm around me. Bentley sat by his feet and leaned against his legs, watching us with his brown eyes. I would have liked to have Flapjack on my lap for extra warmth, but he was snoozing on the kitchen windowsill and now that I was beneath the blankets, I didn’t want to get up from the couch to get him.
Brett phoned Ray, but the call only lasted seconds.
“He’s at the scene now,” Brett explained once he’d hung up. “He’ll come by soon.”
I took a long sip of my hot chocolate and relished the warm trail it left as it worked its way down to my stomach. “Do you want to know what happened?”
“Yes. Every detail. But I can wait so you don’t have to tell it twice.” He rested his cheek against the side of my head. “I was working on the second floor of the Jepson house and saw the car go flying into the water. I was horrified, and that was before I knew you were inside.”
“I might have drowned if you weren’t there.” I shivered, partly because I was still chilled and partly from the memory.
Brett pulled me closer to him. “When I saw you there in the water, struggling…” His words grew thick with emotion before trailing off.
I tipped my head back so I could see his face. He was fighting to stay composed, and I knew that today’s incident had piled on top of everything else he’d been through lately. I brushed a curl of hair off his forehead, wishing I could wipe away all his recent pain just as easily.
He swallowed before speaking again. “I don’t ever want to lose you, Marley.”
I rested my head against his chest. “I’ll always do everything I can to make sure you don’t.”
We lapsed into silence, but it was pea
ceful and comforting. I drank more hot chocolate and Brett drank his as well.
“Are you warm enough?” I asked after a while.
“I am. What about you?”
“Getting there.”
I raised my head as the doorbell rang.
Brett put a gentle hand on my shoulder to keep me on the couch. “I’ll get it.”
Bentley trotted after him and I focused on my hot chocolate so I wouldn’t think too much about my frightening ordeal. I wrapped both hands around the mug, absorbing as much warmth as possible. The hot liquid felt good going down and I’d nearly emptied the mug by the time Brett and Bentley returned to the family room with Ray following behind them.
I couldn’t help but tense at the sight of the sheriff. He wouldn’t like the fact that I’d once again tangled with a killer. I was relieved to see that his expression was serious but not angry.
“How are you feeling, Marley?” he asked as he sat in the armchair across from me and set his hat on a side table.
“Cold, but otherwise okay.”
“Your head’s all right?”
I gently touched the sore spot on my forehead. “Yes. Nothing serious.”
Ray studied me from his seat. “Are you feeling up to telling me what happened?”
I nodded.
Brett took a seat beside me again and I set my empty mug on the coffee table so I could hold one of his hands with both of my own. He gave my fingers a reassuring squeeze and I drew strength from his presence.
“Where’s Justine?” I asked before starting my account of the day’s events.
I had to be sure that wires hadn’t ended up crossed, that she hadn’t been allowed to leave the Jepsen property a free woman.
“My deputies escorted her to the hospital to get checked out. She won’t be going anywhere without them.”
I released a deep sigh of relief and Brett gently squeezed my fingers again.
Ray flipped open a notebook and clicked his pen. “Whenever you’re ready, Marley…”
Chapter 30
I fell asleep on the couch after Ray left. When I woke up, the room was dark except for a glow of light emanating from the hallway. I sat up and glanced around, finding myself alone. Brett had tucked another blanket around me at some point, but he was nowhere to be seen now. Disentangling myself from the blankets, I found Brett’s cellphone on the coffee table and checked the time. It was nearly midnight.