“Why didn’t you just turn him in? Save yourself and Juliette?” I ask, pushing back the wave of nausea of knowing the truth about Rose.
“Because he’s all I’ve got—he’s all I’ve ever had. I’ll always protect him.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because it feels good to get it off my chest, Kenley, and I know that you desperately wanted the truth.” She smiles. “Happy, now? Unfortunately, in a town like Thistle Cove, the truth has consequences. I told you that weeks ago, but you didn’t listen. You just had to push and push and push.”
She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a medicine bottle. Her hands shake as she opens the lid and dumps out a handful.
“I took the liberty of already writing a note. Your family and friends will think you were devastated about losing Rose. Particularly the guilt you felt about not helping her when she came to you. It’s been too much, and you just want the pain to stop.”
She leans over and forces my jaw open. I kick her shin and she stomps on my foot. I feel the bitterness of the pills as they hit my tongue. I push them out but she shoves the top of the whisky bottle into my mouth, the warm, burning liquid spilling down my lips. I feel the pills catch on my throat but it’s too late. She gets them in and wipes her hands on her pants.
“I’m sorry, Kenley. You seemed like a nice girl. Juliette chose the wrong friend when we moved here. Things could have been very different.”
The room grows fuzzy, her voice slow. I try to speak but no words come out. Rose, Jacqueline, and I may not have had the same death, but Monica Chandler’s dark eyes were the last thing we all saw.
36
Finn
“Are they in the house?” Ezra asks, voice more panicked than I knew possible.
“No,” Juliette says. She holds up her phone—the GPS tracker for her mother’s phone indicating she’s nearby. Janice drives past the Wallers' driveway. “There! Her SUV!”
Janice pulls her car over—a Channel 8 News SUV. Ezra, Ozzy, and I look at one another. This is far from the house but close to an out of the way spot.
“The cottage,” Ozzy says pushing open his door.
“What cottage?” Juliette asks, but it dawns on her a moment later. “Rose’s playhouse?”
“It’s down that path,” Ezra says, flashing his phone light toward the cleared trail.
“Why would she bring her here?” Juliette seems frozen. Confused.
“I don’t know,” I say, heading toward the path, “but I don’t think we have time to think about it.”
Ezra’s a step behind me, both of us pumped up on adrenaline. I’m not losing another girl, and I’m sure as hell not letting anyone take Kenley from me. It took me too damn long to get her back in my life.
The light bounces as we run, and I see footprints in the soft dirt. We round a large tree and there it is, the cottage. Lights on.
I start for the stairs, but Ezra grabs me and pulls me back. “We need to be careful.”
We each take a side, flanking the door. Ezra reaches out and twists the knob, pushing it open. A figure moves to the doorway just as Juliette bursts from the trail, across from the cottage.
An explosion rips through the air, screaming past my ears. I flinch and look at Ezra. Monica Chandler’s in the doorway, gun in her hand, barrel smoking.
“Oh my God,” she cries, hand moving to her mouth.
I reach for the gun, pulling it out of her grip. She doesn’t fight. She’s fallen, eyes straight ahead. Juliette stands with her eyes wide, mouth agape. A blossom of red is spilling across her yellow-gold top. Ozzy lunges for her, catching her before she falls.
“Mama?” she whispers, touching the blood.
“Call 911!” Ozzy shouts. Janice is already on the phone.
Ezra wraps his arms around Monica, who howls like a wounded animal. “No! No! No!”
I push past them and into the cottage. Kenley’s in the armchair, face resting on the cushion. Peaceful other than the smear of lipstick around her mouth.