Page 56 of The Getaway

Gemma cleared her throat. “She said he kept calling her, and she couldn’t say no.” She shot Hazel an apologetic look. “I guess old habits . . .”

“Unreal,” Suzy said under her breath. “You’re right, Daisy. No wonder Lily can’t get herself sober.”

Hazel’s shoulders were slumped. She looked at Gemma. “So then I guess it’s true?”

“Like I said, I don’t know what was in the notes,” Gemma told her. “But it seems like all of the others were, so . . .”

“Wait, what are you two talking about?” Suzy asked, wagging her finger between the two of them.

Gemma shrugged. Yes, she had been aware all along that Hazel had lied when she said she didn’t get a note, but who the hell knew what Lily had said to her? When Lily had asked her to deliver the notes, Gemma could tell from her friend’s conspiratorial tone that the contents weren’t going to be happy, optimistic words of welcome. But she had never imagined they’d contain such damning information. She’d thought maybe they’d be admonishments. Confessions of how they had all made Lily feel to put a bit of a damper on their week—punishment for coming here without her. That seemed like something Lily might do. But these secrets? They were beyond the pale.

“I got a note too,” Hazel said finally. Ignoring Suzy’s gasp of shock, she continued, “It said that Lincoln never changed the will and Lily would get everything.”

“Bingo,” Daisy said.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Marley asked.

“Why should I?” Hazel asked tiredly. She looked like a shell of her former self. “It’s not like any of you would sympathize. You’re Lily’s friends. And my husband just died. I didn’t exactly feel like focusing on some stupid prank.”

It wasn’t until that moment that Gemma understood how lonely and isolated Hazel must feel. Not only had she lost her person, but she was surrounded by people who saw her as an outsider and interloper in her own home. A home that now wasn’t even hers anymore, if Lily was telling the truth. It was kind of a miracle she was standing.

“Yeah, but it gives you a motive. Just like the rest of us!” Juliet accused.

“Actually, it does the exact opposite,” Hazel said quietly. “If he left me with nothing, why would I want him dead?”

Outside, lightning flashed, the loud rumble of thunder coming half a second later. Juliet, for the first time since Gemma had met her, looked chagrined. Without another word, Hazel turned on her heels and walked toward the hallway where her room and the kids’ room were, disappearing around the corner.

“So you really had no idea what she’d written?” Marley said slowly. Her arms were crossed over her stomach, and she stared at the floor as she spoke, but she angled her body toward Gemma. “All those awful secrets about us. About Lincoln.”

“I really need to see these notes,” Daisy said.

“No. She just told me where to place each one. That’s it,” Gemma said, surprised by how desperate she was for these people to believe her.

“Wow, you are a really good actor, Gemma,” Suzy said, walking over to stand right next to Marley as they faced off. “We had that whole conversation about those notes right in front of you, and you acted like you knew nothing.”

Gemma’s fight-or-flight instinct was heavily leaning toward flight, but there was nowhere to go.

“Hey! Back off my mom!” Vienna said, walking over to get between them. “She just told you she didn’t know anything.”

“But she knew who wrote them,” Juliet said. “All this time.”

“So what?” Florence demanded, joining the fray, the little dog cuddled in her arms. “You’re the ones who sucked her into your bizarre disfunction. It’s not her fault you’re a bunch of backstabbing assholes.”

“Florence!” Gemma scolded. Though she did feel secretly proud and pleased that they were sticking up for her.

“She’s not wrong,” Sean said flatly.

“Look, I’m sorry,” Gemma said then. “I . . .”

Her stomach turned. She felt oddly hollowed out inside, like someone had taken a giant ice cream scoop to her innards. Did they really believe she would have delivered those notes if she had one inkling of where it would lead? Did they think she’d bring her children into this house if she in any way imagined murder might be on the table?

“I didn’t think—” Her voice cracked, and she started again. “I didn’t think this would happen.”

There was a flash of lightning so bright it was blinding, and a simultaneous boom that shook the entire house. And then, the power went out.

28

Suzy