Hush (49 page)

―Is the reason you‘ve been with all the guys in the group because they‘re special?‖ Coby asked, trying to keep the conversation going, seeking to stay with Juliet‘s logic.

―I wanted them to love me, too. Like they loved all of you.‖ Her face darkened. ―Vic‘s an ass. Paul‘s not much better, as it turns out. And if I‘d known Theo was such a man-slut I wouldn‘t have bothered to take out his big-lipped whore.‖

Coby carefully asked, ―Heather?‖

―She thought she was such a physical specimen. It was easy to rip the bar from her hands and drop it on her throat.‖

―But you were never with Theo.‖

She tilted her head and smiled. ―Not yet.‖

―What about Kirk?‖

It was the wrong thing to say. Juliet‘s carefully constructed script couldn‘t stand rewrites.

―That fucker! I hope he burns in hell!‖

The hallway door suddenly burst open. Danner stood there, gun aimed. Juliet spun around wildly and fired a shot. It whizzed past Danner and slammed into the door. Bits of wood flew out.

But Juliet didn‘t wait. She tore down the hallway in the opposite direction, toward the kitchen.

And Kirk stepped into her path.

She lifted the gun and fired but he came at her in a flying tackle. She was spitting and screaming and fighting like a wild woman, scrabbling for the gun that had bounced from her hand.

Kirk hauled his fist back and punched her in the face. Hard.

She gave up instantly, crying and mewling and swearing she would see him in hell.

―You first,‖ he told her.

Danner grabbed Coby and hauled her close. She could feel how much he was trembling. Or maybe that was her. A moment later he released her and pulled out a pair of cuffs, then headed down the hall to where Kirk was sitting on Juliet, keeping her pinned down.

Ten days later they were seated around the small table at Coby‘s town house, sharing dinner with Jarrod, Genevieve, and Kirk, who‘d had a change of plans and was now thinking he was meant for the police academy. Coby had her doubts on that one, as did Danner, but Jarrod had been encouraging. Maybe because he still wanted Kirk around for the band, even if Ryan and Spence were working their way through the legal problems resulting from their thievery.

Jarrod had left Genevieve, but she‘d beseeched him to return. She needed him. She loved him. And she assured him she was over all that history with Lucas Moore. He‘d been like an idol to her. Had he lived, she probably would have gotten over him sooner, but he died right at the height of her obsession and it took her till now to put it behind her.

Was it over, really? Coby wasn‘t completely certain, and neither was Jarrod. But he was coping, so Coby decided to hope for the best.

They‘d had their own little Thanksgiving dinner, and as Coby carried plates to the kitchen, she felt Danner come up behind her and put his arms around her. ―If you‘re not going to help, you have to let me go. There‘s work to be done.‖

―Sure thing,‖ he said lazily, kissing her temple before reluctantly releasing her. ―They caught Sheila just outside Seattle.‖

―I heard you on the phone with your partner,‖ Coby said, rinsing the plates before putting them in the dishwasher.

―She was trying to ditch the gun, but they got it. Pretty sure it‘s the same one that she used to kill Beth and Angie Lloyd.‖

―You know Juliet told my father to send me to help out at Lovejoy‘s that night,‖ Coby said conversationally. ―When my dad realized it, he just about had a heart attack, thinking he unwittingly set me up.‖

―Juliet‘s a certified fruitcake.‖

―She had her own construct. It just wasn‘t reality.‖

―Don‘t even think about excusing her.‖

―I‘m not,‖ Coby said. ―But she‘s unwell. Jean-Claude did say his daughters were all a little tweaked.‖

―Two out of five are bona fide killers. That‘s more than a little.‖

―Okay.‖ She laughed.

Jarrod brought in some of the flatware and the basket used for bread. ―Dana still around?‖ he asked.

―She flew home, but she‘s coming back soon,‖ Coby said.

Dana, after learning the whole truth about Yvette, Hank, and Benedict, had shown surprising maturity, or maybe it was her natural maternal instinct, by asking to be a part of her half brother ‘s life. Jean-Claude had agreed, and they were working out plans for Benedict to visit Dana and her family soon.

Danner opened a second bottle of red wine and refilled his glass, Coby‘s, Jarrod‘s, and Kirk‘s. Genevieve demurred, though Coby wondered if it was just that she preferred white. She came into the kitchen and stood beside Coby while Danner took the glasses to the other two men.

―I was kinda nuts when I called you that night. I really thought I was going to get blamed for Yvette‘s death,‖ Genevieve said.

Coby filled one of the pots in the sink with water and added some dish soap. ―You were pretty adamant,‖ she admitted.

―That‘s ‘cause I‘d just been there. I told you that.‖ Genevieve gave her a studied look.

―Juliet said something to me that night in the hallway. She said she hadn‘t killed Rhiannon, but she knew who did.‖

―Oh?‖

―She said I was smart enough to figure it out.‖

―And have you? Figured it out?‖ Genevieve brushed imaginary crumbs from the counter into the sink.

―Not completely. But your mom said you took up hiking for a while after high school. She was trying to remember when but wasn‘t really sure. She thought maybe you‘d gone hiking a time or two with Rhiannon, Lucas Moore‘s real girlfriend.‖

Genevieve looked like she was going to deny it. She started to change the subject, then said suddenly, ―I didn‘t kill her, but I was there. We got in a fight. She‘d gotten so mean about Lucas, calling him names after she learned he wasn‘t faithful. I pushed her and yelled at her, and she pushed me back. We were standing there, furious with each other, probably a lot like Lucas at Bancroft Bluff.‖ Her voice caught. ―And then she fell, and I started to fall, but I caught a limb and hung on. I didn‘t kill her. I didn‘t.‖

―Does Jarrod know?‖ Coby asked.

―Nobody does. Except you.‖

―And me,‖ Danner said quietly.

Gen looked from Coby to Danner and back again, correctly assuming they were going to expect her to tell her husband. ―It‘s just not fair!‖ she cried. ―I could‘ve died, too!‖

―But you didn‘t . . . and if you want to make a life for yourself . . .‖ Coby inclined her head in Jarrod‘s direction. Jarrod, who was seated on the couch with Kirk, running over some imaginary guitar chords with him, looked up at that moment.

Genevieve closed her eyes, then opened them, then walked over to her husband and asked Kirk if she could talk to Jarrod alone.

Danner slid an arm around Coby, and they both turned to watch them.

―It‘s hell being the ‗It‘ couple,‖ he observed.

Kirk joined them, turning back to see what they were looking at, then shrugging it off. ―It won‘t last,‖ he predicted.

Danner drawled, ―I wouldn‘t be so sure. Sometimes it just takes a while to get right.‖

―That‘s romantic crap,‖ Kirk said.

Danner and Coby looked at each other, then broke into laughter. Danner pushed her hair back and pressed a kiss on her forehead and Coby closed her eyes, still smiling.

―It‘s all good,‖ he said.

―Yep. It‘s all good,‖ she agreed.

ZEBRA BOOKS are published by

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Copyright © 2011 by Nancy Bush

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ISBN: 978-1-4201-2435-4