Page 30 of Only One More Lie

“But I’m the one who’s calling the shots.” Her voice hardened as if she were trying to prove herself. “This is my decision.”

Andi tilted her head before softly asking, “You’re seeing him, aren’t you?”

Juniper’s eyes widened. “How did you know?”

“Your body language gave it away,” Duke said. “The way you both stood close to each other, almost leaning toward one another. The low tone of your conversation. It shows a familiarity.”

Juniper frowned, biting down on her lip. “I try to keep that quiet. I don’t particularly want my uncle to know. I mean, he’s not stupid. I’m sure he knows something. But Caleb and I have been seeing each other for a while. We’re more serious than he thinks.”

“Why don’t you want him to know more?” Duke asked. “You don’t think he’d approve?”

Her lips tugged down in a frown. “He and Caleb don’t see eye to eye on things.”

Duke stored that fact away. “Why not?”

Sadness filled her gaze. “I’m not really sure. I’ve always assumed it was a personality difference, and neither of them have told me anything otherwise. They’ve never mentioned any fights or disagreements that led to them disliking each other.”

Duke and Andi needed to get to the bottom of this conflict. Maybe that truth would provide them with some of the answers they needed.

For now, they’d get back to the rest of the team and see if they’d discovered anything.

He and Andi bundled in their coats before starting back to their cabin. The brisk wind made the temperature feel at least ten degrees cooler and prevented much conversation. The air was so cold that breathing it made a person’s lungs ache.

Finally, they reached the cabin, and Duke opened the door to allow Andi inside. As he did, something tumbled from the storm door.

He glanced down and sucked in a breath.

It was a hand . . . complete with fresh blood on the severed wrist.

CHAPTER 13

Andi stared at the hand as horror washed over her.

No . . . it couldn’t be.

Had something happened to the members of her team while she and Duke had been in the office?

Panic raced through her at the thought.

She started to reach for the door so she could rush inside and see for herself.

But Duke squeezed her arm to stop her first. “It’s fake.”

Andi blinked, unsure if she had heard correctly. “What?”

He pointed at bloody appendage near the door. “The hand is fake, even though it was designed to look real, all the way down to the blood.”

She stared at the hand again, unsure if Duke was correct. But as she took a closer look, she realized his words were true.

Based on the weight of the appendage when it had fallen from the door to the way it moved upon hitting the ground, the hand was a high-quality replica of a real one.

This wasn’t just a cheap foam Halloween prank gone astray. Someone had to have this ready to use when the time was right. Maybe it had been used at a haunted house or something, given its realism.

Why was this the right time? Did someone—maybe the killer—want to scare the murder club away? Did the killer fear being caught? Or maybe this even connected with the message the killer had left in Pepper’s hands.

“Whoever is doing this is sick,” she muttered.

Duke’s jaw visibly tightened. “Very.”

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