Page 18 of The Engagement Party

Chapter Fourteen

Ruthie

This couldn’t be happening.

Uneasy. Uncomfortable. Freaking terrified. All of those described Ruthie’s mood. She’d gathered them here for a reason, forherplan, which relied on the element of surprise. But as the minutes ticked by one thing became clear. Someone else had a bigger splash in mind for this island getaway.

Seven people. One dead. That still left a lot of potential suspects, all of whom stood within ten feet of her.

She tried to stop this runaway train one more time, desperate and hoping this was all part of some misguided,what is wrong with youjoke. The kind of asinine shit people who’ve known each other for a long time laugh off as they gossip about some remembered stunt from years ago. “If you’re doing some kind ofscare the new girlthing or a grown-up form of sorority rush week, I’m out. This isn’t funny.”

But no one listened to her. Her voice barely rose above the din of uncomfortable shuffling and mumbling. Everyone focused on a task, none of which inched them any closer to an answer. Cassie and Sierra looked at the phones and checked the charging cords. Alex and Will talked to Mitch in hushed tones, insistingall would be fine when no rational person could believe he’d killed Tyler.

“Unlock these.” Cassie passed out the cells. “The service was iffy when I called Zara earlier but not like this. Something happened. Anyone have a signal or any type of access?”

Everyone milled around, held up their phones. Anything to catch a signal.

An uncontrollable shaking started inside Ruthie—a wild bucking and rolling—then it moved to her hands. She flexed her fingers, trying to throw off the panic. She forced her mind to stay in the moment, on task. She unlocked her phone, turned it off, and then on again. Nothing worked.

Will stopped walking around. “What would do this? Some sort of signal jammer?”

Alex stood by the side door but didn’t look up from his screen. “They’re illegal.”

“I’m sure the person who killed Tyler will be horrified to hear they violated some sort of FCC regulation.”

Everyone stopped fidgeting and stared at Mitch. Will had warned Ruthie about Mitch’s odd sense of humor but was now the time for that?

After a few seconds of strained silence Cassie answered. “If it’s a jammer it has to be close.”

“How would you know that?” Ruthie’s crafted façade cracked. She needed to play the role of a woman in need of guidance. Fluff up their egos and let them think they led the conversation, all while she undermined them. But the idea of being with these people—these potential killers—until tomorrow morning put a snap in her tone and, worse, made her less careful.

Cassie took the case off her phone and turned the cell around, as if looking for an easy way into it. “You learn a lot of useless information as an attorney.”

“Believable?” Sierra whispered the question.

Ruthie didn’t realize the two of them now stood alone in the kitchen until that moment. “I’m not sure,” she answered in a voice barely above a breath.

Cassie controlled her world with an iron fist. She didn’t show fear or worry. Ruthie couldn’t read her at all.

“How close would this device have to be?” Will asked.

Cassie shrugged. “Depends on the device. A small one, probably thirty feet. Within the house. The type law enforcement use are more powerful. A device like that could be anywhere on the island. Maybe even back at the car.”

The woman spewed facts like she’d researched them. At least that’s how the response struck Ruthie. Cassie also protected Mitch. Most of them did, but Ruthie could see Cassie taking it too far. “You seem to know an awful lot about how to strand people without phones.”

“And you’re the one who brought us here,” Cassie shot back.

Interesting. Also, uncomfortable, but Ruthie had found a crack. Questioning Cassie set her off. If they survived the next few hours that information might be helpful.

Alex exhaled as he glared his wife into glancing in his direction. “Okay, let’s calm down.”

“No, she wants answers. Well, so do I.” Cassie dropped her useless cell on the table and looked into the kitchen. “Anything you need to tell us, Ruthie?”

Ruthie hadn’t expected that.

“Hey.” Will moved in on Cassie. “Knock it off.”

But Cassie wasn’t the type to back down. If anything, trying to tamp down on her control fired her up. “We don’t know her.”

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