Page 28 of The Engagement Party

Before he could come up with a good reason not to go, they all piled onto the side porch again. The sun had gone down, bathing the sky in deep blue. The wind whistled through the trees and whipped up fallen leaves. The temperature had dropped at least ten degrees.

Alex switched on the outside lights. The white glow revealed the trail straight to the garage and plunged the rest of the island in shadows.

The chill coming off the water mixed with the smell of evergreen. They walked in a huddle to the garage. No one strayed or ran ahead. They took careful steps, keeping to the pebbled path. They hadn’t closed the garage door. Alex tested the small building’s interior lights, but they didn’t come on. The trail lights allowed for a cursory inspection but not much more.

Alex started with the obvious. “The car’s not running.”

“Didn’t you turn it off?” Cassie asked.

“No, we were all too stunned to do much other than fight to keep from throwing up.” Sierra took a step closer to the vehicle.

Mitch pulled her back. “Maybe it finally ran out of gas.”

Alex opened the trunk and winced at the now-familiar metallic crunching sound as it lifted. He was about to reach in and check for a pulse when Sierra stopped him.

“Wait.” Her fingers tightened on his arm. “Someone moved him.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Cassie motioned for him to shut the trunk. “We were all upset when we saw him before. There’s no way you—”

“Look at his hands,” Sierra said. “Before, his left hand was over his right so you could see theEsmetattoo. Now the right is on top and you can’t see it.”

Alex swore under his breath. “That probably happened when—”

“No.” Mitch shook his head. “I see that damn tattoo in my nightmares. Sierra’s right. That’s not how his hands were positioned before.”

“Not possible because we’ve all been together.” Cassie sounded so sincere as she said the words.

“Not really. We split up. We took separate floors to look for the signal jammer. I went to the bathroom. You and Alex went outside.” Sierra looked like she wanted to say something else, but the sudden sound of rain stopped her.

“We need to get in the house before this turns into a downpour,” Will said.

Sierra didn’t move. “Aren’t you forgetting something? Is someone going to check for a pulse or are we going to miss that step again?”

Cassie did the deed. She touched Tyler’s wrist and neck then shook her head.

Standing out there, in the open, not knowing who or whatwatched them made Alex twitchy. “There. We have our answer. Let’s go.”

Sierra nodded. “Fine, but once we’re inside we need to have an honest talk about why someone would move Tyler’s body and why this Jake guy is so upset with all of you.”

A biting wind blew over them as the rain picked up. They didn’t debate or argue about Sierra’s comment as they all took off for the house.

Alex caught Cassie’s arm right before she broke into a run. “We messed up.”

“Not now.” She struggled out of his hold and raced toward the side porch.

But the conversation couldn’t wait for long because Alex knew exactly who’d touched the body while no one was looking—Cassie.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Sierra

They all hesitated on the side porch as Ruthie struggled to turn the knob with wet hands. Will finally took over but before Sierra could follow the group into the house, Mitch stopped her. He motioned for her to stay back until the rest of them filed inside. That left her alone with him as the rain coated the steps behind them and a fine mist sprayed over the exposed part of the space.

The last of the fading light disappeared as dark clouds rolled through the sky. She could no longer see the faraway parking lot. A distant outline was all that tethered her to the coastline.

“Don’t go anywhere on this island or in the house without me,” he said in a harsh whisper.

The sound of crashing waves. The smell of rain. She usually loved both as much as she loved him. Not today.

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