Page 34 of The Weekend Getaway

GRACE

Grace tossed clothes into the suitcase on her bed. Sundresses. Panties. Tops. Shorts. Bras. Everything she’d brought and put into the bureau last night was being removed.

Grace wasn’t staying on the island another second. She didn’t care what Chris thought. Didn’t care if her husband thought she was crazy. She’d rather be crazy and alive than completely sane and dead. Stomping across the bedroom, from the bureau to the bed, Grace scooped clothes from the second drawer, not bothering to fold anything. She had to hurry. Had to leave before she was the next one to get her head cut off.

A gasping sob escaped from her neck as an image of Alex’s bloody head filled her mind.

Chris thought she was losing it because he didn’t see what she’d seen. For some reason, somehow, when she’d led Chrisback to where she’d found Alex’s head, it hadn’t been there. Grace hadn’t understood. And for a moment, she’d thought that maybe she’d imagined it. Maybe she’d been seeing things. Maybe her mind was playing cruel, horrific tricks on her.

But she knew what she’d seen.

Grace dropped the clothes into the suitcase.

Someone must have moved the head. That had to be it. Or, the vultures must have dragged it into the forest. Or maybe the avian scavengers had devoured the head. The thought repulsed Grace, made her stomach lurch, but?—

“Grace … what are you doing?”

Glancing up, Grace stared at Sarah. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m getting the hell off this island. I’m not going to end up dead like Alex.”

“Grace, please … can you just stop for a minute and talk to me?”

“I don’t have time to talk,” Grace said. “I need to leave this island before?—”

“Why do you think Alex is dead?”

Scoffing, Grace scowled at Sarah. “I don’t think Alex is dead, Sarah. I know he’s dead. I saw the vultures eating his face and I know it sounds crazy and ridiculous and I know Chris and Mia and Jason think I have lost my mind, and believe me, I feel like I am going insane, but trust me, I know what I saw! Alex did not take Phil to the mainland. Alex is dead. And if you’re smart, you’ll leave, too.”

“Where did you see Alex’s … head?”

Grace paused, glancing at Sarah. She seemed sincere, her face concerned but curious. Was Sarah willing to believe her? “I was … I went out for a walk,” Grace said. “I wanted to clear my head. Listen to my affirmations.”

“Affirmations?”

The hint of skepticism in Sarah’s tone shamed Grace, made her feel as though she’d been listening to weird hypnotic suggestions. Something that might have made Grace hallucinate. A litany of words that could have convinced Grace that she’d seen something she hadn’t … vultures eating Alex’s head.

Clearing her throat, Grace said, “I was walking along a path in the rainforest … and I saw the vultures first. And I thought … they were eating an animal. Maybe a small pig … and they were blocking the path so I was going to walk around them … but as I got closer, I saw … “

Sarah stepped closer to her. “Grace … is it possible that you?—”

“I know what I saw, Sarah,” Grace said, disappointed by the disbelief clouding Sarah’s features. “I know you don’t believe me. I don’t expect you to. I probably wouldn’t believe me, either.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to believe you,” Sarah said. “It’s just … it doesn’t make any sense. Who would want to kill Alex and cut his head off?”

Grace stared at Sarah. “I’ve been thinking about that, too … and the only person who could have done it … is Phil.”

CHAPTER 31

MIA

“Where exactly did Grace see … the vultures?” Jason asked Chris.

Mia paused before cracking the egg into the bowl. She’d already cracked four eggs, and the last egg in the bowl would have meant that the five of them, herself, Jason, Chris, Sarah, and even Grace, would have an egg each in the Eggs Diablo she was preparing.

The dish was quick and simple, a recipe she’d seen online and had asked her housekeeper, Ann, to make for brunch several times. She and Alex loved the spicy marinara sauce the poached eggs swam in. Mia figured the others would enjoy the eggs, and she was certain she could recreate the dish, as she’d watched Ann make it a few times. How hard could it be?

With a batch of Bloody Marys, Mia figured they couldhave breakfast at the table beneath the covered terrace. The warm sun and gentle breeze that greeted her when she’d stepped out on the balcony following her shower suggested what was sure to be a gorgeous day in paradise and they should take full advantage of it. Following breakfast, Mia would recommend a trip to the beach for water activities and sunbathing.

But now Jason was asking Chris about vultures, as though he was actually curious about Grace’s nonsense. Which was ridiculous. Jason had no right validating Grace’s claims by showing interest. It was disloyal to Alex, and Mia expected Chris to point that out, but Chris was a coward, despite his loyalty to Alex. Mia might have to chasten Jason herself.

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