Page 26 of Sinister Legacy
Hazel is stiff. “Can we not talk about this, please?”
We’re silent, the hum of conversation like that of a swarm of buzzing bees.
Amanda whispers, “What if the killer is here? Tonight? Watching us?”
“He is.”
“Fuck you, Marcus,” chuckles Miles. “You don’t know that. It’s probably some perverted old man who lives in a trailer on the outskirts of town.”
Marcus has almost cleaned his plate. He sits back and loosens his navy tie. “Copycat killer or not, this is a game to him, and we’re sitting ducks. Jessica’s funeral arrangements were plastered in every local newspaper. It’s a safe assumption that the killer is watching us. It’s not enough to just replicate Jimmy Hill’s killing spree.” He waves a hand dismissively. “This is not about good old Jimmy.”
I inhale a sharp breath as he points at me.
“It’s about her. This is Keira’s stage, and Jimmy Hill is the backdrop.”
“I think you’re wrong,” I answer him. “I think the obsession is with my father, andI’mthe backdrop—or the excuse, if you will—to perform some sick celebration of his murders ahead of his execution.”
“I guess we’ll soon find out,” Hazel mutters, stabbing at her beef before dropping her fork on the plate. She shoves the plate away and stands up. “I’ve lost my appetite.”
As she starts to walk away, Marcus calls out, “Oh, come on, you know better than to run off alone when there’s a killer on the loose. Unless it’s you.”
Hazel whirls, her honey-blonde hair sliding over her shoulders. “What the hell, Marcus?” She points a finger at herself. “Are you accusing me of killing my best friend?”
Marcus, being the dickhead that he is, simply shrugs. “It could be any one of us.”
“Or no one. It could be a fucking stranger for all we know.”
“It could be. But most likely, it’s not. And if you walk out alone, you could end up dead. Unless, of course,” his lips curve into a smirk, “you don’t fear the killer.”
“Marcus,” Chris warns, “you’re taking it too far, man.”
“Am I? From where I’m looking, Jessica is dead, and Madison was attacked. That’s two people fromourfriend group.”
No one says a thing.
“We need to stick together, not walk off alone.” Marcus trains his eyes on Hazel. “If you leave this room by yourself, you’re asking for trouble.”
“I’ll go with her.” Sienna scoots her chair back and smooths down her flared, black skirt. To Marcus, she says, “Safety in numbers.”
“Unless Hazel is the killer.”
“Give it a rest, man,” Miles growls, glaring at Marcus before grabbing Sienna’s hand as she walks away. He pulls her back for a kiss. “Be careful, babe.”
“You’re a dick sometimes, you know that, right?” Liam asks Marcus when Hazel and Sienna have left the room.
The thing about funeral wakes is that they always start out demure, but the atmosphere changes as the night progresses and the adults consume more alcohol. The guests lose their inhibitions.
That’s the part I like the most because no one cares that their underage teenagers have long since snuck off to consume alcohol.
That’s where I am now, in the empty kitchen, raiding the cupboards for something to drink. This wake will carry on all through the night, and I don’t intend to stay sober for the duration.
“Knock, knock,” Cassie says with a smile as she appears in the doorway.
I show her my catch, wiggling the bottle of brandy in the air.
“You know we shouldn’t walk around alone.”
“You’re alone,” I point out, unscrewing the lid and taking a large swig. It burns my throat as she walks deeper into the room.
