Page 29 of The Wicked

“What lead?”

“Their vehicle. A black Mercedes S-Class. We might be light on facial IDs, but the camera at the resort’s main entrance captured their licence plate.”

I jolted as something that might have been hope or sheer terror blossomed in my chest. We were a step closer to the monster, but all I wanted to do was run in the opposite direction.

Brooke didn’t share my hesitation. “So we can ask Luca to look up the owner?”

“No need; I already called in a favour.”

When I first came to live in Baldwin’s Shore, I’d tried telling Justine that the twins were being mean to me. That Easton called me names and Parker told me not to play the piano because it gave him a headache. But she’d just laughed and told ten-year-old me to grow a thicker skin because words couldn’t kill me.

But that was a lie.

With one tiny sentence, Blue sent my heart skittering to a halt.

“S-s-so you know who he is?”

“Not exactly. The vehicle’s registered to a shell company out of Delaware, which is a pain in the ass, but it also shows that these people have something to hide. Give me a few days to dig around.”

A few days? My nerves wouldn’t stretch to a few days. Sitting around in the pool house was like waiting in line for my own death.Come, take a ticket; it’ll be your turn soon.I’d tried reading to distract myself from impending doom. I’d tried watching movies. I’d even tried dancing a lonely samba, but there weren’t enough tissues in the apartment for me to attempt that again, and I couldn’t face going to the store. What kind of screwed-up life did I lead when even the good memories hurt?

“I’m not sure—”

Brooke didn’t let me finish. “Since you’ll be staying for a while, I thought you might be able to help out at the Craft Cabin? Darla’s working in Virginia until Saturday, Everly’s sick, and Paulo’s gone to New York to hook up with his not-so-secret boyfriend, so he won’t be back until the weekend either. If I’m on my own, I’m going to struggle to serve customers and teach tomorrow’s painting class.”

“But—”

“Darla will pay you. I couldn’t get ahold of her on the phone today, but she’s always fair when it comes to wages, and I know her—she wouldn’t want me to try and cope with everything alone.”

“What about—”

Blue cut me off. Was this a conspiracy?

“That’s a great idea. No way would the guy try anything in public. Think about it—he’s been careful to keep to the shadows so far, and he’s not going to meander along Main Street, push past Betty Ingram and Elmira Fairbanks while they’re picking out yarn, and shoot you at the counter.”

Although if he jostled Elmira Fairbanks, he’d be a dead man, which would solve the problem. Well, one of them. Elmira was a cannonball of a woman who scared the bejesus out of everyone in town, me included, obviously.

“Tomorrow’s Thursday,” Brooke said. “Which means senior’s day at the hair salon, and you know how nosy those ladies are. They all sit there under the dryers, waiting for their curls to set and watching the street outside. If a non-touristy stranger showed up, especially a man on his own, the whole of Baldwin’s Shore would find out within five minutes flat. Someone would run out to invite him to a potluck supper.”

“And the guy’s a cockroach. Roaches hide from the light.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll come.” The watercolour classes I took there had quickly become the only social activity I actually enjoyed. My dad had taught me to paint, but it had taken fifteen years before time dulled the edges of my pain enough for me to pick up a brush again. “Do…do you think you could follow me there and back in your car?”

“Why don’t I give you a ride?”

I shook my head. “Two cars, two targets.”

“Uh, sure. I’ll do that.”

She thought I was overreacting, I could tell, buthermonster hadn’t murdered anyone. Mine had gone from zero to one hundred, come straight out of the darkness and killed my parents. I no longer remembered how it felt not to be on edge.

All I could do was fake-smile my appreciation.

“Thank you.”

10

SARA

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