Page 17 of The Anniversary Party

A few heads bobbed agreeably. Chance Galeton spoke up for the first time that Leo’d heard. “Your husband said several of your entourage have law enforcement experience. Is that true?”

Leo didn’t care for the challenge in the man’s tone. From the expression on Bethany Galeton’s face and the dramatic eye roll that accompanied it, she didn’t appreciate it either.

“Yes,” Sasha said simply and politely, ignoring Chance’s combative attitude.

She and Daniel were masters at the first principle of Krav Maga, the self-defense and hand-to-hand combat system they practiced:Diffuse the situation whenever possible.

“Like what?” Chance demanded.

“For instance, I’m an attorney with extensive criminal defense experience, and I’m trained in self-defense. Hank over there is Leo’s boss in whichever they-could-tell-you-but-then-they’d-have-to-kill-you federal agency they work for. Bodhi’s a forensic pathologist—a pretty famous one. You can search for his name when we have internet access. Aroostine is a criminal investigator and consultant for the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch. You might recognize Maisy, if not from her years as a television reporter and her role in bringing a megalomaniac billionaire and a dirty cop to justice, then from her true crime podcast. And Daniel is an internationally ranked Krav Maga expert.” She waved her hand toward their friends as she rattled off their skills and experience. Then she said with a hint of amusement, “Finally, Chris, Naya, and Carl have had the dubious pleasure of attending our wedding, along with the others.”

“Which qualifies them as experts how, exactly?” Paul piped up.

She exhaled deeply. “Well, ten years ago this weekend, we were all taken hostage by a band of armed mercenaries who were working for a convicted sociopath that we’d put behind bars.”

Naya cleared her throat. “I think, technically, he’s considered a psychopath, Mac. As a rule, sociopaths aren’t usually as murderous.”

“I always get that mixed up. Thanks, Naya.” She turned away from Paul and eyed Chance steadily. “Any other questions?”

He clamped his mouth shut.

“In that case,” Leo said, “Why don’t you tell us your experience with crime scenes—if you have any?”

The nine of them looked at one another for a long, confused moment before Annette’s husband spoke up. “We’re all civilians here. And I’m sorry if Paul and Chance are coming across the wrong way. We’re freaking out.”

Leo gave Brian an empathetic nod. “That’s understandable. And we’re all on the same side here, believe me. All nineteen of us want the same thing: to survive the weekend until help arrives.”

“And find out who killed my brother,” Annette interjected.

“If we can,” Leo agreed.

“Why don’t we sit down and have this conversation like civilized folks?” Carl suggested. He gestured toward the seating area in front of the long wall of beveled glass windows where several leather couches and club chairs were arranged in a loose circle. The windows looked out onto the woods behind the house. While they likely provided a gorgeous view of the trees changing with the seasons, at the moment, all that was visible outside was a sheer wall of blowing white.

Everyone floated toward the couches and chairs. Once they’d all claimed seats, Leo shifted forward in his chair and propped his elbows on his knees.

“The first thing we need to do is establish some ground rules. The first and most important one is nobody goes anywhere alone. Aroostine and Chris searched the grounds. There’s no sign that the killer left the estate, and, given the weather, they’d be a fool to try. So we need to assume the person who killed Rex is still here.”

“Here, like in this room?” Joy squeaked.

He blinked at the question. “If you’re asking whether one of us killed your friend, the answer is no. We were all together all afternoon. We were having a champagne toast when Annette showed up looking for help. None of us had anything to do with Rex’s death—at least not directly.” He paused to take a deep breath before continuing. “There is a chance that the killer mistook him for one of us. Me, to be precise. I’m at least fifteen or twenty years older, but we have the same build and coloring, and we did switch houses. So if the killer was a hired gun who was given only a vague description, it’s possible they killed Rex instead.”

He watched them process that news. Then Grady shook his head. “I don’t think that’s what Joy meant. I’m pretty sure she’s asking if one ofusis the killer.”

Leo rarely found himself at a loss for words. But at this moment, he was speechless.

Maisy, who wasneverrendered speechless, jumped in with instincts honed through hundreds of interviews. “Why would one of you kill him? Haven’t y’all been friends for years?”

A thick silence landed over the circle. Several people lowered their gazes to the carpet. Bethany and Chance exchanged a quick, unreadable glance.

Finally, Tessa lifted her head and cleared her throat. “I’ll say what everyone is thinking. Yes, Rex was our friend. He was also complicated. We’ve all had our differences with him. Some of us more so than others, sure. But I think we’d all agree that Rex could be a dick.” She flashed an apologetic look to Annette. “Sorry.”

Rex’s sister shook her head and sighed heavily. “Don’t apologize. It’s true. Rex was willful. He wanted everythinghisway, the consequences be damned. I always figured he’d get his comeuppance someday. But not this way. And not by one of us.”

This information changed things. If what they were saying was true, there very well could be a killer in the room. As much as Leo hated the thought, he preferred that possibility to the alternative: that a man had been killed because someone thought he was Leo.

He shot Sasha a careful look. It was up to the two of them to determine who’d killed Rex Stoddard. He leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Guess you’ve got your murder mystery game after all.”

She gripped his thigh just above his knee and whispered back, “Worst party game ever.” But she couldn’t hide the gleam of excitement in her green eyes.

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