Page 204 of Murder

We trade smiles and then I’m in the dark, quiet, second-floor hall, heading toward mine and Barrett’s room, positioned at the far end of the floor for reasons not unknown. I grin.

Tomorrow night, Nic is hosting a giant costume party at his family’s place next door. Jamie said it was only going to be a normal party, but one of Nic’s friends is the tattoo artist who did my snowflake, and he has some Zelda costume, so they made a party around his desire to wear it. Ha.

Zelda reminds me, strangely, of Zoro. Maybe I should convince Bear to dress up as Zoro. Isn’t he that masked marauder who wears all black and carries a gun? That would be so hot.

Maybe I should go as a bear. If I can find a bear suit. Which, okay, is 100 percent unlikely. I could go as a bandit. Then I could wear a bandana over my face.

In Breckenridge, I’m sort of…known. I wasn’t ever really famous or anything, but enough people knew my face that when I had the accident, the papers in this area chronicled my recovery. Especially given how dramatic it was. I guess that made me all the more interesting.

I don’t know. But my mouth draws attention, and with my red hair, I’m just worried people will ask about the accident. So I’ll need some kind of mask.

I hear something behind me, and turn in time to see Jamie striding toward me in a black dress. “Hey, you. Hang on.”

I give a low whistle. “I thought you were just going to ‘some Southern place with fried stuff.’”

She shrugs. “It’s a bar type place. You know Nic. He gets the invites every time a new place opens. I remembered something, though, G. Something I thought you might be interested in.”

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“Some guys came by here last night. Said they’d seen the snow plow toppled over near the street.” The house’s maintenance guy did, indeed, topple the plow; thank goodness he wasn’t hurt. “Anyway. I could be wrong but I thought they looked familiar. I think we saw them that night.”

“Really?”

She nods.

“Interesting. What did they act like?”

“Just normal.” She shrugs. “You told me to tell you anything that came up that reminded me of the accident, so I wanted to try.”

“Thanks. And have fun out.”

“Will do.”

As I turn, I realize I didn’t ask their names. And strangely, I don’t stop her. I don’t need to know right now. Not right before it’s time for bed. I just want to snuggle up with Bear and have a dreamless night.

TWENTY ONE

NICCOLO

January 1, 2012

1:28 a.m.

My motherfucking father: popular as all fuck politician, shithead of a person. Everyone in Breck knows it. I can’t imagine how Kim bears it. I’d have left him years ago. When I get back—I’ll have to go home to Kim before returning next door to Jamie—I’m going to make another bid for that. I could move her out to California. No one would know her there. I think she could really benefit from that. It’s got a lot of sun, like here, and no Dad.

Fucking perfect.

When I find that fuck, I’m going to haul him home. And then, behind closed doors, I’m going to punch him in his fucking teeth. Kim’s friend Leah saw Dad at a coffee place in Fairplay with a woman who was not Kim. When she called John crying, he told me, but I asked him to handle it because I was enjoying Jamie so much. Also, I trust John not to throat-punch Dad. His temper’s not as hot as mine is.

So he went. And then he texted me when Jamie and I were settled in the theater and said he’d tracked Dad’s iPhone via Dad’s Apple login info, and Dad and the woman were at what he thought was a ranch near Blue River. He said he needed to get back and check on one of his buddies, and he wasn’t sure what he should do, anyway. Ring the doorbell?

So I told him we’d switch places.

Kim’s my stepmom, but she’s better to Casper and I than our own mom ever was. Rumor has it Dad cheated on her, but that’s not true. Mom cheated on Dad, and after that, I guess he has a trust problem or something, because he’s fucked around on Kim, the sweetest woman ever—she gave John her Nice Genes—from almost day one. It’s shameful. Dad should feel ashamed, but I’m not sure he does.

I’m about to ask him. If I can find this fucking place. If I can get out of Breckenridge. It’s snowing hard as hell.

GWENNA

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