“Owen wouldn’t let it go,” Margaux said. “He never accepted what happened was an accident. It was. I didn’t go with a pre-meditated plan. But I did try to comfort him. He pushed me away. Good riddance.”
Obsession drove her. She might not have intended to kill Liz, but Margaux had in the heat of the moment. Emma struggled to make sense of the truth. If Margaux accepted responsibility and truly sought forgiveness, He’d find a way. As long as she pushed Him out of her life, however, she trapped herself in an expanding web of sins.
“Is that why you came back? To talk to Owen?” Daniel asked.
“He wouldn’t stop bugging me to visit,” Margaux said. “But I couldn’t. I wasn’t allowed.”
“And for good reason,” Chad interjected. “Look what happened when you did? You’ve created a huge mess. Your family’s money and standing can only do so much. Like trap me into a sham society marriage.”
“I did this for us,” Margaux shouted, her face red with rage and her neck muscles popping. “I had to make sure no one would ever know.”
Emma breathed in deep through her nose, expanding her lungs and willing herself to calm down. From first-hand experience, she knew to keep her emotions at bay while dealing with someone else’s. “What’s in the time capsule? What were you worried about?”
“Pictures,” Margaux said. “Disposable cameras. Developed photos. Preserved negatives. Anything might have been picked up. Jennifer and Christine were always snapping photos or stealing cameras to take those primitive selfies we all loved back then.”
“What did they capture?” Daniel asked.
Emma was glad to have his support. She stretched her pinky finger to rub against his hand.
“I couldn’t be sure if they’d caught me out of the bunk that night. I’d worn the scarf a couple of times. It was a polka dot silk square that I tied in my hair. Or maybe they had a picture of me arguing with Owen.” Margaux threw back her head and cackled. “Can you believe I had a crush on that loser?” She shuddered. “I was so blinded by Liz. I wanted everything she had, including her stray. Then, after it happened, I went home and reinvented myself. Here I am. On top of the world.”
“Darling,” Chad drawled. “All you did was slip away undetected. You got lucky once. Now you’ve come back to wreak havoc and need my help cleaning up. But I have it all worked out now. I’ll take care of it.”
“Does that include her?” Daniel asked. “Margaux is the one you ultimately need to silence. She keeps complicating your life. You could make everything a lot simpler if you had the courage to do what you know you need to.”
Emma shuddered. She knew Daniel’s words were meant to play the spouses against each other, but the cool finality chilled her to the core.
“Enough,” Margaux shouted, raising a gun and spinning wildly.
Emma shut her eyes tight, blocking the twirling assassin from view. And prayed.
Daniel rolled them sideways. He kicked out, connecting with Margaux’s wrist.
“OUCH.” She cradled her wrist as the gun clattered to the ground. “That really hurt.”
Her indignant tone set his teeth on edge. Her pain was superior to what she had inflicted on others? His wrists burned like he’d plunged them into a fire from the movement against the tight bindings. He was lucky his rash action hadn’t caused the weapon to fire. Instinct spurred him to action.
“A gun? Are you kidding?” Chad screeched. “Do you even know the mess that will leave? We’ll be caught before we board the plane home. DNA everywhere.”
Philip bent and retrieved the weapon, sheathing it in the holster on his belt.
“How did you get away with it the first time?” Chad asked.
“Because it was an accident. Spur of the moment.” Margaux waved her arms and paced. “A rainy night. Most of the evidence washed away.”
“We’ll need fire to erase evidence this time.” Chad stroked his chin.
Philip neared and righted Daniel and Emma, meeting Daniel’s gaze.
He couldn’t puzzle out the look the bodyguard shot him. Would Philip help them? Why? To avoid an accessory to murder charge? Daniel prayed Agent Reynolds had made contact with Jennifer and Christine and the deputies. Please let someone be on the way.
“I followed her. It was raining. She told me to go. She called me…” Margaux sniffed. “Maggot. Just like all those other girls. We’d been friends for years. I thought it was genuine. I thought she cared about me. But she threw it all away. She revealed the truth. She wasn’t any better than the mean girls.”
“What happened? Did you pull her down the hill? Twist her neck? Choke her? What did you do?” Chad asked.
Daniel didn’t know why the husband cared for details about something that didn’t impact him and happened so long ago. Unless he was wired. Perhaps he would he turn on his wife. Maybe Daniel wouldn’t be burned alive. He gulped.
“I took the short cut, made it to the top of the hill before her and grabbed her,” Margaux said, her voice distant and wistful. “It was so easy. Her neck was slim and bright, like a flashing beacon calling to me. I twisted a scarf around her throat and tightened. She broke free, and I pushed.” Margaux pantomimed shoving an imaginary figure backward. “She disappeared from view. I expended so little effort that it was almost like someone else did it or like it was pre-destined. I was the winner. I’d come out on top.”
