She shrugged. “I pointed you right to him and you went. He was living in sin with his girlfriend, did you know that? He never even planned to marry her.”
Tammy was far worse than I ever thought. I thought her judgments of others were harmless. Boy, was I wrong. I lost feeling in my feet as I clutched the top of the stone lantern. Distantly, I heard sirens. There was Oscar. There was the cavalry.
I wasn’t sure they’d make it in time.
Barry growled at me, but then his attention went to the fish circling in the pond. He barked at some of the colorful tails as they slapped the surface. But the overconfident little dog got too close to the edge and, with a startled yip, fell in. Tammy shrieked.
Now was the time.
I focused all my energy on using my arm to swing my crutch. I connected with the side of her knee, sending Tammy flying to the pebble path. Barry the dog paddled furiously.
“How dare you hit a defenseless old woman?” she said from the ground as she tried to sit up.
I focused all my remaining strength and swung my arm, hitting her again, this time in the face, and she flopped backward, knocked out cold.
“What’s happening out here?” I heard Jude say, dashing out onto the porch, even as the lights of Oscar’s SUV flashed at the gate.
“Succinylcholine!” I told Jude as he ran toward me, praying his doctorate included some pharmaceutical chemistry. “She injected me with… succinyl… cho… line… Muscle relax… ant… for surgery,” I croaked, staggering on my feet.
Jude stretched his arms out to me, but it was too late. I was already falling. I swayed and toppled straight into the koi pond, narrowly missing Barry. The splash of water was the last thing I felt before everything went dark.
Twenty-Two
Fandom of the Canceled Killer dwindled when it was discovered she was a fifty-something homemaker and retired spy who believed women should not be able to vote or have their own bank accounts. A large and ever-growing contingent of Canceled Killer fans refused to believe a fifty-five-year-old woman could even be capable of such crimes. Most believed Russo to still be the killer.
—Crime Hivepodcast
I woke to the steady beep of my heart monitor inside the confines of Lake Sanguis Community Hospital. My throat felt raw and my head throbbed as I glanced over and saw Jude sitting at my bedside, reading a book. He looked so sweet there, dark glasses sliding down his nose. His sexy nerd energy ramped up to 1,000 percent.
“Jude,” I managed, my voice sounding dusty and old, but I didn’t care because I was alive. Jude’s head snapped to attention, and his puppy-dog eyes lit up.
“Hey, El,” he said, and grabbed my hand through the tangle of IV tubes. “How you feeling?”
“Shitty,” I groaned. Then I remembered. Tammy. The Canceled Killer. “Tammy!” I cried, trying to sit up from my pillow.
“Don’t worry. She’s down the hall. Police are guarding her room. You gave her a serious concussion.”
I wished I’d given her more. Harmless neighbor, my ass.
“You’ll also be glad to know that Barry is absolutely fine. He didn’t drown.”
“Oh—good?” I croaked and rubbed my throat.
“Need some water? Here,” Jude said, handing me a hospital-branded plastic cup. I took a sip and sank back into my pillow. “Your mom and dad and Olivia have all been here since yesterday, but they went to grab a bite to eat at the hospital cafeteria. They should be back. I’ll text them and let them know you’re awake.” He focused on his phone for a second, typing out a message. He glanced up at me. “Thank God you were able to tell me the chemical. I knew what it was immediately—succinylcholine. Common muscle relaxer.”
I vowed never to make fun of Jude’s nerd tendencies ever again. All those chemistry classes paid off.
“The doctors had to put you on a ventilator for a while until the drugs wore off, but now you’re good. They said you might have a nasty headache.”
“Way ahead of you,” I groaned, holding my head.
“But the doctors told your parents you should be fine,” he said.
I felt rage flare up in me. I shouldn’t even be here at all. “Tammy’s insane.”
Jude nodded. “We know. Police found her diary. She didn’t admit to any killings, but she sure had a lot of hot takes about the victims. Seems like she wanted to take us all back to the 1950s. She really hated the idea of women in corporate leadership positions.” Jude shook his head. “You probably won’t be surprised to know the internet refuses to believe it, though. The Canceled Killer lost support but it seems like the die-hard fans refuse to believe it’s Tammy and not Russo. He’s still getting marriage proposals.”
“Good luck with that,” I said. “Russo is an unhinged stalker, a regular old singular murderer. But he’s not a serial killer, so I guess, good?”
