Page 61 of Camera Stays On

It took me a moment to absorb her words. Me? She thought I killed Lux?

I shook my head. “I didn’t kill her, and you know it.”

“Do I?” She pulled back and turned to face the rest of the group. “Because while you were upstairs, we all got to talking, and you’re the only one who doesn’t have an alibi.”

“That can’t be true. Everyone was drunk.” I looked around the circle, my eyes landing on Ash. He swallowed deeply.

“If you didn’t kill her, then where were you all night?” Juliet asked.

“If you just let me go inside, we can look—” Bea started to speak, but Sawyer cut her off.

“Answer the question, Purdy. Where were you?”

My mouth fell open. The audacity of this man. I ran through my options. Did I dare blurt out that I’d spent the night cuddling with his brother and risk him shooting me again, or did I lie, and risk everyone’s accusations? I slid my gaze over to Asher, looking for an answer. His eyes looked just as desperate and panicked as mine did. He took a step forward, causing me to speak.

“I spent the night with—”

“Me,” Bea blurted. “She was with me, all night.”

“No, you weren’t.” Juliet huffed.

“Prove it,” Bea pushed back. “Because last I checked, I had access to the cameras. You don’t.”

Juliet’s mouth opened and closed, and she glared at Bea. Finally, she threw up her hands.

“The fact that she can’t come up with an alibi is proof enough.” Sauntering back over to Sawyer, she put her arms around him, causing him to stiffen and then relax. He put his arm around her waist and looked at me.

“I didn’t do it,” I reiterated.

“I know,” Sawyer muttered. “She’s just distraught.” Juliet took the opportunity to snuggle deeper into his side, which caused him to sigh. “Juliet, why don’t you go inside? We’ll finish this.”

She lifted her head and glared at me, then switched to tears. “You really think I could sleep across from her? What if she decides to shut me up too?”

“What are you talking about?” Asher rolled his eyes. “What would Andi need to shut Lux up about? She barely knew her.”

“I heard Lux talking about the fire. It’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” She turned to me.

Heat flooded my face as I felt all the eyes on me. They didn’t really believe her, did they?

“What fire?” My eyes searched the group.

“The one at your work. It’s the only reason you’re here. Your job caught fire, and you ran.”

I cocked my head. How did she know about The Pink Curtain?

I narrowed my gaze at her. “That’s an interesting retelling of events. Maybe whoever heard Lux spouting that rumor knew it was bullshit.”

There was no way Lux had set fire to my job. I was almost sure Sawyer was the culprit.

“So you agree—Lux’s death was murder.” A slow, evil grin spread across her face, and I realized she’d trapped me. Of course it was murder. How could it not be? Feeling like a fox cornered, I folded.

“Fuck you,” I muttered and turned, limping away. “I’m going for a walk.”

No one stopped me from going, although I felt a tad absurd with how slow I was going. The woods were so much farther than the house was to the fire, and each step felt like I was pressing my foot into glass, but I refused to turn back and see if I was being followed. I didn’t expect or want anyone to follow. I finally made it to the tree line and dipped into the shadows. The moment I couldn’t be seen, I let my body slump and fell back against a tree.

I needed to catch my breath. Once I was able to breathe again, I looked for the nearest stump or log and found a cut-down tree in the distance. Making my way there, I sat down and rested, while I thought of what to do.

As I sat in the silence of the woods, the sun went down, blanketing me in darkness.