AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“One hundred percent,” Bella said. “He left threatening notes for Rita in her room.”
The realization washed over Ariana. “And he knows our plan. He’s been in our group, listening all along.”
“Why would he kill Mateo?” Damon asked. “I thought they were best friends.”
Rita frowned. “I don’t think any of us knows the real Javier. He’s been working for me for a long time, and I never suspected him capable of any of this.”
“Does anyone else know it’s him?” Ari asked.
“We saw Grayson’s aunt and uncle and told them.”
“Are they the ones who found your grandma?”
Rita’s mouth dropped open. “Someone sawAbuelita?”
“We just dropped her off in her room,” Damon said. “She seems perfectly fine.”
“Where was she?” Bella exclaimed.
Ari and Damon told the story a second time.
“We have to see her!” Rita ran off, and Bella quickly caught up.
“Watch out for Javier!” Ariana called.
Damon leaned against the wall. “We need an entirely new plan.”
“Should we follow Rita and Bella? Then we can come up with a plan altogether.”
“I wish our phones worked. Nobody else knows it was Javier. I still can’t believe he killed Mateo.”
“He had us all fooled.”
Damon grimaced. “Especially me. We were talking in the ballroom earlier, and he seemed genuinely upset over Mateo’s death. On the other hand…”
“What?”
“It did seem like he was hiding something.”
“Now we know what.” She took one of his hands and rubbed circles on his palm. “Don’t feel bad about not seeing through him. Nobody did. We all took him for a prankster when he was harboring a dark secret.”
“I should have better senses than that.”
“You’re only human.”
“But I’m Cal Jones’s son.”
Ari squeezed his hand. “You’re also a good person. Don’t beat yourself up. Killers trick trained investigators. Come on. Our best bet is to find anyone we can and let them know to stay away from Javier.”
“We also need a plan.”
“Another good reason not to sit here and wallow.”
“You’re right. We need to cover as much ground as we can.”
They continued down the hallway then rounded a corner, heading toward the rooms most of the guests were staying in. They nearly crashed into someone.
It was Javier.
