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“We’re not calling nine-one-one.” Evie started frantically pacing the room again. “What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?”
“Let us go then,” Chess suggested. “I’ll get Kendall to the hospital myself, and I won’t tell them that you did this.”
“No, no, no, I can’t let you go. That will ruin everything.” Evie pressed both hands, including the one with the gun, to her temples. “Shut up. I need to think.”
Chess didn’t want to shut up. She wanted to scream at the crazy lady to let them go so she could find a way to save Kendall. However, common sense told her that that would likely worsen the situation. So, she decided to go with another tactic.
After taking a deep breath to calm her rattled nerves, Chess proposed, “Why don’t you tell me what your plan was, and maybe I can help you make a new one?”
Startled by the offer, Evie turned to face Chess with wide eyes. “Huh?”
“You know how smart I am, right?” Chess coaxed, “I’m sure I can find a way to help you solve your problem.”
The offer was ridiculous. Even someone with half a brain would’ve seen it for what it was; a ploy to buy more time. But years of working with Evie had taught Chess that Evie wasn’t the brightest crayon in the box, so she was hopeful that she might bite.
And like the idiot she was, Evie bit. “You want to help me?”
“Why not?” Chess shrugged. “You did me a favor, so I’d like to do you a favor too.”
Surprise shone in Evie’s eyes. “I did you a favor? How?”
“You k-killed Derrick.” Even though it hurt to sound jubilant and grateful, Chess managed it. “He betrayed me, so by getting rid of him, you helped him. Any enemy of his is a friend of mine. So technically, you and I are friends.”
The speech wouldn’t have worked on a rational person. But this was Evie.
Evie thought about it for a second then nodded. “Okay. So, my first plan was to frame you. I sent that hand to Donna and made it look like you sent it. But that plan didn’t work. You weren’t even arrested.”
The confession left a bitter taste in Chess’s mouth, and she immediately wanted to launch herself at Evie. But that gun kept her seated on the ground and uttering a dry, “Ah! I see.”
“So I had to go with Plan B - frame Kendall.” Evie continued, “I planned to make Kendall kill you, then make her write a suicide note saying that she killed you and Derrick for having an affair. I already sent her an email so the police will know why she was angry at you. Afterward, I was going to make her kill herself, that way everyone would stop looking for another killer. But now that she’s unconscious-” Evie shot Kendall an annoyed look. “- I can’t do all that. So you tell me, how do I frame her?”
Was this psycho even hearing herself talk? She’d just confessed to luring Chess to this motel to get killed yet was asking for her help. If one looked up the word ‘stupid’ in the dictionary, they’d see Evie’s dumb face smiling there.
“Okay, let me think.” Chess forced herself to look pensive even as her mind raced.
Where was Tazeem? Had he not heard her S.O.S? How long was she supposed to distract Evie? When was help getting here? She noted that Evie was no longer pointing the gun at her and her arm was slack by her side. Should she go for the gun? No, there was too much distance between her and Evie. By the time she got to Evie, she’d already be shot and dead.
Buying time was the only way to go… for now!
Chess inhaled slowly then spoke. “Obviously, framing Kendall wouldn’t have worked.”
Evie looked almost offended as she asked, “Why not?”
“Well, Kendall doesn’t own a gun, and I’m sure they’ll want to know where that gun came from.” Chess pointedly stared at the weapon in Evie’s hands. “If they trace that gun, they won’t find out that you bought it, right?”
Evie didn’t say a word, but her horrified expression gave her away.
If Chess wasn’t so scared, she would’ve scoffed. This woman was as incompetent at murder as she was at her job.
But Evie wasn’t willing to admit her idiocy. She pouted, “Then I’ll just take the gun with me after I’ve shot her.”
Chess side-eyed her. “Then how would it be a murder-suicide if the weapon is not on the scene?”
“Well… um… um…” Evie stuttered. “Maybe I’ll use another weapon, like she could hang herself with the bed-sheet.”
“Too much work.” Chess twisted the knife in deeper. “And your prints are all over the scene. You’re not even wearing gloves.”
Evie looked at her hands then frantically rubbed them on her leggings. “I’ll- I’ll wipe everything down before I go.”
