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I don’t expect to find the intruder at the gazebo cliff, but I do hope to find proof they were there. And I hope our about-face scares the shit out ofthem.They’re the hunted ones now. They’re the ones trapped on a remote island withus.
The first part of our walk is silent, Jayla beside me, her flashlight beam straight ahead as mine scans the darkness.
Then, when we’re crossing the tiny bridge over the stream, she says, “Do you think it could be Sadie?”
“Hmm?” I say, still deep in my thoughts.
“The person behind this. I’m wondering if it’s Sadie.”
I frown over. “Sadie trying to buy Hemlock Island?”
Jayla rolls her dark eyes. “She doesn’t have the cash for that. I mean, could she be the one doing the staging? Yes, I agree that, as motives go, money is the obvious one, but there are others. Like payback.”
I flinch, and it takes a moment before I say, carefully, “For stealing Kit from her.”
“What?” She looks over, face scrunching up. “Kit and Sadie hooked up once years ago. And yes, I know about that. The idiot confessed to me, because he knows how I feel about her.”
“And wanted absolution?” I consider. “No, that’s not Kit. He wanted you to know before you heard it on the grapevine. Like he said, he’s always been more willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Because we didn’t tell him everything she’d done.”
“Yep, we were decent about it, and look where it got us. What’s this about stealing him?”
I shrug. “She phoned me after the wedding. It was…” The memory flashes. “Kind of awful.”
“She got nasty.”
“The opposite, actually. She was drunk, and yes, she was angry but she was crying, too. She said she’d had a crush on Kit for years,and they finally got together, but the timing was wrong. When she backed off, I swooped in. Payback for…” I shrug. “You know.”
Jayla stops, boots squeaking on rock as she turns to face me. “She seriously thought you married Kit to…” She sputters and waves a hand. “I can’t even find words, and you know Ialwayshave plenty to spare. You got together with Kit twoyearsafter their fling, yet you apparently married him tospiteher?”
“She was drunk.”
“Obviously.” She resumes walking as we climb the hill. “If anything, though, that’s one more point in favor of my argument. I had no idea she had a crush on Kit—”
“Neither did I,” I cut in. “Just to be clear.”
“Oh, that was already clear. I did suspect she’d set her sights on him, but in a far more calculating way. Hearing she drunk-called in tears…” She shakes her head. “I won’t feel sorry for her. You can do that. I won’t. But she feels as if you stole Kit from her, and she already had issues with you, so could this be payback?”
“She staged the occult stuff to scare me?”
“Hey, we all know you’re a horror fan. Someone else might have seen a hex circle and mistaken it for a kid’s drawing. You’d know what it is. Also, if she thinks you stole Kit, then maybe, in a twisted way, this is appropriate revenge. You took him from her, so she’ll take his marriage gift from you.”
I shrug as we reach the top of the cliff. Then I turn to look out, the breeze tickling my face and setting my hair aswirl.
“You never want to think the worst of her,” Jayla says. “Even when she damn well deserves it. She showed up here to get between you and Kit. You know that, right? He ran to your rescue, and she came to block him. That’s a dick move. Bringing Garrett?” She whistles, the sound echoing around us. “She’s lucky we didn’t drive them off the island with pitchforks.”
“I don’t think blocking Kit was her motivation.”
Jayla sighs. “Of course you don’t.”
“No, I really don’t.”
I tell her what Sadie said in the laundry room.
“She—she what?” Jayla sputters. “She actually asked you…?”
“More like demanded.”
“Shethreatenedyou? Aboutthat?”
