“So Shepherd’s Bay’s finest speaks.” Felicia walked over to him with the gun pointed at his head. “You found out about that boy, did you?”
“It was no accidental overdose, was it?”
“Hardly. And yet the police had no evidence to prove otherwise. Jalen called Gil that evening and told him he was planning to go to the cops and tell them what he saw Gil and Willow doing after a party one night.”
“He barged in on them?”
“I don’t know all the sleazy details,” she said. “But I despised Willow for coming between us, even when she was a little girl. Gil said she reminded him of a younger version of me. He said I changed after the pregnancy and became a different person. Well, I changed for him by having that little brat. I gained weight, added wrinkles, and suffered from postpartum depression. I loved him so much that I couldn’t bear to see him go away to prison, especially when he claimed to be writing a screenplay with me in mind. So I took care of the situation with Jalen the way I took care of my costar seventeen years ago.”
“You killed Dean, too? Why?” Karl said.
“He was a major pain in the ass on and off set, high maintenance and never on time. Stupid jerk could never remember his lines and was always hungover. Sure, I liked him in the beginning. He was harmless fun. Then Gil came into my world, although I tried to resist his charms. I told him I was involved with Dean, but he kept wooing me with flowers and gifts and saying he could make me into a big star. Give the man credit. He was persistent. He finally convinced me that if Dean was out of the picture, I’d be the sole star of the show and have tons of leverage. Then go on to act in blockbusters and win awards. He said that with his help, I would become America’s sweetheart.”
“So you decided to kill Dean?” Isla asked.
“Not at first. But Gil said they couldn’t fire Dean, because the ratings were too good, and Dean was under contract for season two. There was only one way out, and the way he phrased it made it sound like it was an idea that only I could pull off. It took only one injection to do the trick, and knowing Dean’s troubled history with drugs, no one had any reason to believe otherwise. Dean even let me shoot him up.”
Julian began to cry in the front row. Karl had forgotten about him. Had he also been shot? Was he here because this was his house or because he, too, had witnessed Gil and Willow’s debauchery?
Felicia became irritated as Julian continued to wail. She shuffled down the aisle, keeping the gun aimed at him. Julian cried out in agony, saying his parents were upstairs and had been shot by Felicia and left for dead. Felicia ordered him to shut up. Rather than stop, Julian pressed his head into the barrel of the gun and begged her to end his misery.
Felicia’s finger tickled the trigger as she looked over at Isla. “You’re just lucky this idiot kid came along when he did, or you would have ended up in the bay.”
“So it was you who tried to run me off the road,” Isla said.
“Of course it was me. Why do you think I called you to come over? I was the one who followed you after that wash and blow-dry.” She turned her attention back to Julian. “Okay, lover. Time to say good-bye.”
Karl reached down and snatched the gun off the toe of his shoe. Then he jumped up and fired the weapon until he emptied it. Blood spattered against the screen behind Felicia. She staggered back, in shock, eyes open, until she collapsed against the screen, which showed her younger self on that fictional college campus, kissing her handsome costar, Dean Wells. Music played as the credits started to roll.
Isla clutched Raisin to her bosom and turned back toward Karl. Whether her expression was one of horror or gratitude, Karl didn’t quite know. Or care. This long nightmare was finally over. Or would soon be over, once they found Katie and Willow.
He called the police station for support and then sprinted out of the room to search for the two girls. His best guess was that they were somewhere inside the bowels of this