a dime from grieving to seething. “Everything is just dandy. Wouldn’t your kind just love to see me wallowing in misery, rolling around on the floor, wailing just to have him back? Well, it’s not happening!”
“Boy trouble.” I wince. “Please accept my apology on behalf of my gender everywhere. Any idea where Serena might be? I’m sure she’d be concerned and want to comfort you.” It’s true. Serena has shown this girl just as much affection as family. I know she’d want to take care of her friend, and I would encourage it no matter how hard my penis campaigned for her attention.
“Hell, if I know.” She swipes a napkin off the nearest table, undeterred by the fact there are a couple of wide-eyed patrons staring her down for the brazen move. “She said something about taking you to a lumberyard to fool around.” She blows her nose and heads for the exit.
“Lumberyard?” Holy crap. I catch up to Harley once again. “Hey, did Serena say she was headed to the lumberyard tonight?”
She tosses her arms in the air. “I don’t know. I couldn’t take her seriously. She’s been acting funny ever since she talked to that girl from the yoga class.”
“Belinda Johnson?” Crap. “Is that why Serena was headed to the lumberyard?”
Harley takes a step back. “Look, I thought she was kidding. First of all, why would she go to the lumberyard without you?” She sucks in a lungful of air, and her eyes expand the size of platters. “That girl is nuts!”
“Call the police and tell them to head to the lumberyard.” I run the hell out of the Black Bear and jump into my car.
I call Marlin and shout for him to head on over himself.
I hope to God we’re not too late.
The lumberyard is eerily quiet save for the hum of a motor coming from the work shed. I’ve beaten the police and Marlin by a landslide, so I take advantage of the moment and park by the evergreens. I jog over to where I spot Serena’s car alongside another in a similar make and model, and my heart begins to jump out of my chest. I may as well surprise whoever the hell I’m coming up on. My guess is Shelby Trainee, but what the hell would Barry’s newly wealthy sister want with Serena at this time of night?
A trio of muffled voices stream from inside the aluminum barn, and I hear Serena’s high-pitched frantic voice going off a mile a minute, most likely pleading for her life.
Good girl. Keep it together. Keep yourself on this side of the dirt. There is no way in hell I’m letting anything happen to Serena. I couldn’t protect my sister that day she fell off that embankment—and losing another person I love is something I can never repeat. I almost didn’t survive the first time. I won’t be able to the second.
My heart drums right through my ears as I step lightly over to the opening.
I duck my head a moment and spot Serena standing in front of a wood stack with her hands up high. Next to her vibrates a bright yellow machine with a metallic chute that’s usually hungry for wood.
The chipper.
Holy hell. My entire body seizes. I glance to the left and spot two people standing nearby, neither of which is Shelby Trainee. It’s Craig Carter and Belinda Johnson. I recognize her from her picture on the gym’s website. After Serena mentioned what she knew about her, I did a little digging of my own. Not nearly enough.
Serena spots me, and her eyes grow wide before she looks back at her captors. “Since I’m going to die anyway, why don’t you fill me in on the real reason you killed Barry—Belinda.”
Belinda? Belinda killed Barry?
Serena clears her throat. “You said you were dating Barry at the same time your own sister was engaged to him—that you didn’t want her to find out. But Barry didn’t want to leave Hannah for you, did he? So when Hannah broke it off because she suspected something fishy going on, he broke it off with you—didn’t he? And I bet he was about to expose you—humiliate you. Why else would you pull the trigger?”
Belinda bubbles with laughter as if she were at happy hour with friends. “Barry and I were hardly dating. He was no boyfriend of mine. Craig here is the real deal. I couldn’t stand Hannah’s constant preening about her perfect life, her perfect fiancé. Everyone could tell