I stare at the driver’s license. I should’ve known when I saw his Marine Corps tattoo.
Beth grasps my arm. “Gigi must’ve found this when she was in his stateroom earlier, remember?”
I nod as a myriad of questions flood my mind. What the hell is he doing here? Had he come to avenge his sister’s death? To off us one by one? The boat creaks as we tip to the side. I keep hold of Gigi until we level out.
My eyes widen in the morning light streaming through the window hatch above our heads. “Adam—I mean Russell—and Gigi were arguing about something before the wave hit. I thought they were fighting over how to unjam the mainsail, but what if she confronted him about being Courtney’s brother?”
Beth gasps, lifting her gaze to the boat deck above. She lowers her voice. “He must’ve locked Gigi out on purpose when we all came below.”
I replay the chain of events in my head. Beth was the last one to come down, and Russell was the one who’d shut the door.
“He must be here seeking revenge for Courtney’s death,” Beth continues. “If he wrote that note, he obviously thinks one of us killed her. What if we’re all next?” Her last word comes out louder than the rest.
“Shh!” I warn, raising a finger to my lips. “He’ll hear you.”
“Hey.”
I startle and turn, finding Russell standing in the doorway. “We need some help up top.”
Beth holds up the wallet before I can stop her. I inwardly curse her as she waves it toward Courtney’s brother.
“You lied to us,” she says. “You’re Courtney’s brother. That’s why you can’t sail.”
Russell clenches his jaw, appraising Beth and then me.
“Beth,” I warn.
“Why? Out of some sick revenge for us coming home from that trip without Courtney? We tried to find her! So, what’s next? You’re gonna kill the three of us too?”
I’m vaguely aware of Emma’s bare feet treading down the wood steps as Beth steps toward Russell. I grab Beth’s forearm, envisioning Russell, as muscled as a linebacker, striking her down with a single blow.
“What’s going on?” Emma asks pushing past Russell, looking between him and Beth. “Adam, I still need—”
“His name’s not Adam.” Beth whips around to face Emma. “It’s Russell.” She thrusts the wallet at Emma’s chest. “He’s Courtney’s brother. And now the captain and Gigi are dead.” Beth folds her arms, shooting an icy glare at Russell over her shoulder. “I say we push him out in the dinghy.”
Russell straightens, his pectoral muscles visible through his shirt. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“What?” Emma’s face flushes with anger when she looks up from Russell’s ID.
“Gigi confronted him,” Beth continues. “And he locked her outside.”
“That’s a lie.” His jaw tightens, the muscles rippling beneath his skin as he clenches his teeth.
Emma’s gaze settles on Russell, her expression darkening. “I’ll kill you myself.”
“Stop!” I scream as Emma pummels forward, slamming Russell against the kitchen cabinets.
He grips Emma by the shoulders and pushes her back. “I didn’t kill anyone!” He holds up his palms. “I’m just here for the truth—that’s all I want.” When Emma raises a fist in the air, Russell lifts a forearm in front of his face. “I swear on my sister’s life, okay?”
She keeps her fist raised but makes no move to hit Russell.
He lowers his forearm, keeping a palm in the air. “After my parents died last year, I had to go through their things before putting their house on the market. I found an old diary of Courtney’s. I knew my sister could be cruel, and her diary proved it.” He flexes his jaw and looks between the three of us. “But it also proved that every one of you who went on that trip with her had a motive to kill her.”
Emma lowers her fist.
“I know that area where you hiked—very well. I went back there after reading in Courtney’s diary about the things she’d done to all of you. If she really went missing where you said, I don’t understand why her body was never found. Tracker dogs traced her scent to the river’s edge near where you said you got in the rafts. The search and rescue teams believed she drowned, likely pinned beneath a logjam in one of the seventy miles before the river hits the Pacific, but I don’t buy it. Not after reading the things in Courtney’s diary that she’d done to each of you.”
I look away from Russell, my muscles tensing as my gaze drifts from Emma to Beth, trying to gauge what they’re thinking.
