Once I’m seated, he turns the phone to face me. The first image is a match. “That’s him.”
“Shit,” he mutters. “That’s her brother, Silas.”
“What!”
Shane is pacing next to the table. “What does that mean? That can’t be a coincidence.”
Serenity lets out an exasperated sigh. “Of course it’s not a coincidence. Don’t be an idiot. Camille Bayliss offed her husband while Aubrey gave her a perfect alibi. I bet the brother was there to solidify it.” My mouth hangs open and she looks at me, confused. “What? That’s what I would’ve done. That’s freaking rock solid.”
I’m shaking my head. “I just talked to her. She’s a wreck. And she said she didn’t do it.”
Serenity laughs. “And you believed her? She wanted out of her marriage and boom, now she is.”
“Shit, you may be right,” Eddie says.
I sit up. “I didn’t cover for her so she could murder him!”
He points to his chest. “I know that’s not why.” Then he points at me. “You know that’s not why.” He gives me a look like the next sentence will be painful to say. “There’s a real good chance that’s why, though.”
Deacon walks back in, catching the end of our conversation. “It’s not the time for half-assed theories.”
“What did Vic say? Was he the one who sent the picture to Ben?” I ask Deacon as soon as he sits down on my other side.
He nods. “Yeah. Ben had him go check on Camille to make sure she was where she was supposed to be. Said she had been acting weird and he felt like she was up to something. Vic had no idea that wasn’t her. And since we didn’t share our plans with him, he wouldn’t have known he was screwing them up.”
I drop my head in my hands.
“He’s also freaking out,” Deacon adds. “He knows it’s only a matter of time before the cops come talk to him.”
Popping up, I ask, “Will he turn on us? Tell them what we were doing?” Because it will just make me look more guilty than I already do.
He shakes his head. “I just reminded him what will happen to him if he does.”
I twist my hands in the hem of my shirt while I take in everything he said. “The thing is, I feel like Camille is way more exposed than I am. I had her phone. Her car. Her credit cards. That’s a lot of trust to put into someone. Into me. Would she really do that if she planned on killing her husband? And if she did, y’all know I screwed something up. Got caught on surveillance video or something. And then it will just look like I was helping her!”
Shane tilts his head to the side. “Gotta agree with Aubrey. That’s a big risk to take.”
Deacon’s worry for me is clear on his face. “The problem is Ben’s dead and both of you went to great lengths to hide your actions that day. If it comes down to her word against yours, who is everyone going to believe?”
My stomach flips so quick I put my hand over my mouth because it feels like I’m about to puke. Of course they’ll believe her. And she has connections I don’t.
Deacon gets up and runs the dish towel under the faucet, then brings it back to me. “Put that on your throat.”
The coolness helps more than I thought it would.
“What do I do now?”
“Nothing,” Deacon says, and everyone nods in agreement. “You don’t say anything. You don’t talk to anyone. You said it yourself; his wife is more exposed than you are. We wait and see what happens.”
“She said she was going to reach out to me in a few days. Do I talk to her?”
Shane stops next to my chair. “Hell, no. In fact, run the other way if she tries to talk to you.”
The back door opens and we all turn toward it. It’s Serenity’s boyfriend, Frank. He seems surprised to see us all sitting here. “Shit, sorry.” Then he nods at Serenity. “I’ll wait for you in the truck.” Then he ducks out, shutting the door behind him.
She hops up from the table. “Gotta go. Someone fill me in on what I miss when I get back.”
I stare at her as she flounces out of the kitchen without a care in the world and wonder how she can be so calm. But I guess it’s not her neck on the line, it’s mine.
