“Yes, Liam apparently broke the news to him last night, just as Drew and Heather were coming in the door from a charity event. Vic spoke to Drew soon afterward, though the man was too devastated to even say much. I think Vic might be talking to him again now because I overheard him say Drew’s name.”
I can’t imagine how Jamie’s uncle must feel.
“And what about Sam Morgan?” I ask. My heart lurches as I ask the question. “Has anyone reached out to him?”
“Liam was going to make that call last night, too.”
The bread pops up, and Ava plucks it from the toaster.
“Ava, who could have done this?” I ask plaintively. “The police asked if I’d noticed anything out of the ordinary last night, as if they think the killer might have been someone at the party. Could that really be possible?”
“They asked us that, too, but it’s so difficult to fathom,” she says.“People adored Jamie.” Since her back is to me, I can’t read her face, but I’ve noted the slight hesitancy with her words. For the second time I wonder if there’s something going on that I’m not aware of.
As she serves me the toast, footsteps approach and we turn in unison to find Vic in the doorway. His thick silver hair is standing on end in places, and his face is haggard, as if he lay awake most of the night.
“Any news?” Ava asks.
“Yes, that was Drew on the phone,” he says, his voice uncharacteristically subdued. “The man’s a wreck, needless to say, but he’s doing his best to stay in the loop. He has a contact in the state police who’s shared information that’s not being released yet.”
“And?” Ava says, worriedly.
Vic flicks his gaze a little to the left, so he’s not making eye contact with either one of us.
“Nothing’s final yet, they’re waiting for the autopsy, of course, but—” His voice catches. “Jamie’s death appears to have been a suicide. It seems he pulled the trigger himself.”
5
VIC’S WORDS ARE LIKE A HARD KICK TO MY GUT.
“No,” I protest, almost wailing. “It’s not possible. Jamie would never do that—and besides, how would he have suddenly gotten his hands on a gun?”
“The gun was illegal, apparently, with no serial number,” Vic says, “so he must have bought it on the black market, though we might never know when. I spotted it on the floor of the car when I checked Jamie’s pulse, and the horrible thought crossed my mind at that point—that he’d done this himself.”
“But the killer could have left it there,” I insist. “Maybe he didn’t want to risk being caught with it—or he dropped it in a panic. Don’t you think this could have been a failed robbery?”
“Yes, Vic,” Ava interjects, looking stricken. “Isn’t that a possibility?”
Her husband shakes his head, looking reluctant. “Perhaps, but according to Drew, Jamie’s phone and wallet were still on him. And robberies, let alone murders, are rare here. As shattering as it is, all the evidence is pointing in one dreadful direction.”
Am I really supposed to believe that Jamie took his own life? That minutes after he told me he was through the worst of our breakup and had no hard feelings, he strolled out to the field, pulled out a gun he just happened to have in the car, and put a bullet through his brain?
If itistrue, surely this all has to do with me. Because it occurred only minutes after our conversation. Something I said or did last night must have triggered his actions—either that, or my mere presence did.Please, I plead to the universe,don’t let that be the case.
“Was—was there a note?” I ask weakly.
“Not in the car,” Vic says. “Drew and Liam are going by Jamie’s house today to see if there’s anything there.”
My body has started to boil over with panic, as if someone has come up behind me and thrown a hood over my head. Ava is speaking to me, I realize, but her words are a blur of sound.
“What?” I murmur.
“I said I hope you’re not blaming yourself, Kiki,” she says. “Because I won’t allow that.”
The mere fact that she’s saying these words proves that the thought has crossed her mind, just as it will cross everyone else’s.
“But...” I say, my voice quavering.
“Kiki,” Ava says. “If there’s one thing I know for certain, from both work and from life, it’s that people are responsible for their own actions. We can’t allow ourselves to think otherwise.”
