“Hello, Buck. It’s Penny. Sorry to drop in unexpectedly like this, but we were in the neighbourhood, and I thought it might be nice to see you.”
Taya, Bea, Penny, and Evie sat in chairs at Buck’s dining room table while he chattered on about dinner plans and how there was plenty to go around if they were interested.
“I’ve been gardening all afternoon, and when I stopped, I fell asleep in my favourite armchair. So, I’m only now having dinner. Grilled cheese. Anyone else hungry?”
“No, thanks,” Taya said.
“We’ve already eaten,” Penny explained.
There was a thud in the next room. It startled Bea. She was on edge, sitting in Buck’s kitchen. She’d heard Betsy confess to the murder with her own two ears, but something about Buck still unsettled her. She couldn’t help it. The fear she’d felt around him was difficult to forget, even with the latest developments in the case.
“What was that?” she asked.
He glanced in the direction of the sound. “Nothing. So, what brings you to Blue Shoal?”
Sweat beaded on his forehead. Bea’s eyes narrowed. Another thump made her fidget in her chair. “Do you own a cat?”
“What? No cats here.” He laughed.
“We’re having a high school reunion,” Penny said. “We’ve got to get back. It’s still going on.”
“Well, don’t let me stop you,” he said. “If you have to go, you have to go.”
He turned off the stove and moved to usher them in the direction of the front door. Bea stood with the others and walked awkwardly ahead of him.
“Uh, okay. I guess I’ll see you another time.”
He nodded, smiling. “It was nice of you to stop by.”
Footsteps in the hallway, as though someone crept towards them, made Bea’s heart thud. “Is there someone else in the house?”
“Of course not…”
Penny bustled past Buck and stepped into the hallway. “Betsy!”
Betsy strutted into the living room and regarded the group through narrowed, dark eyes. “Hello, ladies. How lovely to see you all. I hope you didn’t come all this way to pay me a visit.” She laughed.
“Didn’t Frank report you missing?” Taya asked.
Buck was pale. He lowered himself into an armchair. “Betsy stopped by. I don’t know where she’s been and she didn’t give me any warning.”
“He’s as clueless as usual,” Betsy added, waving a hand in his direction. “Some things never change.”
“I thought you were on the run from the police,” Penny said, her chin jutting out.
“I’m leaving tonight, but I’ve misplaced some jewellery that means a lot to me. You wouldn’t happen to know where it is, would you?” She studied each of their faces one by one.
“Of course not,” Taya huffed. “You must think you’re so clever, fooling us for all these years. But we cared about you. We were your community, your friends. And you betrayed us.”
Betsy shook her head. “You couldn’t understand, honey. You’ve never been in an impossible situation like mine. I did what I had to do to protect my family, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
Penny’s eyes flooded with tears. “You killed my grandmother. I thought you were my friend.”
Betsy’s cheeks grew red. “I didn’t want to do it. But like I said, I didn’t have a choice. She was threatening me. Said she’d turn Buck in for what he’d done. If she did that, I’d have lost everything. My husband would’ve found us. He’d have killed me and taken Frank.”
“You could’ve gone to the police.”
“Haven’t you figured it out yet? The police on this island are hopeless. They wouldn’t have done anything to protect me. And where could I go then?”
