"Chloe is lying." I stepped into her space. The sand shifted beneath my feet. "Just like she lied about being Leah's best friend. She's covering for someone."
Whitney sneered. "Your daughter is the liar."
"Peyton broke into my house," I said. "She took Leah's painting from Mia's room, slashed it, and spray-painted GUILTY across it." I watched her face. "Peyton's the one who's guilty."
Her tan went ashy under the perfect makeup. "That's ridiculous."
"Is it? Because I know your daughter buried something here the morning Leah died. Right here."
Her gaze cut past me to the disturbed circle of sand. Whitney's hand went to her throat. The diamond-encrusted bracelet trembled against her skin.
The sky pressed low and heavy. The air tasted metallic. A storm was coming.
"Or did you already know that?" I asked.
She smiled, small and mean. "Wake up, Dahlia. Your daughter is a killer. Leah was leaving Mia behind. Jealousy is the oldest motive in the book."
My mouth went dry. I couldn't show her any weakness. I raised my chin. "Mia is innocent. And I'll prove it."
Something calculating and dangerous flashed in her eyes. Her shoulders squared, her mouth twisting. "None of us ever liked you. We only pretended for Rowan's sake. You're a project to her, a distraction so she doesn't have to think about her miserable marriage. She keeps you around so she can feel superior."
Even now, the spiteful words burrowed under my skin. They hurt, in every raw and bruised place. I let the feeling burn through and out. "Oh, go to hell, Whitney."
"You don't belong here. You never did."
I took another step toward her. Five feet apart now. "Get out of my way."
Her gaze hooked on my purse. For one heartbeat, she hesitated. The country-club smile vanished, something feral in its place. She let her heels drop to the sand.
Whitney lunged at me.
It was quick, the strike of a cobra. Her fingers grasped my purse strap and yanked. The leather bit into my shoulder. We grappled. My heart slammed into my throat.
Sand slid under my feet, and my knee went sideways. She was stronger than she looked, all lean tennis muscle and adrenaline. The bag thudded between us.
"Let go!" she demanded through gritted teeth.
I staggered back, wrenching my purse from her grasp. We lurched to the edge of the wet sand. Waves crashed over my feet and ankles. She went for the purse again with one hand. With the other, she swiped at my face with her nails.
I dodged. One nail scraped my cheek. I brought my elbow up, a sharp ugly jab into her stomach. With a grunt of pain, she stumbled. Her bracelet snagged the clasp of the purse. I wrenched hard, then shoved her.
Whitney went backward, skidding. Her feet lost purchase. She went down hard on her butt. Her dress slid up her thighs, her Louboutin heels scattered beside her. Her diamond bracelet had fallen off; it glinted in the sand. She sat there, looking stunned, more from the insult of falling than the impact.
From somewhere up on the bluff, a siren threaded into the wind, distant but unmistakable.
My blood turned to ice water. Before I could react, my phone vibrated in my purse. Keeping one eye on Whitney, I slid the phone free. The screen glowed pale in the gloom. It was Camille:Just FYI. Police at your house with search warrant. Do with that what you will.
Gratitude flooded through every cell in my body. Camille hadn't completely cut me off. She'd chosen to warn me.
My only thought was for Mia. I had to get to Mia.
Whitney scrambled awkwardly to her feet, plucking her bracelet from the sand even as she reached for me, for the camera. I cut past her, felt the brush of her fingers on my arm, then nothing. I ran. The stairs reared up ahead, a ribbed gray spine up the bluff.
"You bitch!" she shouted after me.
I sprinted up the stairs. The camera banged against my hip with each stride. I hit the first flight two at a time, legs pumping. The wind tried to push me backward. I leaned into it, thigh muscles shaking, heart like a fist in my mouth.
Halfway up, my foot skidded. I caught myself with a jolt that rattled my teeth. Another splinter drove into the sole of my left foot. I barely felt it.
