“I—I don’t know.”Mckell was gripping her collar so tightly that her knuckles were white.“I walked around.I knew Dean would be with the guys, and I didn’t want to be alone in a hotel room by myself.”
“No,” Jem said.“You found Gerald while he was still preparing for tomorrow’s meetings, and you convinced him to let you walk him back to the chalet because of the snow, didn’t you?”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“You knew he’d seen the Prowler messages.That’s why his mood changed on Friday.He’d seen the copy on Stripling, with that picture of your house, and he knew you’d tried to blackmail Tafton.He was going to tell Dean.Maybe he was even going to tell the police.And you weren’t going to let that happen.”
“I went for a walk.I don’t know what you want me to say.”
She turned toward Dean, and he took a shuffling step away.
Nora leaned back in her seat.
Aiden froze mid-pace.
“You don’t believe this, do you?”Mckell asked.“He’s making it up.He’s not even a real detective.”
“It was easy money,” Jem said.“And you needed money.Dean’s a teacher, and teachers don’t make much.You don’t work.I thought it was strange how worried you were about the cost of the retreat after someone killed Gerald, but I figured that’s just how some people are.Priorities, you know?But I should have been asking how you could afford the retreat in the first place—not to mention the beautiful home, and the clothes, and your hair.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”Sawyer shouted.“What the fuck, Mckell?Dean!”
Dean was trying to shrink down inside his shirt.
“This is crazy!”Mckell’s mouth hung open slightly.Her lower lip trembled.“I’m not going to stand here and let you say these horrible things about me.”
“It’ll take time,” Jem said, “but the police will match the messages from Prowler to your phone’s IP address.They’ll track down conversations you had with other guys.They’ll find your bank accounts, and they’ll find money you can’t explain.They’ll find someone in the hotel who saw you making your way to the multipurpose rooms last night.Hell, they might even find someone who saw you helping an old man out of the lodge.This, right now, is the moment your entire life starts to come apart.”
Mckell let out an incoherent sound and started toward the door.Jem moved into her path, and she slowed.Her face darkened.And then she reached under her sweatshirt and pulled out a gun.
When she aimed it at Jem, he put his hands up.He said, “That must be Gerald’s.”
“Get out of my way.”
Jem slid aside.
“Mckell,” Dean warbled.He sounded like he was on the brink of tears.“What are you doing—”
“Oh, shut up.”Mckell twisted past Jem, the barrel of the gun tracking him.“He’s lying.I didn’t do anything.”
“Then where’d you get President Fitzpatrick’s gun?”Aiden said.
“Oh my gosh, Aiden,” Quinn muttered.
“This ismygun,” Mckell said.“And I have to carry it for self-defense because I can’t trust Dean to do anything right.”She gestured toward the briefcase on the coffee table.“Give me that.”
“What happened with Tafton?Did he see you when you were supposed to be at the movie?Or did you just need a fall guy, and you knew he’d be perfect?”
“Give it to me!”
“Sure,” Jem said.“Put down the gun—”
Mckell opened her mouth.Her eyes were wide and bright, and it looked like she was about to laugh.
And then her head rocked forward.She took a stumbling step, and her legs folded, and she collapsed.
Behind her, Stephen held a leather sap at his side.
And behind him, Brigitte said, “Now get the briefcase.”
