As though it was, Charlie nodded, pretending to understand.
Nancy Wright was a slight woman. No more than five foot two, probably a good ten pounds underweight with small features and small bone structure, she wasn’t an imposing figure. Had it not been for the angry expression, she probably would’ve blended into the wallpaper, familiar with fading into the background. Even though she had control of the room since she wielded the knife, she looked as though she wanted to disappear into the floorboards.
“Nancy, why are you doing this?” Annie asked, her voice trembling, her expression one of a terrified woman.
Charlie got the impression Annie Hawkins was good at pretending to be something she wasn’t. Not for a second did Charlie believe that woman was scared of Nancy.
“Me?” Nancy’s voice raised slightly, waving the knife. “This is all your doing.Youdid this.”
“Me?” Annie’s gaze shot to Charlie briefly, then back to Nancy. “Whatever are you talking about, honey? I think you’re just traumatized. Losing your husb—”
“Don’t you dare,” Nancy seethed, her delicate features hardening.
Charlie watched the interaction, not moving so Nancy wouldn’t feel threatened. As it was, Cedric Hawkins was currently laid out on the floor unconscious. She didn’t know if he’d be breathing for much longer, but she wanted to believe he would. If only she knew the extent of his injuries, she might be able to gauge what she should do next. When she’d come into the house, he’d appeared to be conscious, surprising Charlie with his presence. He was the man they’d been looking for, and here he was, alive and well. Only he didn’t look all that well anymore.
“This isyourfault,” Nancy told Annie. “This was all your idea.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Annie declared haughtily, her gaze snapping to Charlie again. “I think he drugged her or something. She’s not making any sense.”
Oh, yeah. Definitely the master manipulator.
“Andyou!” Nancy bit out, glaring at Mallory Jacobs. “You went along with it. Did you even know she was sleeping with our husbands?”
Based on how Mallory’s red eyebrows launched skyward, Charlie would take that as a no.
“She’s insane,” Annie stated, looking right at Charlie. “You know that, right? She’s insane. Anything she says is a lie. She’s been abused for years. That makes her crazy.”
Charlie remained completely still, trying to get a read on what was going on here. She didn’t know if anyone was outside preparing to breach the house, but she had to believe her team would come for her. They would get her out of this and hopefully get everyone else out of it as well. And then she could apologize profusely for jumping the gun and not bothering to clue them in when she should’ve.
Nancy glared at Mallory. “Did you know she was screwing Seth when she killed him? In her own bed.”
Mallory’s green eyes were wide as she stared over at Annie.
“It’s a lie,” Annie said, again sounding bored with the conversation.
“Peter told me,” Nancy admitted, stabbing the air in Peter’s direction. “You called him when you needed help removing his dead body. From. Your. Bed.”
Annie’s eyes narrowed infinitesimally before she schooled her expression. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Seth died at the club. In the locker room. You read the report yourself.”
“Seth was never at the club,” Charlie noted.
That appeared to be news to Mallory. “What?”
Keeping one eye on the knife-wielding Nancy, Charlie told Mallory about her visit to the club on Tuesday. No sooner were the words out than she realized she wasn’t helping the situation at all.
“Peter did that, too,” Nancy admitted, glaring at the lawyer. “You paid someone to falsify the report. You were protectingher!”
“You were sleeping with him?” Mallory asked, her voice small, almost childlike.
Charlie watched the exchange, wondering who Anniewasn’tsleeping with.
Annie shook her head but didn’t look at Mallory.
“You told me he was sleeping with someone else,” Mallory accused. “And it wasyou?”
“Does it matter?” Annie retorted. “He wasn’t faithful to you, Mal.” Annie looked at Nancy. “And Brian. He was trash. He beat you, for chrissake, Nancy. He would’ve killed you if he had the chance. I had sex with him to take the edge off his frustration.”
Ouch.
