Page 72 of My Sister is Going to Kill Me

“Livvie.” Guy put a hand on Liv’s shoulder. “It’s okay to be scared.”

She shrugged him off, but Guy kept going. “Babette was beloved by so many. By everyone here, I’m sure. But sending up smoke signals to the National Guard is not going to bring her back.”

“This is not okay,” Liv said. “Right, Mand?”

Mandy didn’t know what to say. She was still half dizzy from the shock of it all, and she wasn’t sure what she thought about when and how to call the cops. But she got the sense Liv wasn’t just asking about what they should do. She was asking whose side Mandy was on.

When she didn’t respond fast enough, Liv shook her head. “We can’t do this.”

“Someone didn’t love her,” Charlie muttered.

“What?” Mandy asked.

“When I found her, she was still alive,” Charlie said. His shaking had settled into a faint tremor, but he was still holding tightly to Devon’s arm. “She was up on that throne, writhing in pain, clawing at her shirt, yelling at phantoms. Raving about how it wasn’t her company anymore, how someone was trying to take it all. And then she just”—he shuddered again, a full-body expulsion of the memory—“seized up.”

“She was alive?” Fiona said. The perfect skin between her eyebrows puckered. “For how long?”

“I don’t know,” Charlie said. “It might have only been a couple minutes.”

PK looked at him with open hatred. “You really think we’re going to believe this? If anyone was trying to take Babette from her, it was you and Devon.”

Guy stepped forward. “May I suggest we continue this conversation down by the rafts? Over dinner, perhaps?”

“You.” Charlie’s voice shifted from terrified to fierce. “You came down with her. You could have hurt her. You had all that time on the trail with her and—”

“Whoa, buddy,” Guy said. “Let’s think before we speak, shall we?”

“Is that a threat?”

“Enough,” Big Pete cut in. His voice was tight. “We’re a team. The faster we get moving, the faster the authorities can come to our aid. Let’s go. Daylight’s fading. And no one else is getting hurt on my watch.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Liv looked around at the others, staring mutely at the not-Babette, at the tomb that was once a throne. A brittle, frenetic energy—half shock, half fear—buzzed through the ragged cluster of guests. Money won’t protect you. Cross me and you’re dead too. Liv had assumed Mandy’s threat referred to her and Guy’s investment, and Charlie’s threat to Justine Long’s accidental death—both ruthless ways of Babette asserting dominance over her partners. Now Liv wondered if she’d gotten it wrong. Who had really written the threats? Who needed protection now?

When Big Pete signaled for them to hike back down to the river, Liv hustled to the front, falling into step behind the lead guide.

“We should end the trip,” she whispered.

“Not my call.”

“We don’t know what happened, and we have to mitigate the risks,” Liv said. “We radio it in, and then we go back to the rim. Maybe we’ll run into Marc. Either way, we’ll get back to civilization.”

“This group is not capable of safely hiking up to the North Rim.”

“My dad hiked down,” she said.

“So did Babette. And look how well that went.” Big Pete shook his head. “Putting aside the fact that it’s getting dark and everyone is exhausted, the trail to the North Rim is a beast. It’s three miles longer than the trail you took from the south. It climbs fifteen hundred feet higher. It’s tough even for the most seasoned hikers.”

“Then we helicopter out,” Liv said.

“Can’t do that from here either. We’ll call it in to the authorities. Later tonight, I can find out if Marc made it back to the office. We’ll figure it out from there.”

“But—”

“This isn’t a democracy. Let’s go.”

Liv fell back and listened to the nervous bickering of the guests behind her. Big Pete was still in charge of the backcountry side of this trip. But who was in control of Babette’s company now? By the time they reached the boats, Liv had a partial answer. No one was in charge, but most everyone wanted to be. While Thor explained the situation to Katy on the beach, Charlie, Devon, Stefan, PK, and Guy huddled around Big Pete like eager benchwarmers, each jockeying to direct what should happen next.