Take the Fall(83)

His face is blank. If he’s playing oblivious, he deserves an award.

“Come on, Marcus. The photo was smart, and the fingerprint—it totally threw me. Even the second postcard would’ve been brilliant if I hadn’t figured it out.”

He shakes his head, his brows drawing together. “Second?”

I focus on his hands because I think I’ll lose it if I meet his eyes. “Look, before anything else happens, I just want to know where we stand . . . if any of what happened between us was real. Because some of the things you—”

“Sonia, what are you talking about?” Marcus steps toward me, his face patient, but bewildered.

“You’ve been meeting with Kirsten, in secret, just like you have with me.”

He presses his lips together, his silence cutting the air between us.

I look at the paintings decorating the back wall, but the once-vibrant colors seem dull to me now. “So, is it just that I don’t have thousands of dollars to dig you out of debt, or is it something more?”

His face darkens. He turns away, hand in his hair. “Okay,” he says, turning to me again. “She approached me after the funeral. We talked and she offered to help me with the money, but—”

“Of course she did,” I whisper.

“She’s not like Gretchen. She’s just trying to figure this out, like you and me.” He shakes his head, clearly flustered. “There’s nothing else going on.”

When he reaches for me, I pull away. I so want to believe him, but right now even his touch feels like a lie. It would be awful enough if I thought Marcus had simply been using me, playing with my feelings while running around with Kirsten. But the photo and postcards—Marcus even said they were meant to scare me. If he and Kirsten are the ones behind them, I need to know why.

“Sonia, please. Everything I’ve told you was the truth.”

“Including the part where you lied about Gretchen telling you all her secrets?” My fists are clutched so tight I barely notice the sweat trickling down my hairline. “Reva had a few things to say about that.”

He swears under his breath. Hurt and fear vibrate through every nerve in my body. “Okay, Reva shared that with me herself, but everything I told you about it was true.”

My throat feels like it’s closing. “Just like that alibi of yours.”

Neck tattoo guy glances our way. Marcus hunches his shoulders and lowers his voice. “Look, just tell me what this is about a second postcard.”

“No.” I sway on my feet, dizzy with the heat. “No more weird games or threats, I can’t do this anymore.”

“But I’m not—”

“Just . . . what do you guys want?” My jaw trembles. Alex Burke was a convenient distraction, but neither Kirsten’s nor Marcus’s whereabouts were clear the night Gretchen died. I’ve been careless, let my guard down—again. I think about Gretchen’s memorial, tossed into the falls. If Kirsten and Marcus did that too, there’s no doubt.

I’m the next bitch down.

“We all just want the truth.” He balls his hands into fists. “My whole life is on the line here, Sonia. I’ll do just about anything to prove I didn’t kill Gretchen.”

My mouth goes dry. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

A breeze moves through the open door. My head clears and I step toward it, but when I look up, a blonde in a sundress blocks my path.

Kirsten stops short when she sees me, her eyes flitting over my shoulder. I think of her inviting me over, pretending she cared, and my only thought now is how right Gretchen was to hate her.

“Sonia.” She smooths her dress. “I was going to call you this afternoon. The sheriff—”

“I know you didn’t show him the second postcard,” I cut her off.

She pauses, shifting her purse from her right arm to her left. All I want to do is run out the door, but my neck prickles as I realize I’m trapped between her and Marcus.

She glances at him and exhales. “Okay, I didn’t show him. But only because—”

“Kirsten.” Marcus’s voice is gruff.

I look up. Her eyes flash, but her face is a mix of annoyance and uncertainty.

“We need to talk,” he says.

I step away, testing to see if one of them will try to stop me. I need out of here. As much because I’m scared as I don’t want to watch the two of them together. A few more feet and I’m at the door. Noah’s Passat is right outside. I just need to get in and drive away. From all of this. From everything.

“Sonia—” Marcus calls.

The warm air outside hits my skin like a chill.

Kirsten speaks up behind me. “Just let her go.”





THIRTY-NINE


“ONE LAST PIN AND MY masterpiece will be . . .” Haley looks up at me in the mirror. Her face falls. “What’s wrong? You don’t like it?”

I wipe away a tear with a shaking hand. “No, it’s beautiful, thank you.”

Haley spins me around in the desk chair so I’m facing her sitting on the bed. She fusses over my smearing makeup, but then squeezes my knees and looks straight into my face. “It’s not going to be the same without her, huh?”

I hold a tissue in front of my face and shake my head, but I wish that was all there was to it. In a way, she’s right. If Gretchen were here tonight I’d be able to focus on hair and nails and dresses and heels. If she taught me anything, it was how to compartmentalize. I’d have a whole other set of concerns getting ready at her house, wearing her dress . . . but Marcus and Kirsten wouldn’t be among them.