Woman on the Edge(65)

“It’s not me!” Donna says, no louder than a whisper.

“Don’t move!” I hear from behind me. Ben and I turn. Tessa stands, her blond hair tangled and disheveled. Quinn is in her arms, held too tightly. “Get your backs against the wall, next to Donna.” She swings her body around so hard that Quinn’s head thuds against her arms.

Slowly, Ben and I walk over to Donna, who’s trembling on the ground by our feet. She looks up with those watery blue eyes so full of pain, and so much regret.

We stand against the wall as Tessa instructed. I can feel Ben vibrating beside me. I focus on Quinn, whose beautiful eyes are filled with fear.

Ben leans forward. “Tessa, what do you want with Quinn?”

Tessa edges closer to the open doors of the terrace. She smiles beatifically. “I’m saving her. I’ll tell the police Donna was stalking Nicole. Because she knows Nicole killed Amanda. I found Donna here, but it was too late. Overdose. Quinn was alone and screaming,” Tessa says. Her face is composed, but her eyes are wild. “Then her auntie Tessa will get custody of her.”

Donna is curled on her side. She whimpers, “This is all my fault. I’m sorry. She’s the reporter.”

I look at the floor and the orange bottle of pills. Nicole’s name is on them. I tap Ben’s hand once and slide my eyes to the pills. His eyes follow.

“What kind of pills are in that bottle, Tessa?” he asks gently, carefully.

She kicks the bottle with her foot, so a few pills spill out. “You should know, Ben. You brought them to Nicole.”

Ben peers at the round, white tablets and breathes in so sharply I hear it. “Those pills aren’t the Xanax she asked me to bring. Those are zolpidem. Generic Ambien. Nicole should never have been taking Ambien.”

“As far as anyone knows, she texted you and you brought her Ambien instead of Xanax. The generic brands all look so similar, but you’d think a doctor would be able to tell the difference. Unless he wanted his own sister to become paranoid.”

“And suicidal,” Ben says. I hear him struggle to control the fury in his voice.

“Shame she already had a panic disorder. Those pills really tipped her over the edge. Literally.” She carelessly dangles Quinn over her arm so her neck flops back.

“You sent me that text from Nicole’s phone, didn’t you? Asking me to pick up her prescription.”

I dig my nails into my palm until I draw blood. If I could just take Quinn from Tessa.

Ben lets out a soft stutter of pain. “You switched my sister’s pills.”

She slams Quinn against her chest, making the baby howl. “What the fuck did you ever do for Nicole, Ben? Nothing! Was I worth nothing to her? What do you think?”

He doesn’t answer. I look at the red wig on the floor and recall the terror in Nicole’s eyes on the platform, looking everywhere for someone who might hurt her and Quinn.

“You stalked Nicole and us, pretending to be Donna or Melissa,” I say quietly, scared to set her off even more.

“You don’t get to ask questions anymore,” Tessa hisses. “You weren’t a part of Nicole’s life. I should have been acting CEO. Nicole never even asked or gave me voting power. I should have gotten Quinn! And those shares of Breathe? They should be mine.” Tessa advances on me quickly. The baby wails, and the sound pierces my soul. “What kind of fucking mother trusts her child to a total stranger?”

One who didn’t trust anyone she loved. One who was on drugs that cause paranoia and depression.

In a shaky voice, I venture, “You made Nicole believe Greg was sleeping with Melissa, didn’t you?” I go one step further. “Were you sleeping with him?”

“Nicole should have paid more attention to her husband. I stepped in to help.” She presses Quinn too hard to her chest. The poor child won’t stop screaming.

So Greg and Tessa were having an affair. Was he involved in Nicole’s death, too? I don’t ask because Donna moans and tries to stand, but Tessa kicks her legs out from under her. I stifle my scream, horror nailing me to the wall. I feel Ben touch my hand, and I grab his in return. I’m desperate to reach for the pepper spray in my purse, but she’ll see me and kick me before I can get to it.

I’m afraid to push her any further, but I have no choice. “We know you’re M in Chicago, Tessa.”

She whips her head to glare at me with eyes devoid of humanity. “It’s always the husband, isn’t it? Greg’s the one with access to Nicole’s phone and computer. And he’s dead.”

“No, he’s not,” Ben says.

Tessa jerks her head back in shock. “Greg told us everything, Tessa,” I lie. “Us and the cops. They’ll be here any minute.”

Quinn screams and screams, and Tessa shakes her. “Shut up!”

“It’s over, Tessa. There’s nowhere to run. No one left to blame.” Ben steps an inch forward.

She moves closer to us. Then she transfers Quinn into one arm and reaches into her back pocket. She takes out a small-silver-and black gun.

My vision gets fuzzy, and I will myself to focus. All I can see is Ryan lying in a pool of blood on the floor. My insides turn to liquid. Ben is completely frozen beside me.

Tessa is pointing the pistol at us both.

I think I hear the sound of sirens in the distance.