Now
Emma was conscious of movement, of thunderous noise. She couldn’t find the surface. She couldn’t find air. And then there was an arm around her, hauling at her painfully. Of water surging over her face and the scrape of rocks under her. Then she was coughing, JJ’s arms around her, holding her against JJ’s chest as she murmured in her ear.
“I’ve got you. I’ve got you,” she was saying, and Emma blinked awake under a blue sky, in the mud of the riverbank. The bridge was on her right, which seemed wrong. They’d gone into the water upriver of the bridge. Had they been swept that far?
Emma tried to speak and just coughed instead, the taste of river water filling her mouth. She managed to straighten up, pulling away from JJ, and braced herself against the ground with one hand, the other pressed to her abdomen. Her shoulder felt like it had been packed with ground glass.
“Emma?” JJ asked.
“I’m okay,” she managed, more optimism than observed reality. JJ had a nasty gash on her forehead. Her thick hair was plastered in tendrils to her cheeks, hanging soddenly around her shoulders. Emma assumed she didn’t look much better. “You?”
“I’ll live,” JJ said shakily. “Wasn’t sure you would for a minute. You let go.”
“I didn’t want to drag you down with me,” Emma said. “I might have overestimated my memory of high school swim lessons.”
JJ’s teeth chattered. “Emma—” she started.
The river almost hid the crunch of boots on the rocks. JJ twisted, Emma struggling up to her feet as Rick Hadley emerged from the trees. His gun was in his hand, and as JJ stood, he pointed it straight at her. Emma started to put her hands up, only for sudden pain to shoot through her shoulder, lancing down to her fingertips. She let out a strangled scream, and JJ lurched toward her in alarm.
“Stop,” Hadley said, jerking the gun at her. “Tell me where the drive is.”
“You were the one working with Dad,” Emma said, cradling her arm against her body. “Did you kill Kenneth Mahoney when he tried to turn you in?”
Hadley laughed. “Ken didn’t try to turn anyone in. Not at first, at least. First, he tried to blackmail your father. You can guess how far that got him.”
“All the way to the old quarry,” JJ said dryly, and Hadley flinched, just a bit.
“And then Dad called you and told you that one of us knew,” Emma said. “What happened? Did you realize you needed to tidy up your loose ends?”
He gave her a strange look. “I didn’t do anything to your parents. I loved Randolph like a brother. I loved—” He stopped. His throat bobbed, and Emma sucked in a breath.
“You were sleeping with Mom,” Emma said. “You had Logan’s gun.”
“No, I didn’t,” Hadley said.
“You did. You took it from him,” she insisted.
“And I gave it to your mother,” he shot back. “She said she was afraid of Randolph. She needed a gun he didn’t know about. That no one knew about. It was already in the house, Emma. And so was Juliette. Just like she was at the house the day Nathan died. All Nathan told Ellis was that he might have found something that cleared you. Not your sisters, you. You tell me where that drive is, and I’ll back you up. Juliette’s the one who attacked me. Juliette’s the one with the criminal record. Just tell me where it is, and I’ll make sure you don’t have to give birth in a jail cell.”
Their father had told him about the flash drive. Told him that one of them had seen it. And death had come to their house. Hadley had worked so hard to keep the suspicion fixed on Emma. No need to look anywhere else.
Until Nathan found the drive. And foolish, trusting Nathan had called Ellis right up. And, of course, Ellis would tell Hadley—Emma Palmer’s husband found something. He’s coming by in the morning.
Except, she thought.
“Hello? Helloo-oo!” called a voice. Hadley froze. Emma straightened up, staring at the tree line as Daphne strode out, clad in a bright pink top and striped leggings and waving frantically. “Is everyone all right? I saw a car in the river and the police car and I heard voices and I thought, Oh my goodness, there is something going on here and I’d better check that they don’t need help!”
“Ma’am, please go back to your car,” Hadley said. He turned, letting the gun drop to his side.
Emma saw the moment he recognized Daphne. His eyes went wide. His arm tensed. And Emma launched herself forward. Two staggering steps and she threw her arms around him, bear-hugging his arm against his body, ignoring the flash of pain. Between his surprise and her momentum he lost his footing and the two of them crashed to the ground together.
JJ was there an instant later, wrapping both hands around the gun and stomping on his elbow. He yelled, lost his grip. JJ flung the gun toward the water. Hadley rolled on the ground, pinning Emma beneath him. His hand was on her throat. His weight bore down on her windpipe, his face contorted in rage.
Above him, Daphne appeared. In both hands she held a rock the size of a football. With a look of utmost calm and concentration, she brought it down on the back of his head. Once. Twice. Three times.
Hadley toppled to the ground. Emma writhed out from under him, clutching at her throat, breath coming in sobs. Then JJ was there, hands under her armpits, hauling her back from Hadley—but Hadley wasn’t moving.
Daphne dropped the rock. It landed with a thud next to her, one side slick with blood.
JJ sat with Emma, holding her semi-upright. She could feel the frantic beating of her sister’s heart.
“Is he dead?” Emma asked hoarsely. Daphne knelt beside Hadley.
“He’s breathing,” she said. “But he doesn’t look good. I hit him pretty hard.”
“How did you—?” Emma began.
Daphne bared her teeth in something resembling a smile. “I guess it’s a good thing I was tracking you. I saw your phone was in the river. Then I saw Hadley’s car and I was sure something was wrong.”
“Thank you for being so nosy, Daphne,” Emma said with feeling. She reached out. Daphne caught her hand, their fingers lacing, and their eyes locked. Daphne let out a shaky breath, and Emma felt a shiver go through her. Not so icy calm after all. In the distance, sirens wailed, growing closer.
They were going to have a lot of questions to answer.
“It was him,” JJ said. She sounded dazed. “I remember. I didn’t kill them. I found the gun on the ground. It wasn’t me. And he must have—when Nathan called Ellis, he must have told Hadley.”
“He killed Nathan to stop him from turning over the drive and the gun,” Daphne said. “He knew everyone would just assume it was Emma.”
“Right,” Emma said softly, not quite meeting her sisters’ eyes. Except.
Except that Hadley hadn’t had the drive.
Her sisters were perfectly silent and perfectly still. JJ with her arm around Emma, Daphne’s hand gripping hers.
They looked at one another, and the sirens grew closer. Daphne brought her other hand up, clasping Emma’s hand between both of hers. She leaned in close, pressed a kiss against Emma’s cheek, and whispered in her ear.
“No one can know.”
Emma said nothing.
Just as she always had.