Wednesday Afternoon, Continued
“Hey guys.” Alex’s eyes were rimmed with red, but his half-smile was relaxed. His hair was artfully disheveled, like he’d been running his fingers through it all day. But it was arranged just enough to make me think he’d checked it in the rearview mirror of his car to make sure it was cool messy versus flat on one side and standing up straight on the other. Versus Paisley, who’d obviously been crying into her hands all day.
Alex pulled a chair over and turned it around, so he straddled it at the other end of the table. He snagged the rest of the brownie.
“Benji was eating that,” I said.
Alex turned toward me, but Benji spoke first. “It’s not worth arguing over it, Harper. We have other things to worry about.”
“I can always buy him another.” Alex brushed a strand of brown hair away from his eyes.
“I can’t believe she’s gone.” Paisley’s voice wavered halfway through. Tears spilled down her cheeks, creating small rivers in the face powder she’d applied since her last cry.
My whole body tensed up. Gin squeezed my shoulder again. I took a deep breath, telling myself to calm down.
“I have to ask,” Alex stared directly at Benji, “did Sarah raid the stash of drugs from the burglaries? You have the stash squirreled away with the money, right?”
Benji shook his head. “Whatever she overdosed on, she didn’t get from me. She could have snagged something from Gin’s house when she broke in, and kept it for herself. But I didn’t see her go near the bottles of Valium and Ritalin I took to Alex’s. She left early.”
“Can someone even overdose on Ritalin?” Alex asked.
“If they took enough, yeah,” Gin said. “Any drug can be toxic.”
“Even vitamin C?” Paisley asked and we all swiveled to stare at her. Her mouth wobbled like she was about to start bawling again.
Gin smiled at her. “I assume so, but I’d have to research it to tell you how much would be fatal.”
The whole table was silent for a moment. Benji stared at the table, his face blank. Paisley dabbed at her eyes with the napkin Gin had pushed across the table to her. Alex’s foot tapped against one of the table legs.
I dropped a bomb into the middle of the table.
“No way Sarah committed suicide, and I can’t see her overdosing. She wasn’t that stupid.”
Gin muttered my name and Alex snapped his head around to stare at me. “What are you suggesting?” Alex asked.
I glared back into his eyes. “That it wasn’t an overdose or suicide.”
Alex shook his head. “Who would want to kill Sarah?”
“You mean other than you? You had the best opportunity.”
Everyone stared at me. Paisley’s mouth was open. Gin rubbed his hand across his eyes. Alex clenched his hands and his entire face tightened. “How dare you say that.”
“So you deny it.”
“It must have been an accident.” Benji’s gaze darted between the two of us. “Harper’s just upset.”
“I can fight my own battles, Benji.” Alex sounded dismissive, but there was a current of anger under his words. He didn’t even look at his cousin and instead kept his eyes on me. Something about the look in his eyes told me he wasn’t telling me everything.
“You’re hiding something. And what was with the SnapPics you sent me earlier, telling me to keep my head in the game?”
“What? I didn’t send anything to you.”
“Liar.” I should have taken screen shots of everything.
Alex stood and leaned over the table. His hands closed in fists and he put his weight on them as he stared at me. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I stood and stared back. “Lying asshole.”
“Harper, let’s go.” Gin stood, his body square to the table. Alex turned to look at him and they locked eyes. Gin maintained eye contact with Alex as he pushed me lightly toward the door, but I stared at the two of them. Gin was an inch or two shorter than Alex’s six-two, but he’s more muscular than Alex’s lanky frame.
Benji jumped to his feet as if he’d be able to break up a fight between them. Gin put his hand on my shoulder and we walked out of the coffee shop, Alex staring at us the entire way. Paisley had her hands over her face, and Benji was focused on his cousin.
I took a deep breath when the door shut behind us. My hands trembled.
“I’m sort of pissed at you right now. That was mean. You can’t go around accusing people of murder with no proof,” Gin said. We walked up to his Jeep.
He turned and faced me. “And what about SnapPics?”
“Alex sent them this afternoon. It had to be Alex. He asked what I told the police and warned me that I could get in trouble for giving Sarah drugs. But I didn’t. Give Sarah drugs, I mean.”
“I know you didn’t,” Gin said, and some of the anger pulsating through me simmered down, but I could still feel it gurgling inside me.
I looked Gin straight in the eyes. “Do you think Sarah committed suicide?”
He sighed and leaned against the car. “I can’t see her doing that. But I also don’t see Alex snapping and killing her. Why would he? It has to have been an accident.”
“Snapping? Maybe he planned it.”
Gin shook his head. “Not his style. He’s not as bad as you, but he’s reactionary. He’s not a planner.”
Reactionary? Like me? Was that true? Not that I hadn’t been called impulsive before. Alex and I had planned the last burglary in advance, but it wasn’t an in-depth plan. It was just chance that I’d known about Marisa’s family being out of town. Would he have figured out a target and actually planned a break-in without my help?
Maybe Sarah’s death was an accident.
Maybe I even owned Alex an apology. But something inside told me there was more to the story.
I looked up to meet Gin’s eyes studying me. His shoulders weren’t as tense as they had been, but he didn’t look relaxed. Poor Gin. He’d gotten me out of the coffee shop before Alex and I completely blew up. He’d been willing to redirect Alex’s anger toward himself. I sighed and stepped forward, reaching up to cup the back of Gin’s head as I brought it down so I could stretch up and reach it.
Gin pulled back after a moment. “Want to go back to my place?”
My phone buzzed in my pocket for the third time, and I held up one finger in a wait gesture before pulling the phone out and reaching the screen. My father telling me to go home because he wanted to talk to me about what had happened today. I shook my head at Gin, although going home sounded terrible. “Another time.”
A car started up behind us and I glanced back to see Paisley pulling away from the curb with Alex next to her and Benji sitting in the back. Alex glared at me as they drove past us.
Definitely not over.