Hours later, they were huddled at the Penowa gas station, waiting for a van to take them into Harrison Hot Springs. Diana had called her family, assuring them of her safety, then pushed Billie into the small gas station, urging her to call her own parents. She made the call with trepidation, but her parents had no idea anything had happened. If it wasn’t in the business section of the Chronicle, they’d never know.
“When do you get home?” her mother asked. “I spoke to Georgette, and she said she might be able to get you into the internship program for the fall here at Ames.”
“Mom,” Billie said, unable to keep the impatience out of her voice. “I told you, Diana and I are living up here in Vancouver now.”
“Do you have a job?”
She looked around at the ambulances, Richard in a stretcher nearby with Fay at his side.
“Well, this one just ended, I’m sure I’ll find another soon. We already put a down payment on the rent.”
“Well,” her mother sighed, “if you change your mind . . . .”
“I won’t.”
“You’re sure this is what you want? You could work in your dad’s office. The internship is such a good opportunity.”
“Mom, I’m a photographer, not a lawyer’s assistant or a NASA researcher’s assistant. I take pictures.”
“That’s a hobby, not a career, despite what that Diana tells you,” her mother said. “She gets you into so much trouble. There hasn’t been any trouble this time?”
“No.” Billie bit her tongue.
“That girl is as flighty as they come,” her mother sighed.
The last thing she needed to do was tell her mother Diana was anything but flighty – she was resourceful, loyal and passionate and didn’t care what others thought. She was also good with a gun in certain situations, but ever since the first time murder had entered their lives, her parents had insisted it was Diana’s doing.
She said goodbye to her mom and hung up disappointed. She couldn’t let them know about the situation because they’d overreact, and it was better they thought everything was fine. She didn’t want them showing up in Vancouver and dragging her back to live at home, especially now that the danger was over.
She sighed. Sometimes it would be nice to talk to someone who was outside of all this craziness, though.
Diana took over the fax machine inside the small gas station when Billie was done.
“All’s well with the apartment situation,” Diana said an hour later. “I also booked us into the spa for tonight. I figure we need a reward after that.”
Billie linked arms with her. “You were in there an awful long time.”
“Just finishing up some work.” Diana flipped her mud-caked hair. “I also convinced the RCMP to get our things at the lodge. Hopefully they’ll get here before the vans. Since we all packed up it should be fairly easy. They took some ATVs in to haul the bodies out.” She shuddered. “I don’t even want to know what kind of shape those poor bastards are in after the freezer cut out.” She hugged herself. “Poor Judd. He didn’t deserve that. None of them did.”
“What about . . . you-know-who?” Billie asked.
“I found a very sympathetic officer. It turns out the one who grilled you is originally from Nova Scotia. Place called Cole Harbour.”
Billie laughed. Sidney Crosby was from Cole Harbour.
“He’ll treat Closet Sidney with the utmost respect.”
Fay went into the gas station for the phone. The paramedics had arrived and were assessing Richard. The police took him out on an ATV sledge until they reached a logging road, then loaded Richard into the back of a forestry service pickup.
“This was all my fault,” he moaned. “All those people dead . . . on my watch . . . Christ. My life is over.”
“What now?” Diana asked. “Your crazy ex-girlfriend didn’t kill you or your new girlfriend, so you should be happy as a clam.”
“I’m gonna lose everything.” A paramedic injected Richard’s IV line with something.
“No you aren’t,” Diana said.
“I had my house and car tied up in this movie. I’m done. Ira Goldman’s gonna be pissed.”
“Why? Because a crazy woman killed people? I hate to say it, but not your fault.”
Richard stared at Diana with glassy eyes. “Did someone possess you? Someone nice?”
Diana rolled her eyes. “Come on, Bils, let’s wait for our stuff, then relax at the spa.”
“That isn’t fair,” Richard moaned. “I want to go to the spa, too.” He began to slur his words as the medication started working.
Fay approached as he whined. She took his hand and squeezed. “You need a hospital.” She pressed the back of her hand to his forehead. “And anyway . . . I won’t be at the spa.”
“You won’t?”
“Nope.” She shook her head. Her hair was still matted with blood. “I’ll be with you.”
“You’re pretty all bloody like that. It brings out your eyes.”
“I hope that was morphine you gave him?” Diana asked the paramedic. “Otherwise, we’ll have to have a chat about how to hit on women.”
“I’m very good at hitting on women.” Richard waved a finger in Diana’s face.
“Whatever you say, cupcake.” Diana sighed. “I’m just relieved to be out of here and away from all this.”
“Fay and I are gonna write a movie.” He had a goofy grin on his face. “It’s gonna be all about Claudia and what a psycho she is, and how we all had to run for our lives. And how I took a bullet for Fay. It’ll be fun to write it. But no one’s gonna wanna produce it. Because my life is in the toilet.”
“You’re going to write a movie together?” Billie asked. “Really?”
Fay nodded. “And I don’t think we’ll have a problem getting funding.”
“Huh?” Richard mumbled.
“I called Ira. It seems the publicity about all this has been insane. Jordyn’s been giving interviews to CNN around the clock about her close escape, and press releases were sent to all the major news outlets not too long ago. It seems we’re set to do an interview with Entertainment Tonight tomorrow. Richard is being hailed as a hero for his actions.” Fay looked over at Diana. “Apparently our publicist got in touch and said we’d give them an exclusive for a tidy sum.”
Diana studied her ruined nails. “Don’t look at me.” She shrugged.
“You really did that?” Miles asked.
Billie hugged her. “You’re incredible.”
“I couldn’t let that sad lump lose his house,” she grumbled. “He might want to stay with us.”
“He’ll be staying with me,” Fay said. “And thank you.”
The paramedics loaded Richard inside the ambulance.
“When we shoot our next movie, you two are my first hires,” he said.
“What? What’d I do to deserve that?” Diana asked, outraged. “You said you wished you’d never hired me, and you call me Satan’s Right Hand. Repeatedly.”
“You don’t even know my name,” Billie said. “You don’t like us very much. Don’t hire us because you think you owe us.”
“Are you kidding? You guys were my favorite people on set!” he exclaimed, his eyes wide. “Aside from Fay. Even Miles isn’t bad, for a guy. But you girls were great!”
“Huh?”
“What?”
Fay winked at Billie. “I told you.”
“And I do too know your name.” Richard tried to push the paramedic out of his sight line. “It’s Belinda.”
Fay climbed in with Richard and the doors closed.
“Well, I’ll be damned.” Billie smiled.
“He’s gonna have a surprise coming,” Diana said, as the ambulance took off. “I’m asking for double pay next time.”
A police SUV pulled up, unloading bags and suitcases. The van showed up a few minutes later and Miles helped load it up.
“Where are you going?” Billie asked.
“The spa, same as you,” he said. “Diana was right about that idea.”
“Well, I guess we’re all riding together.”
Diana yanked Billie aside. “You still have a chance!” Diana squealed.
Billie rolled her eyes. They took out an axe-wielding psychopath and trekked through the forest, but Diana hadn’t forgotten her prime objective—playing matchmaker.
“I wish Claudia had killed your need to fix me up,” Billie said.
They got into the van and Billie closed her eyes, her head against the window. All she wanted to do was relax and not think about anything for the next twenty-four hours.
Billie woke up late the next morning, stiff and sore, but alive. She didn’t need to worry about dead bodies, axe-wielding maniacs, crazy directors, odd schedules or the forest any more. All she had to worry about was Diana trying to fix her up with Miles when it was obvious Diana was head over heels for him.
Billie went down to the hot pools to soak her tired muscles, then came back to find Diana showered and ready to go.
She took a shower herself, noting the damage inflicted by their escape. She was bruised all over, and the worst was the black eye she didn’t remember getting. She tried covering it up with makeup, but it just drew attention to it.
She got dressed and sat down on her bed and sighed.
“What’s wrong?” Diana asked.
Billie shrugged. “I’m just tired of doing this. All those people dead. All because of one crazy woman.”
“I talked to the RCMP while you were in the shower. They’re charging Claudia with multiple counts of first degree murder. It’s on all the TV channels.”
“Did they say anything about . . . everyone? I mean Tiny, Elyse and them?” Billie asked.
Diana sighed. “Autopsies. The victims from LA will be sent back there. I don’t know about funerals or anything. It’s all such a mess.”
“You can say that again.”
Billie stared at her scratched up arms. It never failed to sadden her when she and Diana always came out of these situations with minimal injuries while others lost their lives.
“Miles said he’d drive us into Vancouver,” Diana said, changing the subject. “I didn’t want to say yes, but apparently there’s no way out of here. No trains, no buses. So he’s it. Bummer.” She brightened. “At least he’s a ride out of here – even if it is in an old Chevy Caprice. If he hadn’t left his car in town on account of the shocks, I’m not sure how we would have got out of here. Probably called a cab and that would’ve been hella expensive.”
“I’m starving. I want a huge breakfast before we leave.”
“Get a steak for your eye while you’re at it.”
They walked down the street to a small diner with a view of the lake. It was another perfect summer day, this one without murder. Still, the day seemed almost unreal after everything that had happened.
Billie ordered two eggs, toast and bacon, and Diana ordered an entire pot of coffee for herself. She waved Miles down when she saw him on the sidewalk outside, then insisted he sit beside Billie.
“Thanks for the ride today,” Diana said. “I hope all our things will fit. We had to bring everything since we’re moving into a new place here.”
“Even though the movie isn’t going forward?” Miles ordered coffee and a lumberjack breakfast.
“I called Ira Goldman yesterday when we were in Penowa. I told him I could turn things around if he could grease the wheels with the visas and permit stuff.”
“You did?” Billie asked.
Diana nodded. “I wasn’t about to lose out on living up here because Dick hired a psychopath.”
“One of these days you’ll have to start calling him Richard.” Miles sat back as his food was set in front of him. The plate was enormous.
“He will always be Dick to me. Plus, you heard him, he likes us.” Diana sipped her coffee. “I think he likes being taunted. It’s good to deflate his ego from time to time. I may have to visit him in the hospital.”
“I talked to Fay this morning,” Miles said. “They’re moving him to Vancouver General today. He has to have surgery on his leg, the bullet did some damage to his femur. They have to put a pin in.”
“I don’t envy her the recovery process. He’s a giant baby.”
“You’re too hard on him,” Miles said.
“Am not,” Diana countered. “He needs me to call him out. It’s good for him.”
“Fay said he’ll be laid up here for awhile. She said she’d keep me posted on Pam’s funeral. Everyone else was from LA.”
Billie pushed her eggs around on her plate. It seemed strange to be eating and talking about all this.
“Well, keep us updated too, okay?” Billie asked Miles.
They finished their meals, Diana and Miles arguing amicably.
Billie might as well not even be there. “I’m going to go to the bathroom, then I’ll pay the bill. Okay?”
“Sure, Bils,” Diana said. “And no, Miles, you couldn’t have subdued Claudia faster if you’d been there. What a stupid thing to say! We took her down because we’re badass like that.”
Billie went to the bathroom at the far end of the diner. Coming back out, she opened the door right into someone standing at the till.
“Oh, my God, I’m so sorry!” she said.
The guy smiled at her and Billie got butterflies. He was deeply tanned, with pale blue eyes and sun-kissed blond hair. He was all lean muscle and a few inches taller than Billie. His eyes crinkled when he smiled.
“My fault,” he said. “I should know better than to stand in front of a door.” He looked at her quizzically. “What happened to your eye?”
“Oh, this?” Billie laughed, her throat dry. “I’m actually not sure when I got it. Between crossing a swollen creek and running through the bush to trying to dodge a woman trying to kill me with an axe, I lost track of getting a black eye.” She wanted to kick herself. She could never have normal conversations with people. She wished she could be more like Diana and flirt easily. Diana was still arguing with Miles like they were an old married couple.
“Axe? You weren’t part of that film crew, were you?” He ran a hand through his hair. “We heard all about that at the camp, was it all true?”
“Depends on what you heard. Camp?”
He smiled. “Not the kumbaya kind. I was tree-planting the past few weeks. Our camp was way past Blood Lake, but still along Cutthroat Creek. We almost got wiped out during that rainstorm. So that was all for real?”
Billie nodded. “One very crazy woman with a very crazy obsession. We were lucky to make it out.”
“I’ll say.” He leaned against the counter. “That’s rough terrain. Crossing that creek was dangerous. You guys are lucky you didn’t get in more trouble.”
“We lost a lot of people before we escaped though,” Billie said, her voice subdued. They had. It sank in how close they came to dying. Why she realized this while talking to a hot guy was beyond her. She tried to smile, but she was tearing up.
He put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry. It sounds like you had a tough go.”
“It wasn’t fun. It also wasn’t my first time dealing with crazy people. I’ll be okay.”
“I’m Steve, by the way.” He blushed to the roots. “Actually . . . my name is Sequoia, but for obvious reasons, I go by Steve.”
“Billie.” She shook his hand. “I’m actually Belinda.”
“Nice to meet you, Billie. Let me get that.” He snatched the bill out of her hand before she could react and handed his credit card to the cashier.
“Are you sure?”
“Least I could do.” He signed the receipts. “Are you staying here awhile?”
“No, I’m moving to Vancouver.”
He nodded. “Maybe I’ll see you around?” Before she could answer, he grinned, handed her the diner receipt, then walked out of the diner and down the street. By the time she recovered, Diana was waving her over.
“You’ve barely talked to Miles,” she said. “Now’s your chance.”
“Diana—”
Before she could say anything else, Miles said something to Di which got them on another topic of conversation. She stood there, waiting for them to finish. She took the receipt from her pocket to put it in her purse, then paused. Unfolding it, she saw Steve had written his number on the receipt.
Smiling, she tucked it her purse.
Diana watched Miles’ ass as he headed to pay his bill.
“See something you like?” Billie said dryly.
“I would spank that ass so hard.” Diana rummaged through her purse until she found a lollipop, unwrapped it and popped it into her mouth.
Billie made a face. “Diana!”
She shrugged. “C’mon, let’s head out to the car. The sooner we’re in Vancouver, the better. There is a ton of decorating to do to the apartment.”
Billie slid out of the booth. “Did you have a color scheme or theme in mind for the decor?”
“Black and gold?” Diana said hopefully.
Billie laughed. “No, try again.” They linked arms as they headed for the door.
“This is a whole new chapter for us. A new beginning. And you know what you need for this new beginning?”
“No.” Billie opened the door and held it. “But I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”
“A new man.” Diana exited the diner. “Miles is perfect for you.”
They crossed the parking lot. “Why, because you think he’s hot?”
“I don’t think he’s hot,” Diana protested. “It is an established fact that Miles is hot.”
“I am ready to move on,” Billie said pensively.
“Miles is totally adorkable, Bils.” Diana rolled the lollipop around her mouth.
“Adorkable?”
“A little bit dorky, a whole lot adorable,” she explained.
Billie laughed. “I am ready to move on, but not with Miles.” She smiled, and there was a dreamy look in her eyes.
“I think you have a real chance with him,” she urged.
“Actually,” Miles said behind them, “she doesn’t.”
Diana jumped.
Billie whirled around and squeaked. “How long have you been behind us?”
Miles grinned; he looked positively naughty. “Since it is an established fact that I’m ‘hot.’” The son of a bitch used air quotes.
Billie blushed.
Diana would kill him. “What do you mean, Billie doesn’t have a chance?”
“I’m not interested in her.”
Diana drew herself up to her full five-feet and one-inch (plus six-inch heels, which meant she stared Miles right in the collarbone). “You should be grateful that Billie would deign to consider you,” she said haughtily, waving her lollipop at him for emphasis.
“Oh God.” Billie covered her face with her hands. “Why me?”
“Billie is talented! Billie is smart! Billie is loyal! Billie is a good friend! Billie is a good listener! Billie is beauti—”
Miles put his index finger over her lips. “Shut up, Diana.”
Diana seethed. “Did you tell me to shut up?”
“Yes.” Miles plucked the lollipop from her fingers and tossed it aside. “I can’t kiss you properly when you’re yelling at me.” He seized her hips and pulled her to him.
“Oh.” Diana’s eyes crossed.
“Diana?”
“Yes, Miles?”
“Can I kiss you now?” His eyes were drowning dark, and she tasted citrus and musk on the back of her tongue.
In response to his question, she ran her hands over his taut stomach, his muscles jumping under her touch, across his chest, tweaking his nipples and making his hips jerk, and up over his shoulders, digging her nails in and watching his eyes half-close and his lips part in anticipation.
She stood on tip-toes, offering him her mouth. “Yes, Miles, you can kiss me,” she whispered huskily.
He crushed her to him, and her feet left the ground as his hot, demanding mouth pressed against hers. She thought he would be shy, but his tongue boldly parted her lips. She wound her arms around his neck, opening to him, feeling his heart racing, the heat of his body against hers . . . .
A million miles away, Billie cleared her throat. “Would you two like some privacy? Because, if not, I should start charging admission.”
Miles’ chest heaved as he broke their kiss. Diana clung to his neck, because she might slither down into a heap at his feet if she let go.
“Sorry, Bils,” she said.
Miles’ smile was crooked and unrepentant. “I’m not.”
Billie rolled her eyes. “I’d like to get to Vancouver today.”
Diana wiggled out of Miles’ arms, but not before he managed to plant another toe-curling kiss on her. “You’re right, Bils. We’d better get on the road. It’s a couple hours into town.” Diana wrapped an arm around Billie’s waist, wrinkled her nose and gave Miles’ aged Caprice a careful once over. “That is, if Miles’ car doesn’t break down on the way. That thing looks older than Sidney’s jockstrap.”
Miles laughed and slung an arm around her shoulders as they headed toward the car. “It won’t, I promise. The shocks aren’t great, but the motor runs. We’ll be in Vancouver in time for lunch.”
Diana snuggled against Miles. They had survived. Again. Everything else was just details. Gory, unpleasant details that would probably keep her up at night. Still, it was a relief to be alive.
“Let’s go get our things and pack up the car.” She gave Billie a one-armed hug. “Things to do and places to go.”
And she was glad they were still alive to do them.
THE END