GUNNER SAT ON THE STAIRS WITH KUMIKO IN his lap. “We didn’t do it,” he said immediately.
“Do it?” T.J. said.
“Kill him. K and I didn’t do it.”
T.J. held his hands up in front of him. “Hold up. No one said anything about—”
“It was murder,” Meg said. She was surprised how calm she sounded.
T.J. looked at her sidelong. “Are you sure?”
Meg nodded. “Positive.”
“See?” Kumiko said.
T.J. continued to look at her like he wasn’t totally convinced. “How can you be sure?”
“How can you not be sure?” Kumiko said.
T.J. paused, then nodded his head, finally giving in to the fact that all three deaths on the island had been intentional.
“Exactly,” Kumiko said. “There’s a killer in the house. We need to get the hell out of here.”
Gunner stroked her arm. “I’m sure the guys will find a phone.”
Kumiko turned on him. “Really? What if one of them is the killer? What if both of them are the killer?”
“Hold on,” T.J. said. “We can figure this out. We just need to think.”
He was right. Three deaths. If they assumed that each one was murder, then they should be able to figure out who the killer was.
“Any of us could have killed Lori,” Meg said. She still couldn’t believe she was speaking those words.
T.J. nodded. “True.”
Gunner shook his head. “K was with me.”
“Right,” Meg said. “I meant theoretically.” She wasn’t ready to go pointing fingers at people. She’d known Gunner since freshman year and found it hard to believe he might be a cold-blooded killer.
“What good does that do us?” Kumiko said. “Anyone could have killed Vivian, too.”
T.J. reached out and touched Meg’s arm. “Meg and I were together. We can vouch for each other.”
Meg was about to tell Kumiko and Gunner about the damage to the handrail, when Kumiko threw her head back and laughed.
“What?” T.J. asked.
“You really think that’s going to fly?”
Meg bristled. It was the first time in her life she’d been accused of a capital crime. Not a good feeling.
“It’s the truth,” T.J. said.
“Maybe,” Kumiko continued. “Like you wouldn’t give each other an alibi? Same with Gunner and me. Maybe we’re in it together.”
“Hey!” Gunner said. “Not cool.”
“I’m not saying that we did it,” Kumiko said. “Just making a point.”
T.J. pursed his lips. “Which is?”
“Yeah,” Gunner echoed. “Which is?”
“Which is?” Kumiko said. “Oh come on!” She tilted her head, gazing at Gunner with a look that said Really? You don’t get this? “We can’t trust anyone.”
“What if it’s not one of us?” Meg said.
T.J. turned to her. “What do you mean?”
“I mean there’s another possibility.”
“You mean you think there’s someone else in the house?” T.J. asked.
Kumiko snorted. “Wouldn’t that be convenient?”
“I saw someone,” Meg blurted out. “Coming into the house through the back patio right before Minnie found the third mark on the wall.”
“For reals?” Gunner said. “Who was it?”
Meg shook her head. “I couldn’t tell. I followed them around to the side door that opens into the study and then—”
“Oh, isn’t that perfect,” Kumiko said.
“Hey!” Meg said. She was tired of the finger-pointing, tired of the accusations. “I saw someone.”
Kumiko narrowed her eyes. “Sure you did. And then you just happened to be in the foyer when Minnie screamed?”
“Stop,” T.J. said. “We can’t turn on each other.”
“I read Lord of the Flies,” Gunner said. Meg was impressed he’d actually finished the book. “It didn’t end well.”
Kumiko pushed herself off Gunner’s lap. “News flash, we’re already like halfway through our own Lord of the Flies, people. We’ve got dead bodies piling up and I don’t know about you, but I don’t exactly want to be next.”
“What do you suggest we do?” T.J. said. Meg could hear the edge in his voice. He was barely containing his temper. “Sit in locked rooms until someone comes looking for us?”
Meg nodded toward Ben’s room. “Yeah, because that always works out so well.”
“It’s not funny!” Minnie screamed. She stood in the doorway to Ben’s bedroom, one hand firmly planted against the frame as if to balance herself, the other gripping the door handle behind her. With a flick of her wrist she slammed the door, then stormed right up to Meg.
“None of this is funny.”
“Of course not,” Meg said. “No one thinks it is.”
She could see Minnie’s eyes darting around the stairwell—from her to T.J., Gunner to Kumiko and back, up to the top of the tower where Lori’s body had been found, then back to Meg. She was losing it. Minnie’s new crush was dead. Her ex-boyfriend was holding hands with his new girl. And she was convinced that her ex-crush was interested in her best friend. Chernobyl had begun.
“We have to find out who did this,” Minnie said. “Which one of you did this.”
“Hey!” Meg was getting pissed off at being included in the list of suspects. While she recognized that someone like Kumiko, who didn’t know her from Charles Manson, might not trust her innocence, at the very least she expected Minnie to believe her. Right?
Minnie grimaced. “Everyone’s a suspect.”
Apparently not so much.
“Look,” T.J. said. “There’s got to be another explanation.”
“Like what?” Kumiko said. She’d refused Gunner’s silent pleas to get her to sit back down on his lap. She shook off his hand and leaned against the wall.
“Well …” T.J. glanced at Meg. He looked confused, like his mind had drawn a blank and he was hoping Meg could fill in the pieces. Minnie didn’t miss it. She emitted a sound somewhere between a growl and a sigh, and turned her back on them.
“Well …,” Meg said. Her brain snapped into overdrive. “Well, for starters, what if Lori or Vivian killed Ben?”
She saw Minnie jerk her head back, but she didn’t turn around.
“How?” Kumiko asked.
“The nuts were in his water bottle,” Meg said with a shrug. “Anyone could have put them in there at any time. I mean, we all witnessed the incident at dinner last night.”
“But don’t you think it was the same person?” T.J. asked. “They started out with the nuts in the salad, then had to move on to his water bottle?”
“Maybe,” Meg said. She wasn’t exactly sure her argument was convincing, but motivation-wise both options made sense. “Could be either.”
Kumiko remained unconvinced. “What about the others?”
“Um …” Okay, Meg. Think. “If Lori tried to kill Ben, then maybe she killed herself out of remorse?”
T.J. folded his arms across his chest. “And Vivian?”
“Could actually have been an accident,” Meg lied. She saw T.J. flick his head in her direction, but he didn’t correct her.
“Hm.” Gunner nodded. “It makes sense.”
“Barely,” Kumiko said.
“Or it was Nathan or Kenny,” Meg said.
“Shit.” Gunner looked deflated. “They’re totally not going to call the cops if one of them is a killer.”
T.J. jolted. “Gunner, you’re right.”
“I am?” Gunner tossed his streaked hair out of his face, exposing a rather confused smile.
“Totally.” T.J. looked at his watch. “They left almost three hours ago. They should have been back by now.”
That made Minnie turn around. “Do you think something happened to them?” she said, her eyes wide.
T.J. checked in with Meg before replying. “You know, probably not.” He forced a laugh. “They’re probably just enjoying a hot meal or something and forgot about us.”
Meg thought of Kenny’s face when they discovered Lori’s body that morning. She seriously doubted he was enjoying anything that had to do with the weekend. “There’s only one way to find out.”
Yikes. Had those words really come out of her mouth? Was she really suggesting a field trip across the isthmus in that weather?
“No way,” Kumiko said. Always the optimist. “We’d never make it.”
“We totally could,” T.J. said with conviction. “The storm’s let up. We could make it.”
Minnie backed away from the group. “I’m staying right here. I don’t trust any of you.”
“Minnie!” Meg couldn’t hide the hurt in her voice. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re full of lies. All of you.”
Meg grabbed her arm. “Minnie, think about what you’re saying.”
“Please.” Minnie flinched away from Meg’s grip. Her face was hard set. “You hide more lies than any of us.”
“Wow,” Kumiko said under her breath. She was back by Gunner’s side and he stroked the back of her leg with his hand. “How long did you date her?”
Minnie sucked in a breath. “What did you say?”
T.J. tried to keep them focused. “We should all go. Together. Safety in numbers.”
“Hell, no,” Minnie said. She’d backed all the way up to the door to Ben’s bedroom. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Oh, come on!” Meg said. The drama was getting unbearable, even by Minnie’s standards.
“I said NO!” Minnie screamed. She spun around, marched back to Ben’s bedroom, and slammed the door behind her.
Kumiko paused a moment, her eyes fixed on the door to Ben’s room, her face a mask of confusion. “As much as I hate to admit it,” she said slowly, “I kind of agree. I think we should stay here.”
“Me too,” Gunner said quickly. Meg honestly couldn’t tell if he agreed with Kumiko or not. Neither could he, probably.
“You sure, dude?” T.J. said.
Gunner looked to Kumiko. She gave a slight nod. “Yeah,” Gunner said. “I’m sure.”
T.J. shrugged. “Guess it’s just you and me, Meg.”