“Son of a—” I turned and slapped one of the boathouse’s wooden beams.
“Erica—”
“Don’t!” I snapped. “Just don’t. I don’t believe this! Are you charging her?”
He sighed. “Rhonda’s on her way over to the island right now. I don’t know if the twins have a lawyer, or if your uncle—”
“You sent Rhonda?” Rhonda Cooke was a bit … eccentric. Even for Otter Lake. I actually considered Rhonda to be a friend, but being questioned by her was a little like being questioned by a spinning top: You could never be quite sure which direction things were gonna go. This was not good. “I need to get over there.”
As I passed him, he grabbed my arm. “Erica—”
“What do you want me to say?” I shouted. “It’s okay?”
“I don’t have a choice here.”
“Neither do I.” I yanked my arm away. “She’s family.”
Steely clouds heavy with rain moved in to cover the lake as I sped back to the island. I saw the cop boat at the twins’ place, but the officers were standing in front of the cottage, looking unsure. If the twins weren’t there, I knew where they had to be.
Minutes later, I docked my mom’s boat and ran up the steps to the retreat. Once I got up to the top, I saw them both, sitting in their chairs on the porch, tin mugs in hand.
“Erica, get over here,” Kit Kat called out. “We want to talk to you.”
I sprinted up the path leading to the lodge before jumping the steps. “We don’t have much time,” I blurted out before stopping to have to catch my breath. “My mother here?”
“No. They went somewhere. They mimed it, but—” Tweety cut herself off with a wave of her hand. “Here. Have a drink,” she said, pressing a mug into my hand. “What have you been doing? Running a marathon?”
“No, I was at Hemlock Estate,” I gasped. “And—”
“Erica, we told you—”
“I know. I know,” I panted. Man, I just could not catch my breath. I brought the mug to my lips and pure alcohol exploded into my mouth. “Gah! Do you ever drink water? Take this away,” I said, pushing the mug back to Tweety, who was bouncing up and down with laughter.
“This is serious,” I croaked. “You need to focus.”
“What is the matter with you?” she asked, watery blue eyes narrowing in on me.
“Rhonda’s coming,” I said. “For you.”
The twins flashed each other looks before turning back to me.
“We don’t have much time. You need to—”
“Fire up the boat,” Kit Kat said, struggling to her feet. “If we leave now—”
“We’ll get the tent,” Tweety added. “Live in the wild for a while then—”
“Stop it!” I shouted, herding them back into their seats. “You’re not running. That’s ridiculous.”
“It’s not,” Kit Kat snapped, looking indignant.
“What?” I said, throwing my hands wide. “You going to hunt squirrels and forage for berries?”
“We could.”
“Just stop. Listen,” I said, lowering my hands and taking a breath. “I’ll call my uncle Jack. But I don’t know when you’ll make bail, so you need to give me some answers now. I need to know how to help you.”
The twins twisted up their mouths in identical gestures.
“Tweety, why were you on that ride with Mr. Masterson?” I asked. “You said you weren’t having an affair, but was there anything at all going on between you two?”
She opened her mouth and then shut it again.
“Oh my God!” I shouted. “Well, that’s just—” I stopped myself and took a breath. “Give me that mug,” I said, swiping it back from Tweety and taking another sip. “Okay, let’s try something easier this time.”
The twins stared back at me, waiting.
“How about you just tell me that you didn’t kill anyone. Let’s start there.” I waited a moment, but no one spoke.
“It’s easy,” I said, pointing at each of them with the mug. “Just say, Erica, we did not kill anyone.”
The twins exchanged glances.
“What the—are you kidding me right now?”
“Erica!” a voice shouted. “Stop! Not one more word!”