The wind gusted, pushing her with such force she stumbled, swinging the gun. Harper flinched until she regained control. She could barely stand. If she didn’t kill someone on purpose she might kill them by accident.
She had her own gun, of course. But two guns being waved around wouldn’t make anything better.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward slowly and held out her hands. “Cara, put the gun down. Let’s just talk about this.”
The two of them looked at her as if they’d forgotten she was there.
“You don’t have to kill anyone,” she continued. “Tell the police what you know. Or tell me what you know. Let the law do its job.”
Cara gave a dark laugh. “I’ve been waiting days for the law to do its job. It’s done nothing. And all along I thought some crazy fan killed my boyfriend. Then I figured it out. Do you know what happened, Harper?” She twitched the gun at Hunter. “Did he tell you?”
Hunter started to argue, but she raised the gun to his head.
“Shut up,” she ordered. He closed his mouth again.
“Xavier’s two best friends killed him,” Cara said. “Didn’t they, Hunter?”
“No,” he said firmly. “No, they didn’t.”
“Don’t lie!” she shouted, squeezing the gun convulsively. “You know what you did.”
Giving up on mediation, Harper looked around for escape. She took a step away as the two argued. And another, until she was off to one side—far enough that Cara couldn’t keep the gun trained on both Hunter and her. The actress didn’t seem to notice—she was focused on him, now.
“I’m not lying,” he insisted. “You don’t know the whole story.”
“Sure I do.” Cara’s voice was bitter. “My friend Allegra slept with my boyfriend. She was in love with him. You knew all about it, and decided not to tell me. But I knew something was going on and I demanded to know. Xavier told me he’d been seeing someone else. He promised he’d never sleep with her again. He said he didn’t love her, that he loved only me. The only thing he didn’t tell me is that it was Allegra.” Her voice broke. Harper couldn’t tell if she was crying—the rain was falling too hard. “Then she killed Xavier because her feelings were hurt. Get out here, Allegra, you murderer.” She screamed the last words at the impassive white building behind him.
Harper waited for Hunter to tell her she was wrong. But he didn’t. He just stared at her, his glasses speckled with rain.
“Why are you protecting her?” Cara demanded. “Why won’t you just turn her in?”
“She’s only nineteen, Cara, for God’s sake.” Hunter seemed to think this explained everything. “She can’t go to prison for the rest of her life.”
Cara’s lips twisted. “I was nineteen once. Nobody died.”
Something shifted in the shadows behind her. At first, Harper thought it was just branches swinging. But gradually she made out the shape of a man hidden behind the trees, moving slowly. In his black uniform, he was almost invisible until a flicker of lightning lit up the street and for an instant she saw his face. It was Tom Southby, the officer she’d met the night Xavier Rayne was killed. His eyes were fixed on Cara.
“Allegra!” Cara screamed, pointing the gun at the house. “Stop hiding.”
“Fine. I’m here.” Allegra appeared in the doorway. She looked tiny next to Hunter, almost childlike. Her brown eyes held Cara’s with unnatural calmness. “Just put the gun down. I’ll tell the police the truth.”
Cara clearly hadn’t been expecting this. “I don’t believe you,” she said, but she sounded uncertain.
“You’re going to tell them anyway, and they’ll figure it out.” She glanced at Harper. “And Harper knows now so what’s the point?”
“So, you admit you murdered him,” Cara said.
“It was an accident. I was angry.” Allegra stepped closer to Hunter. “I didn’t want to hurt him.”
“That was no accident. You dumped him in the ocean.” Cara’s voice trembled. “That took effort.”
“It’s just … he was abandoning me like everyone always abandons me.” Allegra stifled a sob, pressing her fists against her eyes. “I wanted him to stay with me. That’s all. I wanted him to care. I didn’t mean to hurt him.”
“You’re a lying little murderer.” Cara’s voice grew cold. “You killed him because he hurt your feelings. And you have to pay.” She steadied the gun.
Southby jumped from the darkness, landing hard on her back. The blow knocked her off her feet. The gun went off, the retort loud but fleeting, dulled by the wind.
Harper threw herself down.
That was when she heard Allegra cry out. “No!”
Harper lifted her head. Hunter was sliding slowly down the stairs. He clung to the narrow bannister with both hands, but seemed suddenly too weak to grip it.
As she stared in horror, he gave her a look of puzzled disbelief, before collapsing in the mud at her feet.
33
Still held in Southby’s fierce grip, Cara gave a howl of despair that sent goosebumps up Harper’s arms as she knelt at Hunter’s side, putting an arm beneath his thin shoulders.
Trying not to panic, she pressed her hand to his neck, feeling for a pulse. It was there, fluttering beneath her fingertips. But his skin was so cold.
Behind her on the front steps, Allegra was hysterical, screaming, “No, no, no.”
Hunter blinked slowly. His lips moved, but no sound came out. A dark stain spread inexorably across the right side of his shirt. It was hard to tell where he’d been shot—it could have been anywhere from the shoulder to the chest.
“Allegra, get me a towel or some cloth,” Harper ordered.
The girl didn’t seem to hear her. She was white as milk, staring at Hunter.
“Allegra.” Harper raised her voice. “Get me a towel.”
Her firmness got through. Giving her a startled look, the girl turned and fled.
Southby talked quickly into his radio before hurrying to her side, leaving Cara where she’d fallen. “How bad is it?”
“Bad,” Harper said, quietly. “Ambulance?”
“On its way, but this storm…” He didn’t complete the thought, but he didn’t have to.
Carefully, Harper began to open Hunter’s shirt.
“Help me…” he whispered.
“You’re going to be okay,” she said, but she could hear the doubt in her own voice.
Her wet fingers slipped on the buttons and she swore under her breath, ripping the shirt open. Blood mixed with rain on his thin chest and ran in dark rivulets between his ribs. The hole was just below his shoulder.
Allegra dashed out of the house, clutching a white towel like a surrender flag. Snatching it from her, Southby wadded it up and pressed it firmly against the wound, holding it in place with both hands. In the distance Harper thought she heard a siren wail, but the wind blew the sound away.
“I didn’t want to hurt anyone,” Hunter whispered, looking at Harper. “I’ve been so scared.”