Normal life. Boring life.
Just three nobodies from Moonstone Cove, California.
How lucky were they?
Megan wanted to plan anniversary parties and graduation celebrations. She wanted to talk down jittery brides and reassure their mothers. She wanted to arrange a wine-club party and maybe go on an actual date with Nico now that things were more normal.
And she definitely didn’t want to hear about Angela Calvo for a long, long time.
Megan watched her would-be murderer from behind the glass. The woman was perfectly coiffed, dressed in an immaculate white blouse and navy pants. Her makeup was carefully applied, and not a single hair was out of place. “Is it wrong that I feel a little sorry for her?” Megan said. “She has nothing. It seems like she has some kind of feelings for her sister, but that’s got to be the most fucked-up relationship ever.”
“Yes, it’s wrong.” Katherine looked up at Megan. “Don’t waste pity on a person with no humanity. She’s not capable of feeling anything for anyone other than herself.”
“Her sister?” Toni asked.
“No, not really. She most likely views her sister as an extension of herself. Therefore, a wrong against her sister is a wrong against her.”
“That’s messed up,” Toni said.
“Yes, it is.” Katherine nodded at the room. “I believe they’re wrapping up. Drew is making the attorney sign some papers.”
“Next, it’s Rodney’s turn.”
Megan stood and walked to the door. “I’m gonna see if I can talk to him a little before Drew puts him in the spotlight.”
She walked out to the brightly lit hallway and looked for the tall, sandy-blond man she’d been married to for over twenty years. She spotted him within minutes. His attorney was sitting with his back against a wall and a phone to his ear.
Megan gave Rodney a little wave. “Hey.”
Rodney pursed his lips but didn’t say anything.
“I’m gonna keep shoutin’ across the hall unless you come talk to me,” she said. “You want God and everybody to know your business, Rodney Carpenter?”
He scowled, but he stood and walked toward her. “I doubt I’m supposed to be talking to you.”
She looked at his lawyer, then at him. “For Pete’s sake, I’m not the police. Whatever you tell me, you can always claim I’m lying. God knows they’re not going to listen to your ex-wife, right?”
His shoulders relaxed a little, but only a little. The man was visibly shaken. He was thinner than usual, and his skin looked tired and sallow. He clearly hadn’t been sleeping well or spending much time outside.
“You look horrible,” Megan said. “Have you been eating decent food?”
“You’re not my mama, Megan.”
“No, but I have her phone number, and if you don’t take care of yourself, I’m gonna call her. I am still on that woman’s Christmas card list, and you know she’ll listen to me.”
Megan led him to a side hall where no one was sitting, all the while keeping an eye on the attorney. Something about him struck Megan as wrong. A Brioni suit was way too nice for a small-town criminal-defense attorney.
“Hey, Rodney?”
“Yes?”
“I know you need a criminal-defense lawyer for all this and not Larry.”
“Larry is a tax and estate lawyer.” Rodney rolled his eyes. “He has no idea how to protect me from all these charges.”
“Right. But can I ask where you got your lawyer? Who recommended him?”
Rodney looked over his shoulder, and Megan saw the nerves in his eyes. “Angela did. She’s even helping me pay for him.”
Megan nodded. “Okay. But then I think it’s smart to ask, is this lawyer working for you? Or for Angela?”
Rodney’s jaw tightened. “What does that mean?”
“It means…” She lowered her voice. “I don’t give two shakes what happens to your girlfriend, Rodney, but you are Trina, Adam, and Cami’s daddy. I do care what happens to you.”
“Then you’ve got to stop spreading this fiction that Angela tried to kill you. I’m sure it was a misunderstanding.”
“And I’m sure she definitely tried to kill me. Multiple times.” Megan sat back in her chair. “I know about the truck, Rodney.”
His eyes widened. “How—?”
She dropped her voice to a whisper. “I know you were driving that night.”
“Do the police…? How—?”
“I told you, don’t ask me how I know. But if my guess is correct, you can place Angela in that truck right next to you.”
Rodney’s face was pale and his jaw was set in a firm, straight line.
“You can put Angela there, and maybe her sister too. I know you were driving that night, I know you hurt your ankle, and I also know that you didn’t want that man to be killed. That was not part of the deal. When you told her what Adam had discovered, you were expecting a little mischief, right?”
Rodney’s expression didn’t crack.
“You were expecting to steal some grapevines and sabotage Nico to mess with me a little, not end the night with someone dead. You didn’t pull any triggers that night, Rodney. She did. I know she did because she told me she’d done it before when she tried to kill me.”
Rodney’s face was pale, and he started darting looks at his lawyer.
He cleared his throat but kept his voice low. “My lawyer says I can’t say anything. That anything I say to the police will only implicate me.”
“I think they’re going to place you at the scene anyway,” Megan said. “Think about it. You’ve been arrested now. They have hair samples. They have fingerprints. I know you weren’t able to clean off every fingerprint on that truck—I’ve seen your attempt to clean a bathroom. They’re going to find out you were driving, and I’m willing to bet not a single one of Angela’s prints is on that truck. Just yours.”
“What do you think I should do? Megan, I can’t go to jail!”
“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I know that your silence helps one person more than anyone else: Angela Calvo. Not you.” She spoke quickly when she saw Rodney’s attorney walking over to them. “And this is about more than just you. What kind of man do you want to be for your kids? A man who admits his mistakes and makes things right?”
“Rodney!” his lawyer shouted. “I told you not to talk to anyone.”
“Or a man who covers up the truth?” Megan kept Rodney’s eyes on her own. “A man who lies and hides from consequences of his actions?”
“Rodney, don’t say a word.”
“I know you’ll do the right thing,” she said quietly. “I know you want to be a father your kids can be proud of. You’re not like her, Rodney. You know what’s right and what’s wrong.”
“Mrs. Carpenter, I’d like you to leave my client alone.”
Megan finally looked up at him. “Your client? Is that Rodney here? Or is your client really Angela Calvo?”
The lawyer sneered. “I’m sure you’ll try to convince him that it’s the latter, but I’m only looking out for Mr. Carpenter.”