If At First (Crimson Cove Mysteries Book 1) Read online

I moaned. “Don't antagonize them, Lain.”

  Vincent gave me a look. “We should go to her house right now.”

  “Why?” I shrugged. “You think they would react this fast?”

  “I do.” He nodded, jumping up and dragging me from my bed, still in my shorts and tee shirt from the day before. He grabbed my keys from the dresser and headed out the door.

  We sprinted down the stairs and across the front lawn of my house and blasted past Robert and the stiffs in suits who napped a lot.

  When we got to the driveway he called out to Hugo, “Meet us at Lainey Allen’s house.” He jumped in my car, not opening the door for me. He started my car like a savage and floored the gas to bring her to life.

  “I should be driving. She doesn't like other drivers.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I drive better than you do.”

  “No—” I was about to argue further, but he skidded from my driveway sideways and managed to pull ahead without jerking. It was terrifying, and yet exhilarating to ride with someone who drove like a racecar driver.

  “Did you take driving classes?” I shouted at him as we sped along the highway, him weaving in and out of traffic.

  He nodded. “My driving instructor was a CIA trained driver. In case I ever encountered anything unsavory.”

  “No way. Wait? What? Unsavory?”

  He nodded. “No one wants to be held captive for ransom. My dad liked to inspire me to never get caught by kidnappers by telling me he just won’t pay.” He shook his head, keeping one eye on the road. “I didn't like those odds so I paid for trainers in all sorts of Bond-like things. I learned to fight, survive, and drive. And Hugo is also a little bit more of an ex-mercenary than he is a driver.”

  “Hugo reminds me of Lurch.” I slumped back in the seat. “Damn. Your own dad said he wouldn't pay?”

  He nodded. “Not even a dime. He would go and find himself a nice orphan and raise him on his own to take over the company. He said he would do better than me anyway since the kid wouldn't have the negative effects of my mother to pollute him the way I am.” He laughed but it had to be hurtful. My dad was a crabby dick on the best of days, but he loved me and he would pay no matter what.

  “Your dad is an asshole.”

  “He’s an asshole. He’s nicer than his dad was though so I am lucky there.” He shrugged and turned onto the other marine road where Lainey, Sierra, and Sage all lived. I held on tight as he maneuvered my car the way it was probably meant to be driven.

  After a few miles he stopped and spun into a driveway, skidding along down to the house and screeching to a halt. My tires smelled like they were burning, but if my car could smile, it might. We jumped out, running for the front entrance. Lainey came to the door, opening it with a weird look on her face.

  “What are you guys doing here? My dad is gonna kill me when he sees those tire marks.”

  Vincent nodded at her house. “Let me come inside and just check to make sure—”

  BOOM!

  A blast from the backyard cut him off. We all looked into the house as Lainey turned to run back inside. Vincent grabbed her. “Is your sister home?”

  She nodded, shouting for her, “MAZY!”

  Vincent pushed Lainey back out and ran into the house. I couldn't see or smell smoke, but I dialed 9-1-1 anyway.

  “9-1-1. What’s your emergency?”

  “Fire please, my friend’s house has had an explosion in the backyard I think. The Allen residence in—”

  “Location first, miss.” The snippy lady cut me off.

  “Crimson Cove.”

  “Okay, and address.” She sounded like I was a bother.

  I glanced at Lainey. “What’s your civic?” I held the phone up to her face.

  “482 East Marine Drive,” she said, still looking back for her sister.

  “Okay, I got that. Fire is on the way.” She hung up on me. I looked at Lainey. “Fire trucks are coming.” Vincent came running out with Mazy and an orange cat. Lainey grabbed the cat and walked to my car. “Can you close the roof and windows please?”

  I opened my mouth to tell her not to stick her cat in my car on the leather seats but I didn't. I sighed and pressed the button. The roof and windows closed, and she opened the door and put the cat in there and nodded at Mazy. “Come get in Lainey’s car so we can go see what that was.”

  Mazy looked like she might argue but she didn't. She sniffed and got into the car. Lainey locked the door and closed it, shouting at her through the window. “If you open this, the alarm will sound.”

  Mazy seemed disgruntled but not as mad as her cat.

  I winced for my car but I didn't get to worry long. Vincent came running back out. I hadn’t even realized he had gone back in. He breathed heavily as he spoke, “The staff are leaving through the side yard. The backyard looks like this.” He lifted his phone and showed us both the picture. It was a burn mark on the back grass that said, “REAL SOON!”

  Lainey gasped and started to cry. I froze. I didn't have tears anymore. The fear in me was becoming a thing. A real living thing. It was shutting off abilities I needed, vital functions.

  Lainey backed away, looking around at the massive manicured estate. Screams came from the backyard. I took off, not sure what help I could be, but I ran for the side of the house, stopping short where the staff was screaming and crying. A small lady named Giselle, who made the best pastries I had ever eaten, crossed herself and whispered a prayer while staring at a bush across from her.

  On the ground next to the huge bush was Andrew’s dad, Mr. Henning. He was clearly dead and had cuts or stab wounds everywhere. His body looked weird, like it was angled peculiarly. I cried out, lifting my hands to my lips and stepping back.

  Lainey and Vincent came around the corner. His hand covered my face, pulling me into him as he dragged me back.

  “He’s shaped exactly the same way Rachel was. Even the stab wounds are the same, in the same places,” Lainey whispered. Vincent slapped his hands over her mouth and pulled her back with me.

  Tears streamed her pale cheeks as she stumbled, being led away by Vincent. He left us and walked back, shooing the staff from the body. “Go to the front yard. Stand by the car in the front yard.”

  They moved like sheep, listening to the shepherd. Women cried, men acted confused. I was lost. Lainey was right; his body was shaped the same way Rachel’s was. Someone had broken his bones brutally to make him lie like that.

  I dropped to my knees, wincing as the wound beneath the bandage hit the ground. I wrapped myself around Lainey, holding her tightly and staring as everything seemed to fall apart.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  All the sinners in the house say, “Heyyyyy!”

  We stared at the ocean. Every one of us was silent and confused.

  Lainey leaned into me but didn't speak. She and Mazy and the orange and white cat, Jewels, were staying with us. Their house was not only a crime scene but also the entire back part of the deck and sunroom had sustained fire damage.

  Sierra rocked back and forth in the sand, her lower lip inside her mouth. She made a sucking noise.

  Sage shuddered every now and then but never took her eyes from the darkening sky and the still sea. All the storms had passed through the town.

  Everything was calm and I suspected it was the calm before the storm.

  Rachel was dead.

  Mr. Henning was dead.

  Lainey’s house was burned.

  Our dads’ business was suffering.

  There were so many possible links between us all it was impossible to try to list them. We needed to start ruling out people but everyone had a motive.

  Everyone but us.

  Andrew’s dad had never been anything but nice to me.

  I looked back, hearing a noise but sighed when I saw Jake and Vincent walking down the boardwalk. They didn't wave or try to run. They didn't play. They walked somberly and sat down next to us on the sand, huddling even though the air was pretty warm f
or evening.

  “His dad died of a stab wound in the back. He bled out somewhere else and was moved. He’s been dead for eight hours,” Jake muttered, sounding like he was a million miles away.

  I pressed my lips together and closed my eyes. Every bit of me whispered a small prayer for their family.

  “I did this,” Lainey muttered.

  Sierra shook her head, wrapping an arm around Lainey’s shoulders. “You didn't do this. None of us did this.”

  “I taunted him or her or it.” Her pitch rose as she started to believe what she was saying.

  “No, Lainey. Whoever this sick bastard is, they did this. They did this to Rachel, and they did this to Andrew’s family, and they are doing this to us. We are victims.” Sage lifted her head to the sky. “What is the worst thing you have ever done? Say it now. The very worst thing you have ever done in all your life.” Sage turned to me as she spoke, “I’ll go first. I stole from the secondhand store downtown. I had eighty dollars in my pocket, and I stole from needy people.” Her eyes darted to Vincent behind me. “And I hurt someone I cared about a lot.”

  Vincent’s voice came up from behind me next. “I never gave someone worthy of it a proper chance, and I never let myself believe I was deserving of good things.”

  I looked down, ashamed of what I was about to say, “I have snooped in all your houses. I have seen your secrets. And I have an electronic journal in my phone with all of those secrets catalogued. In order.” I winced as they all peered at me.

  “I cheated on my midterms last year. I was having an anxiety attack for no reason and couldn't focus on the test. So I cheated. I had my phone with me and I knew the teacher wouldn't even suspect me, so I Googled every question.” Lainey seemed mortified.

  “I had sex with our soccer coach,” Sierra owned hers. She shrugged it off.

  My jaw dropped as Lainey gasped. “He’s married and old and you’re a minor. That’s illegal.”

  Sierra sighed. “He’s only twenty-one and he’s engaged. Not the same thing. It was a couple of months ago. I was already sixteen. Age of consent.” She winked at Lainey who blushed brutally.

  “I secretly dated my best friend’s boyfriend in Manhattan,” Rita said next. “He died in a car accident and I never told her. He and I were dating the entire time, but I didn't want a commitment so he dated her to have someone to bring to events.”

  Sage’s eyes darted behind me. I knew she was looking at Vincent. I felt sick.

  Rita sighed. “But when he died, I let her think he was awesome. I even sent her a letter from him, handwritten. He had sent it to me months before so I had someone write her the exact same letter, and I mailed it so it came after the accident.” She lowered her gaze, but Sage reached over and squeezed her hand.

  “I also had sex with Andrew’s mom,” Jake blurted. I started to laugh, completely inappropriately, but everyone joined in. “She was hot and she seduced me, and it was awesome and I am not even sorry.” Jake covered his face, shaking his head.

  Vincent slapped him on the back, nodding his head. I grimaced but still laughed.

  “My point I am making is this”—Sage looked at us all—“we have never done anything so horrible that we deserve any of this. Not one of us has done something so bad that we have earned this punishment. Now we know each other’s darkest secrets. We know the darkness of the hearts we are surrounded by. We are not bad people.” She sniffled. “My brother has been missing for a week. He isn’t at our other houses, his passport hasn't been used, he’s not answering his calls, and his phone is off. My parents have to file a missing person report now because the FBI is listing him as a person of interest.” She wiped her eyes. “We need to find out who is behind this. I know it’s not Ash and he might even be hurt. So we make a vow now, here on this beach. We will keep each other’s secrets, and we will protect each other so no one else dies.”

  She pulled her hairpin and stuck it into her finger, drawing blood and lifting it up. She squeezed a couple of droplets into her mickey of Grey Goose and swirled it. She passed the pin and the bottle to Sierra who stabbed her finger and did the same thing. Each of us stabbed ourselves and put our blood into the vodka, and when we were done Sage drank it and passed it on.

  The whole thing seemed a bit cultish, but with the fact we had two dead people and no suspects, I was willing to hedge my bets with a random group of kids. We each brought something different to the table.

  And I knew the darkest secrets of every person here and it was time to share that.

  “We have one issue here in Crimson Cove. We have the juiciest secrets and they are all ammo. So we need to start taking away the ammo by removing the label ‘secret’ from everything.” I looked down, pressing my thumb into the passcode spot and opening my phone. “Want to hear what I have collected on everyone? So we can start creating a list of suspects and know what we are dealing with?” I asked softly.

  Lainey nodded. “Just hit us with it. I know my family is in there.”

  I sighed and nodded. “Lainey, your dad has every single key to every house he has every sold. He finds out people’s passwords on alarm systems when he helps set them up the first day they get their new home. I think sometimes he goes in the houses but I’m not positive. He is having an affair with your mom’s best friend, Judith. They were high school sweethearts. When you and Mazy are old enough he’s going to leave your mom for Judith.”

  Lainey nodded. “I knew all that already.”

  “Judith’s son, Mike, is your brother.”

  Lainey’s jaw dropped. “Holy shit.”

  I bit my lip as tears filled her eyes. “I have a brother, Linds?”

  I twitched a subtle yes.

  “Then my parents and Judith have to go on the list. Someone could have been blackmailing them or anything. Put them on the list. They have sinned, they could be weak.”

  I quickly added their names to a list I had already started. It consisted of only the hipster, Ashton, and Vincent.

  My eyes darted to Jake. He shook his head. “I don't want to know.”

  I laughed. “Your parents don't have anything that I could find. They’re squeaky clean and Andrew’s mom was the only thing I knew about you.”

  He sighed. “Okay, good.”

  I glanced back at Vincent. “I don't know a single bad thing about your father that everyone else doesn't already know. I have to assume he keeps his really bad shit locked up tight, but should we say it’s safe to add him to the list?”

  He nodded slowly, his green eyes burning. “Add me too.”

  “Your name is already on there.” He flinched when I said that.

  I looked back at Sierra. “You want it?”

  She paused and then nodded.

  “Your dad is having an affair with Sage’s mom, has been for years. They are actually in love. He understands her sadness at missing her husband who was his best friend. Your mom has been having an affair with your dad’s brother for years, but we all probably know that. She doesn't keep it as hush-hush as she should.”

  Sierra glanced down and cringed. “Yeah, I knew all that too.”

  Sage turned pale as she wrinkled her forehead in distress. “How did you know? How did I not know?”

  Sierra peeked at her from her hung head and offered a remorseful face. “I didn't know how to say it. I found out about six months ago.”

  Sage turned back to me. “I don't want to know anything else about my family.”

  I nodded. “Fair enough. That's all there really is.”

  She sneered. “You mean besides Tom’s affairs?”

  “Obviously. Everyone knows he has them.”

  Sage started to cry again. She covered her face and shook. “Put Tom down twice.”

  “Okay.” My eyes darted to Rita. She waved her finger in my face. “I haven’t been here long. You can’t possibly know anything.”

  I bit my lip. “Do you want me to just write your dad’s name down or do you want to hear it?”

 
“MY DADDY WOULDN’T EVER DO ANYTHING!” Her Jersey was showing hard. If she took her earrings off I was running. She seethed, “YOU DON’T SAY SHIT ABOUT MY DADDY!”

  I typed his name into the next spot on the list. “Okay.”

  Rita narrowed her gaze. “What about your family, Miss Smarty Pants?”

  I shrugged. “I haven’t spied on them.”

  “Her dad is known for his temper. He changed his name about three years before he met Lindsey’s mom, due to jail time spent for fraud and assault. His real name was something really common like Brown or Smith. Lindsey’s mom was a saint and never knew this story. But Louisa does. Lindsey’s lovely stepmom blackmailed Mark into marrying her. She was broke and destitute, a hooker and grifter, down on her luck. Her sister Lori is her maid and cook and doesn’t know Mark’s secret, but Lori knows Louisa has something on him,” Vincent spoke from behind me.

  My cheeks flamed and I felt sicker than I ever had. But I sighed and wrote my father, Lori, and Louisa all down.

  Rita sighed. “Just say it. If that's true about your daddy, you can say it about mine.”

  I swallowed hard. “Your dad was asked to leave his firm, threatened with charges, and lost all his clients except one. He got caught doing insider trading. The firm let a flunky new guy take the fall, but your dad had to leave New York. His last client was Crimson Cove Inc. He became our mayor in a landslide vote about three months after he had to leave New York.”

  I didn't dare make eye contact with her, but I could see her nodding. “I knew that. Is that everything?”

  I grinned wryly. “Like you said, you’re new. I haven’t had much time to investigate.”

  We all sighed.

  “I have all the secrets of the other prominent townspeople. I can make a list so we can be sure to have every known suspect. Vince, can we ping Rachel’s phone?” I didn't glance back at Vincent; I couldn't look at him. I knew it was hypocritical, but I was so angry I couldn’t breathe freely.

  “I can get someone to try.”

  Taking the vodka bottle in my hands, I stared down at my feet when I spoke, “I’m sorry to all of you. I don't expect you to forgive me.” I lifted the vodka and drank a big gulp of it. Shuddering from the metallic taste, I passed it to Lainey next and stood up, walking through them all, and headed for the house.