“And remember how weird Foley was after we mentioned Poppy killing Steven?” Rowan added.
“She could have bugged the house—and broken into our homes,” Corinne whispered, her eyes wide. “She had access to Saybrook’s, Rowan. Do you think she stole the video from your computer?”
“Maybe,” Rowan said, suddenly thinking of the moving cursor on her work computer. “Or she could have found a way to remotely access my machine.”
“But I don’t understand why,” Aster whispered, her gaze sliding this way and that. “We didn’t have anything to do with Steven’s death.”
Rowan cocked her head. “No, we didn’t. But maybe she thought we were in on it. We were so close with Poppy. She could have thought Poppy told us everything.”
“Or she might be trying to cover up Poppy’s murder,” Corinne suggested. “Pin it on someone else.”
Everyone exchanged a spooked glance. Aster leaped to her feet. “We have to tell someone.”
“Who?” Corinne asked. “Not the FBI—she is the FBI.”
Rowan climbed off the couch. “We’ll go to the Boston bureau. There’s got to be someone over her head—someone who will take us seriously.” She slipped her feet into her sandals. “We should go. Foley could be listening to us right now.” She glanced at Corinne. “You can stay here if you want. Rest up for tomorrow.”
“Are you kidding?” Corinne draped a cardigan over her shoulders. “I’m not letting you guys go by yourselves.” She flipped on a light in the main room and found the keys to their SUV. “Let’s go.”
They slipped out the front door and walked into the cool night. The air was thick with the scent of salt water, and the night was moonless and misty. The only light was from the porch and a single light in the caretakers’ house. Rowan sprinted to the SUV in the driveway, feeling that if they didn’t get out of here this moment, something awful might happen to them. Her head hummed with the terror of what they’d just pieced together. She thought of all the times she’d been in the presence of Foley. She’d been in their offices, their homes. Edith had even invited her to Corinne’s wedding.
Rowan unlocked the door to the Range Rover and swung into the driver’s seat. Corinne slid in next to her, while Aster climbed into the back. But when Rowan jammed the key into the ignition and turned it, nothing happened. Frowning, she tried it again. Still nothing.
“What’s wrong?” Aster whispered.
“I don’t know.” Rowan tried to flick on the lights, but the driveway remained dark. “Maybe it’s the battery.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Aster’s hands fell limply to her lap. Then her eyes widened. “What if she drained the battery on purpose?”
Rowan reached over and locked the doors, suddenly afraid to head back into the house. “What are we going to do?” Her voice screeched with panic. “We have to get out of here!”
Suddenly there was a loud knock on the car window. Everyone screamed at the shadowy figure barely visible behind the tinted glass. Foley, was Rowan’s singular thought.
“Hello?”
Tears ran down Rowan’s cheeks as she tried the ignition again and again. “Hello?” the voice called once more. “Corinne? Rowan? Aster?”
Rowan blinked. Over her pounding heart, she suddenly realized it wasn’t Foley’s voice at all. She pulled the key from the ignition. “Who’s there?”
“It’s Julia.”
“Mom?” called a voice outside the car. There were footsteps. “Rowan?” the voice called. “It’s Danielle.”
Rowan clicked her phone into flashlight mode. Two redheads stepped into the light. Danielle and Julia Gilchrist. Rowan exchanged a look with the others, then rolled down the window.
Danielle was in a T-shirt, and her hair was messy with sleep. Julia wore yoga pants and a Sherpa hoodie. Both women peered at them worriedly. “Are you ladies okay?” Julia asked.
Rowan shook her head. “N-no.”
“Our car won’t start,” Corinne blurted.
“Maybe it needs a jump?” Danielle offered.
“Or we could just give them a ride somewhere,” Julia said uncertainly.
“Yes, please,” Aster said, shooting out of the car. “If you don’t mind.”
“Of course.” Julia gestured toward the caretakers’ house. A Subaru sat under the porte cochere. “Just let me grab my purse.”
The other cousins stepped out of the car and hurried across the driveway. A stiff wind knocked against Rowan’s cheek, and she heard a rumbling sound in the distance. As they climbed into the vehicle, headlights appeared at the other end of the drive. Rowan’s heart seized.
She leaned into the front seat and touched Julia’s shoulder. “We have to get out of here,” she said nervously. “Now.”
30