Page 53 of (My Accidental) Killer Summer (Summers in Seaside)

Elle

My phone rings, interrupting the crazy tense moment with the note and Noah’s reaction. It’s Amy.

“Hey,” I say. “We’ve got a problem that I need to—” I glance at Noah. He’s still fixated on the note. His eyes doing that back-and-forth thing that people do when they can’t believe what they are seeing.

Pink paper.

X. O.

Is that from a woman?

“Fucking, eh, right we’ve got a problem!” she says.

“Did you get a note too?” I ask, lowering my voice so the kids can’t hear.

“Huh?” She sounds genuinely confused. “What note?”

I hold up a finger to the kids and Noah, none of whom are even paying attention to me, and walk into the other room. “We got a note,” I hiss. “Stuck on Doug’s grave. It mentions the shirt I was wearing and basically says we aren’t getting away with shit.”

“Oh, dear,” she sighs. Not quite the reaction I was expecting.

“ Oh. Dear ?” I parrot, incredulous.

“I may have complicated things just a bit,” she says, sounding furtive and unsure. Guilty, even.

“What did you do?”

“Let’s just say, Doug may have some company soon.”

My stomach lurches. The room tilts, and I press my hand to the wall.

One body was an accident.

Two is a pattern.

And patterns get caught.

Coming this winter - the second installment in Elle and Noah’s story. And, find out what the hell is going on with Amy.