Page 170 of No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding

“Why would the murderer knock?”

Lord preserve me from pedantic writers.

I convince them to follow me to Emma and Fred’s room, which is not far away as the crow flies.102It’s still wet and very windy outside, but the worst of the storm seems to have passed us by. Some of the lights are out, so it’s very dark, and we pick our way along the path quietly, our phone flashlights lighting our way.

“Where are you going?” a stern voice says when we’re a couple of hundred yards away, startling us.

“Connor. Jesus. What are you doing out here?”

He steps out of the shadows. He’s wearing a long black rain jacket, the kind of thing Dexter might’ve worn if he was committing a murder in a rainstorm. “I could ask you the same thing.”

“Youdid,” Allison points out.

“We’re going to Fred and Emma’s room, if you must know,” Oliver says. “You?”

“Same.”

“Why?” I ask.

“Because Fred did it.”

“See,” David says. “I told you.”

“We’re not takinghisword for it,” I say.

“Could you be making any more noise?”

“Harper?” She’s standing there in a red rain jacket with a light illuminating her face like she’s the villain in a horror movie. “I thought you were asleep.”

“Iwas. And then you guys were banging around the room asking about candles and flashlights.”

“Sorry.”

“I’m used to it.”

“Should we get a move on?” Connor says. “I, for one, do not want to get caught out here by Officer Anderson.”

“He never did like authority,” Allison says.

“Can you blame me?”

“Yes.”

“Enough of this,” Oliver says. “Let’s go.”

We follow along behind him, tripping over branches and slipping on the wet path, but we make it to Fred and Emma’s door without getting accosted. All the lights are on in their villa, so we don’t need to worry about waking them up, even though it’s almost midnight.

I get it.

It’s not the kind of day when you tuck yourself in early.

And they got married today.

Shit. Somehow I lost track of that even though I just changed out of my bridesmaid dress.

Is Emma married to a murderer? That can’t be right, can it?

Is her judgment that bad?

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