Page 41 of Sweet Revenge
“That’s it!” Cait snapped her fingers and pointed at Evie before returning to her story. “Sister Mary Francis was caught in the coat closet with the janitor. And they weren’t hanging up coats.”
Maura groaned, head in her hands. “Mom was telling me all about that last week! Sister Mary Francis is the last person I ever want to picture doing anything like that.”
“Wonder if she likes to use the ruler still.”
Evie hadn’t realized she’d said that loud enough for anyone to hear until Declan barked out a laugh. She felt her cheeks heat while Cait giggled and Maura groaned again.
“An even worse visual!” Maura complained
“Mary Francis was nothing compared to Sister Eugenie,” Cait added.
“Oh, Christ,” Finn said, rubbing his knuckles at the memory. “She hit entirely too hard for a woman her age.”
“Evie knows all about that. I was the good one.”
“The good one.” Evie snorted. “Whose weed did I get in trouble for senior year?”
Cait sipped at her wine to hide her blush. “I said I was sorry! And it’s not like you got kicked out of school.”
“No, my parents just had to make a huge donation, and I walked around with bruised knuckles for a week.”
She noted the way Declan’s gaze darkened as he sipped his whiskey. He hadn’t liked seeing marks on her then, and it appeared he didn’t like being reminded of them now.
“Can we get to the real reason we’re here tonight? The walk down memory lane is a snooze fest.”
The room fell silent, and Brogan reached over to punch Aidan on the arm. “You’re such a buzzkill, little brother.”
In the tension that hung, a maid stepped up to the door and announced that dinner was ready. They crossed silently into the dining room, and when a knot twisted in her stomach, Evie smoothed it away with her hand. Lowering herself into the chair Declan held out for her, she took a sip of wine.
“Right,” Declan said into the expectant silence. “Most of you know some of it, but I want everyone at this table to have all the details.”
“Details about what?” Aidan wondered.
“About what happened to O’Brian and Mary Elizabeth and everything that’s happened since.” Declan glanced at Evie, who twirled her finger in the air to indicate he should take it from the top.
“We all know McGee originally thought murder-suicide.”
“I thought he changed his mind after the autopsy?” Finn replied.
“He did.” Declan nodded. “Said the cuts were shallow and then deep, like there was hesitation at first. Not unheard of, but unusual with something like that.”
“Reagan’s theory agrees with McGee’s,” Evie continued.
“You met with my sister?” Maura’s tone was cold.
“We did,” Declan replied, and Maura shifted in her seat. “There wasn’t a lot of evidence left by the cleaners, but the one thing that stuck out to her was that a knife was missing from the block. Probably the murder weapon.”
“That would have driven your mother crazy,” Cait said. “She’d never have kept a mismatched set.”
“That’s what I said,” Evie agreed. “Which means the killer used it as a weapon of opportunity and then took it with them. If it was my dad”—she swallowed around the lump in her throat—“we would’ve found the knife.”
“Weapon of opportunity could still be a random burglary. We were floating that idea around at first, weren’t we?”
“We were. But I think the notes on Evie’s mirror, and Nessa’s, plus the flat tire and Nessa being followed mean we have to consider it was targeted.”
“Wait,” Brogan said. “Back up.”
“Nessa said she feels like someone has been watching her, and someone tailed her on the way home from the grocery store yesterday.” Evie pushed a glazed carrot across her plate.
