54. Knox

"Ithink I'm gonna fire Mom," Luna announced over lunch, and Jubilee began choking. Slater thumped her on the back, and an olive flew across the table. Kory just gaped, and even Ryder looked mildly surprised.

But good for Luna. Amethyst Puckett was toxic.

"Can you even do that?" Jubilee asked. "I mean, she's your mother."

"Which means she should have my best interests at heart, right? So why have I spent the whole morning dreading tomorrow? Feeling sick that there are only four days left until she gets out of jail and I have to see her? Four days until I have to join her stupid circus again. I don't want to hawk hot tubs on Instagram. I don't want to wear clothes made out of food. I don't want to get recognised everywhere I go. All I ever wanted to do was sing, and I'm not even allowed to perform my own songs."

Knox glanced sideways at Caro, and their gazes met as she did the same thing. Who knew a casual picnic could bring so much drama? They'd schlepped the food with them from Ilha Grande, cleared space in the shade under a mango tree, and dragged the bigger of the two dining tables outside. Someone had tried to patch up the bullet hole in the other, but there was no way to hide it completely. As for the outdoor dining set Jubilee had bought, that was covered in bloodstains—Knox wasn't sure whose—and was now residing in the forest out of sight. Tango was lying beside Caro, her head resting on Caro's foot, and Knox figured he should research pet import regulations. Cora wouldn't mind a dog in the office. She liked animals.

"It's been a stressful month," Jubilee said. "Maybe if you take a few days when we get back… Should I book?—"

"No, no, no! You sound just like her, do you realise that? There, there, stop acting out, I'll book you into rehab again."

"Sorry, I?—"

"And don't think I've forgotten the way you schemed with Cordelia, or that Mom employs you, not me."

Jubilee gasped. "Well, what about Julius? You hate speaking with him, and Mom always handles those calls."

"Until I can get rid of him too, I'll hire a go-between. And then when I've made my last two albums with Sonic Flare and survived the world tour I never wanted to do in the first place, I can reevaluate my life."

"But what about the money?"

"I've been working since I was four years old, and Mom keeps bragging that I'm a millionaire ten times over."

Support came from a surprising corner.

"There's nothing harder than living a lie," Caro said. "It's not just having to constantly remember who you told what; it's the darkness that builds up inside. The misery. You should go with your heart."

And then an unsurprising corner. Ryder.

"Caro's right. Your mom won't make things easy, but you're strong. You'll get through it."

"Does anyone know a good lawyer? Mom hired mine, and I think?—"

Knox's and Ryder's phones pinged at the same time, and Knox knew that sound. The sensors. He was on his feet in a heartbeat, gun in hand, Ryder and Slater following suit.

"Dining room," Knox said. "Now."

His damn leg throbbed as he herded the girls and Kory to safety, Ryder heading along the driveway and Slater slipping through the trees to the beach. Paranoia, perhaps, but they weren't expecting visitors, and nor were they taking any chances. Caro looked as if she was fighting back tears, but Luna grabbed the kettle and hefted it in her hands. Fucking hell.

"Maybe you could put that down?" Knox suggested. "I have a gun."

"Or maybe I could just keep hold of it. Caro, you want a frying pan? There's a frying pan in there, and it's heavy."

By the time Ryder called to say it was a false alarm, Caro was armed with a frying pan, and Jubilee and Kory had saucepans, but they quickly returned them to the kitchen when Ryder appeared with a pretty but nervous-looking brunette in tow. Knox raised an eyebrow.

"This is Monique," Ryder introduced. "She heard it was safe to come out now."

"I…" She smoothed the fabric of her flowery sundress with her hands. "I don't know where to start. I guess by saying thank you? And sorry. I'm so sorry if anything I did made this worse."

Well, damn. This was the last thing Knox had expected today. "Where have you been?"

"Staying with a friend." Her smile was shaky. "In his attic. I wanted to go to the police, I did, but Stacey said they couldn't be trusted, and I was just so scared. Terrified. I heard they found her body."

Stacey's remains had been formally identified through dental records now. Blackwood was assisting her parents with getting her body repatriated, and Caro wanted to pay her respects at the funeral.

"Were you with her that night? At Havana Hills?"

Monique nodded. "I guess we tripped an alarm because they came out of nowhere. We both ran, and I thought she was right behind me, but when I reached the sea, I realised she'd gone. And then a guy started shooting, so I jumped off the cliff. I didn't see her get caught. Honestly, I thought she'd escaped too, but when I finally managed to call my friend, I found out she hadn't made it."

"It took you three days to call someone?"

"The currents took me away from Malavilla, and I ended up on Monkey Island. It's uninhabited. Stacey said the shark sightings were probably fake, but…" She shuddered. "Anyhow, after two days, a boat full of Japanese tourists showed up, and I told them I'd fallen off my paddleboard."

"They gave you a ride back?"

"To Ilha Grande. I didn't want to go anywhere near Malavilla."

"How did you find out about the turtles at Havana Hills?"

"Through gross stupidity. I lost my mind and dated the bad boy. I thought it would be an adventure, you know? And he did treat me okay, better than the last… Never mind. Sometimes, I used to go to Havana Hills with Tomas and use the pool while he did…well, he said he worked with the maintenance team, which I guess on a deep level I always thought was odd because the place was kind of overgrown, but I figured he was trying to clean up his act. Anyhow, we were there one day in the winter, and it was cold, so I didn't swim for long. And I figured I'd go find him. Just to see if he wanted a drink or something to eat. And that's when I saw the turtles, and I realised he hadn't changed at all."

"You didn't report it?"

"I was scared." She looked at her feet. "Scared that Tomas—or worse, Barry—would know it was me and retaliate. I should have told someone."

"You told Stacey?"

"A few months ago, I watched one of those nature documentaries. I honestly didn't realise how rare turtles were getting, and… Yes, when Angel called and said a journalist wanted to speak with me, I told her. And I offered to show her where the barn was. I'm so, so sorry."

At least they'd cleared up the last piece of the puzzle. Fernandez and the coastguard could stand down—everyone had feared they were looking for a body, despite the detective's suspicions that Monique's ex was acting cagey.

Caro got up and gave her a hug. "The only people to blame are the men who did this."

"Maybe a woman too. Tomas's boss was married, and his wife was always around. Lucinda. Lucinda Voss. I saw her walking to the barn once."

Okay, it seemed there were a couple of puzzle pieces left.

"Will you talk to the police now?" Knox asked. "There's at least one detective who isn't dirty."

Monique nodded. "I'll tell them everything."

Fernandez sent the coastguard to Valentine Cay to pick up Monique. The cutter had been out looking for her body, and all the officers were mighty relieved to see her alive. And there was more news—the men Emmy's team had captured at Havana Hills were starting to turn on each other, tripping over themselves in their efforts to win the top prize of an immunity deal from Judge Morgan. Seven dirty cops had been suspended so far. Blackwood's cyber team had cracked the passwords on the flash drives, and Stacey's own notes would help to put her killers behind bars, those that were still alive anyway.

It was almost over. A few days of packing and goodbyes, and they'd be heading back to the US.

Luna's phone rang. The screen had lit up three times while Monique was talking, but Luna had ignored it and then finally turned the phone over. But now she grimaced and growled, "Get lost."

"Who is it?" Jubilee asked.

"Julius."

"Why is he calling you? He knows you never answer."

"How should I know? Probably because he can't get hold of Mom, and there's some mega urgent deal for a plushie toy that he wants me to promote in Japan."

"So you're just going to keep hanging up on him?"

"You can answer if you want to."

"Uh, no."

The phone kept ringing.

"How about I answer?" Ryder offered. "I'll even tell him to go to hell if you want me to."

Luna leaned against him, her head on his shoulder. "You'd really do that?" she asked dreamily.

"Sure."

"Can you find out what he wants first?"

Ryder put the phone to his ear. "This is Bentley Throckmorton, Ms. Maara's communications assistant. On a scale of one to five, with one being a sales pitch for cryptocurrency and five being a world-ending catastrophe, how important is this call? She told me to only take a message for the fives."

A pause.

"A five? Really? Well, go ahead."

He cocked his head to one side, listening, and the amused smile slipped off his face. Luna became more anxious as she watched, gripping his hand hard enough that her nails dug into his flesh.

"Yes, I'll relay the message. Yes, she has your number. Now you can go to hell, one-way ticket. Yes, she told me to say that too." He hung up and gave a weighty sigh. "Well, fuck."

"What? What is it?"

"There's…news."

"Good news or bad news?"

"I'm not entirely sure. So, the first thing is that the record label saw the memes of your boobs and decided you were bringing the company into disrepute. They're abrogating your contract, effective immediately."

"Abro-what? I don't even know what that means."

"Revoking it. Apparently, they can do that. Clause thirty-two point eight or something." Ryder twined his fingers through hers as she digested his words. "You okay?"

"Uh, maybe? I…I'm not sure. What's the other news?"

"The Nile Palace wants to offer you a four-month residency. Six shows a week, and you'd have creative control."

"The Nile? What, in Egypt?"

"Sin City, baby. The Nile Palace Hotel and Casino."

"I… Wow. What about the tour? Did Julius mention the tour?"

"Cancelled along with the two albums and all the promo."

She sagged in her seat. "Thank goodness."

"Amethyst is gonna be furious," Jubilee warned.

"You know what? I don't even care."