Epilogue

Three days later, Natalie stared out the window of her Pearl District condo, her cell phone pressed to her ear as she listened to Beatrix tell her all the reasons why they wouldn't be producing Rose City Ren-O . Phillip had come back from Sedona and he and Beatrix were working out a deal between them with that shit piece of property he'd bought against her wishes. Surprise, surprise, saving his beige soul hadn't been as important as cold, hard cash. They wanted to cut her out but Phillip had forced her into ownership of half that property, so she was now going to require an epic ransom from them if they wanted her share. Maybe with the money she would receive she could get her Portland show off the ground on her own. Maybe not. With all the bad press that had been coming out the past few days about how The Sorority had pledged to kill Ethan Stanhope, catching Ingrid in the trap, she didn't think she'd be hosting anything anytime soon.

And Leigh . . . Elayne . . . Natalie was infuriated with her for turning the joke into a reality, killing not only Ethan and Ingrid, but more recently Gavin—with a white van—and Mia, by hypodermic. She'd apparently confronted Erin with a hypodermic, too, and the little bug-eyed squirrel was lucky to be alive.

Kristl had called and said she'd spoken to Mackenzie, who had revealed that Leigh— Elayne —had admitted to lacing a cherry pie with fentanyl and putting it in Ethan's car. Somewhere during the night, Ethan and Ingrid must have both eaten the pie.

Leigh was in the hospital with a twelve-inch gash in her stomach from some carpet-cutting tool, and her husband, Parker, had been treated as well. They'd been in some kind of horrific fight, which Mackenzie had stumbled into, and there were criminal charges now leveled at both of them. There were rumors that Parker was, or had been, a drug dealer, and that the fentanyl that killed the Stanhopes was purchased from him by Mason Beckwith and Sam Stanhope, both of whom denied they gave it to Ethan. The media was trying to contact Mason and Sam about Parker, but neither of them was talking. Leigh, apparently, had a lot to say, as long as you addressed her as Elayne Denning, as she was now insistent that was her name. Natalie had assumed Leigh killed Ethan out of jealousy, but there was another rumor that she'd gone pure psycho because Ethan had dissed her acting skills.

Natalie snorted. "They're all psychos," she muttered as soon as she was off the phone with Beatrix. And that included Phillip. Leigh/Elayne wasn't the only one heading for divorce.

Natalie wasn't quite sure what had happened to cause Leigh to go after Gavin and Mia. Fear of discovery? Revenge? Maybe some jealousy, whether she was admitting it or not. Or maybe it was just that Gavin was an ass and Mia was Ethan's ex. There was a theory that Mia had been chased down by her jealous lover, but that had proved untrue. Kristl had said that she talked to Erin, who was out of the hospital now, and that Erin had seen Leigh putting the tainted pie in Ethan's car. Roxie's " I Eta Pi " reminded Erin of the pie Leigh had put in Ethan's car, so that's why she was targeted.

The whole thing was a Greek tragedy, or maybe a farce. She was just glad that Leigh had left her alone.

Her cell buzzed again and Natalie's brows lifted when she saw it was Roxie. She hadn't completely forgiven her for whisking away with hardly a word, but whatever. "Well, hello," she answered. "Where are you these days?"

"L.A. Jeremy's got some interesting friends in the film business. I told you about them, didn't I?"

"I don't think so."

"Well, I told them about what's happening in River Glen and his friend's production company is really interested."

For a moment, Natalie's hopes had soared, thinking it was going to be something to do with her condo renovation idea, but then she realized Roxie meant the Leigh debacle. "Seriously." She snorted.

"Yes. And I told them about you, and they saw some of your shows and think you'd be right for the narrator of the whole story. I mean, who better than the person who started the pledge?"

"It was a joke," Natalie said automatically.

"And that's a great title: It Was a Joke . Why don't you come back to sunny SoCal and meet with them. We can work out some stuff."

"You're involved in this project?"

"Well, maybe. Jeremy thinks I have what it takes to coproduce with him."

Natalie blinked several times. She'd only really searched out and befriended Roxie to deliver the big surprise to the rest of The Sorority. She'd never thought of her as anything but a silly, slutty girl-next-door type. She'd never considered she might actually have some brains.

"I could fly to L.A.," she said.

"Do it," Roxie urged her and Natalie clicked off and gazed out at the skyline one more time, a bemused smile on her lips. Maybe Portland could be her bread and butter after all. Portland and River Glen. She was just going to have to go to Hollywood to make it happen.

* * *

Kristl flushed her treasure trove of pills down the toilet. The ones that she hadn't dissolved in her mother's oatmeal. She'd fixed up that oatmeal and then stared at it a long, long time before she'd dumped it down the disposal. She'd almost given it to Mom because she never wanted to hear "Krissy!" as long as she lived. But she'd waited, trying to work out just what her life would be like with her mother off to the great beyond and her the ungrateful daughter who'd murdered her. She'd wanted to be free. More than that, she wanted to be loved. She'd wanted Tim, yes, but maybe he was just a symbol of that love, not the real thing.

She hadn't really understood why she'd invited Mackenzie to the meeting with the other members of The Sorority. Leigh had always been the one to cheerlead about how Mackenzie should be a part of their group, which Kristl had always thought was a no-go because Mac just wasn't like the rest of them. Mac just didn't care about the same things they did.

But Mac had driven her home after the bar fight, making sure she was okay. It had just been so selfless compared to her other friends, that Kristl had wanted to see more of her. She'd been seduced by Mac's sanity. And then after The Sorority got together the other night and Kristl knew they'd all seen the pills, like her, but they didn't know she'd taken some for herself, and then Mac had informed them that Ethan died of an overdose . . . it just felt like it was time to DO something. Like tell Mac about the pledge . . . and finally give herself permission to use the pills . . . on Mom. She'd gone so far as to wear a mask and smash them up and put them in her oatmeal.

And then Mackenzie had called. Like she was an old friend. Like she was worth something. And she'd told her about Leigh and Parker and Erin. Had actually thought to inform her. And had apologized for leaving the meeting early. Wow.

"Krissy? Krissy, come here."

Kristl walked down the hallway to the bedroom and looked down at her mother, really looked at her. Mom stared back at her, her already lined face creasing with worry.

"I think we need to have a talk," Kristl said.

"I want something other than oatmeal."

"I'm calling for in-home services. I've got some brochures on assisted living places. You need more care than I can give you. I'm going to get a job and figure out the rest of my life and make it so we're both happier."

"I want mashed potatoes and gravy. I like those little red potatoes, too."

Kristl smiled and patted her mother's shoulder, then walked out of the room and began scrolling through her cell phone.

* * *

Mac sat beside Taft on the couch. She'd collected him from the hospital two days earlier and had offered to play nursemaid, saying, "You took care of my ankle, I can take care of you."

Taft had wanted her to take his bedroom while he slept on the couch, just like the last time she'd stayed at his place while he'd recovered, and just like that last time, she'd refused. In truth, he was doing fine and probably didn't need her attention, but neither of them had wanted to change the status quo as yet.

"How's Erin?" he asked now, as she'd checked in with her.

"Home. Glad to be back with her cat, who's been staying at the neighbors."

"Good."

Silence fell between them, the same unspoken awkwardness that had developed since the shooting in Mangella's garage. Gone was the flirtatious edge and promise of intimacy to come. A wall had formed between them. The damn wall that she'd worried about from the moment she'd acted on her impulses that prompted the kiss. And they hadn't even had real sex!

It was a pisser, and she wasn't entirely sure if the wall that had been erected by him, or by herself.

"Sorry about the Macallan," she said, not for the first time. She'd turned the bottle of scotch over to the police crime lab where it was being tested.

"Anna," he said, grimacing.

Anna DeMarcos had died shortly after surgery and Prudence Mangella was in custody for homicide.

It was late in the afternoon on a surprisingly sunny November day. Thanksgiving was around the corner and Stephanie was already making plans to have dinner at her place. Mackenzie had mentioned the meal to Taft, who generally eschewed holiday functions, had since he'd lost his sister. He hadn't committed to joining her but Stephanie needed an answer, so she brought it up again.

To her surprise, Taft reached over and clasped her hand, threading his fingers through hers. She stared at him.

"Glad you called Haynes before you went to Parker Flooring. You always need backup."

She peered at him. He was saying that now but she knew he hadn't felt the same way when he'd first heard. Instead he'd gone ultra quiet. Unusual for him.

"But . . . ?" She could tell he was heading somewhere, somewhere she was pretty sure she didn't want to go.

"I wasn't there for you."

"Well, yeah, but we know why. That's not unexpected," she said dismissively.

"I was powerless to help you. I don't want to feel that way again."

"What does that mean?"

"I need to rethink this partnership." He'd been staring straight ahead, his eyes narrowed, but now he turned to her, giving her the full blast of those blue eyes. "I don't like the danger this job puts you in."

"Come on, Taft. I was a cop before. I know what the risks are."

"I can't do both, Laughlin. Partner and lover. I know it. And I think you know it, too."

"Well, we haven't been lovers, yet," Mac pointed out, her throat dry.

"But we're going to be." His gaze dropped to her mouth and stayed there for a long moment, causing Mac's pulse to rocket. Then he drew a breath and lifted his eyes to hers again, arching one brow. "Or we're going to be partners."

"We can't try to do both?"

"Go home. Think about it. I can get along fine tonight. We need to figure this out because whatever happens, I'm not losing you."

He could have added "too" onto that statement because she knew he was also thinking about Helene. He was basically saying he considered her family, which was what she now understood she yearned for. But it also put a pretty clear point on the fact he believed it was one or the other, lover or partner/ friend/family.

Well, hell.

She remembered that kiss he gave her for luck. How breathless she'd felt.

And then watching Anna hold him at gunpoint, hearing the shot, seeing the red, red blood stain his sweater.

"Ronnie was right," she said hoarsely. "You shouldn't have gone to Mangella's that night."

"The danger was there, whenever I decided to go."

"You believe her more than you're saying."

"That she's a psychic?" He shook his head.

Mac let it go. Taft slowly unclasped his hand from hers and she got to her feet. "I don't like making this choice."

"I don't either."

Then don't , she thought, heart squeezing painfully, but the truth was he had a valid point. A very valid point. Because she didn't want to ever see him a hairsbreadth from death again like she had in Mangella's garage.

* * *

"Emma!" Harley said, staring at her as she bit into the sandwich Harley had called a yee-ro.

Emma chewed carefully and looked around the dinner table. Harley and Cooper were watching her closely. Marissa, too. They'd all gone to a food cart that specialized in Greek food and brought home yee-ros and salads with lots of cucumbers and onions and round pita bread and hummus and something with yogurt. Marissa had flown home from college for the weekend because Cooper had lost his job for telling on someone who'd hidden the truth, which was a bad idea.

"What do you think?" asked Harley. She had a sandwich she called a chicken shawarma.

"I like it," Emma said.

Harley held up her hands. "Okay. Full disclosure. I've got to tell you something. It's lamb. I don't think you've had lamb before. You okay with that? There's another chicken shawarma if you're not."

Emma thought about lambs. They were cute. And she was eating one. But she ate cows and chickens all the time. "I'm okay with it."

Marissa was looking at Cooper. She wasn't really his daughter. She had a different father, but she called him Dad. She'd been looking at him a lot since she got home. "So, when do you find out?" she asked.

"It's a process," Cooper said in that way that meant he didn't want to talk about it.

"Is Jamie eating the lambs?" Emma asked.

"Doubtful," said Harley. "I'll take her the shawarma." She pushed back her chair even though she hadn't finished her own shawarma.

Harley headed up the stairs and Duchess leapt to her feet and followed after her. Twink was in with Jamie and Emma thought Duchess being there was a bad idea. She knew how that went.

"Everything's okay with Jamie, right?" Marissa sounded worried.

"Yes. Everything's fine," said Cooper.

"Except the job thing."

"Except the job thing," he repeated.

"He doesn't want to talk about it," Emma informed Marissa.

Marissa made a face. "I know."

Cooper's cell phone buzzed and he plucked it from his pocket. Normally he switched it off at the dinner table, but this time he frowned at the screen and then said, "Hello," in that way that sounded like he was worried, and then he got up from his chair and walked down the hall to the back door. Emma heard him open the door, walk outside, then close it behind him.

"He doesn't want us to hear," she said.

"I guess he needs privacy," Marissa agreed.

"He feels bad about not having a job."

"I know, Emma."

Marissa got up quickly and took her plate to the sink. Emma thought maybe she should stop asking Cooper all those questions if she already knew he felt bad.

The back door opened again and a swirl of cold air came in, then Cooper was back. He had his "cop face" on. The one where Jamie always said, "Uh-oh," when she saw it.

"What happened?" Marissa demanded.

"I need to talk to Jamie," he said.

He headed upstairs, taking them two at a time. Marissa looked at Emma and Emma looked back at her. Emma heard Cooper ask Harley to leave the bedroom. He needed some private time with her mom.

Harley stepped into the hallway and Cooper shut the door. But Harley stayed on the landing. Marissa made hand gestures at Harley that meant she wanted to know what was going on. Harley put her finger to her lips and leaned in close to the door. Duchess gave a few barks and Harley flapped her hand at the dog, shooing her downstairs.

"Duchess!" Emma yelled and Duchess reluctantly bent her head and slowly came down the stairs. She wanted to stay up and listen at the door like Harley. Emma grabbed her by the collar as soon as she was near to keep her from going back up.

A few minutes later, Harley suddenly hurried away from the door and sneaked back down the stairs to them. Her eyes were really big.

" What? " demanded Marissa.

Harley drew a shaky breath. "Mary Jo's husband called. She's missing. She's been gone for a few days. Mom's trying not to freak out, but she's barely holding it together. Cooper's trying to assure her that they'll find her, but I don't know. God, Mom was so right about Mary Jo!"

Marissa just stared with her mouth open.

"Uh-oh," said Emma.