Page 101 of You Deserve to Know

“He’d take care of Anton. Wow. That’s brilliant, Gwen.”

“The night Anton and me got in a fight? When he went to your house, I knew it had to be then. I was waiting at the door when Scott walked Anton back over. He was shit-faced. He started blabbering about how he was going to go to Villain & Saint and find Scott and tell him everything. I went straight to Marcus as soon as he left and told him he had to stop him. I remember saying,tonight’s the night.”

“So he took Lisa’s car to Villain & Saint? And he ran Anton down?”

I shrug. “I guess. I wasn’t there.”

“And Lisa? The night she came to your house?”

My skin begins to feel itchy. Something is off. “Why are you asking so many questions about the past?”

“Like I said, I want to know the truth, that’s all.”

The waitress arrives with our food and places it on the table.

“Do you ladies know what you’d like for dinner, or do you need a few more minutes?”

“A few more minutes,” I say, draining my glass. “And another round of these.”

Once she’s gone, Aimee pushes the plate of conchitas away from her. “It looks good, but I’ve lost my appetite.”

“Oh, come on, don’t be that way.”

She unbuttons the top of her dress, reaches inside, and pulls out a small black microphone, which she tosses on the table.

“What the hell is that?” I ask, recoiling.

“I think they call that a wire, Gwen.” From the table behind her, I can see a well-dressed couple stand and head toward us. To my right, I also see two uniformed police officers weaving through the crowd.

“How could you trick me like this?” I hiss. “We’re friends.”

“Don’t be mad,” she says, lifting her chin in defiance. “Just think what a great ending to your next book this will be. After all, your readers deserve to know.”

(THE ACTUAL END)