Whisper Island by Carissa Ann Lynch

Author:Carissa Ann Lynch [Lynch, Carissa Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780008421052
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Chapter Thirty-Five

Riley

Sammy’s screams ripped the air, her pain and agony rocking me off my feet. I landed on my knees beside Scarlett’s dead body, taking in the gaping red wound and stony, fearful expression on her cold, white face. This certainly wasn’t an accident.

“What the hell happened?”

Rob was shaking, his face moon white in the dark. He looked at me, registering my presence for the first time.

“Was it an animal?” I asked, even though I knew the answer. Wounds that precise don’t come from animals and animals don’t leave that much flesh behind.

Rob shook his head back and forth, back and forth … then erupted into sobs again. Sammy, getting a hold of herself at the sight of her brother’s weeping, wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

Rob closed his eyes, leaning into his sister’s embrace. I was reminded, then, how new to the group I truly was—I didn’t know what to say or do that might provide comfort.

“What the hell happened, Rob? What happened to Scarlett? Please tell us,” Sammy said, rubbing his back and arm in slow, soothing circles.

I watched the two of them, seeing the true closeness of their bond for the first time. Sammy’s embrace was like a mother’s, protective and immovable. There was something so strange about it … unhealthy. My own father avoided physical contact at all costs. Probably not healthy either.

“I-I was supposed to meet her. She told me to be here at midnight,” Rob said. But there was more to it than that, a guilty glint in his eye. Scarlett and Rob really were hooking up on the island, just as I suspected earlier.

“Why were you supposed to meet her?” I asked, just as Sammy narrowed her eyes at me.

“Is that really important right now?” Sammy went back to rubbing her brother’s head and shoulders, trying to calm him down. “Tell us what happened, Rob,” she said, her voice soft and buttery sweet.

“I was running late. It took Opal forever to fall asleep, so I made some homemade gravy—I thought it’d be nice for us to have some in the morning for breakfast…”

I thought about the burning pot in the sink. What an irresponsible jerk!

“I looked at my watch and it was quarter past twelve. That’s when I remembered I was meeting Scarlett.” Rob glanced over his shoulder at Scarlett now, bloody and lifeless on the ground. Another gasping sob racked through him.

Sammy clutched him in her arms, as though he were the one who just got murdered. I turned my attention back to Scarlett, staring at the vicious wound on her belly.

“Whoever did this was furious,” I whispered, my body quivering. “Someone who wanted to hurt her. Someone who wanted us to find her here … as a warning.”

“You think?” Sammy said, practically snarling at me. In that moment, I hated her. Why is she always so mean to me?

Ignoring her rudeness, I said, “Was she like this when you got here, or…?”

Sammy huffed. “Or what? You think my brother did this?”

“I’m not saying that,” I said, raising my own voice this time.

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