“I…I…” Abby scrubbed her eyes with her fists. “I started leaving her little…presents.”
“What kind of presents?” Frannie asked sharply.
“At first, just pictures of people in accidents or in coffins with a note that said Stop the book or this will be you.”
“And when that didn’t work?” Dani asked.
“I found a dead snake on the road and put it in a fancy gift bag with the same message.”
“When was that?” Frannie asked.
“The afternoon right before her luau.” Abby lifted her chin. “That got her attention.”
“I bet,” Dani murmured, afraid to say too much and interrupt the girl’s train of thought.
“Regina tracked me down and told me if I didn’t stop harassing her, she was going to go to the police.” Abby pounded her fist on the tabletop. “She had the nerve to threaten me after what she’d done.”
“That must have made you angry.” Dani spoke carefully. “What did you do?”
“At first, I didn’t know what to do.” Abby sniffed. “I called my therapist and she said that I had to stop with the notes and things. That instead of being passive-aggressive, I needed to do something proactive.”
Frannie and Dani exchanged a horrified look.
“And you thought your counselor meant that you should kill Regina?” Dani couldn’t keep the dismay from her voice.
“No!” Abby shook her head vigorously. “I decided to confront Regina at her luau in front of all those sycophants that she called friends.”
“But you didn’t.” Dani wrinkled her brow. “What changed your mind?”
“When I got there, I saw how drunk everyone was and I knew they’d never take my side against Regina. Not with all her fancy food and booze and power.” Abby’s shoulders slumped. “I knew they’d never listen to me.”
“But you didn’t leave.” Dani vaguely recalled glimpsing Abby just before Vance set the table on fire. At the time, the girl had just registered as one of Dani’s lunch-to-go customers, but now she remembered thinking that she seemed out of place at the party.
“I felt paralyzed.” Abby licked her lips. “I couldn’t make myself go home, but I couldn’t make myself confront Regina either.”
“I understand. You wanted to be published so badly and it seemed as if Regina had snatched it out of your hands for a second time. It made you numb.” Dani patted Abby’s arm. “What happened next?”
“When the party started breaking up, I was going to leave.” Abby’s voice cracked. “Then I heard Regina lay into her boyfriend and call him a big loser. Laz had always been nice to me, so I hesitated. Then Regina told him that she couldn’t stand to, uh…eff him one more time. When her book was a big success, she was moving to New York and would never have to see him again.”
Regina’s cruelty left Dani breathless. She sucked in a lungful of air before she asked, “So he and Vance left?”
“Yes. Regina marched them out to the driveway as if she didn’t trust them to go.” Abby glared. “And that’s when I did it.”
“You must have been extremely angry,” Dani encouraged.
“I was.” Abby made a sweeping gesture with her hands. “I knew that Regina would just go on ruining life after life and never have to experience the consequences of her actions. I remembered hearing her yell at you about the desserts you were supposed to save for her, and I recalled the rumors around the sorority house that she was bulimic, so I grabbed the vials of insulin and a syringe from my purse and I injected all the food you had left her.”
“You just happened to have vials of insulin and a syringe with you?” Frannie asked. “I thought you said you use a pump.”
“Even with a pump it’s vital to have backup,” Abby explained. “And I had just bought a new supply of insulin that morning and hadn’t taken it out of my purse yet.”
“I thought insulin needed to be refrigerated,” Frannie said.
“Insulin may be stored at room temperature for up to a month,” Abby recited as if she’d explained that fact a hundred times. Then she blinked and said, “Anyway. Once I injected the food, I left. I knew that stomach acid breaks down insulin, but I thought that if Regina binged and ingested such a large amount she’d at least get sick. I never thought she’d die.”
“What if someone else ate it?” Frannie challenged.
“Regina’s housekeeper was gone and she was alone.” Abby screwed up her face. “I hid in the pool house and watched all night and the next morning. No one entered the house. Then Regina came out to the pool a little past noon and began stuffing the food into her mouth so fast, I thought she’d choke on it.
“If Regina hadn’t eaten the stuff by the time her housekeeper got back, I would have made some excuse to get into the kitchen and dispose of the tainted food.” Abby put her hand over her heart. “I swear.”
“You didn’t know that Regina was taking a prescription for her ulcer or that the medication would protect the insulin from her stomach acid?” Dani asked.
“I had no idea,” Abby said. “If I had, I would never have dosed her food.”
The three women were silent, then after several minutes, Abby asked, “Now what?”
With her story told, Dani could see that the girl was fading fast.
“Abby.” Dani made her voice soothing and her expression understanding. “You know we’re going to have to call the police.”
“No!” Abby collapsed against the back of the chair. “You can’t. I mean, I thought you were my friends.”
“We are,” Dani said gently. “But there’s no other way.”
“What will happen to me?” Abby buried her face in her palms.
“Before you turn yourself in, you need to call an attorney.” Dani pushed her cell phone toward the girl. “And maybe your parents and therapist too.”
“My parents are in Australia.” Abby sobbed. “And I don’t know any lawyers.”
“You’re in luck.” Frannie grabbed Dani’s cell—her own was still recording the conversation. “I happen to know the best criminal defense attorney
