“You killed him.”
“I smashed the back of his fucking head in, princess. While he was watching his fucking SportsCenter on his fucking stolen Magnavox.”
“Did you record the blackmail that night?”
Theo tested his balance, pushed up with his good leg, and managed to twist himself into an upright position on the couch. He could see Auggie now, dressed in a coat, a tank top, and gym shorts, his bare feet shoved into high-tops. His dark eyes were hard and glittering. He was barely taller than Jessica, but everything about Auggie was power: the lithe lines of his body, the set of his jaw, his voice. Theo was pretty sure he had a concussion, but he still thought Auggie was fucking fantastic right then.
Jessica was trying to control her breathing. “Asshole wouldn’t even take five minutes to make a backup. He wanted to rush off to the Sigma Sigma party. Said he had another job to do. That’s when I started to get worried. We’d just recorded a city cop on the take, and instead of making a million copies for insurance, Robert wanted to go play dress-up. When he got home that night, when he wouldn’t tell me anything, wouldn’t show me the flash drive, wouldn’t tell me where it was, I knew that fucker was trying to cut me out. So I cut him out first.”
“But you didn’t know where the flash drive was.”
“All I could find on his phone were those fucking videos of you and your jerkoff rag over there. So I put together that video, posted it, and got the hell out of his place.”
“And you made sure you got caught trespassing so you’d be locked up when Robert’s body was found. Nobody would even think about you for the killing.”
Her breathing had gotten even more ragged; the tip of the Bowie dipped and bobbed in the air. “Storytime’s over. I want the flash drive.”
“Ok,” Auggie said. He held out a pack of Kools. “It’s in here.”
“Show me.”
Opening the package, Auggie displayed it for her. After a moment, Jessica nodded and held out a hand.
“Take a few steps toward the door,” Auggie said. “And I’ll take a few steps toward Theo.”
“Nice try.”
“What am I trying? You’ve still got the knife. I’ll toss you the pack, you head out the door, and we’re done.”
Jessica shifted her weight; after a moment, she shuffled toward the door. Auggie rotated with her, inching closer to Theo. For one, wild moment, Theo thought it was going to work.
Then the door flew open, and Orlando stumbled into the house. “Auggie, watch out,” he shouted. “She’s got a knife!”
Jessica turned and drove the Bowie into his stomach.
Orlando screamed, dropping against the jamb and sliding down. The knife came free with a squelching sound, and blood spurted out. Orlando clasped his hands over the wound, and more blood trickled between his fingers, soaking his t-shirt and jeans.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Jessica shouted. “Give me the drive, give me the drive.”
Auggie tossed it to her. She snagged it out of the air, and she took a step toward the door. Then she stopped, staring outside, and took a step back. When Auggie moved, she slashed in his direction.
“Stay the fuck out there,” she called through the open door, speaking to someone Theo couldn’t see. “I’ve got hostages. I’ll cut their fucking throats. Mae, where the fuck are you?”
“Mae’s gone,” Auggie said. “Les and some of his brothers decided to stop by and say hi. They were really interested to learn who had killed Robert.”
Jessica bared her teeth at him as she stumbled closer to Theo.
“Get away from him,” Auggie shouted, lunging.
Jessica was closer and faster. Theo lurched up from the couch, trying to get away, but his leg wouldn’t support him, and the beatings he’d taken slowed him. Grabbing a handful of Theo’s hair, Jessica yanked his head back and put the blade of the Bowie against his throat. Theo could smell Orlando’s blood.
“Everybody calm down,” Auggie said. “Orlando, Orlando, we’re going to get you some help.”
“Get over here,” Jessica said to Auggie.
“You’re making a big—”
“Get over here,” she screamed, jerking on Theo’s hair, and Auggie stumbled over to them.
Sirens played in the distance. Steps moved on the porch. Theo recognized a familiar voice from the doorway when a man called into the house, “Jessica, my name’s Detective Somerset. I’m with the Wahredua PD. I’d like to come inside the house.”
“Go the fuck away.”
“It’s too late for that, Jessica. You hear those sirens? Everybody’s on their way. Pretty soon, this house will be surrounded by cops.”
“Anybody comes in here, and I’ll kill these two.”
Theo was wavering, held up more by Jessica’s grip on his hair than by his own strength. Auggie must have noticed because he slid an arm around Theo’s waist, taking some of his weight, and whispered, “It’s going to be ok.”
Theo almost laughed.
“You hurt this kid pretty bad,” Somers said from the doorway. He stepped over Orlando, his heel clicking as he eased into the house. He had both hands in the air. “If he dies, that’s on you. Right now, this is bad, but it’s not murder. Let’s not make things any worse.”
“I said nobody comes in this house,” Jessica screamed.
“Too late for that too,” Somers said. “I’m here, and we’re talking. So let’s talk. Let’s talk about how we can fix this. The first thing you’ve got to do is let those guys go. The next thing is you’ve got to let me get help for this kid before he
