When the next round of fireworks began going off in the distance, he pointed the gun at the head of Dr. Braxton Waters.
And then he pulled the trigger.
After cleaning up the mess, Waylon walked around the side of the house.
His ride was waiting.
He slid into the passenger seat and closed the door.
“Well?” his benefactor asked.
“Done,” Waylon said.
5
Jana Waters woke up on the floor with her daughter screaming.
“Mom! Wake up, Mom!”
Jana tried to look at her daughter, but her eyes had crusted over with gunk. “Wh-wha-what is it, baby?” She managed to pull herself up to a sitting position, her daughter standing over her. Then she took a deep breath and exhaled as the sun from the floor-length window warmed her face.
“Mom, why are you on the floor? And where’s Dad?”
Jana turned her head away from the heat coming off the glass. “Nola, can you get me a wet rag?”
She heard a frustrated sigh followed by footsteps marching across the hardwood floor. Seconds later a damp piece of cloth was pressed into her hand. Jana wiped her eyes and placed the cloth on her forehead. She opened her eyes, and, though the corners of her lids still felt gritty, she could see her daughter standing above her with arms crossed.
“What’s going on, Mom?”
“When’d you get home?”
“Five minutes ago.”
“What time is—？”
“Noon. I told you and Dad that I’d be home from Harley’s at twelve. You still haven’t answered my question. What’s going on? And why’re you passed out on the floor? God, Mom. And where’s Dad? His car’s in the garage.”
Jana winced. She put her hand on the cold floor and pressed herself up to her knees. As she moved, a wave of nausea rolled through her body. “Honey, I’ll answer your questions as best I can, but can you get me some water?”
This time Nola didn’t move.
Jana climbed to her feet and put her hand on the couch to steady herself. She blinked out the window toward the lake as her head began to pound. She squinted at her daughter, who’d wrinkled her face up in disgust.
“Fine, I’ll get it myself,” Jana said. She shuffled toward the kitchen, noticing that her feet were bare and that she was still in the sundress she’d worn last night. She grabbed a glass from the cabinet, put it under the automatic ice maker, and cringed at the sound of the ice clunking against the sides of the cup. Then she filled it with water from the sink and took a long, slow sip, spilling some of the liquid down the front of her dress. Behind her, she heard her daughter calling for her father as she walked downstairs toward the man cave. Jana drank two more glasses of water and then splashed some on her face. Better, she thought, as she saw Nola running back up the steps.
“Mom, he’s not here.” Her daughter’s voice now sounded worried instead of mad.
“He’s probably fishing with Burns,” Jana muttered. “Or maybe they took the Jet Skis out.”
“I’m going to go check the boathouse.”
“No,” Jana said, feeling a tickle of fear run down her arms as she began to get her bearings. No, she thought, going over the events of the previous night in her jumbled mind.
“What do you mean, no?”
“I mean, let me do it. Why don’t you be a dear and fix me a bagel? Or some cereal?”
“Are you joking?”
Jana began to walk toward the stairs with Nola on her heels. “Is that so much to ask? To make your mom a little breakfast?”
Nola didn’t respond as they reached the foot of the stairs and opened the door to the outside. As they walked across the grass, Jana put her hand over her eyes to shield her face from the harsh, glaring sunlight. She heard a horn coming from the lake.
“There’s Burns,” Nola said. She was walking side by side with Jana, and they both waved at a man passing by in a small bass boat. “No one’s with him,” Nola added.
Jana heard music coming from the dock and recognized the voice of Darius Rucker, Braxton’s favorite singer. As they walked down the wooden pier, she saw the golf mat, the bucket of balls, and the knocked-over pint glass. No, she thought again.
“Dad!” Nola shouted, and Jana winced as her head pounded and heartbeat raced. Nola took off in front of Jana and walked into the boathouse. As Jana reached the structure, Nola came out. “All three Jet Skis and both boats are still in there.” She frowned. “Why’s the music still on?”