CHAPTER TWO

Emma stood with Sutton in the middle of the house, watching people milling around. Somehow Kristin and Laurel had managed to pull together most of her classmates and a good number of their parents. Most of them had stopped by Emma to congratulate her, with the result that Ethan had quickly found a reason to disappear on her rather than join her in making polite chit-chat to virtual strangers. A few of the guests had headed straight for the buffet. Ted had greeted her with a quick kiss on the cheek and "Congratulations, honey" before disappearing into the crowd.

"I never knew you were this popular,"Sutton remarked sardonically.

Emma gave her a brief smile, then noticed a familiar face pushing her way towards them. "Is that Char?"

Char appeared out of the crowd, a big grin on her face and looked at them both. "Wow, there really are two of you!" She gestured to them in turn. "Emma and Sutton, right?"

Even though it was probably more luck than judgement that she'd got it right, Emma nodded in confirmation.

Char looked at Emma. "So, you were the one we got elected Homecoming Queen and when I thought Ethan had cheated on you with someone called Emma, that was actually you?"

"To be fair, Ethan did cheat on me with Emma,"Sutton pointed out.

Char turned to Sutton. "And you…" She stopped, looking confused. "Which one were you?"

Sutton raised her eyebrows. "I'm the one you knew for the previous sixteen years."

Char was completely oblivious to the sarcasm. "Right!" She gave another grin and hugged Sutton enthusiastically, leaving her even more bemused. "Good to see you again!" She looked from one to the other. "So, are we really cousins?"

Emma shrugged helplessly. "I guess so."

Ethan stood outside, near the swimming pool, taking grateful lungfuls of air. While he understood how important the party was to Emma and appreciated that the two of them had been fully accepted, he still didn't feel comfortable either at formal occasions or surrounded by the great and the good of Scottsdale.

Thayer watched him from the undergrowth nearby. He hadn't expected this to be easy but here was Ethan, on his own, with his back to him, unaware of his presence. It would be the work of a moment to strike him down and no-one would ever know. He took a step forward, bracing himself for the swing.

"There you are!"Emma called as she came out of the house. Thayer instantly shrank back into hiding. Killing Ethan in front of Emma would definitely do him no favours.

"Sorry, I just needed some fresh air,"Ethan noted.

Emma stepped up behind him, putting her arms around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder. "I get what you mean but people are starting to wonder where my husband-to-be is."

Ethan nodded. "Okay, let's go meet and greet." He offered her his arm and they headed back inside together, neither of them aware of Thayer watching them with resentment.

Laurel and Mads were at the buffet, filling up their plates. "Have you seen Thayer?"Laurel asked.

Mads shook her head. "I haven't seen him all day."

"Me neither. But when I spoke to him yesterday, he said he'd come. Maybe he got held up somehow."

Before Mads could answer, they were interrupted by a commotion behind them, shouts and screams. They turned round and saw Rebecca standing on her own in front of a small group. Emma, Sutton, Ted and Ethan were all there. But it was Kristin that Rebecca was pointing the gun at.

"Nice party you've got here, Kristin,"Rebecca was saying. There was an unstable edge to her voice that no-one present had heard before. The cool and calculating Rebecca they'd become used to was gone. "You've done the happy couple proud. You seem to have missed one guest off the list though. The mother of the bride. Or perhaps you intended to fill that role yourself?"

"Rebecca, I…"Kristin attempted.

"Shut up!"Rebecca snapped. "All my life you've taken everything I want. Ted, Alec, my daughters, all of them love you more than me. Well you're not going to do it anymore!"

Rebecca fired but as she did someone else stepped in front of Kristin. Ted. He let out a gasp of pain at the impact. Then he turned to Kristin, his left hand at his abdomen as he tried to stem the spreading patch of blood. "I'm sorry,"he told her, his voice choking as the blood restricted his airway. "I'm so sorry for all of it. I love you." Kristin reached out to take his hand but before she could do so he fell, lying dead at her feet.

"No!"Rebecca shouted in fury and anguish. For a moment, she looked like she was going to collapse in tears but then the gun was up and pointing at Kristin again.

This time it was Emma that stepped between them. She saw Ethan tense up, as though he was going to intervene, and she gestured for him to stay out of it. She looked Rebecca in the eye. "Mum? It's all right. You don't want this. You don't want to hurt us. Just put the gun down and we can talk, okay? We can work out how to be a family."

For a moment, Rebecca's resolve wavered then her face hardened again. "Nice try, Emma. But we both know this isn't about me. You're just trying to protect her. Saint Kristin. You'd rather be her daughter than mine? Fine."

Emma saw Rebecca's finger tighten on the trigger and realised to her horror that she'd miscalculated. She waited to hear the fire of the gun and feel the impact of the bullet. Instead, there was a sickening crunch. Rebecca gave a gasp. Her eyes widened in shock for a minute and then went dead. And then she fell to reveal Thayer standing behind her and the wound on the back of her head where his blow had caved in her skull.

Emma opened her mouth to thank him but the words died in her throat as she saw what Thayer had hit Rebecca with. A rusty metal bar. Connections flew through her brain, impossible thoughts that she couldn't quite form into coherence.

"I saved you, Emma,"Thayer told her, a manic desperation to his voice. "I did it all for you. So we could be together. That's why I killed them. It was the only way to make you see you belonged with me."

Dan was reaching the same conclusion that Emma had, as were several others present. She heards Mads gasp in shock, saw Char and Laurel gaping at the scene in horror. Dan was reaching for his gun but Emma kept her eyes fixed on Thayer. Reason hadn't worked on Rebecca but something told her Thayer was still within her reach.

"It's all right, Thayer,"she said soothingly. "Just put the bar down. If you don't, you're going to get hurt. I don't want that."

Thayer looked at her like a confused child then gently lay the bar down on the floor. Dan was on him in a moment, forcing him to his knees and cuffing him. "You're under arrest for murder,"he told him. "We'll work out how many later."

Laurel ran to Kristin and both she and Sutton buried themselves in their mother's shoulders. Kristin reached forward and touched Emma's arm. Emma turned from watching Thayer being led away and smiled at her sadly.

Kristin led her three daughters away from the scene.