Unexpected Rendezvous

Chapter 37

Leigh's POV

Minutes later, we're all in the garage across from Andre's house, because Coach Purcell has a gun and she's not afraid to wave it at us. Andre sits first, settling himself delicately in one corner like he's a guest at an under-furnished house party. I drop like a stone on the hard cement floor, and Coach Purcell finally takes her hand from Perrie's mouth to shove her next to me.

"Where is Jonnie?" Perrie asks hoarsely as soon as she can speak. "What did you do with my brother?"

"Nothing," Coach Purcell says. She lowers the garage door and flicks a light switch beside it, illuminating the interior with the dim yellow glow of a single bulb. Then she puts down the duffel bag she'd had on her shoulder and crouches beside it. "All I did was take his phone."

Perrie shudders with relief as my brain tries to absorb all of this new information. "Jonnie?" I parrot. "So I was right? Jonnie is the Weasel?"

Coach Purcell's face twists. Holy hell, how did I ever think this woman was friendly? She looks like a serial killer. "The what? What are you talking about?" Her eyes narrow. "And why are you here?"

"Um. No reason." I snap my mouth shut and try to keep the plastic bag of pills I shoved behind my back from falling out of my hands, but it's too late. Coach Purcell gestures at me with her gun, and I reluctantly let the bag drop to the floor.

"Throw it," she orders, and I do. "Jesus Christ," she mutters, turning the bag over in one hand. "What are you up to, Andre?"

"That's a better question for you, Kamille," Andre says. Considering the circumstances, he sounds remarkably composed. "What's with the gun and the..." He flicks his eyes to Perrie. "Hostage?"

"How could you do that to Jesy?" Perrie cuts in, her voice shaking. "She was your student. She trusted you!" She almost looks as though she expects Coach Purcell to agree; like she's still the affable PE teacher she thought she knew. Someone she can argue with, or reason with.

"She was a thief," Coach Purcell says dismissively. "And a small-time dealer who wanted to be bigger. That's why she came to the studio this morning. One of my workers told her that if she returned everything that was taken, we'd let her into the business. But that little piece of shit had the nerve to show up empty-handed." Her nostrils flare. "She thought it would give her leverage."

Perrie and I exchange startled glances. Aaron hadn't told us that part, and it didn't seem like he was trying to hide anything. Nelson must have hatched that plan on her own. Maybe she thought she'd dazzle Aaron with her negotiating prowess afterwards. We could be big time.

"Is that why you had her killed?" I ask, my throat dry.

"No." Coach Purcell meets my eyes with a predator's gaze: alert, deadly, and totally dispassionate. "She was always going to die. I needed a body for the police to find." She turns back to Andre. "And for you to get found with. But I was supposed to get my investment back first."

Jesus, I feel sick. That explains why Aaron's house was torn apart. Coach Purcell must've been furious when she learned Nelson didn't bring the pills. I wonder if her crew hit Nelson's house too, and Jade's, but I don't dare ask. Especially since, as far as Coach Purcell knows, we have no clue that Aaron or Zoe are involved.

"And what were you going to do with your investment?" Andre asks in the same calm voice he's been using since we got here. "I was supposed to go down as Charlton's drug lord, wasn't I? Wouldn't that make business as usual difficult?"

"Temporarily. I'm a patient woman, though. And it's not like the demand is going anywhere." Coach Purcell gives him an ugly smile. "If you'd have been at your studio this morning, everyone would've gotten what they deserve. I thought about the reverse, you know, having you killed, and framing the girl. But a few minutes of suffering didn't seem like enough when I could put you in jail for life."