“It was Lacey,” Izzy agreed. Splicing reality and lies with impressive skill. Robert had been a testing ground for everyone who came after him.

Mia shifted so that her cheek rested against the pillow. “Tell me.”

And Izzy got it. “My plan.”

Mia nodded.

“I found Charles alive,” Izzy started. “Not doing well but . . . alive.”

“I think I was surprised when Lacey told me that he was,” Mia said, blinking heavy lashes. “Knowing Lacey, I kind of expected him to be dead.”

“Two parents, dead in mysterious accidents? It was probably too much, even for her.” Izzy shrugged. “I’m shocked she didn’t go through with her plan to frame Charles for Bix’s murder, though. The seeds were all there.”

“Mmmm, I can help there,” Mia said. “Lacey filled me in when she was waiting for you to show up at the lighthouse. Apparently, she was going to get Cash to put the pieces together, have him go to the cops with all the evidence. That was what she was using him for.”

“Lovely,” Izzy said, the sarcasm thick. “Anyway, Charles couldn’t say much, but it was enough to imply that it was another woman who had been involved with Bix’s death. It got me thinking about who was around then.”

“Obviously Lacey.” Mia tipped her head down, a tired, half-hearted nod. “She was always there, wasn’t she? The night at the lighthouse, but before it, too. The beach, the picture. Just out of frame, but always there.”

“Manipulative little . . .”

“And you had to play her game.” Mia cut off Izzy’s tirade, watching her with an understanding Izzy wasn’t sure she deserved, considering their positions.

“Couldn’t exactly go in guns blazing, could I?”

“No evidence,” Mia said, her eyes slipping shut. “All you had was kidnapping. You wanted murder. Or attempted, at least.”

“Quinn flew me back to the island earlier that day,” Izzy continued. “Asked her to keep quiet.”

Mia hummed a small sound. “Did she tell someone? Lacey said something about sources.”

“No. When I was ready, I took a gamble.”

It took a second. “Ellen?”

“She has things to hide,” Izzy said, looking up. “I figured that made her attractive to Lacey. And yet she’s also the type to sell her soul to the biggest threat. At that moment, it was me. So she told Lacey I’d just landed.”

“Meanwhile, you had already called in Murdoch for backup.”

“And tried to set up a semblance of a plan,” Izzy said. “I knew she had you. I was guessing she’d want me there in some way for her little scenario to work out. I just had to get everything in place for when she made the call.”

Mia huffed out a little breath of air. “Brilliant.”

Izzy straightened, her back hitting her chair. The praise sat awkwardly on her shoulders, ill fitting and uncomfortable. “It got you shot.” Even she could hear the flatness in her voice.