“Are you going to tell us who you murdered?” she asked, trying to keep her voice flat.

He didn’t respond.

Hannah leaned forward. “I’m not harboring a criminal in New York,” she said, keeping her face a few inches from his. “I’ll turn you in.”

“You wouldn’t,” Rob said, his voice low.

Hannah tugged at the bottom of her towel, making sure she was still covered. She and Rob stared at each other silently, frozen. Hannah placed her fingers on a patch of blood on the shoulder of his shirt.

“It’s nothing,” he whispered, his eyes glassy.

“Just get your clothes on and let’s go,” Vicki barked, snapping Hannah out of her pose. “You can have a staring contest for the next four hours in the car if you want, but we have to get out of here.”

“So we’re all going?” Hannah asked softly. “Really?”

Vicki nodded.

Hannah moved quickly then, shuffling past Rob toward her suitcase and then back to the bathroom to change. She felt his eyes on her as she emerged yet again, this time dressed, her face covered in a thin coat of makeup. Her wet hair was pulled back, her feet stuffed into flip-flops.

Without asking, Rob picked up one of Hannah’s bags and went for the door. Vicki kicked her guitar case under the bed. Hannah watched, confused. “Leave it. Please. I don’t want it,” Vicki said shyly as she grabbed her bag.

They didn’t get a chance to say good-bye to the wedding party. Not Bee, who was presumably tied up with family at the optional brunch, nor the other bridesmaids, who were either still in bed with their significant others or had departed on early flights to Raleigh. Hannah thought she saw Jackie in the lobby as she, Vicki, and Rob ran through the front door, but she couldn’t be sure.

Vicki led them behind the inn to the small parking lot, the wheels of their luggage tripping over the cobblestones.

“I need coffee,” Vicki said sharply just before she threw her suitcase into the trunk and climbed into the driver’s seat.

“We can stop down the street,” Hannah offered. “There are sixteen coffee shops in this town.”

“No,” Vicki responded, as she fished for her sunglasses in the glove compartment. “We’re doing drive-through on 95. I want to get to New York as fast as I can.” Hannah beamed in response.

As Vicki revved the engine, Hannah flipped open the vanity mirror on the visor so she could watch Rob arrange himself in the backseat behind her. His head was down as he reached into his duffel bag and pulled out his sunglasses and a paperback book that he placed on the seat next to him.

Just before Rob put his sunglasses on, he caught Hannah’s reflection in the mirror and grinned. He licked his lips and winked at her.

Embarrassed, she quickly readjusted the mirror so she could only see her own reflection. Her eyes were red, but the puckered lines on her neck from the halter bra were beginning to fade.