Watch Me (Last Stand #3)(88)
Author: Brenda Novak

She released her seat belt. “Why not? It might be my only chance.”

“I’d find you and kill you anyway.”

“What about Jason?” She wanted to distract him, keep him talking while she searched for another opportunity. “Did you kill him, too?”

He didn’t answer.

“Did you shoot Jason?” she repeated.

“Cain shot Jason.”

She inched closer to the door. “That’s not true, and you know it. Cain didn’t shoot anybody.”

His gaze slanted her way. “Of course I wouldn’t expect you to believe me. You’re one of his many conquests, after all. My dad told me at the funeral. He was very upset, you know. He said you fell for Cain just like Amy did. And Sheridan. I thought she was different, too good for him. But no…she proved herself to be no better than the rest.”

“Is that why you did it? You were angry that Cain had been with Sheridan?”

“No, I was disappointed in her. I thought someone would finally put him in his place. But Sheridan had nothing to do with it.”

“Who did?”

No answer.

“You’re not going to tell me?”

“You wouldn’t understand even if I did. You have no idea what it’s like always living in someone else’s shadow.”

“Cain casts a big shadow.”

“Cain?” He laughed. “Cain’s shadow wasn’t half as big as Jason’s.”

“You were jealous of Jason?”

His knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. “You would be, too, if you saw how my father worshipped him. Robert couldn’t do anything right. I could see why he might pale in comparison. But Jason wasn’t nearly as smart as me. I skipped two grades, for crying out loud. I graduated from med school at twenty-two. You’d think my dad would be proud of that.”

“He is proud of you, proud of what you’ve accomplished. Why would you ruin it? Why would you take the one thing he—” She caught herself, but Owen finished for her.

“The one thing he really loved?” He chuckled bitterly. “You understand more than I thought.”

“No. I can’t comprehend how one brother can kill another, regardless of what his father thinks. There’s something wrong with you, Owen. You have to get help.”

He looked wounded. “There’s no need to be unkind,” he said. “This isn’t personal.”

“Living is personal to me.”

He smiled. “That’s a good comeback. I’ve never been quick with that sort of thing. Maybe that’s why Dad liked Jason better. Jason had a quick comeback for everything.”

“Maybe he liked him better because he wasn’t a psychopath.”

“You’re making me angry,” he said, but she couldn’t have told from his voice. He spoke in the same monotone he always used.

Karen could feel the metal of the door latch against her upper arm. “If it was Jason you wanted, why’d you shoot Sheridan?”

“I couldn’t make it too obvious. I’m not that stupid.”

“But you went after her again when she returned!”

“That was Ned’s fault. He told me she knew something she wasn’t saying. He told me she was going to crack the case. And I’m still worried that might be true. You never know what little detail might give the truth away. If she remembers something, I could be in trouble.”

“So you decided to make sure she never did.”

“I have a family now,” he said. “I have a successful practice, too. I can’t go to jail.”

“And what about Amy?”

Regret flashed across his face. “Amy got in the way. I didn’t want to kill Amy.”

“They’ll catch you this time, Owen. Robert was home when we left. He might’ve seen us together.”

“I’m sure he did. He’s got the whole exterior of my dad’s place on camera surveillance. Did you know that?”

This surprised Karen. She’d never seen any cameras during her many visits. But it explained how Robert had known with such certainty that she’d gone into the house and not over to a neighbor’s. “What’re the cameras for?”

“He’s protecting the place from burglary. Dad has most of his money in silver, sitting right there in the house, in case you weren’t aware of it.” He adjusted his rearview mirror. “They’re both a little weird, if you ask me. But I’m not one to point fingers.”

Karen stared longingly at the passing landscape. “Weird?” she echoed weakly.

“That was a joke,” he said. “Funny, huh?”

Karen didn’t find it funny at all. She found it terrifying. “If you hurt me, you’ll go to jail, which is exactly what you’re trying to avoid.”

He smiled confidently at her. “You got into my truck on your own. It wasn’t as if I dragged you in. And the cameras will prove it.”

“They’ll also prove that you were the last one to see me before I disappeared.”

“So they’ll come around to ask why. And I’ll simply tell them that you and my father were fighting—the tape will show that, too—and I got you out of there before you could swing that shovel again.”

“It won’t be that easy. They’ll want to know why you weren’t more concerned about your father.”

“It won’t be that hard, either. I’ll say I could tell he wasn’t seriously injured. They’ll believe me because I’m a doctor. And Robert was there to look after him.”

They probably would believe him. As far as Ned and the police were concerned, he’d have no motive. She and Owen had always gotten along just fine; it was Robert who’d never liked her.

“Even if they suspected me, they’d have to prove it,” he added.

And he was too smart to leave any evidence behind. He’d gotten away with two murders already.

They came up on another truck that was going much slower, and Owen put his foot on the brake.

“Aren’t you going to pass them?” Karen wanted him to do something that might attract the driver’s attention. If the driver looked over at her, maybe she could signal to him.

“I’m not in a hurry,” he said. “People get sloppy when they hurry. I’m the kind of person who likes to take his time.”

Her fingers twitched, wanting to reach for the door handle. But the truck was still going too fast. She needed Owen to either speed up, so she could get the attention of the driver in front of them, or slow down so she could jump. “Where are we going?”