Page 93 of The Revenge
Biting my lip, all I can do is shrug. “I asked, but he didn’t tell me. I think he was trying to protect himself. Maybe he could say JP died because of an accident, but Lucy is a second victim…”
Payne slumps back into his seat, staring out of the windshield. Then his head drops forwards into his hands. He sits there, bowed over and breathing heavily.
“I’m so sorry, Payne,” I tell him, wishing once again, that I’d been able to tell him good news. I reach over and tentatively place my hand on his thigh.
Payne doesn’t move a muscle. “And where is du Pont now?” His voice is slightly muffled.
“We handed him over to Syn’s father. He has his lawyers working on everything.” I frown. “He was the one trying to get the state to make an exception to the death penalty for Cole, so I’m sure he’s going to make sure Preston gets what he deserves.”
Raising his head, Payne turns back to me. “What he deserves for killing JP. Not for what he’s done to Lucy.”
“We gave Mr. Keyingham a recording of the confession, so even if he denies it, there’s evidence of that happening. And when the lawyers start to look into it, and they hear the part about Lucy, they’ll have to get the police to investigate.” I give him a sad smile. “I know it’s not exactly what you wanted to hear, but I don’t think it’s time to give up hope yet.”
“I’m not giving up. And I’m sorry I haven’t thanked you. You’ve managed to give me more answers than anyone else has.” Payne cocks his head before he reaches up and turns the interior light on. “What did you do to get that confession? It doesn’t seem like something he’d want to give up easily if he got your brother to take the rap for him.”
“It’s a long story, but I wouldn’t have been able to do it if it wasn’t for Syn, Royal, and Gemini.”
Having him know those three helped isn’t important—I doubt their paths will cross again—but it’s easier to tell him this than have to explain what I went through. Not tonight, anyway. It’s enough for him to know about Lucy.
Payne frowns. “That’s what I don’t understand. Why take him to Syn’s father and not to the police?”
“Preston was able to get away with two murders and make my brother confess to one of them. When we looked into it, we never found much evidence. I assume that was because Cole confessed, and they didn’t need anything to prove his guilt. But look at what happened to Archie when he tried to report the story.” I suck in a deep breath, letting it out slowly before I continue. “And we guessed that Declan Salaway attacked me because Preston made him.”
“You didn’t tell me that,” Payne cuts in.
What could he have done other than worry?
“Syn wanted to make sure his brother’s real killer was in prison. If we took him to the police, he’d probably have called his lawyer… We didn’t want him to walk away. Preston du Pont is as powerful and well connected as Syn, and he’s also part of the XXXVII. Like I said, his father wanted to bring back the death penalty for my brother.” I shudder as the cold, sinking realization of what could have happened if his father had been successful settles over me.
“I guess,” Preston mutters. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and starts doing something on it.
While he’s occupied, I settle back into the seat and close my eyes. Reintroducing the death penalty won’t easily be done, and if it is, I’d like to think that it would then only apply to those who were convicted after it was reintroduced…
But the judge did sentence Cole to lifewithoutparole.
Something in me was desperately clinging to any shred of hope that I could, so I’ve never really considered the true weight of that ruling. I was determined to get Cole out, and he would never serve that full sentence.
“Why isn’t it in the news?”
“Huh?” I glance over at Preston and find him staring at me.
He waves the phone. “There isn’t a single news site—national or local—reporting this. The du Ponts are billionaires. If one was arrested, there should be reporters all over this. There’s nothing. If I search the du Pont name, the top result is about Caroline Windsor attending some charity gala alone last night, because her fiancé, Preston du Pont, was out of the country.”
“That’s not right.” I reach for the phone, but before I can take it from Payne, there’s a loud explosion.
At the same time, the car shakes violently, and the alarms of the surrounding cars start blasting. I look up and see a large ball of fire coming from a building just down the street.
“What was that?” Payne asks, already starting to get out of the car.
I jump out and hurry around to his side as a few people are already starting to file out of the bar. The fire is coming from the deli.
The deli below the apartment I live in.
“Mom!” I scream.
Payne starts to ask me another question, but I’m already running down the middle of the street, faster than I’ve ever run in my life. It takes less than a minute to get to the building, but the fire has already completely consumed the old deli. The explosion has sent one of the boards flying into the middle of the street, revealing an inferno inside.
I start to charge down the side of the building to where the apartment entrance is, but Payne grabs my arm, pulling me back.
