Page 134 of You Know Why

“Copy that. Thanks for the assist.” He hears the EMT shout, “Do a blood gas and treat for a nicotine overdose—” before the phone clicks off.

“What the hell?” Sheehan asks. “How did you know what to test for?”

“It is a very long story, but when they were young, my former sister-in-law, Eden Barrow, used to slip my wife liquid nicotine to make her sick. She’s got some form of Munchausen by proxy. She was in and out of mental facilities for years. I thought she was cured . . . Well, that was stupid of me. I thought they would be okay so long as Margot was around. Why is Eden at my house? Why is she in Nashville?”

Sheehan takes a corner hard, and Trey has to grit his teeth at the pain when he slams against the door.

The agent shakes his head. “She has been with your family pretty much every moment since the accident.”

Showdown

Brooklyn

Alex hauls me around the side of the house. EMTs are still there working on people, sirens are screaming, neighbors are watching in abject horror. No one notices us. I stumble, dragging my feet. I just want to see the kids. I start to call out, but he slams a hand over my mouth.

“Don’t even think about it, or I’ll drop you where you stand.”

He forces me down the path that leads to the backyard. The dead hydrangea stalks brush against my hands. They remind me of the reeds by the river in Thiviers. We reach the gate, and I open it. He pushes me through.

“Alex. I thought you were dead.”

“Wished it, is more like it.”

“That’s not true. I could never—”

“Stop talking, Brook, or I’ll shoot you and throw you into the water. See how you like nearly drowning.”

He keeps herding me, past the garage, and I realize he’s taking me to the shelter.

“What do you want? Money? I don’t have any. Trey took it all.”

We’re at the entrance now, and he shoves me at the door. “Unlock it.”

I press the buttons, but instead of our personal PIN, I use the emergency code that calls our security company. Granted, there are plenty of cops around here already, but at the very least, if anyone comes looking, the police will have a record that someone has been forced to open this space.

I clatter down the stairs, and Alex follows. Underground, the cacophony of calls and sirens diminishes. It’s just our ragged breaths.

He hits the lights. They turn on in sequence, the familiar flinck, flinck, flinck of the bulbs warming up, and I get my first good look at my former lover.

He is older. The softness of youth has been replaced with sharper angles. His hair is slightly darker but still curly and blond. He is more muscular, less sleek and lithe than he used to be. His eyes, though, are the most significant shift. They used to look at me with happiness. Now they are narrowed in hate.

“Listen, I don’t know what’s happening here. But I am so, so sorry. If I had any idea that you were still alive—”

“Oh, shut up, would you? You always did talk too much.”

He cocks his head to the side like Bohdi does when he’s trying to be cute. I hope my puppy is okay. I didn’t hear him barking when we moved around the house. Our bedroom is in the back and he always barks if someone goes through the side path. Theresa promised she’d help him, but Alex shot her before she could.

“Where’s the crypto wallet? Give it to me and I won’t put a bullet in your pretty face.”

“This is about money?”

“I was hired to do a job. I’m doing it. Where is the money your husband stole from the Gussins?”

I’m struggling to connect the dots. Pat and Bob hired Alex to track down the funds Trey was stealing?

“How did you meet them?”

“God, you are thick, aren’t you? Always the innocent, the ingenue. You never had any idea what was happening right under your nose.”