Page 84 of He Hate Me

“Does she act like that on all the videos?”

“Pretty much. They roofied her first. A—the guy who supplied them the drugs told me what it was. He thought Devin was buying it for recreational use. I guess some people take it to get high. But it was really to drug victims. She has no idea he did it because the drug makes you forget.”

“Wait a minute? You know the guy who sold them the drugs? Does he have something to do with the drugs you’re selling?”

He sighs, looking very uncomfortable.

“His name is Anton. A few months ago he approached me and told me he’d arrange for me to go to Briarwood and pay my mother’s medical bills if I’d spy on Devin and search his place.”

“So you weren’t really looking for pictures to cheer your mom up?”

“I wasn’t not looking for them, but yeah, they weren’t the main thing I was looking for. Ten years ago Devin paid Anton to kill someone for him. He’s still holding on to evidence implicating Anton and he’s now blackmailing him.”

My head spins as he explains the murder for hire, the lost evidence, the reason for all the security at the house and all the crimes he suspects Devin of committing.

“Your mom is retrieving the evidence as we speak.”

“My mom? How did you get her to do that. She worships Devin.”

“I showed her the video. She claims she left the room before things got sexual and that Devin told her they only drugged my mom twice.”

“Twice is more than enough! What kind of woman just stands by and lets that happen to another woman? She just accepted that my dad raped someone?”

“She says Devin told her your dad never touched Mom.”

“And she believed that? What about Devin touching her then? Why was that okay?”

“He claimed it was consensual.”

“And she marries this guy? She has him around me? Jesus Christ! Who are these people? How could I come from this crap? To think I thought you were a bad guy for selling weed when my own parents are so much worse. Good God! Devin is such a hypocrite. He kicks you out for dealing when he’s ten times the criminal you are?”

I’m hyperventilating, and Brandon pulls me close, rubbing my back. I lower my head between my knees, fighting dizziness.

“Once we showed your mother everything, she agreed to help us.”

“I don’t get that,” I say. “She had to already know deep down. Are you leaving something out?”

He grimaces. “The person Davin had killed was your father.”

“And that’s why she’s turning on him. That’s just fantastic. Is that everything?”

“Almost. Based on one of the videos it appears that Devin gave my mom too much of the drug and that’s what caused her illness.”

“So he’s the root cause of everything bad in both our lives? This guy who sits in church every Sunday like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth?”

“For the most part, yes.”

I take a moment to process everything I’ve heard. It’s clear now why Brandon didn’t want me to go home.

“Are you going to call the police?”

He shakes his head.

“I’m going to head over there. I have some questions I need to ask him.”

“Don’t do anything stupid, Brandon. He owns a gun, and he doesn’t seem to have a lot of scruples.”

“That’s okay,” he says, sticking both hands into the pockets of his jacket. I have a gun too.”