Page 110 of Five for Silver

“Now, Chad,” Romeo growled, giving him ashove. “Out.”

“But—”

“Out.”

Chad shot Romeo one last look, crouched downbehind the table, out of sight of the door. He didn’t hear Lucyinside, he didn’t hear much of anything until he was outside,rounding the corner of the house.

Lucy stood waiting.

“Rule one of shooting rats, scare them inthe direction you want them to go.”

“Lucy…” Chad held up his hands.

Merc appeared at his side, growling as hishair stood on end.

“Listen to me,” Chad tried. “I spoke toVincent, too. He told me he didn’t do it—”

“The difference is you knew that from thebeginning. I found out at the end. All that time you were lookingat ways of pinning it on me, protecting James.”

“No,” Chad shook his head. “I was after thetruth.”

“And what was the truth?”

“I don’t know, but what I do know is Vincentwas playing us. We were his puppets, and we were dancing on hisstrings. Just like you said. Your mom, she wrote to him. She toldhim things about Harriet, like how she’d fallen off her bike atfourteen, how she was really excited about having sheep on thefarm, she even told him about the tattoo.”

“My mother didn’t know about Harriet’stattoo.”

“She did. Years later, she spoke to Gavin,he told her about it, he even showed her his matching one. That’show Vincent knew. He never saw it himself.”

“Then who killed my sister?”

“I don’t know,” Chad pressed his hand to hisheart. “But I swear, I’ll do all in my power to find out. It’ll beeasier once we go public with this.”

“We?”

“Yes. We can still find out what happened toyour sister.”

Lucy’s eyes tracked the ground. “It’s toolate for that.”

“It’s not too late.”

“I don’t need you, Chad, I’ve killed theonly person it could’ve possibly been, and you either want toprotect that bastard or … you believed him over me.”

“No—”

“You believed him over my own sister,too.”

“That’s not true.”

“And that, in my eyes, makes you as bad ashim.” Lucy lifted the gun. It didn’t shake in her grasp. “Youalways stick together, the police, and that means you should dietogether, too.”

“Lucy,” Chad shook his head. “Think of yourfamily.”

“I am.”

She pulled the trigger.

Chad gritted his teeth as he was bodyslammed to the dirt. He twisted onto his back, finding Romeo besidehim, rocking back and forth as he clutched his arm.

---