Page 89 of My One and Only

“You think no one will notice?” Jo shook her head. “Just because your buyers are old doesn’t mean they’re stupid. When things start to go wrong in those houses, the homeowners will talk. They’ll realize that they’ve been cheated. You can’t kill all of them, Don.”

She smiled to herself. “Especially because the workers have been warned about what you’ve been doing. They’ve all been told to watch for sup-par materials in the houses they’re working on. Your scheme is unraveling. If I were you? I’d take off before Cam catches up with you.” She swiveled to study him. “Better than rotting in prison for attempted murder.”

“Not going to be anything ‘attempted’ about it,” he said. “You’re gonna die just like Ashley did.”

She sucked in a breath. “You had something to do with Ashley’s death, Don?”Jo asked, horror squeezing her chest.

“She was so drunk that she veered off the road and drove into the Fox River,” he said. “She struggled really hard, but she couldn’t escape the car. Of course, she had some help. She was giving me a ride home, and when she drove into the river, I held her down until her head was under water. When I was sure she was dead, I escaped myself because I’d already rolled her window down. I unbuckled Ashley’s seat belt so it looked as if she’d tried to escape but couldn’t get out the window. And of course there was a lot of alcohol in her blood.”

Horrified, Jo tried hard to hide her revulsion. Swallowing, she asked, “Were you drinking with her? Or did you pour it down her throat before she went unconscious?”

Don snorted. “No one had to force Ashley to drink. She was a raging alcoholic. She tried to quit, but she could always be tempted to have just one drink. Of course, that always became four or five. Or more.”

“Why would you kill Ashley, Don? What had she done to you?”

“I was having an affair with her,” he said.“She held it over my head. Always threatening to tell Cam. She wanted money, too. Cam kept her on a tight leash so she couldn’t buy liquor.” He smiled. “I was always happy to give her a drink or two.”

Oh, God.She’d been right all those years ago in high school. Don Kincaidwasa monster. A sociopath. A sudden thought chilled her. “Were you the one who almost beat Cam to death that night at the park?”

He scowled. “Of course not. His family had taken me in, and I was grateful to Cam for arranging it. At the park that night, I tried to protect Cam and got a broken arm for my trouble.”

She had a hazy memory of Don showing up at school with a cast on his arm.

Jo’s stomach churned. “You were buddies with Dwayne Michaels, Tony Reiters and Eddie Teller. You were going to rape me that night, along with the rest of them. Is that why you left Cam lying on the ground, unconscious?”

Don scowled. “Broken arm changed those plans,” he said. “That and your damn pepper spray.”

Jo’s stomach rolled as she looked away from Don. The need to vomit was strong, but she swallowed hard and took a deep breath. Another. Finally, her stomach settled.

The river glistened in the sunlight on Jo’s right. The water was calm, but that didn’t make it less deadly. “Do you really hate Cam that much, Don? That you’d kill Ashley, and now kill me? Cam was loyal to you. He even made you his partner. Why are you trying to destroy him?”

“It’s either him or me,” Don said, his voice flat. Emotionless. “If Cam dies, my partner insurance’ll give me a nice chunk of money. Enough to pay off my gambling debts. Then I can start over.”

“Does Cam know you have partner insurance?”she asked, hoping to stall whatever Don had planned.

“He has no idea. Didn’t want the questions it’d raise.” His voice was cold. Implacable. “Easier to kill him and get the insurance payout.”

Don yanked the steering wheel and veered off the road. The car was now aimed squarely at the river a hundred yards in front of them.

“This is gonna kill Cam,” Don said, satisfaction in his voice. “This is where Ashley went into the river. Of course, it wouldn’t have mattered where. She was so drunk that she never could’ve gotten out of the car.”

Jo studied the river ahead of them. The car had slowed down, bumping over the uneven grass surface. “Are you going into the river with me?”she asked.

“Hell, no,” Don said. “I barely made it out when Ashley drove into the river. I’ll get up a good head of steam, then bail just before the car hits the water. Once the car’s submerged, it’s almost impossible to open the doors.”

She had the advantage over Don because he didn’t know she had a gun. But she’d only have one chance to use it. She studied the distance to the river, Gauged their speed. Her fingers twitched as she watched the river get closer. Finally, knowing it was now or never, she reached down and pulled her gun from its ankle holster. In the same motion, she pointed it at Don’s thigh and fired a shot.

When he screamed and grabbed his thigh, she reached over and threw the truck into reverse. Gears grinding and squealing, the truck shuddered to a stop, then began moving backward. She stomped Don’s foot heavily on the accelerator, and the car shot backwards, away from the river.

Don had dropped his gun when she’d shot him, but he lunged for her, his hands curled into claws. She shot him again, this time in his side. She took her foot off the accelerator, and when the truck slowed, she yanked out the keys, unlocked and opened the door and threw herself onto the grass. The car went a few more yards, then rolled to a stop.

Hands shaking, Jo crouched behind the car, pulled out her phone and called the police. Explained what had happened, and that they’d need an ambulance for Don. He was moving in the cab, so he was still alive, but he wasn’t going anywhere. She didn’t want him to die, and she was pretty sure Cam wouldn’t want that, either.

Safely away from the car, she began shaking violently. She’d been in some dicey situations since she began working for Blackhawk Security, but nothing compared to her close escape from death today.

The wail of sirens was closer than she’d expected. At least two of them. Maybe three. She’d tried to explain where she was, describing the cemetery and park they’d passed, and the dispatcher seemed to know her location.

She peered into the window of Don’s truck. He was conscious. He glared back at her, and his mouth moved. She couldn’t hear what he said.

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