Page 98 of Shadowed Witness

THOMAS MARSHALLgrinned at Allye. “Surprise.”

She gaped at the reporter. “You’re involved with this? People have been overdosing—dying.”

“Unfortunate, but not my fault.” He shrugged. “I’ve taken reasonable steps to avoid unnecessary deaths. Dead druggies don’t make good customers.”

His callous dismissal turned her stomach.

“Oh, don’t look so shocked.”

She glanced at Wesley. He looked sick too, but when she caught his eye, he turned and strode to what she guessed was the bathroom. Her hope of enlisting his help crashed to the floor. She was on her own, and she needed to get her wits together.God, please help me think—and send help!

“Whad’ya want, Thomas?” Bernie called.

The reporter kept his eyes on her, an unsettling smile playing about his lips. “Bourbon.”

“Coming right up.”

“What about the man Bernie killed? Was he not profitable enough for you?”

Thomas didn’t seem bothered by her question. “Now,hegot what he deserved. As will you. I should have just let Bernie kill you then. Would have been much simpler.”

“You were there?”

“Of course.”

Realization dawned. “You were the man in the shadows.”

“Bingo. I knew you couldn’t have seen me well enough to identify me. But you saw Bernie, and I couldn’t let my brother go down.”

So they were brothers. Strange she’d never seen Bernie around before. Maybe he didn’t live in Kincaid.

“So why didn’t he kill me then?” The information might not matter at this point, but as long as he was still talking, he wasn’t giving the order to kill her.

“Jennings heard you scream and interfered. He argued that killing you would draw too much attention. He had a point. You’re too well-known and liked for no one to care if you disappeared or turned up dead.” Thomas narrowed his eyes. “But you wouldn’t let things go.”

“Why the break-ins at my house?”

He waved a hand in the direction Wesley had disappeared. “The illustrious mayor and councilman orchestrated the first one. Fools thought if no one believed you, your testimony would be worthless. Insisted there was no reason to kill you.” He sneered.

So they’d tried to save her. In their own messed-up way. She swallowed. “What about last night?”

His expression darkened. “You were going to meet with the forensic artist tomorrow. I couldn’t let that happen, but Berniesent an incompetent fool to snatch you last night instead of going himself like he should have.”

Allye suppressed a shudder. “How do you know I’m supposed to meet with the artist tomorrow?”

“I saw your texts when you dropped your phone yesterday. Knew then that you had to go.”

A toilet flushed, and Wesley returned to the main room. He didn’t look her direction.

“People are still going to notice that I’m gone. They’ll look for me—look for you when they find my body. You’ll eventually be caught.”

Allye jumped as Bernie plunked a glass down on the island that separated the sitting area from the kitchenette.

“Order up, Tom.”

Thomas sauntered over and retrieved the drink, then returned his attention to Allye. “I’m touched by your concern, but that isn’t an issue anymore. We’ve had a bit of time to plan over the last week. Bernie scouted out the perfect place to dispose of the evidence, and there’s nothing connecting either of us to you.”

“Thomas, we need to talk about this,” Wesley said. “There’s got to be another solution that doesn’t involve murder.”

---