Page 102 of Last Seen Alive
It seemed the longer they spoke, and the more time passed, Nick was getting comfortable accepting himself as a killer. Or maybe he justified his actions as self-preservation and soothed his conscience because Claire was dying, regardless.
“What I’d like to know,” Trent said, pen poised over his notepad, “is how did Claire get the gun from that night in her possession, and how did you find out she had it?”
“She—” He smirked. “Shethought by telling me she had leverage, i.e. the gun, that I’d leave her alone, but I couldn’t have that hanging out there.”
“And Detective Stenson’s other question. How did Claire get the gun?”
“I asked her that because I didn’t understand, thought she was just bluffing. After the shooting, I had tossed it into a dumpster that was blocks from Lawson Investments. She said that she went back and got it. By that point, I couldn’t verify it. I had every reason to believe her.”
“Not that it worked in making you leave her alone,” Amanda said. “You saw her as a liability.”
Nick licked his lips, not needing to say anything in response. And that was it. Another murder investigation wrapped up. Two, counting the cold case of Martin Lawson. Amanda had expected the resolution to have brought more satisfaction. Instead, it left her with a gnawing sadness. If Claire had never disclosed that she had the Glock from that fateful night, would she and Logan still be married happily ever after?
THIRTY-EIGHT
THE DAY OF THE MURDER…
When Claire had found the key in the rock, she was touched that Logan had kept it after all these years. That told her he still loved her, but she was even more convinced when she found their small wedding album in a chest in his living room. Between the pages would be the perfect place to leave her message, the letter she’d originally put in the safe deposit box for him. It would explain everything, doing the job for her.
The cancer had pushed her to want to make amends for her past, but she really didn’t think she could find the courage to face him. But at least he should get the letter.
She could feel Nick breathing down her neck almost from the second she returned to Dumfries. But she realized her mistake too late. Visiting Rita. Her old mentor let it slip that she and Nick were still in contact. Claire hadn’t any way of knowing their relationship had survived after Rita had gotten married. She’d wanted to give Rita a chance to come clean to her husband before the police became involved.
Claire had found out about the sexual abuse—a little girl who only wanted a stepfather’s love and admiration—but he had been even more monster than man. He’d touched her, defiled her.
Rita had said she’d tried to warn her stepmom about what her stepdad had done to her, if only to save the woman’s daughter from the same fate. But she hadn’t listened until it was far too late and her daughter too was sexually assaulted. It was then that Rita’s stepmom had decided to take out Martin and make it look like a robbery gone wrong. Rita was to get close to her stepfather at a charity event he was attending that night and petition to see his art collection. This was all so Rita’s lover, Nick, could shoot her abuser and stop the cycle from continuing with her stepsister.
Not that Claire had known about Mona’s involvement until two days ago when she put it together. She hadn’t even known about the connection to Rita until then either. Mona hadn’t been at Rita’s wedding.
She heard footsteps in the living room. She wasn’t alone, but it wasn’t Logan. She’d have heard his truck pull into the driveway. She thought of the Glock in her purse, but she couldn’t touch it without gloves, and it wasn’t loaded anyway. She’d tossed the remaining bullets years ago.
She quickly looked in Logan’s closet. He used to have a gun when they were together. She found it just as Nick stepped into the bedroom.
“Stay back.” She held the gun on him.
He had one on her too.
She pulled the trigger. All she got was a click.
Nick laughed. “This one’s loaded, so I suggest you do as I say.”
She was trembling. She’d seen him kill before, and he was no longer the man she used to know. He was unpredictable and that terrified her. “What do you expect of me, Nick? You killed a man in cold blood. I can’t cover for you forever.”
“That’s all I asked for. Loyalty. But that turned out to be too much. You made Rita kill herself. Yet you think you’re better than me,” he spat.
You made Rita kill herself…
She’d seen the piece on the news about a university professor who died yesterday when her car went off I-95—Rita. It was why she’d emptied the safe deposit box and come here. She planned to leave the letter for Logan, and take the Glock with her and go somewhere far away.
“Hand me his gun.”
Her mind could assemble his plan. He intended to kill her here in Logan’s bedroom and now with Logan’s gun, it would really look like Logan had done it. And Nick had something lacy draped over his arm too.Lingerie?“Please don’t do this.”
“Here. Now.” He held out his hand, and she set it in his gloved palm.
Gloves.She looked down at her bare hands. Her prints would be on the gun. Would that confuse the police investigation or make it more damning for Logan?
“Step back.”
