Mad, Bad and Blonde - Cathie Linz [85]
“It was murder!”
“Hey, it’s not my fault. I wasn’t part of my father’s plans. He only confessed all this on his deathbed. Even then I wasn’t sure if it was real or the tumor talking. Then I checked the bank account he told me about. He warned me to keep transferring money into various holding companies so no one could find it. But then you sent your damn accountants looking for it. I had to stop you.”
She wanted to know how he’d known the accountants had been hired by them but decided she had more pressing issues at the moment. “Listen, you said it yourself. This isn’t your fault. We can work this out.”
“No, we can’t.”
“You don’t want to do this.” She wasn’t sure what “this” was, but given the fact he had a gun, none of the options appeared favorable. “You can stop this.”
“I’m in too deep. I can’t stop now.”
“Yes, you can. I’ll help you. You weren’t involved in the murder. And you still have the money. You can return it—”
“Are you crazy?” He waved the gun at her with increasing agitation. “When am I ever going to get a chance for that kind of money again?”
“It’s blood money.”
“My father deserved that money, and he left it to me. He wanted me to have it.”
“What do you plan on doing?”
“Well, clearly I have to get rid of you and your father. And then there’s Karl’s Marine son. Caine. Yes, Caine. He’ll have to be taken out too.”
“You can’t spend your father’s money if you’re in prison.”
“I have a plan. I shoot you and your father. Then Caine when he comes. Then I wipe my prints from the gun and put it in Caine’s hand. He’ll be blamed for going off the deep end and shooting the two of you for causing his father’s suicide and then shooting himself.”
“But his father didn’t really commit suicide.”
“He won’t know that. Besides, he’ll be dead. You too. So you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
Yeah right. Because she’d be dead. The one day she wore underwear with a hole in it. Hadn’t her mother always warned her not to do that? Because that was the one day you’d end up in the ER. Or the morgue.
In the mysteries she’d read, the heroine had always known what to do, how to cope. They never had to pee like Faith did right now.
Abs had once warned Faith never to travel with a full bladder because it could rupture in a car accident. Apparently Abs’s cousin was an EMT and told her gruesome stories.
Faith crossed her legs and ordered herself to stay calm and concentrate. No good wondering what Jane Austen would do in this situation. She’d never have gotten into this situation to begin with. Smart woman, that Jane.
Faith had pepper spray in her bag, but Fred Jr. had taken it from her and dumped it by the front door. She wished she had that stun pen she’d seen on the Internet. But she didn’t.
“Now we get you tied up like your father,” Fred Jr. said, “and then I text Caine using your phone, just like I used your father’s.”
Her phone was dead. She’d forgotten to charge it. She had a feeling Fred Jr. would not be pleased with this news, so she was in no hurry to share it with him.
She could tell by his moves that Fred Jr. was not used to handling a gun, which made him more dangerous in some scenarios and less so in others.
Faith hadn’t used a weapon since she’d left Las Vegas two years ago. She told herself it was like riding a bike. Her father had trained her well.
She looked over at her dad, checking to make sure he was still breathing. He was. She had to get the gun away from Fred Jr. But how? He’d hardly be willing to just hand it over. She’d already tried logic. That hadn’t worked.
“Lie on the floor.” He waved the gun at her. “It’s time to tape you up. Too bad there’s only one chair in here. Nolan really needs to decorate the place, don’t you think?”
“Please, Fred—”
“Fred Jr. On the floor right now! Or I shoot your father.”
Faith dropped to the floor and realized she had one chance here. When Fred Jr. stood above her, smiling down at her, she took it.
Caine hopped out of his Mustang, furious with Faith for not telling him she planned