AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ace laughed. “Good point.” He thought for a moment. “Did any of you look for one?”
“Not yet,” Ainsley chimed in. “We wanted to wait for you.”
Jake envied the easy camaraderie between brother and sister. “We actually figured if anyone would know, you would,” he said.
This made Ace grin. “You guys didn’t even try, did you? Because I’m pretty sure Dad still has a VCR hooked up to the big flat-screen television in the media room. Along with his DVR and Blu-ray player.”
“Seriously?” Fiona looked both flabbergasted and intrigued.
“Yep,” Ace replied. “He has a huge cabinet in there full of videotapes, DVDs, etc. There’s a ton of old movies, along with newer ones.”
Jake cleared his throat. “Does Payne know we’ve been in Tessa’s room?”
The three siblings exchanged looks. Ainsley shrugged. “I didn’t say anything. I figured he had enough on his mind already.”
“I didn’t, either,” Ace added, his expression rueful. “To be honest, I was afraid he’d say no, and I really wanted you to learn about your mother, Jake.”
Fiona crossed to his side, once again slipping her fingers through his. Grateful, Jake smiled at her before eyeing the others. “I was just thinking Payne might like to see whatever is on the video.”
“Let’s wait and see what it is first,” Ace suggested. “For all we know, it might be a blank.”
A sobering thought, but Jake knew Ace was right. No sense in stirring up Payne without good cause. The poor man had already been through enough.
“Come on, let’s go see.” Ace led the way. They all trooped upstairs to the media room, a large, windowless area with theater-style seating and a huge flat screen hung on the wall.
“There it is,” Ace said, pointing. “Let me make sure it’s still hooked up.” When he pressed a button, a light came on.
“Yep.” Jake handed Ace the remote so he could power up the TV. “From what I remember, I think you have to change the input.”
Finally, once Ace had everything ready, Jake handed him the videotape. Once he’d inserted it, he pressed Play.
“Here we are.” A woman’s voice. Tessa, Jake thought, his heart skipping a beat. His mother. A quick glance at the others revealed similar expressions of wonder. Just then, he realized none of them had actually truly known their mother. They’d all been so young when she died.
The video showed the interior of the Triple R house, looking much newer, with totally different furniture, of course. Tessa continued to narrate, naming each room as she filmed it.
Jake struggled not to show his disappointment. He didn’t want to look at the others, aware they probably felt the same. Fiona squeezed his hand, offering her silent support.
Finally, Tessa stepped outside. She filmed one of the barns, a few horses frolicking in an outside paddock, still speaking in her soft, pleasant voice.
As she rounded the corner of the house, she froze, still recording video. Two men came into view. One of them, a much younger Payne, appeared to be arguing with the other.
“Damn it,” Tessa cursed, still quietly. “That’s Randy Stanford. Payne fired him last week. I’m not sure what he’s doing here, but it can’t be anything good.”
While trying to keep the camcorder focused on the two men, Tessa took pains to stay out of their line of sight. She ducked back behind the house, which briefly sent the video feed swerving crazily, showing sky and dirt and brick before she got herself situated and finally turned the lens back on her husband and the intruder. They still appeared to be arguing. Because of the distance, no one could make out what exactly about.
When Randy pulled a gun on Payne, the entire room gasped out loud.
A second later, Payne pulled his own gun and shot the other man, so quickly he didn’t have time to react and fire his own weapon. A clean shot right to the chest.
Tessa gasped, muttered something and took off running, forgetting to turn off the camcorder in her haste. Because the thing was so heavy, she lugged it along with her, recording all the way until she got back to her room.
Breathing hard, she finally pressed the button to power it off. The recording ended.
For a second longer, everyone simply sat in stunned silence. Then they all started talking at once.
“Was that...?”
“Clear case of self-defense.”
