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He shrugged again, as if they were not talking about killing and defacing his own brother. “Honestly, things seemed to be collapsing because of Aaron’s extracurricular activities, so I thought it was time to pull up stakes and move on. You going rogue just moved up my plans. But I needed it done my way. With the cabin being found and Aaron taking the blame. That meant adding your plan to mine, which I admit was not a perfect fit, but it looks like it worked out. Aaron will get the blame. I’ll leave town in horror, change my name, and then start again.”
“You mean go kill somewhere else.”
“Well, I enjoy hunting. Getting them out here, letting them run. Offering a sliver of hope then taking it away.” He whistled. “The panic is something else. I love the panic and the begging.”
The complete disregard and absence of any concern or feelings had a ball of anxiety forming in her stomach. “Did your mom know what was happening?”
“When she figured out the reason for the weekend games and all the hush-hush stuff, Dad set up one last hunt.” Jaredwaved his hand in the air, swinging that hammer close to her face. “Got the guys together. Made sure it would look like an accident.”
His mother. Hunted and murdered.
Lila’s stomach pitched and roiled. She swallowed back the bile, determined to hear every horrible word. “And the trust fund?”
“Rich people will pay a lot of money to do some crazy shit.” This time he tapped the hammer against his thigh. “So that took care of Mom, and when Dad started to lose it, when he started to babble about some secrets, which luckily sounded so brazen no one believed him, I handled it.”
What the hell?“You ran him down on the side of the road.”
“Ihandledit.” His voice grew angrier. “It’s what I do. I clean up the mess, including yours.”
“No.”
“We’re connected. I know you feel it. You talk about it all the time.”
Her focus faltered, but she kept going. Waiting until the exact right time. “Brent?”
“Yeah, I started the rumors about his involvement.” He laughed to himself. “Wait until the police find the kiddie porn on his computer.”
A psychopath. He outlined his sick crimes with the same emotion he used when he spoke to her about stocks. Clear and no-nonsense.
“Do you feel anything?” She had to know, though she doubted he would be honest.
“Doyou?” He tapped the hammer faster against his leg. “You killed your husband and seem fine with that.”
“You’re sick.” She knew from Ryan’s books that she should appeal to his humanity, if he had any, but the words slipped out.
“I’m exactly like you.” He took that last step that put him right in front of her, only a few feet away. “Emotions other people feel—guilt, love, devotion—mean nothing to me. I’ve tried to have a relationship, do the dating thing. So fucking boring. I need more. Excitement. The race.”
“The girls from school were blondes.”
He frowned. “What?”
“Aaron liked young blondes. You hunted for brunettes.” The difference in the women became so clear to her now. “Aaron didn’t kill any of them.”
“I said this already. He was a failure in that department. I found the women. I lured them to look at something by my car or grabbed them at the gas station. In a parking lot.”
“Did they look like your mom?” Like her?
“Don’t psychoanalyze me. I picked women who asked for it.”
She thought about Karen and Yara and Julie. All young and going about their business until he destroyed them. “How?”
“They got my attention.”
He stood close enough for her to see the flatness in his eyes. She’d always been protective of him, viewing him as lonely and a little sad. Someone shaped by horrible circumstances and the early loss of a mother.
Now she saw him as an empty shell. Not to be pitied, but to be put down. Eradicated.
Fear flooded through her. Instead of hiding from it, she used it. Let it fill her with a dark energy. “What now, Jared?”
