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All those scenarios he mentioned make me break out in a sweat.
“Do you have to be so graphic?” Mom asks in a tremulous voice.
“What?” Ryan shoots her a look from over his shoulder. “Do you prefer that I hide the ugly facts from you like Dad used to do?”
A sob tears from her lips.
“Ryan,” Mattie exclaims, scowling at him as she wraps an arm around Mom.
“Fuck.” Ryan pinches the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry. The last few days were tough. I’m letting the situation get the better of me.”
“This is too much, Ryan.” I say. “Even for you. You don’t deserve this.”
None of us deserves the heritage Dad left. And for what? For a pretentious house on a hill by the sea? For fancy cars and glitzy parties?
“We’ve all been questioned, Bella,” Mattie says. “The doctor was kind enough not to let the police interrogate you at the hospital. He said it was better done at home in an environment where you feel safe. You’ll have to give a statement too. We just have to make sure we all tell the same story.”
“Like the one I briefed you,” Ryan says. “Stick to the truth as much as possible. That’s the golden rule of lying.”
“We have an appointment at your father’s lawyer’s office the day after tomorrow for the reading of the will,” Mom says. “It’ll have to be tomorrow.”
Ryan turns his back to the window. “It’ll be this afternoon. The authorities weren’t happy about waiting until after Bella’s discharge. I doubt they’ll wait longer.”
“They don’t suspect murder, do they?” Jared asks.
“No.” Ryan frowns. “But Bella discovered the body. Questioning her is protocol. I arrived on the scene more than four hours later. They’ll want to know why Bella didn’t call an emergency service immediately.”
Mattie’s tone is gentle. “What happened, Bella? Can you tell us?”
I wring my hands in my lap. “When I…” I swallow. “When I walked in on…” I can’t say it. “Angelo manipulated my neck.” I point at my nape. “He pressed on points that made me black out.”
“Son of a bitch,” Ryan says with gritted teeth.
“He no doubt did it to prevent you from calling for help,” Mattie says. “He couldn’t risk getting caught near the scene.”
“Or it was an act of mercy,” Jared says. “Maybe he wanted to give Ryan enough time to get there, preventing Bella from having to deal with everything.”
We all stare at him. Under Mattie’s cutting look, his expression drops.
Mom’s tone is cold. “There was nothing merciful about that man’s actions.”
Jared mumbles, “Sorry,” and carries his empty glass to the wet bar.
Ryan walks over and places a hand on my shoulder. “You’ll just tell the truth of that part then. You blacked out, and when you woke up, I was there.”
Swallowing again, I nod.
“The biggest question the police are asking now is why the alarm at the office didn’t work,” Ryan says. “Mom told them how Dad was getting forgetful of late, sometimes not setting the alarm at home before going to bed. If they pose the question, don’t act like finding the alarm inactive surprised you.”
I stare at my brother. “What about the guard? Why wasn’t there anyone on duty?”
“The guard testified that Dad dismissed him.”
“Do you believe that?” Mattie asks.
Ryan hesitates.
“We need to know, Ryan.” Mattie shifts to the edge of the sofa. “We better know if we’re to keep our stories straight.”
