Killer Desires

by Becca Collins

  “Just act normal. She doesn’t know you’re her…” Sarah trailed off as her mind raced. “Oh my god! That’s it!”

  “What’s it?”

  “Hang on,” Sarah ordered and picked up her cell to call the doctor’s office back. “Hi Jennifer,” Sarah began when the phone was answered. “It’s Sarah Taylor calling you back. I just have a quick question for you. Do you happen to know what Lindsey’s blood type is?”

  “Let me check. Can you hang on a second?”

  Sarah agreed and then started pacing the kitchen to the beat of the hold music playing in her ear. Finally, the nurse came back. “Lindsey is A positive,” she declared. Sarah thanked her quickly and disconnected the call. She turned back to Brett without speaking and moved to a chair.

  “She’s A positive,” she finally relayed. “Chad and I are both O. A doctor must’ve mentioned her type to Chad when she went in for her tonsillectomy. That’s why he cited fraud in the divorce papers. He realized Lindsey couldn’t have been his.”

  The sound of the children descending the stairs effectively ended their conversation.

  -26-

  Sarah couldn’t help the huge grin that seemed plastered on her face as she pushed open the door to Shane’s room. The short drive to the hospital had seemed like it had taken hours, the anticipation of seeing Shane fully awake caused adrenaline to pump into her veins and seemed to make time crawl.

  “Hey, Sarah…” Shane said in a near whisper as she closed the door behind her. Cathleen was already kneeling at the side of his bed, gripping his hand firmly, tears streaming down her face.

  Sarah met her brother’s eyes, felt her own well with tears of joy. He was still wrapped in bandages, but his eyes seemed so much more alive than when he’d last spoken only a few words.

  “Hey yourself!” She answered as she moved over to the bed. She took a seat near his legs, patted his thigh.

  “How’s Matty?” Shane whispered.

  “He’s good. I’ve been staying at your house, so he could be in his own home. He misses you.”

  “I’m just glad he’s okay,” Shane’s eyes filled with unshed tears and he looked up at the ceiling. “Kristen…”

  “Shhh… It’ll be okay,” Cathleen comforted. “You have to think about your son.”

  “I know, mom.” He met his mother’s eyes. “If you and dad hadn’t taken Matty to Florida he might have been with us.”

  “Don’t think about that, Shane,” Jim warned his son. “We did, so you don’t even need to think about it.”

  “Have the police…” Shane began.

  “Shane,” Sarah interrupted. “Don’t worry about any of that. They will catch the person that did this. You just need to worry about getting better, let us worry about everything else.” She patted his leg again as the doctor walked into the room.

  “I’m glad to see you’re awake and talking, Mr. McGuire,” Dr. Evans smiled. “How are you feeling?”

  “Actually,” Shane grinned, “just really hungry!”

  Everyone in the room laughed in relief.

  “That,” Dr. Evans replied, “I think we can handle,” and pushed the call button for the nurse.

  ****

  Sarah pulled out her cell phone as she left Shane’s room and dialed Brett’s number.

  “Hey,” he drawled as he answered. ‘How’s your brother?”

  “He’s going to be okay,” she answered through the smile that had been a permanent fixture on her face for the last couple of hours.

  “That’s great news! Are you on your way back?”

  “Not just yet. I’d like to stay with him awhile longer and then I need to go by and get the kids so I’ll be a little while.”

  “I’m going to drive by there in a few minutes if you want me to stop and pick them up. It’s no problem and we can just meet you at Shane’s.”

  “That’d be great,” she agreed and looked at her watch. “It’s a little after 5:00 now. I’ll stay here until after rush hour so I don’t get stuck in traffic and then I’ll head that way.”

  “Okay, do you want me to pick up a pizza or something for dinner?”

  Sarah smiled at the normalcy of the question. “Pizza sounds perfect. I’ll see you later.”

  As she dropped the phone back in her purse, she felt as if she was being watched. She looked around and caught a man at the end of the corridor looking away. It was the same man she’d seen sitting in the library when she was talking to Mrs. Hill. She started toward him when she heard someone say her name. She turned around to see Jack standing behind her.

  “Jack, what are you doing here?” She wondered.

  “Tom Phelps was brought in this morning. It looks like he had another stroke.”

  “Oh my God! How is he? How’s Amber? Have you talked to her?”

  “They think he’s going to be okay, but he’s sedated for now. Amber just left to go home and get some rest.”

  “Why didn’t one of you call me?” Sarah asked.

  “We figured you had enough going on with Shane. How is he?”

  “He’s awake,” Sarah beamed. “He’s going to be fine.”

  “That’s fantastic.” Jack agreed but his weariness was clear.

  “What happened with Tom?”

  “He called for an appointment, but I knew he still couldn’t drive so I offered to go to the house. When he didn’t answer his door, I just walked in. I found him on the sofa.”

  “Oh God, Jack. That’s terrible. Where was his nurse?”

  “The night nurse had a baby sitting issue so Jack told her she could leave a little early. The day nurse wasn’t supposed to get there until 9:00. Jack assured them he’d be fine for an hour.”

  “They must feel terrible,” Sarah offered.

  “Well, hopefully there isn’t too much damage and there won’t be anything to feel badly about.”

  “I didn’t realize you still did legal stuff for Tom.”

  “Oh, nothing major, I assure you. Just estate stuff.”

  “Well, with only one heir, I wouldn’t think that’s too difficult,” she said with a smile. “You’ll call me if there’s any change?”

  “Oh, of course, dear. I was just going to go check in on your parents. Are they still here?”

  “Yes, Dad was still trying to talk mom into leaving to get some rest.”

  “I’ll look in on them, then. I’ll talk to you later.”

  ****.

  “Hey, I’m just leaving the hospital,” Sarah announced as she answered the phone. She had just exited the elevators and entered the parking garage.

  “Yep. How is he?” Brett asked.

  “Still awake,” Sarah answered.

  “Excellent. Cameron just called me,” Brett updated her. “His investigator finally tracked down that waitress that saw me at the bar next door the night of the murder. He showed her photos of all of the people on our list. She distinctly remembers seeing Cole Johnson at the bar the same night, thought I don’t recall seeing him there. Then the bar owner found a copy of his credit card receipt. He was there, Sarah. Cole was there that night.”

  “Oh my God!” She exclaimed. “He told me he’d been out of town that week. What did the police say?

  “Cameron has an appointment with the State’s Attorney tomorrow. He’s hoping that with everything else we found, he can get them to reopen their investigation.”

  “That’s fantastic!”

  “Well, I just wanted to let you know,” he said. “I’ll see you in a little while.”

  ****

  Sarah walked through the parking garage and shuddered. Empty garages at night had always given her the creeps. As if to punctuate the feeling, a fluorescent light flickered, giving the scene an even creepier feel. She quickened her pace as she rounded a corner and spotted her car toward the end of the aisle.

  The sound of another car’s motor, a level above her, made her feel a little more at ease. At least she wasn’t alone. She dropped her phone back into her handbag as she dug
around for her keys. She felt the rough edge of a car key just as she approached her car.

  She heard a car door close and turned her head just as she pressed her keyless entry remote.

  “Amber,” she said in recognition, headed toward her friend and pulled her into a hug. “Jack told me about your dad. I’m so sorry.”

  “The doctors warned us that a second stroke was likely,” Amber explained.

  “I’m sure that still doesn’t make it any easier. I was going to call you after I spoke to Jack, but he said you’d gone home to get some sleep. You should have called me.”

  “I tried once, but I got your voicemail,” Amber explained.

  “Oh, I had my phone off earlier while I was in with Shane. I’m sorry. Why didn’t you leave a message?”

  “I figured we’d talk later. How’s Shane?”

  “He’s better. He’s awake and talking,” Sarah explained and considered telling Amber that Shane all but exonerated Brett. She decided Amber was under enough stress with her father to pile more worry on her. “Amber, really, how are you holding up?”

  “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it. Were you heading home?”

  “No, the kids and I have been staying at Shane’s house. It seemed to be easier on Matty.”

  “I guess Diana’s watching the kids?” Amber asked through an expression Sarah didn’t recognize. Clearly, her father’s stroke had been harder on her than Sarah expected. She averted her eyes and avoided the question.

  “The kids are fine. Do you want me to stay here with you?”

  “Actually, I think I’d rather go someplace else.”

  “Well,” Sarah offered. “Do you want to go to my house?”

  “That’d be great,” Amber perked up at the suggestion.

  “Okay,” Sarah said, turning back toward her car. “I’ll meet you there.”

  “Would you mind riding with me? I can bring you back to your car later.”

  “Sure,” Sarah readily agreed and hopped in the passenger seat.

  Amber started the ignition and backed out of the space. They were leaving the garage and turning onto the interstate before anyone spoke.

  “Don’t you need to call Diana and tell her you’ll be late?” Amber questioned.

  “Actually, Amber, the kids aren’t with Diana.”

  Sarah didn’t think Amber could look any more upset than she had in the parking garage, but she was wrong. Amber shook her head and Sarah thought she saw Amber roll her eyes.

  “I know what you’re thinking, but just let me explain.”

  “You don’t need to explain it to me, Sarah,” Amber growled. “You’ve already told me a hundred times. I give up. Apparently, there is nothing I can do to convince you that Brett killed Chad.”

  ****

  Brett grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and walked into the living room. He picked up the remote and clicked on the news as he fell onto the sofa. He glanced at the clock.

  She’ll be here any minute. There’s nothing to worry about.

  He still couldn’t shake his worry. He wondered if he should check on the kids. Not being much of a cook or much of a disciplinarian, Brett had joined them on the living room floor, pizza delivery in hand, a Disney DVD playing on the television. After the princess was saved and all were presumed to live ‘happily ever after,’ he’d sent the kids off to brush their teeth and head for bed.

  He looked at the clock again, tried to remind himself that she was fine and then smiled when he saw the flash of headlights turning into the driveway.

  He rushed to the door and pulled it open to see Sarah’s parents and Jack Layton standing on the porch.

  “Mr. and Mrs. McGuire. Mr. Layton.” Brett greeted and motioned the men inside. “How’s Shane doing?”

  “Much better,” Jim replied. “Sarah’s not back yet?”

  “No,” Brett answered, motioning for the new arrivals to enter. He closed the door behind them and followed everyone into the living room. “I actually thought you were her.”

  “Strange,” Jim said as he moved toward the bar in the corner of the room. “She left the hospital well before us. She should be here by now. Have you talked to her?”

  “I called her as she was leaving the hospital and she said she was on her way. Maybe she just stopped off for something,” Brett theorized. “Did you tell her you were coming over?”

  “I didn’t know myself,” Jim McGuire explained. “I ran into Jack at the hospital and we came right over.”

  “I need to talk to the two of you,” Jack explained. “Can you call Sarah and see when she’ll be here?”

  “Sure,” Brett answered and dialed Sarah’s number. When her voicemail picked up he left her a message to call him right away. “She didn’t answer,” he informed the group and he couldn’t shake of the uneasiness he’d been feeling for the past twenty minutes.

  “She would have had the ringer turned off at the hospital. Maybe she forgot to turn it back on,” Cathleen speculated. “Try her again while I go up and check on the kids.”

  Brett tried calling her again, but still got voice mail. He saw the two men staring at him and sent two text messages. Maybe he’d get a response to one of them.

  “Did something happen at the hospital? Why did you come by so late?” Brett demanded, his eyes never leaving his cell phone. Reply, dammit!

  “Jack and I got to talking,” Jim offered as he moved to the sideboard and poured himself three fingers of scotch. “I mentioned that you’d been doing some research trying to find your father.”

  Brett stared at Jim, watched him lean against the side of the bar and sip his drink. Brett walked back toward the sofa, retrieved his own whiskey and drank it down.

  “I’m sure the mystery of my father didn’t bring you both out here so late,” he said at last. “Why don’t you just tell me what the hell is going on?”

  “I’m your father’s attorney,” Jack blurted, then sat down in an armchair and took a breath. “As such, I’m bound by confidentiality. That’s the reason I hadn’t said anything before. However, certain things have recently come to my attention and I feel obligated to tell you what I know.”

  “What things?” Brett demanded.

  “It just all fell into place for me today. I should have seen it sooner. I should have made the connection. Your father called me several months ago. Apparently, he’d only very recently learned that you were his son. When you were conceived, your mother had told him that she had gotten pregnant by someone else. Your father was young and married. He didn’t push her. He regretted that later when he learned the truth about you.

  “He came to me because he wanted to include you in his will. I had the file on my desk. The file got mixed in with another case we were working on at the time. Apparently, my secretary inadvertently gave a copy of the will to an associate in my office.”

  “So what?” Brett demanded, not understanding what any of this had to do with Sarah. He was barely listening to them. He should have gotten a text back by now.

  “She gave the file to Amber.”

  “So what? I don’t care about any of this right now. I just need to find Sarah!” As if to punctuate his statement, his cell phone beeped and Brett pulled up the message.

  I think she spotted me at the hospital so I got lost for a few minutes. When I came back she was gone. I was just heading to the garage to see if her car is still there. I’ll update you in a few.

  Jack took a large gulp of his scotch and stepped closer to get his attention. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you, Brett. Tom Phelps is your father. And Amber knows that if you can’t inherit, everything goes to her.”

  -27-

  Sarah watched the darkened trees out the window and tried to shake her feelings of unease. Amber had been eerily quiet and Sarah was starting to get the impression it didn’t have anything to do with Tom’s stroke.

  “I better call Brett and let him know I’ll be late,” Sarah said while she reached for her bag.

 
; “Will you hand me my purse first?,” Amber droned.

  “Sure,” Sarah muttered and reached to the floorboard. After passing Amber’s purse over, Sarah once again reached into her own and pulled out her phone. She had pushed the first number when she heard a strange clicking noise.

  “Put the phone down, Sarah,” Amber ordered, holding a small hand gun aimed at Sarah.

  “Amber?” Sarah mumbled, “What are you doing? What is this?”

  Amber responded by hitting Sarah in the side of the head with the gun. Sarah recoiled, but was left speechless.

  “You just couldn’t listen, could you?”

  “What are you talking about?” Sarah demanded. She thought she must be trapped in some kind of nightmare, but it certainly felt real. Her head was throbbing so hard it caused her vision to blur.

  Lindsey’s face flashed in her mind and she forced herself to try to make sense of this. She had no idea what was going on and nothing made sense. Either this was a nightmare or Amber had lost her mind. “Amber, please, I’m your best friend!”

  Amber’s eyes flashed with rage then instantly switched to amusement. She let out a hysterical laugh.

  “Best friend? Is that what you call it? You don’t care about anyone but yourself.”

  “Amber please!” Sarah begged. “Just tell me what’s going on!”

  “You screwed me over in high school, but I forgave you! You took Shane’s side, and I didn’t blame you. I was still your friend. But, now you choose that lowlife bastard over me and you still want to call yourself my friend?”

  “Amber, seriously, I have no idea what you are talking about! How did I screw you over?”

  “We were supposed to be sisters, Sarah,” Amber’s said as though stating the obvious. “I was supposed to marry Shane and be your sister and then the four of us could all raise our kids together. And Shane and I would have been very very happy together but, oh no, you encouraged him to… what did you say? Oh right, ‘explore his options.’ Is that what you think being a best friend means?”