Page 81 of Whispers of My Skin

“Leave Joel out of this, he has nothing to do with it,” I shout.

“Of course he does, you stupid girl! I tried to stop you, but since you went ahead and married him, he has to go too or he’ll inherit everything.”

“So, that incident with Joel’s truck...”

“Yes, that was most irritating. Neither of you were supposed to come out of it alive, yet somehow you did. A convenient ‘accident’ would’ve been my preferred method of disposing of you both, since it would’ve saved me all this bother and expense.”

“What exactly is it that you want, Oscar?” I demand.

“The ranch, of course,” he states.

“But why? What do you want Redlands for? When you got involved you only made matters worse, so you clearly have no idea how to run a ranch.”

His maniacal laughter fills the air.

“Come on, stupid little Tara,” he shakes his head. “Surely even you can work it out? If you’d only taken my advice and accepted that offer I arranged with one of my associates, I wouldn’t have had to resort to these measures to get rid of you.”

“Sell Redlands? You know I’d never do that,” I sneer.

“So I discovered. Which is why we had to come up with another plan.”

“We? Who else is involved in your evil schemes?”

It isn’t just my mad stepfather? There are more people involved? This whole thing is getting worse by the second.

“You’re going to die soon, and as I’m enjoying watching your incredulous face as you finally work out what’s been going on around you all these years, I’ll grant you one last indulgence by answering your stupid questions,” he says, standing directly in front of me. “I have partners. People who are very interested in the great financial opportunity your ranch presents.”

“I just don’t get what this is all about,” I retort. ‘What great financial opportunity?”

“I’ll spell it out for you, shall I? With you taken care of,” he smiles coldly. “The ranch will pass to your mother and my daughter, which means...”

“…that you’ll get your hands on it,” I say when it all clicks together.

“Wow! So the poison did leave some of your pathetic little brain in working order,” he chuckles.

“You were also behind my illness?” There are so many strands to this sick story that need tying together. But hold on, does that mean... was my mother was involved, too? No, please no. I couldn’t stand it. Not my mother, the woman who gave birth to me? It’s a horrible, horrible thought. How far has Oscar’s influence corrupted her?

“Oh my poor little Tara, your ‘illness’ was so very easy to fix. You and your mother were so gullible, it hardly took any effort to pull the wool over your eyes. And it was simple enough to find a doctor who had no scruples about giving a false diagnosis and bogus test results, willing to do whatever it took for the right price. So, mix a few bribes here, a little bit of blackmail there, and a poison that disappears quickly from the body and you have the recipe for a perfect crime,” he boasts.

At least now I know my mother wasn’t in on his scheming. But still, I need to know more, I want to know everything, even if I’m about to die.

“How did you afford all the bribes and pay offs? It must have been quite a considerable sum of money.”

“My partners took care of that side of things” he explains. “And also disposed of the doctor when he became a liability.”

Fuck! They killed the doctor? No wonder the police couldn’t find him, why their investigations came to a dead end.

“But I still don’t understand your obsessive interest in acquiring Redlands. Even if were to pass to my mother and sister, it’d still be mired in debt.”

“Oh, Tara, you really are a stupid little bitch, aren’t you?” he groans with an exaggerated eye roll. “I couldn’t care less about your stupid fucking ranch, all I’m interested in is what lies beneath it. There’s oil, girl. Black gold. Texas tea. Call it what you will, there’s a fortune waiting to be claimed.”

“There’s oil at Redlands?” I squeak incredulously. This is the first I’ve heard of it, it’s all news to me. Damn Oscar and his scheming ambitions.

“A huge sea of it,” he insists, waving his hands to the heavens. “Your father knew, but he was a stupid idealist, prepared to ignore the value of the oil just to protect his stupid ranch. Well, I hate that place and would happily see it burnt to the ground, in exchange for the chance to drill for that oil.”

Joel, who’s still face down on the floor, moans, catching Oscar’s attention.

Be still, my love, don’t do anything.

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