Page 96 of Exposure of Murder

Victor’s smile was cold. “It may not be part of your plan, but it’s mine.”

Her brows drew together in confusion “So everything we had, it was just a joke to you?”

“Maggie, Maggie, Maggie.” Victor shook his head. “We had a good thing going for a while. The sex was good, but I have bigger things to do.”

“You are a fucking liar,” Maggie hissed. “You led me on. Did my father know about you?”

Victor’s expression darkened. “Ha. Your father was useless. The fool stole from me, and he got what he deserved.”

“You killed him,” she screeched as her hands clenched into fists. “You killed my father.”

Victor didn’t have time to step back before Maggie lunged at him and beat him with her fists. “You murdering bastard.”

He tried to shove her, but she kept hitting him. Finally, he slapped her across the face, then grabbed hold of her wrists and threw her onto the sofa. “Stop this.”

“Or what?” she said, her voice shaking with fury.

“You won’t like the ‘or what,’” he replied.

Maggie sat on the sofa, sobbing. Victor took one chair. “Maggie, your father was in the business of cheating people he shouldn’t. It finally caught up with him.”

Jane thought about launching herself at Victor, even while tied to the chair. It wasn’t much, but maybe between her and Maggie, they could still take him down.

Victor put down what he was reading and stood to face Jane, the expression on his face thunderous.

Oh God, was he going to kill her? Jane swallowed the bile that was gurgling in her gut. What to do? Nothing came to mind.

Maggie looked around, and Jane noticed the moment Maggie focused on the metal lamp and made her decision.

Slowly, Maggie picked it up. She snuck up behind Victor and swung with all her might. It connected with a resounding whack against his back.

Victor staggered.

“Son of a bitch.” He pulled out his gun, turned and shot her. Maggie’s body slumped to the ground.

Jane screamed.

Fifty

Ethan left Jimbo and Rosie to continue looking for more evidence at Jane’s farm and drove back to the station, tension building in his chest with each mile. Jane had been missing for at least five hours, and they were no closer to finding her than before.

He sent Adam to talk to Maggie. Maybe she had other information that might be helpful. However, he wasn’t optimistic. Besides, she wasn’t exactly gushing information when he questioned her.

The station was unusually quiet.

“Ethan, what have you heard? Did you find Jane?” asked Nora, her voice laced with concern as he walked in.

With a deep sigh, he said, “No, not yet,” as he headed straight for his office.

His deputies were slowly filtering back to the station, their voices subdued.

The space felt suffocating, filled with the lingering scent of stale coffee. He resisted the urge to call Sean. His brother would call when he had information. The wait was agonizing.

Sitting at his desk, Ethan stared at the wall, his mind frantically searching for anything they had overlooked.

His phone rang, startling him from his thoughts.

Seeing Sean’s name flash across the screen, he grabbed it. “What do you have?” he asked, not even waiting to say hello.

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