Page 63 of Cause of Action

“You’re fucking crazy, lady. Theo murdered her.”

“Does your fiancée know she’s wearing a dead woman’s necklace? That’s right, Greg. I know you were the one who gave Grace that necklace. I have a copy of the receipt. I also have a copy of the paternity results proving that you were the father of Grace’s baby. How? I swiped a shot glass you set down at the bar at the sex club.”

“Theo found out, and that’s why he killed her!” he said. “His rage and anger took over—just like it always had.”

“Your car was parked across the street from the restaurant that night. She told you she was telling him, so you waited. You saw them arguing on the street. You saw Theo grab her arms. You saw the witnesses. It was the perfect opportunity. You were always jealous of your brother—the adopted one.” I paced around him. “I get it. I really do. How your mother was with him differed from how she was with you. You saw it. You knew it. You couldn’t stand the thought that she could love an adopted child more than her own flesh and blood.”

“STOP IT!” he shouted. “She was a terrible woman. Always taking his side and punishing me. I was her son! I was her blood, not him! She didn't deserve to love anyone if she couldn’t love me like that.”

“What about Grace? She loved you.”

“No, she didn’t! She wouldn’t get an abortion and was going to tell Theo about us and the baby. If she really loved me, she would have done what I asked. But she wouldn’t. She was going to destroy my life. If my father had found out, he would have disowned me. I couldn’t let that happen. It was bad enough he was choosing Theo for the VP position andnot his own blood. That position was rightfully mine, not his!”

“So you knew with Theo’s past anger issues that he’d be the prime suspect in Grace’s death. After all, they argued, there were witnesses, and she was pregnant with another man’s baby. It was the perfect setup. You heard their argument, didn’t you? She didn’t have a chance to tell Theo who the father of her baby was before he climbed into his car and took off. So, you parked your car where there weren’t any cameras and followed her down the street. You pretended to comfort her, told her you’d drive her home, took her to a park, strangled her, dumped her body, and then went back to your father’s house, pretending you never left. But the one thing you forgot to take from Grace after you murdered her was that necklace. Then again, she told everyone that her mother gave it to her for her birthday, so that wasn’t a threat to you. She didn’t deserve to die, Greg. That wasn’t your choice to make.”

“Yes, it was my choice!” he shouted. “She was going to destroy me and my life. That bitch knew what my father would do if he ever found out, and she didn’t care.” Tears streamed down his face. “She didn’t care.” He looked down.

I walked over, knelt before him, and placed my hands on his arms.

“So, you murdered her to keep her from destroying you?” I softly spoke.

“It was either her or me. I chose me.”

“That must have been hard for you to watch her take her last breath as you strangled her. You loved her, Greg,” I said.

“I never loved her. I used her. And watching that bitch take her last breath was the highlight of my day.”

I stared into his eyes—the eyes of a psychopath—a murderer.

“And your mother, Greg?”

“She deserved to die, too, for loving him more than her own flesh and blood.”

“I don’t understand how a child could force all those pills down an adult’s throat. Didn’t she fight you?”

“I didn’t force them down her throat. I took the pills, crushed them up, and mixed them in her glass of wine she drank every day.”

I turned off the wire and began to untie him.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Letting you go. Now, let’s talk money.”

“You said you didn’t want my money?”

“I changed my mind.”

I took the ropes, put them back in my bag, and put the chair back in its place while he stood in the middle of the room, staring at me.

“You’re not going to call the police?” he asked.

“Nah. I don’t have to.”

The front door flew open, and Simon and three other cops ran in, pointing their guns.

“Gregory Alan Williamson, you’re under arrest for the murder of Grace Norway,” Simon said. “Cuff him and get him out of here.”

“You bitch! You set me up!” Gregory shouted.

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