Page 21 of Sean

“The time stamp on the original video indicates this took place about twenty minutes before the 911 call that reported her accident,” Sophie said. “It all adds up.”

No, it did not. Because it meant that someone had killed her sister and tried to cover it up by crashing her car with her in it.

“I just can’t believe this,” Julia said. “What do we do?”

“Owen and I think it’s best if we turn the video over to the police. It might help them in their investigation of Wilson.”

“You think he’s the who one killed her. And then he called his thug to come take care of the body,” Julia’s tone was flat. She found herself thinking about Amos’s reaction to adults raising their voices. She’d thought it rattled him so much because he’d heard his mother leave and not come back…but what if he’d heard more than that? Had Wilson and Mira’s fight turned physically violent? Was that how she’d died? And had Amos overheard it? It made Julia sick to think that, but what other explanation was there? No matter how awful it was, she had to know the truth.

“It looks that way to us, yes,” Sophie said. “Owen and I think that what we do with the video should be your decision. Do you want us to take it to the investigators?”

“I want to see it first.” Julia couldn’t have explained why exactly. Yet, she felt compelled to look at the video and judge for herself.

“I don’t know if you want to do that. It’s not pretty,” Sophie cautioned.

Neither was a husband killing his wife. No, she had to see it. “Send it to me. I’ll let you know what I think you should do with it after I’ve viewed it.”

“Okay. I understand. I’ll send it now. If you want to talk after you’ve watched it, you know where I am. Please promise me that you won’t watch it by yourself, though. Have Sean be there with you.”

“I…maybe.” Julia hung up and waited, keeping an eye on her inbox until she saw an email from Sophie come in. She was tempted to just watch it and get the horror over with, but Sophie was right. Viewing the video alone might be too much. If Sean was in his room, she’d ask him to watch it with her. She took her laptop and went down the hall to knock on his door.

“Come in,” he called. He turned when she entered. “What’s wrong?” He was on his feet, coming toward her instantly. “You’re upset.” His hand came up like he was going to touch her cheek, but then it dropped to his side. It pained her to see that since she needed his comfort, but she understood that he was keeping her at a distance.

“I have something I want you to watch with me.” She took a minute to explain what Sophie had told her before clicking the link. The quality of the video wasn’t great, understandably, but it definitely showed the white Honda SUV that Julia recognized as her sister’s approaching an intersection. As the car passed under the traffic light, there was a view inside that only lasted a second before the vehicle moved on. She went back to that second and paused it, forcing herself to magnify the frozen image.

A guy she recognized as Mason was driving. She turned her eyes to the passenger. There was her beautiful sister, seat belted in, as if going for a drive, but her neck was at a horribly unnatural angle. No living person could twist like that. Julia squeezed her eyes shut.

“You sure this is your sister?” Sean asked quietly.

She nodded. “That’s Mira.” His hands touched her arms and guided her to the desk chair. He closed the laptop, making the image disappear, but it was burned into Julia’s brain. “He killed her. Her husband killed her,” she whispered. Her skin felt hot for a second before going ice cold.

“The driver might have—”

“No, Mason wouldn’t take initiative like that—he only followed orders. And if Wilson had planned in advance for Mira to die, the coverup wouldn’t have been so sloppy. He killed her. Maybe unintentionally.” She wished she could believe that. “They fought a lot, and we know they fought that night. Amos heard them. But it wasn’t like all the other fights. Wilson killed her…and then he tried to cover it up.”

This was awful. Julia thought she’d come to terms with Mira’s death, but here it all was again, raw and real, as though it had just happened. It was like losing her sister all over again. Her thoughts went to Mira’s children. She’d make sure they never saw that video. Never.

Sean took her hands in his. “What can I do?”

“Nothing.” She didn’t want his sympathy because nothing could make this better. “I need to be with the kids.” Putting her arms around what was left of her sister was all she could think to do.

“I saw them in the stable with Emmy right before I came in the house. Do you want me to get them?”

“No, I’ll go.” She stood on shaky legs and took a few deep breaths, trying to get herself under control. She could not fall apart. She would not. “Thank you for watching that with me.”

She made her way to the barn, moving quickly. Her need to hug her niece and nephew grew with each step. She blinked as she stepped into the shaded light of the barn. The first person she saw was Emmy, who was alone in a stall, grooming a horse. Julia swept the area with her eyes and didn’t see Lucy or Amos. She couldn’t hear them either.

“Hey, there,” Emmy greeted her.

“Where are the kids?” she asked, feeling a thread of panic start to rise. “They’re supposed to be with you.”

“They went to the house a few minutes ago to get a snack,” Emmy said. “I’m surprised you didn’t pass them on your way out here.”

Without another word, Julia turned on her heel and raced back to the house. She checked the kitchen, living room, and the kids’ bedroom, calling their names as she moved. When she couldn’t find them, she flung Sean’s door open.

“They’re missing. Help me.” It was all she could say as she ran back outside with Sean on her heels.

“They can’t be far,” he said as they headed back for the collection of buildings at the heart of the ranch.

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