Deadly Secrets, Loving Lies (28 page)

“I don’t care. I
knew
they were in danger. They need me.”

He didn’t have time to argue. Besides, she was in D.C.. It would take her hours to get here. “For godsakes, be careful, and bring your guards. I don’t know what Becca and Emerich are up to, but she just staged an accident to make it look like Genie died in another explosion. I don’t want the same thing to happen to you.”

“It won’t. I’ll be careful. Thanks, Kyle, for believing me.”

“Thank you for trusting me.” Kyle clicked off the phone and shot a glance at Cameron. “Did Marsters arrive back at the estate yet?”

“No. But he should have,” Cameron said. “You want to tell us what she said? Pickles? Really?”

“I’ll tell you on the way.” Kyle ran, with Johnny and Cameron right beside him. They jumped into the boat and went after Genie one last time, where he planned to make damn good and certain that she stayed alive.

“Where are we going?” Johnny called, casting off the line.

The engine roared. “Marsters’ barn!”

Chapter Fifteen

“What in the hell are you doing in my barn?” The irritated voice of Genie’s father boomed through the floorboards right above her and Becca.

Genie opened her mouth to call to him, but Becca grabbed her arm. She put her finger in front of her lips. “Shh.”

“Why?” Genie whispered. “He can help us!”

“Not alone. We need this to drag out, give Cat time to find us and call Kyle.”

“Sit back and be rescued? Not my style.” She opened her mouth again.

Becca slapped a hand over it. “Listen! Maybe we can finally find out the truth.” Becca let her go and crept toward the narrow stairs for a better listening vantage.

“Been waiting for you, old man,” Emerich’s voice said above them, louder than their dad’s.

“Where are my daughters?”

“At the bottom of the Pacific?”

Dad snorted. “A greedy bastard like you wouldn’t waste two valuable assets.”

His words sickened Genie’s stomach. Becca shot her a triumphant glance.

“Is that all they are to you, Marsters?” Emerich took the words right out of Genie’s head.

“Don’t be ridiculous. They mean everything to me.”

“I hate to break it to you, but your darling daughters know the truth now. They know what a monster Daddy truly is.”

“From you? You wouldn’t know the truth if it reared up and bit you on the ass,” their father said.

Emerich barked out a laugh. “My father always did say you had a mean sense of humor. He admired you. And look where that got him. I know you killed him, Marsters. What I don’t know is what you did with his body.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“The last time anyone saw him was in a hotel in Seattle after visiting the island. After visiting your beautiful wife.” The sneer in Emerich’s voice was unmistakable. “Did you catch them together? Is that what happened?”

“I never saw him,” her dad said hotly.

Genie tried to reach out for a read on him, but there were too many chaotic emotions swirling around everyone. She couldn’t tell one from the other.

“He was seen with a woman in the hotel restaurant,” Emerich taunted. “A very beautiful blonde.”

Genie sucked in a deep breath and took a swift step up the rickety staircase.

“What are you implying?” her father demanded.

“That my father came back here. He met with you and Amelia. He wanted to restart the program and test the girls. But you didn’t like that, did you? You tried to erase all the records, to delete every file so no one would know the Amelia Project ever existed. Except my dad knew.”

“I didn’t meet with him. I never saw him,” her father repeated.

“You can deny it all you want, but I’ve done my homework,” Emerich insisted, his voice rising in pitch. He was growing more and more agitated. “He was here. He took the ferry over in the morning, and didn’t return until late afternoon. Then they were seen together in that restaurant for a late dinner. Just admit it. You were here. It was the same weekend your wife died. Did she find out what you’d done to her? To her precious babies? Did she threaten to leave you? To tell the world of your abuse? Did you kill them both?” The last question was screamed at the top of his lungs. The man had lost it completely.

Genie looked at Becca and saw the same horror in her face, felt the same sick nausea that she was feeling.
Killed both?
Surely not…

“But… G-Garrison disappeared the same weekend as Am-melia?” her father asked haltingly.

The muscles in Genie’s incredibly tight shoulders loosened just a bit. Maybe he really didn’t know. Maybe he really had nothing to do with either death. She tried again, but still couldn’t get a read on him. Becca met her eyes and shook her head. She couldn’t, either.

“As if you didn’t know,” Emerich spat out with disgust.

“I’m telling you I didn’t even know he’d been here! I haven’t seen him since the girls were babies.”

“Liar!” Emerich roared.

Genie flinched. They needed to stop this. Emerich was wrong, and everything he’d been doing to torture them had been for nothing. She climbed swiftly up the steep steps and pushed up on the trapdoor. It didn’t budge. She grabbed the wrench and started to work on the hinges. “Becca,” she whispered. “Light.”

Becca shone the flashlight on the old rusted hinges while Genie tried desperately first to wiggle the pins out, and when that didn’t work, to loosen the nuts on the old screws.

“Why was Garrison here?” Marsters asked, his voice a roiling mixture of anger, wariness, and curiosity. And maybe a dash of hurt.

“He wanted to examine the girls. To see Amelia. To see how she was doing and if she wanted to test her daughters.”

“Tell me he didn’t tell her about…”

‘”What? That you gave her fertility drugs, hoping she would get pregnant while on the trials?”

Her father’s voice softened. “She never knew.”

Emerich laughed. “Yes, I think she did. I believe she confronted you. I believe you killed her. And my dad.”

“I wasn’t even here that weekend. I was on the other side of the island fishing, camping with the girls. It’s why the authorities had such a hard time tracking me down after Amelia’s car accident.”

“Which happened on the mainland.”

“Yes.”

Yes. Genie remembered now. They’d been camping at the cabin the weekend her mom had died. She remembered how quiet Dad had gotten, how insistent he’d been that they leave the cabin early. And then when they got home, when they’d discovered what had happened to Mom…

“Not very far from my dad’s hotel,” Emerich said. They were both silent for a moment. Genie could hear one of them pacing tightly back and forth, back and forth. When Emerich spoke again, he was even angrier. “After that night, my father was never seen nor heard from again.”

Genie didn’t like the negative energy filling the air like poisonous gas. The tension above them felt like a rubber band stretched too thin, ready to snap.

“Sean, I had nothing to do with your father’s death,” her father said, placating him. “We were friends. Tell me, where are my daughters?”

Sean
? How well did her father know this man? Genie kept working on the hinge until the nut fell off and dropped to the dirt floor below. She started to work on the next one.

“What did you do with my father’s body?” Emerich repeated, his voice low and threatening.

Becca grabbed Genie’s arm and squeezed it in alarm.

The elastic tension between the two men raised the hairs on the back of her neck. It was expanding past the breaking point.

“Want to know where your daughters are? Dead and buried, just like my father!”

“No, we’re not! Dad!” Genie yelled, and pounded the wrench on the trap door above them. “Run! Get away from him!”

The tension snapped, ripping through the air like the fabric of the sky tearing in two.

“Dad!” Genie screamed.

A shot exploded. Something crashed to the floor. More dirt and hay fell through the cracks. Then something warm and wet dripped on her cheek.

Blood.

…

“No!” Genie screamed. She and Becca pushed up on the trapdoor, throwing their shoulders into it, but even with the missing nuts, it wouldn’t budge.

“Daddy!” Becca sobbed.

“Let’s get ready to clear out,” she could hear Emerich say.

Through the slats in the wood they could see their father’s body lying on top of the door.

“Is he dead?” Becca whispered, tears streaking down her face.

“Isn’t that what you wanted?” Genie hissed, but instantly regretted the angry words. They were mean and uncalled for. But Becca had said all along she wanted their father to pay.

“No! I just wanted to know the truth,” Becca said, her voice shaking.

“I think this qualifies.”

“Pack up the girls and get them in the boat,” Emerich said. “I want to be gone in five.”

They heard the outer barn door slam shut.

“He’s gone,” Becca said, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “I can’t believe this. Things have gotten so…”

“Out of control?”

“Yes. I thought—”

“It doesn’t matter, Becca.” Genie hurried back down the stairs and quickly searched the shelves. “Arm yourself.”

“With what?” Becca came back down and picked up a jar of pickles.

Genie rolled her eyes.

“You have the wrench,” Becca pointed out.

“Here, take this.” Genie picked up a large, rusty screwdriver off the shelf.

Becca looked at it like it was a snake. “And do what with it?”

“Shove it in his eye. His throat. His gut. Right here.” She pointed to her diaphragm. “Anywhere.”

Becca gave a disgusted whimper. “Gross.”

“For god’s sake, Becca. I never knew you were such a wimp.”

“Who said I’m a wimp? I’ve never blinded, maimed, or killed anyone before.”

“Judgmental much?”

“You’re the—” She gestured with two fingers making quote signs in the air. “—agent.”

Genie sighed. “Fine. Just make sure you distract him. Use your mind control whammy stuff. I’ll do the rest.”

They heard shuffling and saw the dark shadow of their father’s body being dragged off the trap door.

“He better still be alive,” Becca muttered, and grabbed the screwdriver.

A bright beam of light fell down on them as the trap door opened. They hid their weapons the best they could in the waistbands of their pants.

“Come up slowly, with your hands in the air,” the dark-haired man said, pointing his gun at them.

“Are you the asshole who shot my dad?” Becca yelled, and rushed past him, pushing him out of the way. She fell to her knees where her father was lying bleeding on the floor.

Genie hung back, on the top step, waiting for her chance.

“Daddy? You’re going to be okay,” Becca said softly. “We’re going to get you to a hospital. Promise.”

“Hey, get back over here,” the goon said, stalking toward Becca.

Genie leapt up and launched herself at the man, whacking him on the back of the head with the wrench as hard as she could.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t hard enough.

The brute turned to her, fury narrowing his eyes. “Damned bitch!” He raised his gun. Genie kicked his wrist, trying to knock the gun out of his hand, but the bastard was too strong. He reared back and backhanded her across the face.

She flew into the back wall, hitting her head hard enough that white dots pricked her vision. Then he came at her and hit her again. And again. His fist closed, his knuckles tight, it might as well have been a freaking rock. Blood ran down her face. Darkness hovered at the edge of her pinwheeling vision, creeping forward, stealing the light from her eyes. She fought through the pain, clawing out of the dark toward the light. She had to fight. But the pain in her skull overwhelmed her.

She saw the iron fist coming at her one last time, and heard herself whimper.

“Leave her alone!” Becca screamed and ran at him, the screwdriver held tight in both hands, close to her middle, pointing outwards.

The man wheeled on her, raising his gun. A shot exploded through the room just as Becca plowed into him, knocking him to the ground and falling on top of him.

It was the last thing Genie saw before she was swallowed by the darkness.

…

“Everyone freeze!” Kyle shouted as he burst through the barn door.

He’d heard that last shot, and thought he was prepared. But what he saw when his team made their three-point entry into the barn rocked him to the core. Marsters was on the ground, blood spreading in a wide patch across his chest. Genie was sprawled against the far wall, blood-matted hair covering her face. Becca and some guy were on the ground, a giant screwdriver sticking out of the man’s chest.