Page 100 of Rune
“Baby, this is Jon. And he killed Vicky.”
I expected her to roll her eyes, to wave her hand, to tell me I was crazy.
But her lips fell open. Her eyes sank.
And I knew.
I knew she was somehow putting the pieces together as well.
“His nameisJon. We call him Jack because his father has the same name.”
I swallowed the battery acid my saliva had turned into, feeling it burn all the way down.
“Carm, is this who told you I killed Vicky?”
Her eyes were saucers.
I had my answer before she even opened her mouth.
“Yes.”
The club was right. There were questions I should have asked earlier. Things I could have known days ago.
“I… I had no reason not to trust him. I mean, he’s family. I didn’t actually know him before I went to Puerto Rico, but still… he was someone I thought I could trust.” She paused, gaze suddenly far away. “He was my tour guide. He showed me all around the island. Told me where to go, where to avoid. Took me out to dinner…”
“He knew you were there looking for answers about Vicky?”
“Yes. Almost right away. I made it clear that was why I was visiting—to figure out what happened to my best friend.” She looked over at me, her face a little green. “God, he did all that… all the while knowing he was the one who killed her.”
“He was one cold, ruthless, unfeeling bastard,” I said. “Guys like that, they can usually hide their evil. Or else the townspeople would be coming with pitchforks.”
“Did he say he knew Vicky?”
“No. No, actually, he almost gave the same story you did. He said he wasn’t involved, but that he was there that night. That he sawyoukill her in cold blood.”
“He mentioned me by name?”
“Yeah. Just your first name. And that you were from the States. Why would he do that?”
“Did you mention your plan?” I asked. “To kill the guy who killed Vicky?”
She sat for a second, brows furrowed. “I think I might have when we were tipsy one night.”
“He probably thought it was a great way to tie up a loose end without having to get his own hands dirty. Have you take me out. Whether you got in trouble for it or not was inconsequential to him. But he effectively would have silenced the only person who could point to him and say he was a killer.”
“But… but I wasn’t even someone who knew what they were doing.”
“Even better. Easier to manipulate. Less likely that this would come back on him in any way, shape, or form.”
She sat with that for a moment. “Okay. But then what is going on now?”
“Did Jon ever come to the States? Could he have some sort of foothold here?”
Her chin fell. Her head shook slowly side to side.
“His brother. The last time I saw him, he said his brother was coming here to go to law school.”
“His brother,” I repeated, blood going cold. “Tall, skinny, scar through his hair right here?” I ran a finger from the hairline at my temple and back.
