It only seemed fair. Ken had taken Demetrius’s fingers based on the belief that his old friend had betrayed him, when in reality it had been Sean setting his team up to mistrust each other. Sean fancied himself a grand puppet master, pulling the strings. Sean had been wrong.
‘I gotta hand it to you, son,’ Ken said. ‘You held out far longer than I expected before spilling your secrets.’ But he had spilled them. ‘You’ll be happy to know that I’ve reclaimed my money – and yours. But not to worry. You won’t be needing it anymore.’
Sean stared up at him, hatred and agony glazing his eyes. ‘You fucking bastard,’ he croaked hoarsely. He’d screamed long and loud, and his voice was mostly gone.
‘Watch your tone, boy,’ Ken said mildly. Swiping his shirtsleeve over his brow, he wiped away the sweat that dripped into his eyes. He’d opened the garage door to get a little fresh air after finishing with Sean, but the air outside was hot and muggy too. He needed a shower and a change of clothes. I reek, he thought. His clothing was smeared with Sean’s blood. Now that his money was safe, he needed to clean up and get in position to eliminate O’Bannion.
Ken had no plans to walk up and meet the man. There would be no exchange of pleasantries or threats. No face-to-face final confrontation. He didn’t need O’Bannion to know who was killing him. He simply wanted the man dead. He knew the park like the back of his hand. He’d grown up here. He knew where to hide for the best shot that would drop O’Bannion in his tracks and still allow for a speedy and unnoticed escape.
Because he did not want that man following him to the ends of the earth. Ken wanted the freedom to live where and as he pleased.
He reached down to grab Sean’s ankles so that he could drag him out of the garage, but hesitated. There were still a few things he needed to know. He met his son’s furious – and helpless – gaze. ‘So nobody was stealing money, Demetrius was loyal, and you really don’t know where Reuben is?’
‘Go to hell.’
He tapped Sean’s shot-out knee with the toe of his boot, making his son moan in pain. ‘I’ll kick it. You won’t like that, I promise. What about Reuben’s wife, Miriam? Was she really saved by an anonymous 911 call?’ He held his knife poised over the knee wound. ‘Don’t give me attitude.’
‘There was an anonymous 911 call,’ Sean gritted. ‘But Miriam was already dead. Nobody pumped her stomach or made her vomit. She died because you drugged her.’
Ken clenched his jaw. ‘So you lied about Burton double-crossing me, too.’
‘No. I didn’t lie.’ Sean’s baring of teeth was a gross parody of a smile. ‘You assumed.’
Ken’s rage roiled within him. ‘I ordered Burton’s death. Decker killed him and disposed of him.’
‘You have a conscience?’ Sean scoffed.
‘No. But you cost me a man I could have depended on later.’ And that pissed him off. Losing a loyal man who’d kill his friend’s wife on Ken’s command? Burton had been an asset. ‘What about your sister?’ he asked. ‘Was Alice in on this with you?’
Sean pursed his lips like he wasn’t going to answer until Ken pushed the blade further into his knee wound. Sean’s eyes rolled back and Ken slapped his face hard.
‘You will keep it together,’ Ken snarled. ‘You’ll die when I decide it’s time. Was your sister in on this with you?’
‘No!’ Sean cried out shrilly. ‘She was loyal.’ He panted, his face ashen. ‘She wanted to buy you out.’ His mouth twisted. ‘Pay you money.’
‘But you didn’t,’ Ken said quietly. ‘You wanted to steal it.’
‘I wanted you to die knowing you’d lost it all.’ Sean spat the words as tears ran down his face. ‘But she loves you,’ he sneered. ‘And I hate her for it.’
Ken blinked, momentarily stunned. ‘You would have killed her too?’
‘No. No. I couldn’t do that.’ Sean shook his head, sobs now shaking his body. ‘So I got her out of the way.’
Slowly Ken came to his feet, his mind numb, yet racing. Alice was out of the way. In custody. Because I sent her to take care of the tracker supplier. Because Sean had told him that the supplier was being brought to police headquarters. He grabbed his son by the collar of his blood-soaked shirt. ‘You set her up to go to prison?’
‘I was going to get her out!’ Sean shouted. ‘I was going to get her the best lawyer money could buy!’
Ken shook him hard. ‘When?’
‘After you were dead,’ Sean said flatly. ‘And I’d put you through the goddamn woodchipper.’
Ken twisted Sean’s collar with one hand as he drew his other back and backhanded his son so hard that his head hit the floor with an audible crack. ‘You little bastard,’ he said quietly. I want to kill him. Want to break his fucking neck. But that would be too quick. Too merciful. ‘Tell me, Sean,’ he continued, still quietly. ‘Had you planned to kill me before you put me through the woodchipper?’
Sean blanched, able to see where this was going. The boy was smart that way. ‘I hadn’t thought about it,’ he replied, struggling for bravado.
Ken smiled. ‘I have. And I don’t.’ He had the satisfaction of watching his son’s bravado drain away, leaving Sean shaking in a pool of his own blood and tears.
But he couldn’t do that right now. He checked the time and cursed. He needed to get clean. O’Bannion was no idiot. He’d most certainly bring all kinds of law enforcement with him. The woods would probably be crawling with cops. And if any of them had called in a canine unit, the dogs would smell him a mile away as he was right now, all covered with blood.
Checking the security of Sean’s bonds, he shoved a cloth gag in his son’s mouth before cleaning his knives and putting them back in their case. Then he took them and his laptop back into the house. He started the hot water in the master bath as he stripped off his fouled clothing. He’d throw the clothes in the pit with what was left of Sean.
Ken climbed under the hot spray, feeling every one of his forty-seven years. His daughter was in prison and he needed to find a way to get her out. And he had to do it from a long distance away. Because only one thing was crystal clear: he would be on that plane tomorrow when it left for Papeete, no matter what. He’d do what he could for Alice from there.
He considered his options as he lathered off the grime. He could—
Suddenly the lights went out and the AC motor whined as it shut down. No power. The power had gone out. Which it wasn’t supposed to do. They had a backup generator. It should have kicked in already, but it hadn’t.
Something was wrong.
Ken quickly rinsed himself off and crept from the shower.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Wednesday 5 August, 11.10 P.M.
The wall with its iron gate, evenly spaced cameras and high voltage was exactly as Kate had described, Marcus thought as he and Scarlett followed the agent through the woods. Scarlett lurched forward to tap Kate’s shoulder, bringing them all to an abrupt halt.
Scarlett pointed to the mounted camera. ‘How did you know they were live?’ she whispered.
‘The red lights were lit on each of them,’ Kate whispered back. But the lights weren’t on now. She cocked her head. ‘The hum of the high-voltage wire is gone too, and there was more ambient light overhead because of spotlights inside the wall.’
‘Someone didn’t pay their power bill,’ Marcus said. ‘If the back fence is also dead, we can go in that way rather than waiting for Sweeney to come through the gate.’
Kate checked the time again, then sent a quick text from her phone. ‘To Deacon,’ she said quietly. ‘I’m telling him that we’re going in. We don’t know if the power outage is planned or accidental, but it could come back on. Let’s cut our way through the chain-link. If the power comes back on, retreat to the forested area until backup arrives. I’ll check the two sheds in the back, then I’ll find a good vantage point with the garage in view. If he leaves while you’re in there, I’ll fire as soon as the car clears the garage.’