Hunted Love (A Dangerous Kind of Love Book 2) (35 page)

“I told you she wouldn’t be caught dead in the cellar.”

Sarah bit her lip as a memory surfaced. “I saw her go into the cellar during the Valentine’s Day party. It didn’t seem to bother her then.”

“That’s only because there was a house full of people at the time. Trust me, when her guests need something, she’ll make the effort. She wouldn’t go down there in a storm with the electricity out.”

Sarah led Jack toward the stable door as Phoebe continued to talk about Kristen’s fear of dark dank places, every sense in her crying out that she was in danger. She dropped Jack’s reins suddenly and strode to Buck’s stall.

She reached for the battery-powered lantern hanging on a nail near the wall and held it up to Robin’s picture.

She had noticed the picture the first night she had been in the stables, but hadn’t really paid that much attention to it. Now, however, she couldn’t look away and she wondered why she hadn’t noticed the familiar looking emerald and diamond heart shaped ring on the ring finger of Robin’s right hand.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Sarah stared at the picture in disbelief. Her initial thought was that Brian must have stolen the ring after killing Robin and then gave it to Phoebe when he proposed to her, but even as the thought entered her mind, she knew it was wrong.

While she had doubted Brian at the time, she now knew he was telling the truth when he said he wasn’t Phoebe’s fiancé. He couldn’t be, because if he had proposed to her with that ring, Phoebe would have recognized it. She would have wondered why he was giving her Robin’s engagement ring and how he had gotten his hands on it. She would have said something to someone. She wouldn’t have kept it hidden on a chain around her neck where no one could see it.

Brian may be a liar, but about that, he was telling the truth. Phoebe was the one who lied and had been lying since she had walked through the door.

But why?

Why would she kill Robin?

What could she gain by killing her sister?

She touched the picture as a horrifying thought took hold.

“What are you looking at?” Phoebe asked from behind her.

Sarah jumped. Her heart began hammering against her chest. “Nothing.” She lowered the lantern and stepped away from the picture. “You know I asked Brian about you.”

“Yeah?”

“I had assumed that night at the party that you two were engaged.”

Phoebe suddenly laughed. “Me and Brian? Oh, that’s funny. What made you think that?”

“Well, you had been talking about your fiancé, then he appeared and you seemed so close.”

“Brian’s like my big brother. He takes care of me. Watches out for me. He’s always been good at that but I assure you, there is nothing romantic between us.” She giggled again. “Me and Brian, what a silly idea.”

“Who are you engaged to then?”

“You know who,” Phoebe said as a slow, a wicked smile crossed her face. “I saw you staring at Robin’s picture there.” She stepped forward. “I knew I shouldn’t have shown you my engagement ring, but I just couldn’t stop myself. I really wanted you to see it.”

“Why?” Sarah asked backing up a step.

Phoebe reached into the pocket of her raincoat and pulled out a gun. “Why? So you would know to keep your grubby little hands to yourself. He doesn’t belong to you.”

“Wh-who?” Sarah stammered as Phoebe pointed the gun at her. “Jamie?”

“Of course, Jamie,” Phoebe snapped. “Who else?”

“How was I supposed to know he belonged to you? You never said anything.”

“I didn’t have to. It was clear that he loved me. He’s always loved me.” She reached underneath the collar of her sweater and pulled out her gold chain. She ripped it off her neck and held it up. “You know what I hate most about you?”

Sarah slowly started backing toward the tack room.

“All the lies you tell. Brian didn’t give this ring to Robin. He couldn’t stand her. No one could stand her. I know what you were planning. You wanted me to think this,” she said holding up the ring, “came from Brian so I’d throw it away. Didn’t you? Then I bet you were going to run and grab it, and tell everyone that you and Jamie were engaged.”

“It was Brian’s, Phoebe. He’s the one who gave it to Robin, not Jamie.”

Phoebe shook her head in disappointment as she slipped the ring off the chain and placed it on the ring finger of her left hand. “No, this is my ring. My daddy—my real daddy gave it to my mama for their wedding anniversary one year—she lost it sometime before she died, but Jamie found it and kept it so he could give it to me when we were all grown up. Only Robin somehow got her hands on it and now you’re trying to take it from me too.”

Sarah backed up until her hips hit the counter. “Is that why you killed Robin? Because she had your ring?”

Phoebe’s lips tightened in anger. “I killed her because she was trying to take Jamie away from me.”

“What about Kristen? You sent Fletcher after her too. Is she trying to take Jamie away too?”

“Don’t be stupid. She’s still in love with Wade Hogan, even though she denies it.”

Sarah’s mouth went dry. “Is-is she still alive?”

“She’s alive, for now. Probably hiding in the cellar just like Brian said. She’ll be dead soon enough.”

“Why? What has Kristen done to you? Or Nathan? Or Holly or Danny for that matter?”

“Kristen and Nathan wouldn’t let that stupid TV show idea drop. I can’t have people looking too closely into Robin’s death. Someone might realize I was at the pub that night. My adopted father found out. I don’t know how, but he did. I can’t let anyone else find out the truth. I had to stop them.”

“Is that why you had Fletcher shoot up the pub on New Year’s?”

“I thought that might scare them into dropping the entire idea. And it worked. They called everything off. But Nathan,” she ground out, “stupid Nathan wouldn’t let it go. He kept pushing it. He told them what a great love story they were passing up. Made Jamie and Robin look like a modern day Romeo and Juliet. It worked too. They said they would go ahead with the show if he could get Jamie to participate. I wasn’t too worried about that happening, but then Kristen decided she was going to hire a private detective.” She sighed. “I couldn’t let her do that. I tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn’t listen. She never listens to me.”

“She loves you, Phoebe.”

Phoebe turned her head, pretending she didn’t hear her. “It’s just as well. It would be too crowded with all four of us living here. Things will be better after you all are gone.”

“But why me, Phoebe? Why did you send Fletcher after me? Jamie had left me. I wasn’t any threat to you.”

“Not a threat?” Phoebe asked. “Of course you were a threat. I knew you were going to do everything you could to come between me and Jamie. Brian told me on Valentine’s Day how you had hired Jamie to be your very own bodyguard.” She snorted. “Nice try. I’ve got to applaud you. You are very inventive. What a wonderful way to keep him near you so you could try to seduce him. He protected you because he’s a good guy, but he didn’t actually care about you. I felt so sorry for Jamie when I realized what had happened.” She pressed her hand to her face. “I was so ashamed. I was mad at him, you see. For a moment there, I thought he didn’t care about me, but when Brian told me that he left us because of you . . .” She smiled. “Well, it all made sense. He only left because he couldn’t stand to be around you one more second. I knew then that all I had to do was encourage Jamie to come home.”

“So, that’s why you sent Fletcher after me? So, Jamie would come home?”

“I had to.” Phoebe’s eyes welled up with tears. “I couldn’t find Jamie. I had no idea where he was or how to reach him, but I had a feeling you knew. I figured that if you were in danger again, you’d go running to him for help and I was right. Once he was back, I didn’t need to keep you alive anymore, but unfortunately, Fletcher couldn’t seal the deal. You know, if you had just left Jamie alone, I would have called Fletcher off right then. But you wouldn’t let Jamie go. Not even for a second. I was so afraid you were going to drive him away again.” She shook her head. “Tell me something, how does it feel to know the man you loved can’t stand to be around you?”

“You tell me,” slipped out before Sarah could stop herself.

Phoebe’s face darkened as her fingers tightened on the gun. “I figured I would turn the tables on you though. You’ve got to fight fire with fire.”

“I see. So, you thought you would try the same thing.”

“That’s right. I decided to invent my own stalker. One that would take out you, Nathan and Kristen, and threaten me. That way, Jamie could protect me just like he protected you. And the best part is that, once you all are dead, Jamie will rush to my side and comfort me while we bury you all.”

“Killing me won’t change the fact that Jamie doesn’t love you, Phoebe.”

Phoebe paused as if in shock. “Did you not see him rescue me last night when I was lost in the woods hiding from Fletcher?”

“Rescue you? From what? Fletcher was working for you. You were never in any real danger.”

“Jamie didn’t know that and besides that, I was in real danger.” She snorted. “I’m lucky I didn’t break my neck out there. I should have never let Kristen ride Joker. She has no idea how to handle that horse. Thankfully, Fletcher was there to pull me up. Then all I had to do was wait for Jamie to come and save me. Like he has always done in the past.”

Sarah’s eyes spotted a horseshoe lying on the table. “Like in Arizona?” she asked inching toward the table.

Phoebe nodded. “My real daddy went a little nuts one night and Jamie saved me. Ever since then, he’s been my knight in shining armor. Always there to protect me when I needed him. When Charlie Hogan sent men to kill me, Jamie fought them off. Then later, when I killed Robin, Jamie took the blame to protect me.”

“Danny and Moose framed him, Phoebe.” Sarah rested her hand on the table, a few inches from the horseshoe. “He didn’t take the blame to protect you. He had no idea you had killed Robin.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. He knew. Why else did he plead guilty when he wasn’t?  What you don’t seem to understand is that we have a special connection. We know what the other’s thinking all the time.”

Sarah’s eyes widened. “Is he aware of this connection?”

“Of course he is,” Phoebe snapped. “He hated Robin. She was trying to rip us apart. He understood that I did what I had to do and he pled guilty to protect me. I’ve been waiting for him to get out of jail ever since.” She tucked a tendril of hair behind her ear. “I wish he had told me he had gotten released early. If he had, then he would have never met you.” She took a step forward, lifting her gun a little higher as she did. “I’m sorry it had to be this way. We probably could have been friends if you hadn’t been such a back stabber.”

“Why did you kill Holly?” Sarah blurted out, hoping to keep Phoebe talking, distracting her long enough until she could get in a position where she could fight back. She inched her fingers a little closer to the horseshoe. “Holly didn’t care about finding Robin’s murderer. She was convinced Jamie was guilty.” She looked at Sarah in disgust. “See, that question there proves that you don’t love Jamie. How can you even ask me that?”

Sarah’s brow furrowed as she tried to figure out how asking about Phoebe’s motive somehow equated to her not loving Jamie.

“You heard Holly. She was trying to destroy Jamie. She was trying to put him back in jail. Of course I killed her. Unlike you, I wasn’t about to let her hurt Jamie.”

“And Danny?” Sarah asked slowly inching her hand closer. “I know he was the one who framed Jamie, but you obviously don’t know that. Why kill him?”

“Danny didn’t frame him,” she said as her voice rose in anger. “I told you that Jamie took the blame to protect me. Why aren’t you listening to me?”

“Okay, fine,” Sarah said in a placating voice as she raised her hands higher. “Why did you kill him?”

For a moment, Phoebe looked like she wasn’t going to answer, but then reluctantly, she said, “I needed someone to take the fall and he seemed like as good a choice as any. Besides, I never did like him.” She lifted the gun a little higher. “Now, it’s your turn. I was hoping to avoid doing this myself. Believe it or not, I don’t actually enjoy killing people. It’s messy and ugly. After I killed Robin and my adopted father, I decided it would be better to hire professional help the next time.” She made a face. “Unfortunately, that came with its own set of problems.”

“You’re insane.”

“I’m not insane,” she snapped. “My lowlife adopted father thought I was insane. He found out what I did to Robin and threatened to put me away in some hospital. I showed him though. I just know what I want, and what I want is for Jamie and me to live happily ever after. I just had to eliminate all the little problems that would have prevented that from happening.”

Sarah moved her hand closer to the horseshoe, praying that Phoebe wouldn’t notice what she was doing.

Phoebe narrowed her eyes at Sarah. “You and Kristen are the last two problems left. When Fletcher shows up, he’ll finish her off for me. I was going to let him take care of you too but…” She grimaced. “. . . he’s late.”

Almost there
, Sarah thought, trying not to look at her hand as she crept closer to the horseshoe. “How did you know I’d be here? Did Kristen really tell you I was on my way?”

“No, I overheard her talking to Danny on the phone earlier. Apparently, Wade Hogan had called her and told her that you all were spotted going into that gym you like. She told Danny to bring you here. She was worried about you and wanted you with us so you’d be safe.” She laughed. “I immediately called Fletcher to let him know you would be arriving soon. I simply couldn’t wait any longer. Kristen had made an appointment with a private detective for tomorrow morning and I knew you were planning to escape and drag Jamie along with you. We had to act fast.” She pursed her lips to keep from laughing. “I got a little impatient though. I mean, Nathan was just standing outside there drunk as a skunk. Then there was Danny sound asleep in the living room. I couldn’t let these prime opportunities pass by. All that’s left to take care of is you and Kristen. Kristen won’t be any problem. She’s drugged out of her gills.” She suddenly frowned as she glanced to the side. “I’m not sure what to do with Brian though.”