28
Tanner couldn’t believe his eyes. Trisha Parnham was standing in the doorway of Marty’s office holding a gun. Not casually, either, as if she’d thought the joint was being robbed and she was being cautious. This was something different.
“Trisha,” he said carefully, not wanting to upset or spook the younger woman. Her gun was pointing directly at Maddie’s chest. He wouldn’t take any chances. “What are you doing here? Drew is in the hospital. We found him in his garage, the car running and the door down.”
“I know,” she said, a smile appearing on her face. “I put him there. As for why I’m here, I came for some cash. I know my dad kept it around for emergencies. Looks like you already found it.”
Tanner glanced down at the satchel and then back to Trisha.
“You came for this?”
“I did and thank you for finding it for me. I was just trying to open the desk when I heard someone at the door. I hid in the hallway since I didn’t know what you were doing here. I’m glad you stopped by because now I don’t have to destroy Dad’s desk to get at the money.”
“You tried to kill your own brother?” Maddie asked.
“I did.” She waved the gun at them, taking a few steps forward. “Now get those hands where I can see them. Everybody is going to stay alive and healthy as long as you cooperate. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to.”
“Did you have to hurt Drew?” Tanner asked, raising his hands in the air. Maddie did the same, her cheeks turning a bright red. She was scared and at the moment there wasn’t much he could do about that except keep Trisha calm. “He almost died.”
“I didn’t have to kill him but frankly, his life was a waste anyway. He wasn’t doing anything with it so I figured he could take the blame for shooting Dad. The police will find a note on Drew’s computer and the gun under the driver’s seat of his car.”
“Did you put his gun in Abby’s vehicle?” Maddie asked.
Trisha smiled even wider.
“No, I didn’t, but isn’t that funny? I have no idea why the gun was there, but I loved the perp walk that bitch got when the cops found her. Now Tanner, I want you to sit in this chair here. Don’t try anything or I’ll shoot your pretty wife. I doubt you’d like that. As I said, I’m not in the mood to kill anyone today so let’s keep this simple and straightforward. You’ll sit in the chair and Maddie will use her lovely scarf to tie your hands to the slats. See? Easy as pie.”
He was counting on Trisha keeping her word. Walking around the desk, he sat down into one of the straight-backed chairs next to the bookcase.
“Maddie, use your scarf and tie his hands. Really tie them. Tight. I need for him to stay here so that I can get a head start.”
“A head start?” he echoed. “Are you running?”
“I’d hardly call it running,” she said with a laugh. “But I am leaving. Dear old Dad always said to sock away my money for a rainy day. He taught me all about investing and about accounts in the Caymans. That’s where most of my money is, and that’s where I’m headed. This cash is just to tide me over until I get there. You can never be too liquid. Dad told me that, too.”
Maddie glanced at Tanner and he gave her a slight nod, letting her know that she needed to comply. She slipped the scarf from around her neck and then knelt behind him, tying loops around his wrists and then to the solid wood of the chair. She hadn’t, however, tied him all that tight. With some wiggling - which would take time - he’d be able to get out of the knots.
“You killed your dad for money? And tried to kill Drew as well?” Tanner said, tugging against the bonds. “Yet you’re leaving before you can inherit it all.”
“I wouldn’t do anything so crass as to kill for money,” Trisha denied. “I went there that night to talk Dad out of investing in Drew’s latest harebrained scheme. He said that he’d made up his mind to do it. That this was just what Drew needed to get going in life. That was such bullshit. Drew’s a big loser and he was going to just piss away Dad’s money, and he wouldn’t even be sorry about it.”
“So you shot him?” Tanner asked. “Did you argue?”
“We did, but that’s not why I shot him. I shot him because he was a lousy father who always put his son first. You see, Martin Parnham wanted his son to be a successful big shot so that he could take over the family business someday. He actually told me that night that he was planning to give the business to Drew. He had an appointment with his attorney to change his will. Shit, he’d have it bankrupted in less than a year. But Dad couldn’t see it. He’d always favored Drew so I needed to put a stop to it.”
“You won’t inherit if you’re in the Caymans,” Maddie remarked. “Drew will get it all.”
Trisha sighed and rolled her eyes.
“Once again, I didn’t do it for the money. I have money. I’ve made a small fortune since I was eighteen learning at my father’s knee how to invest. Making money is easy, to be honest. No, I did this because my father always loved Drew more than me. I worked so hard to get his love and attention, but all he cared about was my loser brother. Once he told me that he was going to invest and give the business to Drew I knew that my dad was a lost cause. He was never going to love me the way he loved Drew. That’s it. As for my brother, he’ll blow through the cash and be living on the streets within five years. I’m sure of it. I’ll be living just fine, thank you. Now, it’s time to go. I have a plane to catch.”
Trisha walked up to the desk and grabbed the satchel with her free hand, the gun still pointed at Maddie.
“You’re going with me,” she announced, waving the gun toward the doorway. “Your husband will be staying here.”
There was no way he was going to let Trisha take Maddie.
“Don’t even try it,” Trisha warned him, this time the gun aimed at his chest. “I’m not going to hurt her. I’m just taking her as insurance. Once I’m on the plane, I’ll let her go. She can come back here and untie you.”