What Happened to the Bennetts(10)

“Oh no!” Lucinda recoiled, her lips parting.

I struggled to process the information. “But won’t they find out from the news that Milo killed Junior?”

“No. We won’t release that information.”

“Why not? It’s the truth and it would prevent me from being framed.”

“If we reveal that Milo killed Junior, he’ll flee. It will hurt our chances of apprehending him.”

“But if you’re right, then why didn’t Milo kill me last night? Or kill all of us? He could still have lied to Big George.”

“Excellent question.” Special Agent Kingston smiled with grim approval. “We recovered only one weapon at the scene, a .45 caliber revolver. The bullet recovered from Junior’s body was a .45 caliber. We don’t have a complete ballistics report yet, but we believe it’s from Junior’s weapon. In other words, Milo shot Junior with his own gun.”

“How do you know it wasn’t from Milo’s, if you don’t have his gun?”

Special Agent Kingston hesitated. “The round recovered from your daughter was a .22 caliber. We know it came from Milo’s gun, so Milo was carrying a .22 caliber weapon.”

It was hard to hear. I willed myself to stay in control. I couldn’t imagine the horrific insult of the bullet, tearing my daughter’s neck apart.

“A logical question would be, why did Milo switch guns to kill Junior? We believe it was an abundance of caution, in case word of the ballistics leaked. Big George would never have believed you could disarm Milo, Jason. He’s big, you saw. He started with the organization as muscle and worked his way up.”

My mind reeled. “But my fingerprints aren’t on the gun.”

“Milo couldn’t do anything about that. He had to take a chance. He couldn’t go back without his own gun. He couldn’t explain that to Big George.”

“But how did Milo get Junior’s gun? We were right there.”

“We had the same question.” Special Agent Kingston’s eyes narrowed. “So let me ask you, did you see Milo shoot Junior?”

I remembered, with a sickening sensation. “No, we were with Allison. Our backs were turned to them.”

“That’s what we thought.” Special Agent Kingston glanced at Special Agent Hallman. “While you were with your daughter, Milo must have taken the gun from Junior and shot him. Later, did you notice if Milo was holding a gun in each hand?”

I thought back. “No, I saw him drop a gun. I guess I assumed there was nothing in his other hand.”

Lucinda shook her head, stricken. “I don’t remember.”

Special Agent Kingston paused. “You asked me why Milo didn’t kill you all. The reason is simple. He ran out of bullets. Junior’s gun had only one round left. He would have finished the job with his own gun but for the car coming on the scene.”

The words landed an impact of their own. My mind reeled. All of us, dead. Lucinda. Ethan. I tried to process what he was telling me. “Why would Junior carry a partially loaded weapon?”

“We believe he committed the homicides in Jennersville, using his gun.” Special Agent Kingston frowned with concern. “Bottom line, your family is in danger. You’re eyewitnesses to the murder of your daughter. You need to enter the witness protection program.”

“What?” I asked, shocked.

Lucinda’s hand flew to her mouth.

Special Agent Kingston pursed his lips. “We’re here to take you to a safe, temporary location, right away.”

“Tonight?”

“Yes. Now.”

Lucinda gasped. Ethan’s eyes filmed.

I shook my head, reflexively resisting. “Go, now? Leave? We live here.”

Lucinda recoiled, aghast. “I mean, our daughter was just . . .” she said, hushed. “We have to hold her funeral, and Ethan has his friends, his school—”

“I don’t want to go,” Ethan interrupted, anxious. “I don’t want to go where I don’t know anybody else.”

Special Agent Kingston nodded grimly. “I know this is a lot, after such a tragedy. But your lives are in jeopardy.”

I couldn’t process it that fast. “But I own a business. So does my wife. We’re self-employed. We work. Our businesses are here.”

Lucinda shook her head. “And I can’t leave my mother. She’s in assisted living. She has no family but us.”

Special Agent Kingston leaned forward, urgent. “We can guarantee your safety if you enter the program. You’ll be relocated to a comparable neighborhood. You can have a new life and start over.”

I felt my world turning upside down. I didn’t want a new life. I wanted my old life back. I wanted my daughter back. Instead I said, “How will I support us? What will I do for a living?”

“The government will sell the business and help you establish yourself in another profession.” Special Agent Kingston checked his watch. “There’ll be time to discuss it later. We need to go now. They could be on their way.”

“How would they find us?” I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. “The police haven’t even released Allison’s name.”

“Word gets out. Information leaks. They have your plate number. They could have a scanner.”