What Have You Done(80)

“It’s me,” Phillips said. “I’m sorry if I woke you. I need to speak to Don.”

“Don’s at the station. They think they have a lead on Liam.”

“Have you talked to him? Because I just called the station and they said they haven’t seen him or Sean all night.”

“Sean’s here now,” Joyce said. “He’s the one who told me Don was at work.”

Phillips froze in place and pressed the phone tighter to his ear. “Did you say Sean is there now?”

“Yes.”

“Alone? Don’s not with him?”

“He said Don was at the station. They’re working on a new lead for Liam.”

“Joyce,” Phillips said. “I need you to stay calm and listen to me. Don’t react to what I say. Just act natural, but listen.”

“Okay.”

“We’ve found evidence that points to Sean as the killer. Not Liam. You need to get out of the house. Now.”

“What?”

Phillips walked down from the porch and motioned for the other officers while he spoke. “Liam is on his way over to the house now to talk to Don. I spoke to Liam tonight. He showed us evidence that links all of this to Sean. Sean’s the one we’ve been looking for. You need to get out of there.”

“No,” Joyce whispered, her voice trailing off. “That can’t be.”

“You need to get out of the house. Now. Can you do that?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sending units, and I’m on my way.”

“I’m scared.”

“Don’t be. Just get out of the house.”

Phillips hung up the phone and ran toward his car. He looked up and saw Heckle and Keenan running out after him.

“What’s going on?” Heckle shouted.

Phillips pointed to his men. “Get some help over to Don’s house. Sean’s there alone with my sister.”

“Where the hell is Don?”

“I don’t know. Just go!” He climbed into his car and reversed out of the driveway, skidding across the street and almost hitting another unit that was parked to block traffic. Tires screeched as he pressed on the gas and headed back toward the city. His world was spinning out of control.





61

Sean stood in the doorway to the basement and watched Joyce hang up the phone and lean against the wall in the kitchen. “Who was that?” he asked.

She spun around and, for a moment, had a look of unadulterated fear in her eyes. “You scared me. You been down there for a while. Still nothing?”

“Nothing.”

“You should call Don. Maybe he’s out of that room and can talk now.”

“Who was on the phone, Joyce?”

“No one.” Joyce pushed herself off the wall. “Wrong number.”

Sean let go of the basement doorknob he’d been holding on to and stepped into the kitchen. “Sounded like you were having a pretty extensive conversation for it to be a wrong number.”

“Nope. Just a wrong number. Calling about ordering some car service. Told them it wasn’t me.”

“Pretty late to be calling.”

“I guess it don’t matter what time it is if you need a car service.”

Sean walked the room clockwise, which caused Joyce to step back in the same circular pattern, pushing her farther from the doorway that would lead into the hall toward the front door. There was a strange silence between them that hadn’t been there before. Sean was tired. His eyes were heavy, and his head hurt. He didn’t want to do this anymore. He just wanted to sleep and wake up and have it all be over.

“I can’t find that drive.”

“Call Don. He’ll tell you where it is. You want me to call him?”

“Why are you walking away from me?”

“I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. Every step I take toward you, you take one back.”

Joyce waved her hand to dismiss his comment but never stopped moving. She was almost all the way around the kitchen now. “You’re running out of places to look for that drive thing. I don’t know what else to tell you.”

“Who was on the phone, Joyce?”

“I already said. Wrong—”

“Who was on the phone!”

The sudden rage in Sean’s voice sounded unfamiliar, even to him. There was something inhuman about it. Animalistic. A plain unadulterated rage. Before he could say anything else, Joyce turned and grabbed a large carving knife from the counter behind her, holding it out as tears began to stream down her face.

“You don’t scream in my house,” she said. “Not after what you did. You wanna know who that was? Fine. That was my brother. That was your lieutenant. He was calling for Don to tell him they found evidence at your place showing that you killed those girls and Liam’s innocent. He told me to get out of the house. The police are on the way. He’s sending them. So you stand there, and I’ll stand here, and we’ll wait for them to come, and you’ll go quietly because it’s the right thing to do. I know there’s still good in you. I know it. We’ll just wait together, and this can be over.”

Sean stood still for a moment. The house was quiet. There was no other sound. No approaching sirens, no cars hurtling down the street, no flashing lights. That meant there was still time. He needed that drive.