The Bad Daughter(111)

She recalled that Cassidy had overheard her conversation with Melanie at their mother’s gravesite, regarding their father’s multiple affairs. “She knew all along,” Robin had told her sister. Cassidy had been standing just feet away.

The child was indiscriminate in her borrowing, Robin realized. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. She would use whatever her instincts told her would work. She’s been playing me all along.

“She was gonna run off with Alec and leave me with him. So I called Kenny and told him everything. And that’s when we decided what had to be done.”

“You decided to kill your mother and stepfather,” the sheriff said.

“I had to do it. Don’t you understand?”

“Tell us what happened.”

Cassidy shrugged. “It went down pretty much the way Kenny said. My mom and I had been fighting all night. I called Kenny. He came over. We did what had to be done,” she said again.

“Just like you had to set up Alec and Landon?” Melanie asked.

“No. We didn’t plan that. At least not right away. It was supposed to look like a home invasion. But the sheriff kept asking questions. And I remembered seeing a ski mask in Alec’s apartment, and I thought it was kind of a neat detail, so I said the men who shot us were wearing ski masks. And I said that they were big and muscular so no one would suspect Kenny. And then the sheriff found out Alec was in town that night and, I don’t know, everything just kind of fell into place.”

It was kind of a neat detail? Everything just kind of fell into place?

“And Landon?” Melanie asked.

“I like Landon,” Cassidy said. “But, well, it was kind of his own fault.”

“His own fault,” Robin repeated.

“He was getting suspicious, sticking to me like glue. Kenny said not to worry, that even if he figured it out and said something, nobody was gonna believe a retard. But just in case, we hid some jewelry in his room.” She shrugged. “It wasn’t personal. It just…”

“Had to be done,” Robin and Melanie said together.

“Was almost killing you part of the plan as well?” the sheriff asked.

“No. Kenny was just supposed to shoot me in the shoulder, but the idiot missed. And now he’s trying to make it look like I’m some sort of psycho when all I was doing was trying to stop Daddy from molesting me.” She brought her hands to her lips, almost as if she were praying. Tears filled her eyes. “Please, Robin. You have to believe me. I loved Daddy Greg. In spite of everything, I loved him. I still do. I didn’t tell you the truth because I didn’t want you to ever have to find out about him.”

“You did this for me?”

“I lied to protect you.”

“You shot my father.”

“Because of what he was doing to me.”

“You killed your mother.”

“Because she knew and didn’t stop him.”

“Tara would never have let anyone hurt you. She loved you more than anything on earth.”

“She didn’t know anything about love. Neither of them did. They were always fighting. She was cheating on him. He was cheating on her.”

Cheating on Tara with a grandmother, for God’s sake. Does that sound like a man who would sexually abuse a child?

“There are many words to describe my father,” Robin said—bastard, prick, cad, asshole, jerk, scoundrel, son of a bitch—“but ‘pedophile’ isn’t one of them.”

Tears began streaming down Cassidy’s cheeks. “You don’t believe me?”

“Here’s what I believe,” Robin said. “I believe you shot your mother and my father because they were in your way. And because you thought you could get away with it. Maybe it was because they tried to stop you from seeing Kenny. Maybe because Tara was planning to leave my father and put a dent in your cozy lifestyle. Maybe you wanted the money so you could take off to L.A. and be a famous model. Or maybe it was a combination of all those things. I don’t know and I don’t really care. Just like you didn’t care about Kenny once you thought you saw a better opportunity. Just like you don’t care about Landon or Melanie or me or anyone but yourself.”

Cassidy’s tears came to an abrupt halt, freezing like tiny icicles on her cheeks. “Well, then, I guess it’s your father’s word against mine.”

“Oh, I think your words are going to be all we need,” Robin said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that my father is still in a coma. He isn’t talking to anyone.”

“I don’t understand.” Cassidy’s eyes shot toward the sheriff. “You said the hospital called…”

Melanie raised her hand. “Yes, that would have been me. The sheriff was kind enough to play along.”

“Cassidy Campbell,” the sheriff said as Deputy Reinhardt approached, “I’m placing you under arrest for the murder of Tara Davis and—”

“Wait! Robin, please…”

“What are you talking to her for?” Melanie asked. “This whole charade was her idea.”

Deputy Reinhardt pulled Cassidy’s hands behind her back and snapped the handcuffs around her tiny wrists.

“I want my father,” Cassidy said. “My real father.”