Thick as Thieves(104)

Hearing that from Lisa caused Arden’s knees to give way. She sagged against Rusty, making it an effort for him to hold her up. “Stand up,” he demanded and jabbed her under the chin with the gun barrel.

She forced herself to remain upright, but that endeavor was secondary to trying to grasp and accept that Lisa had done what Rusty accused her of. It couldn’t be true. Could it?

Yes. Guilt was inscribed on her sister’s face. It was on display in her slumped posture, starkly evident in her eyes. It emanated from her. How had she managed to mask it so well for all these years?

She spoke in a hoarse voice. “It was an accident. I swear.”

Arden could only look at her. What was she expected to say?

Lisa wet her lips. “I was so relieved that I had made it back to the house without something dreadful happening. I actually went to sleep. I woke up when I heard Dad going out the back door.

“I went downstairs to see what he was doing. Through the window, I saw him in the far distance, walking toward the cypress grove. I thought, he’s drunk, and decided to let him be. But it had gotten foggy. There was drizzle, and it was dark. I was afraid he would injure himself, stumbling around out there. So I talked myself into getting dressed and going after him.

“He had already pushed off into the water when I caught up to him and asked what the hell he thought he was doing, taking that boat out in the middle of the night. He told me about the call he’d gotten from Brian Foster.” She raised her hand and rubbed her forehead.

“He knew about my participation in the burglary. I was humiliated, ashamed. He didn’t scold, but said he had to try to prevent the situation from becoming worse. Since it was my fault we’d been dragged into it, I couldn’t let him act alone. I had to make reparation myself. I got into the boat with him.”

“You were there?” Arden said.

“I witnessed Rusty and Foster’s fight.”

Arden felt Rusty’s body tense. Before she could warn Lisa not to say anything more, she continued. “I was the one who actually spotted Rusty’s canoe, caught in some low branches. Dad and I paddled over to it. I lifted the money bag out. We got away unseen and started our way back.

“I kept urging Dad to hurry. I knew that once Rusty realized the money was missing, he would come looking for Joe Maxwell. We needed to beat him to our house. You were there alone,” she said, meeting Arden’s gaze. “I was so frightened for you.”

Arden didn’t acknowledge that. “What did you do to Dad?”

Lisa choked up. “All the way back, he talked about making things right, keeping me out of prison. We would give the money back and make a deal for clemency for me.”

Rusty sneered, “But you were thinking finders-keepers.”

She ignored him and kept her eyes on Arden. “I suggested alternatives.”

“Like keeping the money,” Rusty said.

Lisa shot him a dirty look. “I suggested that we should consider the ramifications of my confessing. What if it backfired? Dad began to lose it. In the space of a few hours, he’d learned that his firstborn had committed a felony. He’d watched Foster die in a ghastly manner. He’d rowed that damn boat for God knows how far.

“When we reached our cypress grove, we were still arguing about what our next move should be. I held the money bag while Dad dragged the boat onto solid ground. When he got ashore, he tried to take the bag from me. We had a tug-of-war.”

“You won,” Arden said.

“He fell down, on his back, and rapped his head on a cluster of cypress knees. I thought he would come out of it in his own good time. In the meanwhile, I had to get to the house. I ran back, went upstairs, and changed into my pajamas. No sooner had I done that, this lunatic arrived.” She glared at Rusty.

“Forget him,” Arden said. “Tell me about Dad.”

“After Rusty left, I went back to the grove. I was exhausted.”

“I don’t care,” Arden shouted. “Tell me about Dad.”

“He was dead.” She said it with benumbing finality. “He was exactly as I’d left him. I couldn’t believe it, but…” She raised her arms helplessly at her sides. “There was nothing I could do, Arden.”

“Except to let everyone think badly of him instead of you.”

“Yes! It seemed a perfect answer. A solution that was so…neat.”

“No fuss, no muss.”

“If I had been sentenced to prison, what would your life have been like?”

There was nothing Arden could say to that. “What did you do with…him?” She swallowed thickly.

“Put him in the boat. Weighted him. Then—”

“Stop. I don’t want to know.”

Lisa looked like she would protest, then said softly, “He loved the lake.”

After a beat, Rusty whistled. “You had a busy night, gal. You had a body to dispose of, and a bag of money to hide.”

“You walked all around it, Rusty. You came this close.” She made an inch with her thumb and index finger. “I was holding my breath.”

It seemed to Arden that his temperature rose several degrees within seconds. “And later? What did you do with it?”

“I told you. I spent it.” She smiled. “Every last cent.”