Strange Medicine (Dr. Maxwell Thornton Murder Mysteries #1)(60)

“What choice did we have?” She looked frustrated. “That damn house sat empty for three months. Three months.” She shook her head. “By the time we were pretty sure the diary was real, Dr. Thornton had moved in.”

“Jesus, Hanna. I can’t believe you’re mixed up in something like this.”

Her face crumpled. “I know.”

“Why did Ned have to die?” I pinned her with my disgusted gaze.

“He didn’t.” She sniffed and wiped at her nose with a tissue. “But he was acting erratic and drawing attention to us.” She sighed. “Remember the day you were in my shop? He was freaking out about some little thing as if it was the end of the world.”

“Yeah, he did seem upset.”

“He was a mess. All he had to do was keep his mouth shut, but he couldn’t seem to do it.”

“So you shut it for him?”

She winced. “I didn’t. I’d never have hurt a hair on his head.” She exhaled roughly. “That was Liam.” Her eyes were glassy. “He isn’t the man I thought he was.”

“So Liam killed Ned and tried to blame it on Dr. Thornton?”

She nodded. “I told him it wasn’t right, but he didn’t listen. Liam thought if the doctor was arrested, that would get him out of the house and then we could search more easily.”

“Hmm.”

“Of course the original plan was to try and buy the house.”

“But the owners wouldn’t sell?”

“Exactly.”

I squinted. “How would Ned have afforded that place if the owners had been willing to sell? He said he’d inherited money, but then he also said his brother was going to loan him the money. They both seemed like lies.”

“Of course he was lying. Me and Liam were going to give him the money to buy the house. Ned didn’t have an extra penny, and he barely spoke to his brother.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“We were gonna loan him the money, and once it was his, we could just demolish the place and find the gold.” She rubbed her face. “God, when I say all of this out loud I can hear how nuts it is. But at the time… we were blinded by the idea that all that gold was there for the taking.”

“How does Rocky fit in?”

“God, poor Rocky. He’s my cousin. He’s had a rough time of it since he left the military. Before we found the diary, I’d suggested he come stay with me for a while. When he got here, it was impossible to hide what we were doing from him, seeing as he was staying in our home.” She bit her lip. “He said he knew how to get around alarms and launder money. I don’t think he knows any of that. He’s a big talker.”

I studied her in silence for a moment, then asked, “Why did you lease that space over on Horseshoe Lane?”

“You know about that?”

“Ned’s laptop had suspicious emails. We followed the trail.”

“Renting that spot was yet another big idea of Rocky’s. He said you can trace emails from the IP addresses. We were going to use email to talk to Ned at first so we wouldn’t be seen together too much. Rocky suggested renting a space where we wouldn’t be traceable directly to any of us.”

“Rocky was right about tracing the emails. I was watching the Horseshoe Lane address whenever I had time.”

She widened her eyes. “Really?”

I nodded.

“I guess he had to be right about something eventually.”

I tapped my pen on the table. “You know all of this would have just been breaking-and-entering type of charges if Liam hadn’t gone and murdered poor Ned. Now you’re all in a huge heap of trouble.”

She dropped her chin to her chest. “I had no idea Liam was going to do that. I’d have tried to stop him.” She lifted her head, her gaze imploring. “You have to believe me, Sheriff.”

I let out a long breath. “Maxwell told me how you tried to protect him from your husband. Because of that, I’m inclined to believe you, Hanna.”

“Thank you.” A tear streaked down her cheek. “This is all like a nightmare.”

“I can only imagine.” I felt bad for her, but I tried not to show it too much. I didn’t have the luxury of holding her hand and comforting her.

“I knew Liam had a bad temper. But I truly never saw that side of him before. That murderous side.” She sounded breathless. “Once Ned was killed, I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t think how to get out of the mess I was in without maybe getting killed myself.”

“You’re still in a hell of a mess, Hanna.”

She shivered. “I know. But to be honest, Sheriff, I’m glad it’s over. Life has been torture this past month, and I’m so relieved the truth is out. Even if it means jail time. Which… which I’m sure it will.”

“I’ll put in a good word for you, but—” I shook my head. “I’m not sure what good it will do.”

Her bottom lip trembled. “Just knowing you think enough of me to do that means the world, Royce.”

I swallowed against the lump in my throat as I stood. “Carl’s gonna come in, and he’s going to take you to your cell. I wish this wasn’t how it is, but…”