Jeopardy in High Heels (High Heels #12) - Gemma Halliday Page 0,88

you killed Dog?" I asked, hoping to keep him talking just a little bit longer.

"Of course not," he snapped. "Chloe would never condone something like that." He shook his head. "But I knew it had to be done. After Dog told me about him and Chloe, do you know what he did?"

I shook my head. "What?"

"He laughed. He patted me on the back. Like it was all a big joke and we could go out and have a beer together, talk about how we'd shared the same woman. It was disgusting."

"So you put together a plan to poison him?"

The anger in John's eyes took on a different look, suddenly dull and flat as his face broke into a grin that was positively creepy. "It was easy, really. Everyone knew he downed those Invigorate drinks like they were water. They were sweet enough that he never even tasted anything different. I knew the antifreeze would take long enough to kill him that I'd be nowhere near the body when he died."

"And being that you inherited nothing, no one would ever suspect you," I added.

"That's right." His grin faltered. "Until you came along."

Right in that moment, I really wished I hadn't.

"Me?" I squeaked out.

"Yes, you. With your pretense of condolences. As soon as you mentioned the police, I knew something was off. And then when I looked you up and found out you were married to a cop. Well??t didn't take a genius to figure out you suspected me."

Unfortunately, he was giving me a lot more credit than was due. I'd suspected his mother, but John had barely been on my radar.

"So you had me meet you for coffee the next day to find out what I knew?"

"That's right. And it turned out it was too much. So, I followed you. To lunch with that actress friend of yours and this nosy reporter." He kicked Tina's foot. She winced but didn't stop working at the tape holding my hands together as John went on. "And then as soon as I saw you go into the Beach Body Sculpt gym, I knew you were there to talk to Caitlyn. I was afraid she'd tell you about Chloe, and how Dog had cheated on her with my fianc茅e."

It dawned on me. "You tampered with my brakes!"

He nodded slowly, his eyes dark and void of emotion. "As soon as you went into the gym, I drove back to Legends, where I'd watched you leave your car. I nicked the brake line then covered the spot with chewing gum that I knew would dissolve as the engine got hot. The fluid wouldn't leak out until you were on the road."

"Why?" I breathed.

"You were simply getting too close."

My stomach turned over at his words. "You almost got me killed."

"It was supposed to be a warning." He was calm, unfazed by the idea he'd almost left my children motherless.

I tried to push down my own anger at that thought, instead wriggling my wrists, trying to break through the last little bits of tape holding them in place.

"Unfortunately you did not heed that warning," John said, taking a step closer to me and crouching down so he was at our level.

I froze and felt Tina go still.

I licked my lips. "I should have," I said, fully meaning it in that moment.

He nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving my face. "Yes. That would have been better. But instead you both showed up at the memorial today, asking more questions. Talking to Chloe." He shot me a pointed look.

"She never told me about her and Dog," I assured him. Not that it mattered now. Even if I'd been blindingly ignorant of John's motive to kill his father before, I knew too much now.

"It was only a matter of time," he said, almost a sad note in his voice. "You refused to leave it alone, and I knew that unless you stopped asking questions, it would come out." His eyes met mine. "Which is why now I have to stop you."

Cold fear lodged in my chest, making it hard to breathe. In contrast, I heard Tina's breath come out hard and fast beside me.

"Is that why you lured me here?" I asked, slowly moving my wrist back and forth, twisting left then right.

He chuckled. "Lured. You say that as if it were hard. I called this one at her paper with the promise of an exclusive interview if she met me here." He cocked his head toward Tina. "And I knew if