“I don’t understand. How did you get that videotape?” She caught the sudden scent of copper in the air and looked down at Nick’s hands.
He’d sliced his palm with his knife. Blood ran down his wrist, staining the sleeves of his white shirt and dripping off his thumb onto the carpet.
Her pulse skyrocketed, the familiar first sign of an impending anxiety attack. But as much as the situation warranted it, she couldn’t give in this time. She needed to stay in control.
Especially since Nick had lost his.
Oblivious to the blood, he pounded his injured hand on his chest. “Stephanie was my first love. She understood what it took to succeed. I’d heard rumors of Joseph’s predilection for young girls, but he was careful. They had to be at least sixteen. Stephanie was eighteen, but she appeared younger. He’d propositioned her several times, and she’d always said ‘no’ until she finally said ‘yes.’ For me. She arranged to meet him at a sleazy motel in Detroit that rented by the hour.” His bloody hand dropped to his side. “We planted a video camera.”
She didn’t want to hear the rest, and yet she had to know the truth. “What was the plan? Videotape him having sex? His wife wouldn’t have cared.”
“No, not his wife, but the senior partners wouldn’t have understood. It’s one thing to have an affair, but it’s another to have it with your eighteen-year-old secretary. And if they had discovered that he’d had sex with girls as young as sixteen, his career would have been over. No one at the firm would have wanted to risk a scandal.” He yanked on his hair, almost as if he were trying to pull it from his scalp. “I hadn’t planned on him killing Stephanie. I never would’ve sent her to him if I’d thought she’d be in danger. When she didn’t call that night, I knew something went wrong. I rented the same hotel room and found the video camera still there, hidden. I watched it. He’d bound her with blue rope, leaving her completely helpless, and then suffocated her as he fucked her. Held her by her head and smashed her face into the pillow without knowing it. He panicked when he discovered her dead. But not enough to call the police.”
“Neither did you.” The challenging statement slipped out before she could stop it.
“It was too late!” he shouted, spit flying out of his mouth and his already tiny pupils shrinking. “There was nothing I could do to bring her back!” He paced the length of the room, back and forth, his knife held out in front of him.
She took the opportunity to dig her hand into her purse and pull out her gun. But she didn’t want to force him into a position where she’d have to use it. She dropped her purse to the floor and slipped the weapon into the back of her pants.
Nick continued pacing, lost in his diatribe and unaware of her actions. “She would’ve wanted me to use it to my advantage. If I hadn’t used that video, I never would’ve gotten where I am today. I’m able to pick and choose my case load. Do pro bono work that other attorneys wouldn’t touch. I’ve done great things for people.”
His narcissism disgusted her. “Are you trying to convince me that all the good you’ve done outweighs the fact that a mother still has no idea why her daughter died? That Miles Joseph walked free for years while Stephanie’s murder went unsolved?”
He looked distraught, his face crumpling as he stopped moving. His Jekyll and Hyde routine was giving her whiplash. “I thought you’d understand.” A smile broke out on his face and his voice softened. “We’re alike, you and I. We know sometimes you have to work outside the law for the greater good. We’ve both killed people we love.”
He compared the murder of Alyssa to the accidental shooting of her father. How did he not see the difference? Then again, how could she have ignored the difference all these years? She’d punished herself for an accident while Nick had benefitted from a young woman’s death.
“What changed? Why did you decide to frame Joseph now?”
“I’d always known I’d get my revenge for Stephanie’s death, but I had to wait for a sign that it was the right time.” He strode to her, and she readied herself to take aim if necessary. But he surprised her with his tender expression and a gentle caress of her cheek with his injured hand. “You, Kate. You were my sign. When you strolled into my office for your internship interview, I knew you were meant to be mine. It all came together at that moment as if Stephanie sent you to me. You were so eager to please. Almost as intelligent as me. The perfect submissive for the perfect Master.”