The Eligible Suspect(93)

                The sound of a knock on the hospital room door tabled Demarco’s next attack. One last attempt to talk sense into his brother. He was slipping further and further away and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He’d lost Damen years ago. When? He could not say exactly, only knew he should have distanced himself. Twin or not, Damen was right about one thing. He had to find his own way.

                “Ah. He awakens,” the doctor said as he entered the room.

                Demarco stepped back and watched as the man checked Damen and half listened as he asked several questions. How would this change things between them? Damen had committed murder. What would he do knowing he’d seen him throw the murder weapon away?

                He caught Damen’s glance and saw the threatened look in his eyes. Demarco met it with indifference and a curse that resonated inside his head. A curse to his brother for causing this tragedy.

                What are you going to do? his brother mouthed as the doctor turned his back to write a few notes.

                Demarco met his paranoid eye and didn’t respond, sickened that he still didn’t have an answer to that.

                “When can I leave this place?” Damen asked the doctor.

                “Let’s see how you do today.” The doctor wouldn’t give an exact time or day of his release and Demarco was glad. The longer Damen was in here the better.

                “There’s a policeman waiting to have a word with you,” the doctor said. “Two of them.”

                “Here?” Damen seemed surprised that the police were here. And then the confusion cleared. They were here to talk to him about his condition and what had caused it. “Right. Send them in.”

                Demarco stepped back farther as the doctor left and the first police detective entered. While he introduced himself, the second one entered and gave Demarco a jolt. It was Gunderman. He stayed back and leaned against the wall, glancing at him with a nod of greeting.

                The other detective had finished up small talk with Damen and now asked about how he ended up in the hospital. Demarco began to listen.

                “How did you know Mr. Maguire would be at Julio Chavis’s cabin?” the detective asked.

                “They’re friends,” Damen said. “It was a guess.” He struggled to sit up.

                Demarco stepped forward to help him, an automatic impulse. His brother looked at him in surprise. He adjusted the pillows behind his back, catching the way Gunderman noticed.

                “Why did you try to find him?” the detective asked.

                “He killed my girlfriend.” Damen slid a glance up to Demarco, silently daring him to intervene.

                “So you planned to...what...?”

                “Make sure he was arrested.” Damen’s sarcasm revealed the lie. He’d gone to kill Korbin.

                “Why didn’t you call police and inform them of this cabin?”

                Damen didn’t answer right away. “Maybe I needed to talk to him first.”

                His belligerence shouldn’t come as a shock to Demarco. His brother had never been a sharp cheese.

                Gunderman moved forward then, standing beside the other detective. Damen looked at him with his one eye.