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In shock, I continued to stare at Libby, praying this was all a bad dream. I’d known this young woman since she was a baby. Libby was one of Darcy’s closest friends. She’d slept over at my house dozens of times. I’d taken her to volleyball and cheerleading practice and shown her and Darcy how to make cookies. Libby always had a positive attitude and loved doing things to help others. She and Darcy had even volunteered at an animal shelter as part of a high school project. Libby had a heart of gold.
Libby was also a murderer.
Her eyes darted back and forth between me and the front door. “I’m sorry, Mrs. York. I didn’t want you to find out.”
“You killed an innocent man,” I managed to choke out.
Libby gripped the gun tightly between her hands. “I didn’t mean to kill him, honest. It was an accident. I thought he was Annette. She’s the one that I wanted to die, not him!”
There was a gun pointed at my head, but all I could think about was how devastated Darcy would be when she found out about her friend. My gaze traveled around the room. I could try to make a run for the front door, but what would stop Libby from killing me? Sure, she’d known me for years, and had even jokingly referred to me as her second mom, but that made no difference. Libby had already killed once. What would stop her from doing it again?
She narrowed her eyes at me, guessing my thoughts. “I don’t want to hurt you, Mrs. York. You’ve always been good to me. Please don’t make me hurt you.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. “Libby—”
“It’s all my mother’s fault!” she cried. “If she’d gotten back together with my father, none of this would have ever happened. Then, when Dad threw Annette out, I thought I’d finally have a chance to get my family back.” Her voice broke. “I know that my parents still love each other.”
“Sometimes love isn’t enough,” I said. “They’ve been divorced for a long time, Libby. Your father was unfaithful—”
“Shut up!” she screamed. “You don’t know anything about them. You stopped being friends with my mom a long time ago. She still loves him, I know that she does! They belong together.”
I reminded myself to breathe as Libby pressed the gun against the side of my head. “When Annette showed up here, I knew she was going to get in the way. She was going to convince my father to take her back. So, I did what I had to do to save my family.” Libby’s shoulders wracked with sobs. “If she had died instead of that man, everything would have worked out for the best.”
The blood in my veins turned to ice. How had no one known about the contempt this young woman had been carrying around for years? “Let’s sit down and talk for a while, okay? I have a good friend who’s a psychiatrist. He can help.”
She snorted. “Yeah, right. Do you think I’m stupid? You’re going to call the cops on me. I’m sorry, Mrs. York, but I can’t let you tell anyone what I did. And I feel awful that man died. I read his obituary online and lots of people said that he was a nice man. But I don’t want to go to prison.”
“I don’t want to see that happen either,” I said. “You’ve always been like a daughter to me, and a sister to Darcy.”
Libby blinked back tears, and the gun started to shake. “It’s too bad I can’t be in her wedding now.”
“Maybe we can work something out,” I lied. How had I never known that Libby was unstable? She’d managed to hide it well. Or was she simply pushed to the brink by Annette’s actions? Libby had killed someone, and that fact couldn’t be disputed, but I felt that my sister-in-law was partial to blame. If she hadn’t come back here, none of this would have ever happened and Mac would still be alive.
“Libby, I want to help you.” I took a step towards her.
She clicked the barrel on the gun. “Please don’t make me use this, Mrs. York.”
My eyes fell upon Jacques’ briefcase sitting on the kitchen counter. It was only a few feet away. I didn’t have enough time to open it and remove the gun. Plus, I wasn’t sure that I could ever point a gun at someone again.
A scratching sound was heard outside, and a key turned in the lock. Libby turned and pointed the gun towards the front door.
“Mom?” Darcy called.
There was no time to waste. I leapt forward and tried to wrestle the gun from Libby’s hands, hoping the surprise arrival of Darcy would distract her. Libby’s reflexes were quicker than I’d anticipated. She let out a blood curdling yell and brought the gun down on my head. Bang! The gun discharged, and I fell to the floor.
“Mom!” Darcy screamed.
A searing pain shot through my head. I tried to stand but the room began to spin several times, forcing me back to my knees. No. I couldn’t lose consciousness. What if Libby hurt Darcy? “I’m all right,” I whispered. The room tipped upside down, and I fell back against the kitchen table.
“Stay where you are, Darcy!” Libby shouted.
Darcy immediately backed up against the kitchen counter. “Mom?” Her voice quivered.
“Do what she says, Darcy.”
A creaking sound above drew my attention. The pendant light fixture over the kitchen was swaying back and forth, thanks to the bullet that had become lodged inside it.
“Libby, what are you doing?” Darcy asked. “Is that Uncle Jacques’ gun?”
I closed my eyes in frustration. Somehow, I had to relay to my daughter that Jacques’ gun was on the kitchen counter, less than a foot away from her. It was our only chance to get out of this alive.
Libby kept the gun pointed at Darcy. “This is my mother’s gun. Why did you have to come home now, of all times?”
“My meeting at Starbucks got canceled at the last minute.” Darcy stared from her friend to me, and a look of horror spread across her face. “No,” she whispered. “It can’t be true.”
Libby said nothing.
“Tell me you didn’t kill that man.” Tears ran down Darcy’s face.
“I didn’t have a choice.” Libby’s face looked as if it had been carved out of stone. “Do you know how much I hate her? No, you couldn’t. I tried never to bring up her name because she’s your aunt. She’s part of your family, and I know how important family is to you.”
“She’s not important to me. You are. Put the gun down,” Darcy said anxiously.
Libby acted as if she hadn’t heard her. “I was always jealous of your family. I wanted one just like yours. But that couldn’t happen because Annette stole my father away. She’s the reason my mother had to struggle for years. I didn’t want things to end like this, but there’s no other way.”
My body froze as Libby’s remark sunk in. She planned to kill us both.
“Even Scott,” Libby went on. “He never understood how I felt. He kept telling me to let it go, forget all about Dad, and move on. He said that the hatred was going to destroy me one day.”
Libby’s day of reckoning had arrived.
A tear ran down Darcy’s cheek. “You should have told me how you felt. It didn’t matter that she was my aunt. Cripes, I don’t have a relationship with her. Because of your hatred, an innocent man died. How can you live with yourself?”
“I said I didn’t want to hurt him.” Libby gritted her teeth. “I only wanted Annette to get what was coming to her. When I found out she was back in town, I started following her around. I followed her to his house that night. When she stepped in front of the sink, I fired the gun, and she went down. It was all so perfect.” She let out a long, ragged breath. “Until I found out later that she wasn’t dead.”
“You told me on the phone last night that your father must have been the one to kill Mr. Tremont. You’d let him go to prison for a crime you committed?” Disbelief filled Darcy’s tone. “I thought you loved him.”
“I do love him!” Libby burst out angrily. “But if he hadn’t cheated on my mother, none of this would have happened. I’d still have my family together.”
“You’re not the person I thought you were,” Darcy said sadly.
Libby swiped a hand under her eyes, leaving streaks of mascara behind. She clicked the barrel on the gun. “Sorry to disappoint you, but we don’t all have your perfect life. Parents who love each other. A gorgeous fiancé who’s going to make great money as a doctor. My biggest worry isn’t whether I should serve chicken or prime rib at my wedding.”
Darcy’s face turned as red as a tomato. “My life isn’t perfect either, Libby. No one’s life is. But I don’t go around blaming other people and killing them. That’s not the answer.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Libby snorted. “God, you never could face reality. I don’t have time for you to analyze the situation. Someone else is bound to show up, and I’ve got to get out of here. I need to tie you both up.”
“What?” Darcy gasped.
“It’s the only way.” Libby’s hands and voice shook. “You told me last night that nobody’s staying here besides your mom. So, no one will look for you guys until it’s time to pick your sister up from school. That will give me enough time to get out of the state. I’ll have to go start over somewhere else. I should have been more prepared.”
The room started to spin again when I tried to stand. Dizziness overwhelmed me and I fell back on the floor.
“Stay still, Mrs. York,” Libby said in a threatening tone. She motioned with the gun at her apron. “Darcy, cut those ties off and wrap them around your mother’s wrists. Then I’ll tie you up.”
Darcy lifted her chin in the air defiantly. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll try to take the gun away from you?”
“Oh, please,” Libby laughed. “You told me that you never even fired a gun before. I’m a way better shot than you. Don’t do anything stupid. Don’t make me hurt you—or your mother, who’s so sick right now she can barely move.”
Darcy’s face turned as white as a sheet. She looked helplessly at me, not knowing what do.
“It’s all right, sweetheart.” Bile rose in the back of my throat. “Do what Libby says.” And maybe we’ll get out of this alive.
Darcy opened one of the kitchen drawers and started rooting through it. Libby moved to her side and waved the gun in her face. “Whoa. What are you doing?”
“I’m doing what you asked me to,” Darcy said. “I’m looking for a knife to cut the ties off.”
“No, no,” Libby snickered. “God, you really must think I’m dumb. There has to be a pair of scissors around here.”
Darcy straightened up and looked over at me. “Mom?”
“There’s a pair in Dad’s briefcase.” I nodded towards Jacques’ briefcase. Would she catch on? Darcy must know it wasn’t her fathers. They weren’t even the same color. Was the side with Jacques’ engraved initials facing us or the other way? I tried to squint, but my vision was still blurry.
A flicker of understanding crossed through Darcy’s hazel eyes, and she almost smiled. Darcy understood what I’d been trying to convey. My stomach twisted in fear as I watched her open the briefcase. God knows, I didn’t want to put my daughter in this position. I didn’t want her to kill Libby and carry the emotional scars from the incident around for the rest of her life, like I had been forced to do. I would never wish that on anyone, especially my own flesh and blood.
I clutched the table leg and managed to get to my feet. Libby glanced at me in surprise. “I thought I told you to stay put.”
“I’ll tie Darcy up,” I suggested. “Then you can tie me up, Libby.”
“No, Mom.” Darcy’s voice was defiant. “I’ll do it.”
There was nothing more I could do. If I tried to move towards Darcy, Libby might fire the gun, killing one or both of us. My concern was strictly for my daughter, not myself. I wanted to think that Libby wouldn’t harm her best friend, but I couldn’t be sure.
Darcy swallowed nervously as she unfastened the clips on the briefcase. It was pure torture to watch as she slowly lifted the lid and reached inside. No, I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t let Darcy fire the gun. Daring not to breathe, I reached for the chair in front of me and gripped it between my hands. As I lifted it in the air, Libby turned her head. A panicked look came into her eyes, but her reflexes were still quick. With all my strength, I threw the chair as hard as I could.
“Mom, look out!” I heard Darcy scream.
Libby pointed the gun at me and fired.