Wendell tore the microphone from her son, disconnecting it, and then demanded Mason remove his. She must’ve known about it all along.
Putting the revolver down, Mason pulled the wire from his chest and stuffed it into her open palm. “Your brother was a psycho, too.” He had nothing else to say. It was officially out there now; the police now knew that Mason had murdered the Lullaby Killer.
What followed this situation—should he ever make it out of there alive—was a lifetime behind bars. And then there were Evie and Sandra, who were present to hear the sick truth.
Wendell stomped on the devices, severing any further communication. She smiled. “We really should hurry up and finish this game.”
Mason couldn’t help but wonder what was taking the police so long. Surely they should be in here by now, storming the place and arresting us both. But now the communications were dead, he seized the opportunity to seek an answer to a question that had bothered him for a long time. “Why not Bill?”
“What?”
“Detective Bill Harvey cut your brother up as much as I did. I just wondered why you never turned your attention toward him.”
Grinding her teeth, Alison Wendell stormed around the table. “He’s… a police officer. I didn’t want to hurt anyone with a shield. That would distract from my real goal.”
“Bullshit,” Mason said. “What’s the real reason?”
Wendell shrugged, angry shades of red flushing her cheeks.
“You…” Mason stumbled upon a thought. All the evidence—the photograph included—only showed Mason himself leaving the shipping container where they’d held her brother. “You didn’t know, did you? All this time you’ve been pointing the finger at—”
“What do you want from me?” She slammed a fist on the table. Everyone jumped back. “No, I didn’t know, all right? But as soon as I get out of here, I’m going to find everyone he’s ever loved and put them through an immeasurable amount of pain and suffering. Now, pick up the gun, and let’s finish this fucking game!”
“I…” Mason had been expecting the rescue team, but it was beginning to look as if they weren’t coming. They had their confession, so what were they waiting for? He reached out for the revolver, hesitated, then rested his hand in his lap. “No!”
“What?”
“I refuse.”
Wendell withdrew, an expression of astonishment on her face. Now he’d stripped away her power, there was nothing left for her to do but release all her anger. She stormed toward Evie, tugged on her hair, and put the gun to her head. “Then let’s not waste any more time.”