"How do you know this?" Gage demanded.
"Dillon told me first, then your mother confirmed the story."
"Dillon knew?" Ben asked in shock.
"He found out two years ago," I said, meeting Ben's questioning gaze. "That part of the story, anyway. Your dad was drinking heavily one night. He was looking through the envelope with the DNA and the photos, and Dillon saw them."
"Why wouldn't Dillon have told me? We were like brothers," Ben said. "This doesn't add up."
"Because it's a lie," Gage put in. "I look just like everyone else in my family."
"You look like your mother," I corrected. "So do your brothers. But neither of you have to believe me. The evidence is in Dillon's cabin." I turned to Ben. "Did you see the manila envelope? It was on the kitchen table."
"My crime scene team is going through the cabin now. I still don't understand why Dillon didn't tell me."
"Because he couldn't. Your father threatened him."
"With what?"
"That's when we get to Melanie."
Drake sat up straighter in his chair. "Wait! Dillon knew what happened to Melanie?"
"Not exactly, but he knew some of what had happened. The day Melanie disappeared, Dillon ran into her at Pope Beach. She was writing in her diary and crying about Gage. She told Dillon about the baby, that Gage wanted her to get an abortion, but she refused. A short time later, Melanie got a call. She said Gage had changed his mind, and she had to go up to the house."
"I never called her," Gage said.
"There was an unknown number on Melanie's phone, but we couldn't trace it," Ben said.
"That's right," Drake interjected. "I had my investigator look into that number, too. He said it was probably to a burner phone."
"Which must have belonged to Eileen," I said.
"My mom had a burner phone?" More disbelief entered Gage's voice. "You're talking about a sweet woman who liked to putter in the garden all day."
"She was a lot more than that," I said.
"Keep going," Drake ordered.
"When Melanie got to the house, she and Eileen had a heated discussion. Eileen made Melanie some tea to calm her down. But it was spiked with some kind of poison. Melanie passed out, and her heart stopped." I bit down on my lip as emotion ran through me, but I had to push on. "Afterward, Eileen called Tom. She told him Gage killed Melanie, and he had to help her cover it up. They dragged Melanie to the edge of the bluff and tossed her into the sea."
Gage sucked in a sharp breath. "That's not possible."
"Unfortunately, it's what happened," I told him. "Tom was still standing on the bluff when Dillon came up the path from the beach that was behind your house. Melanie had left her diary behind, and he wanted to return it to her. Dillon told Tom he thought he saw someone fall. The sheriff told him he'd imagined it; he was high. He told him to go back to the beach and sleep it off. When news spread of Melanie's disappearance the next day, Dillon went back to the sheriff, asking him what happened the night before. Dillon thought Gage was involved because Melanie had gone to meet him. Tom told him again that he was imagining things, that he'd never been at the house, never seen Melanie, never seen him, and that if he said a word to anyone about anything, he'd be the one to end up in jail. Melanie's disappearance would be pinned on him. Apparently, Dillon suffers from severe claustrophobia. That threat scared him into silence. Plus, he had doubts about what he'd seen. He started to believe that Tom was right, that he'd just imagined it all."
"And he kept the secret all these years," Ben mused. "Unbelievable. I thought I knew Dillon as well as I know myself."
"I think Dillon was confused and also conflicted. The sheriff was trying to protect him, and he was doing the same. But he can tell you more about his motives."
"Oh, I intend to have a long talk with Dillon," Ben said grimly. "Why did Dillon kidnap Kelsey?"
"Ironically, Gage and Kelsey had a fight on Pope Beach after the bonfire, which is where Dillon still gets high. Dillon believed Gage had killed Melanie and now he was going to kill Kelsey. So, he followed them back to my house and convinced Kelsey to party with him. She was upset and wanted to escape her thoughts, so she said yes. Dillon took her to his cabin and after she fell asleep, he handcuffed her and chained her up. He told her everything, but she didn't believe him. She thought Dillon was delusional. But he wasn't. Ultimately, he jumped in front of a bullet for her. He saved her life." I let out a breath. "That's it. That's the story. Eileen killed your dad, Ben, because he was getting too worried about Kelsey. Tom wanted to protect you. He thought your career could be over if you didn't find Kelsey. He told Eileen that."
"So, he was done protecting me," Gage said bitterly. "I can't believe Tom is my father. How could my mother sleep with him?"
"You'll have to get the details from her."
"But I can't get the details from my father," Ben said heavily.
"Dillon knows more than I do," I told him. "But the affair with Eileen was before your dad married your mom. If that helps."
"I have a question," Drake said, his gaze narrowing on Gage. "Why didn't you tell anyone Melanie was pregnant when you were questioned?"
"I told Sheriff Ryan," Gage answered. "He instructed me not to say anything."
"Did he say why?"
"He certainly didn't say he was my father. He just said it wasn't pertinent to the case." Gage paused. "I made a mistake telling Melanie to get an abortion. I had changed my mind, but I didn't get a chance to tell her. She died not knowing that I would have stood up for her. Knowing that has eaten me alive, but I had no idea that my mother got involved, or that she did any of what you just said. It's like you're describing a stranger."
"Your mother is mentally ill, Gage," I said, drawing his gaze to mine. "I saw that tonight. She had an obsessive, fanatical desire to protect you."
"Protect me or her reputation?" Gage said cynically. "My God! She killed Melanie. She killed the girl I loved. I can't believe she had it in her."
"The girl you loved?" Drake questioned.
"Yes. Look, the pregnancy scared me. I was about to get drafted. I had my senior year of college coming up. My whole life was planned out, and having a baby wasn't part of the plan. But I told you, I changed my mind. I just wish I could have told Melanie," Gage said, regret in his voice.
I turned to Ben. "What's going to happen now?"
"Eileen will be charged with multiple homicides. I'm not sure what charges Dillon will face; he kidnapped Kelsey and held her against her will."
"What if Kelsey doesn't want to press charges?"
"Are you sure she feels that way?"
"I don't know," I admitted.
"We'll have to see," Ben said.
"And me?" Gage challenged.
"I'd like to talk to you for a few minutes, if you're willing." Ben paused. "I guess we're…" His voice trailed away. "It's hard to believe that we're brothers."