“Could be anybody,” Jesse continued. “With what he did to you, Lowell proved he’s not afraid to murder someone. Could be one of his victims or a damn homeless man he thought no one would miss.”
“None of this seems real.”
“I know what you mean,” Jesse said. “You know they sent the urn to the FBI for DNA testing.”
“How’re they going to test ashes?” Will demanded.
“Hell if I know,” Jesse admitted. “But apparently there’s usually enough bone and teeth left that we might get lucky. Get an identification.”
Will sighed and took another sip of his drink. “Don’t know if I hope it’s Rich or not. Dead, I couldn’t beat him with my fists. Which is something I really want to do.”
“Get in line.” Jesse grabbed the glass again and took another drink.
“Get your own,” Will snarled and snatched the glass back. “You know, it won’t be him in that urn. He’s too slick to die. He’s out there. Somewhere.” He stared into his drink again, then lifted his gaze to Jesse. “Not only did Rich steal from me and damn near kill me, but he screwed with my name. My reputation. Married Megan. He made me look like an ass.”
Will looked tired, but more than that, he looked as though he’d been hanging on to a cliff’s edge for too long and his grip was slipping. Jesse could sympathize. But he couldn’t let his brother wallow, either. It was hard to accept any of this, but the sooner Will did, the sooner they could all get through this and back to normal. “What Rich did wasn’t your fault.”
“Feels like it is,” Will muttered. “It was my name he was throwing around. He got Jillian pregnant pretending to be me, then walked out on her, leaving her to try emailing me for help—the real me, before the boating accident—” Will stopped and scrubbed one hand across his face. “Which is pretty much when Rich decided I was in his way. He hit me over the head and tossed me into the ocean right after I got Jillian’s email. He must have known I’d figure it all out.”
Jesse felt for his brother. He knew what it was to have pride in your name. Your honor. Their father had taught them that if a man couldn’t be trusted, he wasn’t a man at all. But Will hadn’t actually done any of this. “And you were supposed to stop that how?”
“I don’t know.” Will shot him a hard look. “Stop using logic when I feel crappy.”
Jesse nodded sagely. “Feeling sorry for yourself, you mean.”
“Who has more right?” Will countered and jumped to his feet. Handing the scotch off to Jesse, he started pacing, shaking his head, muttering. “A man I thought was a friend stole my damn life.”
Jesse finished off his brother’s scotch in one deep swallow and relished the burn of the liquor on its way down. Setting the empty glass aside, he stared at Will and tried to get his own anger under control. Wouldn’t do a damn bit of good for both of them to be furious and powerless to do anything about it.
But nothing stirred Jesse’s temper like someone messing with his family.
“Yeah, he did,” Jesse agreed. “But that’s done now.”
“Is it?” Will spun around to glare at him. “Hell, the ramifications keep tumbling down on me like somebody knocked over a domino and a whole long line of ’em are tipping over in succession—and they’re all landing on my head.”
“I know.”
“I’ve even got a damn wife!” Will shouted, tossing both hands high. “I don’t even know Megan Phillips Sanders, but we’re married—”
“In name only,” Jesse pointed out, knowing it didn’t mean a thing because Will and Megan had to stay married—at least for the time being. They couldn’t risk gossip no matter what it cost Will. He wished to hell he could do something to fix it.
“What difference does it make?” Will shoved both hands into his jeans pockets and let his head fall back until he was staring up at the beamed ceiling. “Rich married her using my name, so it’s still a legal marriage to a woman I don’t know.”
“The lawyers are working on it.”
“Well, that’s comforting,” he snarled. “And in the meantime, what the hell do I say to her?”
“Why don’t you let her do the talking? Shut up long enough for her to tell you what happened.” Jesse rattled the single ice cube in the glass. Standing up, he stared at his younger brother. “Making yourself nuts isn’t going to solve a damn thing. You know that, right? So listen to what Megan has to say.”