“And it wasn’t Vicki. You’re the one who sicced Kevin on me.”

“Ding . . . ding . . . ding . . .” He crowed like he was running a bingo hall. “We’ve got a winner!”

“You sonofabitch,” Sarah ground out, but Phillip just grinned and did a half bow as if she had paid him a compliment. The odd thing was, Sarah discovered she wasn’t scared at all. Must be the meds. No, she wasn’t scared. She was seriously pissed off. “And now, oh my. Look at you. Eeek.” She raised her hands in the air as she took a casual step backward, sarcasm dripping from her voice. “Bet you feel like a real big man standing behind that gun. One problem, asshole, you shoot me, how are you going to drag my body over to that hole to bury it? Notice the slight incline.” She dropped her hands, using the movement to take another step back. She was still too close. Odds of survival wouldn’t be good if she ran. Five or six rounds in the pistol’s chamber. At such close range, even a crappy shooter would probably make contact. Stall. Increase the distance. Then run. Serpentine. “That’s going to make your job even more difficult. Don’t think your puny little arms are up to the task.” He blinked. “Yeah. Good planning, big shot,” she drawled. “With those inferior strategy skills, it’s hard to believe my parents trusted you with their fortune. But that’s the way they were, trusting and loyal to the core, and look how you repay them.”

Phillip’s face turned puce. “Is that right?” he sneered. “Well, I hate to burst your little rose-colored bubble, but your father was interviewing people to replace me. He said ‘it was time for me to retire.’ ” He raised his hands and made quote marks with the fingers of his left hand and over the barrel of the gun with his right. “He said I was ‘slipping up’ ‘making mistakes,’ that he had noticed ‘discrepancies in the accounts,’ ” his voice shrill and mocking. “That is who your precious father was. Someone who would fire a loyal retainer who had worked tirelessly to increase his net worth, who was at his beck and call, who looked after his interests day and night. And how did he plan to repay me? With enforced retirement! By elbowing me out of the way. Ageism plain and simple.”

“He . . . he offered you a very generous pension, Phillip,” Auntie Jane said, her voice reedy, wavering slightly.