"Still don’t remember what happened, huh?" Ryan chuckled. "That LSD is good stuff. My boss only deals in the best. Who knows how long you’d be having flashbacks and hallucinations. Too bad you won’t get to enjoy this for very long." He held up the full syringe.

"Are you going to tell me or not?" Joe demanded.

"Sure, why not." Ryan responded. "You won’t be around to tell anyone." Stepping back, he sat on the floor in front of Joe, legs crossed in front of him with his arms resting on his knees.

"I have a debt I need to pay off. A pretty hefty one. When I got the letter about the inheritance from dear old Uncle George, it was like some kind of sign. With my share and Vanessa’s I’ll have enough to pay off the debt and still have some left over for me. Even after taxes." Ryan’s face lit up like he’d won the lottery.

Even though Joe already knew all this, hearing Ryan admit it lit a fuse deep inside him. However knowing Ryan had to freely admit to everything himself so no one could accuse Joe of coercion, Joe forced himself to remain silent although there was no mistaking the burning hatred in his eyes.

"My boss doesn’t take kindly to unpaid debts." Ryan continued. "That’s who I owe the money to. My boss. Anyway, it took me a day or so, but I finally tracked down Aunt Andrea and Vanessa. I haven’t seen Vanessa in close to twenty years. Never thought she’d turn out to be such a babe." Ryan winked, laughing at the low growl that escaped Joe’s throat.

"Down, boy. She’s hot but she’s still my flesh and blood."

"Didn’t stop you from trying to kill her." Joe reminded him.

"Nothing personal. Just self preservation." Ryan remarked. Standing up, he began to pace the small barn. "You on the other hand…let’s just say I won’t lose any sleep over killing you. I thought I had it made. I mean who’d think a twenty-two-year old chick only a few years out of college would have a will." He stopped, shaking his head at Joe. "You really threw a wrench into my plans. Still, I had it all worked out. But then she wouldn’t die and you started to remember too much too soon."

Joe couldn’t hide a smile at Ryan’s remark. He still didn’t have a clue about Sam and Frank’s fact-finding trip to Florida. He simply thought Joe recognized him from the night he forced his way into the apartment.

"An associate of mine who’s a whiz on the computer did a little research for me. He found out about you and Vanessa’s will. Granted I had to break into the warehouse to find out exactly who her primary beneficiary was once I got to town, but that was okay. I really didn’t want to have to hurt Aunt Andrea. She was always nice to me…" Ryan’s voice trailed off as his eyes took on a faraway look.

"So you pay her back by murdering her daughter?!" Joe exclaimed in disbelief.

Whirling around Ryan backhanded Joe across the face. "Do you want to know what happened or not?" He asked, suddenly angry.

Joe nodded, licking the blood off his cut lip.

Ryan resumed pacing, a little faster and more frenetic this time.

"I went to your apartment building that night. The plan was to kill Vanessa and set you up to take the fall. Your little stint in drug rehab when you were seventeen played right into my hands. That stupid pizza delivery boy let me walk right into the building. Then you opened the door for me. You put up a fight, yelling for Vanessa to get out of the apartment. She came running into the living room and screamed. You turned to look at her and I got in a lucky punch."

The image of a fist crashing into his jaw came out of nowhere for Joe. As if he were watching a movie, he saw someone chasing Vanessa back towards the bedroom and he heard another scream before Ryan’s voice brought him back to the present.

"She locked herself in the bathroom. Guess she thought it was safe enough. But that gave me enough time to come back and take care of you." Ryan held up the syringe. "Shot you up with what turned out to be your first experience with LSD. Man, I’ve seen some bad trips before but yours must have set some kind of record. You thought people were attacking you from all sides.

"While you were trying to ‘escape’ from them, I went back to the bathroom and jimmied the door open. Had to drag her kicking and screaming into the kitchen. I was afraid you’d hear her screaming and try to play the hero, but you were so far gone you didn’t have clue what was going on." Ryan grimaced as he fingered a bruise on his cheek. "Not that she needed any help. Man, she’s a fighter.

"Lucky for me you left that knife on the counter. She almost got away from me once. Picked up that glass of soda and broke it against the counter. Then she tried to cut me with it. Did you teach her that trick?" Ryan asked.

"So, I didn’t stab her, you did." Joe conjectured, picking up on Ryan’s reference to the knife.

Ryan started to answer but snapped his mouth shut, studying the look on Joe’s face. "You don’t remember who stabbed her, do you?" Ryan smiled sadistically, enjoying the look of confusion Joe couldn’t hide.

"Nah. I think I’ll let you die never knowing which one of us did it." Ryan moved towards Joe, reaching for his arm. "After that it was just a matter of planting the drugs in your gym bag and getting out. Thank God you only live on the second floor. The jump off the balcony wasn’t too bad. But that nosy neighbor of yours saw me. I almost thought I’d blown it but he kept calling me Joe, so he obviously thought I was you." He chuckled. "Okay, enough reminiscing. I want to get this over with and go home."

"Vanessa has a twenty-four hour police guard now. You’ll never get past them. Face it, your plan won’t work." Joe said, realizing he was just about out of time.

Ryan shrugged, looking over Joe’s arm carefully. "A cheap wig, some drugstore reading glasses, a stolen uniform and ID and I’ll be just another hospital employee."

"How can you do this? Murder two people and not even think twice about it?" Joe exclaimed, trying to pull his arm out of Ryan’s grasp.

"You don’t understand!" Ryan shouted, pulling Joe forward roughly. Leaning down, Ryan glared at him, his face only a few inches away from Joe’s. "Do you have any idea what it’s like to be in debt to the most powerful drug lord in Florida? This inheritance is my ticket to freedom. I need that money! ALL of it! Now shut up. It’s time to get this over with once and for all."

Joe watched as Ryan grabbed his arm once again pulling it straight. He grimaced at the pain that shot through his now hyper-extended elbow.

‘Anytime now, Frank.’ Joe mentally prodded his brother to appear.

As Ryan pressed the needle against his skin, Joe felt a slight prick.

‘Come on, Bro. I’m counting on you.’ Joe thought, starting to get just a little nervous.

Watching as the needle pierced his skin and Ryan’s thumb began to depress the plunger, Joe started to panic.