A Forgotten Murder

by Jude Deveraux

  “Sorry,” he said. “Didn’t mean to frighten you. I’m Christopher Isles, Diana’s son. So this is where it is?” He nodded toward the place where Jack had pushed the vines aside. The light from below was brighter now.

  Kate was staring at him, not sure what to say. He was Jack’s height, a little over six feet, with dark blond hair and blue eyes. He had on all khaki clothes, like he’d been on a safari. His accent was nice. “You’re Australian?”

  “Mom says I’m English. I was just born and raised Down Under. And please don’t ask me to say anything about shrimp on a barbie.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it,” Kate said. She tried to stop herself, but her eyelashes fluttered. He was quite good-looking!

  “Mom told me about you and a famous writer and some guy who looks like Sean—whoever he is. She said his skeleton was found in a cave. Or in a hole. I’m not sure which.”

  “Sort of both. He’s down there.” She pointed.

  “You’re bringing him—it—up?”

  “No. Jack’s looking for—” She hesitated in telling too much.

  He smiled in understanding, then stood and offered his hand to help her up. “One thing for sure is that I’m not the murderer. I wasn’t born at the time this guy disappeared.”

  “Me neither,” Kate said, and smiled back. “I don’t mean to be so personal, but, well... Who is your father?”

  “I am the product of IVF and a donor from a catalog. My two moms call me ‘untainted.’ I have to work at not seeming to be ‘too male.’”

  “You’re not doing a very good job,” Kate said.

  Chris laughed. “Don’t tell my moms that. They’ll feel they failed in their life’s work of creating a man who cares about...well, about everything.”

  They smiled at each other.

  “I was late getting here because I bought a horse. I’m taking him to Wales to my mother’s cousin.”

  “Diana’s?”

  “No. My other mom. She’s in Nelson on the station. All of us can’t leave at once.”

  “So who have you met?”

  Chris ran his hand through his hair. “Just a woman named Isabella. She seems to hate me.”

  “She owns Oxley Manor and she’s angry that we’ve taken over the place.” Kate leaned forward and her voice grew quieter. “Aunt Sara has been careful not to let her know there’s a...you know on her property.”

  “Guess she won’t be too happy when the police show up. You are going to tell them, aren’t you?”

  “Eventually. Did you hear about the play? You’re going to be Nicky.”

  “Is he a good guy or a bad one?”

  Kate held out her hand and flipped it back and forth. “No one seems to be sure. Byon adored him. Mrs. Aiken worshipped him. Not sure what Nadine feels about anything.”

  “What did Mom think of him? She—” He stopped. “Is someone calling you?”

  “Oh! Yes. Sorry.” Kate went down to her knees to lean over the well opening. “I’m here,” she called down. “What do you need?”

  “I found two of them,” Jack said.

  “Two of what?”

  “Bullets.”

  “Crickey,” Chris said. He was close beside her.

  “Who the hell is that?” Jack yelled up.

  “I’m Christopher Isles, Diana’s son,” he called down. “Need any help?”

  “I damned well don’t!” Jack shouted.

  Kate sat back on her heels. “He’s not going to be happy that you found us.”

  “I don’t blame him. Who do you think did this?”

  “Everyone is a suspect,” Kate said. “Each of them had opportunity and motive.”

  “My mom, too?”

  Kate didn’t answer and she could feel her face turning red.

  “What I was told is that after Mom left here that night, she and my other mother went directly to Australia.”

  “Oh,” Kate said. “So she’s English too? They met before the night Diana left?”

  “Yeah. She was a trainer at a nearby farm. Met, fell in love instantly and...” He shrugged.

  Kate smiled. “So Diana chose love over Oxley Manor.”

  “I really wish someone would tell me what’s going on here. Does anyone actually think my mom shot a horseman, then ran off to Australia? I think she was saying she was engaged to him.”

  “Oh no,” Kate said. “Diana was engaged to Nicky, who owned this place, and he couldn’t care less about horses. Sean, who is down there, ran the stables.”

  “My mother was thinking of marrying somebody who wasn’t horse mad?” He laughed. “She must have been temporarily insane.”

  “I think maybe they all were. She—”

  “I don’t mean to interrupt this little powwow,” Jack said, “but why are you here?” He was on the chain ladder, with just his head above the ground.

  “To offer help,” Kate said. “He’s come all the way from Nelson, Australia, and he wasn’t born until after the night his mother disappeared. He’s our one true innocent.”

  “And Teddy,” Jack said as he climbed the rest of the way out.

  “How could I have forgotten Teddy?” Kate mumbled. “Teddy is—” She broke off because her phone buzzed—as did Jack’s and Chris’s. “Please, please don’t let anybody else be dead,” Kate said.

  “Do people often drop dead around here?” Chris took his phone out of his pocket.

  “Here, there, everywhere we go,” Jack said. “Put a shovel in the ground, hit a bone.” He looked at his phone. It was a joint text to Kate and him from Sara.

  Find Christopher, Diana’s son, and hide him. Don’t let any of the Pack see him!! Mega important.

  Chris’s text was from his mother telling him to go somewhere and stay out of sight. “And here my mother always told me I wasn’t an ugly troll.”

  Kate laughed a bit too much at his joke; Jack didn’t even smile.

  “What are we supposed to do with him?” Jack asked.

  “Toss me down the well?” Christopher asked in a way that was almost a challenge.

  “Gatehouse!” Kate said. “I think it’s empty now.” She looked at Jack. “You can open the lock.”

  “Sure you don’t want to get a kangaroo to break a window?” Jack asked.

  Kate gave him a look that took the smirk off his face.

  Jack sighed. “Okay, let’s go, Crocodile Dundee. I’ll take you there through the outskirts. Who’s seen you since you got here?”

  “Only Isabella,” Chris and Kate said in unison, then smiled at each other.

  Jack rolled his eyes.

  “I have a horse here and—”

  “Of course you do,” Jack said.

  “It’s a big black stallion that only I can ride. Named Lucifer,” Chris said.

  Jack and Kate stared at him.

  Chris grinned. To Kate’s astonishment, Jack put his arm around the younger man’s shoulders. “Chris, my boy, I’m starting to like you. They walked away from Kate. They were too far away for Kate to hear more of their conversation. At her feet was the chain ladder. Was she supposed to pull the huge iron thing up, hand over hand like an anchor? Then untie it from the tree and haul it back to the storage bin?

  She looked about but the men were gone. She began pulling up the heavy ladder. “Give me back corsets and crinolines,” she muttered.

  When she got the ladder up—and she was sweating—Jack and Chris were standing there, both of them grinning down at her.

  “I’m all for corsets,” Jack said.

  “What’s a crinoline?” Chris asked.

  Kate stood up, the end of the ladder in her hand. “I hate you both,” she said, then let the ladder drop back down into the well. Let them pull it back up! She straightened her shoulders, put her chin up and walked toward the house. “Men are sli
me,” she said over her shoulder. She didn’t wait to see if they commented.

  Twenty-Three

  When Kate entered the house, the first thing she saw was Bella and her expression of rage. Her anger seemed to be so strong that she wasn’t able to speak.

  Kate tried to be cheerful when she said hello, but she sounded wimpy and apologetic. After all, Kate knew what was coming for her beautiful hotel.

  Bella didn’t say anything, just turned away and stomped up the stairs.

  In the next moment, Kate heard Nadine. “Not there! Over here! These colors are all wrong. Who decorates like this anymore?”

  Kate went to the door of the large drawing room. It looked like the entire staff of male workers was in the room—and they were moving furniture. Bella’s neat, orderly room was being turned around, with couches put by windows, chairs in little groups. The room was being changed from a place that dealt with a large gathering into half a dozen private areas. It looked like Nadine was putting the room back to the way it was when the Pack had been hanging out there.

  “No! No!” Nadine said. “That’s Nicky’s corner but that’s Byon’s chair. Put it by the piano.”

  Nadine looked up and saw Kate. “Isn’t it wonderful about Diana? I was so afraid she was... You know.”

  “It is good,” Kate said. “Everyone was happy to see her?”

  “Ecstatic.” She turned to a workman. “Table next to that chair.” She looked back at Kate. “I hear you’re going to play me.”

  “Yes. If you don’t mind.”

  “I’m flattered. The green dress is upstairs. Teddy is going to be Diana.” Nadine frowned. “That night Diana had on a minidress that was way too short. Maybe you can reason with Teddy about it.”

  Kate smiled at that. Getting Teddy to not do whatever she wanted was an impossible task and they both knew it. “Where is everyone?”

  “Jack and Teddy are setting up for the stages. We’ve been told there are five acts and two of them are in the stables. Diana even brought a horse. How very like her! Clive should be back from London soon. He bought the lights Sara asked for. Willa is in the attic. She’s in charge of finding clothes for everyone.”

  “I guess Byon and Aunt Sara are holed up somewhere.”

  “Oh yes,” Nadine said. “Byon was quite dramatic with the door. What have you been doing?”

  Kate wasn’t about to tell of finding two bullets and Diana’s son. All that was of utmost secrecy. She faked a yawn. “Staying out too late and having fun. I need a shower.”

  She left before Nadine could ask more questions. The truth was that Kate did want some time to calm down, time to be alone. In her beautiful room, she took a long, hot shower, washed her hair, blow-dried it and put on clean clothes. So now what did she do? Or more precisely, which group did she join? Nadine? Willa? Jack and Teddy? Maybe she’d volunteer to type for Byon and Aunt Sara. Or maybe she’d go to the gatehouse and keep Chris company. She smiled at that idea.

  In the end she went up the stairs to the attic. Willa seemed the safest bet. Kate’s slippers made no noise so she caught Willa off guard. In a pile on the floor was Willa’s old dress with its heavy padding, while Willa herself was sitting in a chair wearing her yoga gear. She was absorbed in what looked to be a photo album.

  “You’ve been caught!” Kate said.

  Willa gasped, then relaxed. “I thought I locked the door.”

  “Nope. Or at least not the one I used. Have you found all the clothes?”

  Willa gave a one-shoulder shrug. “Enough of them. They were tossed into a trunk. It’s a wonder they’re still here.”

  “Aunt Sara said Isabella bought the house ‘as is.’ Intact. Even the trash bins were still full. I’m sure it has something to do with Bella being related to the earl. Keeping it all in the family, that sort of thing.”

  “I never saw that woman when we were here, and I’m glad I didn’t. We had Bertram’s bad temper to deal with. We didn’t need hers added to it. I guess you saw Diana.”

  “Oh yes. Nadine said everyone was glad to see her.” Kate’s tone was asking Willa if that was true.

  “Diana walked in at breakfast, acting like it was a regular day from years ago. She asked if there were any kippers.” Willa was smiling. “It was very good to see her. Byon cried.”

  “And Nadine?”

  “She was blinking back tears, but she got them under control. Diana made us remember the good times.”

  Kate looked at the clothes scattered about. “Do you know what everyone’s wearing?”

  “The men were easy. They’re over there.” She nodded toward an old coatrack that had three garment bags hanging on it. They had Post-it notes on them: Nicky, Clive, Byon. “I doubt if Byon’s still fits,” she said smugly.

  “It’s good you found them. I’ll just look around for any of the, uh, other clothes.”

  Willa wasn’t fooled by Kate’s seeming indifference. “Yours is over there.”

  On a hanger on an old screen painted with butterflies was the dress Kate had only seen a bit of. It was a 1920s flapper dress of emerald green silk charmeuse. Around the neckline and the hips were wide bands of gold beads. Kate picked up the dress and held it at arm’s length. “It’s gorgeous.”

  “Everything Nadine wore was beautiful.”

  “She said Diana wore a minidress.”

  “I couldn’t find it. I wonder if she still had it on when she left. If she rode a horse in it, she didn’t leave anything to the imagination. Teddy will have to find something like it.”

  “A string bikini, maybe?” Kate said under her breath. “And what about you? What are you wearing?”

  Willa groaned. “I did find my dress. Why did I think ruffles were attractive on me?”

  Kate looked at her sitting there in her sleek, skintight yoga gear and couldn’t imagine her in a dowdy, ruffle-covered dress. “So tell me about you and your lawyer last night.”

  “How did—?” Willa laughed. “This is as bad as it was before. No one could do anything without the others finding out.”

  Kate didn’t mention how the Pack had worked to break her and the lawyer up. Willa seemed to be remembering good things about the past. “How was your date?”

  Willa closed her eyes for a moment. “Wonderful! He’s like I remember. Smart and funny and caring.”

  “Did you tell him about Renewal?”

  “Yes. And he said—” She took a breath. “He said he’d always known I had potential. I just needed to get away from the leeches.”

  “That being Nicky, Byon and Nadine.”

  “And Clive. Eddie thinks he strung me along, that he was after my fortune. Eddie doesn’t like Clive much.”

  “No one seems to,” Kate said.

  “Eddie is coming tonight. Your aunt invited him.”

  Kate stared at her. Does Aunt Sara think Eddie the lawyer is a suspect? “Have any other outsiders been invited?”

  “The gossip is that the police inspector is coming.”

  “Really?” The would-be writer? Kate thought. “When did you hear all this?”

  “At breakfast. It was a feast of food and information. Where were you and Jack and Sara?”

  “At Puck’s,” Kate said quickly. And searching inside Sean’s remains. “That’s where we met Diana. If your new boyfriend is here, will you be Willa or Meena?”

  Willa put the album down and stood up. “I think it’s time to reveal my true self. What do you think?”

  “Honestly? I think you should be Willa until after the play. Then when you take your bows, strip off to reveal Meena. It will be deliciously dramatic.”

  “Ohhhh. I love it! There are lots of ugly clothes in boxes around here. I’ll just use one of them. I can—”

  “Here you two are!” It was Nadine.

  Willa jumped behind the screen and franticall
y motioned for Kate to toss her the padded dress.

  Nadine plopped down in the chair Willa had been using. “You can come out. And you don’t have to pad yourself.”

  When Willa said nothing, Nadine let out a sigh of exasperation. “Did you really think no one would see the difference in you? Well, I did anyway. I doubt if Byon or Clive noticed anything.”

  Willa took a moment to make her decision, then she walked—no, she strutted—from behind the screen to stand in front of Nadine.

  The woman gave Willa a quick look up and down. “Same as always. Still sneaking, still hiding the truth. Nothing has changed.” She picked up the photo album, seeming to dismiss her.

  For a moment Willa looked like she was going to revert to who she used to be: the bottom member of the group, the one everyone looked down on.

  Kate took a step forward, ready to intervene.

  “Found a husband to support you yet?” Willa asked. “Sure you can get one at your age?”

  Nadine looked up with eyes that sparkled. “The rabbit grows horns.”

  “Horns made of gold,” Willa said. “What are you planning to wear tonight?”

  “Since I have no part to play, it doesn’t matter, does it?” Nadine went back to looking at the album.

  Kate, standing to the side, let her breath out. It had been a short, terse conversation, but she could see that the dynamic between the two women had changed. They seemed to be equals now.

  “It’s going to be filmed,” Willa said. “I’m sure you’ll be introduced as the ‘real’ Nadine. Wear something conservative but sleek. And pearls. You still have those with the jade clasp?”

  “Actually, I don’t know.” Nadine hesitated. “Were you grilled, interrogated and threatened by the writers?”

  “Thoroughly.” Willa looked at Kate. “I think your aunt might be worse than Byon.”

  “Did you answer all her questions?” Kate asked. “Or did you leave out key elements?”

  “I told all.” The two women looked at Nadine.

  “I confessed everything, complete with tears for the past. That pearl necklace? It’s part of my story.” She looked at Kate. “Since you’ll be playing me, you’ll find out everything later.” She looked back at the photos. “Here’s Nicky and Byon. I remember that day. We all went swimming.”