A Forgotten Murder

by Jude Deveraux

  Her shoes were still on, not made for walking, but better than none. She was hurt and she felt dirty. Used. Discarded as though she was worth nothing. She staggered forward.

  ACT TWO

  SCENE TWO

  THE STABLES

  It was late, but Sean was outside the open double doors. A saddle was on a block and he was rubbing lanolin on the leather. He gave a quick glance to Diana when she stepped into the edge of the light. “Get tired of the noise of them?” he asked. “Too much booze? Too much cake?”

  When she didn’t say anything, he turned. She was in full light now and he could see her clearly. The torn dress, bruised body, hair wild. Blood covered the side of her face.

  He didn’t say anything, just dropped the brush and ran to her.

  At the sight of him, her friend, Diana let go. She no longer had to try to be brave or strong.

  Sean caught her before she hit the ground and carried her inside. There were bales of hay with a blanket over them and he stretched her out there.

  He didn’t have to be told what had happened to her. Her thighs were bruised, bloody and glistening. He spread a blanket over her, then got a wet cloth and wiped the blood off the side of her face.

  “Nicky...”

  “Ssssh,” he said. “You don’t have to explain.”

  “I told him I couldn’t marry him. Helen...”

  “Yeah, I know. I’ve seen the way you two look at each other. You almost set the barn on fire.”

  Diana gave a slight smile, but then the tears started. “I don’t know what to do. Should I call the police?”

  Sean’s calloused hands were smoothing back her hair. “I wish we could. I wish I could say he’d be prosecuted, but it won’t happen.”

  She closed her eyes but the tears kept coming.

  “I want you to leave here. Now. Tonight,” he said.

  “I need to get—”

  “No! Leave everything. Take Rona and go.”

  Her eyes widened. “But she’s expecting—”

  “I know. But they don’t.”

  “Bertram will have the law after me. I can’t steal one of his horses.”

  Sean went to a tack cabinet, opened it and pulled out a suitcase. It wasn’t very big, but it had locks and two leather straps encircling it. “I want you to take this and hold it for me. I’ll meet you at the Rose and Crown tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. I’ll see that Rona gets back here.” He went to the stall and led the pregnant mare out.

  “Are you leaving here?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then let’s go now. Together. This minute.”

  “I can’t,” he said.

  “But what’s to hold you here? Helen and I plan to go to Australia. Come with us.”

  There was a sound outside that made him stop and listen. “You have to get up and go now.” He disappeared for a moment and returned with a pair of jeans. “Put these on and go to Helen. She’ll take care of you. Tomorrow I’ll meet you at the pub.” He gave a bit of a smile. “I’ll have a surprise for you.”

  He helped her stand, then turned away as she pulled on the jeans.

  Sean got the mare saddled, with his suitcase strapped onto the back. He cupped his hands to help Diana mount.

  But they weren’t fast enough. Nicky was standing in the doorway, and he was holding one of his father’s guns, a heavy, old pistol. Everyone knew that Bertram kept them clean—and loaded. “Are you stealing a horse?”

  “Borrowing it.” Sean sounded cool, but his eyes were glittering in anger.

  Diana saw that Sean was inching forward. A few more feet and he’d be close enough to leap on Nicky. But the gun could go off! She needed to get Nicky’s attention onto her. “Yes! I’m leaving forever,” she said, loudly. “You’re a piece of filth and I never want to see you again.”

  “If you tell anyone what you made me do, I’ll kill you,” Nicky said, aiming the gun at her.

  She tried not to look at Sean, but she knew he was getting closer. Her voice grew louder. “I’m going to the police. Right now. I’ll tell them what you did. I may not win in court but your illustrious name won’t be clean anymore. I’ll say there are orgies here and—”

  Sean leaped and the gun went off.

  Diana held her breath as she waited to see what had happened.

  Sean stepped away, seeming to be unscathed. He glared at Nicky for a moment, then turned to Diana. “Go.”

  She didn’t have to be told a second time. She gave him a quick look up and down. The bullet must have missed him. She climbed onto the saddle and took off into the night.

  Sean waited until Diana was out of sight, then he turned to Nicky, who was still standing there, gun in hand.

  Nicky could see what Diana had not: Sean’s side was bleeding.

  Sean put his hands to his side. His voice was low. “You may get your kicks from raping girls and they may be too scared to take you to court but I’m not.” He raised his bloody hand in a threatening way. “I will prosecute you. Attempted murder. Before I’m done, I’ll see you in prison.” He stepped back to the bales of hay.

  Nicky, terror on his face, dropped the gun and ran toward the house.

  PRESENT DAY

  Kate was the first one to run to Jack. The fake blood on his side looked very real. Without thinking about what she was doing, she pulled his shirt out of his jeans and ran her hands over his ribs.

  Jack had raised his arm and was watching her in amusement. “It wasn’t real,” he said softly. “I wasn’t actually shot.”

  Kate looked up to see a few people staring at the two of them. Embarrassed, she sat back on her heels. “That will never come out of that shirt.”

  Under the cover of the bales of hay, he squeezed her hand—then turned to the bystanders. “Next act is in the kitchen. Better go get your places before they’re all gone.”

  All but the police inspector left. “So young Nicky killed you?” the inspector asked.

  “I’m not sure about that,” Jack said. “I wasn’t given a death scene.”

  “Interesting,” the man said, and started toward the house.

  Kate stayed where she was. “If it was only Nicky and Sean there, how do we know that Nicky shot him?”

  “I think this is our Sara’s storytelling. Remember I told you that there were two bullets with the skeleton? You were so busy drooling over evil Nicky’s son that I didn’t get a chance to tell you where they were located.”

  “I don’t think you should throw stones at sons of bad daddies.”

  “Agreed. Anyway, one bullet was embedded in his lower ribs. The other one was in his skull.”

  “You told Aunt Sara that?”

  “You think I withheld information from her? Not on my life! Don’t forget that there are three more acts. I can’t imagine what else has been put together.”

  “I hope the other acts aren’t like these two. Too dramatic for my taste.”

  He held out his arm. “Help me up, will you? All this blood loss makes me weak.”

  She didn’t call him on his joke, but put her arm around his waist, as his went around her shoulders. “What happened in the kitchen? I can’t imagine Mrs. Aiken allowing anything to go on in her kingdom.”

  “I have no idea,” Jack said, “but I believe Diana is playing Mrs. Aiken. Sara wanted Bella but she declined.”

  “Understandable.” She looked up at him. “When this is done, I still want to go to Scotland.”

  Smiling, he kissed the top of her head. “It’s my heart’s dream.”

  They walked to the kitchen together.

  ACT THREE

  KITCHEN OF OXLEY MANOR

  Puck was in the big walk-in pantry. Byon and Nicky had sent her there to get more of the tinned fish paste that Willa had brought. They’d all been smoking marijuana and were very hungry.


  Actually, not everyone was smoking. Nadine had worn a beautiful dress but she’d spent the evening in the downstairs loo. Puck’s mother had muttered “Women problems” in disapproval. It was like she knew some secret that no one else did.

  Diana had been nervous all night, constantly looking out the windows. If a door opened, she jumped. She seemed to be expecting someone.

  As for Clive and Willa, they were playing their usual hide-and-seek game. He hid, but if Willa took too long to find him, Clive changed places. As Byon said, “If Clive didn’t have Willa to complain about, would we know he existed?” Byon would say most anything to make Nicky laugh.

  Puck filled a basket with delicacies, all while knowing that tomorrow her mother would give her hell. No amount of saying, “It was for Nicky,” would stop her mother’s tirade.

  When the kitchen door opened, Puck crossed her fingers. Please, she thought. Don’t let it be my mother. Even though the others seemed to be in a bad mood tonight, they were still better than getting caught by her mother.

  But it was, of course, her. Her mother started slamming pans about and muttering complaints. “I don’t know why they expect me to do it all. They should go home and leave Nicky alone. He has too much to do. Too much to oversee. They are destroying him.”

  Puck had heard it all many times and knew her mother could go on for hours. Only Nicky was able to coax her out of a bad mood.

  Puck was thinking about how she could get out without being seen when the door to the outside was flung open. She expected drunken laughter but what she heard was her mother’s gasp of shock.

  Puck peeked out. Nicky was standing in the doorway and he looked so terrible that she put her hands over her mouth to keep from crying out. His face was bruised and swollen. There was a long scratch down the side of his jaw.

  Mrs. Aiken engulfed him in her big arms and led him to the chair at the head of the table. “Who did this?”

  “Diana and I...” He caught his breath. “We... She made me do things. She forced me to do—”

  “Shhhh.” Mrs. Aiken glanced toward the pantry as if she knew her daughter was in there.

  Puck pressed herself back against the shelves and put her hands over her ears. No! No! she thought. Don’t let it be true that she knows about me.

  When Puck put her hands down, Nicky was crying. He had his face in his hands and he was shivering.

  “I will fix it,” Mrs. Aiken said. She pulled a little plastic case out of a drawer. “Nadine left this. Wash your face, then use this to cover those bruises. Don’t let them see you like this.”

  “I don’t think I can. I need—”

  Mrs. Aiken leaned her face close to his. “You need to be who you are. This will go away. I’ll make sure of it.” With her big apron still on, her mother left through the kitchen door.

  Puck stayed in the pantry and watched Nicky douse his face in the kitchen sink and use the liquid soap. He dried himself with a kitchen towel that he threw on the table. It looked to have blood on it. Surely not! she thought.

  Then Nicky used the cosmetics in the little bag to cover what he could of the scratches and bruises.

  It took him a long time to do all of it and as he did, his body gradually stopped shaking. He’d entered the kitchen as a scared young man. Puck had never seen him so limp, so defeated. But now, the Nicky she knew was coming back. He was standing up straighter and his head was regaining that cocky tilt.

  When he was finished, Puck held her breath. It was possible that he would come into the pantry, knowing she was there.

  But he didn’t. He stood, put his shoulders back and left the room. She heard him and Byon talking in the hall.

  She stayed where she was for a while, but she was afraid her mother would return and catch her. Besides, Puck wanted to know what Diana had made Nicky do. Clean the stables? That would indeed traumatize him.

  Puck went into the drawing room and everyone except Diana was there. She went to Byon and asked where Diana was.

  “She was just here,” he said. “Come and dance with me.” He drew her to him. “Uh-oh. There goes Clive, slipping away. Bet you a fiver Willa will be right behind him.”

  “Are you sure Diana is all right? Nicky doesn’t look too good.” He was sitting in the darkest corner, his head down.

  Byon leaned close to her. “I think Diana and Nicky had a moonlight premarriage tryst and he may have landed in the blackberry patch. He tried to cover it with makeup but he doesn’t know how. I’ll do it for him tomorrow.”

  Byon whirled her about.

  “Everything is very strange tonight. Don’t you feel it?” she asked.

  “I feel as though something big is about to happen.”

  The music stopped and he stepped away. “Where’s the food you went to get?”

  “The dining room.”

  “Then let’s go.”

  PRESENT DAY

  The big lights on their tall stands were turned off, and Sara changed batteries and SD cards on her Sony. The audience was standing to the side in silence.

  “I didn’t know what happened to Diana,” Puck whispered. “I should have—”

  “You were fourteen!” Nadine snapped. “You weren’t supposed to know, and none of it was your responsibility—especially when you’d been lied to.”

  They all looked at Byon. He was shaking so hard he sat down in a kitchen chair. “I thought I was telling a white lie. I didn’t know what had actually happened. I didn’t imagine...” He couldn’t say any more.

  “You weren’t aware of the criminal activity of a man you worshipped?” Jack’s voice was cold.

  “Sometimes friends surprise us.” Sara gave Jack a pointed look. Last year his best friend had shocked them all.

  “Did you cover Nicky’s bruises the next day?” Kate, ever the peacemaker, asked.

  “I did,” Byon said. “I did such a good job that the police didn’t notice.”

  “We saw,” the police inspector said. “We just didn’t know it was covering anything—or that that much makeup was unusual on him.”

  “Right,” Jack said. “No one has the right to question future earls about anything, and they can do as they damned well please.”

  Chris had been silent through this. He sat down by Byon. Tonight he’d learned his birth was the result of a rape and that his father shot a man.

  Teddy put her hand on Chris’s shoulder. “I think we need a break.”

  “For how long?” Sara asked.

  “As long as it takes an Englishman to drink a cup of tea,” Byon said.

  “But that means another 350 years!” Sara said.

  It took a moment before anyone responded, but it was a needed bit of levity.

  “Puck to the pantry,” Nadine said. “And let’s not take so long with the tea. I want to see what’s where.” She looked at Kate.

  “Me too!” They smiled at each other.

  “Exposing more secrets,” Clive said. He was looking at Willa as she and the lawyer leaned toward each other. They seemed to be talking about something serious. Now and then, one of them would glance up at Clive, then quickly look away. The next act was about Clive and Willa. He had his script for what he was to say to her but not what her part was. The truth was, he didn’t remember saying the line as it was written for him—as Willa remembered the words. Since he doubted that he’d ever said such a thing, he felt he had a right to change the line to something kinder, something that presented him in a better light. The next time Willa looked up, he smiled at her. And she smiled back. Everything is going to be fine, he thought.

  ACT FOUR

  A BENCH ON A HILL OVERLOOKING THE STABLES

  It was dark in the garden, but Clive, playing himself, knew his way around. The only light was from the stables down the hill. Both doors were open but there was no one there. Clive thought h
e should tell Bertram about that. Thorpe wasn’t doing his job.

  Willa was sitting on a bench and staring down at the light from the stables. He remembered that back then it seemed that he could never get away from her. He sighed but she didn’t look up. “I should have known you’d be here waiting. I don’t have time—”

  “Be quiet!” she said.

  “What?” Clive was shocked at her tone. He didn’t remember her ever speaking to him this way.

  “I’m listening. Something is happening here tonight, but I don’t know what it is.”

  Clive groaned. “You and your drama. The group is breaking up, that’s all. They don’t know how they’re going to cope with life if they don’t have each other. Unlike me, who has to work all the time, they—”

  “Diana rode away on a horse.”

  “Diana is always on a horse.”

  “Not at night. She’d be afraid the animal would be hurt. And I heard a sound.”

  Clive sighed again, this time louder. “And what was that?”

  “An explosion. It...” She looked up at him. “It sounded like a gunshot.”

  Clive thought he’d told Sara and Byon that he remembered explaining to Willa that Thorpe had been dealing with rats. He just didn’t remember how the topic came up. He sat down on the far end of the bench and tried to keep to what had been said that night. “Thorpe didn’t tell you that he’s been chasing rats? He seems like the type to shoot at them.”

  She turned to him. “I guess you would poison them. Let them die slowly.”

  Clive looked shocked. This wasn’t the way their conversation went in the past! She’d said she thought he was right. “No, I meant... What you heard was probably him.” He needed to get this back on track. He’d remembered that she’d asked about their wedding. She was demanding that he set the date. “About when we get married, we—”

  She stood up and glared down at him. “Married? Clive, of all the things I want in life, you are at the bottom.” She turned and walked away.

  Clive stood up and looked at the camera. “That’s not what happened! I was the one to say that to her. She has no right to—”