A Forgotten Murder

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A Forgotten Murder Page 28

by Jude Deveraux


  “Cut!” Sara yelled.

  “That wasn’t the way it was supposed to go,” Clive said. “Back then I was the one who...” He trailed off.

  “You were what?” Sara asked. “The person who had the power? You were the one who was wanted? Pursued? And now it’s Willa who is the valuable one?”

  “Valuable?” Clive said. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Everyone had their eyes on Willa, who was behind Clive. She was undressing. She unbuttoned her padded dress and let it fall to the ground. Under it, she had on a sleek, black, off-the-shoulder gown.

  When Clive turned and saw her, his jaw dropped, his eyes widened.

  Willa smiled at him very sweetly.

  With a groan, Sara started to speak, but Kate put herself in front of her aunt.

  “Meena!” Kate said sternly. “You didn’t tell the information you were supposed to.”

  “Meena?” Nadine asked.

  “Sorry,” Willa said, but she didn’t sound sorry. “For over twenty years I’ve carried that man’s words with me. At last I released them.”

  All the women were nodding in understanding.

  “What sound did you hear that night?” Jack blurted.

  “I guess I heard the shot Nicky fired, and I saw Diana ride away.”

  “Then what?” Kate asked.

  Willa shrugged. “Nothing. Clive—” she give him a dark look “—showed up and said that...that horrible thing to me and that was it.”

  “I hoped you would remember something new,” Sara said. “Clive isn’t important. What happened in the stables is.”

  “I couldn’t agree more,” Willa said. “But after he said that to me, I left. I went back to the house.”

  “And cried,” Nadine said. “And you took all the attention of everyone with your tears. Poor Willa. No one cared that I had just lost the father of my child.”

  “But you never told anyone of your problem,” Willa said.

  “I was to announce that the man I loved had run off with Diana? Really?”

  “If you had confided in us, I would have told you that I saw Diana ride away alone. Ask Mrs. Aiken. She was there.”

  Everyone went silent.

  Willa looked at them. “Oh. Sorry. I forgot that. When I was going back to the house in tears—” she gave another look of hate to Clive “—I heard someone. I hid and—”

  “You were always so good at that,” Clive said. “Hiding in bushes and—”

  “Shut the hell up!” Sara snapped at him, then looked back at Willa. “You’re sure?”

  “Yes, I am. But you knew she was there. In the earlier scene she left Nicky in the kitchen to go ‘fix it.’ Right. I see.” She looked at the silent police inspector. “I guess I’m a witness.”

  He nodded, then turned to Sara. “Isn’t there more to your play?”

  Sara looked at Kate. “You ready for the last act?”

  Kate exchanged looks with Nadine. “Yes, I think I am.”

  ACT FIVE

  SCENE ONE

  THE STABLES AT OXLEY MANOR

  Nadine was so nervous she could hardly walk. She couldn’t believe no one had guessed her condition. She’d spent the evening being sick and hadn’t drunk so much as a sip of the champagne Willa had shown up with. But everyone had their own problems. For all Byon’s bravado, they knew he was terrified of moving to big, bad London and trying to make it on his own. Nicky was going to be left with his father—and Diana. Nadine wondered if she’d be able to return for that loveless marriage ceremony. Would they have a cake that was a replica of what they were actually marrying? Of Oxley Manor?

  Laughter brought the nausea up and she halted to swallow it down. As she started walking again, she wished she knew where everyone was so she could stay out of sight. If any of them saw her and Sean together this late at night, they’d hurry to tell the others. They’d be gleeful at finding out that Nadine, who her rich father often called his princess, was in love with the low-class groomsman. All the snide, hateful things Byon had said about the man! Nadine had always pretended to laugh, but she did what was necessary to keep her father from finding out the truth.

  When she’d told Sean she was pregnant, she’d braced herself for his anger. But he’d been ecstatic. He’d whirled her around as though they were a young married couple and everything was wonderful. When she’d told him her father would probably disown her, he’d hadn’t blinked an eye. He’d assured her that they’d be fine—and she had believed him.

  They’d made their plans to run away on the last night and it was all in place.

  She clutched at her heavy handbag. It was oversize and packed full. Even the wide straps were stuffed to the point of being lumpy.

  She hadn’t dared tell Sean, but for the last month she’d been collecting jewelry. She’d gathered all she had, all that had been her mother’s and all she could coax her father into buying for her. He’d grumbled about the expense but he didn’t really mind. What else was he going to spend his money on but his daughter?

  She’d put everything into one big, black bag. She’d slit the leather straps and fed diamond bracelets into them. The lining, the pockets, were all full. On top, she’d put a few scarves—just in case anyone noticed.

  With her breath held, she went through the drawing room. Byon and Puck were dancing together, Nicky was sulking in a chair, his back to them. Clive and Willa weren’t there. Chasing each other, she thought. And Diana was missing. Please don’t let her be in the stables, snuggled up to some damned horse!

  Nadine made it out the side door with no one seeming to notice. When she got near the stables she saw the light—but she also heard voices. Up on the little hill she could see Clive and Willa. He seemed to be bawling her out. Damn him! she thought. He was angry that they were all about to leave on The Adventure That Is Life, while he had to stay and bear the brunt of Nicky’s and Bertram’s endless anger. He took it all out on poor Willa.

  Finally, Clive seemed to have said something so nasty that even masochistic Willa couldn’t take it. She ran down the path to the house, while Clive put his hands in his pockets and went the other way. He seemed to be feeling triumphant.

  Too bad I won’t be here tomorrow to take him down, Nadine thought.

  When it was quiet again, she went to the open stable doors. There was a saddle on a stand outside. She thought it was odd that Sean had left it there. Even she knew that rain might hurt the leather.

  She went into the stables and saw that it was empty of people. One of the horses was dancing about, its eyes rolling around, so she stayed away from it. The others also seemed agitated but for all she knew, they were always like that.

  She went back to Sean’s office but he wasn’t there. Just last night he’d shown her his suitcase, all packed and ready, in the corner by his big tool chest. She’d expressed concern that someone would see it, guess the truth and tell her father.

  He’d kissed away her worries, assuring her that no one, not even Diana, came to his office. And if they did, they would pay no attention to an old suitcase in the corner.

  The suitcase was no longer there.

  Maybe it was a sixth sense or just her being paranoid, but she knew something was wrong. Felt it in her bones.

  She didn’t know what to do. Wait for him to return? Go back to the house? Had he left her?

  She went back into the center of the stables, facing the open doors, and sat down on a bale of hay. The horses seemed to be more agitated. Shouldn’t they be asleep? she thought. Did they miss Sean? They made soft sounds when he was around and nuzzled against him. Sometimes, they almost made Nadine jealous.

  “Be quiet,” she hissed at them, but her words seemed to make them worse.

  When she heard a sound outside, she ducked down beside the hay bales, but it was nothing. One of Bertram’s dogs, maybe.

/>   It was when she stood up that she saw the corner of white fabric. It looked like one of Sean’s shirts, the heavy kind that he liked. Whatever was it doing back there?

  She gave it a tug, and to her horror, out fell a pistol. It clattered on the wooden floor.

  Nadine stood up, staring down at it in shock.

  Sean had complained about rats in the stable, eating grain, opening bags, annoying his beloved horses. “I’d like to blast them off the earth,” he’d said.

  Surely he hadn’t been shooting at them, Nadine thought. But if he did, then what? The gun fell down between the bales and he forgot about it?

  She used the shirt to pick it up, not wanting to touch the thing, and rolling the cloth around it. She jammed it into the top of her heavy bag and covered it with a silk scarf. When she next saw him, she planned to give him a piece of her mind. His carelessness was dangerous!

  There was another sound outside, only this time she knew it was one of the little trucks used on the estate. It had to be Sean!

  She hurried to his office. Let him have a few moments of not knowing she was there. Let him think she hadn’t shown up!

  But it wasn’t Sean who entered the stables. There was a little window, foggy from years of dirt that looked out toward the stalls.

  Oh no! Nadine thought. It was Mrs. Aiken. She despised Sean and was always accusing him of stealing food. That it was Nadine who was taking it made her and Sean laugh.

  Nadine knew that Nicky and Byon had sent Puck to the pantry to “rummage and appropriate” as they said. No doubt Mrs. Aiken had discovered the missing items and had come here in the middle of the night to accuse Sean. For those she hated, she never missed an opportunity to smother them in her anger.

  Nadine did not want to be part of this!

  There was a back door in the office and Sean kept the hinges well-oiled. She slipped out into the night, breathing in relief that she’d escaped.

  But now what? she thought. When Sean got back and saw Mrs. Aiken there, he’d turn around and leave. But where would he go?

  Instantly, she knew. The chapel. It was the only truly private place on all of Oxley. No one went there.

  Except us, Nadine thought as she began making her way around the house. Sean was probably waiting for her there now. He’d hold her and laugh at all her silly premonitions.

  “Nothing is wrong,” she said aloud. “Everything is good.” She hurried to the chapel.

  ACT FIVE

  SCENE TWO

  THE CHAPEL

  Nadine used her key to open the door to the chapel. Sean had had copies made so they could leave the original key in the kitchen. In the past year they’d spent a lot of their time thinking of ways to keep their meetings secret. Evading Puck had been the most difficult.

  “That child is everywhere,” Sean said. “She sees everything. Hears it all.” He believed Puck knew about them, but Nadine didn’t agree.

  As she opened the door, her breath was held in anticipation. This was it. The beginning of her new life. Marriage to the man she loved, a child on the way. She’d miss her father, but she had no doubt that as soon as he saw his grandchild, he’d forgive all. “I hope she’s a girl,” she whispered. Her father could spoil her, dote on her, shower her with gifts. He could—

  The chapel was empty. Worse, it had that feeling that no one had been in there in a long time.

  She sat down heavily on a wooden pew. Now what? Did she wait for him? She put her heavy bag down beside her. Maybe he’d had an emergency. One of the horses was sick. That she hadn’t seen Diana in the house seemed to reinforce the idea. Yes, an animal was ill and they’d taken it to the vet.

  She didn’t want to think about the fact that they’d heard no noise of a trailer being loaded or that no one had commented on this happening. She also didn’t want to think how much easier it would be for a vet to come to them.

  Pregnancy was making her sleepy. Her head fell to her chest and her eyes were beginning to close when she jerked awake. The stone walls of the chapel were thick but she thought she heard a sound outside.

  The window was high up and she could barely see out, but she saw one of the little trucks with its motor running. Nadine’s heart seemed to skip a beat. Sean was here!

  But no, Mrs. Aiken got out, went to the back and shoved what appeared to be a rolled-up rug farther back into the truck. It seemed to have been sliding out.

  Nicky was in the truck, and he got out and helped her. The rug looked to be quite heavy. She watched as he tied a rope around the end of the rug and fastened it to the side of the truck. He jerked hard on it.

  They got back into the vehicle and drove away. Nadine had no idea what those two were doing in the middle of the night—and she didn’t care either. She had her own problems to concern her.

  She turned away, leaned against the wall and felt like her life was leaving her. Where was Sean?

  She went back to the pew, meaning to sit down and wait for him, but she didn’t. Let him come to me, she thought. He certainly knew how to get in and out of the house. Many times he’d come to her bedroom. They’d laughed as they’d tiptoed about during the night. Sean often went through Bertram’s office. “I like to know what’s going on around this place,” he said. “Who’s paying his bills?” he’d asked more than once. For all their sneaking, they were never caught.

  She looked at her heavy bag. Did she take it back to the house? But what happened when Sean showed up later? That bag would be one more thing they’d have to hide.

  Turning, she looked at the memorial plaque of a Renlow who’d died in 1856. It was embedded in the wall at floor level. One time Sean had kicked it. He’d been saying that all of Oxley was falling down. In emphasis, he’d struck out at the old piece of stone—and it had clattered to the floor. It was a marvel it didn’t break.

  When it fell, they’d stood there in shocked silence. Inside they could see the end of a black coffin, its brass fittings tarnished and corroded.

  “Not very big, was he?” Sean said.

  Nadine couldn’t help laughing. “Let’s put it back before his ghost escapes and haunts us forever.”

  “A Renlow with me always?” Sean gave an exaggerated shiver. “Too horrible to imagine.”

  They put the plaque back in place and left.

  It wasn’t easy for Nadine to pull the stone out, put the bag inside, then get it back into place, but she did it.

  When she’d finished, she left the chapel, locked the door and went back into the house to wait.

  PRESENT DAY

  Kate was standing in the chapel. It was well lit by the big lights. Sara was behind her camera and everyone was waiting.

  Byon had finished reading the narrative, and Kate had done her job of looking out the window. In re-creating the past, Chris and Diana had been out there with the little truck and had lifted a rolled-up rug into the back.

  When Byon got to the part where Nadine opened the grave, it made sense for Kate to do that. But she’d just stood there, the prop bag Nadine had lent her at her feet.

  Everyone was silent as they stood there watching Kate.

  It seemed that the possibility of finding a bag full of jewels overshadowed thinking about what Nicky and Mrs. Aiken had in the back of the little truck—and what they were tying in place.

  Now all eyes, including the police inspector’s, were on Kate.

  Jack didn’t ask why Kate was hesitating, he just went to her. “This one?” he asked softly.

  She nodded.

  Kneeling, he tugged on the stone but it didn’t move.

  “I glued it,” Nadine said.

  “Ah,” the police inspector said. “That’s why you returned to the chapel. We all thought you were praying.”

  “I was,” she said. “In a way. But I was so angry I couldn’t think clearly. I thought Sean had left me, tha
t he was scared of...of our future. I wanted to seal him off forever.” There were tears in her eyes. “I should have believed in him. I should have stood up and said that something was wrong. He wouldn’t have left me and our baby. He wouldn’t have—” Byon put his arms around her, and she cried into his big, soft shoulder.

  Jack was looking at the stone. “It’s a silicone based glue.” He pulled a small knife from his pocket, opened it and ran the blade around the plaque.

  He and Kate began wiggling the stone as they tried to get it out.

  Everyone watched in silence. Sara was concentrating on Live View on her camera, recording it all.

  Jack caught the stone before it hit the ground. What they saw inside made them gasp. There was a black leather bag, old and crusted with gray mold, untouched for years.

  Kate took the handle to pull the bag out, then halted. She had to use both hands for the weight. After all, it was full of rocks—sparkly ones. Standing, she offered the bag to Nadine.

  But Nadine shook her head no, and stepped back. She didn’t want to touch it.

  Jack started to take the bag but the inspector stepped in front of him.

  “May I? There’s something in there that I want.” He took the bag, set it on a bench seat, then started to unzip it. The old zipper stuck but it came loose quickly.

  Inside was a pretty green-and-gold scarf. The inspector pulled it out and put it on the seat.

  “My father gave that to me,” Nadine said.

  There was a white cloth inside.

  “That’s not a shirt,” Sara said. “It’s an apron.”

  The inspector lifted a flap of the cloth just enough to see the end of a gun. He closed the bag. “This is evidence.”

  “I guess there’ll be fingerprints,” Sara said.

  “I’m sure there will be. And blood and hair and—”

  Nadine gave a cry and Teddy put her arm around her mother.

  “Sorry,” the inspector said.

  “What about Mrs. Aiken? She—” Sara began.

  The door opened and a uniformed policeman entered. “All taken care of, sir. We got her just outside Cheswick.”

 

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