Banks didn’t come to a stop at the dead end of County Road 249 and hit an uneven joint at the driveway entrance. His head slammed into the roof of the patrol car with a jolt that made him see stars. Grace hadn’t said who owned the place, but he thought about suing them as he navigated the twisting lane. He was going to need some kind of income after next week, and worker’s comp was sounding good. After nine years in uniform, this was the last case he’d work as a police officer, and he was beginning to think he’d made a mistake.
He was soon out of the woods and in front of the dark house. Grace had been right about the lights — there weren’t any. But a half moon was low in the sky, and the pinkish tint of the sky said daybreak wasn’t far off. He got out of the car and turned on his mag light.
The house was huge and appeared to be empty. He did one circuit and then a second, shining light into the windows. Nothing. It was when he swung the light toward the river that he caught the van in its beam. She’d driven it to the water’s edge.
“Hallie!” he yelled as he ran, his voice echoing out across the water. “It’s Aidan. Answer me!”
The van was empty and locked. He yanked at all the handles, trying to make sense of it, then saw the keys in the front seat. She’d made sure she couldn’t leave.
He was still staring at the keys when he heard a splash.
“Hallie!”
The pier was new and sturdy, but its planks still vibrated under his pounding feet. The closer he came to the end, the more frantic he became. When there was no place left to run, he saw her — a dark form drifting a dozen feet out.
He was too late.
Later, he was amazed that he’d had the presence of mind to drop his duty belt before he jumped. He certainly didn’t stop to consider that he couldn’t swim. He hit the river bottom, and the deep silt anchored his feet just as the water closed over his head. Arms flailing, he struggled to pull himself free, but couldn’t get his shoes off.
Willing himself to stop struggling, he swept his arms out as far as he could reach, hoping to snag her. If she wasn’t too far gone, she could hang onto him until help came.
The briny water in his nose and ears hurt, and a burning sensation spread down into his chest. Panic took over and would have consumed him, if not for the pain. Something became tangled in his hair, pulling his head backward at an impossible angle. He opened his mouth to scream into the river, but his face broke through the surface, and there was air. Then an arm was under his neck, forcing his head up, and a shrill voice screamed, kick! kick! kick!
His final burst of adrenaline propelled him into the riprap at the shoreline, breaking two fingers and scraping the right side of his body raw. A small price to pay for being alive.
Even when they were out of the water, shivering on the rocks, he kept his grip on Hallie. It was only much later that he realized it was she who hadn’t let go of him. In the dark water, in the minutes before dawn, the broken girl and the lost man had saved each other.
Chapter Forty-Eight
The van’s steering took some getting used to. The alignment was out of whack, and there was a grinding noise coming from somewhere under the front bumper. Grace had clipped the passenger side of her BMW as she backed out of the driveway, and as they sped out of Mallard Bay, she prayed the damage to the van wouldn’t result in a blowout.
It was hot, and despite Melanie’s repeated juggling with the controls, the air conditioning refused to work. The odor of dirty diapers was overwhelming until Melanie lowered her window. Grace tried to focus on these details and not on how fast she was driving down a winding country road with a pistol pointed at her ribcage.
When she could breathe without gagging, Grace said, “This is a bumpy road. Point that gun at my legs if you have to, but get it away from my belly.”
A second or two later, the gun moved. “Don’t try anything,” Melanie said.
“What are you doing?” Grace fought to hold the van’s wheel steady, but her hands were sweaty and shaking. “I know you don’t want to hurt my baby or me.”
“You think you know me?” Melanie’s laugh was harsh. “You don’t. Just like everyone else, you assume because I’m not strong, I must be weak. Well, I’m taking care of things tonight. That’s what I’m doing.”
Grace said, “I saw Hallie’s note.”
“Shut up.” The gun appeared again and pressed against her arm. “I can explain everything when I have to.” Melanie shifted to look over her shoulder, but there was nothing to see behind them. Grace knew because she checked the rear-view mirror every few seconds. They were nearing Route 50.
“Which way when I get to the red light?”
The question seemed to perplex Melanie, but as they approached the intersection, she said, “Go toward the bridge.”
Grace dutifully made a left and said, “Not to Whitney, then?”
“Of course not. Speed up.”
The van rocked as Grace edged the speedometer past seventy, and when the gun barrel poked her, to eighty-five. “What are you — ” Another jab of the gun stopped her. Grace gave up on talking and concentrated on keeping the van as steady as she could. Surely at some point they’d attract police attention.
“Slow down,” Melanie ordered, then added, “Way down.”
They were approaching the Outlet Mall near the Route 50/301 split and were crawling at twenty-five when Melanie said, “We can both get out of this just fine if you remember your part. Screw it up, and it’s all over. Got it?”
Grace nodded, not trusting her voice.
“You were with me, and you witnessed the attack. I had to defend myself. Understand?”
“What attack? What — ”
“Understand?”
The gun ground into Grace’s arm. “Yes! I understand,” she yelped and hoped Melanie thought it was from pain, not the surprise of seeing flashing red and blue lights in the distance.
“Good, girl,” Melanie said. “Good, good…. Turn. Here!” She grabbed the steering wheel and yanked it to the right.
Only by standing on the brakes and wrenching the wheel from Melanie did Grace manage to guide the van across two lanes and into a small parking area at the edge of the mall. The engine sputtered and died, and the smell in the car was worse.
“I give up. I can’t do this!” Melanie cried. “Here, here!” She dropped the gun in Grace’s lap and put her face in her hands.
Grace didn’t need a second chance. She opened the door and threw the gun as far as she could, then jumped and ran, stopping only to wave her arms furiously at the patrol car pulling into the parking lot. Two state troopers were getting out when Melanie screamed, “Gun! She has a gun!”
The next few moments were a blur of rough hands and the pinch of plastic restraints on her wrists. Freezing where she stood wasn’t a problem. Grace wasn’t sure she could move if she had to. The troopers’ guns looked much bigger than the one she’d thrown away.
She tried to explain, but even to her own ears, she sounded crazy. “Please believe me,” she yelled at the officer holding her arm. “It’s her gun. Be careful!”
But Melanie was sobbing and pointing to the rear of the van.
“Look in the back,” Melanie cried. “Look what she did!”
And that’s when they found Sawyer Renne, rolled in a blanket and looking peaceful despite his wild ride and a bullet hole right in the middle of his forehead.
It was touch and go for a few hours, but Grace couldn’t fault the young troopers who arrested her while treating Melanie with kid gloves. After all, Melanie was crying hysterically that she’d been kidnapped after witnessing a murder. Grace, on the other hand, had been driving a van with a dead man in the back. Eventually, though, things sorted themselves out. The gunpowder residue on Melanie’s hands made a stronger case than Grace’s fingerprints on an otherwise spotless gun. Handcuffs came off, handcuffs went on, apologies were made, and rights were read. In the end, everyone was satisfied except the first Mrs. Overton.
Wh
en McNamara arrived at the State Police Barracks to pick Grace up, Melanie asked about Hallie for the first time. Upon hearing that her daughter was safe, she immediately demanded an attorney and a private room ‘suitable for a celebrity.’ Grace suggested to Mac that they leave before her former client saw the holding cell.
The wailing started just as they reached the front door.
“Thank you for coming to get me,” Grace said when they were in the Explorer.
McNamara only nodded. The silence stretched as they left Easton. He kept his eyes on the road, while Grace watched soybean and corn fields fly by.
“Are you ever going to be where I think you are?” he asked suddenly, making her jump.
“Probably not.”
“You have to trust me if this is going to work, Grace.”
“What do you mean? I trust you,” she protested.
He didn’t respond, which made her feel worse because she knew what he’d meant. She’d asked Aidan to search David’s property because she was uncomfortable asking Mac. But he’d had it on his own list to check and had found Banks and Hallie within minutes after they’d pulled themselves from the water.
And then there was the secret she was keeping. She had no idea how to tell him about the baby.
“I’m sorry,” she said. It was a down payment on the apology she owed him, but at the moment it was all she had.
Chapter Forty-Nine
MELANIE
I am not crying. I don’t do that anymore. What’s the point? They don’t care about tears in here. Besides, all you want to know is why I did it. Like it’s a big surprise a person would want to frame their own attorney. Think about it. She turned on me, didn’t she? People make promises, and when they don’t deliver, I’m the one who gets hurt.
I’ve never been strong, and people underestimate me because of it. Miss I-Know-Everything attorney thought she had us all figured out. She doesn’t even have a family; how can she understand? Wait until she has her baby, she’ll change her tune, see if she doesn’t.
But back to me. Whitney says you’re a kind soul, but she likes Grace too, and look where it got us. I want you to know I’m only talking to you because of what you did for us. You saved Hallie, and I owe you.
Keep your tissues, I’m not crying.
For the last time and for the record, here’s what they sent you in here to get. Get ready, because when my lawyer shows up, he’ll throw you out.
Shall we do Felicia first?
I got up to go to the bathroom and saw the door to Hallie’s room was open. Felicia had locked herself in there earlier, and now the door was open. I hoped she’d left and went in to check. Hallie was standing by the foot of the bed, and it gave me such a shock to see her, I almost screamed. She was holding a pillow and didn’t answer when I spoke to her.
Felicia didn’t react, either. She was lying there in bed, and I knew what had happened. All I could think was I’d pushed my little girl too far. Just like I’d pushed her father too far. All of this was jumbled, you understand, but one thought was clear. I could save Hallie.
I took the pillow away from her and led her downstairs to bed and tucked her in. I told her she was a good girl, and everything would be all right.
Of course, Faith woke up. The child has an antenna for trouble. Anything goes wrong, and there she is, wanting to know what’s happening. Hope’s her shadow; so, I had to get both of them back to bed. Our babies are good sleepers. It’s when they get older that they’re a trial. That’s why the older kids were bunking in the basement rec room. You make sure to tell the the State’s Attorney. Premeditated murder! Tell her to live with eleven children and see where she puts the ones who make the most noise at night.
I’m wandering, but this is my confession. Deal with it.
Where was I?
Hallie, yes. I sat with her for a long time, thinking about what to do and giving Faith and Hope enough time to go to sleep. Hallie never said a word, even when I got up to leave her.
It was easy to go upstairs, pick up the pillow, and put it over Felicia’s face. I thought she was dead, and I was only going to mess up the evidence. When she struggled, it scared me so badly, I pushed harder. It was a reflex, don’t you see? I was frightened because this dead woman was fighting me. Anyone would have done what I did. Besides, it was Felicia’s fault for taking those sleeping pills. If she’d awakened when Hallie was in the room, there’d just been another argument. None of the rest of it would have happened. She ruined everything from the day she walked into our lives.
The important thing to understand is Hallie didn’t touch her.
Whitney lied, as usual, and not very well either. It was her idea. She only has two children to my seven, and she insisted on confessing. Who was I to argue with her? She’s always looked out for me because I’m weaker. She asked you to visit me because she thinks you’re kind and you’ll understand how I’m suffering. I have nightmares about Felicia every time I go to sleep. It’s a side-effect of my temporary insanity. The nightmares.
So. I’ve explained Felicia. Now, Sawyer. You all ought to thank me. One less dealer on the street.
I’ve preached and preached to my children that marijuana today isn’t what we used to get, and sure enough, Sawyer was lacing it with cocaine, and who knows what else? If Hallie hadn’t started the fire, he’d still be selling it. My daughter and I deserve medals.
I didn’t know what he was doing until Hallie told me the day after the fire. Believe me or not, it’s true. I made sure he never came near my children again, but he wouldn’t leave me alone. He wanted money to replace his products. That’s what he called the drugs, ‘products’. He said he’d name Hallie and Heath as the dealers and say he’d covered for them. That kind of lie would ruin us, so I paid him what he asked. But I’d never been blackmailed, and I gave in too easily. He immediately demanded more money, this time for his lost profit. After Hallie gave her statement to the police, I knew Sawyer would be arrested, and he’d talk.
What can I say? I was out of my mind with shock and worry. Temporary insanity doesn’t make you ineffective, you know. Well, not me anyway.
I called Sawyer as soon as we got home from the interview with the police. I said I had his money. He was at home in Baltimore and was his usual cocky self. That’s how I knew the police hadn’t caught up with him yet. I said he had to come and get the money before I changed my mind and used it for Whitney’s bail. He followed instructions and drove to Kent Island and waited for me to call. I wanted him close enough to get here quickly, but I didn’t want him hanging around where you could spot him. I was going to give him the money and tell him the police were on to him and he needed to run.
It was later than usual before the kids were asleep, and it was after eleven when I called him. I told him to park a few blocks away and come meet me outside, behind what’s left of the garage.
Heath gave me a pistol before he left. He’d bought it from Sawyer — don’t you love the irony? I only had it with me for protection, but Sawyer got so angry, he lunged at me. Now, see how cooperative I am? I only did what I had to. It was self-defense.
I can’t explain why no one called 911. The shot certainly sounded loud to me, but there was only one. I waited a long time, but no one came. I guess in the middle of the night, a backfire is always the first thought.
You know the rest. I’m small, but I’ve been lifting kids almost as big as I am for the past fifteen years. It builds up some muscle — enough to haul him into the van. Don’t bother asking me again if Hallie helped. I told you she didn’t. And even if she had, she’d do anything for me, so it wouldn’t be her fault. Leave her alone. She nearly drowned trying to get away from all of us. She’s paid enough.
What’s left? The nasty red-headed detective came to see me this morning. She tried to make friends and get me to talk by telling me what really happened to Heath. As if I didn’t already know. So, you can prove it now. Good for you, but I knew all along who killed him. When he came to tel
l me he’d married Felicia and we might lose the show, I told him to do whatever it took to make things right, and my sweet, stupid man took me literally. He went back to the witch and told her I’d always be number one, and she had to stick to the original game plan, or he’d divorce her.
I’m sure you can understand why I could be out of my mind with worry when he disappeared and Felicia showed up like nothing had happened. Now, everything can be explained, and none of it is my fault. I’ll be free before you know it.
Whitney and I are taking the kids to Disney World for a month when I’m out of here. Won’t that be fun? We’re going to ask if we can take Felicia’s kids, too. It only seems fair. We wouldn’t be collecting Heath’s life insurance if their mother hadn’t missed one set of fingerprints when she wiped down the railing on the hotel balcony. It’s the little things that trip you up. Remember that while you’re deciding what to do next with your life, Aidan, and choose wisely.
I know I will.
Chapter Fifty
August
“You will not go to court for that nitwit Whitney Overton, and that’s final,” David said as he paced around the kitchen. “You’re reducing your schedule, and that’s final, too. You only have four months left, and you’re staying off your feet. I’ll move in if I have to, Grace. Don’t think I won’t.”
“Sorry big guy,” Niki said. “We’re booked. If you want a reservation for October, I can help you.”
Grace ignored both of them and continued to plow through the chicken barbecue platter from Three Pigs. She’d already worked out a half-day schedule with Mosley, but stomping around like a jackass was keeping David entertained while she ate. She’d tell him about cutting back on work when she finished lunch.
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