“And all it would have cost her is the rest of her life,” I answered. “But you didn’t account for Darrin and me. Sheriff Black, you could handle. He grew up here, too. He knew how things worked. But Darrin and I were variables and, when we started getting close, you had to put a stop to it. That’s why you took Priscilla. You threatened her into fingering me for the crime.”
“You wouldn’t stop,” he screamed. “She’s my daughter. I’d have never hurt her!”
“There were bruises on her face,” Sheriff Black answered. “You did hurt her.”
“She hit her head when she was taken. It was nothing. The rest was stage makeup. I would never do anything to hurt my daughter, and if you’ve told her anything different…” He bit his lip and tried to compose himself. “Where is she? I want to explain myself.”
“What are you talking about?” Darrin asked. “You’re the one who kidnapped her. Shouldn’t you know where she is?”
“Of course, I do,” he answered. “She was here. I left her right here with everything she needed. I assumed you took her when you found this place.”
My stomach dropped.
“You mean you didn’t move her?”
“Oh no,” he answered, tears streaming freely down his face. “I-I-”
“You had an accomplice,” I said.
“Yes, but he would never-”
“Niles,” I said, remembering the way the butler sniffled when I saw him in the common area. “There were tissues here and in Chloe’s room. I assumed they were from her, but they weren’t. Niles’ allergies have been acting up. He’s the one who’s been helping you. He’s the one who has her.”
“What?” Mr. Covington asked. “That’s not possible. No one has passed through those gates since this happened. He couldn’t have taken her far.”
“There are more ways than you know to get in and out of this building,” I answered. “Though, I’m sure Niles does. He practically grew up here.”
“That’s right. We grew up alongside each other,’ Mr. Covington said.
“As anyone who’s ever worked a service job can tell you, the employees always know the area better than the owners,” I replied.
“You’re not making any sense,” Mr. Covington said. “Niles would never take her. He loved my daughter.”
“Yes, he did,” I answered. “But maybe he loved this place more.”
“Why then?” Mr. Covington almost screamed. “They're bound for all time. Why would he take her?”
“I’m not sure,” I answered. “But I can ask him.” I turned to Darrin once more. He was staring at me with a hint of something in his eyes that might have been amazement. “Because I know where he took her.”
27
“This seems like a wild goose chase, if you ask me,” Mr. Covington said from the back of a police van; thankfully, one that I wasn’t being held in, for once.
“Well, it’s a good thing nobody is asking you,” I answered from the front seat, where I sat sandwiched between a driving Darrin and Priscilla.
Sheriff Black sat in the back, keeping an eye on Mr. Covington. Though there was little chance he’d have been able to break out of this thing the way I had even if no one was watching. After all, he didn’t have a reincarnated dog mayor to help him out.
“Perhaps,” he answered snidely. “But, maybe they should be.” He turned to Sheriff Black. “Are we really going to listen to this girl, Sheriff? She hardly seems qualified to be participating in this investigation, let alone leading it.”
“I don’t think you’re in any position to be making demands, Mr. Covington,” Sheriff Black said. “This girl has almost singlehandedly uncovered the truth about what’s been going on here, as twisty as it is.” He set his jaw. “Besides, the only reason I haven’t officially hauled you into the jailhouse yet is because there wasn’t time to do it.” He shook his head. “Because, if Niles is considering doing something rash with Chloe, your presence might help in putting a stop to that.”
“You’re being ridiculous,” Mr. Covington spit. “Niles does what I tell him. He’s a servant; a loyal one. He’d never hurt a member of this family.”
“Really?” Darrin chimed in from behind the steering wheel. “Because- and correct me if I’m wrong- I believe it was Niles that knocked your daughter out and drug her down to a secret basement room.”
“That’s different,” Mr. Covington said. “He did that because I told him to, because he knew there was no other choice in the matter.”
“You’d be surprised what people will do when they think they don’t have a choice,” I said, peering through the windshield.
“The truth is, he might have a point, Rita,” Darrin said, looking over for just an instant before turning his attention back to the road. “We’ve been driving along this river for a few miles now, and there’s no sign of Niles or Chloe.” He let out a heavy sigh. “Maybe we’re too late.”
“No,” I said. “We can’t be.”
I had no reason to believe that other than hope. The truth was, I had no idea what Niles wanted to do with Chloe or why he took her from her ‘safe room’ behind the boiler room. Whatever it was though, it wasn’t good. I knew that much for sure.
Just like I knew this was where they would be.
“This is Atkins Bridge,” I said, looking around. “This is the place where Niles used to take Chloe when she was a kid. She used to watch fish from here or something.” I shook my head. “The point is-”
I looked past him and saw some rustling in the brush ahead.
“Stop the van!” I said, almost jumping out of my seat.
“Rita, you-”
“I said stop the van,” I repeated. “I’ll jump out,” I said, glaring over at Darrin. “I’ve done it before.”
“Don’t remind me,” Darrin said, pulling alongside the edge of the road.
Priscilla opened the door, and I hopped over her.
I heard Darrin yell for me to stop as my shoes touched the pavement and then the grass. Of course, I didn’t listen. I was too close now. This was almost over and, with it, maybe my ‘work’ would be too. Maybe this was the case I needed to solve in order to move on.
But if so, was I really ready for that?
I darted across the grass, headed toward the brush hoping I would be in time to stop whatever was going on.
It never came to that, though.
A figure rushed out of the brush, running across the field toward me.
I blinked hard, wanting to make sure that I was, in fact, seeing who I thought I was.
I had never seen the show. I hadn’t looked at the tabloids. In fact, I had never even seen her outside of the pictures in her photo album. Still, there was no doubt in my mind that the person I was looking at, the girl who looked tired, scared, and more than a little fed up, was none other than Chloe Covington.
“Chloe!” I said.
She looked up at me confusedly, pulling to a stop.
“My name is Rita Redoux,” I said, almost giving her the surname Clarke instead.
Old habits.
“You don’t know me, but I’ve been working very hard today trying to find you.”
“You need to leave here,” she said, barely holding tears back. “I don’t know what business you’ve had looking for me, but things are about to get very real out here, and I don’t mean reality television.”
“It’s over, Chloe,” I said, trying to use my least abrasive voice. “We know what happened. We know you didn’t run away, that the marriage was a sham. We know all of it.”
Her eyes went wide, and I thought I was getting through to her, but then I realized she was looking past me…at her father.
“You,” she screamed. “You get away from me!”
Before I could tell her that everything would be okay, that we had her father under control, Chloe pulled a gun from her pocket.
I really hated those things.
“Chloe Covington!” Mr. Covington said, jerking to a stop. “What on earth
are you doing with that thing?”
“Niles gave it to me, Dad,” she said, clenching up on the pistol. “Right after he shot himself.”
My head dropped.
“What?” I asked, my body shaking.
“That’s right,” she answered, no longer able to keep the tears from flowing from her eyes. “Did you hear that, Dad? He killed himself! He killed himself because he couldn’t do what you asked him to!”
“You’re not making any sense, my dear,” Mr. Covington said, his hands raised the way they were back in the secret room. Only, this time, they were cuffed. “What I did was wrong. I never should have forced you into a marriage you didn’t want, and I never should have overreacted when you told me what you were and were not willing to do, but I didn’t ask him to take you here. And I certainly would have never asked him to do anything that would have put you in danger.”
“Chloe, Sweetheart,” Priscilla said, walking toward her apprehensively. “I know that your father is no count, and I’m really sorry for everything he put you through.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” Chloe screamed. “For years, he’s been at me. Every inch of my life, every decision I’ve ever made.” She shook her head. “I never wanted to be on television. I never wanted any of it!”
“I know, sweetheart,” Priscilla said.
“He deserves to die,” Chloe screamed, as her finger slipped onto the trigger.
“He doesn’t,” Priscilla answered.
“Did he tell you about the life insurance policy?” Chloe asked, and my stomach turned.
“Oh…oh no…” I said, piecing it all together again. “You didn’t.” I turned to Mr. Covington, not able or interested in hiding the disgust on my face.
“A lot of people have life insurance policies,” Sheriff Black said, trying to defuse the situation. “Especially after they have children.”
“It wasn’t for him, was it?” I asked, turning to Chloe. “He took out a life insurance policy on you, didn’t he?”
“Right after I started the show,” she answered. “Ten million dollars.”
“And when everything went wrong, when he realized you weren’t going to save his stupid family business by throwing your life away…” I swallowed hard. “He wasn’t trying to buy time. He wasn’t doing any of that. He was waiting for the right time to kill you.” I turned back to Mr. Covington again. “You were actually going to kill your daughter.”
“He sent Niles to do it. Niles always did everything he said,” Chloe said from behind me. “But he couldn’t do this, not to me.” I heard her sniffle. “He told him that he’d have him arrested if he didn’t do it. He said that he’d have Niles thrown in prison for the rest of his life if he didn’t shoot me in the head. I tried to tell him that I’d tell the police the truth, that I wouldn’t let him go down for this. But he felt so guilty. He said he had been an accomplice to destroying my life. So he shot himself right in the gut.”
“The gut?” I asked, my eyes darting over to Darrin.
“He might still be alive,” Darrin said and rushed off into the woods.
“Now, do you see?” Chloe asked. “Now, do you see why he deserves to die?”
“Yes,” Priscilla said loudly.
“What?” I balked. No!”
“Yes,” Priscilla repeated. “He deserves to die, but you don’t deserve to be the one to do it, sweetheart.” She moved closer. “Doing something like that changes you, and you are far too perfect to change.” She breathed heavy. “I already lost one daughter, Chloe. Now I know I’m not your mom, but don’t make me lose another one.”
“She’s not your daughter!” Mr. Covington said loudly. “If she was, you’d know how big of a brat she really is!”
I looked over to see that Mr. Covington had snatched the gun from Sheriff Black’s hands, slapped him in the face with its barrel, and now had it trained on his daughter.
“I asked you to do one thing! One thing, Chloe!” His face was red and raging. “Do you have any idea what I’d have done for my father? I’d have died for him if he’d asked me to, and I can’t even get you to marry a doctor! Who do you think you are?” He moved the barrel so that it pointed at her head, the kill shot.
“You’re nothing! You’re nobody! And I’m about to make sure you die like you deserve to!’
“No,” I screamed as I heard a shot.
I flinched, expecting to see Chloe Covington drop over dead. Instead, Mr. Covington dropped his gun, grabbing his arm and dropping to his knees.
I turned to find Priscilla with Chloe’s gun in her hand, smirking at the man. “You’ll do no such thing, and you’ll apologize to your daughter, assuming she’ll take it.”
Mr. Covington moaned in pain. “You shot me!”
“It’s a flesh wound, you waste of space,” Priscilla sneered. “You’re lucky I didn’t want to hit anything vital. I might look like a big star now, I ain’t nothing but a country girl. And we don’t miss when we aim our guns.”
She handed the gun to me, looked at Sheriff Black who had recovered his own firearm, and said, “Take him in, Sheriff.”
“Thank you!” Chloe sobbed, colliding into Priscilla’s arms. “Thank both of you!” She wiped her eyes. “Though I’m still not one hundred percent sure who you are.”
“I made the cake,” I clarified.
“Oh,” Chloe answered. “How’d it turn out?”
“You know,” I said. “I have no idea.”
“Come on,” Priscilla said, wrapping her arm around Chloe’s shoulder. “Let’s get you home and cleaned up. We have a wedding not to get to.”
28
The bride was beautiful as she locked lips with her groom, sealing their bond for all time.
“Are you crying?” Darrin asked from beside me.
“Of course not!” I answered, turning away and covertly wiping my eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
Who could blame me for crying, though? This marriage had been a long time in the making, and I loved the fact I was part of bringing it to fruition.
“Isn’t she gorgeous?” Peggy said from my other side, beaming at Debra as she walked back down the aisle, this time hand in hand with Daniel, her new husband. “And this place, it’s hard to believe that just three weeks ago, it was the scene of a double kidnapping.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Though Chloe’s really done wonders with it. I hear things are really picking up, too. It’s sold out for events for the next three years. So, if you guys were planning on having your wedding here…” I glanced past her at Aiden, whose hand was tightly intertwined with Peggy’s.
They hadn’t spoken much about the terseness that sprung up between them when last we were here. At least, not in front of me. But judging by the way they were acting now, things were better. At least for the moment.
“Oh no,” Peggy rolled her eyes. “This place is way too fancy for my taste. I prefer something a little quainter.” She looked up at Aiden. “We’ll see.”
Halfway through the reception, I found Chloe standing off by herself.
“Good to see you again,” I said, walking up to her with a glass of sparkling grape juice in my hand. “Especially under better circumstances.”
“Cake Lady,” Chloe said, smiling. “Good to see you, too. I hope Debra isn’t too hard to work for.”
“Oh, I’m not on the clock,” I answered. “This was a purely RSVP type situation.”
“Good,” she said, though her eyes settled on the newly married couple.
“It’s strange, isn’t it?” I asked, looking past them at Aiden and Peggy. “Seeing him with someone else.”
“Yeah,” she admitted. “Even though he wasn’t ever really mine. It’s okay though, you know?.”
I tore my eyes from Peggy and Aiden. I wasn’t sure I was ready for that quite yet.
“So, Niles is doing better?” I asked, taking a sip of grape juice and feeling the bubbles dance across my tongue.
“He’s had a couple of surgeries, but
the doctors say he’ll be just fine.” She sighed. “I just wish he didn’t have to go to jail after he healed up.”
“It won’t be for as long as your dad,” I answered as if that was some sort of consolation. “And you shouldn’t be thinking about that. For the first time in your life, you have some control over things. You can build whatever sort of life you want for yourself. You can find that,” I said, pointing to Debra and Daniel.
“I know,” she answered, smiling. “I’m actually kind of excited.” She looked around. “You know, come to think of it, your sheriff is kind of cute.”
“He’s celibate,” I answered quickly. “You know, not interested in dating or the like.”
That wasn’t true. At least, I didn’t think it was true. Still, the idea of Darrin with Chloe gave me the wrong kind of goosebumps and, given all I had just done for her, I figured a little white lie could be forgiven.
“Really?” Chloe asked, turning to me.
“Yep. Swore off women completely.” I shook my head. “I don’t get it either, but it seems to work for him. So what are you gonna do? Now,If you’ll excuse me.” I took another swig of juice and made my way away from Chloe.
“Hey there, troublemaker.” I heard a voice from behind me.
Turning, I saw Sam striding up to me. He looked different, more grown up, with his hair slicked back and his best tux on.
“Sammie,” I said, smiling as I saw him.
“I should be mad at you,” he answered. “You could have got me into a lot of trouble, you know. I was all the way into Second Springs before I realized you were gone.”
“Sorry about that,” I answered, quirking my mouth to the side.
“It’s okay. It’s a nice place. At least I got to see it, even if I was completely panicking about losing my job the whole time.”
“Oh no,” I said. “I hope that didn’t happen.”
“Nah,” he answered. “It pays to have an uncle who’s a sheriff. But you do owe me.”
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