by Lynn LaFleur
The sound of a pickup starting signaled Vince’s exit. She downed the rest of her Dr Pepper as Rye came around the corner.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
“Not yet. Come with me.”
She led Rye back to the living room. Alaina walked to the corner by the front door, where Rye had leaned the three paintings against the wall and covered them with a plastic tarp. Picking them up, she carried them to the piece of plywood that Rye used as a makeshift desk.
“I just saw Laura again upstairs.” She laid the paintings on the plywood, end to end. “She told me the paintings have to be put together.”
“Put together how?” Rye asked.
“I don’t know. She vanished again before I could get that information from her.” Rye stood to her right, Dax and Griff to her left. “Y’all know this area. What’s special about these, or what do they have in common?”
“They’re all of the river,” Griff said.
Dax nudged him in the ribs. “Way to be obvious there, bro.”
Griff frowned. “Okay, smartass, what do you think ties them together?”
“I don’t have a clue.”
Alaina tapped one finger against her lips as she studied the three paintings. She changed the order, hoping something would jump out at her.
Nothing.
She changed the order again. When she still saw nothing special, she started to change the order once more. Rye laid his hand over hers before she could.
“Wait. Look at those rocks at the bottom of these two paintings.”
As separate paintings, the rocks simply looked like rocks. Together, they seemed to fit and formed a shape. “What is that?”
“Look at this,” Griff said. He pointed to a shape at the top of the third painting, the one closest to him. “It looks like the rocks in the other paintings.”
Alaina pushed the two paintings forward on the plywood. Griff placed his in the middle of the others. A shape formed from the three, a shape that wasn’t just a pile of rocks.
“What is it?” she asked.
“It looks like…” Rye stopped and turned around. He pointed across the room. “That.”
Alaina, Dax and Griff also turned to see where Rye pointed. The white rock fireplace in the living room looked exactly like the object in the paintings.
Dax shivered. “Goose bumps just popped out all over me.”
“What does this mean?” Alaina asked Rye.
“I think it means we’ll find something inside the fireplace.”
The fireplace would be torn down when the living room was refurbished, but that wouldn’t be for several weeks. That’s what Rye had told her. “So do we tear apart the fireplace early?”
Rye looked at his brothers. “What do y’all think?”
Dax grinned. “I say we get the mallets.”
“Alaina?” Rye asked her. “What do you want us to do?”
The fireplace had already started crumbling, so Alaina figured taking mallets to it now would be a head start to tearing it down for replacement. “Go for it.”
She stood back while the three brothers began the demolition process. Rocks tumbled, mortar fell to the floor in chunks. Dust floated in the air, covering the guys in a fine coat of white. She could tell they put all their strength behind their swings, but were also careful not to damage whatever might be hidden inside the fireplace.
Alaina had no idea how much time passed until Dax stopped swinging his mallet. “I think I found something.”
Heart pounding, she moved closer to the fireplace as the guys picked up hammers and chisels for closer work. Dax reached inside the hole he’d made and withdrew something wrapped in burlap.
He handed it to Rye. “It’s too small for another painting.”
Alaina stepped up next to Rye as he unwrapped the bundle. A knife with a wooden handle lay inside the burlap.
“Holy shit,” Griff breathed. “Do you think that’s the knife that killed Laura?”
“Yeah, I do.” Careful to keep the burlap over the knife so he wouldn’t touch it with his bare hand, Rye examined the antique weapon. “The hilt is broken on one side. I’ll bet this brown stuff in the wood is blood.”
Alaina crossed her arms over her stomach, suddenly cool despite the heat still lingering in the house. “What do we do with it?”
“Take it to our sheriff. Brad can send it off for DNA testing. I’m sure Laura’s blood is on it, but maybe the killer’s is too. Our grandfather is still alive. His blood can be compared with the blood on the knife to see if it’s a match. If it isn’t—and I’m sure it won’t be—that’ll prove his father didn’t kill Laura.”
“I don’t understand why Laura didn’t just point me to the fireplace. Why the whole deal with the paintings?”
“Maybe there’s a clue in the paintings we missed.”
Alaina walked back to the plywood, followed closely by the brothers. There had to be something, something that would solve the mystery of Laura’s murder once and for all.
“Too bad we can’t make out the signature,” Griff said.
Alaina had thought that with the first painting she’d seen. Where a signature should be was nothing but a series of little loops, almost like backward letters.
She drew in a sharp breath. “Oh my God.”
“What?” Rye asked.
“I’ll be right back.”
Alaina hurried into the dining room and located her purse on one of the tables. She dug through a side pocket and withdrew her folding mirror. Clutching it in her hand, she jogged back to the living room.
“Alaina,” Rye said, “what are you doing?”
“Watch.” She held the mirror behind one of the loops on the painting. “The signature is a mirror image of the artist’s real name.”
Each brother closed in so they could all see the name in the mirror.
bella
Chapter Seventeen
April 29, 1937
My sister is dead. Laura is dead.
I can barely write these words for my hand is shaking so hard and I’m sobbing. I feel as if my heart has been ripped out of my chest. My best friend is gone. No more late night talks about boys. No more rolling each other’s hair. No more borrowing each other’s clothes. All that has been stripped away by a man with a knife.
My first thought was that he did it, but his daughter swore he’d been with her the entire afternoon. How convenient that his wife was out of town and couldn’t back up his alibi.
Raymond Coleman was arrested for the murder. My father said Raymond was found standing over Laura’s body, holding a bloody knife in his hand. I can’t believe that sweet man killed my sister. It doesn’t make any sense.
Whoever killed Laura will pay. I won’t rest until he does.
*
Alaina slipped into the front seat of Rye’s car while Dax and Griff took the back seat. “Are you sure we should just show up at Bella’s house without calling?”
“I did call.” Rye drew the seat belt over his chest. “I talked to Susan. She said Bella was in a meeting with her attorney, but would be finished by nine-thirty. She has nothing else scheduled until this afternoon.”
Glancing at the digital clock on Rye’s dash, she saw it read 9:25. Since it took less than ten minutes to get to Bella’s house, they would arrive as she finished her meeting.
“Did you tell Susan we’re coming?” Griff asked.
“I told her I’m coming. I didn’t mention anyone else.”
“She’ll get all huffy and deny knowing anything.”
“Probably.” Rye turned the key and the car purred to life. “But we aren’t leaving her house until we get answers.”
The drive took eight minutes. Alaina slipped her hand into Rye’s as he led the way to the front door. He pressed the doorbell with his free hand and gave her an encouraging smile.
“Everything will be fine. We’re here for the truth, and that can’t hurt us.”
She hoped he was right.
S
usan answered the door to Rye’s ring. Her eyes widened as her gaze swung to Alaina and the brothers. It obviously shocked her to see four people when she was expecting one.
“Good morning, Susan,” Rye said.
“Good morning. Mrs. Olinghouse is in the living room. I’ll tell her y’all are here.”
“That’s okay. We’ll announce ourselves.”
He brushed by a sputtering Susan and turned to the left. Bella stood by one of the large windows, looking out at the backyard. She was dressed impeccably in an ivory suit and pearls, but seemed so much smaller today. She appeared sad and alone. Rye had told Alaina that Bella’s three children rarely visited her, and Rufus was the only grandchild who stayed close.
She might own half the county, but that money didn’t keep her family close to her.
“Mrs. Olinghouse,” Rye said softly.
Bella straightened her shoulders before she turned. Surprise flickered in her eyes, but she quickly masked it. Her chin came up an inch. “I wasn’t aware your brothers and Ms. May would be coming too, Mr. Coleman.”
“We decided it was important that we all come to talk to you.”
“Oh? For what reason?”
He motioned toward her “throne”. “Perhaps you would like to sit down?”
She shook her head. “I prefer to stand. What is the meaning of this visit, Mr. Coleman?”
Dax withdrew the three paintings from their plastic cover and spread them out over the large table in the center of the seating arrangement by the windows. Bella’s skin was light to begin with, but all the color drained from her face. Alaina tensed, ready to make a grab for the older woman in case she fell.
“We found these in Stevens House,” Rye said to Bella. He pointed to the signature at the bottom of one of the paintings. “Is this you? Did you paint these landscapes?”
Bella clasped the strands of pearls around her neck. “Yes,” she said softly. “Many years ago.”
“Did you hide them in the house?”
Bella slowly sank down on the circular couch. She didn’t say anything, but her silence spoke loudly. Sympathy touched Alaina’s heart. She sank to her knees in front of Bella. “Why did you hide them?”
Bella pressed her lips together and remained silent. Hoping to get the older woman to confide in them, Alaina opened her purse and withdrew Miriam’s diary.
“This is my great-grandmother’s diary.” She watched Bella’s eyes widen. “You know who that is, don’t you?”
She nodded again, but didn’t say anything.
“You knew her?”
“Yes. I knew both Laura and Miriam and their parents.”
“I’d like to read one of the entries to you.” Alaina carefully opened the fragile book to a place she’d marked with a Post-It. “It’s dated May 15, 1937.”
She glanced at Rye as he and his brothers sat on the couch beside Bella, then began to read.
“Raymond Coleman was hanged today for the rape and murder of my sister. His trial—if that sham could be called a trial—had lasted barely a day. All the jurors found him guilty in less than an hour. The judge ruled that Raymond be hanged in three days. ‘Justice’ happens quickly when a county is ruled not by law officers, but one man.
“I could have witnessed the hanging. I couldn’t bear to. I’ll never believe that sweet, gentle man killed Laura.
“Raymond came into the store with his son a few days before Laura’s death. Such a precious baby, and the exact image of his father. I’ve never seen a prouder man than Raymond when he looked at Ray.
“No, it wasn’t Raymond Coleman who killed Laura. I’ll always believe he did it—that awful Edward Stevens.”
Alaina closed the diary. Bella sat with her head lowered, one hand grasping her pearls. “Edward Stevens was your father, wasn’t he?”
Bella nodded.
“Did he kill Laura Cummins?”
“Don’t say anything, Grandmother.”
Everyone turned at the sound of Rufus’ voice. He barreled into the room, fists clenched at his sides. “You don’t have to tell them anything.”
A scowl crossed Bella’s face. “Do not tell me what to do, Rufus.”
Rufus pointed at the Colemans. “They’re trying to pass the blame for something their great-grandfather did onto our family. I won’t allow that.”
Rye tensed, as if he were about to stand and confront Bella’s grandson, but her words stopped him. “Rufus, it’s time for the truth to come out. It should’ve come out a long time ago.”
“Grandmother, you—”
“Shut up, Rufus.”
With a huff, he sank down in a wingback chair across from the couch and crossed his legs.
Alaina gently touched the back of Bella’s hand. “Take your time. No one is going to rush you.”
Releasing her pearls, Bella clasped her hands together in her lap. “It’s true. My father killed Laura Cummins, after he raped her. I saw him do it.”
“Why didn’t you tell the sheriff?” Rye asked gently.
“I couldn’t turn in my father. The scandal would have destroyed our family.”
“So you let an innocent man be hanged for a murder he didn’t commit.”
She looked at each of the Coleman brothers. Alaina could see the regret and sorrow in Bella’s eyes. “I loved Raymond with all my heart. But he married someone else and I was betrothed to another. I had to be my father’s alibi. I had no other choice.”
“There’s always a choice, if a person is brave enough to take it.”
“Okay, that’s enough.” Rufus scowled at Rye. “You do not take that tone with my grandmother.”
Dax scowled right back. “You afraid if the truth comes out, you’ll lose your inheritance?”
“You’ve already lost Stevens house,” Rye said. “Although I don’t understand why that house mattered so much to you that you offered Alaina three times what she paid for it.”
“What?” Bella asked, the surprise evident in her voice. Her gaze whipped to her grandson. “Why did you do that?”
Rufus waved away her questions as if he had better things to do than answer them. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me. Talk to me right now, Rufus Edward.”
He blew out a heavy breath. “Okay, fine. I intercepted a letter meant for you about a gas lease for the property around Stevens House. That lease would be worth thousands of dollars every month for years.”
“You stole my mail?”
“I didn’t steal it. I just read it.”
Bella’s face turned red. Alaina shifted closer to her. She was afraid the woman would have an attack of some kind from her anger.
Instead of yelling at her grandson, Bella’s voice was calm and clear. “Get out. I want you out of my house now.”
Rufus couldn’t have looked more surprised if a two-headed monster appeared in the middle of the living room. “You don’t mean that.”
“I mean every word I say. Do not come back unless I call you.”
Rufus stared at his grandmother another moment, then rose from his chair and stormed toward the door. Rye caught up to him halfway across the room, grabbing his arm to stop him.
“What do you know about the fire set in Stevens House last night?”
A cocky smile tilted up Rufus’ lips. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He jerked his arm away from Rye. With a final look at his grandmother, he left.
Rye returned to his place on the couch next to Bella. Alaina smiled at him, hoping to cool off his anger. She knew he didn’t doubt for a moment that Rufus set that fire, or paid someone to set it. But without proof, they could do nothing.
“Did you find the knife?” Bella asked in a low voice.
“Yes,” Griff said. “The paintings led us right to it.”
“Did you take it, Mrs. Olinghouse?” Rye asked. “After the murder?”
“My father’s clothes were bloody after…what happened, from Laura’s blood and his own. The hilt of the knife broke wh
en he st-stabbed her and he cut his hand.”
Alaina moved up to the couch beside Bella and slipped one arm around her shoulders in support.
“He had no idea I was hiding in the back hall and could see him. He stripped off his shoes and clothes, down to his underwear, and bundled the knife in them.”
“Wait a minute,” Rye said. “I thought our great-grandfather was found at the murder scene with the knife in his hand.”
“That’s what Miriam wrote in her diary,” Alaina said.
Bella released a heavy sigh. “That’s the rumor that traveled around town. My father told the sheriff that he’d walked in on Raymond standing over Laura’s body, holding a bloody knife. The sheriff believed everything my father said.”
“But there would’ve been an investigation,” Griff said.
“There was. Raymond’s house was thoroughly searched. Of course, no one ever found the knife since he never had it.”
Rye ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t understand how our great-grandfather could have been convicted of murder when no weapon was found.”
“My father’s word was law in this town. No one questioned that he’d seen Raymond with the knife. Everyone assumed Raymond had gotten rid of the knife after he ran out of Stevens House. He was convicted and found guilty by the people of Lanville before he ever went to trial.”
“Why was he there in the first place?” Dax asked.
“My father hired Raymond to build more shelves in the library. Or that’s what he told the sheriff. I don’t know if that’s true. Maybe he planned the rape all along and used Raymond as the scapegoat.”
“What happened after your father took off his clothes?” Alaina asked.
“He changed into clean ones and carried the bundle out to the woods in back. There were many more trees back then than there are now. Many of the oaks died over the years from disease.”
“I’m going to plant more.”
“I hope you do.” Bella drew in a breath and released it slowly. “He buried the bundle beneath a tree. I waited until he’d left and dug it back up. I took the knife and buried the clothes again. I wrapped the knife up in a kitchen towel I’d brought with me.”