Brenda reassured her quickly before the next onslaught of tears took over. “You can choose, Lauren. I hope you don’t choose to let your father’s actions rule your life. I’m sure it’s not what Ryan would have wanted.” She smiled reassuringly at her guest. “I’ll call you later to see if you are hungry.”
Brenda’s plan was to have Chef Pierre make a light dinner tray with hot soup for her guest. She would take it to her after dinner, and it would be a perfect time for a chat. Satisfied, Brenda joined her guests in the dining room, where everyone sat to enjoy a hearty yet solemn dinner. There was muted discussion about Lauren’s loss.
Towards the end of the meal, Mac joined the dinner guests so he could bring them up to date on circumstances. Brenda sighed with relief, and her guests perked up immediately at the prospect of gaining information.
“We have someone in custody for killing Ryan Meyers. We are waiting for formal charges to be arraigned, but I want to reassure all of you that the Sheffield Bed and Breakfast is a safe place to be. You are all safe. My officers are patrolling the neighborhood and the premises, both in uniform and in plainclothes, to ensure that no harm comes to anyone. I truly hope you enjoy the rest of your visit with us.” When Grace attempted to ask a specific question, Mac told her he couldn’t discuss details at this time. He enjoyed the plate of roasted chicken and vegetables that Brenda plated for him, but excused himself before dessert, saying he needed to get back to the police station.
Brenda met with Pierre as the dinner was being cleared away from the dining table. He had no problem making the chicken and vegetable soup and was pleased to be able to help their guest who had suffered such a terrible loss.
Brenda called Lauren from the hall phone.
“I do feel a little hungry, Brenda, but please don’t go to extra trouble for me.” Brenda told her the tray was already ready and she would be up with it in minutes. Chef Pierre arranged a lovely tray with soup and a few freshly baked buns and a small pot of hot water next to several sachets of tea. Brenda climbed the rear stairs and brought it to Lauren’s room.
“Let me help you get settled,” Brenda offered, carrying it in and setting it down on the small table by the window. She removed the lid from the soup and the fragrant steam wafted temptingly toward Lauren, who immediately came to sit down.
“I don’t think I realized how hungry I was,” Lauren said, settling the napkin in her lap.
“I’m so glad we could help. Lauren…can I ask you a question?” Brenda waited until Lauren took the first sip of her soup and started to pour herself some tea. “Can you tell me about Seth Hill?”
Lauren stopped swirling the lemon ginger teabag in her teacup and looked at Brenda. “What do you want to know about him?”
“How long did you know him before he asked you to marry him?”
“We met while in college. It was a while before we started dating. I suppose because I worked so much—I had to earn money to get myself through college. He didn’t have to do that, of course. His family had plenty of money. I always thought his parents disapproved of me and feared that he would dump me once we graduated since I wasn’t really in his league. But we were madly in love with one another.” Lauren’s eyes shone with nostalgia. “Our love burned bright and fierce. We were convinced we were meant to be. Despite how different we were, there were so many coincidences in our lives that seemed fated. Our mothers had the same name, and we were born in the same month, in the same hospital, in fact. His father had lived in the town where I was born, though later they moved to a much nicer town; and apparently my father worked for the Hill family once, when Seth was very young.” She took a sip of the tea. “That embarrassed me a little, actually, though Seth didn’t seem to think it was weird. His father was a real estate developer, and mine just worked on a landscaping crew who redid his family’s property.” She laughed fondly and a little sad. “I guess he worked on the Hill property for several months. Seth never mentioned my father’s crime. I really don’t think he knew about that at the time.”
Brenda kept her face utterly neutral when she learned this latest information. “Did the Hills stay in touch with your father after that job? Did he go back there often?”
Lauren’s eyes grew large as she thought back. “I do remember he did many jobs like that before my mother died. He liked working outdoors. But I have no idea who he worked for. I only knew that he’d done that landscaping job because Seth’s father recognized my last name when Seth and I first started dating. I doubt very much that the Hills sought out my father or anything like that. After all, my father was a laborer, one of hundreds in that area, probably. Seth’s family no doubt had landscapers and other handymen they worked with and never knew most of their names.” She laughed self-deprecatingly. “I always did wonder how he could have fallen for a girl like me.”
“He fell for you because he recognized quality of character, perhaps.”
Lauren smiled but looked saddened. “His mother didn’t agree with that, though. She knew the whole story about my father’s deeds. I suppose I should have known it would be a matter of time before his circle found out and put it all together. After that, his mother was convinced that I was nothing but trash. It didn’t matter what I was like—if I was related to a criminal, how could I possibly be good enough for her son?” Her face looked briefly contorted with bitter anguish.
“Did your father approve of Seth?”
Lauren became pensive. “Now that you mention it, when I told him I planned to marry Seth, his voice came across as the happiest he’d been in a long, long time. He hadn’t been that happy since before my mother died. In fact, he was elated.” Brenda pressed her to delve into his reasons, and Lauren thought carefully back while she took a few more bites of her soup. “It’s a sad time to think about, but he barely kept food on the table after my mother passed away. My father drank every penny away. I had to steal money from his wallet sometimes just to buy cereal and bread, things like that. It was a constant source of strife between us. What was I supposed to do? Luckily, I had my own job in high school, which allowed me to have some money of my own, and then once I left for college, that was my true escape from the ruin that my father had made of our lives, especially after his heinous crime. Of course, I was still in contact with him sometimes…and then our old fights about money would start up again. Perhaps when Seth and I fell in love, my father thought I’d give him money just to keep him quiet. I remember him saying something about ‘They won’t like me coming around the Hill house’ or something like that. Implying that I’d have to keep him a secret or he’d try to get out of the hospital in time for the wedding. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but looking back, I wonder if money was the sick reason behind his behavior.” She laughed softly. “He had spent years in the mental hospital by that time. I called him to tell him about Seth Hill, about our romance, and he was over the moon, but he also said some very strange things. I think it stirred up plenty of ideas that swarmed in his head.” Lauren sat back in her chair and looked a little ill at the thought.
Brenda pressed Lauren’s shoulder reassuringly as she stood to go. “You may be right about it stirring him up. Just don’t blame yourself for anything he chose to do.”
9
After she left Lauren, Brenda met Phyllis and William in the back hallway. Phyllis buttoned her jacket and smiled at her friend.
“What’s new, Brenda? Look at you with the color back in your cheeks—looks like you have recovered well from your ordeal. I am so glad you are all right,” Phyllis said.
“Do you recall when I told you that I’d heard a cough behind the wall during one of my tours?”
“Of course, we remember. Why? Did you find a mysterious hidden door after all?” Both Phyllis and William laughed, but their laughter died when they saw the serious look on Brenda’s face.
“You’ll never believe what’s been hiding behind the walls all these years...” Brenda told the Pendletons the details of her encounter with Grady Fi
sher and the subsequent confrontation between Grady Fisher and Lauren, leading to Grady’s arrest. “I feel so sorry for Lauren. She’s lived under a dark shadow most of her life, due to her father’s crime. When she found Ryan, she was finally content and happy. Now she has lost love again and been betrayed by her father a second time.”
Brenda updated her good friends on the latest pieces of the investigation. Phyllis was shocked and reassured her good friend, “We won’t spread this around, Brenda. Is there anything I can do for Lauren?”
“There is an officer outside her door for a while longer. She wants to rest and be alone right now. I’ll check later and let you know.”
Brenda felt sure she had most of the puzzle pieces in place. The note Lauren read and crumpled after the room was ransacked began to make more sense to her. She grabbed her jacket and headed for the police station.
When she arrived, Mac was just putting on his coat, ready to finally end his long day. He was surprised to see his wife enter.
“Take your coat off, Mac. I have some things to tell you.”
After she finished, Mac shook his head slowly. “I think you are on to something, Brenda. Let’s go have another talk with Grady Fisher.”
Grady mumbled something about being tired and ready to turn in early when the officer on duty at the cells told him he was wanted in the interrogation room. “I thought I told you I wanted my lawyer,” he grumbled when he was brought in. His ruddy features stood out more in the lighting than they had earlier in the daylight.
“Your lawyer will be here in the morning. But some new evidence has come to light and we want to give you a chance to set the record straight before it’s too late, Mr. Fisher.”
“How well did you know Seth Hill?” Brenda said.
He hesitated at first, and then twisted his fingers together. The silence spread through the room before he spoke. “A long time ago I did some work around his family home. He was just a kid then.”
“Why did you keep in contact with him through the years?” Brenda said.
His eyes darted from side to side several times. “I didn’t. Not until Lauren told me she was going to marry him…I knew she wanted to taunt me, but I was glad to hear the news. Even if it was just over the phone.”
“Why?” Brenda kept her eyes on his until he lowered them. “Why were you so happy for her when you resented your own daughter so much? Every word you’ve said since you came in here has been nothing but blame for her. So why were you glad to hear that news?”
“That was one time when she made the right choice. Let’s just say I needed things in that hospital that patients can’t get unless they have the cash to bribe some guards and nurses. It’s not cheap. And then there’s the cash you need to buy the stuff—booze, off-label pills, any contraband like that. Anyway, I figured if her money troubles were over, I could just cozy up to her and she’d fork a little of that money over to me from time to time. Plus, I knew I would need more money, much more, when I got out of there. She was my meal ticket. With her getting that Hill family money, I could finally live the good life I deserved.”
“So it had nothing to do with your love of your daughter; it was just that she would become your bank.” Brenda was tempted to flick her pen in his direction but refrained.
He cracked a crooked grin. “She isn’t very smart. She should have stood up to Seth’s mother and fought for him. She really settled too low when she found Ryan Meyers later on. She would never have had a money worry for the rest of her life if she had married Seth. Seth loved her. I know that because when the engagement was announced, he actually called me and told me he hoped we could be friends even though I was locked up in that asylum.” He repositioned himself in the straight-backed chair. “But I guess he changed his mind. I had a call from their family attorney next. A few hours later, a restraining order was presented to me. I was to have no contact with the Hill family and the big wedding was off.”
Brenda was certain Seth Hill had not contacted the murderer. There was no reason to do so. It was obvious Seth found out about his crime and Lauren’s role in the trial as witness to it. Brenda doubted Seth would have had anything to do with Grady Fisher. The tall tale about getting a restraining order from the Hill family attorney was ludicrous. She exchanged a look with Mac. They both knew that a restraining order would have no mention of a wedding in it.
Neither Brenda nor Mac spoke while he shifted again. The grin he displayed sent chills through both of them. “All that’s behind us now. My little girl might have ruined my life, but now she can fix it. She doesn’t have to worry about herself now, either. She’s free to take Seth back and fight for him, like she should have done the first time around. He married someone else and then divorced. He’s free as well. I don’t expect to be in that madhouse much longer. Once I’m out again, my daughter will do whatever it takes to keep me as far away from her and her newly reignited love as possible—I’ll get my piece of her substantial new-found wealth. I never intended to kill her. Why would I do that? I would have lost everything.” He chuckled. “She just needed a good scare.”
Brenda and Mac exchanged looks. There was no reason to prolong the conversation or to try to tell the man that even if he was freed from the mental hospital, he could count on the rest of his days behind bars.
Once Grady was back in his cell, Brenda spoke. “I hope we can convince a judge to put him where he belongs. There is nothing crazy about Grady Fisher. He’s a cold killer and nothing else.”
“I think the same thing, Brenda. Let’s go have a talk with Bob.” Chief Ingram looked up when they entered his office, knowing what the two had to say before they said anything.
“Before you give me your assessment, let me tell you that I agree with you. He is not insane. He should be locked up for the rest of his life.” Chief Ingram poured three cups of steaming coffee from a fresh pot he had brewed, knowing it was going to be a long night. They sipped in silence.
Lauren Meyers’s cell phone rang on the bedside table in the bed and breakfast. She didn’t recognize the number and chose not to answer. Whoever it was left a message. She heard the ping that signaled a new voicemail but didn’t check it right away. She hoped calls from the press wouldn’t begin again like they had after her father killed Randy.
Most of all, she longed to feel Ryan’s arms around her again, to hear his laugh that signaled he was ready to put on a spontaneous show somewhere, or to simply sit near him and feel his presence close to her.
She plumped the pillows on her bed and reached for a book. Reading always took her far away and had been one method of coping in the past. She opened to the bookmark when the phone rang again. It was the same number, and she ignored it once again, annoyed.
Lauren knew she should listen to the first message or the calls would probably just continue. She pressed the button to listen to the message. Her heart skipped a beat when the caller identified himself.
“Hi, Lauren, it’s me, Seth Hill. I heard about your husband’s sudden death and want to express my condolences. I know it’s been a long time…I just wanted to let you know I’m thinking of you. Perhaps we can get together sometime and have a good talk. I’m still in New York. If you like, I can send a car for you in Sweetfern Harbor. We can have lunch before you head home again.” He left his number and email for her.
At first, Lauren flashed back to the time she fell in love with Seth. She recalled the fun they had and Seth’s reassurances of his love for her. By the same token, she never forgot that it was his family lawyer who visited her in her apartment to give her the news that she wouldn’t be marrying Seth. Bereft and heartbroken, she had not left her room for days. Seth hadn’t reached out to her until an entire week had passed. Seth Hill was someone she told herself she never had any intention of talking to again. Yet she felt her heart beat faster wondering how Seth knew she was in Sweetfern Harbor. An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach as she considered the possibility that Seth had also stalked her over the year
s, just as her father had done. No matter what Seth’s intentions, the idea was terrifying. She blocked his number from her phone and tried to concentrate on the novel. It wasn’t long before she set it down, unable to follow the words on the page, and fell into a restless sleep.
The first person to come to her mind the next morning was Seth. She fumed, thinking of how smug he was to assume she would come running back to him. She had a funeral to prepare for. Or at least she thought so, until later that morning when she received an overnight, registered letter from Ryan’s brother, John Meyers. In it he told Lauren he had remained executor of Ryan’s will. He sent for Ryan’s remains once the police and coroner were finished with their probing. Ryan was to be cremated, and John would take care of where the remains would go. The letter invited her to call him at a later date to arrange a memorial service for friends and co-workers, but otherwise left her with nothing to do.
Lauren sat on the edge of the bed. She felt nothing at this point. John may be in charge of what happened to his brother’s remains, but she knew there was one thing she did have coming to her. Ryan had taken out a fifty-thousand-dollar life insurance policy on himself years ago, and she had done the same for him. She recalled how they joked that with interest, the money would grow over the years. They expected it to come in handy in their old age, not in their twenties.
The soft knock on her door startled Lauren. She asked who it was, and Brenda answered her. Lauren opened the door to her.
“I want to let you know your father asked to speak with you from his cell. You don’t have to do that unless you want to.”
“I doubt he feels any remorse. What does he want?”
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