“Instead, I decided to play on Penny’s fear. I knew she didn’t believe Jeffrey had ever harmed anyone, but I kept casually bringing up Jeffrey and Yvette. Then, when Jeffrey was gone on an extended trip with Lenore, I planted the necklace in his safe and kept bringing the necklace into the conversation. I knew Penny had always been curious about that safe. I even gave her a hint about where to find the combination. She found both the combination and the necklace. She was terrified.
“I convinced her not to go to the police. I told her it would be safer to run. She’d told me about Tyler, I knew he could get her false ID. I bought the house for her. I helped her move in.”
“I saw you!” Clarice cried, leaning forward and waving her arms. “I thought you looked familiar. I saw you when she first moved in, but just for an instant and you were wearing a cap!” Clarice fell back, as if exhausted by her outburst, but she’d managed to move more of the robe onto Diana’s lap. Diana was able to give the gun a shove to the right without Blake seeing her arm move at all.
“I knew I’d have to get rid of Penny eventually, but just having her disappear had the desired effect on Jeffrey. He was devastated, yet this time there was no police scrutiny. He’d been in France. People had seen Penny early on the day she and Willow disappeared—a time when he and Lenore were staying in the home of a client.
“Things went well for a while. Penny found a job she liked. She was happy with the town. I came to visit about once a month. Then Lenore began noticing my frequent absences. I couldn’t visit as often. Penny started applying pressure about when I was going to tell Lenore, when was I going to tell Jeffrey we were in love and getting married. A month ago, she announced she was pregnant—pregnant with my child. I knew it was mine. I’ve always known Penny wouldn’t let another man touch her, although she’d told me when Glen Austen started bothering her in late May.
“And then a note came for Jeffrey. He was having one of his usual cases of the vapors and working out of his apartment, so I opened his mail. The note said a reliable person would give the location of Penny and Cornelia Cavanaugh for $150,000. The sender had enclosed a picture taken with a disposable camera. It showed Penny and Willow in a yard, playing ball. The picture was taken inside because the photographer had caught that stained-glass water lily in the shot. Penny had even told me about the water lily. She said it was a constant reminder from Yvette of how evil Jeff was, of how he’d murdered her.” Blake’s laughter sounded raw and uncontrolled. “Penny could be such a ninny! Anyway, I was damned lucky to have intercepted that piece of mail, but I was also certain more would follow. I knew the time had come to get rid of Penny.”
Diana’s cell phone rang. Five sets of eyes fastened on it—four with hope and one with annoyance. It rang a second time. “That’s Uncle Simon,” Diana said.
Blake sighed. “I know. Tiresome Uncle Simon finally calling to tell you Penny died almost an hour ago.”
The phone rang a third time. “He’ll know something is wrong.”
“He’ll think you’ve misplaced the phone. You’re careless, Diana. Just look at how you left the door unlocked when I came back the second time, making access so easy for Lenore.”
“And if I hadn’t, you wouldn’t have a gun,” Diana said.
Blake smirked. “Don’t you think I brought my own? Well, really Penny’s. I took it from her house.” The phone rang for the third time. “Oh, give up, Simon!” Blake yelled as he aimed at the cell phone and shot, blowing it to pieces. “There. Now for some peace.”
Diana could see that for all of Blake’s bravado, he was unraveling, tiring of explanations, growing weaker from his long day of waiting for Penny to die. Still, he wanted everyone to know how very clever he had been.
“You came here and set the bomb,” Diana said hastily. “While Penny was at the hospital with Willow, you went into her house and set the bomb.” Blake nodded, pleased with himself. “You called the hospital and asked when Willow would be released. Why?”
“I wanted to kill Penny but not Willow. His child’s death would have been the end of Jeffrey and the end of me at Cavanaugh and Wentworth. It seems some people aren’t too pleased with the job I’m doing, but Jeff has my back. I hadn’t planned on losing him yet.”
Although Willow seemed to be in a world of her own, she held Diana’s right hand. Diana tried to free it, but the child held fast. “And what about Nan?”
“Penny had already told me all about you and Simon and Nan. When I saw that stained-glass window in the picture, I knew someone in this house had taken it. Now who would call themselves a reliable person? That idiot of a girl. Penny had also told me she thought Glen was involved with Nan. She didn’t want to tell you until Nan had left this house and her mother had resumed her old job—it would be too awkward for you. But I thought Glen was probably involved in this brilliant scheme to make $150,000.”
“After the explosion, Jeff was notified and here we came, the Three Musketeers.” He rolled his eyes again. “I couldn’t count on Nan to keep her mouth shut about her letter to Jeffrey. She knew she’d set something bad in motion with her money-making scheme. I also knew she would have told Glen all about it. Both have numbers and addresses listed in the phone book. I went to Nan’s. She was packing to leave, but she was too late. I got to her first.
“I was outside walking to my car parked a block away when I saw a man pull into Nan’s driveway. He went inside. I knew it was Glen. I was going after him when you pulled up, Diana. You went inside. Apparently you trapped Glen in the attic with a dead body—not the most comfortable situation. When he came running out of the house, I was waiting for him in his car. I forced him to drive someplace. Then I didn’t have to worry about Glen anymore.”
“Glen has been dead since Sunday night?” Diana asked. Blake nodded. “Then who—”
“Came to your window? Me. You still knew too much about everything. I had to kill you. I really didn’t have any choice. So I put on the absurd costume and pretended to be Willow’s guardian angel, then threw pebbles at your window to wake you. I knew I could use Willow to lure you outside. But then Tyler came to the rescue.”
“And you didn’t get us,” Diana flashed back, immediately regretting her words. Blake’s eyes narrowed. “But you planted Glen’s ID bracelet in the woods.”
“And predictably, the police found it.”
“The bracelet bothered me,” Diana said, beginning to feel dizzy from blood loss. “Glen always complained about how hard it was to unclasp. He said he almost had to use a screwdriver to pry it open. Yet we were supposed to believe it just fell off his wrist.”
“I didn’t care what you believed,” Blake said. “The police believed he dropped it. And I used his cell phone to call you a while ago.”
“So the police and I would think he was still around. That’s why you ran down to the surveillance car to tell the police officers.”
“There was only one and, unfortunately, he’s dead, Diana. Right after he reported Glen’s call, I was forced to kill him. I had no choice.”
“The police believed Glen was guilty of everything, so why did you come here?”
“When I cornered Nan in her attic, she said you were suspicious of me. She said you knew I’d tried to kill Penny and you’d know I killed her.”
“She was lying,” Diana said flatly. “I didn’t suspect you of anything except not being quite as patient with Jeffrey and Lenore as you seemed.”
“I thought she was probably lying, but I knew I couldn’t live comfortably if I had a shred of doubt. I always tie up loose ends, Diana. The police were supposed to think Glen came here in a rage and killed you for breaking his heart.” He paused, his teeth clenching. “However, my darling wife fouled my plan. Now I will have to kill all of you and then go away. No one will ever find me. They shouldn’t even try, but they’ll waste hundreds of man-hours and thousands of dollars. I suppose I should be flattered.” He paused then smiled. “Who shall I kill first? Willow.”
He s
hifted the gun and pointed at the child, who screamed shrill and loud. While he took his time aiming, Diana whipped out the gun she gripped in her right hand and, through dimming vision, fired. The shot only grazed Blake’s thigh, but the pain threw off his aim and the shot hit the wall. With a shout of rage, he aimed again at Willow. Diana fired once more, her shot whizzing past his ear.
By now she was shaking violently and sweating so much from the pain of her gunshot wound, the gun was slipping from her hand. The room seemed to spin around her and she kept blinking, trying to clear her vision, which she did enough to see Blake aiming at her. With the last of her strength, Diana pushed Willow sideways and closed her eyes just before she heard the sound of a gunshot. She felt nothing, and a second later she opened her eyes to see Blake weaving. Still, he aimed again at Diana. She looked beyond Blake. In the front entrance to the library stood Tyler Raines holding his gun.
“Stop Wentworth,” Tyler said fiercely.
Blake’s next shot was quickly followed by Tyler’s. Blake jerked but managed to remain standing, ready to squeeze off another round.
“I said stop!” Tyler yelled.
Blake laughed raggedly. “Not on your life, Mr. Raines.”
He pointed the gun at Willow. Diana closed her eyes, and her breath stopped as the sound of another shot crashed through the room. She opened her eyes to see Blake suddenly standing perfectly still and smiling. Then, slowly, his smile twisted, his beautiful ebony eyes went blank, he spun halfway around, and crashed facedown on the polished hardwood floor.
EPILOGUE
December Twentieth
“Well, I never thought my house catching on fire could lead to this!”
“Is this where I say God works in mysterious ways?” Diana said, as she tucked a wisp of Clarice’s silver hair into her French twist then inserted a comb edged with iridescent amethyst-colored beads. “Perfect! Do you want to see?”
Diana gave Clarice a hand mirror, and the woman stood up and looked at the back of her hair in the vanity mirror. “You did a beautiful job, Diana! At the beauty shop they pull my hair so tight I feel like my mouth is stretched into a hideous grin!”
Diana laughed. “Maybe I missed my calling. I should have become a hairstylist.”
“Don’t let Simon hear you say that, particularly after your last gallery showing in New York. No more tourist center pamphlets for you!”
“Just as well. That spiffy head of the tourism board with the bow tie said my pictures weren’t ‘up to snuff.’ ”
“He’s a fool, as Simon would say.” Clarice laid down the hand mirror and turned in front of Diana. “How do I look? And be honest.”
Clarice wore an amethyst-colored satin sheath dress with long sleeves and a boat neck. A twenty-two-inch strand of pearls hung from her neck, and pearls dangled from her ears, all belonging to Simon’s mother, and his gift to Clarice along with an antique-styled diamond engagement ring. Clarice had allowed Diana to emphasize her violet eyes with some pink and violet eye shadow, a bit of eyeliner, and mascara. She wore dyed purple pumps with two-inch heels and had no need for a walker today.
“Clarice, you look absolutely beautiful. No wonder a seventy-five-year-old confirmed bachelor proposed to you.”
Clarice smiled and blushed. “I was so surprised.”
“I wasn’t. I think I’ve expected it since the first week you spent here.”
Clarice’s smile dimmed slightly. “What a week that was! Every day something awful happened, and yet just four months later, look how happy we are. Especially little Willow. I cannot believe how that child is blossoming.”
Frankly, neither could Diana. After the horrendous scene with Blake in this very house, they had all learned not only how Jeffrey Cavanaugh had been treated as a child by his father, but how Blake had set out to ruin the rest of Jeff’s life. Blake had murdered Morgan. Blake had murdered Yvette. Blake had pushed Penny into deserting a man she believed was a killer, only to die at the hands of the only man besides Tyler that she trusted.
At first Jeffrey had been so stunned to learn the truth about Blake, that he had no wish to take Willow away from Simon and Diana. She still feared him, and he said he feared himself, particularly his bad judgment, which had resulted in the murders of his two wives. Even his sister had not been what he’d believed. He’d gone back to New York and dived into psychotherapy. Meanwhile Simon and Diana had seen to it that Willow also got the psychological help she needed.
Then slowly, father and daughter had begun to come together. At first Jeffrey made a few weekend trips to Huntington. Then Diana had taken Willow to New York for short visits. Jeffrey spent Thanksgiving with Simon, Clarice, and Diana, and after Christmas, Willow would be going to New York for a week’s stay with her father, while Diana would happily spend time with Tyler, whom Jeffrey had promised could always be part of Willow’s life—although the two men would probably never be more than polite to each other. They all hoped that by early summer, Willow would once again be living with her father full time.
Smiling, Diana left the downstairs bedroom where Clarice had spent her first week with them and went into the kitchen, checking to make certain the caterers had everything under control. Tyler stood by the counter, dressed in his tuxedo, his longish hair combed back. “You look devilishly handsome,” she said.
“And you look gorgeous,” he replied, gazing at her green velvet dress. “Sure you’re not upset about not being a bridesmaid?”
“Heavens, no. Clarice has a daughter and two granddaughters for that job. Simon, however, didn’t let you off so easily. Best man! How impressive!”
“My first time.” He paused. “Oh, gosh, I hope I didn’t lose the ring!” Tyler looked genuinely alarmed, and Diana began patting down his pockets before he pulled out the diamond-studded wedding band. “Well, here it is after all, but you’re welcome to keep searching.”
Diana made a face at him. “We’re supposed to be greeting guests.”
They walked into the flower-filled library. Diana could almost forget what had happened in there back in August when Blake had stood with a gun pointed at her and Willow. Later, after the paramedics had come to her aid once again, she’d learned that Simon had expected Blake to return to the hospital with the Porsche. When he hadn’t, he and Tyler had asked Simon’s lawyer to give them a ride back to the Van Etton house. Simon tried to call her. No answer, then the abrupt loss of service when Blake shot the phone told them something was very wrong.
Urging the lawyer to drive faster than he ever had up the winding roads of Ritter Park, they reached the Van Etton grounds to find the surveillance patrol officer dead in his car. Simon had told the story a hundred times of how his lawyer stood blithering at the patrol car, while Simon and Tyler had jumped in the man’s car, Tyler flooring it until they pulled up behind the Porsche, where Tyler jumped out and dashed into the house, gun drawn, and heroically saved the day. “He’ll be telling that story for the rest of his life,” Diana had told Tyler. “It’s exactly what he always pictured himself doing.”
All of the furniture had been removed from the library, and a carpeted aisle ran between chairs up to a small altar where the minister of Clarice’s church would perform the service. People had gathered—more on the groom’s side than on the bride’s, but Diana knew Clarice didn’t mind. Her daughter looked lovely in a dove-gray dress and her own imitation pearls. Clarice’s youngest granddaughter, Sue, kept mostly to herself, admiring her bouquet and smiling shyly. The thirteen-year-old, Katy, kept fussing with her hair, which, as Willow had claimed, looked like a bird nest.
Finally Jeffrey Cavanaugh arrived. He had lost at least twenty pounds since Penny’s death, and the perpetually angry, frustrated expression had left his face. Even his eyes looked gentler, their color dulled to soft pewter from glittering silver. “Hello, Diana. Tyler,” he said with a slightly hesitant smile. He still wasn’t confident that all was understood and forgiven. That would come, Diana thought, because she and Simon had no intentio
n of cutting Jeffrey from their lives, and not just for the sake of Willow.
“How’s Lenore?” Diana whispered.
“Much better. She’ll be out of the convalescent home by the first of the year. I’m having a nurse stay with her for a couple of months, but she’ll come out of this depression. She’s already come a long way. My sister is a strong girl.” He looked down. “And so is my daughter.”
Willow had appeared at the door looking angelic in dark-blue velvet with a matching ribbon holding back her hair. She’d completely lost the tight, gray, haunted look of the weeks after her mother’s death. Her blue eyes twinkled, and her cheeks bore a rosy glow no makeup could copy.
“Hi . . . Daddy.” Jeffrey blinked. She had not called him Daddy until today. “You look very nice.”
“Well, thank you,” Jeffrey said uncertainly. “You look beautiful.”
Willow smiled. “Are we still havin’ the big New Year’s Eve party like you promised?”
“It might not be as big as you think, but we’re definitely having a party,” Jeffrey said. “The invitations have all ready been mailed.”
“I know ’cause Diana got one.” She looked up at them. “You’re comin’ with Tyler, aren’t you?”
“I certainly am,” Diana said. “Clarice and Simon will still be on their honeymoon. I sure can’t stay around here and be bored to tears. And I’ll bring along Tyler because he assures me he’s fun at parties.”
“You want to be anywhere with Tyler,” Willow said impishly, then looked at her father. “Diana’s movin’ to New York real soon,” Willow told him.
“I know. You’ll get to see her all the time even when you come live with me.”
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