The Test of Love

by Irene Brand

  “Didn’t you talk about the past?”

  “I didn’t pry into her life before we were married—I assumed that she’d done nothing that concerned our marriage. Besides, we didn’t talk a lot. Virginia was quiet and reserved.”

  “It’s difficult to believe that kind of person would hold up a pharmacy.”

  “I’ve heard the old adage, still waters run deep. So who knows what Virginia was really like? That’s what I like about you, Connie. You’re easy to talk to. I don’t think we’ll ever run out of subjects to discuss.” He lifted her hand to kiss it, praying for the day when he could open his heart to her. He wouldn’t ask her to commit to a lifetime together until his record was wiped clean.

  “What’s your next move?” Connie asked.

  “I’ll take you back to the Center, and after I’ve had a few days to sort out what I know, I’ll talk to my lawyers. Now that it seems reasonable that Debbie and Stan were involved, it shouldn’t be impossible to find out if they received any money. In the meantime, I want you to be watchful. I may have tangled you in a dangerous situation.”

  “You be careful! You have an enemy in Debbie Smith Jarvis.”

  “Apparently she’s been my enemy for quite a while, and I had no idea. Now that I know, I’ll be wary of her.”

  Connie moved close to Joseph and laid her hand on his shoulder as they drove back to the church where she’d left the van.

  They didn’t talk much. Connie was concerned about Joseph, and how this proof of his wife’s unsavory past had wounded his pride. Had she been unfaithful to him after they were married? If she wondered about it, how much more the possibility must weigh on Joseph’s mind.

  Joseph was trying to think how he could protect Connie if this investigation became dangerous. He also questioned if he should even continue their relationship with a scandal looming over his head.

  When he drove into the church parking lot, empty except for Connie’s van, he pulled her into his arms and squeezed her so tight that she found it hard to breathe, but she didn’t protest. Even yet she didn’t dare tell him how much she loved him, but she whispered, “You’re very special to me, Joseph. No matter what happens, you can count on me.”

  His eyes were misty when he released her and placed a tender kiss on her lips.

  Chapter Twelve

  Connie hadn’t expected to hear from Joseph for several days, but he telephoned her the next night.

  “Can we meet for dinner tomorrow night?” he asked. “I hate to ask since I told you to separate yourself from my dilemma, but something else has come up that I want to discuss with you.”

  “I can’t leave NLC tomorrow evening because several of the staff members will be in Denver for some required training, and I need to stick around. But we can talk here. Come early enough for dinner.”

  “We’re cutting alfalfa now, so I probably won’t get away that early, but I’ll be there.”

  Connie puzzled all the next day over Joseph’s call because he sounded troubled, and when he arrived at eight o’clock, she noted his concern immediately. He even limped slightly, and she knew mental stress aggravated his injury.

  “Let’s walk down to the lake,” he said. “I don’t want our conversation to be overheard. I know I said I’d keep you out of my problems, but I’m really disturbed about what I’ve discovered.”

  After they arrived at the lake and sat on the stone bench, he hesitated several minutes before pulling a cigarette lighter from his pocket and handing it to her.

  George Perry, Christmas Day, was inscribed on the gold-plated lighter.

  She turned the object over in her hand, and looked at Joseph speculatively.

  “I found the lighter under a chair cushion in our living room. It’s where I sit when I watch television, and,” he grinned, “last night I was having a snack and overturned a glass of cola in the chair. When I was cleaning up the mess, my hand encountered a hard object wedged in the back side—this lighter.”

  Favoring him with a feigned disapproving glare, Connie said, “Outside of the fact that you’ve admitted to snacking before bedtime, what else is significant?”

  “Virginia gave that lighter to George last Christmas at the Perry house. George and Stephanie left for two weeks’ vacation to Florida the day after Christmas. They didn’t return until the evening before Virginia was killed.”

  Connie’s eyes widened. “Are you suggesting George was at the ranch the day of the tragedy?”

  “He must have been. I was home all evening the night before the accident, so he wasn’t there then. But I was out all the next morning helping to drive the Charolais in close to the barns before the blizzard struck. By the time I came home in midafternoon, there were several inches of snow on the ground. Any automobile tracks would have been obliterated.”

  “This is terrible! What are you going to do?”

  “I’ll have to confront George with what I’ve learned. I can’t believe that he would injure his sister, or if he did, that he’d drive off and leave her to die. But if he was there, why doesn’t he say so, and why is he so keen to blame me? I’ve got to know.”

  “When are we going to see him?”

  Joseph shook his head. “You’re not going. After the way he treated us on our first visit, I won’t subject you to that again.”

  Connie put her arms around him. “It’s difficult for you to lose a friend as well as your wife, and I won’t have you confront him alone. You might need a witness. If our roles were reversed, wouldn’t you want to go with me?”

  He moved closer, leaned over and kissed her.

  “You win. When will it be convenient for you to go?”

  “Thursday evening. Will you notify him that we’re coming?”

  “No, I think not. If he does have a guilty conscience, that would give him time to manufacture an alibi.”

  As they walked away from the lake, Joseph said, “Do you suppose Rose had any food left from dinner? I didn’t have time to eat.”

  “Joseph!” she reproached him. “A bedtime snack last night, and no dinner today. You must eat regular meals.”

  “I need a woman to take care of me and see that I have good food to eat,” he said pointedly.

  “Then you’ll have to marry Rose or Mom. They’re the only good cooks I know. Come on. Rose has probably gone to her room, but I have a key to the kitchen. We’ll find something for you.”

  So that Joseph wouldn’t have to leave his haying operation early on Thursday, Connie drove into Denver to meet him. He didn’t voice his appreciation for her presence, but he squeezed her hand tightly when she settled into the truck beside him.

  “I just hope they’re home,” Joseph said, as they walked up on the porch of the Perry home. “I’ve dreaded this visit so much that I wouldn’t want to go through such trauma another day.”

  The same maid who’d admitted them the week before opened the door. Apparently Joseph didn’t think she’d remember him, for he identified himself.

  “I’m Joseph Caldwell. Will you ask Mr. Perry if he’ll see me? Tell him Miss Harmon is with me.”

  The woman closed the door, and Connie wondered if they’d be left standing on the steps. A few minutes later, George opened the door.

  “Come in. We’re in the library.” He didn’t offer to shake hands with either of them, and his face was unreadable. If their visit angered him, Connie couldn’t tell from his facial expression.

  Stephanie sat with embroidery in her hands, and she greeted them cordially, but without much warmth, which Connie deduced was her normal manner. “Sit down,” she invited. Connie took a seat on a chair near the door.

  “I’ve come on an unpleasant errand,” Joseph said, “so I’ll stand to say what I must. George, a few nights ago, I found the cigarette lighter Virginia gave you for Christmas beneath a chair cushion in my living room. You could only have left it there the day Virginia was killed. I’d like an explanation, please.”

  Stephanie gasped and half rose from her chair, st
aring at her husband. George turned his back on Joseph and started out of the room.

  “After what your accusation has put me through the past nine months, you owe me an explanation,” Joseph said.

  Without answering, George left the room, and Stephanie ran after him. “Do something, Joseph,” she shouted. “He hasn’t been like himself since Virginia’s death. I’ve been worried about him.” She stopped in the doorway and wrung her hands, as George returned holding an envelope in his hand.

  “Sit down, all of you,” he said wearily. “I might have known, Joseph, that you wouldn’t give up until you learned the truth. First of all, let me tell you that whatever happened between Virginia and me was an accident. I would never have harmed my sister deliberately.”

  Connie went to Joseph and they sat together on a couch facing George’s chair. He held her hand until it hurt, but she didn’t protest.

  George’s hands trembled, and he pulled a sigh from deep within. “It will be a relief to get this off my mind,” he said in a raspy voice. “I realized that Virginia had lived a wild life while she was away from home that year, but I didn’t know any details. I should have told you about it before you were married, but I really didn’t think it would make any difference to you, and that it would be easier for both of you if you didn’t know.”

  “Yes. I would have married her, but if I’d been aware of her problems, I could have encouraged her to straighten up her life.”

  “Right before Christmas,” George continued in a trembling voice, “Virginia started pestering me to sell some of the stocks that we held jointly, and we had several quarrels about it. I had no idea why she wanted the money, so I refused. Upon her death, all of those stocks came to me, and that would have cast suspicion on me if anyone knew I was at the ranch when she fell. That’s why I hid that fact.”

  Behind them, Connie heard Stephanie sniffling, so she went to her, perched on the arm of the chair where she huddled, holding her face in her hands. Connie laid a tender hand on her shoulder.

  “I had no idea Virginia was being blackmailed,” George continued, “nor why, but the night we got back from Florida, this letter was waiting for me.” He passed it to Joseph. “Read it.”

  Joseph took the letter out of the envelope, and a newspaper clipping fell out—it was identical to the one Rose had found.

  Joseph scanned the message and then read it aloud.

  To George Perry:

  For the sum of $50,000, I’ll forget the name of the woman pictured here. It would be too bad to blacken the reputation of one of Colorado’s most upstanding families. Get the money in cash, and I’ll be in touch by telephone.

  He handed the message back to George. “Did you pay the money?”

  “No one ever telephoned me, or I might have. I was sure the smaller person in the picture was Virginia, but before I got over my fear and anger about that, my broker telephoned. He’s Virginia’s broker, too, and since Virginia allowed me to handle all her investments, I thought I had the right to know, so I asked him point-blank about the status of Virginia’s account. He told me she’d been withdrawing large amounts of money since Father died, and she had nothing left. I knew then that she’d been blackmailed.”

  Joseph got up and walked across the room, staring out the window at the floodlit fountain casting its sparkling spray high in the air. Connie figured his thoughts were so troubled that he didn’t even see the water. George spoke in a monotone, but quickly, as if he were at last facing the reality of what had happened that day at the ranch.

  “In spite of the approaching blizzard, I drove to the ranch. Virginia was alone in the house, and we had a terrific quarrel. She admitted to the robbery, and to being blackmailed, too. She said now that her money was gone she feared he would start on me, and that’s the reason she sent me that note, so I’d be forewarned. In the scuffle, she stepped backward, tripped over the rug in front of the fireplace, fell heavily, and struck her head on that bronze sculpture. I dialed 911, but the line was dead. Virginia’s head was bleeding, and I panicked. I hurried out to my car and left.”

  George dropped his head into his hands, wailing, “If that fall killed her, it was an accident. It was an accident! You believe me, don’t you Joseph?”

  George started pacing the floor, and Joseph went to him and embraced him. “Yes, I believe you.”

  Stephanie lifted her head and looked at the two men, and with an effort, or so it seemed to Connie, she went to her husband.

  “Come, George,” she said quietly. “Sit down. We must decide what to do.”

  She pulled him beside her on the couch, and Joseph sat on his other side. “There’s only one thing I can do, Stephanie. I’ll go to the police and tell them the whole story.” He turned to Joseph. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am that I threw suspicion on you.”

  Joseph’s overwhelming relief that the mystery was solved at last, and that he’d been exonerated from suspicion of Virginia’s death was overshadowed by his sympathy for George.

  He put an arm over George’s trembling shoulders. “I’m sorry too, that you’ve been carrying this burden alone. Straighten up now, and we’ll see what we can do.”

  Connie and Joseph exchanged glances and she threw him a kiss. They could rejoice later.

  “The man involved with her in that robbery,” Joseph said, “has apparently been blackmailing Virginia. He’s Stan Jarvis, Debbie Smith’s cousin—and former husband—who traveled with Virginia and Debbie a lot. Debbie may have been the intermediary, but in that note, Virginia said ‘he,’ so she didn’t suspect Debbie’s involvement. Stan has been arrested and jailed for the crime, and his trial comes up next month. Connie and I have been doing a lot of investigating, and I’m inclined to believe that Debbie was also involved in the holdup, driving the getaway vehicle. She’s living in a house that she couldn’t possibly have paid for. So we figure she and her former husband were both in the blackmailing. My lawyers are trying to trace the money to them.”

  “Are you going to sue to get the money back?” Stephanie asked.

  “No. I’ll go with you to the police, and tell them my suspicions. All I want is for my name to be cleared. If they prove Debbie and her husband got the money, George can sue for it if he wants to. It’s Perry money, and I don’t want any of it. I’m making my own way.”

  Gripping George’s shoulder hard, Joseph stood. “What time do you want me to return in the morning?” he asked.

  With pleading eyes, Stephanie looked at him. “Stay here tonight, Joseph. George may need you.”

  Perhaps Stephanie feared that George might harm himself, for Joseph agreed immediately. “I’ll take Connie back to where we left her car, and I should be back in a half hour.” He leaned over and embraced George again. “I’ll stand by you, old friend.”

  Joseph’s eyes were wet when he and Connie walked down the hall.

  “I don’t want you to stay here, Joseph,” she said when they reached the truck. “They may still be your enemies, and if so, your life could be in danger tonight.”

  “I don’t think so, but it’s a risk I have to take. It was hard for me to forgive George for what he put me through, but I have, and I want to help him all I can.”

  “Will charges be filed against him?”

  “I doubt it. He’ll take the family lawyers with us, and they’ll probably get him released on probation. Actually, he didn’t commit a crime, for if that blow did kill Virginia, it was accidental. Of course, they were fighting, but Virginia would have been as much at fault as George. Sometimes people are charged with involuntary manslaughter in such a situation, but we’ll have to wait for tomorrow to see.”

  “Will you ever know what caused Virginia’s death?”

  “I doubt it, and I suppose it doesn’t matter which way she died. When I’m no longer suspected of any crime in that connection, I’ll try to put it behind me.”

  Joseph drew Connie into his arms when they reached the NLC van. “Don’t worry about me, and be careful drivin
g home. In a few days, we’ll have a long, serious talk.”

  He kissed Connie, and squeezed her so hard that she gasped. Joseph released her reluctantly, went with her to the van, and assured himself that the locks were secured. Watching her drive away, he breathed a prayer for her safety. He couldn’t lose her, too, for he knew without a doubt how indispensable she was to his happiness. In his heart he’d known for a long time that he loved her, but he couldn’t tell her when there was a possibility he might go to prison. His love for Virginia had grown cold a long time ago, but she still cast a shadow between him and Connie. With a sigh, he turned back to his truck. He dreaded tomorrow’s events. He wished he could have proven his innocence without embarrassing George, but apparently that wouldn’t be possible.

  All the next day Connie thought of Joseph and wondered how traumatic the experience would be. In her imagination, she followed the Perrys and Joseph as they left their home, went to the police station and were subjected to questioning. She had asked Kim to hold all telephone calls, and to ward off any visitors. So she was surprised when shortly before noon, Kim’s voice came over the intercom, “You have a visitor, Connie. I think you should see him.”

  She agreed, but was ill prepared to have Ray Blazer open the door and walk into her office.

  She half rose from her chair, and then sat down again. Ray walked slowly to her desk. She was still afraid of him, and she was glad he hadn’t closed the door between her office and Kim’s. She had nothing to say to Ray, so she waited for him to speak first.

  “I’m leaving for California,” he said, “and I’ve come to apologize for the trouble I caused you.”