“What about the arranged kidnappings and the ransom note?”
She shifted on the chair. “That didn’t come up.”
“What were you and Jaime thinking?”
She laughed. “He wasn’t thinking. If anything had gone wrong, he would have been blamed. If things had gone right, Aunt Katherine would have left.”
“You don’t know Kate very well. She’s not the type to run away from trouble. But this isn’t about her.” He leaned forward. “Why did you steal from the company?”
“Not me. Blame Carl and Damon. I trusted them.”
“Did you?” Lars asked. “Then why are you divorcing your husband?”
She slouched. “Do you blame me for getting rid of him? Look at what he’s become.”
Lars shook his head. “You’ve known for years about his gambling, yet when I wanted to fire him, you begged me to keep him on.”
She stared at her hands. “He refused to give me a divorce without a large settlement.”
“I would have given you the money. You know that. Why did you wait?”
“I knew how you felt about him. Then he said Damon knew something that would ruin you. I couldn’t let that happen.” She began to sob.
Lars rose and went to her. “Honey, don’t cry. We’ll see this through. All you have to do is tell the police everything you’ve told me.”
“Daddy, I can’t.”
I wanted to shake Lars. He was taking the doting parent road again. “Stop manipulating your father with tears.”
She glared. “And I’m telling you to stay out of this. You’re not involved.”
“But I am. I’ve been involved since the day I arrived and found your father missing. Did you really think I would leave without knowing what had happened to him?”
“Yes, and you would have if Jaime hadn’t panicked and set Daddy free.”
I shook my head. “I’m not you. I don’t act out of spite or like a child. Your father is my friend and I would have waited until the next morning and called the police. Then I would have hired a detective to find him. I wouldn’t have left until I knew he was safe.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“Maybe not to you. What was the purpose behind your kidnapping? Were you trying to force your father to make a choice?”
A smile crossed her lips. “That was the idea, but Jaime didn’t come. Someone else did. I wasn’t lying about being hit on the head.”
“What?” Lars asked,
“Then who called your father?”
“That was Jaime. He thought I had gotten tired of waiting and went to the house.”
My shocked expression must have mirrored Lars’ look of surprise. If her kidnapping hadn’t been one of Bonnie’s plots to send me running home, who had taken her? How had they known what she and Jaime Verdigras had planned?
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Yes. Now get out of my life.” Her voice rose to a piercing pitch. The storm of anger destroyed her beauty.
“When your father tells me I’m not welcome, I’ll leave. Before I do, I’d like the jewelry your father gave me.”
“What are you talking about?” Lars asked.
“Daddy, don’t listen to her. Can’t you see what she’s doing? She’s too old to work and she wants your money. Tell her she can’t stay here.”
“Stop confusing the issue,” I said. “What’s been happening here has nothing to do with my financial status or what’s between your father and me. Theft is the issue.”
“Kate’s right,” Lars said. “Did you take the necklace and milk the business?”
Tears rolled down Bonnie’s face. “Daddy, I’m scared. Carl must have killed the man in his car. What if he comes after me? Don’t you care about me?”
“I care, but Kate’s right. You’re avoiding the real problem.”
“Daddy.” She straightened. “What are you going to do?”
“Once you return Kate’s necklace and the money, I’ll close up shop and you’ll get your share, nothing more.”
“Really,” a deep voice said.
I almost screamed when I turned and saw Damon in the doorway. I hadn’t heard the bell. Neither had he buzzed to be let in.
Lars glared at his assistant. “Did you just walk in?”
“Good thing I did, and good thing I lifted one of those buzzers. Heard some things I don’t like. You can’t liquidate the company.”
“I don’t see why not,” Lars said.
“Then I’ll see you in court. Think of the scandal when your past indiscretions become public. Don’t you care about your reputation?”
“I might have reacted differently if I intended to stay here and remain in business,” Lars said.
“Daddy, what is he talking about?”
Damon laughed. “Guess he neglected to tell you about our relationship. I’m your half-brother. Why else do you think I turned you down when you came on to me?”
“I never...”
“That’s the way I saw it. So Dad, what’s your decision?”
“Maybe I don’t believe you’re my son,” Lars said. “Are you willing to have a DNA test? I am.”
Damon crossed his arms on his chest. “That’s not necessary. I have my original birth certificate.”
“Which is no proof,” I said. “Having the test is the only way.”
“Stay out of this.” Damon glared.
Bonnie laughed. “Looks like you’ll get a quarter of nothing. The money’s safe from you. I’m the only one who can access it.”
“She’s right,” Lars said. “She’s been diverting funds for more than a year.”
Damon turned to Bonnie. “You bitch.”
Lars strode across the room. “If the test shows I’m your father, you’ll be entitled to a quarter of the money. Bonnie will restore the funds or face charges.”
“Daddy, you wouldn’t.”
Damon smiled. “Serves you right.”
“But Daddy, we’re a team. That’s what you always told me.”
Lars shook his head. “A team works together. You stole from me. My next announcement will make you angrier. If Kate will have me, she and I will marry.”
“What about Mommy?”
“Your mother has been dead for more than twenty years. She and Kate were friends. I know she would approve.”
“I hate you.” She ran to the door.
Damon saluted Lars. “I’ll get back to you on that test.” He rushed after Bonnie.
I turned to look out the window. Damon grabbed Bonnie and turned her to face him. She swung her fist at his face.
Lars stood behind me. “What did I do wrong?”
“Nothing. Some people are born flawed. You have three other children who have turned out fine.” I looked at him. “Let’s get in the car and drive away.”
“I can’t. I need to call the police.”
I nodded. “Then we can go.” I gasped. Damon slapped Bonnie.
Lars released me. He strode away. “Bonnie. Damon,” he shouted.
Damon staggered and fell. Bonnie stared at him. I ran into the foyer and heard her scream. Lars stood in the open doorway. A loud cracking noise sounded. Bonnie jerked and then slid down the side of the car.
“Bonnie.” Lars started outside.
“Lars, get down.” My heart pounded. Fear roared in my thoughts.
A loud crack followed by a thud made me step back. Lars dropped to the ground. I screamed. Had he been shot? Who had done this? I knelt on the foyer floor and crawled to the door. “Lars.”
“I’m all right.”
Tears blurred my eyes. “Get inside before you’re shot. Call the police.”
“You. The number’s by the phone. I have to reach Bonnie.”
“Lars, come back.”
“I have to see how badly she’s hurt. Go.”
I crept to the living room. With a hand that shook in a palsied rhythm, I grabbed the phone and punched the numbers. Through the wide front window I saw Damon’s car, th
e two still bodies and Lars’ slow progress toward them. A few snowflakes danced in the air. A voice answered. I gulped a breath.
“There’s been a shooting. Send someone.”
“Who? Where? Who is this?”
“Katherine Miller. A shooting at the Claybourne estate. Two victims.”
“Address.”
My mind went blank. I swallowed. The voice shouted in my ear. This time I remembered and gave the information.
“The victims...hurt...dead?”
“I don’t know.”
“Sit tight. Stay inside. Someone’s on the way.”
I stared through the window. Lars had reached his daughter. Snow fell on his shoulders and on the crumpled bodies. He remained for a short time, then rose and ran back to the house. My heart leaped into my throat. Would he reach the house safely?
My legs trembled. My body shook. I sank on the couch and covered my face with my hands. I was no stranger to death. As a nurse I’d kept vigils at the bedsides of the dying. I’d found the bodies of two murder victims, but never before had I witnessed the violent ending of a life.
“Kate.”
Lars’ voice broke my fugue. I looked up. “Thank heavens you’re all right. The police are on the way. Should we call an ambulance?”
“We’ll leave that to the police.” He sat beside me. Absently I brushed snow from his sweater and waited for him to speak. “She’s dead. Damon, too.”
His voice was toneless. Shock, I thought and reached for his wrist to check his pulse. “I’m sorry.”
He pulled me into an embrace. “Why did Carl kill them?”
His hands felt icy. “I don’t know. He must have acted out of an insane desperation.”
He released me and leaned his head against the back of the couch. Tears glistened in his eyes. “She didn’t have to steal. All she had to do was ask.”
True, but asking had never been Bonnie’s style. All her life she had taken what she wanted with no regard for other people’s desires. Until today Lars had never been able to see her faults. I’m sure this knowledge weighed on his spirit. He’d need time to grieve, time to come to terms with his mistakes. Lord knows the difficulty of that step was something I knew all too well.
Then once the error was admitted, a person had to move on. Just as I had to do. The truth of this observation hit me with the force of an avalanche. Not long ago I’d made a dreadful mistake. I would never forget, but I could forgive myself. Could I help my friend do the same?
I reached for his hands and warmed them with mine. “I wish I could take your pain.”
He closed his eyes. A weary sigh escaped his lips. “I don’t know what to do or say.”
Sirens sounded in the distance and grew louder. “The police,” I said. “You’d better open the gate.”
“Could you? Right now I can’t move.”
“Just rest then.” I went to the foyer and pressed the buttons for the gate. Cold air and swirls of snow blew through the open door. I closed it. The phone rang. I returned to the living room and lifted the receiver. “Hello.”
“Aunt Katherine,” Don said. “Is Dad there? Since he’s so adamant that Megan and I stay away, I need him to pick up a few things for us.”
I looked at Lars. Don, I mouthed. He shook his head.
“He’s here, but he can’t speak to you right now.”
“Is he tied up with Bonnie?” Don asked.
“No.”
“Is he sick?”
“At heart.”
“His heart? Get him to the hospital.”
“No physical problem. Someone shot Bonnie and Damon. The police just arrived.”
Lars rose from the couch and left the room. He moved like a man who had aged twenty years in an instant.
“How bad?” Don asked.
His question drew my attention from Lars. “Your father said they were dead.”
“I’ll come. He’ll need me.”
“Stay where you are. If you come home now, your dad will worry. The killer is out there somewhere. Give me your phone number and I’ll call when we know more.” He did. I wrote the number on a piece of paper and tucked it in my slack’s pocket.
“Okay.”
Through the window I saw the revolving lights of the police cars and the flashing lights of an ambulance. Snow blanketed the ground.
Lars straightened and entered the foyer. “Maybe they won’t chase me.” He stepped outside.
A young police officer looked around. “Sir, you can’t come out here.”
“My daughter…”
“Sorry, sir. You have to stay inside.”
Color drained from Lars’ face. I put my arm around his waist. “Help me,” I called. “He’s going to collapse.”
The young officer strode to the door. “Should I call the paramedics in?”
“Let’s get him to the couch. Lars, can you walk?”
“Yes.”
With the officer’s help I steered Lars to the living room and helped him lie on the couch. I checked his pulse. A rapid but regular rhythm beat against my fingers. As the rate slowed I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Sir, are you all right?”
Lars tried to sit up. “I’ll be fine. It’s just...the shock...the waste.”
I pushed him back. “As resident nurse I’m ordering you to be still.”
“We’ll need to know what happened,” the police officer said. “You’ll have to come to the station so Detective Rodgers can take your statements.”
“Not until Mr. Claybourne has recovered. His daughter is one of the victims.”
Lars shook his head. “I can go.”
“Are you sure?”
“I want that bastard caught and the sooner they know the whole story, the sooner he will be.”
“All right, but I’ll drive.”
Chapter 11
When we reached the police station, we were taken to a small office. Detective Rodgers sat behind a cluttered desk. Two straight back wooden chairs faced the desk. The detective looked up. “Lars Claybourne and...”
“Katherine Miller,” I said.
He nodded. “Have a seat. I’ll be taping your statements.”
Lars sank on one of the chairs. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything.” Detective Rodgers sounded weary. “Start from the beginning.”
Lars nodded. “Then Kate should start with the day she arrived.”
I began the story. “So you see, his son and I were puzzled since no ransom was demanded.”
“Did anyone call the police to report Mr. Claybourne as missing?”
“His daughter did. At least I thought I heard her talking to someone here. Later, Rafe Diaz told me she hadn’t called.”
“I see. There’s a way to check.” He opened the door and asked someone to bring the phone log for that day. “Why was Rafe involved?”
“He’s a relative by marriage of Lars’ son. Don called and asked him to look into the disappearance since we believed the police had refused to do anything.” I went on to talk about the call from the hospital and Lars’ condition when I arrived. “Doctor Verdigras thought Lars had had a small stroke. I asked for a tox screen, but the doctor refused to order one.”
“Why did you want one?” Detective Rodgers leaned forward.
“His symptoms weren’t indicative of a stroke. Seemed drug related to me.”
“Mr. Claybourne, why didn’t you call the police when you returned home?”
“I thought...” Lars paused and then explained his suspicions of his daughter’s involvement. “I didn’t think I was in danger.”
The officer groaned. “Right. What happened today was nothing, I suppose.” The door opened and he took a sheet of paper from another officer. Detective Rodgers scanned the list. “Rafe was right. No call was made.” He tapped a pencil against the desk. “Continue.”
Lars took up the narrative. He skipped the New Year’s Eve party and our trips until the moment we heard Bonnie had been kidna
pped.
The officer straightened. “She was what?”
“Kidnapped, but it turns out the whole affair was a farce.” I went on to explain my theory.
By the time Lars and I finished that segment of the story, I thought Detective Rodgers would have a stroke. His face was the color of his hair. The pencil he held snapped.
“Do you have this note?” he asked.
“Either Carl or Damon must have taken it,” I said.
The officer groaned. “Spare me from amateurs. What happened next?”
Lars continued the story from our discovery of Bonnie to what he’d learned about the thefts from the business. “I planned to call you this morning, but I had to talk to my daughter first.”
“Does anyone else know about this mess?”
“My son, but he doesn’t know his sister is dead.”
“He knows. I told him when he called this morning. Rafe Diaz knows.”
“Good man.” Detective Rodgers rose. “I’d like to lock the pair of you away until we find your son-in-law.”
“Why?” Lars asked.
“You could be in danger.” The officer shook his head. “Just go to a hotel and stay there.”
Lars turned to me. “That all right with you?”
“Very all right. You have no idea how wonderful a hotel sounds.”
“We could go to the chalet.”
“A hotel here in town like the one where we stayed before would be a better choice.”
We left the station and walked to the car. Lars plucked the keys from my hand. “I’ll drive.” Instead of heading downtown and the hotel, he drove toward the house.
“Lars, what are you doing?”
“We need clothes and you’ll need your tea.”
“I can live without it.”
“I can’t.”
His answer made me laugh. “I don’t believe that.” Snow swirled in the air. “Why don’t we go shopping for some clothes?”
“We could, but we’re not.”
“What if we run into Carl?”
“He’s bound to be long gone.”
“I sure hope you’re right.”
“The police are probably still at the house doing whatever they do,” he said.
They weren’t. The only sign they’d been there was the yellow crime scene tape that blocked the entrance to the front door of the house and the carport. Lars parked on the drive and we entered the house by the sunroom door.
Murder and Tainted Tea Page 14