Morning, Noon & Night
Page 25
Tyler was breathing hard, trying to regain his wits. “I…I…This is preposterous!”
Lieutenant Kennedy said, “I’m placing you under arrest, Judge Stanford, for conspiracy to commit murder. We’ll arrange for extradition papers. You’ll be sent back to Chicago.”
Tyler stood there, his world collapsing around him.
“You have the right to remain silent. If you choose to give up this right, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to talk to a lawyer and have him present with you while you are being questioned. If you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent you before any questioning, if you wish one. Do you understand?” Lieutenant Kennedy asked.
“Yes.” And then a slow triumphant smile lit his face. I know how to beat them! he thought happily.
“Are you ready, Judge?”
He nodded and said calmly, “Yes. I’m ready. I’d like to go back to Rose Hill to pick up my things.”
“That’s fine. We’ll have these two policemen accompany you.”
Tyler turned to look at Julia, and there was so much hatred in his eyes that it made her shudder.
Thirty minutes later, Tyler and the two policemen reached Rose Hill. They walked into the front hall.
“It will take me only a few minutes to pack,” Tyler said.
They watched as Tyler went up the staircase to his room. In his room, Tyler walked over to the bureau containing the revolver and loaded it.
The sound of the shot seemed to reverberate forever.
Chapter Thirty-five
Woody and Kendall were seated in the drawing room at Rose Hill. Half a dozen men in white overalls were taking down paintings from the walls and starting to dismantle the furnishings.
“It’s the end of an era.” Kendall sighed.
“It’s the beginning,” Woody said. He smiled. “I wish I could see Peggy’s face when she finds out what her half of my fortune is!” He took his sister’s hand. “Are you okay? About Marc, I mean.”
She nodded. “I’ll get over it. Anyhow, I’m going to be very busy. I have a preliminary hearing in two weeks. After that, I’ll see what happens.”
“I’m sure everything will be all right.” He rose. “I have an important telephone call to make,” Woody told her. He had to break the news to Mimi Carson.
“Mimi,” Woody said apologetically, “I’m afraid I’m going to have to go back on our deal. Things haven’t worked out as I had hoped they would.”
“Are you all right, Woody?”
“Yes. A lot has been going on here. Peggy and I are finished.”
There was a long pause. “Oh? Are you coming back to Hobe Sound?”
“Frankly, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“Woody?”
“Yes?”
Her voice was soft. “Come back, please.”
Julia and Steve were out on the patio.
“I’m sorry about the way things turned out,” Steve said.
“About your not getting the money, I mean.”
Julia smiled at him. “I don’t really need a hundred chefs.”
“You’re not disappointed that your trip here was wasted?”
She looked up at him. “Was it wasted, Steve?”
They never knew who made the first move, but she was in his arms, and he was holding her, and they were kissing.
“I’ve been wanting to do this since the first time I saw you.”
Julia shook her head. “The first time you saw me, you told me to get out of town!”
He grinned. “I did, didn’t I? I don’t ever want you to leave.”
And she thought of Sally’s words. “Don’t you know if the man proposed?” “Is that a proposal?” Julia asked.
He held her tighter. “You bet it is. Will you marry me?”
“Oh, yes!”
Kendall came out to the patio. She was holding a piece of paper in her hand.
“I…I just got this in the mail.”
Steve looked at her, worried. “Not another…?”
“No. I’ve been voted Women’s Wear Designer of the Year.”
Woody and Kendall and Julia and Steve were seated at the dining-room table. All around them workmen were moving chairs and couches, and carrying them off.
Steve turned to Woody. “What are you going to do now?”
“I’m going back to Hobe Sound. First, I’m going to check in with Dr. Tichner. Then a friend of mine has a string of ponies that I’m going to ride.”
Kendall looked at Julia. “Are you going back to Kansas City?”
When I was a little girl, Julia thought, I wished that someone would take me out of Kansas and bring me to a magical place where I would find my prince. She took Steve’s hand. “No,” Julia said. “I’m not going back to Kansas.”
They watched two men take down the huge portrait of Harry Stanford.
“I never did like that picture,” Woody said.
BOOKS BY SIDNEY SHELDON
Morning, Noon, and Night
Nothing Lasts Forever
The Stars Shine Down
The Doomsday Conspiracy
Memories of Midnight
The Sands of Time
Windmills of the Gods
If Tomorrow Comes
Master of the Game
Rage of Angels
Bloodline
A Stranger in the Mirror
The Other Side of Midnight
The Naked Face
Copyright
Copyright © 1995 by Sheldon Literary Trust
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EPub Edition © APRIL 2010 ISBN: 978-0-062-00783-4
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sheldon, Sidney.
Morning, noon, and night / by Sidney Sheldon.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-688-08492-3
I. Title.
PS3569.H3927M67 1995
813’.54—dc20
95-16031
CIP
First Edition
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