Grace Takes Off (27 page)

HILLARY TWISTED TOWARD IRENA.

“They haven’t told you, have they?” Irena asked. For being held hostage on the floor,
her eyes were bright with triumph.

“Told me what?”

A growl rose in my chest, crawling from my throat as I tightened my grip on Irena.
“It isn’t true.”

Hillary’s brows came together, her voice high. “What isn’t true?”

Irena took as deep a breath as she could, considering I was sitting on her chest.
“You want to know why your stepfather favors this woman,” she said, indicating me
with a derisive glance.

Despite herself it seemed, Hillary asked, “Why?”

With her back on the floor, Irena still behaved as though holding court. I wanted
to punch her in the face again. I wanted to shut her mouth. I couldn’t do it. She
was down. To beat her senseless would have been wrong. No matter how much I dreaded
her next words.

“Grace is his niece.” Irena waited a moment for that to sink in. “She’s his blood
relative. His heir.”

“What?” Hillary asked, looking ready to laugh for a half second before allowing for
the possibility. She looked at me, at Bennett, at me again. “What?”

“He’s planning to change his will,” Irena said. “He told my father. You’ll be cut
out completely. So too, the city of Emberstowne. Grace will get it all.”

“That’s not true,” I said.

“But it is.” Irena was utterly calm now. “That’s your future, Hillary. Nothing for
you. Everything for her. Unless . . .”

Hillary took a step closer. “Unless?”

“There’s enough Thorazine in there for both of them. We inject them both, and Rudolfo
and I leave.” The glimmer in her eyes was back as she regarded Rudy. “You stay, collect
whatever inheritance you still have, and Rudolfo comes back for you when things settle
down.”

“Hillary, they’re using you.”

“Ha!” Beneath me, Irena’s chest rose and fell with her barked laugh. “It is they who
have been using you.”

“What about all that evidence?” Hillary asked, staring at the needle she still held
vertically in her hand. “You said you would pin the murders on me.”

“Yes,” Bennett said. “Good girl. You’re thinking for yourself. Don’t be pulled in
by their nonsense.”

“Why would we try to frame you if you’re our friend?” Irena asked.

Rudy took a step away from Bennett. “I promised I would take care of you. You are
my life. I will not go back on this promise. Hand me the needle, sweetheart.”

She took a step away from him. I guessed it to be involuntary because the look on
her face was one of doe-eyed puzzlement. She bit her lower lip and looked ready to
cry. Bright eyes lasered in on Bennett. “Is this true?” she asked. “Is Grace your
niece?”

When he took a deep breath and let it out, Hillary’s eyes shimmered with tears.

“We don’t know, Hillary,” he said. “That’s the truth. But if you’re asking if it’s
possible, then yes, it is.”

She stomped a foot. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Bennett never let his attention waver from Rudy. “We can talk about this later. Right
now, you need to call security. Please, Hillary.”

“Don’t do it,” Irena shouted. “Look at the two of them together. You can see what
your future holds. They’ll shut you out. They’ll call you family to your face, but
snicker behind your back.”

“Hillary,” Rudy said, drawing out the syllables. “You are my love. Please don’t disappoint
me. Not now when we are so close.”

Hillary stared at the hypodermic needle.

“It won’t hurt them,” Irena coaxed. “They won’t suffer. It will be over quickly. So
quick, and your life will be forever changed. For the good.”

“You can’t,” I said. “Hillary, you can’t—”

“Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do,” she snapped.

I couldn’t read her expression. With her teeth firmly clamped on her lower lip, she
turned wide, sad eyes to Rudy. “Look at me and tell me how much you love me,” she
said.

Rudy swallowed, worked up a smile and made eye contact. I could see how Hillary had
been pulled in by the sincerity in that lying face. He had it down. Expressive, dark
eyes gazed at Hillary as though she were the only person in the world who meant anything
to him. Maybe because in this moment, it was true. She held his fate as firmly as
she held his stare.

Bennett launched the skull. It hit the man like one linebacker head-butting another.
Rudy went down, flat as a board.

Hillary screamed. Openmouthed, she stared at Bennett, who walked slowly toward her,
reaching with both hands. “Give me the needle, Hillary. Let’s put an end to this.”

Hillary shook her head, stepping away. “Wait.” Tears streaked down her reddening cheeks.
She stared with childlike woe, her voice plaintive. “You’re all the family I have.
You were going to forget me and give everything to her?” She indicated me with a sideways
gesture of her head.

Irena singsonged, “That’s right, Hillary.”

Bennett didn’t waver. “I would never have cut you out. You know that. Look deep in
your heart, child. Have I ever forsaken you?” He took a step closer. “You know I care
about you.”

“But, she—”

“Grace is part of the family now, whether or not she ever agrees to the test to prove
it. That’s the truth I believe and the truth you will learn to accept. We are family.
The three of us. Do you understand?”

“Don’t be fooled,” Irena shouted. “He’ll say anything right now. It’s not too late.
Come away with us.”

Hillary straightened her shoulders.

A door banged open down the hall. “Mister Marshfield,” Frances called. “Where are
you? Grace?”

“In here,” I shouted. “Call security.”

She rounded the corner, surveying the room with one sweep. “Already done,” she said
as three of our guards swarmed in behind her. Hillary dropped the hypodermic needle
onto the table, backing away as soon as it left her hands. She made eye contact with
Bennett and mouthed, “I would never have hurt you.”

He leaned down and picked it up. “Call the police,” he said to one of the guards.
To Hillary, he said, “I know you wouldn’t have.”

Frances came over to us on the floor. She folded her arms across her ample chest and
stared down. “Well, well, well,” she said to me. “Let me guess. You’ve solved another
murder for the Mister, haven’t you?”

With the three men taking charge of Irena and Rudy, I scrambled to my feet. “Thanks,
Frances. Impeccable timing.” Hillary looked away. “How did you know to come up here?”
I asked my assistant. “How did you know to bring reinforcements?”

“I didn’t,” she said. “It was a hunch. You’re teaching me some very bad habits. Next
thing you know I’ll be fighting killers in hand-to-hand combat.”

“Let’s hope not,” Bennett said.

She frowned at him. “Why should she have all the fun?”

WHEN BENNETT INKED THE FINAL DOCUMENTS TO CLOSE HIS AGREEMENT WITH VANDEEN DEINHART,
I BREATHED A SIGH OF RELIEF
that that chapter was now closed. Two days later, Detective Williamson arrived at
Marshfield. It had been almost a week since Irena and Rudy’s skirmish in Bennett’s
study above, and the detective had offered to bring us all up to speed on what had
happened since then. I’d insisted on bringing in Ronny Tooney for the discussion because
his undercover work—though it had given him more grief than he needed—had helped us
a great deal.

Just before Williamson called the meeting to order, I pulled Hillary to the side.
“For what it’s worth,” I said, “I know what you’re going through.”

Her eyes narrowed, gauging my sincerity.

It was painful to admit, but I had to let her know she wasn’t alone. “Not that long
ago, a man played on
my
emotions to try to harm Bennett.”

She gave the barest of nods.

“All I want to say, Hillary, is that I get it. It hurts. And I’m sorry you had to
go through it.”

“You mean that?”

“Yeah,” I said. “The one good thing that came out of it is that I’m stronger now.
I’ll bet you’ll feel the same way soon. You deserve better.” I patted her on the shoulder.
“Give yourself time, though. It’s still too raw right now, isn’t it?”

The tip of her nose went pink. She looked ready to respond, but at that moment Williamson
called for our attention and we settled ourselves. As the hazy, late afternoon sun
moved low in the sky, casting my office in a cool glow, the detective walked back
and forth in front of my desk while Bennett, Hillary, Frances, Tooney, and I sat in
chairs like students waiting for a lecture we were actually interested in.

“Now that we have key players in custody, we’re able to put the story together,” Williamson
said. “Irena and Rudolfo had been working together for years. Together they engineered
a falling-out between her brother and father. She worked hard to make both believe
she was on their side against the other. Truth is, she lied to both.” Pointing to
me, he said, “Your guess about Pinky, aka Diane Waters, was right on. She was pulled
into cooperation with promises of a fabulous future with the handsome Rudolfo. We
unearthed one of Diane’s best friends, who was happy to tell us about the handsome
man Diane thought would whisk her away from her unhappy life. Truth was . . .”

Here it comes.
I slid a sideways glance at Hillary.

“Rudolfo was Irena’s second husband. Seems they met while he was employed at her father’s
villa. To keep their relationship secret, they divorced but maintained a clandestine
affair.”

Hillary’s shoulders dropped almost imperceptibly. Her chin came up, though. I thought
that was a good sign.

“Let me get everything straight,” I said. “Gerard Pezzati never stole from his father.”

“Correct.”

“What about Angelo, Signor Pezzati’s assistant? Or Cesare, his art-collecting expert?
Were either of them in on it?”

Williamson had stopped walking back and forth across the room. He stood now with his
arms folded. “Both completely clean. As is the former cook, Antoinette. In order to
cover her tracks, Irena needed to maintain the illusion that Gerard had connections
to someone inside the house. That’s where our friend Pinky comes in. Working as a
maid there, she set up bogus e-mail accounts and made sure they were found when the
accountant noticed that money was missing. Irena masterminded the whole thing, but
Rudy ensured Pinky’s cooperation.”

“What about that Adam fellow?” Frances asked. “I can’t believe that his band, SlickBlade”—she
said it with dripping disdain—“
happened
to run into Pinky and
happened
to invite her on their flight. That’s too much coincidence for me.”

“That’s where Gerard Pezzati comes in,” Williamson said. “Remember, he trusted his
sister. They talked and e-mailed quite often. Irena knew that her brother had a group
heading back to the States. She and Rudy made a lot of promises to Pinky. All they
asked her to do was poison Bennett’s food.” He set his mouth in a thin line.

“And our original pilot, who was arrested for assault?” I asked. “Was that all part
of the plan?”

Williamson nodded, again like a teacher. I felt like the star student who’d figured
out the answer to a trick question. “Irena arranged for that,” he said. “Trumped-up
charges held long enough to get you onto that fateful flight. If the option for the
SlickBlade charter hadn’t been available to her, I have no doubt she would have come
up with another plan. She’s wily. A tough cookie. I’ve encountered that type before.
Like cats, they always land on their feet.” He smiled. “But not this time.”

“If Gerard Pezzati hadn’t come to visit me, I don’t know that I would have had as
many doubts about Irena’s story as I did,” I said. “Gerard’s appearance made me start
to question what I thought I knew.”

Williamson pointed at Tooney. “Good thing you came out to New York. While I can’t
advocate your methods, I will admit that you got things started in the right direction.
Irena’s story held up as long as no one heard her brother’s side. Once the truth came
out, she had to scramble.”

“I did my best,” Tooney said shyly.

I leaned over and patted him on the knee. “You’ve never let us down.”

Tooney smiled, a transformative look for his homely face.

“Why did Rudy leave the note on my car?” I asked Williamson.

Williamson shrugged. “Our best guess is that he knew you’d spotted him. Or that he
believed you might find out about him working with Hillary.”

She squirmed.

“Lies are more effective when based in truth. In the same way, actions are less suspicious
when the guilty party calls attention to them.” He looked at us all, but his gaze
came to rest on Hillary. “They were masters of deceit. There’s no shame in having
fallen for their lies.”

“I wasn’t going to do it,” Hillary said to the group. She turned to Bennett. “Remember?
I made Rudolfo look at me at just the right moment.” She turned to me. “I did, didn’t
I?”

“What is she talking about?” Williamson asked.

Bennett and I exchanged a look. We hadn’t shared the specifics of those last moments
in Bennett’s study before Frances’s arrival. Not with anyone, even Frances.

“Hillary means she wasn’t going to allow anyone to hurt me or Grace,” Bennett said
smoothly. “Like she said, if she hadn’t been there to distract Rudy, I don’t know
that Grace and I could have gotten away safely. Isn’t that right, Grace?”

“Absolutely,” I said.

Hillary sat up a little straighter. She stared up at Williamson. “Yes, that’s exactly
what I was saying. I would never let anything happen to my
family
.”

Frances jabbed me in the ribs with her elbow. I ignored her.

• • •

THAT NIGHT, AFTER AMETHYST CELLARS
closed for the evening, Bruce, Scott, and I sat at a tall table in Hugo’s bar area
to celebrate the fact that Bennett and I were still alive and that all was right in
Emberstowne once again.

“What about Signor Pezzati?” Bruce asked, taking a swig from his beer bottle. “What
does he think about all this?”

I kept my hands wrapped around the base of my wineglass. “I’m getting all of it secondhand
from Bennett, you understand, but Signor Pezzati is quite healthy. He had a little
cold, that’s all. He hasn’t been fighting pneumonia. Irena made that up, too. All
these revelations have come as a bit of shock to him, as you might imagine, but Gerard
and his family are traveling there now. Signor Pezzati will meet his daughter-in-law
and his grandchildren for the first time. I understand he got quite choked up to discover
that his son made such a success of himself.”

“I love a story with a happy ending,” Bruce said.

“What about that bodyguard guy—Angelo?” Scott asked. “The one you didn’t like?”

“Turns out he didn’t like Irena, but knew better than to disparage her in front of
her father. He didn’t trust her. He tried, apparently without much luck, to institute
controls on Pezzati’s treasures. That’s probably one of the things they were arguing
about when we saw them.” I swirled the red wine in my glass. “I wish them all the
best, but I don’t think I want to go back.”

“You brought a family together again,” Bruce said. “Not for the first time.”

I thought about that. “Why does bringing people together always seem to also involve
tearing them apart?”

“You aren’t responsible for that,” Scott said. “People make their own choices and
have to live with the consequences.”

I nodded but didn’t want to answer. Instead, I took a sip of wine.

My two roommates looked up at once, focusing over the top of my head.

I turned, stifling a little gasp of surprise.

“Adam,” I said. “What are you doing here?”

His smile was tentative, shy. “I don’t really know,” he said. “It’s not like fireworks
go off for you whenever I show up. At least not the good kind.” He shrugged. “But
now that you know I’m no villain, I thought maybe we could try being friends.” He
gestured toward Bruce and Scott. “If I’m intruding, though, I’ll leave you alone.”

I turned to my roommates, who looked as surprised as I felt. Bruce gripped his beer
bottle, frozen in place. Scott rested his chin in his hand, watching me. All three
men were engaged, observant, waiting for me to make the next move. I looked at Adam.
He raised those expressive brows, asking a silent question.

For the first time since we’d met, I felt a flicker of possibility.

I scooched my chair over to make room. “Pull up a seat.”