Suddenly
, Vicky recalled the shed door being open when she walked past it after she had cleaned up the pool area. She knew that was where all the peanut oil had been stored. Had Peter gone back out to the shed after all of the oil was put away? He was fairly new to the inn so he might not have known to shove the door shut.
Vicky swung slowly back and forth on the porch swing. It creaked quietly through the darkness that surrounded her. As she sorted through her thoughts she tried to recall everything about the day that had struck her as strange.
It seemed so clear that Peter had been the one to put the peanut oil on the food. But she still had no way of proving it. As she closed her eyes she had to wonder, was Gerald involved? Did he play a bigger part in all of this than anyone realized?
Vicky knew that they had all agreed not to do anything else until morning, but she was impatient. She didn't want to give Gerald and
Carolyn time to create cover stories or plant even more evidence to frame Henry or the inn. The inn was quiet with most of the guests having finished dinner and already settled into their rooms. It was a good time for Vicky to check in with Gerald. She knew he was still staying at the inn in a different room but she hadn't seen him since Sandy's death. As she walked back into the inn she caught sight of a figure near the corner of the porch. She turned to look, but didn't see anything more than the shadow of an old rocking chair. Shaking her head with annoyance she closed the door behind her.
When Vicky arrived at the room Gerald was staying in, she paused just outside it. She listened for a moment, hoping to be able to tell if Gerald was inside or not. While she was waiting for him to make some kind of noise she thought she heard footsteps. She turned around in search of the source of the sound. She didn't want other guests to catch her eavesdropping. But when she looked up and down the hallway there was no one to be seen. She drew a deep breath and reminded herself to be calm. She still hadn't heard a sound from inside the room. She lifted her hand to knock, but then she felt a little awkward. She didn't know how to broach the conversation with Gerald. It would seem odd for her to just show up at his room in the middle of the evening.
What if he was on the phone with Barry Baker? She decided she needed an excuse to speak to him. She walked down to the end of the hall where one of
the maids’ carts was sitting near a storage closet. She looked through it in search of something that would give her a good excuse to knock on his door. Then she found it. It was a fresh pile of towels. A guest could never have enough fresh towels. As she picked them up from the cart and began walking back towards Gerald's room she thought she heard a door click shut. But she didn't see anyone stepping out into the hallway. She paused in front of Gerald's door and then knocked on it sharply.
“
Mr. Holstead?” she called out in what she hoped was a casual tone. She heard a scuffing sound, and then Gerald opened the door.
“
Yes?” he asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
“
I'm sorry to bother you, I just thought you might like to have some fresh towels,” Vicky explained and shifted from one foot to the other as she tried to peer past him. His frame filled the doorway and left her little space for spying.
“
At this time of night?” he asked skeptically. “Don't you have maids who do that?”
“
Of course,” Vicky nodded a little. “But we just want to make sure that you have everything you could possibly need. I noticed that the maid on your floor hadn't finished her rounds.”
“
Ah, I see,” he smiled a little and accepted the towels. “You know a fresh pile of towels isn't going to change the fact that your chef's mistake killed my wife,” he said bluntly and narrowed his eyes. Vicky hadn't been certain that Gerald was involved, but now she was really beginning to suspect him. His cruel tone and the pleasure he seemed to take in her squirming alerted her to the very real possibility that he was behind the plan to kill his wife.
“
It's just a courtesy, Mr. Holstead,” Vicky replied and attempted to keep her voice as even as possible.
“
I understand,” he nodded and then sighed heavily. “I'm sorry, it was rude of me to speak to you that way. I know this was all a terrible accident. I just still can't believe she's gone.”
“
Of course,” Vicky said softly. “Perhaps there's someone I can call for you, a family member, or friend?” Vicky suggested hesitantly. “You shouldn't be alone at a time like this,” Vicky pointed out.
“
I'm afraid I'm not very popular with the in-laws,” Gerald admitted with a slight shrug. “And I don't have family of my own. Sandy was all I had.”
“
I'm so sorry for your loss, Mr. Holstead,” Vicky said as gingerly as she could. He seemed to be experiencing genuine grief, but she knew that some people were astoundingly good liars. From the grizzle that had grown up along his cheeks, and the dark circles under his eyes she was beginning to believe that he was truly lost in grief. “If there's anything I can do to help, please feel free to let me know,” Vicky murmured softly.
“
Thank you,” Gerald nodded and turned away from the door. As he closed the door Vicky felt her heart drop. She had been so ready to accuse a man she knew very little about of murdering his wife. Now she was not sure what to think. She was starting to walk away when she heard a cry of surprise come from inside the room. She paused and turned back.
“
What are you doing here?” she heard Gerald ask sharply. His voice was followed by a loud crash.
“
What do you mean she was all you had?” a shrill voice challenged Gerald in return.
Vicky raised her hand to knock on the door
, but before she could do so she heard Gerald's raised voice.
“
You can't be here, don't you see how wrong it is for you to be here?” he demanded. Vicky decided not to knock. There was only one person who could be inside that room, and it sounded like Gerald hadn't been expecting her. When she pushed open the door the first thing she spotted was a lamp that had crashed to the floor and shattered. The next thing she saw was Gerald's pale face, and his eyes wide with shock.
“
What's going on here?” Vicky asked as she stepped into the room. When she moved beside Gerald she finally saw Carolyn. She was standing in the center of the room with a large knife in her hand. Vicky immediately recognized it as a knife from the set in the kitchen. The knives were famous for being incredibly sharp. She started to step back out the door so she could call for help, but Carolyn jutted the knife towards Gerald.
“
If you open that door you're going to be responsible for the death of both Holsteads,” Carolyn warned with sheer fury in her voice. Vicky didn't think that Carolyn would actually hurt Gerald, but she couldn't take that risk. She remained where she was standing, her breath held as she waited to see what Carolyn would do next.
“
Carolyn, I don't know what you're thinking, this is insane!” Gerald blurted out, he was obviously stunned, and more than a little frightened by the knife that Carolyn was holding.
“
Insane?” Carolyn asked with a soft laugh under her voice. “What's insane about wanting to have what is rightfully mine?” she demanded. “The only insane thing about this whole situation is that you expected me to sit by and wait for years, years, to be with the man I love!”
Vicky's heart was racing as she saw the panic cross Gerald's features. What she didn't see was any sign of him feeling any affection for the woman who was wielding the knife.
“Enough of this,” he growled and took a step forward. “I'm grieving, Carolyn, this isn't the right time for this discussion.”
“
You're grieving?” Carolyn giggled at that. “We should be celebrating! That's why I'm here,” she smirked. “I knew that you wouldn't want to spend another night without me in your arms.”
Gerald stared at her, absolutely astonished by what she was saying.
“Don't you know what's happened, Carolyn?” he asked with wide eyes. “Sandy is dead.”
“
Oh, she knows all right,” Vicky volunteered boldly. She wanted Gerald to understand the level of danger he was in. “She's the one who planned this whole thing, aren't you, Carolyn?” Vicky asked.
“
Oh hush, you're not even supposed to be here,” Carolyn replied and then clenched her jaw to hold back some of her anger. “This is between myself and my fiancé.”
“
Fiancé?” Gerald gasped out as he took a step back from Carolyn.
“
Don't you see, Gerald?” Carolyn smiled warmly, her eyes filled with an eager glow. “It doesn't have to be a secret anymore. We can tell the world the truth. Sure we'll have to put off the wedding for a few weeks out of respect for the deceased, but then we can make it official.”
“
Official?” Gerald repeated in a distant voice. It was clear that he wasn't keeping up with Carolyn's words.
“
Sure, Carolyn decided she couldn't wait anymore for you to decide to leave your wife,” Vicky supplied, which drew another glare from Carolyn. Vicky was trying to gauge just what Carolyn's intentions were, and how she was going to react when Gerald didn't respond to her the way that she wanted him to.
“
I need you to listen closely to me, Carolyn,” Gerald said as calmly as he could. “You're talking like a crazy person. Just put down the knife, and we can figure all of this out.”
“
There's nothing to figure out,” Carolyn spat back. “My brother took care of what you weren't brave enough to accomplish yourself. He wanted to make sure that I was taken care of, and now I will be.”
Gerald ma
de a strangling noise inside his throat as he finally realized what Carolyn was admitting to.
“
What have you done, Carolyn?” he asked, his voice trembling as he stared at the woman pointing the large butcher knife at him.
“
Oh, don't act so innocent, just because someone else is listening,” Carolyn said dismissively. “You knew exactly what I intended to do,” Carolyn growled in return, her eyes darting from him, to Vicky, who was standing as close to the door as possible.
“
I didn't know!” Gerald insisted, his voice rose as he spoke vehemently.
“
You did! I told you I'd find a way for us to be together, and this is how I did it,” Carolyn growled fiercely.
“
I didn't mean this!” Gerald groaned as fresh tears filled his eyes. “I never meant this, Carolyn.”
“
What did you mean?” Carolyn demanded as she stared at him with growing intensity. “Were you lying to me when you said that you wanted to spend the rest of your life with me?”
Gerald stared at
Carolyn for a long moment. Vicky realized that Gerald had an important choice to make. If he was honest with Carolyn she might just attack him with the knife. Gerald seemed to come to the same conclusion she did.
“
I wasn't lying,” he said quietly. “But I didn't want it to happen like this, Carolyn, not like this,” he gasped out and stretched out his hand palm up before him. “Give me the knife, Carolyn, we can't let this get any worse. Let me help you,” he pleaded as he tried to meet her eyes. For just a moment it looked as if Carolyn might falter, her expression softened, she lowered the knife slightly. Vicky held her breath, hoping that the situation would be over before it could escalate further. But an instant later a hardness arose in Carolyn's eyes. She glared at Gerald and lifted the knife once more.
“
Shut up!” Carolyn demanded with frustration. “I did this for you. I did this because you promised me we would be together.”
“
In time!” Gerald shouted back, obviously beginning to lose control of his emotions as he glared at her. “I asked you to be patient. I came here to see you, to be with you. I convinced Sandy to spend our vacation here just so that I could sneak in some time with you. I risked everything to show you how important you are to me, and this is what you did behind my back?” he shook his head with disgust. “This never should have happened.”
“
I did what you weren't brave enough to do,” Carolyn spat in return. “I had to. It was the only way for you to be free.”
“
Free?” he asked with rage growing in his voice. “You made me a suspect in my own wife's death, Carolyn! How do you think it looked when I was standing there with an empty EpiPen? How is that free?”
“
Why did you even pick it up?” Carolyn hissed. “I made sure that Peter emptied it out. All you had to do was sit there, and watch her die!”
“
I couldn't do that,” Gerald breathed out, his body beginning to shake. “She was a person, Carolyn…”
“
She was in our way!” Carolyn roared and shoved over another lamp beside her.
“
Now, look where we are,” Gerald gulped out and hung his head. “Now, look at this mess,” he uttered in a defeated whisper.
“
That's because of her!” Carolyn hissed and spun the knife in Vicky's direction. “All she had to do was stay out if it! But no, she had to find out the truth, she had to be sneaky. She was in the diner today asking about me. If she had just left things alone…”