She froze, her eyes fixed on him, her body seeming to shrink into itself as he loomed over her. She didn’t make a sound. Didn’t breathe. Didn’t dare.
Annie wanted to shrink back too. No matter what it was that Susan knew and had not told anyone all these years, whatever it was she had found out while she and Prescott were in Brockton, it was obvious why she had wanted to escape this man.
Just then, the phone in Annie’s purse started chirping. All three of them stared at it until it stopped. Then it immediately started ringing again.
“I told you people are looking for me.”
Annie’s voice was low and controlled, and for a moment Prescott only glared at her. Then he snatched the phone out of the bag and threw it into the cracking fire, grinning as the ringing abruptly stopped.
“I guess your number is now unavailable.”
Still holding Susan’s hand, Annie stood up, channeling her fear into indignation.
“Well, you’re a fine bully, aren’t you? Good at pushing people around? Are you proud of having badgered a twenty-two-year-old girl into faking her own death just to escape you?”
He turned on her. “Sit down and shut up about things you don’t know.”
Annie squeezed Susan’s hand, not taking her eyes off him.
“No matter what happens to us, it won’t change anything for you. Look at her. She’s terrified of you. Is that what you want? You can’t get people to love you, so you have to use your money and your power to bribe and bully and force them to do what you tell them?”
“I said shut up!”
“Is your wife terrified of you too? Does she cringe every time you get close to her?”
“Shut up! Shut up!”
He lifted the bat, ready to swing it, and Annie flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around him so he had no leverage. He tried to shove her off, but she clung to him.
“Help me! Susan, help me!”
Forced to drop the bat, Prescott was cursing at her, trying to throw her to the floor, but still she clung to him.
“Susan! You’ve got to help me!”
Susan sat frozen there, her eyes wide, her lips quivering. Then with a low cry, she leaped to her feet and grabbed the bat.
“Let her go, Archer.” Her voice was low and fierce, her eyes steely. Here at last was the woman who had somehow found the courage to break free from Prescott before. “Let her go, or God forgive me, I’ll use this.”
Prescott studied her for an eternity of a moment, and Annie loosened her grip. She began to back away from him, but without warning, he seized her arm, holding her in front of him, between him and Susan.
“Looks like we have a bit of a standoff now. What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to get that phone over there and call the police. And if you move, I’ll use the bat. I promise I will,” Susan said.
Annie gasped as Prescott’s hand snaked around her throat.
“And then what, darling Susan?” His voice was mocking, taunting. “Are you going to hit her to try to get to me? Put the bat down.”
There was a flicker of uncertainty in Susan’s eyes. “No. You let her go.”
“I’m not going to tell you again, Susan. Don’t make me do something you won’t like.” Prescott’s strong fingers tightened on Annie’s throat, and she squirmed against him.
“The phone,” she gasped. “Get it.”
“Don’t do it, Susan.” Prescott stepped forward, dragging Annie with him. “Give me the bat before I get angry. You used to always make me angry, even when I wanted to be nice to you. Don’t make that mistake again.”
Susan made a little whimpering noise, and the bat she held trembled.
“Susan, don’t—” The pressure on Annie’s throat increased, cutting her off. She struggled to pull Prescott’s hand away, to free herself, but she wasn’t strong enough.
“Now, Susan. Give it to me. Don’t make me—” Abruptly, he shoved Annie toward Susan, throwing them both onto the couch. An instant later, he had snatched up the baseball bat and was standing over them with it.
“We’re done now, and I have a plane to catch. Say good-bye.”
17
Susan covered her face and ducked her head against Annie’s shoulder. Annie’s eyes were fixed on the bat as Prescott swung it over his shoulder, the muscles in his arms flexing, ready to bring it down on them.
“Dear God,” she breathed. “Please—”
“Mrs. Maxwell? Mrs. Maxwell? Are you all right? This is the police! Open the door!” Strong blows on the front door echoed through the house. “Open up!”
“We’re in here!” Annie screamed. “We’re in here!”
With an animal roar, Prescott flung the bat toward the front door and then bolted down the hallway.
Annie leaped up from the couch, ran to the door, and threw it open.
“He ran out the back! Hurry!”
Chief Edwards gestured to the fresh-faced young officer he’d brought with him. “Don’t let him make it into the woods, Peters. I’ll go around the other way.”
With a glance at Annie, Peters clattered through the house and out the back door after Prescott.
Chief Edwards took Annie’s arm. “Are you ladies all right?”
Annie could only shake her head breathlessly, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Susan was definitely crying.
“My husband’s hurt. Get an ambulance. Please.”
She and Annie hurried into the kitchen. Chief Edwards followed them, using his cell phone to request medical help and backup from the county police. Then he stormed out the back door after Prescott.
Tom was sprawled face-down on the kitchen floor, a trickle of drying blood coming from above his right eye. Annie noticed the corresponding smear on the corner of the tiled countertop, and she quickly felt for a pulse in Tom’s neck. “He must’ve hit his head on the way down, but he’s alive.”
Susan sank to her knees beside him.
“Better not move him. Let the paramedics check him out first.” Annie glanced out the window toward the woods, wondering why Chief Edwards’ shouted commands had suddenly ceased. Then she turned back to Susan. “You don’t want to make any head or neck injury worse.”
Susan nodded. She touched her fingers to her husband’s hair, murmuring his name as tears slipped down her cheeks.
Annie knelt beside her, glad to see that Tom was breathing regularly despite his unconsciousness. There was a trail of blood from the back of his head down to a corresponding stain on his shirt collar.
The police chief came back inside, studied Tom for a moment, and then looked at Susan. “So this is Tom Maxwell?”
“Yes, of course.”
“We thought that was who we were chasing out there.”
Annie’s forehead wrinkled. “Really?”
“Ms. Brock from the yarn store called us up and said Maxwell was heading out here to make trouble for you and for his wife, and that we’d better get out here quick. What’s going on? Is the man we caught the Prescott you told me about?”
“Yes.”
“JFP Athletics?”
Annie nodded. “It’s a long story, but he was planning on killing all three of us.”
Chief Edwards whistled low. “Mr. Prescott’s going to have some explaining to do. He didn’t hurt either of you, did he?”
“He didn’t get the chance to,” Annie reported, catching Susan’s eye.
Susan covered her face with both hands and then used them to wipe her tears. “Annie. Oh, Annie, after all these years, what have you done?”
Annie shook her head helplessly. “I’m so sorry, Susan. I had no idea something like this would happen. I just wanted to—”
They all turned when the back door opened.
“Chief, our perp’s packed up and ready to go.” Officer Peters grinned, his breath gradually slowing.
“Good work. We didn’t exactly have time for introductions, Mrs. Dawson, but this is Cal Peters. I borrowed him from the county police to take Roy’s place. We might even see about a permanent transfer.”
Annie merely lifted one eyebrow and then smiled at the young man. “It’s good to meet you, Cal. Especially now. Thanks for catching—”
Cal’s face turned a little pink. “It wasn’t anything, ma’am. I just ran him down over by the little graveyard back there, cuffed him, and put him in the car.”
Chief Edwards nodded. “Good job too.”
“Did he say anything?” Annie asked.
“Nothing but ‘I want my lawyer.’” The young officer glanced down at Tom Maxwell. “I went ahead and charged Prescott with assault, Chief. Anything else?”
“That’ll do for now, though I have the feeling we’ll have quite a list of charges once I get a chance to talk to these ladies.”
The wail of sirens cut through the air, piercing Tom’s unconsciousness. He groaned as he tried to lift his head. “Susan?”
She smoothed back the hair that had fallen over his forehead and slipped her other hand under his cheek. “Don’t get up, Tommy. The ambulance is here. They’ll take care of you.”
“That man—”
“Shh, it’s all right. Just relax. Everything’s OK.”
He closed his eyes and let out a slow breath. “If you say so.”
Soon the medics had him on a gurney and then in the ambulance. Susan and Annie walked out to the driveway after them.
“Do you think you could drive me to the hospital?” There was a lopsided grin on Susan’s tear-stained face. “I haven’t had a driver’s license in decades.”
“Of course. Anything you need.”
The ambulance pulled away, revealing the Stony Point Police car and another from Lincoln County, their red and blue lights still flashing. In the back of the county car sat Archer Prescott, head down, face sullen. Just then he turned their way.
He fixed his eyes on Susan and then on Annie, darkly, deliberately, and then gave a little nod. There was no more than that, but it was an obvious threat.
Annie turned Susan away from him, back toward the house. “I’m so sorry about all this. I never dreamed it would turn out this way.” She realized that Susan was crying again, and she put her arms around her.
“Mrs. Maxwell?”
Susan lifted her head and blotted her face with her sleeve. “Chief Edwards. I never did thank you for coming. I don’t know what we would have done—”
“I’m glad we were in time, ma’am. We’re going to see that Mr. Prescott is taken care of, so you don’t need to worry about that. He’ll be spending some time with our friends at the county jail; then I wouldn’t be surprised if he spends quite a long while after that in one of the state facilities. You will both need to give me statements about everything that’s happened here.”
Susan glanced at Annie. “We were going to the hospital.”
“That’s fine,” the chief assured her. “You’ll want to check on your husband. As soon as possible, we’ll need to get all the details sorted out.”
Annie looked over at the police car and saw that Prescott’s head was down again. He was probably working on some way to explain away everything he had done. Some way to bully or bribe his way out of the trouble he was in.
“Don’t you worry about him anymore, ma’am. There’s only so much that money can buy, especially once everything is out in the open.” Chief Edwards touched two fingers to the brim of his hat.
“Let me get my purse, and we’ll drive out to the hospital,” Annie said.
She turned to go back into the house, but Susan grabbed her hand.
“Annie.” She swallowed hard, and once again her eyes brimmed with tears. “Annie, I—”
“He’s going to be all right. The paramedics don’t think there’s any permanent damage.”
Susan shook her head. “I was so scared. It was as if twenty years hadn’t happened and I was still a scared little girl afraid to breathe if I thought it would make Archer mad.”
“But you didn’t let that stop you from doing what you had to do—not then and not now. I know you were scared.” Annie twisted her keys in her hand. “I was pretty terrified myself. But we didn’t let him bully us, did we?”
“No.” The realization brought a half smile to Susan’s lips. “No, we didn’t.”
“Now, come on. Your husband is going to be wondering where you are.”
18
“I
t was so easy.”
Susan stared straight ahead, watching the road vanish under them. Annie hadn’t wanted to trouble her with questions as they drove to the hospital, but Susan seemed relieved to finally be able to tell her everything.
“It was easy to fall into the trap. I had been in some shows, on and off Broadway, and I had decided I really didn’t want to continue. It’s a hard business, and if you want to stay in it for long, you have to make compromises, especially if you’re a young girl. I didn’t want to make those compromises, so I was thinking of giving it all up.”
“And then you met Archer Prescott.”
“Yeah.” Susan sighed. “At first he was unbelievably wonderful. He was funny and kind and generous—amazingly generous. All I had to do was admire something I saw in a store window, and he’d get it for me. He gave me clothes and jewelry, anything and everything. And he was so attentive. He would call me two or three times a day just to tell me he was crazy about me, or that he thought I was beautiful, or that we should get married. How could I help being flattered?”
“Who wouldn’t be?”
“But it was too much, and it was too soon. He wanted me to spend every minute with him. He’d get upset if I wanted to do something without him or just hang out with my friends. Aunt Kim said I didn’t seem happy anymore, and she was right. It was too stressful always going to some society function and worrying about looking just right. Sometimes I wanted to be able to go to the corner store just in jeans and a sweatshirt, or wear flats instead of spike heels, you know?”
“Archer didn’t like that?”
“No. I remember the first real fight we had. It was over my shoes. I’m surprised the people in the next apartment didn’t call the police on us the way he screamed and cursed and threw things at me. I stayed home and cried for two days after that, and planned to never see him again.”
“Obviously, you did though. Why?”
“He sent me flowers and left me messages and begged me to let him explain. I finally called him, and he cried on the phone. He told me he was so sorry. He said his father had always yelled at him when he was a little boy, and sometimes it was hard for him to not do the same thing when he was upset. And he told me about some things that had been going on at his company that he was worried about, things that he had taken out on me. I couldn’t help feeling sorry for him, and I told him I’d see him again.”
Annie merely raised one eyebrow, and Susan ducked her head.
“I know. I know. I should have never let him treat me that way, not even once. But I wanted to be kind. I wanted to understand what he was going through and help him get past it. But when it happened again and again, I decided I had enough. When Aunt Kim died, I broke things off with him and came back home to Stony Point. He’d send me roses from time to time or leave messages on the answering machine, but I forced myself to ignore them. Then, right after my parents died, he called. He had sent flowers to the funeral and the sweetest card. I needed—” Susan’s voice broke. “I needed somebody. He told me again how sorry he was about the way things had ended between us. He said he knew we belonged together, and he promised to make me happy. I needed to be happy.”
“So you told him you’d marry him.”
“It was OK for a while. I didn’t want to think. I didn’t want to make even the smallest decisions for myself. I guess I was deep in depression, I don’t know. He liked it that way, though. I just did what he wanted, and I did it all the time. But after a while, I started coming out of it. I started having my own opinions and my own plans. I tried to break it off with him. I even canceled the plans he had made for us to be married in Stony Point.”
“Pastor Wallace said it was because you wanted a big wedding out of state.”
“Archer must have told him that. All I said was that I hadn’t decided exactly what I wanted to do. Poor Pastor Wallace. He was so nice to me.”
“Why didn’t you talk to him?” Annie asked. “Why didn’t you tell him what you were going through? He could have helped you or gotten you the help you needed.”
“I was so wrapped up in grief that I couldn’t deal with people. And after a while, Archer had me so beaten down, I didn’t think I could function on my own. I wanted out, but he had convinced me that I couldn’t make it without him.”
Annie was silent for a moment, waiting for Susan to continue, but she didn’t. Finally, while they waited at a stoplight, Annie turned to her.
“What happened in Brockton?”
There was something cynical in Susan’s low laugh. “You’d think after knowing Archer as long as I did, it wouldn’t have bothered me. I had put up with his tirades and his insults and his demands before. That time was different. I knew before I even said anything that he was going to be mad. I just hadn’t realized how bad it would be.”
“What did you say?”
Susan took a deep breath. “I shouldn’t have said anything—not that night of all nights. He had agreed to meet his brother Donny at some club in Brockton, just to talk things out, he said. I don’t know why he even went. They always fought when they got together. They couldn’t even talk on the phone and be civil to each other, at least Archer couldn’t. Anyway, Archer didn’t usually drink more than he could handle, but anytime he and one of his brothers fought, his drinking got out of control. And when he drank, he talked too much. I asked him how much he’d had, and he cursed at me and told me to stay out of his business. That was when I told him maybe we should take a break.”
“And—?”
“That was it. I didn’t break off the engagement. I didn’t tell him I never wanted to see him again. I just told him we should think about taking a break.” Her breathing quickened at the memory. “I thought he was going to kill me right there. He said if I ever tried to leave, he’d make me sorry. He told me all those horrible ways he knew to get rid of someone and make it look as if he didn’t have anything to do with it. I don’t know how, but I managed to stand up to him a little bit. I told him it was all talk, that he wouldn’t dare really do something like that to me or anyone.” She swallowed hard. “That only made him laugh. That nasty laugh he has when he knows you’re helpless.”
Annie nodded. It was enough to have dealt with that just once. How in the world had Susan been able to bear it all those months when she was with him?
Susan took another shaky breath. “He said he would do anything to get what he wanted. And to prove it, he told me why he had inherited the company and didn’t have to share it with his brothers. He had forged his father’s will.”
Annie could only stare at her. “What? He stole everything from his own family? That huge company? All that money?”
“Yes. And the next day, when he was sober and realized what he had said, he told me we’d have to get married so I couldn’t be forced to testify against him. He said it as if it was just a joke, but I knew then that I had to do something, and I had to do it quickly. He told me he was sorry for what had happened and that he would make it up to me. I let him think that I was OK with it, that like everything else he had done, it didn’t bother me. But I knew I had to go.”
The car behind them tapped its horn, and seeing the light had changed, Annie took her foot off the brake and pulled into the intersection.
“But the will. Nobody ever questioned it?”
“He was pretty smart about it. He didn’t cut his brothers out entirely. That would have caused too much suspicion. They still ended up with a lot of money and some of the other properties, but he got JFP Athletics all to himself. He had switched out the page in the will that mentioned the disposition of the property. All of the other pages, including the ones signed by the witnesses and notary, were originals. So if the will had been contested in court, all of those people could honestly swear they had seen Jason Prescott sign his will. There was even the appropriate notation in the notary’s register book, all perfectly legal and above board.”
“But wouldn’t the witnesses know what was in the will they saw Jason sign?”
Susan shook her head. “He told me they had witnessed the signature, but the contents of the will were kept private. Only the lawyer who had drawn it up would have known, and he was dead.”
“But wouldn’t the paper and the ink be different on that page? And the machine it was printed on?”
“I don’t know. I guess the police will do some digging once this all comes out.”
“It
is
going to come out, right?” Annie glanced at her and then turned her eyes back to the road. “You’ve got to tell them now, Susan.”
Susan nodded. “I should have done it a long time ago. I’ve wasted twenty years of my life being afraid of a man who’s really no more than a coward and a bully.”
“I hope it wasn’t all a waste.”
“No.” There was a sudden glow in Susan’s weary eyes. “Tom was never a waste. He took me just the way I was, no questions asked. I know he sounded rude to you, but he’s really not like that. He just knew how scared I was and tried his best to protect me.”
“It makes more sense to me now.”
“He always wanted me to stand up to Archer, but he never tried to push me to do anything. Now that it’s all over, I’m sorry I didn’t listen to him in the first place. And I’m sorry he’s the one who’s had to get hurt by a decision I made.”
Annie took her eyes off the road just long enough make sure Susan was looking at her.
“It wasn’t your decision, and it wasn’t my decision. I’ve been blaming myself for stirring up all this, for bringing Prescott here. But he was the one who made the wrong decisions. He was the one who’s been hurting other people—not me and not you.” She reached over and squeezed Susan’s hand. “And you’re going to be with Tom in just a few minutes. I’m sure that’s the best medicine he could have.”
By then they were at the county hospital, and the two of them hurried inside.
****
Annie drove back to Stony Point alone. She had offered to stay at the hospital, but Susan said she was fine there with Tom. She had permission to stay in his room with him overnight, and they were both expected to be able to come home the next day. Annie had volunteered to drive them home again then, and Susan had gratefully accepted.
For now, Annie was just happy to see Grey Gables come into view. Poor Boots must be half starved, and Annie could think of nothing more inviting than a hot bath and her own soft bed. When she pulled into the drive, though, she realized she wasn’t going to get either for a little while yet.
Alice and Mary Beth had obviously spotted her car from the carriage house and were hurrying over to her.
“Annie, are you all right?” Alice opened the driver’s side door and practically pulled Annie to her feet. “We were so worried.”
Mary Beth wrapped Annie in a motherly hug. “I knew we were going to have trouble as soon as I realized Tom Maxwell wasn’t in the basement anymore. I tried forever to call you, and just kept getting a message that said your number was unavailable.”
“Come over and have some coffee with us,” Alice said. “I know you must be worn out, but you’ve got to tell us what happened.”
Annie took each of the others by one arm. “You both come have coffee with me. I need to feed Boots, and if I don’t get out of these shoes pretty soon I’m going to keel over.”
Soon the three of them were sitting at the big table in the kitchen. Boots had quickly lost interest in the food Annie put down for her and was content to lie with her head resting on Annie’s feet. Annie smiled wearily, soothed by her rumbling purr.
“I didn’t even know he was gone.” Mary Beth warmed her hands on the generous mug of coffee in front of her. “I had several customers after Alice came in, and it wasn’t until I went down to get some needles from a new shipment that I realized he wasn’t there anymore. He must have heard us mention Prescott’s name and that he was in town.”
Annie turned to Alice. “And you saw Prescott at the Gas N Go?”
“You know how Scooter always runs your credit card and then thanks you by name? I had just filled up, and I heard him say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Prescott.’ And I looked, and I just knew this guy looked like the picture on the JFP website. So I left you a message, and then I told Mary Beth about it when I went into the shop later on.”
“I didn’t think anything of it,” Mary Beth said. “I thought that, if it was the same guy, you probably knew he was coming into town already. And we thought maybe he’d go talk to Sandy Maxwell, since she was living in Susan’s old house.”
“Then why’d you call the police?”
“I figured Tom might go out to the house if he thought Prescott was going to try to talk to his wife. And I was afraid, after the last time, that Tom might cause trouble if he found you out there, too, so when I couldn’t get you on the phone, I called the police.”
“Good thing you did,” Annie said. “You sent them after the wrong guy, but at least you sent them.”
“Ian told us a little bit about what happened, but not much.” Alice’s eyes were wide. “I couldn’t believe a man like Archer Prescott would really try to kill somebody—especially you.”
“How did Ian find out?”
“He was in Chief Edwards’ office when Mary Beth called. Ian made him promise to keep him posted on what was going on out there. He said he tried to call you too.”
Mary Beth stirred a little more sugar into her coffee. “So why didn’t you answer your phone? I wanted to warn you that Tom was on his way there.”
“I’m afraid my phone had a little bit of an accident. It ended up in the fireplace.” Mary Beth made an exasperated little huff, and Annie chuckled. “Evidently the ringing was interrupting his talk with Susan.”
“Susan?” Alice and Mary Beth both said it at once. Then Alice caught her breath. “Sandy Maxwell. Of course. It had to be!”
“Once I realized she was Susan I couldn’t imagine why she would disappear the way she did, and why she didn’t just walk away from him—Prescott—after she found out what kind of man he was. You know, Stella had sniffed him out. Then I saw him in action.” Annie swallowed hard. “It got pretty scary there for a while.”
“I can imagine.” Mary Beth squeezed her hand. “Poor Annie.”