Pecan Pies and Homicides (24 page)

Opal took a seat behind the writing desk. “No, it didn't. In fact, I saw an opportunity to forge an alliance with Robert. He and I are very much alike. With Eira dead, Robert was freed from her enchantment, and he discovered a kindred spirit in me. Eira
could never satisfy his ambition, but I can. Jarvis did Robert and me a favor by getting rid of her.” She looked at Loralyn again. “We're better off with Robert, my dear. Your father has always been a loose cannon. I allowed him his paramours, but he took this affair too far. He was willing to ruin everything I've worked so hard to build. He didn't care about shattering your world either. Do you really want to protect him when he never stopped—not for a fleeting second—to consider how his actions would hurt you?”

Loralyn leaned against the bookshelves. She wore a glazed look. “Don't you see?” She spoke slowly. “You have it all wrong, Mom. Once Dad realized Eira had been drugged by mistake, he took her up the mountain. He knew she was meeting Ella Mae there, so he was probably trying to frame the LeFayes. He must have done that because he was trying to make things right. To protect our family from being accused of murder.”

“And Barric?” Ella Mae could feel her anger rising. “How did killing him make things right?”

Loralyn fell silent.

“Why didn't you share all of this with the cops?” Reba directed her question at Opal. “Barric might still be alive if you'd spoken up.”

Opal scowled. “I didn't know what Jarvis did to Eira. This house has several secret passages and I never saw Jarvis the night of the party. He didn't show himself to me until the winter carnival. I only had to look at him later that night to realize what he'd done.” She began tidying a stack of papers. “Our name will be tainted because of his poor decisions. Our business will suffer. But not forever. Once Jarvis is out of my life, Robert and I will marry. We'll make a new empire together.”

“How can you say these things?” Loralyn shouted. “
You
might be willing to hand my father to the cops, but I'm not.”

“It's over, Loralyn.” Opal gestured at the recess in the wall. A dark gap yawned in the middle of the polished oak paneling. “Tell him to join us. I know he's near. I've felt him watching us.”

Loralyn didn't move. “I won't let you do this. He can go away. He can leave and never come back. You can't turn him in. He's my father.”

“We have no choice,” Opal said. “He's guilty, Loralyn. The police will come for him soon enough. Officer Hardy is reviewing Jarvis's travel records. At the end of his search, he's certain to draw the logical conclusion. What do you suppose would happen to him and his men should they make your father angry?”

“I don't care if he burns the whole town!” Loralyn cried. “I can live somewhere else. And since you don't need to guard the lake anymore, you can move too.”

Opal's smile was dangerous. “I would never have been put to the test if you'd have kept Rupert's book from Suzy Bacchus. And handing over the missing pages to a LeFaye? I never expected you to be so naïve.”

“I was buying time for Dad,” Loralyn snapped. “You might be willing to sacrifice him so you can marry that rich cripple, but I'm not. I'm getting Dad out of Havenwood right now.”

“Then he'll make a fool of you.” Opal's voice was low and cold. “Jarvis only cares about himself. He doesn't care about you. You were his greatest disappointment, Loralyn. He wanted a son more than anything in the world, but he didn't get one. As for me, I only wanted a girl. I wanted
you
. Once you came along, I refused to have any more children. Why take the risk? But your father has never stopped dreaming of a son, and when he fell under the spell of that dainty dancer, he believed his dreams might come true.”

Ella Mae threw out her arms in exasperation. “Then why leave her to die? And why outside the grove?”

“Because she lied to me,” Jarvis said, stepping through the opening in the wall. He brushed a cobweb from his sweater and calmly studied each of the women in turn. “Eira wasn't pregnant. Hers was a case of hysterical pregnancy.”

Opal rolled her eyes. “Honestly, Jarvis! You never learn. The girls you're attracted to are always such train wrecks.”

“At least they're not cold, unfeeling, moneygrubbing socialites,” he shot back. “Eira was passionate. She danced like a fire was lit in her soul. She wanted a child. I wanted a child. A new beginning for both of us. I burned the Oak Knoll grove so she would lose her powers. If I had a child with a non-magical mother, then we stood a better chance at happiness. Elementals may or may not be susceptible to Myrddin's curse, I don't know. I didn't want to take that chance with Eira. You and I were able to have a child, Opal, but I paid a price, all right. My life was a living hell from the moment you gave birth. You changed. Suddenly all you cared about was that baby.” He glared at Opal. “And
you
had to invite the bluebloods from their grove to come here. At first, I was furious. Then, I decided to use the party to get rid of Eira's husband. I promised to free her and she made promises to me in return.”

Ella Mae's mother spoke for the first time. “Eira knew you meant kill her husband?”

Jarvis nodded, his mouth curving into an amused grin. “I'm relieved to see you back with us, Adelaide. I won't have to hurt you now.” He cocked his head to the side. “Your silver hair is quite fetching, by the way.”

“You mean to say that you're still plannin' on torchin' the grove?” Reba asked. She looked completely relaxed, but Ella Mae knew Reba was prepared to strike at the first sign of danger.

A flicker of malice surfaced in Jarvis's eyes. “I'm done with Havenwood. With this marriage, this town, and this life.” He turned to Opal. “Why should you get your happily ever after? Why should any of you?”

“Dad,” Loralyn began and then faltered. She was fighting back tears, her face a mask of sorrow. Despite all of their differences, Ella Mae hated to witness Loralyn's anguish, but she was powerless to stop it. Ella Mae had come to Rolling View to break Rand's heart. She'd planned on showing him the ME's report and then watching as he was brought to his knees by the news that the woman he loved had never been pregnant. With his defenses lowered, Reba would have hit him with a tranquilizer dart and then called the cops. However, she couldn't apply the same tactics to Jarvis. It was clear that he already knew about Eira's hysterical pregnancy. He had probably killed her as soon as he found out.

“How did you know that Eira wasn't with child?” she asked, hoping to have more questions answered and to give Loralyn time to collect herself.

“I overheard her conversation with her farmer boy the night of the party. They were in my office and I have a very comfortable false closet in that room. Eira was holding the glass of whiskey I'd prepped for Robert. I knew it was the same one because I keep a crystal tumbler and matching decanter on a silver tray on my desk. No one uses that crystal but me,” Jarvis said with a trace of arrogance. “When Eira told Barric about her pregnancy, he reminded her that she'd deluded herself once before. He brought up a time during college in which he'd cheated on her and she'd broken up with him, only to show up a few months later claiming that she was expecting another man's child. She'd missed a few cycles, gained some weight, and even had a positive result on a home pregnancy test, but it was a false positive. Apparently, it took counseling for her to accept that she wasn't having a child.”

Opal examined her fingernails and yawned. “Two hysterical pregnancies? She was a complete nutcase. Not exactly the best mother material, Jarvis.”

“Barric told us that her father struggled with mental illness,” Ella Mae said quickly before Jarvis could be distracted by Opal's remark. “If Eira struggled with those issues too, then she deserved a chance to get help, not to be drugged and dumped on a mountain trail.”

Jarvis folded his arms over his chest. “Really? She deceived her husband, her old boyfriend, and me. That's why I carried her to the entrance of the grove. To make a mockery of the next chapter of lies and deceit she was about to embark upon. You were next, Ms. LeFaye. You and everyone in Havenwood. She would have manipulated all of you given the chance. But I took that chance away and let her sleep inches from the place she most wanted to be. It's what she deserved.”

“She deceived herself too,” Ella Mae pointed out. “Eira wanted a child so badly that she would have moved heaven and earth to have one. She'd been misused by everyone she cared about, and I think she believed that the only way she could experience true and unconditional love was to have a child of her own.”

“I concur,” Jarvis said. “I came to the same conclusion as I listened to her talk with Barric. She didn't love me. She wanted me to get rid of her husband and to father a kid, but she would never love me. She never got over her mother's abandonment, her daddy's mental health issues, or Barric's betrayal. She cared about Barric the most. If not, she wouldn't have asked Morgan to finance his farm. But he wouldn't give her a child. As for Morgan, she tolerated him for a little while, but once she knew he couldn't have a kid, she began to work her magic on me.”

Opal snorted. “And after a few twirls and pirouettes you succumbed.”

Ella Mae shushed her without taking her eyes off Jarvis. “So you forced her to drink the whiskey you'd prepared for Robert.” Jarvis dipped his head in assent. “And Barric didn't leave town because he suspected you. Why?”

“He saw me at the resort. I checked in the day of the party and he found out who I was.” Jarvis rubbed his chin. “I suppose he started following me. The day before the winter carnival, I had some words with Robert Morgan at the resort's bar. I'd tracked him to that spot in order to warn him to stay away from my wife. I wasn't going to let Opal humiliate me in my own backyard.” He shot his wife a venomous glance. “Morgan thanked me for getting rid of his wife—a fact my own dear viper of a wife must have shared with him—thus making him free to marry again. Things would have escalated at that point had I not spotted Barric out of the corner of my eye.”

Reba whistled. “That poor boy. Attractin' the attention of a fire elemental isn't very smart.”

Jarvis puffed out his chest. “No, it wasn't. I've been known to have a difficult time controlling my temper.”

“Enough!” Opal shouted and stood up. “You killed two people, Jarvis. You care nothing for your wife, your daughter, or your family's reputation. I married you because you were a distant cousin and our union was supposed to lead to great things. I was wrong, but I won't suffer your faults any longer. Either allow the LeFayes to bring you to the police station or I'll call and invite the cops to collect you.”

Jarvis laughed. It was a deep rumble that started in his chest and roared out of his throat. “My bags are packed, Opal dear. I only joined this little party to tell Ms. LeFaye that she should have heeded the note I left on her car. Because she refused to listen, I will reduce the grove to ash on my way out of town.” He glanced from Reba to Opal. “Get in my way, and you'll burn too.”

“Go ahead,” Opal said nonchalantly. “Make a fireball. I dare you.”

Loralyn rushed forward and grabbed her father's arm. “Dad, don't!
Please!
”

Jarvis shook her off. The motion was smooth and detached. He didn't even acknowledge her presence. Ella Mae could see that his indifference caused Loralyn more pain than if he'd struck her full in the face. She reeled away from him, too stunned and hurt to do anything more.

“I never thought we'd come to this point, but you've pushed me too far,” Jarvis snarled at Opal and raised his right hand. His cheeks and neck went red with fury. Ella Mae, believing him to be on the brink of creating fire, shot an anxious glance at Reba. Reba responded with a cool nod.

Opal opened a desk drawer and was suddenly brandishing a handgun. She pointed it at Jarvis. “You're finished. You just don't realize it yet.”

Jarvis let loose a feral cry and thrust his arm forward. Nothing happened. Surprised, he repeated the motion. When his hand stayed the same, his mouth fell open in shock. Opal smiled in triumph as Jarvis stared at his clenched fist. “For once, Ella Mae has done me a great service. Because of her late night swim, the source of your power has been severed. She took the Flower of Life. Its connection to the outside world of Havenwood is gone and so are your abilities.” Her gaze flicked to Ella Mae. “I'd read several ancient texts hinting that elementals gathered near these rare flowers, but I wasn't completely sure of their accuracy. And as we all know, magic is rather fickle. Which is why I'm holding a loaded gun. The only thing that ever attracted me to Jarvis Gaynor is gone and now I'd like him to be gone.” Aiming the gun at her husband's chest, she held out her cell phone. “Loralyn, I'd like you to call the authorities. If we cooperate, we won't be seen as accessories.” When Loralyn hesitated, Opal softened her tone. “Your father was about to burn you alive. Is he still worthy of your loyalty? Of your love? No, my sweet. He isn't.”

Weeping, Loralyn moved to take the phone.

Without warning, Jarvis grabbed her around the neck and pulled her in front of him. “You might be as cold as the deepest circle of hell, Opal, but you won't shoot your daughter. She's your greatest accomplishment. A chip off the old icicle.” Jarvis began dragging Loralyn toward the opening in the wall.

“Dad!” Loralyn's voice was a strangled squeak of fear and despair.

Opal lowered the gun. “Don't you hurt her! I swear, if you—”

Just then Jarvis's hand flew to his neck. He paused, faltered, and released his hold on Loralyn. His eyes went round in astonishment and then he pitched sideways, hitting the floor with a resounding thud.