M:
How ghastly!
Paul:
It’s appalling. But right now it’s only a theory. You’ve got to help me prove it s true.
M:
I’ll do my very best, Paul. You already know that. (Long pause) But you didn’t answer one question. Why did you pick the name Pluto?
Paul:
I thought you would have guessed. That was the name of my neighbor s dog. Ijust thought it had a certain symmetry to it. Pluto led me to the truth about my mother. And Pluto was going to be your guide, too.
M:
And the reason you wanted to remain anonymous?
Paul:
I didn’t know if I could trust you. Now I realize I can. Only problem is, we haven’t got much time. My mother’s going to mount a campaign against this book that will tie your publisher up in legal knots for years. Kenny Merlin will see to it. You need to get the information, then get back to New York or wherever the hell you do your work, and write. We’ll get the press in this country so worked up about it, nothing will be able to stop the book from coming out. It’s simple freedom of speech. Not even my mother can abridge that. (Hands over the records)
M:
I’ll have a physician go over them, just to make sure we ‘re on the right track.
Paul:
Fine. Remember, don’t contact me in person. Use my E-mail address, or my cell phone, (writes down number.)
M:
When are you leaving?
Paul:
Sunday morning. Try to nail something down before then, okay? It’s important we keep the momentum going. The idea that she’ll finally be exposedfor what she really is, well, it’s driving her crazy and I ve got a ringside seat. (Grins from ear to ear) Did I promise you a great story or what?
M:
You did, indeed.
Paul:
You’ll make a small fortune on this one.
M:
And what do you get out of it?
Paul:
(Another smile) Revenge. That’s what this is all about. Connie Jadek s head on a plate, her total destruction. But somehow, now that I’m this close, it hardly seems enough for what she did to my mother and father.
“You’ve got to find her!” demanded Constance. She was pacing in front of the windows in her suite, feeling as if the life she’d taken for granted was about to be snatched away from her. Arthur had gone downstairs to buy some cigarettes for both of them. This wasn’t the time to kick the habit.
“Just… take a pill or something,” snapped Kenny. “Pour yourself a drink. But calm down.” He sat casually on the couch, obviously annoyed by Constance’s anxious mood. “You’ve been acting like this all day. The people at that bookstore in St. Cloud must have thought you were on something.”
“If your reputation was on the line, you’d want that Damontraville woman found, too!”
“It’s not just your reputation that’s hanging in the balance, Constance, it’s my livelihood It affects me, my wife, and my children. I never should have tied my star to a sinking ship. Gee,” he said looking mildly shocked “I
dunk
I just mixed my metaphors.”
“How can you take this so lightly?” By now, her heart was pounding. Maybe she did need a drink.
“I’m hardly taking the situation lightly. You’ve made it perfectly clear how important this is, how desperate you are. I’m handling it, Constance. Have I ever failed you before?”
She shook her head.
“And I won’t now. I’ve got three of the top private investigators in the Midwest out looking for Damontraville even as we speak.”
“Hire ten. Twenty. I don’t care what it takes, we’ve got to find her and stop her.” She fell into a resentful silence. Finally, walking over to the wet bar and removing a bottie of vodka from the freezer, she said “What if she releases what she knows to the press?”
“She won’t. It would steal her thunder. She’s saving it all for the book she’s writing.”
“God, I hope that’s true. At least it would give us some time.”
He raised a cynical eyebrow. “You know, Constance, I’m only human. I’d like to know why I’m busting my ass to keep yours above water. Maybe you should tell me all your secrets before they’re discovered and put on display for the whole world to see.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve got nothing to hide.”
He sighed heavily, clearly out of patience with her. Grabbing a handful of cashews from a container on the coffee table, he popped a couple into his mouth, then glared at her as he chewed.
Constance decided to pour herself that drink. After downing several swallows, she noticed that he looked tired his face drawn with fatigue. This hadn’t been easy on any of diem.
“Don’t tell me you actually believe what that ex-employee of mine said? Arthur and I could never do anything so loathsome. And as far as Wayne’s death goes —”
He held up his hand. “Save it for the cameras.”
“But it’s important that you believe me.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re family.”
“Funny. Paul seems to think that if your last name isn’t Buckridge, you’re not quite human. You may have been married to
the man,
Constance, but you’re every bit as suspect as lam.”
“That’s not true.”
“Wake up, woman. Paul despises you. What he found out yesterday only added fuel to his fire.”
She carried her drink to a chair and sat down. She knew Kenny might be right, but she’d never permitted herself to dwell on it. She’d been too busy with her career to worry about Paul and his childhood resentments. In a way, she supposed he was just another casualty in the mess she’d made of her life. Not that she’d done it all by herself. The great Wayne Buckridge bore as much responsibility for the mess as she did.
Hearing a knock at the door, she said, “Will you get that? Arthur probably forgot his key again.”
“I’m not the butler.”
“Oh, forgive me. I wouldn’t want you to put an inadvertent crease in your suit by doing some physical labor.” He was such a prima donna. “I’ll get it myself.”
“No,” he said, rising from the couch. “I have to leave anyway. I’ve got to drive Emily to the airport.”
She cocked her head. “The airport? Why?”
“She’s going home.”
“But we’re all supposed to fly to St. Louis on Sunday.”
“She changed her mind.”
“Without telling me?” When he opened die door, Constance saw Nathan standing outside.
“Another Buckridge in name only. Come on in, bro. Join the party.”
Constance drained the last of the vodka from her glass, then stood. She felt unreasonably happy to see him, even though she feared he’d come to give her more bad news. Perhaps he was leaving, too. Her greatest fear was that everyone would leave her in the end. She breathed in deeply to calm herself.
“I’d like to talk to my mother alone,” Nathan said coldly, standing just inside the door.
“No problem.” Kenny smiled. “I was just on my way out.” Looking back at Constance, he said, “I’ll be in touch the minute I hear anything.”
“Good.” She paused, then added, “When are you and Emily leaving?”
He checked his watch. “In about an hour.”
“Tell her I want to talk to her first.”
“I’ll give her the message. I can’t promise anything.”
As the door closed, Nathan asked, “Is Arthur here?”
“He’s down in the lobby.”
He nodded. Walking around for a few seconds as if he was searching for a place to sit but couldn’t find a surface that suited him, he finally lowered himself into the chair next to his mother.
“I’m so glad to see you,” she said, trying to steady her voice as she resumed her own seat. “I was hoping you’d come with us to the bookstore in St. Cloud.”
“I couldn’t. I, ah … had some business to take care of. Actually, I’ve got something to tell you. It’s important.”
“What is it?”
He cleared his throat. “I’m buying New Fonteney. As of this afternoon, I’m giving you notice that I intend to quit my job as the national manager of the B.C. A. restaurants.”
Her eyes widened. “But, Nathan? I don’t understand.”
“I’m going to live at the old monastery, Mom. I’m moving back to Minnesota for good. I’ve put down a substantial down payment, and I plan to get a bank loan for the rest. I intend to turn the place into a restaurant or a cooking school. I haven’t decided which, but I’ve got plenty of money in the bank to live on until I do. Whatever I decide, with my credentials, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Is this because of Sophie?”
“Partly. I signed the purchase agreement yesterday and I was hoping to give her the good news last night. But when that interview dropped on us out of the blue, I couldn’t.” He scratched the side of his beard, then looked away. “I hope I can convince her to leave her husband and marry me someday, but whether she does or not, I’m putting down roots here. I’ve had enough traveling to last me the rest of my life.”
“But I thought you liked to travel.”
“Traveling’s okay, I guess, but I’ve been running away from my life, Mom, or, more specifically, from my lack of a life. This may be my last chance to create something of my own.”
Constance gripped her hands together in her lap. “But a bank loan. You don’t need to do that. You can borrow the money from me.”
“No.” His voice was sharp. “This has to be something I do on my own. If it fails, I’m the only one to blame. I’m sick of working with other people, letting them call the shots, make the decisions I should be making.”
“You mean Kenny?”
“Kenny. Paul. You. New Fonteney is going to be mine. I love it out there. It’s the paradise I thought I’d never find.”
Constance suddenly felt frightened. “Are you leaving me because of what that awful woman said in that interview?”
“Mom, listen to me. I made the decision to buy the monastery before any of that came up. And I’m not leaving you. I’m just changing jobs.”
They both knew it wasn’t that simple. “Then you believe what I said this morning? It was all a lie, you know. I would never sleep with my brother! And Wayne, his heart gave out. There was nothing I could do.”
His gaze dropped to the carpet. “You’d better prepare yourself for the worst, Mom. If you can’t stop Marie Damontraville’s book, you’re going to have to figure out how to handle it in the media. You can deny it, of course, but there’s still going to be fallout. How bad it will be is anyone’s guess.”
“I’ll sue!”
“If you do, other information could come out. Do you understand what I’m saying?” He fixed her with his intense brown eyes. “You have to be careful. Maybe Damontraville found out about Pepper Buckridge, or maybe she didn’t. Until we have all the facts, we have to play it cool.”
Constance felt a thump of alarm in her chest. “God,” she whispered, “do you realize what it could mean if the police find out? There’s no statute of limitations on murder.”
Nathan squeezed her hand reassuringly. ‘Trust me. I’ve still got a few cards up my sleeve.”
“But if she finds out, how can we stop her? Kenny’s got men out all over the city trying to locate her. And even if we do find her, what if we can’t scare her off or buy her off?”
“I’ll take care of it,” said Nathan. “I’ve always protected you and I won’t stop now. I plan to be away from die hotel tonight, but I don’t want you to worry. I’ve got something I need to do.”
“What?”
“Just cross your fingers and wish me luck.”
“Nathan, if anything ever happened to you —”
“Nothing’s going to happen to me. But do me a favor. Tell the rest of the family that I’m calling a meeting for seven tomorrow night. By then I should have a solution to this whole mess. I want everyone to come out to New Fonteney.”
“Why not meet here? It would be much easier.”
“No. It has to be New Fonteney.
My
turf.”
“Can’t you give me some idea of what this is about?”
He rose from his chair. “Tomorrow, Mom. Think good thoughts, okay? With any luck, this will be over soon.”
“What a story,” said Sophie, tossing the last of the interviews on the dining room table. She’d been reading for almost forty-five minutes, trying hard to distinguish fact from opinion. “But I still don’t get it Marie Damontraville just
gave
these to you?”
Bram was sitting across from her, nursing his after-dinner iced tea. “She needed someone she could talk to. An unbiased ear.”
“So she picks you? Someone who’s almost a total stranger?”
“What can I say? I’ve got a face women trust.”
Sophie did a double take. “That’s not exactly the way I’d describe your effect on women. The night I saw you together I got the distinct impression that Ms. Damontraville was giving you the eye.”