Authors: Mary Jane Clark
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12 . . . THREE DAYS UNTIL THE WEDDING
W
hat the . . . ?”
Jack looked at the bedside clock as he reached for the phone. Who was calling at four-thirty in the morning? A call at this hour was usually not good news.
He inhaled deeply when he saw the number displayed on the caller ID panel.
Piper!
As he picked up the phone, he wondered how this conversation would go. Jack decided that it would be a good idea to try to play it cool.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Jack. It’s me.”
“Hi, me.”
“Sorry for waking you.”
“That’s okay. How’s it going out there?”
“It’s not so great, Jack.”
“What’s wrong?” He sat up and turned on the lamp. He listened as Piper told him about the fire, the murder of the actress, Anastasia’s investigation of Kyle Quigley, and the part Piper herself had played in it.
“What are you, crazy?” asked Jack, raising his voice. “What are you
doing
?”
“I just wanted to help. He didn’t put me to sleep, Jack. Nothing bad happened.”
“What do you call the murder of Lillie Ulster?” asked Jack. “Did you ever think that could have been you?”
Piper was quiet.
“You’ve got to go to the police, Piper, and tell them what your reporter friend was working on and that Lillie Ulster had gotten involved in helping her, too. Hang up the phone and call the cops right away.”
Jack’s heart raced as he put down the receiver. The thought that Piper was involved in something like this terrified him. Despite her father’s best efforts to prepare her, she was too altruistic and trusting. She didn’t grasp that she was in danger.
He got out of bed and walked over to his desk. He sat down, turned on the computer, and began checking flight schedules.
So much for playing it cool.
J
ack was right. She had to go to the police. But she should tell the Abernathys first. They had paid for her to come out to Elysium; she was working for them. It was the right thing to alert them about what could be happening at their spa.
Piper thought about Anastasia. It was a betrayal of sorts to reveal the story the reporter had been investigating. But the fire and the murder of the actress had changed things. The stakes were much higher now.
The adrenaline that had been pumping through her system had abated. The shower had been soothing, and the conversation with Jack, even though he’d been adamant that she go to the police, had been comforting. It was such a relief to talk to him again.
Suddenly Piper felt very, very tired.
She fell asleep, resolved that she would go to both the Abernathys and the police in the morning.
A
s dawn broke, news vans with satellite dishes and throngs of reporters and camera crews were gathered outside the gates of Elysium. Hudson drove up, slowing and rolling down the car window. Microphones were instantly thrust through.
“Who are you?” asked a reporter.
“My name is Hudson Sherwood.”
“Are you a guest, or do you work here?”
“I’m the assistant director of Elysium.” Having to identify himself with the diminished title irked him.
“What do you know about Lillie Ulster’s murder?”
“Not a thing,” said Hudson. “I’m just getting here.”
“Will someone from Elysium come out and give us a statement?”
“I would imagine so,” said Hudson. “But I think it’s fair to say that everyone at Elysium is devastated. We will be giving the police our full cooperation.”
As Hudson drove away, he made an effort to keep the smile off his face.
J
illian hadn’t slept all night. She lay in the bed in her father’s house, the coverlet pulled up to her chin as she worried.
If she’d been asleep in her cottage last night, she would have been killed. It was clear that someone was out to get her. Esperanza had been maimed and murdered because of that. Now Lillie Ulster was dead, too.
As the morning light trickled through the crack beneath the window shade, Jillian made her decision.
Nobody should get married under such a black cloud. She was going to call off the wedding.
A
police car and a dark gray sedan were parked in the driveway. As she walked up to the house, Piper reasoned it was probably for the best. She’d be able to tell the Abernathys and the police at the same time.
Irene Abernathy opened the door. Her face was without makeup, and her skin looked pale. She didn’t appear happy to see Piper.
“Oh, dear, this isn’t the best time,” said Irene, self-consciously smoothing her messy hair.
“I know,” said Piper. “And I hate to bother all of you right now, but there’s something I have to tell you.”
“Well, the police detectives are here,” said Irene. “It will have to wait until later.”
“No,” said Piper. “They need to hear it, too.”
Irene looked uncertain but opened the door wide for Piper to enter.
V
ernon, Jillian, and Ben were at the dining-room table. Two men in suits sat across from them. One was taking notes. Through the window Piper could see a uniformed officer standing outside on the patio.
She stood in the doorway, listening and waiting for her chance to speak.
“Well, as far as the fire is concerned, our investigators know it was arson. It appears somebody tossed a couple of Molotov cocktails through the window.” The detective looked at Jillian. “Is there anyone you can think of who would want to hurt you, Miss Abernathy?”
Jillian closed her eyes and shook her head. “This isn’t the first time I’ve been through this,” she said. “I couldn’t think of anyone when Esperanza was attacked with acid or when she was murdered. I can’t think of anyone now.”
“What about you, Dr. Abernathy? Do you have any enemies? Any unhappy guests, patients, or employees?” The detective consulted his notes. “At the time of the acid attack, you mentioned a disgruntled employee that you’d fired.”
Vernon nodded. “Hudson Sherwood, but he’s working at Elysium again. I don’t think he’s a threat.”
“You never know,” said the detective. “He could still be holding a grudge.”
“Daddy,” said Jillian, reaching out and touching her father’s arm, “with everything that’s happened, I forgot to tell you that George Ellis came to my cottage last night. He’d been drinking. The poor man is very bitter.”
The detectives exchanged glances. “Who is George Ellis?” one asked.
“He’s the father of one of our patients,” said Vernon.
Irene walked behind her husband and put her hands on his shoulders. “His daughter’s surgery didn’t go well. Vernon just had to let her know over the weekend that there isn’t anything he can do to repair the damage.”
“Well, we have a couple of good leads. Let’s see where they take us.” The detective closed his notebook. “We’re thinking the same person who started the fire killed Lillie Ulster. Whoever it was is pretty damn vicious. Whatever was used to bash in her skull sure did the job. Brutally.”
As the detectives stood up, Piper stepped forward. “Wait,” she said. “There’s something else you should know about.”
She explained what Anastasia had suspected about Kyle Quigley’s sleep treatments. “When he wouldn’t give her a treatment, Anastasia asked me to try,” Piper finished. “I went to Kyle with a hidden camera to record him, but he said I wasn’t a candidate. After that, Anastasia asked Lillie Ulster to do the same thing. She’d had the treatment before, and afterward she had a really ugly bruise but couldn’t remember where she’d gotten it.”
“Did Miss Ulster get anywhere with the secret camera?” asked one of the detectives.
“I don’t think so,” said Piper. “But before Anastasia left Elysium, she told me that she thought Kyle had something to do with Lillie’s death.”
The detectives turned to Vernon. “We’ll need your permission to search the premises. In particular, Kyle Quigley’s treatment room.”
Vernon looked stunned. “Of course,” he said quietly.
“Good,” said the detective. “And we’ll get a search warrant for Quigley’s home.”
P
iper began to follow as Vernon and Ben escorted the detectives out of the kitchen.
“Wait,” said Jillian. “I need to talk to you, Piper. Can you stay for a few minutes?”
“Sure,” said Piper, pulling out a chair and sitting down.
“How about a cup of tea?” asked Irene.
“That would be great. Thank you,” said Piper. She turned and looked expectantly at Jillian.
“There’s not going to be a wedding, Piper,” she said. “With all that’s going on, this just isn’t the time.”
“Oh, Jillian,” said Piper. “I am so, so sorry. But I totally get it. I really do.”
Irene put a teacup in front of Piper. “So you won’t need to make the wedding cake,” she said.
“Of course not,” said Piper.
“You’re still welcome to stay here at Elysium for as long as you want,” said Jillian. “But I can’t imagine you’d enjoy being here now, with this nightmare going on.”
P
iper felt deflated and very sad as she walked back to the main building. So much pointless destruction. Esperanza Flores and Lillie Ulster were dead, while Jillian and Ben’s wedding plans had been blown to bits.
How was it all connected? That was for the police to figure out now. Jillian was right: There was no reason for Piper to stay at Elysium any longer.
As she got to the courtyard, her plan was to go inside and check the flights back to Newark. But while she was walking through the lobby, her phone rang. It was Gabe.
“They loved you, doll. You got the part!”
Piper stopped in her tracks. “You’re kidding me. I don’t believe it.”
“Believe it, babe. They’re shooting the commercial on Friday morning.”
Piper cocked her head, not comprehending. “But I did such a bad job at the callback.”
“You simply don’t know your own talent, Piper,” said Gabe. “They said you were delightful, and I have absolutely no doubt you were.”
When the phone call ended, Piper remembered what Lillie Ulster had said when she’d given her the pep talk just yesterday at the pool.
Everything’s bad until it’s good.
J
illian wrote the e-mail herself.
DEAR FRIENDS AND FAMILY,
FORGIVE US FOR SENDING YOU NEWS LIKE THIS IN SUCHA SEEMINGLY IMPERSONAL WAY. FOR REASONS THAT YOU CAN EASILY SEE ON TELEVISION OR READ ABOUT IN THE NEWSPAPER, HAVING A WEDDING NOW JUST DOESN’T FEEL RIGHT.
WE ARE HEARTBROKEN ABOUT CANCELING OUR MARRIAGE CEREMONY ON SATURDAY. WE APOLOGIZE TO ANY AND ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN INCONVENIENCED, BUT WE KNOW THAT YOU WILL UNDERSTAND WHY WE ARE DOING THIS.
WE ASK YOU TO KEEP ESPERANZA FLORES, LILLIE ULSTER, AND THEIR FAMILIES IN YOUR PRAYERS.
LOVE,
JILLIAN AND BEN
She read the message over and hit the
SEND
button.
M
other Mary Dominic called Sister Mary Noelle to her office.
“Yes, Mother?”
“Sit down, Sister.” Mother Superior looked grim.
As she lowered herself into the chair opposite Mother’s desk, Sister Mary Noelle saw the newspaper lying on the desk.
“What is it, Mother? Is something wrong?”
“I’m afraid there is, Sister.” The older nun passed her the newspaper.
Sister Noelle gasped at the headline.
ACTRESS DEAD AS FIRE BURNS ELITE SPA.
T
here were tears in Sister Mary Noelle’s eyes after she finished reading the account of what had happened the night before at Elysium. Immediately, she asked herself if things would have been different if she’d gone to visit Jillian as she let her sister think she might. After Jillian’s phone call, Sister Mary Noelle had thought about it and decided not to go. It was one thing to go out into the world to do the external work of the convent, but it was quite another to sneak out without Mother’s permission.
“I’m sorry, Sister,” said Mother Prioress.
“Thank you, Mother. May I ask your permission to go to Elysium? I want to be there for my sister and father.”
Mother Superior shook her head, and Sister Mary Noelle closed her eyes as she felt immediate disappointment.
“What you may do,” said Mother Mary Dominic, “is ask your family to come see you here. Then you can all pray for God’s mercy together.”
A
fter Vernon and Ben left to go to their offices in the main building, Jillian and Irene sipped tea in the den. Irene repeatedly clicked the remote control, surfing channels to catch noon news accounts. The Elysium story was getting major play.
“Turn it off, will you, Irene?” asked Jillian. “I can’t look at it anymore.”
Just as the television screen went to black, the phone rang. A few moments later, the housekeeper came in to say that Sister Mary Noelle was on the line.
“Oh, Nina!” cried Jillian. “It’s so horrible!”
Irene could hear only Jillian’s side of the conversation.
“Yes, I’m all right. . . . Daddy’s so upset. I’m really worried about him. Elysium is his life. . . . No, no, don’t worry about not getting here last night, Nina. After a while I figured you weren’t able to get out. And that’s probably what
saved
my life. I went for a drive to clear my head, and then I met Ben and his friend, so I wasn’t there when the cottage was set on fire.”
Jillian was quiet for a few moments, listening and nodding. She finally said, “Yes, that’s a good idea. I’d like that. But I don’t think Daddy will come. He’s up to his neck, dealing with the police, the insurance companies, and the media.” After a few more moments, Jillian said, “Oh, no! I completely forgot about it. Poor guy. What a miserable way to spend your birthday.”
When the call was over, Jillian turned to her stepmother. “In all the craziness, we’ve forgotten Dad’s birthday.”
“I didn’t,” said Irene. “I bought him the most beautiful cashmere sweater weeks ago at Canali. It’ll bring out the blue in his eyes.”
“Good,” said Jillian. “And you know what? I’m going to ask Piper if she can make a little birthday cake.”
Irene looked skeptical. “I don’t think he’s going to feel much like observing his birthday.”
“Maybe not,” said Jillian as she stood up. “But it’s more important than ever that he feels loved.”