“I never knew that,” Tyler said slowly. “I always thought she wanted to go into the business with us. We talked about it when I went to school and she was always hanging around when we went to work. She even came with us a few times.”
“I think she wanted to love what you loved,” Violet told him gently, “she didn’t want to disappoint anyone, but I told her that it was her life and she needed to do what made her happy.”
“I wouldn’t have been disappointed,” Tyler protested. His mother gave him a disbelieving look and he blushed uncomfortably. “Okay, I would’ve been a little disappointed. The same with Dad. He would’ve been a little sad, but he would’ve understood. It doesn’t matter if she was struggling, we would’ve helped her to do the right thing. I’d never judge her.”
“I know,” Violet smiled comfortingly, “but she didn’t know that. She was a little scared, that’s all.”
“Penny sounds like she was a thoughtful person.”
“Very,” Violet confirmed, “she wanted to make documentaries and show the world what was going on. My Penny was going to change the world by telling the truth. I just know it.”
“She was very adamant about that sort of thing,” Tyler mused. “Whenever I did something wrong as a kid, she would never snitch, but she would always bug me until I told the truth. It was the same when she made a mistake, she would never hide what she did.”
“It sounds like the two of you had a good relationship while you were growing up.”
“We did,” Tyler agreed, looking down as his eyes became misty. “I just wish that it stayed that way.”
“What do you mean?”
“We were close when we were younger. She was always following me around and trying to do what I did. I told everyone that she was annoying, but I loved it.”
“Tyler was her hero,” Violet said fondly, “she loved her big brother so much.”
“It changed though, as we got older. You know how it goes. I became a teenager and was obsessed with sports and girls. I didn’t have time for my little sister anymore. I always thought that we would get back to being close someday, but it just never happened.”
“She knew that you loved her,” Violet told him soothingly, “she knew how it was. She became a teenager too and wasn’t so bothered by her older brother anymore. You two had different lives, that doesn’t mean that you didn’t love each other.”
“But I had no idea what was going on in her life,” Tyler lamented, “she was going through so much, and I didn’t help her. If I had known how she felt about business school, I would have helped her out. I did well at school, I could have helped her if she was struggling.”
“That’s not what she wanted,” Violet said gently, “she made up her mind. She didn’t want to go into business with you. She wanted to make documentaries and travel the world.”
“It’s only because she was overwhelmed,” Tyler said resolutely. “it was tough in the beginning for me too. I wouldn’t have let her give up. Documentaries are a good hobby, but she belonged with us at the business.”
“Oh, Tyler,” Violet said sadly, shaking her head when she realized that her daughter had been right. There was no way that her brother would have understood her decision, or even supported it. The business was all Tyler knew, wanted or cared about. He would never understand that other things were important to him.
“How would it look to our competitors if we weren’t a united front?” Tyler pointed out. “Penelope would have done the right thing in the end. I know she would never have left our family.”
“She wasn’t going to leave the family,” Violet told him, “she was going to follow her own dreams.”
“That’s the same thing,” he said in confusion. “The business is the family. We need to protect the business at all costs, otherwise the family will suffer. I should’ve talked to her more and helped her to understand. Penelope would’ve understood. She loved this family more than anything. She would’ve done what was right, it’s what she wanted.”
“Penny wanted to be her own person,” Violet explained gently. “That doesn’t mean that she didn’t love the family. It just means that it wasn’t her idea of supporting the family. You know, one day you’ll leave to start your own family.”
“No,” Tyler told her, “my family will live here too.” He looked down at his watch and frowned. “I’m sorry, but I have to get back to work. Mother, it really is time to go back inside.”
“I’ll take her back,” Allegra volunteered helpfully. “That way you won’t be late.” Tyler nodded his thanks and left with a troubled expression on his face.
“I’m sorry about that,” Violet said as Allegra helped her up. “I think you understand why Penny was so afraid to tell them.”
“Yes,” Allegra said with a half-smile, “I think I’m starting to understand now.”
“That poor boy,” Violet shook her head, “he never understood that there are things that are more important than the family’s reputation.” The two of them walked to Violet’s room in companionable silence. Both were thinking about other things and knew that neither were in the mood for idle chatter. “You know,” Violet told Allegra as she opened her door, “Penny would have told them the truth eventually. She always did.”
“I have no doubt about that,” Allegra told her sincerely. Violet nodded gratefully and disappeared into her room.
Allegra made her way back to the room, digesting the events of the day. She sat down in front of the laptop and decided that Penny should be the one to tell her story. The next video popped up automatically when she opened the website.
“I hate her,” Penny said viciously, glaring at the camera as if it was the person who she hated. “I can’t believe I thought I’d come home to rest! My gosh. Every day it’s something new with her. Do this! Do that! It’s frustrating! I’m not a child anymore,” she ranted, walking up and down as she talked to the camera. Allegra got the distinct impression that Penny had no one else to talk to.
“I can’t believe I’ve kept quiet for so long,” Penny spat. “It’s like I just sat back and let her rule my life. No, not like. I did. I let her rule my life and I never did anything about it. It’s the worst thing. You know, Ruby talks about the same thing in her diary. She knew what this house was like. I can’t believe anyone would ever think that this is the way things are supposed to be. It’s so messed up! I hate it. I feel like I’m stuck in a cage with this massive spotlight shining on everything I do.”
Allegra frowned as she listened to Penny’s rant. It was obvious that she was talking about someone in the family, but she never mentioned a name. She didn’t think that anyone would ever watch her angry rant and so she hadn’t bothered to provide context.
“Okay, okay,” Penny said, trying to calm herself down. “This isn’t that bad. I’ll finish this documentary, go back to school and become a world-famous filmmaker. I’m going to go to every country in the world and shine a light on important issues. I just have to get through this. I can do this. I won’t murder, I swear. Jail isn’t worth it. I can’t make documentaries in jail.”
Allegra smiled sadly at the irony of Penny’s words. Here she was talking herself out of murder, knowing that she didn’t really mean it. She was convinced that she would make it through her difficulties and Allegra believed her. If she hadn’t been stopped, she would’ve gone on to do amazing things.
“Let’s talk about Ruby,” Penny said resolutely, sitting down again and facing the camera. “I haven’t finished the diary yet. I’m sorry, it’s just that I’m trying to do this properly, but I’m not a very good detective. I went to the newspaper building today to see if I could look at the archives. This nice man let me in and I looked up Mark and Ruby. I didn’t know that Mark was so troubled. I’m a little worried about Ruby, but she seemed to know what she was doing. You know, those stories in the newspapers were brutal. I don’t think Ruby read the paper. Or maybe she did and decided to ignore what he did. I also found out that he stayed in
town after she disappeared. They never ran away together. I was a little worried at first, but I think that she ran away without him. Ruby was too sensible to think she could change a man like that. It’s not the happy ending I was imagining, but if Ruby got away then it’s a happy ending.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Hi Sarah,” Allegra greeted when James informed her that it was time for her daily progress report. These meetings weren’t her idea of fun, and she railed slightly against the idea of Sarah’s micro-management, but it also gave her an opportunity to question the old woman without raising her suspicions. In the end, she decided not to argue with the proceedings, but to bite her tongue and bide her time. “How are you feeling now?”
“Better, thanks. I heard you left the premises today. Is the investigation becoming too much for you to handle?”
“No,” Allegra said in surprise, feeling touched at Sarah’s concern.
“Good,” Sarah said dismissively, “I can’t stand weakness. You’re here to a job and I don’t want to see you slacking, remember time is running out and we need to know who did this. Time is of the essence, my dear.”
“I understand,” Allegra said through gritted teeth. Her warm feelings disappeared as they usually did after spending more than a minute in Sarah’s presence. It was more than a little aggravating.
Chatting with Sarah Kinsleigh was like riding a rollercoaster of emotion. The uncertainty came first, because you never knew how the meeting would go. A slight rise, when she complimented you or showed concern, or maybe she revealed something that made her seem human. And then came the sudden and stomach-clenching drop when she insulted you or reminded you that she wasn’t human. All at once, Allegra’s rebellious side bubbled to the surface and she considered protesting to daily progress reports. Not only had Sarah imposed a nearly impossible deadline, but her daily progress reports yanked her out of the investigation and forced her to cough up information that Sarah then tried to manipulate. Her room also smelled like talcum powder, it irritated Allegra’s nose.
“I don’t have all day,” Sarah snapped as Allegra tried to stifle a sneeze.
“I went to Penny, I mean, Penelope’s school to talk to some people who knew her. I wondered if one of her school friends could have done it.”
“That’s nonsense, and I could’ve told you that,” Sarah complained irritably. “None of her little friends ever came to the house. I didn’t think it was healthy, but there you go. No one ever listens to me. Do I know better? Yes, I do. Do they listen? No, they don’t. What eighteen-year-old doesn’t bring her friends to meet her family? It’s outrageous.”
“Did you bring many friends home when you were her age?”
“I wasn’t talking about me,” Sarah snapped. Allegra shook her head fearing that she would get emotional whiplash from the woman’s odd use of logic. If she could finish the report, she could leave.
“Of course, my bad.”
“Did you find anything?”
“At the school?”
‘Yes, girl, at the school. Where else would you find anything? Obviously not here since it’s taking you this long to figure out what happened. Should I hire a professional? There’s no shame in backing out, you know.”
“I didn’t find anything at the school,” Allegra admitted.
“I told you so,” Sarah rolled her eyes, “why would you go without talking to me first? You know, if you had come to me first, you would’ve known. I would’ve told you. Penelope didn’t have many friends. She was an odd child. I was very worried about her. You know, if her mother had let me handle her education, we wouldn’t have this problem. I would’ve raised a balanced young lady. Penelope wasn’t balanced.”
“I see,” Allegra said slowly, trying not to get irritated by the constant criticism and interruptions. She wondered if it was too late to make a break for it. Sarah wasn’t always so combative, then again, she had only known the woman for a few days. This could be her real personality surfacing. If so, then it explained many of the Kinsleighs’ problems.
“What else did you do all day? I hope you’re not taking advantage of my hospitality. James knows about everything that’s in the pantry. I don’t want you lining your pockets at our expense.”
“I spoke to Violet and Tyler, it turns out that Penelope was going to change her major. She wasn’t interested in joining the family business anymore and wanted to become a film major instead.”
“Film?” Sarah scoffed. “That’s ridiculous. You’re wrong about that. Penelope was going to join the business with her father and brother. This is just her mother’s wishful thinking. Violet has such a lackadaisical attitude. It’s no wonder her daughter turned out like she did. Thank the heavens for the boy. I warned Christopher, but did he listen? No. I took that boy under my wing as quickly as I could, and he turned out a success. He knows where his head is. He knows what’s important. That Penelope might’ve been ditzy, but she was good at heart. There is no way she’d betray her family like that.”
“I don’t think she saw it as betrayal,” Allegra pointed out.
“Of course, she didn’t. They never do. Do you think Brutus saw what he was doing as betrayal? No. He thought he was the good guy. DO you know what he did? He stabbed Caesar. There’s a whole play dedicated to it. Traitors don’t think they’re traitors, but that doesn’t change the truth, now does it? I’m telling you, Violet is wrong. Penelope probably came up with that nonsense to stop Violet’s nagging. I’ve never known a woman who can nag like that Violet does. Nag, nag, nag. It’s exhausting.”
“I know how you feel,” Allegra said with a wan smile. “Wait, did Brutus actually stab Caesar? I thought he just organized the whole thing.”
“My dear, pick up a book.”
“Right, I don’t have any other information. Although, Penelope did mention that she was fighting with someone in the house when she came back. Do you know if she had a problem with anyone in the house? Maybe someone she didn’t get along with all the time? I know you’re a close-knit family, but surely she must’ve clashed with someone at some stage.”
“You don’t have to beat around the bush,” Sarah told her sternly, “yes, she fought with people sometimes. She was a young girl cooped up at home with no friends or boyfriend, of course she was miserable. She was very moody toward the end. She would’ve picked a fight with the kettle if she thought it looked at her funny. I’m telling you, there was no balance in that child. Always running about with a pout on her face. I told Christopher to take her with him to work but he wouldn’t listen to his mother.”
“So, she fought with everyone?”
“Not me,” Sarah said defensively, glaring at Allegra.
“Oh, right, I’m sorry. I mean, did she fight with everyone else, except for you?”
“That’s what I’m saying,” Sarah snapped.
“Thank you,” Allegra said, closing her eyes to escape the nightmare for a brief second, “this is helpful. I don’t know what I would do without your invaluable help.”
“I know. Which is why I’m wondering why you didn’t tell me you were going to the school. Is there something I should know about? If I find out you were slacking all day, I’ll fire you. There are other professionals out there.”
“That was my mistake and I paid for it dearly,” Allegra said as calmly as she could manage. She didn’t mention that she was paying dearly for it now. That information didn’t seem relevant to what they were talking about. “Penelope specifically mentioned a woman.”
“I told you,” Sarah said angrily, “it wasn’t me.”
“I know that,” Allegra reassured her “but I need to know who else she fought with, a female, who isn’t you.”
“I’m not an imbecile,” Sarah snapped. “Think for yourself, my dear. Who else lives in this house, is female and would’ve fought with an unbalanced individual such as my granddaughter?”
“Are you saying that Violet and Penelope were fighting?”
“Look at you,” Sarah
said sarcastically, “you’re so clever. I never would’ve figured that one out.”
“I don’t know,” Allegra said hesitantly, “they seemed very close.”
“It’s all an act,” Sarah said dismissively, “those two were worlds apart.”
“It sounded like they had a lot in common,” Allegra said carefully, silently comparing information in her head.
“It’s all an act,” Sarah waved her hand. “I love my daughter-in-law, but goodness, she is such an actress. She will put on all sorts of airs when people are watching her. Listening to her you’d think the world was ending every time something went wrong. If she met someone that she liked, then she’d call them her best friend after a day. It’s exhausting. She has such an active imagination.”
“Penelope mentioned that the person she was fighting with kept treating her like a child and managing her every step. It doesn’t sound like that’s something Penelope would put up with for very long.”
“Of course, she wouldn’t,” Sarah said confidently, “Penelope was a strong young woman. Violet is what you’d call an overbearing mother. She never knew when to cut the apron strings. She follows her children everywhere. They can’t do anything without her coddling them. Whenever I’d try and give her advice she’d get all snippy with me. When I took over Tyler’s education, she locked herself in her room for weeks. It was exhausting.”
“I’m sorry to hear about that.”
“Let me tell you one thing,” Sarah leaned in and whispered, “I wasn’t thrilled when Christopher came home and told me who he was marrying. I always thought he could do better. That’s what I told him. I told him, Christopher, it will never work out. This union will only bring you pain. Violet is a lovely woman, and I do love my daughter-in-law, but they’re so different. She had no idea how to raise her children in our world. I know it hurts her, but she didn’t know how to raise her children in a world that was so different to her own. She was raised in a lower middle-class home, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but she should’ve married someone in her own class.”
A Vicious Cycle Page 11
