by Lisa Boone
She called Danny’s name again and when that failed to bring a response, she walked back to the front door. Shivering, she looked out at the circular driveway toward her car, wondering if she might be better off getting as far away from Bellemeade as she could while she still had a chance. All she needed were her keys and she could just drive away.
The guesthouse, she thought, remembering that she had left her purse there while she and Jamie had gone to take care of the horses the night before. She started to take a step forward when two fingers tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to spin around.
“It’s okay,” Brian said. “False alarm.”
“What happened?”
“The lights went out and she freaked out. I gave her something to relax her.” He looked up at the sky. “I’ll be glad when this rain stops.” He gestured to the house. “Shall we?”
“Yeah,” she said turning to glance around. “Have you seen Danny?”
“He’s not out here? Well, maybe he’s out back.” When she made no move to follow him, he took her by the arm and pulled her back through the threshold. “I don’t think it’s safe outside right now,” he said locking the door. “Where’s Jamie?”
“I don’t know. We thought Fletcher might show up at his place so Jamie was going to wait for him.”
“Excellent. Hopefully, this will end tonight.”
“Jamie was supposed to call me but he never did. I’m worried.”
“Don’t take it personally. He ignores my phone calls too,” he said as they entered the study.
She glanced around surprised to see that the room was empty.
“I wonder where Nathan went to.” Sarah jumped as the door slammed shut and glanced behind her.
“He said he was going to go check on the horses. Do you want a drink?” Brian asked gesturing to the bar. “Nathan has some mighty fine bourbon.”
“No thanks,” she said moving closer to the fire. She held her hands out to warm them.
“It will help you to relax.” When she shook her head, he said, “Suit yourself,” before pouring himself a drink. Once he was done, he slipped off his jacket and sat down by the fire.
Sarah glanced over at his holster as a trickle of unease swept through her. “Where did you get the gun?”
“It was my dad’s. I figured I might need it so I strapped it on.”
“Oh.” She turned her attention to the empty gun cabinet. “What happened to Nathan’s guns?”
“Police confiscated them. Nathan threw a fit.” He looked at her curiously. “Do you know how to shoot a gun?”
“A little bit.”
“I hate guns.” He frowned as he studied his drink. “I hope I loaded it properly.” He took a drink. “Jamie knows more about this sort of stuff than I do. My dad didn’t have the patience to teach me, which was fine by me. Did Jamie tell you about my dad?”
She nodded. “I didn’t realize you and Jamie were family of a sort.”
“Of a sort?” He chuckled again. “Yeah, I guess you could call us that. I’m not sure what we would be. Step-cousins perhaps. More like brothers really. After his folks died, my dad took him in and raised us together. I owe Jamie my life. If it weren’t for him, I’d probably be dead.”
“I’m surprised you’re not more worried about him or your fiancé.”
“My fiancé?” He frowned. “I don’t have a fiancé.”
“I thought Phoebe and you were engaged.”
His lips turned up at the corners. “Phoebe’s not my fiancé.”
Sarah looked at him in surprise. True she had assumed Brian was the one Phoebe had been referring to during the Valentine’s Day party, but perhaps she was wrong.
She watched nervously as he adjusted the holster under his arm.
Or perhaps he’s lying, she thought studying him. Phoebe did say her fiancé wanted to keep their engagement secret. He kept his engagement with Robin a secret too.
“I just thought … well, that you two seem so close,” she said with a shrug.
He snorted. “Phoebe’s more like my little sister.” He winked at her. “Family of a sort.”
“Was Robin? Was she like your sister too?”
He narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. Comprehension suddenly dawned on his face. He groaned in disgust. “I can’t believe it,” he hissed out.
Sarah took a step back away from the fire and away from him. “Can’t believe what?”
“He told you, didn’t he? He swore he wouldn’t tell anyone. He promised me that he would take that secret to the grave.” He threw up his hands. “I don’t know why I’m surprised. I knew when we were up at your granddad’s cabin that he was eventually going to blab everything to you. I could see it on his face.”
Sarah felt lightheaded as a dozen questions went through her mind. Could Brian be the one who hired Fletcher? He had plenty of motive. He had fought with Robin the night she died and Jamie, Phoebe and Kristen were determined to investigate her murder. But why did he have Fletcher kill Holly? Was she just collateral damage? Or was her death intentional?
“What did Jamie tell you?”
“Oh, you know Jamie,” she said lightly as she moved to the desk, her fingers trailing along the edge towards the letter opener. It wasn’t much of a weapon but she didn’t have much choice at the moment. “It’s like pulling teeth to get him to talk. Honestly, I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh please. I can tell you know. He’s getting back at me for telling everyone at the Valentine’s Day party that he was in love with you, isn’t he? It was an accident. I didn’t mean to do it. It just sort of popped out.” He turned back to the fire with a disgusted look on his face. “So petty.”
When she reached the letter opener, she turned around and leaned back against the desk, rubbing her hands down her arms as she did.
“What’s the matter?”
“I’m just cold.”
“Get closer to the fire then.”
She waved her hand. “I’m fine over here.”
“What’s wrong?” He tilted his head back. “Oh, of course, you’re scared of me.” He sighed. “See this is why I didn’t want anyone to know about Robin and me. I knew I would be the first person that people suspected.”
“Why? If you loved her—”
“Loved? I adored Robin. She was my world.”
“Then why would anyone suspect you? All you had to do was explain what happened.”
“Lot of good that did for Jamie, didn’t it?”
She scowled. “How could you let people go on thinking that Jamie was her lover? He was your friend. Didn’t you care about him?”
“I love Jamie. Aside from Robin, I love him more than I have ever loved anyone, but I couldn’t have saved him. What good would telling the truth have done? Jamie would still have gone to jail. They found him standing over her body with the gun that killed her in his hand. If I had told anyone that I was really the person Robin was seeing, they would have just said that I hired Jamie to kill her.” He picked up the fireplace poker. “Did he tell you about the fight Robin and I had?” When she nodded, he stuck the poker into the fire and said, “Robin and I had never fought with each other before, not for real. Whenever we fought, it was always just for show, so no one would suspect. But that night, we had a terrible argument.”
“What happened?”
“We were supposed to run away together. Run to somewhere far away where her father couldn’t find us and start a new life. Just the two of us. I picked her up outside her house that night and she said she had to stop at the pub to get something. She said she had a surprise for me.” He snorted. “Some surprise. Turns out she stole about forty thousand from the safe in her house and was planning to steal another ten grand from the safe in the pub. I didn’t find out until she opened her bag and showed me the money what she had done.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I saw that money lying on the desk and panicked. I got so scared. I guess the reality of what we were doing started to s
ink in. I told her that I changed my mind and that I wanted to end things for real this time.”
“What did she say?”
“She didn’t believe me. She told me to stop being stupid and help her open the safe. I said no.” He stabbed at the logs with the poker. “It got ugly so fast. We started calling each other names. Finally, she told me to get out and that she never wanted to see me again. I still can’t believe how ugly it got at the end.”
“Is that when she gave you back your engagement ring?”
A small smile crossed his face. “Robin would never give up a piece of jewelry.”
Sarah frowned as a thought occurred to her. “I’m surprised she wore it at all. Wasn’t she worried her father would see it and wonder why she was wearing it?”
“She wore it on her right hand. He didn’t have a clue.” He turned back to the fire. “I wish to God I had run away with her. We were going to go to Arizona. Have you ever been? It’s beautiful there. Who knows, we might have actually made it.” He stepped away from the fire. “I didn’t kill her. I swear I didn’t.”
Sarah didn’t know whether to believe him or not. He had lied about so much. For all she knew, he was lying again and just waiting for Fletcher to show up and do his dirty work for him. “I’m surprised you’d want to go back to Arizona after the last time.”
Brian pressed his lips together in a tight line. “He told you about that too? The man doesn’t talk for years but becomes Chatty Cathy with the first pretty face he sees. And he has the nerve to complain about me.” He took a step forward. “What else did he tell you?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Sarah reached behind her back and felt around for the letter opener. “Nothing else. Only that he didn’t think you killed Robin. I have to agree with him,” she lied. “I can see how much you loved her.”
He turned his attention to the door. “Did you hear that?”
“What?”
He replaced the poker before moving across the room and pressing his ear against the door. After a moment, he leaned back with a look of puzzlement across his face. “I thought I heard something.” He took the gun out of the holster before opening the door and stepping out into the hallway. “Stay here and lock the door.”
“Okay,” she said, more than happy to do just that very thing.
Once the door was locked, she sank against it, relieved to still be alive. She immediately turned her attention to the study, searching for a way to call for help. There was a tablet laying on the corner of the desk but without the passcode, it wasn’t much use to her. Prying the locked desk drawers open with the letter opener didn’t yield anything of use either. She was just reaching for the fireplace poker when a single gunshot reverberated through the house.
Sarah froze in place, not sure which way to turn or what to do.
A floorboard creaked in the hallway.
She could hear footsteps now just outside the door. She flexed her fingers around the fireplace poker and softly crept across the room.
When the door handle rattled, she pressed her back to the wall, holding the poker tightly in her hands.
The door handle rattled once more, then stopped.
Sarah raised the poker above her head, waiting for him to break down the door.
When he didn’t, she glanced at the grandfather clock, counting down the minutes. When several minutes passed without another sound, she finally lowered her arms and crept closer. She pressed her ear to the doorway.
Suddenly, something struck the door.
Sarah screamed in fright as she retreated to the opposite side of the room, holding the poker protectively out in front of her.
For a moment, she imagined she heard laughter outside the door, but her heart was beating so fast, she wasn’t sure.
Was it Fletcher? Brian? Someone else?
She licked her lips as she edged towards the window, keeping one eye on the door the entire time. She was almost there when she heard footsteps moving away from the door. A moment later, she heard a door open and slam shut.
Was that the front door?
She heard more footsteps as someone walked along the veranda just outside the windows.
After several minutes had passed by and when she didn’t hear anything else, she tentatively reached out her hand and pushed aside the curtain.
Brian was outside near the stables. She watched as he stood there staring at the house for a moment before stomping across the field toward the gate.
She let the curtain slip from her fingers as she raced towards the door, quickly unlocking it and stepping out in the dark hallway with one thought in her mind.
If she could get to the panic room, everything would be okay. She just had to lock herself in and wait for help. Someone would eventually come looking for her.
Hopefully.
She dashed down the hallway and toward the living room just as the front door opened and Phoebe walked in. She stomped her multicolored floral rain boots on the welcome mat before reaching up to take off the matching cap. She smiled when she saw Sarah. “Hi Sarah. What are you doing here?” She looked around as she reached for the belt of her raincoat. “Why are the lights out?”
Sarah didn’t waste any time answering as she grabbed Phoebe’s hand and pulled her toward the double doors to the living room.
She quietly pushed open the doors and then stepped inside.
“What’s going on?” Phoebe asked.
“I’m not sure,” she said over her shoulder as she locked the doors, “but I think we need to hide in the safe room.”
“Have you seen Kris—” Phoebe gasped suddenly and then backed up and into Sarah.
Sarah spun around.
Danny sat in an easy chair in the corner of the room by the window, his feet propped up on an ottoman, his head tilted to the side and his mouth was wide opened. For a moment, she wondered if he were asleep as she crept closer. A flash of lighting crossed the sky and briefly lit up the room, providing just enough light to let her see the blood at his temple and the blood-splattered typewritten note and revolver in his lap.
Phoebe gripped Sarah’s arm. Her lips trembling, she asked, “What’s going on? Where’s Kristen?”
“Upstairs. I think.” Sarah reached for the gun in Danny’s lap.
“What are you doing? You can’t do that. The police—”
“Will just have to arrest me,” she finished for her. “We need protection,” Sarah said, opening the revolver and then snapping it shut with a groan before laying it back in Danny’s lap. “I should have known he wouldn’t leave it loaded.” She moved to the bookcase where a candle and a jar full of matches sat.
She quickly lit the candle and then walked back over to Danny’s body. Picking up the note by her fingertips, she held it up and read.
“What does it say?” Phoebe asked, tearfully.
“According to this, Danny not only killed Robin but several more people including…” She took a deep breath. “…me before deciding to take his own life.” She tossed the letter back down. “Brian’s incredibly optimistic, considering I’m not dead yet.”
Phoebe frowned. “Brian? What are you talking about?”
The door handle suddenly rattled.
“Phoebe,” Brian called out, “are you in there, sweetheart?” The door handle rattled again. “I need you to let me in.”
Phoebe started for the door but Sarah pulled her back. “No, Phoebe,” she whispered. “We can’t let him in. Let’s go to the safe room.”
“But it’s Brian.”
“I’m not a hundred percent sure, but I think he might be the one who’s doing all this.”
“Sarah, Brian wouldn’t hurt us.” She pulled her arm out of Sarah’s grasp and reached for the door.
“He’s been lying to everyone.”
Phoebe turned to look at her. “What are you talking about?”
Brian knocked at the door. “Phoebe, open the door.”
“He was the one who was in love with Robin, n
ot Jamie. Robin was planning to run off with Brian and they fought the night she died.”
Phoebe snorted. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Jamie told me. There was never anything between Jamie and Robin. He was simply covering for Brian.”
“No, that’s not true.” Phoebe’s brow furrowed. “That’s impossible. Brian and Robin couldn’t stand each other.”
“It was an act.”
Phoebe shook her head in disbelief as she reached for the door again. “No.”
Sarah jumped in front of the girl. “Danny’s dead and I have no idea what happened to Kristen and Nathan. We cannot open this door.”
“Sarah, Brian’s not a killer. It’s okay.” Showing surprising strength, she pushed Sarah out of the way before opening the door.
Brian immediately pulled her into a hug. “Where have you been?”
“In the guest house, waiting for Kristen to show.”
He pulled back and frowned down at her. “She told us that you were missing.”
Phoebe nodded. “Kristen thought it would be safer if no one knew where I was. She was supposed to meet me at the guesthouse an hour ago. When she didn’t show, I got worried and decided to come looking for her.”
Brian looked over Phoebe’s head at Sarah. “Are you okay?”
She wordlessly nodded as she set the candle down on an end table next to Danny.
“Well, I—” Brian’s eyes widened. He walked up to Danny and checked for a pulse. “What’s this?” he asked reaching for the note.
“It’s a suicide note,” Phoebe said. “Danny confessed to killing everyone.”
Brian tossed the note down. “Come on,” he said taking Phoebe’s and Sarah’s hands and pulling them out of the living room, “let’s get out of here. We need to go for help.”
When he turned toward the kitchen, Sarah dug her heels in. “Why aren’t we going to the driveway?”
He pulled her along. “Someone’s disabled the cars.” He pushed the door to the kitchen open with his foot. “That’s not all. Nathan’s dead. I found his body near the stables. Someone stabbed him in the back and took his gun. I guess it was Danny or Fletcher that did it.”
