Deadly Payoff

by Valerie Hansen

  “Did you pay her off?”

  “No! I refused to give her one cent more until I’d seen Trudy for myself and made sure she was alive and well.”

  Delia could hardly breathe. “Did Genie agree to let you see her?”

  “No.” He shook his head sadly. “She wouldn’t listen to reason. She threatened to tell you, to tell all of you, to blame me for what she’d done. She said she had no qualms about blackmailing me if that was what it took to get me to keep adding more money to the Cymbeline account.”

  Shaun lightly touched Delia’s arm in a show of unspoken support. She glanced at him before she ventured, “You solved the problem by killing Genie, didn’t you, Father?”

  “Of course not.” Ronald’s jaw went slack. He looked incredulous. “What kind of man do you think I am?”

  “Never mind what I think. The facts are right there for everybody to see,” Delia said tonelessly. “You knew about Mother all along and you told lie after lie to keep her from us. You dealt with Genie for years and then denied being acquainted with her at all until you were forced to admit collusion. By your own admission you fought with her in the gazebo right before she died, then you acted confused when we found her body in the library.”

  Delia paused and swallowed past the lump in her throat. “You say she threatened to expose you. Is that why you shot her, Father? Or was it because you didn’t want to have to continue to pay her?”

  “Neither.” Tears were rolling down Ronald’s face and his distinguished persona had vanished. “I didn’t shoot anyone. I swear I didn’t!”

  Delia wasn’t quite finished. She stood tall and spoke boldly. “The worst thing you did was to keep lying and lead everyone to believe that Mother was the victim. How could you let us continue to think we were burying our mother? How dare you?”

  “I did think Genie was Trudy,” Ronald insisted. “I hadn’t seen either of them face-to-face for years, except that night in the gazebo when I confronted Genie. It was dark when we met and she kept her back to the porch light so I didn’t get a good look at her.

  “When we heard the ruckus in the library and found the body there, I immediately recognized the silk scarf I’d bought your mother on our trip to Italy. I was positive she had to be the one wearing it.” His voice broke. “I—I thought Genie had brought Trudy into the house and shot her there just to get even with me.”

  “What about after the fact, when we got the DNA results back? What then?”

  “By then I had decided Genie must have broken into the house intending to rob me. We have valuable paintings, expensive vases, jewelry. She wanted money and I wouldn’t give it to her so I figured she’d decided to steal some things and sell them, instead.”

  From the doorway leading to the entryway, a man’s voice asked, “What did you do with the gun, Mr. Blanchard?”

  Delia’s head snapped around. Her father leaped to his feet and gaped. Not only had Juliet and Brandon arrived, Portia had brought Detective Mick Campbell, her fiancé. It was Mick who had spoken.

  “That was the only piece of the puzzle we couldn’t find,” Mick continued. “It’ll go easier on you if you come clean.”

  “I don’t know anything about a gun,” Ronald bellowed.

  Mick had left the others and approached the dining table. He stood facing Ronald and began to read him his rights. “Ronald Blanchard. You’re under arrest for the murder of Genie Hall. You have the right to remain silent. If you give up this right…”

  Over the hammering of her heart and her rapid, uneven breathing, Delia barely heard what was being said. She supposed she’d known, at least subconsciously, that her accusations could lead to this, yet she hadn’t wanted to actually see it happen. No matter what the man had or hadn’t done, he was still her father.

  Her thoughts and regrets weren’t rational, she knew, but she couldn’t help blaming herself for what was taking place. Father was going to jail for murder, a murder he might very well have committed, and she had brought about his downfall.

  Instead of rejoicing, she felt ashamed. Ashamed of her father for all his backstabbing and double-dealing, and ashamed of herself for being his daughter.

  Delia knew she should be glad to have solved at least part of the mystery but right now, all she wanted to do was run and hide like the frightened little girl she’d been on that stormy night when her mother had first disappeared.

  She felt Shaun’s arm encircle her shoulders and she stiffened. He must be glad to see the arrest, too, after all her father had done to him. To them. She’d thought that bringing about justice would make her feel good, give her relief, joy, peace. It did none of those things.

  On the contrary, she felt worse than ever.

  I’ll kill her!

  The eavesdropper’s fury built until there was no room for rational thought. I should have gotten rid of her before this, before she stuck around too long and ruined everything.

  Think! Think! What now? There’s no way I can stop what’s happening but there must be something I can do to take charge of the situation.

  Murderous thoughts whirled, tumbled, threatened to bring actions that would reveal far too much.

  Breathe deeply, get a grip on yourself and don’t let anyone see how upset you are. There’s nothing that can be done now. Nothing. Bide your time. Be patient. Your opportunity will come. And then Delia Blanchard won’t be a problem for anyone ever again because her life will be over.

  The listener smiled. It will have to be an accident of some kind. Perhaps something to do with that rental car. Or, maybe, an overdose like the one that had almost taken care of crazy old Howard. And the sooner the better.

  It was late in the evening before the sisters unwound enough to call it a night. Delia had bidden goodbye to the Halls shortly after Ronald’s arrest. Portia and Juliet had lingered outside in Brandon’s car, talking with him for hours, while Winnie had gone to bed with polite apologies. Only Shaun had stayed behind with Delia and he, too, had finally decided to head home.

  She walked him to the door and out onto the wide, stone porch. It was amazing how awkward they had all acted once Mick had led Ronald off in handcuffs. Nobody had seemed to know what to say. Those who had tried to carry on a normal conversation had come across as either too somber or inanely superficial.

  Shaun paused in the dimness of the porch light to grasp her fingers and hold them while his thumbs caressed the backs of her hands. “Will you be okay?”

  She huffed. “I doubt I’ll ever be okay again. This is unbelievable. My own father.”

  “I never did like him much but I kind of felt sorry for him tonight,” Shaun said. “He was a broken man.”

  “He’ll recover. He always does. It’s a trait he inherited from his father.”

  “Speaking of Howard,” Shaun said while glancing up at the third floor where the old man’s suite was, “how is he doing these days?”

  “Better. The doctors credit Peg with keeping him going. She’s a very devoted nurse. We’re fortunate to have her.”

  “What about the potassium poisoning that put him in the hospital? Any clues to how it came about?”

  Delia chewed on her lower lip and shook her head. “No. Though I wouldn’t be surprised to see Father suspected of doing that, too. He had means, motive and opportunity. Plus, he stands to inherit an obscene amount of money when Grandfather is out of the picture.”

  “Do you think he did it?”

  “I don’t know what to think. If you had asked me a month ago how I felt about my father, I’d have told you that I thought he was a stern taskmaster but not an evil man. Now, who knows? He might be guilty of even more heinous crimes than we’ve uncovered so far.” She sighed. “Whatever he has or hasn’t done, I don’t intend to stick around and watch the police work on it.”

  “You’re going back to Hawaii soon?”

  “Yes.”

  “I can understand that. I’ll be leaving soon, too, I hope. I’ve had a long talk with Dad and convinced him it’s
time for him to sell the woodworking business and retire. As soon as we can make a deal that’s fair, I’ll hit the road.”

  She pulled her hands free of his grasp. “That’s good to hear. About Ian retiring, I mean. I had hoped to see you once in a while when I came back to visit. Guess that’s not going to happen, huh?”

  “It’s just as well,” Shaun said gruffly. “We have to get on with our lives.”

  “I suppose so. I should have asked. Do you have someone special waiting for you somewhere?”

  “No. Not anymore.” His gaze darkened and he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “Well, if I don’t see you again before you go, have a great life, Dee.”

  He’d used her pet name again. That gave her hope. “Thanks. You, too.” Hesitating, gathering her courage, she decided there would never be a better time to speak honestly. If she let this moment pass she knew she’d regret it forever. “Is it too late for us?” she asked softly.

  He set his jaw and nodded.

  “Okay. I had to ask. I…thanks for everything, Shaun. I couldn’t have managed without you.”

  “Yes, you could. But you’re welcome. If you ever need a friend…”

  “I’ll know just where to come,” she finished for him, even though they both knew it wasn’t so. Wherever he decided to go, he wasn’t planning on leaving a forwarding address so she could track him down.

  Taking a step back, Delia noted that he did the same. “Good night, Shaun.”

  “Bye, Delia.”

  She wanted to stand there and watch him until he got back in his truck and drove out of sight but she knew better than to chance it. The only way to hide the raw emotions that were threatening to erupt was to turn and duck back into the house.

  Closing the heavy front door, she leaned against the inside of it and held her breath until she heard the sound of Shaun’s truck fade away.

  This promised to be a long, sleepless night, the first of many to come, she reasoned, fighting tears and swiping them off her cheeks in disgust.

  Well, there was no use delaying the inevitable. She was sick of weeping. Sick of being miserable. Sick of facing the impossibility of ever getting back together with the man she loved. The most sensible course was exactly what she had just told Shaun she planned to do. Come morning she was going to book a flight to Oahu and go back to where she truly belonged. If peace and contentment were to be found anywhere, she’d find them in Hawaii.

  Padding upstairs to the guest room, Delia found a lovely plate of perfectly made petit fours waiting on her nightstand. There was no note with them but she assumed that either Winnie or one of her sisters, knowing she was upset, had left them for her.

  She picked one up, started to take a bite, then stopped. Shaun was right. Trying to eat her cares away was a foolhardy method of dealing with adversity. No amount of chocolate would make her happy or solve her problems. Only prayer and trusting the Lord could do that.

  Still, the sweet treat did smell wonderful. Maybe just one little bite…

  No. One bite would lead to another and another until the whole plate of desserts was gone. As much as she appreciated the kindness of whoever had left the petit fours, she wasn’t going to give in to temptation.

  Out of sight, out of mind, Delia thought, carrying the plate to the door of her room and placing it outside in the hallway on the floor.

  “There. That’s better,” she told herself with pride at the sensible choice. Making her way to the bed she paused, then knelt and closed her eyes.

  Her ensuing prayer was more tears than astute words and phrases but Delia didn’t care. She knew that even though she didn’t understand why things had worked out the way they had, God was still in control. Her most fervent wish was for the ability to trust Him in all things and at all times, instead of only when her life was going smoothly.

  It had been especially difficult saying goodbye to Aunt Winnie the next morning. Miranda had understood why Delia wanted to leave Stoneley, as had her other sisters. After all, most of them were in the process of breaking away and making new lives for themselves and they wanted the best for her, too.

  It looked as if Brandon was going to wind up at the helm of Blanchard Fabrics, at least for the present, and that meant Juliet would also stick around, but that was a temporary solution at best.

  Barbara Sanchez, Ronald’s executive assistant, would help during the transition, of course, but if he was granted bail he’d undoubtedly want to go back to work. What would eventually become of the company if—when—he was convicted of Genie’s murder was anybody’s guess.

  Delia closed her eyes and leaned the airliner seat back to try to rest. The long flight across the Mainland and out over the Pacific had given her plenty of time to think, which wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

  In calm retrospect, however, she could see details of the night her father had been arrested with much more clarity and she’d relived those events over and over until she was totally worn-out.

  Even the servants, who were used to the normally tense atmosphere in Blanchard manor, had behaved strangely that evening. When Sonya had cleared the table she’d watched everyone out of the corners of her eyes as if expecting bizarre behavior or even danger. And when Peg had come downstairs to get a dish of pudding for Grandfather Howard’s bedtime snack she’d seemed so distracted, so worried, she’d hardly spoken to anyone.

  Poor Miranda was taking things the hardest, Delia concluded. As the eldest, she had known their mother best and remembered more about her so the added trauma and lack of answers would naturally affect her deeply. In Miranda’s case, however, it seemed to be worse than anyone had expected. Not only was she close to becoming a recluse, she’d begun to believe she was hearing plaintive music where there was only silence and she had actually started humming along! If Miranda hadn’t had Aunt Winnie and Juliet for companionship, Delia might have considered delaying her departure just to give her sister more emotional support.

  The plane banked to Delia’s side as it approached Honolulu International Airport. Below, the crystal clear water near the shoreline shimmered in shades of turquoise and azure, delineated here and there by breaking waves. Farther out, she could see white sails dotted against the darker depths like kites in a clear summer sky.

  Motor launches were less noticeable but they left curving wakes that reminded her of the arching branches of the bougainvillea that spread riotous color over the west-facing wall of her beachfront home near Ehukai.

  The pilot leveled off and began his descent for landing. The skyscrapers of Honolulu rose to Delia’s right and in the distance she could see Pearl Harbor and the memorial to the USS Arizona. To her left was the part of the island she loved best, the undeveloped sea of green that represented Oahu the way it once was.

  She sighed with relief. Home. She was home. Finally. Although her heart was gladdened to have arrived, there was still a stone in the midst of it, keeping her from realizing the full-fledged joy that usually accompanied her arrival in the Islands.

  “Well, that can’t be helped,” she told herself as she deplaned, lugging her carry-on bag.

  She began to smile as she reached the concourse and saw all the wide grins and leis awaiting her fellow passengers. Although the traditional floral garlands weren’t often given to tourists before they reached their hotels, locals still greeted friends and family the traditional way—with warmth, embraces and a necklace of delicate, fragrant blooms.

  “I love this place,” Delia murmured, passing through the crowd.

  “You are kamaaina?” a nearby old woman asked pleasantly.

  Delia returned her grin. “No. I wasn’t born here. But it’s my home, now.”

  “Then you should have this,” the woman said, lifting a graceful lavender-and-white garland over Delia’s head with both hands and placing it around her neck.

  Delia was touched and thanked her with a nod and a gentle smile. “Mahalo.”

  “You are welcome. No one is meeting you?”
/>
  “No. Not this time. I left my car here when I flew to the Mainland.”

  “Then aloha,” the old woman said, flashing another grin that brightened her dark eyes and crinkled the leathered skin around them. “Ah! I think I see my daughter.” She hesitated long enough to study Delia’s expression, then added, “Onipa’a,” before she turned away and blended into the crowd.

  Delia blinked, puzzled, and stared after her. What a strange thing to say. What could possibly have caused the old woman to quote Queen Liliuokalani’s motto and warn her to Take a stand and do right no matter what?

  Reminded of the rightness of her recent confrontation with her father, Delia took the woman’s comment as welcome confirmation, smiling as she headed outside to the causeway that led to the baggage claim area.

  All her cares were quickly forgotten when she was bathed in the warm, humid Hawaiian air. After the air-conditioning in the plane and the terminal, the freshness of the outdoors was a most welcome change.

  Delia breathed deeply of the freedom, the sweetness that was so much a part of the Islands. Every time she returned she had the same reaction, the same feeling of euphoria and peace.

  This time, however, something was missing. She didn’t have to do much soul-searching to decide what the missing element was. Part of her heart and soul had remained behind in Maine. The part she had given to Shaun.

  It made no difference that he had chosen to reject her gift of love. It still belonged to him. There was nothing she could do to change that.

  And, searching her innermost thoughts for the truth, she realized that that was exactly the way she wanted it.

  She’s gone. She escaped. I can’t believe she turned down the sweets. She never does that. She loves chocolate! And because I thought the problem was solved I didn’t take the time to sabotage her car.

  Muttered curses filled the air. After all she’s done she doesn’t deserve to live. But what can I do now? I have to stay here. I have no choice. If I’d had one more day, maybe two, I could have dealt with her properly, have evened the score. But, no. She had to run off to Hawaii!