by B. J Daniels
“I have been instructed to take care of your belongings.” Gregory slanted his head toward the house in an impatient gesture.
She glanced again at the second-floor window as she walked toward the front entrance. The waning sun broke free of the clouds to glint off glass like a mirror. She couldn’t tell if someone was standing at the window peering out. But she had the feeling that she was being watched as she made her way up the slope to the house.
Gregory, she’d noticed, had tied up the boat and taken the clothing Ruth Fairbanks had purchased around to the back of the house.
Given that someone definitely knew she had arrived, she’d expected Mrs. Fairbanks to meet her at the door.
That assumption was wrong she realized when she had to ring the doorbell and wait and, not for the first time, she wondered what she was doing here.
Anna was about to ring the bell again, her apprehension growing, especially after seeing Jonathan and his sister-in-law in that second-floor window.
Suddenly the door flew open and she found herself face-to-face with Jonathan Fairbanks.
“What the hell?” he bellowed. “I thought I made it perfectly clear that you were never to set foot on this island again. Carol,” he said to the maid nervously waiting behind him. “Call the police.”
Anna looked past him and, with relief, saw Ruth Fairbanks coming down the stairs.
“Carol, you will do no such thing,” Ruth said in a tone that could have turned the lake water from liquid to ice. “I invited Mrs. Collins here.”
“Mother? Have you lost your mind?” Jonathan demanded. “What am I saying? Of course you have.”
Ruth Fairbanks’s lips curled up in a tight smile. “While that is what you would have people believe, Jonathan, I know exactly what I’m doing.” She gave Anna a speculative look. “Carol, show my guest to her room.”
Anna hesitated. “Maybe I should—”
“I will be up shortly,” Ruth said, cutting her off. “I thought you might want to freshen up before dinner. Gregory has already taken your belongings up.” With that, she dismissed Anna’s objections and turned to her son. “Jonathan, I will speak with you in the den.” Ruth Fairbanks had already turned her back and was heading down the hall, her slim body appearing as unyielding as a steel beam.
Jonathan glared at Anna before turning and limping down the hall after his mother.
Carol cleared her throat. “This way, madam.” Her tone made it clear she agreed with Jonathan at least on this matter.
As Anna followed the starched-uniformed maid up the stairs, she could hear raised voices in the den and wondered how long before she was on a boat headed back to town. Hopefully long enough to have that talk with Ruth Fairbanks.
Carol led her up the wide staircase and down a long hallway to a guest bedroom at the back of the house.
The first thing Anna noticed was the view from the small terrace. She could see more of the island, the cliff she’d only glimpsed earlier, a stand of pines and a small sandy beach at the edge of a sheltered cove. Beyond it, at the far northern end of the island, she saw what looked like the roof of an old cabin.
“If you need anything, you may ring for it,” Carol said, glancing around the room as if to memorize its contents. Anna figured she would also count the silverware after Anna left.
Half expecting Carol to lock the door behind her, Anna was surprised when she didn’t even close it. Apparently, Ruth Fairbanks wasn’t worried about her loose in the house.
At the window, Anna looked out at the lake again. The last of the day’s sun painted the water gold, making the pines at the edge jet-black.
She couldn’t hear the mother and son arguing, but she didn’t doubt they were. She had little doubt also how it would end. Jonathan appeared to be a man who always got what he wanted—one way or the other. What would she do when she was sent back to town? She had a bad feeling she’d be forced to stay in Shadow Lake until everything was resolved. Hopefully, she wouldn’t be spending that time in jail.
“Is the room satisfactory?”
Anna spun away from the window to find Ruth Fairbanks standing in the bedroom doorway. The room was beautiful. That wasn’t the problem. “I’m sure your son would prefer I not stay.”
The older woman stepped in, closing the door behind her. “My son doesn’t run this house—he simply tries to.” Ruth moved through the room as if making sure that everything was as it should be.
Anna realized she’d underestimated Ruth Fairbanks. “Not that I don’t appreciate your hospitality, but why am I here?”
The older woman looked at her with a piercing gray-eyed gaze that was especially chilling given that Anna had seen that same look at the bottom of the lake only nights before.
“Are you aware that your…husband,” Ruth said with obvious distaste, “has been petitioning the local judge to have you locked up in a mental institution?” She smiled at Anna’s surprise. “He failed to tell you that, I see. I convinced Judge Gandy that what you needed was rest and that I would make sure you got it.”
Anna abhorred the thought of being indebted to this woman. Worse, to be held captive here.
“What are you saying? That I’m a prisoner here?” Anna asked, shocked by this turn of events.
“Of course not,” Ruth said and smiled. “You still have options. Of course, if you left, the judge would probably agree with your husband that you belong in a mental institution, since anyone who’d turn down my gracious hospitality would have to be crazy, don’t you think?”
Anna took a breath and let it out slowly, reminding herself why she was here. The note with Gillian’s handwriting. Someone in this house knew about the hit-and-run accident. Knew why Gillian was dead.
“When you put it that way,” Anna said carefully, “then I should thank you for rescuing me. However, while I am appreciative, I do have to wonder about your motivations.”
Ruth Fairbanks laughed and gave her a measured look. “I would think less of you if you didn’t.” She studied Anna openly. “I make up my own mind about people.”
Anna frowned. “You mean whether or not I’m a murderer?”
Ruth gave that indignant wave of her hand again. “All I care about is your claim that you saw my son Jack. I could care less if you killed that woman they found in your car trunk.” She smiled at Anna’s shock. “You find me cold and calculating? Then there shouldn’t be any surprises for you. We dress for dinner in this house. I hope the clothing I purchased for you is adequate.”
“More than adequate, Mrs. Fairbanks, but I—”
“Call me Ruth. I’ll call you Anna. It’s much less bother that way. If you need anything before dinner, just ring for Carol.”
“I really don’t think having dinner with your family would be a good idea given the way your son feels about me being here.”
Ruth’s smile was brittle. “A word of advice, Anna. For the time that you’re a guest in my home, you would be wise not to question my decisions. In case you’re having second thoughts about being here, remember, you need my help.” She turned to leave.
Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Anna refused nonetheless to be bullied by this woman. “Apparently you need mine, as well. But I have to wonder if we aren’t working at cross-purposes. Mine, to get proof of my innocence and yours, to keep the truth from coming out.”
Ruth stopped and slowly turned back around. She narrowed her gaze as if taking Anna’s measure. “A gamble for us both, I would say, although you appear to be the one who stands to lose the most without my help, wouldn’t you?”
“I don’t know. I guess that depends on why you kept the note I showed you, the one I found in my coat pocket, the reason I came to Shadow Lake and the reason, I suspect, that my friend Gillian is dead.”
Ruth Fairbanks eyed her but said nothing.
“You don’t think I’m a murderer,” Anna said, surprising them both. “Even with all the evidence against me, for some reason you don’t believe it—otherwise, you wouldn�
�t have brought me here.”
Ruth looked startled for a moment and then laughed. “You forget. My husband was in politics. I’ve had much worse than murderers in my home, dear.” She turned toward the doorway again. “Dinner is served in forty minutes. Please don’t be late.”
With that, the woman was gone, leaving Anna dreading dinner and more than a little worried as to what Ruth Fairbanks was up to.
Anna had no doubt that she was being used. But to what end?
WALKER LOOKED AT HIS FRIEND and surprised himself by saying something he’d been thinking for some time.
“I’m not sure the body pulled from the lake was Jack Fairbanks.” He felt an instant stab of relief to have finally voiced his suspicion.
Billy sat up abruptly in his chair. “And you didn’t say anything at the time?”
“Hell, at the time there was no reason to suspect it wasn’t Jack. He’d gone missing weeks before, after being last seen on the lake. When a decomposed male body was found…”
“Who identified the body?”
“Jonathan, through dental records.” Walker didn’t even want to think about the chance that he’d helped that damned Jonathan cover something up.
“So what are you saying? That Jack faked his own death? How could he do that without help?” Billy let out a curse. “Jonathan would have had to be in on it.”
Exactly what Walker had been thinking. “There’s no way Jack would go along with something like this, let alone team up with Jonathan.” But even as he said it, he feared that is exactly what Jack had done. Conspired to fake his own death. But why?
“If that’s the case, then they got away with it,” Billy added with a grin. “I’ll be damned. That is, they got away with it until Jack saved Anna Collins’s life.”
“It’s nothing but speculation,” Walker said, reaching into the cooler to get them each another beer.
“Yeah,” Billy agreed. “But I guess we’ll know soon enough. Once Jack’s body is exhumed and the DNA tests run…”
“Clearly I’m not the only one questioning if Jack is alive,” Walker said, hoping to hell they were all wrong. He’d known Jack all his life. This wasn’t the kind of thing he would ever do. “Why would Jack go along with something like this?”
“You’re assuming that Jonathan was behind the deception.”
“Hell, yes,” Walker said. “You can bet he gains something by this.”
“But if that’s the case then why, as you said, would Jack go along with it?”
That was one of the questions that had been haunting Walker all evening. That, and how Anna Collins and her rescue at the bottom of the lake fit into all this.
“What worries me is why Ruth Fairbanks wants Anna Collins to stay on the island,” Walker said.
“Well, if you’re right about Jack faking his death with Jonathan’s help…” Billy let out a curse. “You think the old lady knows? Damn, I advised Anna not to go out there, but she’s determined to find out why she had that note in her pocket from Gillian Sanders.”
Walker lifted a brow. “You’re representing Anna Collins?”
“Don’t worry, I didn’t take her on as a client. I told her all I could do was give her some free advice.”
“Obviously, she didn’t take your advice.”
Billy shook his head. “It’s pretty clear to me that someone set her up to take this murder rap, and if the Fairbankses are involved…” He took a drink of his beer as the pizza arrived. “I hope you didn’t order anchovies again. Hey, where are you going? The pizza’s here.”
Walker was on his feet, his car keys in his hand. “The bastard never planned to call in the state CID.”
“Who?” Billy said.
“Nash. I wondered why the state boys haven’t been all over this case. The Fairbankses. Nash must be trying to protect them. He and Ruth go way back. I’ve got to go.”
“Wait, where are you going? Tell me you aren’t about to do something where you’re going to need a lawyer.”
The Jack Fairbanks Walker knew wouldn’t have faked his death. Not unless he was in some kind of terrible trouble.
Which would mean, if Jack was alive, he was in even worse trouble now that he’d blown his cover.
“Pay for the pizza, I’ll catch you later,” Walker called to Billy as he sprinted for his car.
WHEN ANNA STEPPED INTO THE Fairbankses’ dining room, the tension was so thick it was like wading through quicksand.
Dinner was going to be hell.
Ruth was already seated at the head of the table, Jonathan to her immediate left and Pet in the next chair.
A serving attendant pulled out the chair to Ruth’s right for Anna and unfolded her white cloth napkin to place it on her lap.
The large room, massive table and all the extra chairs made the family gathering seem too small and intimate given the hostility coming from the opposite side of the table.
“Wine?” the male server inquired.
Anna nodded, thinking it might be the only way she could make it through the meal. He poured her a glass, then filled Ruth’s, Jonathan’s and Pet’s.
“I hope you enjoy the wine,” Jonathan said sarcastically. “I see Mother picked our most expensive bottle.”
Anna took a sip. She noticed that Pet had already downed her glass and had motioned to the server for more.
Anna was reminded of earlier, when she’d seen them both upstairs. She wondered whose room they’d been in and would make a point of checking when she got the chance.
As the courses were served, there was little or no conversation, with Ruth speaking only to give the waitstaff orders or occasionally asking Anna if she preferred one dish over another.
They ate in the choking silence. Anna tried to keep her eyes on her plate, but she could feel Jonathan glaring across the table at her. By the time dessert was served, she wasn’t sure how much more of this she could take.
“Apparently, we’re all trying to ignore the elephant in the room,” Jonathan said in disgust, throwing down his napkin, his dessert untouched.
Anna wasn’t surprised. He’d hardly touched his meal. She’d forced down what she could out of politeness—and to heed Dr. Brubaker’s warning about taking care of herself. She needed to get her strength back, especially staying in this house.
“In case you haven’t figured out why you’re here, my mother is obsessed with my brother’s death.” He let out a sharp, cold laugh. “Just as she was obsessed with Jack when he was alive.”
“That is only natural when you lose a child,” Anna said quickly.
“You don’t understand,” he said, scowling at her. “One minute my mother is hiring psychics to hold séances to try to reach Jack on the other side and the next she sees some homeless derelict on the street in Seattle and she’s screaming for the chauffeur to stop the car because she’s convinced it’s Jack.”
To Anna’s amazement Ruth continued to eat her dessert as if oblivious to this.
“For weeks before his body was discovered, my mother believed that Jack had stumbled out of the lake not knowing who he was. Amnesia. But then I hear you’d know all about that.”
Anna let the remark pass without comment, since it was clear Jonathan Fairbanks was looking for a fight. Next to him Pet tagged the male server and took the second wine bottle from him to refill her glass. She waved the server away when he reached for the bottle.
“Mother has completely ignored the fact that it was Jack’s idea to take the sailboat out that night,” Jonathan was saying. “It was Mother who insisted I go along. Now, why was that, Mother? Because you knew.” He swung his gaze from his mother to Anna. “Want to know the big family secret?”
“Jonathan,” Ruth said, her voice low.
“Jack didn’t fall off the sailboat that night and drown.”
“Jonathan.” His mother’s voice was sharp now, but he didn’t seem to hear.
“He jumped! That’s right. Her precious Jack killed himself and that is what my mother can’t
live with. That and the fact that I couldn’t save my own brother.” Jonathan awkwardly got to his feet.
Anna caught a glimpse of Ruth Fairbanks’s face, high color in her cheeks, the stormy gray eyes a thunderstorm of anger and pain.
Jack had committed suicide in the lake?
“Jack drowned?” With horror, she realized why everyone had responded the way they had when she’d told them that Jack had saved her at the bottom of the lake.
“Don’t pretend you didn’t know,” Jonathan snapped. “Why else would you be trying to take advantage of my family with your outlandish story about my brother saving your life?”
“Stop it!” Ruth Fairbanks barked, making Anna flinch.
“You’re right, Mother. This has to stop. It was one thing to bring psychics to the island. But now you’ve brought this…” His voice trailed off as he glared across the table at Anna. “This…murderer into my home.”
“This is my home Jonathan,” his mother said almost calmly. “Your father left it to me. It won’t be yours until I die.”
Anna saw the look that passed between them. No love lost there. It made her ill. Ruth Fairbanks had lost a son. But she still had one. Anna would have given anything to have had a remaining child.
“If you’ll excuse me,” Anna said, rising.
Ruth didn’t acknowledge Anna’s impending exit as she, too, rose to her feet. “As long as I am alive and you choose to visit here, I will decide who comes and goes in this house and you will treat them and me with respect, Jonathan.”
“Hopefully, I will be living in an even larger house soon. Unless it gets out that my mother is crazy and brings complete strangers and lunatic psychics into the home where I live. Knowing you, you’d hold a séance in the White House.”
Anna had heard that Jonathan Fairbanks was running for his father’s open seat on the Senate. Apparently, at least according to the media, he was a shoo-in since he had worked closely with his father for years.
“It wouldn’t be the first one,” Ruth said. “Lincoln’s mother held séances there.”
“Yes, and look where that got her son.”
Anna slipped out the door, thankful to have the dinner from hell finally over and be allowed to escape the malice in that room. But at the top of the stairs, she couldn’t bear to go back to her room yet. She thought she’d seen a sunroom at the south end of the floor.
