Before we could make any kind of rebuttal, the threesome turned around and marched out.
I turned wide eyes to Finn. “What the hell?” I exclaimed with my usual grace and subtlety.
Finn slammed his drink back and ran a hand through his hair. He whispered raggedly, “It’s happening all over again.”
“No. No it’s not. Not if I have anything to do about it. Look, we need to go talk with Vivian. We need more details on what happened when you were framed before you moved to the States. They’re up to no good, that’s for sure.”
He shifted his eyes to mine, his mouth tightly compressed. He was breathing through his nose like a bull trying not to charge. I couldn’t blame him. I was enraged from the injustice of it all.
“Lane.” The way he said it made me sit up straight. It sent chills down my spine. And not in a nice way.
“What are you doing, Finn?”
“I’ve been thinking. Sean is too conniving and powerful. I think I need to face him on my own. When Vivian saved me at the accident, do you know what my worst fear was? That her involvement could’ve gotten her hurt or killed. I can’t pull you in, too. You have to stay away from that meeting tomorrow. It’s just too dangerous. It’s like I’m cursed, and I can’t have you harmed because of it.”
“Finn—”
“I’ll be back right after the meeting. I promise. But tonight I have to think, and tomorrow I just have to face him on my own.” He jumped up, picked up his blazer, and slung it on. He strode away from me, across the bar, and out the door.
Finn was in big trouble. I grabbed my coat and ran to the front desk. I needed to make a few calls.
CHAPTER 26
She woke up in a cold sweat. The dream had been full of blood, full of power, full of . . . darkness. It was disturbing, but she felt like it was a good omen. It meant they were on the right track.
“Gwen, are you all right?” asked the deep and sleepy voice next to her.
She looked over at his tousled black hair and said, “Shhh. It’s okay, Sean. Just a bad dream.” She couldn’t help wiping her hands on the warm sheets, subconsciously trying to cleanse her hands of all that invisible blood. She knew she wouldn’t fall back asleep, so she got up to get a drink of water.
She walked out to the kitchen and grasped a glass from the cupboard. She ran the water, getting it as cold as possible. She filled the glass and drank it down.
“Can’t sleep?” Sean asked, wrapping his arms around her from behind.
“No, too much on my mind, I think,” said Gwen.
When he walked in, she knew he admired her lithe form in her nightgown, a lamp highlighting her silhouette. Her mint green nightgown matched her little slippers perfectly. She was always singularly controlled, tightly precise with every movement, never a hair out of place. Even now, her hair wasn’t mussed from sleep.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked.
She moved his hands. She preferred nothing touching her. “I’m concerned about Vivian. I’m not sure about her.”
“But she’s in her old folks’ home. She’s out of the way,” he said.
“It’s not a prison or asylum, Sean,” she declared waspishly.
A curtain lowered over his eyes as he regarded her. She didn’t care, she wasn’t afraid of him. They were equals in that way. She’d known fully what Sean was capable of even before they got married. Gwen admired his imaginative efforts, full of cunning patience. A touch of pride pulled at one side of her own mouth. But no one was as patient as she was. No one ever expected the lovely, rather quiet and naïve English lady.
He cocked his head to one side in thought and said, “Well. Perhaps you should make a visit to Vivian and decide once and for all if she’ll get in the way or not.”
Gwen considered this as she got another glass of water. “Mmm. Yes. That’s a good idea. I think I will.”
“And if you decide she’s too big of a risk, take care of it. We’ve worked too long for us not to get everything we’ve wanted.”
“I agree.” Gwen carefully washed the glass, then dried it with a towel. She opened the door of the cupboard and placed it back in its place with exacting precision. Then she wiped down the sink, getting rid of any water spots. She folded the towel into thirds and slipped it through the towel bar, making sure the ends were even.
She turned to him. He wanted her, his desire heady and strong.
She read that desire, but was determined to keep her cool, keep in control. They couldn’t get distracted. Everything depended on them executing this next part of the plan, the one they’d been concocting since before the accident Sean orchestrated. They knew it would come down to this. They could pull it off. They just had to keep focused. Only a few hours until dawn. That night their plan would come to fruition. If they could take down Finn, once and for all, they’d get it all, the whole Brodie estate.
“Good night, Sean.” She walked past him and went to bed.
CHAPTER 27
Finn never showed up back at the hotel. I spent most of the night unable to sleep so I went over some plans that were taking shape in my mind while I fairly paced a hole through the Oriental rug in my room. The next morning, when the sun couldn’t quite gather enough strength to find its way through the murky sky, I quickly found a cab and made my way over to Vivian’s.
I greeted her with a grateful hug.
“Lane, dear, what’s wrong? You sounded like something was urgent. Why isn’t Finn with you?”
“He didn’t call you or come by last night?” I asked.
“No. He didn’t. Should he have?” she asked.
“Yes. Something is afoot, Vivian. We need to help him. Gwen and her cronies came by the hotel bar last night and said that Sean wanted to see Finn tonight, and that they’re thinking that Finn is the culprit who poisoned their father. How is that possible when the medical report said that he’d been poisoned for quite some time?”
Vivian’s face blanched as I told her the news and I noticed a small tremble in her hand. “Oh, Lane. I have no doubt that Sean has officials in his pocket. One time, he must’ve been only eleven years or so, I caught him talking with the grocer off to the side away from customers. I overheard him insinuating that he’d seen him shortchange a customer and that his father really looked down on folks that did those sorts of things . . . unless of course he had extra boxes of Turkish Delight that were lying around . . .”
“Extortion. At eleven. Lovely. By the way, how on earth did you and Finn end up so normal in this family?” I exclaimed.
“I wonder that all the time. I stepped in of course and yanked Sean out of there. But Lane dear, if he was like that at eleven, there’s no telling what he’s capable of now,” she said with her hands on her hips and a resolute look in her eye.
“Look, let’s have some tea and give this some thought,” I said. “I know we’ll come up with a plan.” I went to her little kitchenette and put the pot on to boil. I glanced back at Viv, her eyes focused out the window. A sparrow alighted on a branch, making the small red berries remaining on the bare branch quiver. I found the tea and milk, and a little tin of cookies, then brought the tray over to the table in front of her.
Viv leaned forward and poured for us. She was a steady octogenarian, her mind bright, eyes sparking with determination. She’d been a solid ally for Finn and she would be again. As she plunked two cubes of sugar into her cup, she said, “It has to be a family member or one of the household staff.”
“For what?” I asked, pouring a touch of milk into my cup.
“The culprit. The one who’s been poisoning Richard. He or she has to have easy access to his food and drink. It’s been going on for months, they say.”
“And Polly and Richard have no ideas?” I asked.
“They are lacking in imagination, Lane dear,” she said with a disgusted look on her face.
“Sean is an obvious choice,” I said. “Does he want his inheritance faster?”
“Not faster,” said V
iv. “To himself. That’s why, I believe, he worked on that whole deception on Finn in the first place. He doesn’t want to share it.”
“But he already has it,” I said. “Finn was cut out of the will, right?”
“Well, actually,” she declared, “he was cut out of receiving an annual allowance. But he’s still in the will. And unless there are criminal charges, or he’s found incompetent somehow, Finn will receive the bulk of the estate because he’s the eldest. It’s English law that the eldest receives the lion’s share.”
I crossed my legs, noticing I had stockings on for this visit, and said, “Why didn’t he just kill him outright? Why did Sean create such an elaborate ruse? He was working on that for years.”
“I know. I think he just likes the game of it all. Even as a kid he loved the art of deception. Besides, if he created an entire framework for a black sheep kind of history for Finn, it would be easier to escape any kind of suspicion if Finn had another accident or something. If he just killed him outright, Sean would definitely be a suspect.”
I nodded, thinking of the time Finn told me about Sean stealing a bike, then realizing that he’d get a reward for returning it. He’d made quite a show about it, getting all sorts of praise for finding the stolen bike. He pinned it on a local bully and that bully had paid dearly from his abusive father. I wondered if that scheme was the thing that whetted Sean’s appetite.
I set my cup down, thinking about Viv’s theory. I said, “And that shows that he’s patient. Sean could wait. He could work a long-term plan like that. Still. Isn’t poison considered a weapon of choice for women?” I asked.
“Hmm. I don’t know,” she said. “They didn’t find out the exact poison yet, either. Not sure if they will. They just know it wasn’t arsenic. He didn’t exhibit the symptoms of arsenic poisoning, but there are hundreds of poisons available in any household . . .”
My eyes wandered around the room as I thought. “That was nice of Gwen to bring you flowers. Have you seen a lot of her over the years?” I asked, hoping my face didn’t betray how much I loathed her.
Viv pierced me with her amused eyes. “So you like her that much, huh?” She shook with a silent chuckle that reminded me of Finn. My heart ached for him suddenly. He was so alone. And hurting.
Her eyes softened as she read my face. “Oh Lane, he’ll be all right. We’ll find a way to help him.”
I cleared my throat and poured more steaming tea. “So. Gwen. Has she always visited you? Did she know about Sean’s deception and plan to harm Finn the night of their wedding?” I asked.
“She did visit pretty regularly once Finn left for the States. I never let on that I knew what Sean had done. So I never talked with her about it. I just . . . I think she’s innocent. But I never felt comfortable letting my guard down completely. Finn and I could see through Sean easily. But he was able to charm so many people. I could never understand how they couldn’t see through it. And it made me wonder, if Gwen couldn’t see through it, she was either in on it or she wouldn’t believe it. Either way, it was a big gamble to trust her.”
“I hate her,” I blurted out.
“I can tell.” Then she snorted. “I don’t hate her. Not quite. But I have to say, I’m not fond of how she wears so many matching items. It’s a little much.”
It was my turn to snort. “You are one in a million, Viv. Thank you. For all you’ve done for Finn. He loves you so much.”
“He’s my sweet boy. He’s more like me than my own daughter. We’ve always been two peas in a pod. All right, love. We need to come up with a plan. He’s supposed to meet Sean tonight?” I nodded. “Then we need to get ahead of Sean’s plan. Whatever it is, it’ll be dangerous.”
Vivian looked about the little room as she gathered her thoughts. She breathed in a little gasp. “Oh dear. I’ve just had a thought. But I’ll need to ask my neighbor about something first, then I’ll let you know. Overall, though, Sean has worked for years to get city officials, leading businessmen, and anyone powerful in his back pocket. He may have bribed the police into arresting Finn, or . . .” Her voice petered out. “Oh no,” she said, just barely a whisper.
“What, Vivian?” I asked, dread quickening my pulse.
“He might do something worse than go to the police.”
“What do you mean? What’s worse?” I asked, sitting forward.
“Lane, the whole deception that Sean pulled over on Finn . . . it was all based on trying to show Finn hadn’t been in his right mind.”
I suddenly realized what was worse. Far, far worse. “Oh my God.”
She nodded just a fraction of an inch.
I stood up, adrenaline pulsing through my body. “Over. My. Dead. Body.”
I grabbed my coat and ran to the door. I said with grim determination, “Meet me at the hotel at six thirty. I have a plan. Sean thinks he has connections? I have better ones.”
I banged my way out the door. I needed to act. Finn would confront Sean tonight. I would bet a thousand dollars that he would fall into their trap. He wouldn’t see it coming. And something deep down inside had him reeling. His face had looked ragged, as if an ocean of regret had poured over him. I hated that look. Nothing was worse than seeing that in someone you love: despair.
CHAPTER 28
Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it.
—Lady Macbeth, Macbeth
The knock came sharp and loud at the door. Vivian’s hand immediately found the little beaded purse right next to her. Just in case.
“Come in, Gwen!” she said cheerfully.
“Well, hello, Vivian. Don’t you look lovely today. I love that royal blue blouse.”
“Thank you, Gwen,” she said. Vivian regarded Gwen’s perfectly matched, dark peach ensemble. It had to be Vivian’s most hated of colors. And there was a lot of it on Gwen, from the tips of her dainty toes to the pillbox hat perched on her pert little head. Viv sucked in her lips as she tried to hide her disgust.
“Would you like a cuppa? I brought Father’s special blend, it’s so scrummy,” said Gwen as she went to the kitchen to get the tea set.
“Oh . . .” said Vivian. “Of course. That’d be delightful. It really is a wonderful blend.”
Gwen chattered on a bit about inconsequential things. As she brought the tray over, she said, “You know, I do worry about Father. His heart is still weak. Would you like one lump or two?”
“Two please,” said Vivian. “Yes, I know. It’s concerning to say the least.”
Gwen eased into her discussion; Vivian could see that she was carefully placing her words in the perfect, most useful order. “So, Vivian, I have to say . . . I’m worried about Finn, as well. He just doesn’t seem well, a little confused and off somehow . . .”
Vivian looked at her carefully and she nodded. “Yes, I suppose this all is a bit taxing.”
“Oh, I think it’s much worse than that. Your tea is getting cold, Viv.”
Vivian cocked her head to one side and gave Gwen a long, thoughtful look. “Right, can’t let it get cold,” she said as she picked up the cup and held it in her hands.
“And really, Viv, I think we might need to get Finn some help. Perhaps professional help. I think it’s gone farther than we can handle.”
Gwen fastened her eyes onto Vivian’s cup as she brought it close to her lips. She sucked in her breath.
Vivian paused. “You know, he does seem tired and a little lackluster lately.”
Gwen pulled her eyes from the cup and met Vivian’s gaze. “I agree.”
Vivian went to take a sip, but then brought the cup back down, “However, I think professional help is overcautious.”
“Vivian,” said Gwen in a harsher voice. “You can’t be serious. This has gone too far. It’s just not safe. Don’t you think?” she asked rather exasperatedly.
“No, Gwen. I don’t,” said Vivian firmly, then set her cup down resolutely.
Gwen stood up. “Well, Viv, I’m sorry to hear that. I want to get h
im help.” She casually picked up a throw pillow that was next to her, feeling the velvet, deep in thought, pacing as she gathered her thoughts. “I just . . . I think his childhood was rough on him. And he can’t be doing that well in the police department in New York.”
“What are you talking about? He’s doing quite well.”
Gwen took a step closer to Viv. “Well, I think we’d have heard if he’d been successful. I think he’s ill and we need to act before he hurts more people.” She took one step more, about a foot from Vivian. Vivian’s hand rested on her little purse.
“Well, Gwen,” she said, her tone changing to something more sarcastic. “I think I do understand. You’ve at last made your position quite clear.” She smirked, making the blood rise in Gwen’s cheeks.
Viv was mocking her, and clearly Gwen could not stand for that. She took one last look at the cup Viv had firmly set down. She raised the pillow up and took one final step closer to Vivian, readying her muscles.
Click.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” said Viv in a steady voice.
Gwen gasped. The revolver in Vivian’s hands glinted in the light, quivering only the slightest little bit.
The door suddenly burst open, the hinges breaking, the molding cracking with small bits of wood flying through the air. “Put your hands in the air!”
CHAPTER 29
Be bloody, bold, and resolute.
—the second apparition, Macbeth
Finn spent the night wandering around the city he loved and loathed in equal portions. He stopped at a couple of bars, followed up by restaurants for scalding hot coffee. He had to think. He had to plan. He had to get Lane out of there.
How could he have let her get so close? His family was a curse. He was cursed. Why did he think he could change that? Veer off the course his family had set years ago? It was all too heavy. It was like that charm by the witches in Macbeth. He’d been a fool to think he could let it all go. That he’d be able to get away, escape. It was impossible to get out from underneath.
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