Deadly Reunion (34 page)

“But she changed her mind.
You didn’t have to kill her. She had decided not to tell Adam what she knew. She remained loyal to you.”

“Loyal,”
Diana scoffed. “Did you know that she tried to blackmail me before? Not for the murder, but for something else. She would never have dared try to blackmail me for the murder. She knew what I was capable of.”

Grace nodded her head
before realizing that the other woman couldn’t see her. “She set you up to have an affair. I’m surprised you didn’t kill her then.”

Diana vigorously shook her head.
“I wanted to, but I couldn’t do it. She had no idea that I knew. Melodie had told me what Crystal had done to Larry. It didn’t take a genius to figure out she must have been the one to set me up, too.” She sighed softly. “I realized Crystal couldn’t be trusted anymore, but I still didn’t want to kill her. She was my niece and I loved her. Then after I returned home, and when Eric and I began to reconcile, she tried to warn him away from me.”

“Why?”

“She liked him. She was afraid that I was going to hurt him. Like, I’m some sort of crazy psycho. I wouldn’t have hurt, Eric. If I wanted to kill him, I would have done it all long time ago.”

“But you killed Sam.”

“I told you,” she yelled. “It was an accident. He said he was leaving, and that I couldn’t come with him. I was angry and I slapped him. He lost his balance and fell. I swear it was an accident.”

“What happened to Crystal wasn’t an accident.”

“No,” she admitted softly. “I finally had to do something. She stole that picture of Sam. The only picture I ever kept of him. Then she put it on the slideshow for everyone to see. Then she wrote all over my charcoal drawing. Telling the whole world that Sam didn’t commit suicide. She even had the gall to act like she didn’t do it.”

“
But she didn’t,” Grace insisted. “Adam’s the one who wrote that message on the drawing.”

Diana ignored her. “
If someone had seen that . . . Luckily, I found it in time and was able to destroy it. I kept hoping she would change. I kept giving her chance after chance, but she left me no choice.”

“Did Adam leave you no choice?”

Diana laughed again. “He thought he was so clever. He figured out that Sam and I were . . . together. He thought . . .” She started laughing hysterically. “He thought . . .”

Grace gripped the side of her chair.
It suddenly occurred to her Diana was becoming unhinged.

Grace couldn’t take it anymore. “He
thought you killed Sarah Collins.”

Diana
nodded her head. Taking a deep breath, she regained her composure. “At first, but I finally convinced him that I had nothing to do with her death. I even showed him the affidavits of the doctors at the ER. You should have seen his face. It was so sad. He was so disappointed. He thought he had it all figured out. Well, I didn’t want him to walk away disappointed, not when he was so close. So, I told him that I knew who had killed Sam.” Diana started giggling again.

“Let me guess. You tried to blame Tom.”

Diana nodded. “I told him that Tom killed Sam, so that he could have Crystal all to himself. It was so easy to convince him. I even sent him an anonymous note about where Tom buried those trophies. I was certain that he had buried them around the fountain. Adam even asked for my help in prosecuting Tom. Can you believe it? I told him no. I was far too terrified of Tom,” she said giggling. “He said not to worry. He even said he would pay me for my story.” Diana leaned against the door. “Pay me. Like I wanted his money. I was more than happy to talk about Tom, but I wasn’t about to talk about me and Sam.”

“
Why did Tom steal the trophies?”

Diana placed her hand on the door and shook her head. “
Why do you think? I had used Hope’s trophy to kill Crystal. I wasn’t trying to implicate your sister, you understand. I’ve always liked Hope. I just knew Tom would bend over backwards to cover up the crime if he thought Hope was the murderer.” Diana snickered. “And he did. Luckily, he was the first one to find her body. I had covered it with Hope’s wrap. It was so funny.
You should have seen him. Rushing around trying to hide evidence. I tried to tell the police that I saw him hiding a duffle bag that night, but they didn’t care. If they had just looked in his car, they would have found Hope’s wrap, the trophies, everything. He would have been blamed and then I wouldn’t have had anything to worry about.” Diana turned around and locked the door.

Grace
felt a chill run down her spine. “I made a copy of that picture. If anything happens to me it will be sent to the police.”

“I don’t think you have the picture, Grace.”
Diana reached into her purse and pulled out a gun. Aiming at the light she pulled the trigger. Sparks flew throughout the cabin, before sending the room into compete darkness.

“That was rea
lly clever about the charcoal. I never even worried about that. I mean, who would have made that connection. Tell you what Grace, I won’t kill you if you can describe the picture in detail. And in case you’re wondering, there’s just enough light behind you to make you out.”

Grace leaned back against her chair.

“Come on Grace, at least guess. No?” she said, as she took aim. “All right, I’ll give you a hint. You can just make out my left hand in the picture. What am I wearing on my left hand?”

Realization dawning, Grace shouted, “Your ring!
You can see your ruby engagement ring in the picture.”

“Oh
, very good Grace! But I’m so sorry! Time’s out! Bye bye Grace,” she said, pulling the trigger.

Grace fell to the ground
at the first hail of gunfire. The sound of breaking glass could be heard over the shots. Diana had fired four times before finally realizing something was wrong. Walking to the center of the room, she discovered shards of mirror fragments, instead of a bloody and dead Grace.

Grace pressed a remote control button
, turning on a small tape recorder in the corner of the room. The sound of furniture falling and scuffling could be heard through the speakers. Turning, Diana began firing aimlessly toward the sound until she ran out of bullets.

As soon as Grace heard the telltale cl
ick, she screamed for Kyle. The last two lamps came on, nearly blinding Grace.

Blinking rapidly at the sudden light
, Grace opened the door to the closet she had been hiding in and ran forward just as Kyle came barreling in from outside. They both reached Diana at the same time. While Kyle held Diana in a bear hug, Grace wrestled the gun away.

Diana looke
d wildly from one to the other. “But I heard you!” she sputtered. “I saw you! You were right in front of me!”

EPILOGUE

“I
knew there
had to be a good explanation!” Hope said, smugly. “Of course, he still loved me. I’ve been saying that for years.”

“Uh huh,” Grace muttered, half listening, as she folded the ne
wspaper in two. Her sister had been unbearable since hearing Diana’s confession the night before. Every sentence had been a repeat of how wonderful Tom was, how brave Tom was, how much Tom loves her, ad nauseum.

“I should have made him talk to me. But of course he couldn’t, not without endangering me and he would never do that.”

Grace rolled her eyes.

“I called him the moment Diana started ra
ttling on about how Crystal had tricked him.”

Grace smiled at the memory. Everything had worked so well.
Kyle had set up the laptop’s webcam to capture Diana’s confession. Jeff had been recruited and was recording everything back at home. It worked like a charm. Well, except for the actual video. Turned out the video was too dark for anyone to actually see anything, but they could hear what was being said, which was the important part.

Unbeknownst to Grace and Kyle, t
hey had quite the audience. Jeff, unable to keep any kind of secret for more than a few minutes, told Hope, who then informed their parents. Even the sheriff had been watching. The moment Grace’s siblings ratted her out and told their parents, they all rushed to Bellamy’s office and forced him to watch. From what Grace had been told, he spent most of the time laughing, but the moment Diana started talking, he hopped into his squad car and rushed to the cabin. He arrived just moments after Grace had taken Diana’s gun away and Kyle had pushed her into a chair. They’ve been quite the heroes ever since. Well, not to everyone, Grace thought, looking up from the want ads.

“Poor boy,” Hope said
, preening at herself in her compact mirror. “How he must have suffered all this time. Can you imagine?”

Grace nodded, “I’m sure it’s nothing to what I’m experiencing right now.”

If Hope heard the insult, she ignored it; instead, she focused on how she and Tom could now pick up where they had left off ten years ago.

“Except, he’s going to jail. He’s
going to be disbarred.”

Hope angrily slammed her compact down. “That is ridiculous. He should get a medal.”

“For what?”

“For doing the right thing!”

“He hid evidence. He interfered with not one, but two crime scenes.”

Hope scoffed. “So? He was protecting me.”

“He thought you were a murderer. Doesn’t that disturb you, just a little?”

Hope shook her head. “I spoke to him
last night. He never thought I murdered Sam or Crystal. Not for one minute. He was convinced that someone was trying to frame me. He did all that,” Hope said waiving her hand, “other stuff to protect me. I would like to point out, that if he hadn’t, I could have ended up in jail. Some fool might have actually believed I had killed Sam . . . or
her
,” she said sneering. “Of course, I don’t know how anyone could actually believe I could do such a thing, but he just couldn’t take the chance. Crystal had my bracelet. It was covered in Sam’s blood. If she had sent it to the police and then told them that she saw me push Sam . . . I could have gone to jail. Poor Tom. He would have been devastated.”

“Hey, look, the
saloon is looking for a waitress. I could do that,” Grace said, circling the ad with a red magic marker. When her sister didn’t say anything, Grace looked up.

“I just want to thank you, Grace,” Hope said, reaching out to grip her sister’s
uninjured hand. If it wasn’t for you and Kyle, Tom would still be avoiding me.”

Grace felt a warm glow spread across her face.

“I take back every bad thing I said, when Jeff told me what you were doing. Even though, I agreed with everything Sheriff Bellamy said at the time, I take it all back. You’re not incompetent or foolish or a complete embarrassment to the family.”

“Thanks, that means a lot,” Grace said, not completely sure if her sister was apologizing or not.

“I mean, at least you had a professional with you like Kyle. He seems like he knows what he’s doing. But then again,” Hope said tightening her grip, “if you had left well enough alone, Tom wouldn’t be going to jail. And since Crystal was dead, he could have come back to me once everything settled down.”

Grace started to bristle. “What is this Hope? Are you thanking me or not
?”

Hope smiled, as she patted Grace’s hand. “Oh well, you did the best you could.”

Grace removed her hand. “Thanks and I truly hope they offer conjugal visits wherever Tom ends up.”

“Funny,” she said, glaring at Grace, “I
was
trying to be nice.”

“Yes, I know
. That’s what makes it so sad.”

Hope opened her mouth to say something
, but closed it when the doorbell chimed.

Both sisters continued to sit at the table as the door chime rang
, neither one willing to give up their position to answer the door. Only after Grace pointed out it could be Tom, did Hope give up and leave the kitchen.

Smiling at her small victory, Grace went back to the want ads. “O
h! The horse ranch needs a helping hand . . . with a college degree. Wonderful,” she said, tearing it out and applying it to the pile. “Looks like my degree in business is going to come in handy.”

“
Where are your parents?” Kyle asked, as he slowly walked into the kitchen. He looked around the room, making sure she was alone, before sitting across from her.

“They’re out.”

Kyle visibly relaxed. Grace nodded sympathetically. Her parents were less than happy when they found out what was going on last night. Even less, when Diana started shooting the cabin up. Kyle had tried to explain how Grace was not in any real danger. Using mirrors, darkness and a few magic tricks—which he had refused to explain to anyone—he had set up the room to misdirect Diana’s attention. While it appeared that Grace was in the center of the room, in actuality, she was safely hidden away. Everyone was impressed, everyone except her mom and dad.

Looking at the want ad page spread across the table, Kyle grimaced. “What are you doing?”

“I’m doing what you should be doing. Looking for a job.”

Leaning over the table, Kyle smiled. “I have a job. Did you see everyone’s faces last night? They ate everything I said up.” Kyle was nothing if not a good showman. “Even Bellamy. I was slapped on the back so hard, they left bruises.”

“You’re forgetting one thing. Money. We both need money. Did Melodie pay you the rest of the money she had promised?”

Kyle looked down at the table.
“No. She says she has to save up to help her aunt. Apparently, Diana is already pleading insanity.”

Grace figured as much.
“Did Melodie say anything about the bell tower picture?”

“She admitted she saw the picture at the reunion. It was exactly as Beth described it, except she said you could clearly see D
iana’s hand and her ruby ring. Melodie said she had no idea, until she saw the picture that Diana and Sam were a couple.”

“So
, she was hiding the picture from me.”

Kyle nodded.
“She wants to apologize to you. She knew what you were looking for, but she couldn’t help you without betraying her aunt’s secret. She said she didn’t start suspecting Diana had murdered Crystal and was trying to frame Tom, until just recently. She was too afraid to say anything.”

Grace promised to call her
as she handed the want ads to Kyle, who informed her there was new advanced technology out there called a computer and the internet, which she could use to find jobs. “Besides, I keep telling you, we have a job. The clients are going to come pouring in. See,” he said, turning the paper over to the front page and pointing to the front headline, “there we are.
Local Murders Solved by Drake and Mattingly Investigations
.”

Grace pointed to the picture under the headline, sh
owing a smiling Steve Mattingly shaking Sheriff Bellamy’s hand. “Remind me again why you gave him credit for solving the case?”

Kyle looked sheepish.
“I had to give him something. He was threatening to tell everyone that I was fake. It’s just a temporary arrangement. Besides, what could it hurt?”

Dubious
, Grace smoothed out the paper. “I need money, Kyle. Right now. So do you.”

Kyle grinned smugly, waiving a check
in front of her. “Don’t worry. We have a new client.”

“Who?”

“It’s a real simple case.”

“Who?”

“We already know all of the particulars.”

“Who?”

“She just wrote us a check for over a thousand dollars, up front.”

“Who?”

“Your sister. She wants us to prove Tom’s innocence.”

Sigh
ing, Grace refolded the paper. “The comic book store needs a bookkeeper. That sounds like a winner,” she said, circling it in red and adding a big red star in the corner.

The End

Turn the page for a sample of
Death Takes a Holiday
, the third book in the Grace Holliday Cozy Mystery Series.

PROLOGUE

New Year’s Eve

December 31
st

“Is he dead?”
Robert Kirby’s calm brown eyes sought out Steve Mattingly. It was a simple request. Not the painful raw entreaty one expects from a grieving son, but a simple direct request for information.

Shrugging, Steve knelt down next to Victor Kirby’s body lying on the floor of his opulent master bedroom. He felt along the old man’s neck, unnerved by the unblinking brown eyes that continued to stare passed his shoulder.

No pulse. Not even a flutter.

Standing, Steve threw a brief questioning glance at Asa Wellington, his employer—former employer, Steve amended sadly to himself.

Feeling his face burn, Steve quickly looked down at his feet. He backed up until he was standing against the wall, wincing when the movement caused his shoulder to throb painfully. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Michaels take a step toward him. He gently shook his head and waited for Wellington to take over. To his surprise, the old detective seemed to be in no rush to begin.

Casually dropping the brocade curtain he had been inspecting, Wellington slowly strolled toward the body, stopping periodically to stare at a piece of furniture or a speck of lint on the carpet. He had just begun to examine the inhaler lying next to the body when the deceased’s nephew, Jack, reached out and grabbed his arm. Wellington looked at the young man expectantly.

“I’m sorry. So sorry,” Jack said in a rush before shaking his head and running out of the room.

Wellington stared after him for a moment before finally walking the rest of the way to the lifeless body lying on the floor. Victor’s wife and two sons crowded around him as he did the perfunctory checks for life. “I’m afraid he is, Mr. Kirby. And has been for at least a couple of hours I would guess.” The deep timbre of his voice vibrated through the room.

Robert Kirby nodded once before giving his stepmother an accusatory look.

“Michaels,” Wellington said, “call the authorities.”

Michaels pulled out a cell phone and walked out of the room.

“Who killed him?” Felicity asked breathlessly.

Asa Wellington sat back on his heels and considered the newly widowed woman carefully. “What makes you think he was murdered?”

Felicity’s heavily made-up lids blinked furiously as she glanced from her two stepsons to the detective kneeling next to her husband’s body. “Well, I just thought—”

“Thought what, Felicity?” Robert asked coolly.

Felicity’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean by that?”

“What do you think I mean?” Robert snapped.

“I don’t know why you’re looking at me like that,” Felicity said. “
I
certainly didn’t kill him.
I’m
the one who almost died a few days ago in that fire.
I’m
the one who’s in danger.”

Robert pointed to his father’s body. “Then why is he the one on the floor?”

Felicity smiled sweetly. “Because everyone, including you, hated him.”

“Some of us more than others,” Robert countered.

“Knock it off, Robbie,” Lucas Kirby said testily as he crawled onto his father’s king-sized bed. Lying on his stomach, he looked over the edge of the bed and stared at his father’s body dispassionately. “Step-mummy’s only saying what we’re all thinking.”