“Not without help.” Aubrey finished her thought. “You might be stronger than you look with those baby bird arms but, come on, you’re not that strong.”
Maybe Aubrey wasn’t the worst sidekick after all.
Isabel gasped. A deep-throatedhow dare you?sort of gasp. “Excuse me?”
My muscles begged for relief. The last twelve hours I’d held my body tense while on constant alarm status. This conversation was draining the final drops of my energy. I wanted to go to the hospital, get Jeremy, and hide somewhere until this mess was over. But first... “Jeremy saw you hit Daniela.”
Isabel gasped. “I would never—”
“Nice try with the dramatic inhale, but lying isn’t going to work.” Aubrey shook her head. “Nope. See, the police talked with Jeremy. They also separately questioned Daniela for details of what she could remember.”
“All those details sound remarkably like you,” I added.
Jeremy didn’t really know Isabel. She never came into the café. They certainly didn’t run in the same social circles. But he could describe her. The hair. The height and build. The more he spoke, the more obvious it was he was referencing her.
The bigger problem for Isabel was Daniela. She was sitting up and talking. Much more lucid than during my last hospital visit. She had a heightened sense of smell she credited to her career as a chef. Not sure if that was true, but she did know Isabel and the distinct and very expensive perfume Isabel wore. Standing here, drawing in a whiff, I would forever tie that scent to Isabel.
Aubrey nodded. “You’re in big trouble, little lady.”
That was probably enough of Aubrey’s taunting. Her mocking tone would haunt my sleep. “I don’t know why you did it or who helped you.”
Isabel shook her head. “Your son and that cook are wrong.”
Isabel’s act didn’t sway me. I still wanted to strangle her for all the hurt and pain she’d caused. Poor Daniela. Seeing Jeremy crumpled and bleeding on the floor would take me decades to overcome. But, in the end, Isabel was too pathetic to hate. Too lost in the world Xavier created and never shared with her.
“And while you’re explaining you can tell the police why you were at the Tanner house that day fifteen years ago and what you did there.” I wanted her to answer me, but I could hear that countdown ticking in my head.
“I wasn’t. I—”
“Yeah, oops.” Aubrey winced. “That’s not going to work either. I’m standing here and I saw you at my house back then. I followed you to the bookstore. The one that soon after burst into flames, so maybe try again?”
That was new information. Of course Aubrey waited until now to share it. She was exhausting.
“I do not have to listen to this nonsense.” Isabel scooted around the chair and headed for the doorway. She moved fast. With the speed of someone hell-bent on outrunning their past.
The doorbell stopped her. She froze at the sound.
“Did we forget to tell you the police were right behind us?” Aubrey asked. “I’m thinking you’re about to have a long conversation with a detective who likes to see his name in the press.”
“You need to stop this.” Isabel didn’t beg. She ordered.
Aubrey’s smile didn’t look too promising for Isabel. “Because we’re related?”
“Of course.” Isabel pointed at me as the doorbell rang a second time. “She and that bastard son of hers stole our money. She’s the enemy here, not me.”
“She put up with Gramps and my parents.” Aubrey shrugged. “She probably earned whatever change she gets from our musty family coffers.”
Okay, enough. I wasn’t in the mood for either of them. “Isabel, you should open the door.”
Much more of this and I’d fall over. The constant choking tension of worrying about Jeremy had eased. With the adrenaline gone my body ached to collapse. Isabel’s entitled attitude and useless denial weren’t helping.
Isabel walked to the front door in a slow march. I waited behind her with Aubrey, ready to block and stop the older woman if I had to.
I glanced at Aubrey. Saw her satisfied smile. “You’re enjoying this too much.”
“You try waiting in exile for fifteen years while your grandfather views you as a killer and no one is looking for the real one.”
The words sent a jolt through me. “You think Isabel killed your parents?”
