“That’s enough,” Valerie said, holding her head high as she absorbed the information.
Will turned to Charlotte. “Charlotte, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” Will couldn’t seem to find the words for what he hadn’t meant to do, but I thought I could fill them in for him. He hadn’t meant to cheat on his wife? To trick the thieves out of their own heist? To do whatever it took to make money for his family?Will said none of these things, and his silence hung in the air.
“When Todd introduced you to me, I thought you were the real deal,” Charlotte said, her voice calm at first, but steadily rising. “I thought you could help us start something bigger. I had no idea you would betray me for a few thousand dollars.”
She narrowed her eyes and looked Valerie up and down, shaking her head in derision. Even before she spoke, I could see that her next words were meant to cut like a knife. “When we were in bed last night, he told me that you and your brat were just a burden hanging around his neck.”
I heard gasps from the wedding attendees, especially from the bride’s side. Many of them were from Aubergine and had known Valerie for her entire life.
Valerie’s eyes widened, and when she looked to her husband, he quickly averted his gaze. She was realizing that Will was not only a criminal. He was also a lying, cheatinghusband.
Will lifted his chin, eyes darting between Charlotte and Valerie as he said weakly, “Don’t talk about my family after you killed my oldest friend.”
Charlotte’s face suddenly contorted as if he’d struck her. “You didn’t need him. I’m the only one you need.”
In that one statement I saw that it wasn’t just love or money at play here. It was a twisted sort of jealousy. Charlotte had not only fallen in love with Will; she’d wanted him completely to herself. Who knew what she’d planned next for the two of them?
Valerie, clearly angry but trying to remain measured, handed Ollie to Savilla’s waiting arms as her eyes focused intently on Charlotte.
“That’s my husband you’re talking about,” Valerie said, her expression a mixture of anger and betrayal as she moved toward Charlotte, helpless now in handcuffs. “Even though Will was being an idiot, he was being an idiot for us. For me and my son. As for you…” Valerie trailed off, unable to find words for what she meant. Then, she reared back and slapped Charlotte hard across the face.
Charlotte’s cheek glowed red from the slap, and the redness seemed only to fuel her growing anger. She turned toward the groom’s side of the ballroom, almost shouting now. “I did this for all of you, my ungrateful imbeciles.” She looked straight at Patty. “Your stupid boy-toy was planning a whole other side gig this weekend. He was going to take from everything our family has worked for, and you were going to let him. You’re not a true Swanson.”
Bella spoke up for the first time in all of this, obviously taking Patty’s side as she addressed Charlotte. “Todd betrayed all of us. He saw the chance to sell the art himself, pocket the profit, and disappear. We might steal art, but you’re the real criminal here. You killed a man.”
Patty inhaled deeply, but she didn’t respond, silenced and willing to let another speak on her behalf. If it hadn’t been because of a murderer, I would’ve been impressed.
Charlie and the deputy started with Charlotte back down the aisle, but I couldn’t let her go without asking questions that the woman might, in her rage, answer.
“Where were you?” I demanded of Charlotte, “when you shot Todd?”
A smirk reached Charlotte’s lips as her head spun around and her eyes found mine. “Wouldn’t you like to know, you bitch?”
I kept my voice even, trying another question. “Why did you call Charlie right before you shot Todd Anderson? Why pretend to be an alarm company?”
I saw Charlotte mentally calculating. She was guilty, and we all knew it. We also had the murder weapon, and her fingerprints would confirm her as the killer. There wasn’t much left to lose, and adrenaline was coursing through her body, making her reckless.
“If you’re not gonna talk here, I’m happy to get you into the interrogation room,” Charlie said gruffly, taking her upper arm in his hand.
Either his words, his touch, or his tone—or all three—sent Charlotte over the edge. She squeezed her eyes shut and attempted to yank herself from his grasp, but Charlie’s fingers held on tighter.
“I wanted you there, you know,” she screamed at Charlie from between clenched teeth, angry tears in her eyes. “I needed a suspect, and I picked you.”
Charlie’s eyes widened, surprised at the venom in her words.
Charlotte’s head shook, almost violently. “I’ve known men like you, small-town do-gooders. You think you’re God’s gift to law enforcement.” Her cheeks reddened as if she remembered someone from her own past. “I knew you would be in the way, looking behind locked doors and asking questions that no one needed to ask. If I could use local law enforcement as a distraction from me, all the better.”
I thought of the agents who would soon be descending on Swanson, Texas, if they hadn’t already. Charlotte would hate them—and us—even more when she found out. Thankfully, by then she would hopefully bebehind bars.
“It was time one of you paid for trying to destroy what we are trying to build,” Charlotte spat again.
“What exactly have you been building?” I asked, trying to lower my voice so as to keep her talking.
Myrtis, her expression almost proud, stood from her seat in the audience. “What will be the most lucrative art business ever—if we can get the right people in place and keep the ridiculous regulations out of our way.” She sounded as if she was parroting something she’d heard many times.
“That’s enough,” Michael Swanson said, putting out a hand to keep any other secrets from being revealed. His tone was authoritative, fatherly even. “Why don’t we all take a beat and keep our mouths shut if we know what’s good for us?”
“It’s too late for that,” I said, hoping I sounded confident, like I was a step ahead. “We also know Bella Rivera stole this painting from the Salon upstairs.”
