A voice blasted from the bullhorn again, but this was one that made Kelly back away with a sob.
“Kelly, please let Charlotte and Ms. Montgomery go and come out of there,” said Todd Rowley. “We can work this out, Kelly. I’m here for you. I’ll stand by you, I swear. Just come out.”
The gun slipped from Kelly’s fingers and clattered to the floor. Ellen dived down and scooped up the weapon using a silk handkerchief.To shield it from her fingerprints, I thought,marveling at how her training had automatically kicked in during such a traumatic moment. Sharing a look with me, Ellen pocketed the gun while Kelly covered her face with her hands and wept.
She didn’t move as Ellen and I made our way outside, announcing ourselves and yelling, “Don’t shoot,” while raising our hands over our heads.
Detective Johnson grabbed me while another officer took hold of Ellen. They ushered us behind a line of officers, where I collapsed onto the strip of grass separating the driveway from the back door stoop.
Ellen remained on her feet. She handed Kelly’s gun, still wrapped in the handkerchief, to one of the officers, then strolled over to speak with Detective Johnson.
Kelly, encouraged by Todd’s continued requests, walked out of the carriage house a few minutes later. She was immediately swarmed by officers, who handcuffed her over Todd’s protests.
Ellen helped me to my feet. “They’re going to take her to the station to book her, I suppose,” she said. “But I convinced Detective Johnson to let us give our preliminary statements here and wait until Monday to come in to the station.” She brushed a bit of dirt from my sleeve. “I thought that would be better, since it would allow you to resolve things with your other guests.”
“Yes, thank you,” I said, my attention drawn to the forlorn figure of Todd Rowley, who was begging to be allowed in the police car set to follow the cruiser taking Kelly away. “Seems he had no idea about any of this.”
Ellen gazed after the cruiser as it took off, lights flashing. “Poor man. It appears she loved him too much to confess andperhaps harm his businesses, but not quite enough to trust him with the truth.”
“You heard her—she wasn’t believed when she told the truth as a child. And honestly, it’s not always easy to share our deepest pain, even with the ones we love.” I thought of how I’d bottled up my agony over losing Brent. Oh, I’d displayed the acceptable amount of sorrow, of course. But no one, not even my parents or sisters, had ever seen the true depths of my despair. I had deliberately shielded them from that.
“We do want to protect them, don’t we?” Ellen said, as if echoing my thoughts. “Even though that sometimes causes additional problems.”
I studied her serious expression for a moment. “You were her handler, so I’m guessing that made you one of her few confidants. Which means I have to wonder—did Isabella ever share what she really felt with you? I mean, about Paul Peters, or living a double life, or being forced to go through life alone?”
“No,” Ellen said shortly, and turned away. “Come on, Charlotte. We need to tell the others what’s happened. The police kept them blocked inside, so they’re probably frantic with curiosity and concern by now. And honestly, I, for one, could use a drink.”
“Only one?” I asked, as I followed her into the house.
“One before we give our statements.” Ellen cast me an amused glance as we headed for the library. “Several after. But I think we’d better move to the privacy of my house to enjoy those.”
“Now that sounds like the kind of covert mission I can get behind,” I said.
Chapter Thirty-Two
A few weeks later, after numerous sessions with the police, and after I’d heard that Kelly had been released on an astronomically high bail but confined to her primary home in Annapolis, Maryland, until her trial, I faced some of my Tey week guests in the library again. Minus the Delamonts and Rowleys, of course.
This was a regular meeting of the book club we held at Chapters once a month. Although other guests staying at the bed-and-breakfast were always invited to join this activity, they usually declined. This Sunday was no exception—my paying guests had chosen to take an ecotour of some of the barrier islands near Beaufort. Which I really couldn’t argue with. Visiting the shore without indulging in at least one boat trip always seemed like a missed opportunity to me.
“I guess they figured she was a flight risk,” Bernadette said. “Which makes sense when your wealthy husband owns a yacht and a jet, not to mention property in other countries.”
Julie stretched out her legs and wiggled her feet in her scarlet espadrilles. “I’m surprised she made bail at all.”
“Oh, I don’t know. It was basically self-defense, from what I’ve heard,” Scott said. He’d told me earlier that he’d decided to join our discussion of John le Carré’s latest espionage thriller because he needed to “take a break from his research.”
Or so he’d said. I observed him eyeing Julie’s shapely legs with a smile. It seemed Scott had a new reason to visit Beaufort, unrelated to the history of pirates. Which was, in my opinion, at least one good outcome from the Tey celebration week.
“Just imagine, though, stabbing someone and having to spend the rest of the week pretending everything was normal.” Ophelia fiddled with her seashell necklace. “I couldn’t have done it.”
“She was living on the yacht, though,” I said. “I think it would’ve been more difficult if she’d been forced to stay at Chapters.”
Ellen nodded as she took a sip of her lemonade. “True. But she was clever, I’ll give her that. Pretending to lose her cloak and then retrieving it and carting it off to theCelestialbefore anyone could check it for bloodstains. That was quick thinking.”
“Apparently she ditched it in the back of the garden and was able to grab it and ball it up, inside out, before anyone thought to confiscate it,” Scott said. “Of course, everything was so confused that night, I suppose one can’t blame the police for missing that.”
“And there was really no reason to suspect her at that point.” I mouthed a silentthank youas Alicia brought in a tray of snacks.
“I have to say, she was a cool customer,” Alicia said, turning to face everyone after placing the tray on the desk. “Reminded me of a few of Ms. Harrington’s guests. All polish on the outside, but they showed a razor edge from time to time.”
