Charlie, who’d been sitting with his head in his hands, suddenly looked up and shouted, “No!”
“Call him if you wish,” Rupert said. “But you will be letting a murderer go free and condemning an innocent man to death.”
The words sent a chill down Bridget’s spine.
“Like it or not, Groby killed George,” Rupert said. “I knowbecause I stumbled upon his body in the daffodils that night. I will admit to one thing, however.” He smirked. “Iam the one who took George’s heart, and I am proud of it.”
“What do you mean?” Nate said. He was certain Rupert was mad and playing games with him. He was the killer, but he wasn’t going to admit it. “Do you expect us to believe you took a man’s heart, but you didn’t kill him?”
“I went to find George, like I said. But after waiting by the gates, I grew weary. Still, I wasn’t ready to give up. The moon was out, and the stars were ablaze. It was a perfect night, and I knew George was meeting Lady Matheson because he’d bragged about it earlier. He never gave on that she was his mama. Instead, he boasted about how she was besotted with him and plied him with banknotes. It was sickening.”
“Stick to the facts,” Nate said irritably. He was still shaken by what had happened earlier with Henry and was in no mood for Rupert’s unhinged rambling.
“Very well. As I said, I became weary of waiting, and once or twice, I dozed off behind the bush where I hid—but only for a little while.”
Nate sighed.
“Then, I heard what sounded like a loud grunt followed by a short shriek. I’d been half asleep, and my eyes flew open. I sat up and listened but heard nothing further. So, I stood up and tried to keep myself hidden while I went to investigate. I peeked past the gates onto the grounds, and that’s when I saw it.”
“Saw what?” Nate could not keep the irritation from his voice. He was certain Rupert was inventing nonsense.
“Movement—someone running toward the villa. I couldn’t say who it was because it was dark, and the figure was clad in black. I could barely make out the shape. I rubbed my eyes, which were heavy with weariness, to make sure I wasn’t dreaming, and that’s when Ithought I saw the door to the villa close.”
Nate glanced at Bridget, who looked as confused as he felt.
“I still thought I might be dreaming—or perhaps, I imagined it. So, I went to investigate. I walked across the garden through daffodils. And that’s when I stumbled over George’s body.”
“How very convenient,” Nate said dryly. “If Groby had killed Otis as you claim he did, why would he run into Villa De Lacey?”
“I don’t think it was Groby I saw. I think it was Lady Matheson. I think she went out to meet George by the daffodils and came across his body. I heard her shriek and then saw her run back into the house.”
“Surely, she would have screamed for help if she saw her son lying dead among the daffodils,” Bridget said.
Rupert shrugged. “I don’t have an answer for that. I can only tell you what I saw. And I can’t tell you how happy I was to see George lying in the daffodils with a large knife sticking out of his chest.”
“A knife?” Nate said.
“That’s correct. A large one, just like I’d expect Groby would have in his collection. It was much bigger than the one I’d brought with me to slit George’s throat. So I used it to cut him open and take his heart—just like he’d taken the hearts of my mama and papa.”
Nate noticed that Rupert’s fists were clenched. He glanced at Charlie, who sat pale-faced and silent.
“What did you do with it? The heart?” Nate asked.
“I tossed it in the lake and watched it drown. It seemed fitting after what George had done to my brother.”
“And the knife?” Nate said. He wasn’t believing a word of this story.
“Kept it. Until I came here.”
“What do you mean?”
“I wanted to keep it as a trophy—a reminder of how I’d managed to avenge my brother. But after Lady Luxton brought me and Charlie here, I thought it would be too risky to keep. At first, I thought aboutburying it, but then I realized it would be much easier to put it in the kitchen among the other knives. So that is where it is.”
Nate folded his arms. “I think you are wasting our time with this nonsense. I think you killed Otis because you were the one waiting for him, and you have already admitted to cutting out his heart. You framed Groby, andyoushall take his place at the gallows.”
“No!” Charlie stood up. “Please. I beg you. He’s telling the truth.”
“That will be something for the magistrate to decide,” Nate said.
