“Ican’tgo to the police.”
“Why not?”
She stepped away from him and wiped her eyes. “Because if they come out here they might . . .”
“They might what?”
“Start snooping around and asking questions about other things.”
Nash looked down at her, his eyes narrowing. “What other things?”
“Rhett would kill me if he knew I was talking to you about this.”
“He won’t hear it from me. But what other things are you worried about?”
“Mandy needs her mother.”
“Are you planning to go somewhere without her?” said a confused Nash.
She looked back at the house. “I can’t say, Dillon. You might. . .tell someone.”
“I’m not looking to hurt you, Mindy. Or your daughter. But I think you both should leave here and get away from Rhett. You have the money. And if he’s beating you, who knows what he might do to Mandy?”
“I know that he feels trapped. And he. . .he might lash out.” She picked nervously at her nails. “You were always very kind to me when you were here. Even when I came on to you, you, well, you handled it like a gentleman.”
She looked back at the house again before facing him with a determined expression. “Rhett’s father?”
“What about him?”
She blurted out, “He didn’t kill himself. Rhett pushed him off the balcony.”
Nash didn’t react in surprise because he had long felt this was the case.
Sensing this she said, “You. . .you don’t seem shocked.”
“I know Rhett. And his story about what happened to his dad seemed lame to me. And even the police thought it was homicide. They just thought this guy Walter Nash had done it. But then he was exonerated. That left only Rhett as a suspect.”
Mindy shuddered. “No, it. . .it left me, too.”
“What exactly happened, Mindy?” he said quietly.
She told him all the details of Barton Temple’s last minutes on earth.
“So he knocked out his father in an argument and then basically blackmailed you to help get him out to the balcony, where he finished him off?”
“But I knew,” exclaimed Mindy as she teetered on her feet in her anxiety. “I’m anaccessoryor something. I looked it up.”
He put his hands on her shoulders to steady her. “You told him to call an ambulance and were going to when he didn’t. Then he scared you into participating in his scheme. I call that coercion.”
“But I would have been stuck with the shitty prenup if Rhett hadn’t fixed it so I got all that money. I’m as guilty as he is.”
“No, Mindy, you’re not. He killed the guy, not you. Okay, maybe you made a poor choice, but you were under immense pressure. Lots of people would have done the same.”
She said tearfully, “So that’s why I don’t want the police around. For all I know Rhett will tell them I did it. I can’t go to prison. Not with Mandy and all.”
“Look, you don’t have to call the police. But you can’t stay here if he’s beating you. If you make arrangements to go somewhere else, even temporarily until you have more permanent plans, I’ll ensure you get there safely.”
She hugged him. “Thank you, Dillon. You’re really so kind.”
