“You’re saying someone pushed him off?”
“Yes.”
“But why?”
“Because he was no longer useful? Maybe someone—Twitchell—thought he might become a problem?”
“How?”
Owen moved one hand in anisn’t it obviousgesture. “At some point in the future he might have demanded additional compensation for the sacrifice he was making by marrying you.”
“What sacrifice? I was the one who got sacrificed.”
“From Poole’s point of view, the Kelbrook family was asking a lot from him. After all, as long as you were alive, he was trapped in aCovenant Marriage. Other people in his position could have used the spouse’s insanity as grounds for divorce, but apparently he couldn’t do that. He probably knew why, and that gave him leverage. He might have taken a notion to blackmail Kelbrook.”
“So for some reason they needed me alive, but they no longer needed Travis?”
“That looks like the most plausible scenario.”
She had to get over being shocked by every new twist, she thought. In spite of Owen’s low opinion of the Ballantine Method and her sheltered, cloistered past, she was not naive, damn it. She knew very well that there were evil people in the world. She had come face-to-face with a few since the Academy had closed—Travis Poole, Dr. Webber at the asylum, and the kidnappers at the hotel were on the list.
And don’t forget Randolph Draper,she added silently. She immediately reversed herself. Technically speaking, her sort-of ex could be classified as a sneaky, unscrupulous, manipulative user—but he wasn’t the type to plot kidnapping and murder. At least, she didn’t think he would do anything like that. But what did she know? She could no longer trust her intuition.
“I never thought I’d say these words,” Owen continued, “because whatever my faults, I am not given to outbursts of optimism and positive thinking. But here I go: look on the bright side.”
“What bright side?”
“At least now you can be certain that you didn’t lose control of your talent and cause Poole to jump off the roof of that damned hotel.” Owen paused a beat for emphasis. “Not only that, you’ve got visual evidence of your innocence.”
She took a moment to fully appreciate the realization that she had not gone mad and murdered Travis Poole. That should have been a huge relief. And it was.
“Don’t get me wrong,” she said. “I’m glad I didn’t go temporarilyinsane on my wedding night. But I’ll never be able to forget that I was so easily deceived.”
“You weren’t deceived; you were drugged. Poole was a chemist, remember?”
She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I was just so stupid.”
“Shit happens. Get over it. We don’t have time for the self-pity.”
An invigorating shot of outrage slammed through her. “Don’t get carried away with sympathy and understanding.”
“That’s better,” Owen said, looking satisfied. “You were going down a bad road. Another minute or two and you would have collapsed in tears. You can ride the emotional roller coaster later. We’re trying to stay alive here.”
“What am I supposed to say? Thanks? I needed that?”
A slight smile edged his mouth. “You’re welcome. Now, about the next step in our plan.”
He was right. They had to focus. They were dealing with murder, blackmail, and one of the most powerful families on Harmony. There wasn’t time to feel sorry for herself.
“I hate to admit it, but you’ve made your point,” she said. “I’ll reschedule my emotional breakdown for a more convenient time. Back to the plan. Step one was getting married. We’ve done that. Now what?”
“The getting-married step has two phases. The first was making sure we were legally married, but that won’t do us much good if Kelbrook manages to make me disappear before anyone knows what really happened.”
“But the video—”
“They can make that vanish, too—unless we go public with it first.”
The boldness of what he was proposing stole her breath. “Are you saying we should give that video to the media?”
