Betrayal (30 page)
Authors: Fern Michaels
“You're wrong. I think she is. Now, before we spend the rest of the day acting like fishwives, I have a proposition for you.”
Debbie shot a half-smile at her. “You don't have anything I want, Kate Rocket. God, I can't believe you!”
“How are things at the bank? Were they able to find all the money missing from your accounts? And your mortgage company? Have they told you your home is in foreclosure?”
All the years Kate spent sacrificing herself were worth it just for the look of shock on Debbie's face. “How do you know about that?”
“Oh come on, Debbie. You aren't that stupid! Then again, maybe you are. You never were the brightest star in the sky, if I remember correctly. I guess that hasn't changed much either.”
Debbie remained silent. Kate saw fear in her eyes. She wondered if Debbie knew the fear Alex felt as he was being stabbed to death. The fear he'd felt when he'd been convicted for a crime that never happened.
“Tell me what it is you want.”
“We're going to play give-and-take. I have something you want. You have something I want. Is that simple enough for you?”
“Just spit it out, Kate.”
“We're playing this game on my terms, Mrs. Winter, not yours, so shut up!” Kate shoved the monitor off the desk, sending it crashing to the floor. Next, she hurled the ashtray into the air like a Frisbee. Ashes went everywhere.
“Whatâ”
Kate held up her hand. “My terms. Remember that.”
Debbie leaned back in her chair as Kate came to her side of the desk.
“These are my terms. Listen, because I'm only going to say them once. Tomorrow at noon, that's twelve o'clock, big hand on the twelve, little hand on the twelve. Are you getting this? I can speak slower if you'd like.”
Kate loved the looks racing across Debbie's face. She'd give a million dollars if Alex could be there to witness them.
“Are you?” Kate shouted.
“I'm getting it, okay?” Debbie shouted back.
“You don't have to raise your voice, I can hear you just fine. Now, I was saying. At noon tomorrow I want to see you, Don, Sara, and Emily at this location.” Kate tossed a slip of paper to her.
“Are you out of your mind? Emily hasn't been home since she left for college. What makes you think you can convince her to come home?”
“Tell her Aunt Kate is waiting to see her. I promise she'll come. I know her better than you might think.”
“And what do I get in return?” Debbie shot back.
“Oh, you'll have to wait. I'm not telling you now. That wouldn't be fun at all. Be at that address tomorrow. Twelve o'clock sharp, or all that cash that's just hanging in cyberspace will mysteriously work its way into . . . the account of some more deserving person. Perhaps someone like Donald Trump or Warren Buffett.
“Now, I want you to have a nice day, Mrs. Winter. And by the way, if I find out that you've reprimanded Melanie in any way for her very, very small part in this, well, I think you know what I can do. You'd best get busy. Bye now.” Kate practically floated out of the office.
Kate watched Coleman watch her. They'd been up all night planning their strategy. It was eleven forty-five. Fifteen minutes to see if Kate's plan would work.
“What will we do if Emily doesn't show?” Coleman asked Kate.
“Oh, I think she will. Debbie can be very persuasive when she needs to be, especially if the almighty dollar is at stake. I've thought a lot about getting even with Debbie and Sara these past years. I wanted it more than anything. And now I just want it to be over. I want to move on.”
“I understand. I can't wait to get to my cabin in the mountains.” Coleman was smiling.
“You really enjoy your place, don't you?”
“More than anywhere I go.”
“You know, you've never told me where your cabin was. Is there a reason?” Kate hoped she wasn't putting him on the spot. Maybe he liked having his privacy. Maybe he didn't want her or anyone else to know the location of his cabin.
“No, there is no reason. I thought Alex might have told you. We'd talked about spending a few quiet days there when he came home. Black Mountain, North Carolina. I love it there, too. You'll have to come and stay at the cabin, Kate. I have a state-of-the-art kitchen. Anything I want, I just hop into my plane and fly to Asheville, Charlotte. It's the best of both worlds. Here in the winter, there in the summer.”
Kate looked at him like he'd lost his mind. “And here I thought your cabin was in . . . heck, I don't know where, but not in North Carolina. So, when you came to tell me about Alex, did you go to your cabin then?”
“I did.”
“Well, I don't know what to say. We were practically neighbors.”
“Will you go back to Asheville, Kate?”
“I haven't given it much thought, really. I don't want to stay here. I suppose I should at least go hang with Gertie for a while. Give her a break. She hasn't had a vacation in five years.”
Coleman walked over to where she was sitting. He took her hand and pulled her into a standing position. Kate knew what was about to happen. There was no way she was going to stop him either.
With the gentleness of a whisper, Coleman touched her lips with his. Gently, then firmly. He pulled her close to him, closer than she'd ever been. She felt all of him next to her, wanted all of him. In every way there was to want, she wanted. All or nothing. Slowly, Coleman broke the kiss. “Would it be presumptuous of me to invite myself for dinner now and then?”
Kate smiled and gazed up into the verdant eyes of the man she'd fallen in love with. “Coleman Fitzpatrick, you'll have dinner with me if I have to come and get you myself.”
“Just dinner?” he teased.
“Coleman, we're just at the appetizer phase, but dessert is looking pretty good.”
He burst out laughing. “Oh, Kate, I'm so glad . . . I'm so glad we found one another after all these years. I feel like a kid right now!” Coleman picked her up and whirled her around.
There was a knock at the door. Both of them looked at their watches.
Twelve o'clock. On the dot.
Coleman answered the knock.
“Mr. Coleman, they're here. I was told to set up first.”
“Yes, anywhere you'll feel comfortable.” Coleman had insisted on using his office, then he'd gone on to suggest a court reporter and a videographer. Kate told him she didn't know if the Winter family would allow the relevant portions of their conversation to be taped. Coleman had explained that was part of the package. Said to insist or there was no deal. Now she was glad she had gone along with the plan.
The court reporter and videographer were ready when they were needed.
Coleman asked his secretary to show the Winter family to his office and to show the stenographer and the cameraman in when he called for them.
Kate stood beside Coleman. She needed his support to get through this. She'd been hard and toughened by her experience, but now, she wanted Coleman to stand with her as she implemented the final phase of her revised plan.
Debbie, Don, and Sara came inside the office. Sara weighed at least three hundred pounds. Kate drew in a breath as she looked at her. She was obviously very pregnant. She wore as much makeup as her mother. A black T-shirt with the name of some rock band stretched across her huge belly. Debbie wore white as usual. Don lingered in the background.
“Kate,” he said when he saw her. She nodded, but didn't say a word.
“Emily had to use the ladies' room. She came right from the airport. I told her we couldn't stop until we arrived,” Don said to her and Coleman.
Kate was shocked at the sight of Don. He'd lost weight. His skin was flabby, sallow. Gone was the handsome man of the past. He appeared shrunken into himself. Kate felt a wave of pity. He hadn't done anything to make Alex's situation any better, but Kate knew he'd truly believed Alex guilty. She wondered how he felt now.
A few minutes later, Emily was escorted into the room. Kate took a deep breath, then walked across the room to take the girl in her arms. She didn't care what Emily's mother or father thought. This was Emily. Alex's daughter. Overcome with a powerful feeling of love for the young woman, Kate thought she would back out, but then she knew she had to continue. Emily had to know Alex for what and who he was.
Almost bashful, Emily spoke to her. “You're beautiful, Aunt Kate! I love the short hair.”
Kate touched her hair. “You haven't changed, Emily. You are still as pretty as a picture.”
“Can we get this show on the road instead of you two cooing over one another like two lost loves,” Debbie said to them.
“Mother, do you always have to be so crude? I haven't seen Aunt Kate in almost eight years, or did you forget that, too?”
Kate felt the hostility between the two women.
Coleman stood up. “I think we're ready to get started. This is a bit unorthodox, to say the least. Emily, I'm Coleman Fitzpatrick. I was Alex Rocket's attorney.”
She held her hand out to him.
“What's wrong, Mr. Attorney? You too good to shake my hand?” Sara Winter blurted.
“No, Ms. Winter, I'm not too good to shake your hand. I just find that the idea of doing so sickens me,” Coleman responded.
Sara looked at her mother and was about to start one of her tantrums, when Debbie told her to shut up.
“If we could get started. Kate.”
“Thanks, Coleman. Thank you, Emily, for coming here. I know you haven't been home since your high school graduation, so I want you to know that I really appreciate the sacrifice.”
Debbie rolled her eyes.
“Sara, I swore I would never speak to you again after what you did. The current set of circumstances dictates that I have to speak to you.”
“I don't care if you talk to me one way or the other. Do I have to hear this crap, Mommy?”
“Sara, sit your fat ass down and shut up!” Debbie shouted.
Kate stood behind Coleman's large desk. “Before we bring in the court reporter and the videographer, I have some things to say. For the past five years I have done nothing but plot and plan the ruin of the Winter family.” Kate paused, wanting to see the expressions on their faces. Debbie continued to roll her eyes, while Sara chomped on a piece of gum. Don hung his head. Emily listened to every word Kate was saying.
“And I had almost reached that goal when, a few days ago, Coleman found me. He gave me a letter from Alex, a letter I was never to see unless Alex was dead. We all know what happened to Alex. First, he was accused of a crime so filthy and vile that I can't bear to think about it. Then he was convicted. Finally, he was murdered a few months laterâafter he'd learned that his conviction had been overturned and he was getting a new trial. Is that justice?
“Alex was innocent of all the charges against him. I know it. There are at least two people in this room that know it as well.”
No one spoke. “In my quest for revenge, I learned a skill that I thought would help me. It did, but as things turned out, not quite the way I had planned. When I first learned of Alex's murder, I wanted to kill you, Sara. I could think of nothing that would please me more than choking the life out of you! Then I remembered that you were a child, by and large a product of your environment. It was your mother at whom I needed to direct my anger. And that is what I did. Debbie, would you mind telling Sara why she is here today?”
“I know why I'm here, I'm not stupid!”
“You said those same words when you gave your testimony. I don't think you're stupid at all, Sara. I think you're a pitiful, miserable excuse for a human being. Go on, Debbie, explain why you and your family are here today.”
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