The Investigator (36 page)

The dread that had been her constant companion for more than a month once again found a place deep inside her.

“Will you come with me?” she whispered.

Riley tilted her chin up until she met his gaze. “Of course, I will. I’ve already told you I’m going to be there for you, no matter what.” His eyes filled with love and sincerity. “I mean it, Kate. You’ll never be on your own again.”

Relief flooded through her. She lay her head back down and listened to the reassuring thud of Riley’s heartbeat beneath her ear. With a determined effort, she pushed the weighty thoughts from her mind. The sleep that had eluded her for so long, beckoned. Slowly, gradually, she slipped away.

* * *

Kate looked around the waiting room of Cole & Westport; the nerves in her belly wound tight. The middle-aged receptionist who had announced their arrival via a discreet telephone call to Ronald Westport eyed her with a concerned smile.

“Are you sure I can’t get you something? A cup of coffee? Tea?”

Kate shook her head and glanced at Riley who sat beside her. He gave her a reassuring look and tightened his hold on her hand. She took comfort from the pressure and breathed deeply.

Surely, she’d already been through the worst of it?
Her stepfather had murdered her mother and buried her behind a brick wall in their house. Surely the contents of her mother’s envelope couldn’t be more shocking than that? She shivered and prayed that was true.

A door opened between the waiting room and what she presumed to be the inner offices. Her heart catapulted into her throat. She stood and grabbed blindly for Riley.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s okay.” His arm was a wall of confidence around her, supporting her, holding her upright. A tall, thin man with a mountain of thick white hair stepped forward and held out his hand.

“Miss Collins, I presume? I’m Ronald Westport.”

She shook the proffered hand, although later, she wouldn’t recall doing so. She vaguely registered Riley exchanging a greeting with the lawyer, but the words sounded like they were being spoken underwater. She followed the men through the outer door and along a short corridor.

Westport showed them into an office overcrowded with books and files and loose papers. He offered what she thought was an apology. She tried to dull the noise in her head so that she could hear him.

A large yellow envelope sat on his desk, in the middle of the mess of papers. A blue manila file lay next to it. Kate stared at the envelope, unable to look away.

“That’s it, isn’t it?” she croaked, her palms now slick with sweat.

The lawyer nodded briskly and took a seat behind the desk. Picking up the blue file, he opened it and withdrew a bound document.

“Please accept my condolences on your mother’s passing. This is Rosemary’s Last Will and Testament. She attended upon my office nearly two months ago and asked me to prepare it. Would you like me to read it?”

Kate shook her head. “My mother told me what was in it. I don’t need to hear it again.”

“Very well, then. As you are the executrix and sole beneficiary, I’ll release the will to you. If you require assistance in its administration, I’ll be more than willing to help.”

Forcing a smile that felt more like a grimace, Kate took the document from him and laid it in her lap. “Thank you. I appreciate the work you did for my mother.”

The elderly man shrugged, his eyes kind. “It was no trouble. I was happy to help out.” He looked away and cleared his throat and then picked up the envelope.

Kate stilled. Fear erupted in gooseflesh along every pore of her skin. Riley flashed her a look full of concern and moved his chair closer.

“Your mother gave me this envelope the day she came in about her will. She asked me to lock it in our safe with instructions that it be handed to you in the event of her death.”

Kate reached for the envelope with a hand that trembled. The paper was thin and weightless. Not a video, then. Relief surged through her. She felt lightheaded from the impact.

Riley’s gaze captured hers, dark and impenetrable, but she knew he was thinking the same thing.

“If you’d like a few moments of privacy to open it, I can wait for you down the hall.”

Kate nodded wordlessly, grateful for the man’s thoughtfulness. When the door closed behind him, she unclenched her fingers from around the edges and drew in a shaky breath.

“You don’t have to open it now if you don’t want to.” Riley’s voice was gentle and she loved that he cared.

“No, I want to do it now. It’s the final chapter. I want to have it over with. Besides, there may be things in here we can use as evidence against Darryl.”

Riley didn’t reply, but watched in silence as she tore open the envelope with unsteady fingers and pulled out a single sheet of notepaper. It was a letter in her mother’s handwriting. At the very bottom was a small, silver key taped to the paper.

Taking courage from Riley’s presence, she began to read.

My dearest Kate,

If you are reading this, then I am dead. Although I mourn the loss of my life, it is not entirely unexpected. I wouldn’t have made these preparations if I was certain my life wasn’t endangered…now that I know.

My plan is to get far enough away from him that I feel safe and then I’m going to the police. It’s what I would have done ten years ago, if I’d only known.

You can’t imagine my horror and guilt that it was me who brought this monster into your life. I was your mother. It was my job to protect you and keep you safe from harm and I totally and utterly failed you. I’ll never forgive myself. The agony of it is unbearable.

The only thing that gets me through it is knowing he no longer has the power to hurt you. My brave, beautiful daughter. You found the courage to escape his evilness and make a life on your own. Now knowing what I do, I am beyond comprehending how you suffered it for so long.

You can’t begin to imagine how proud I am of you and the strong, successful, tenacious woman you have become. Whilst I’ve longed to see you in person, to touch you, to hold you, I understood and accepted it wasn’t going to happen—even when I didn’t know why. My only regret is that I didn’t find out sooner. I grieve so deeply for the years we lost.

I love you with everything that I am. My heart is shredded with the pain I have caused you. I can’t ask for your forgiveness and I won’t, but it tears me up inside to think that you might spend the rest of your life hating me. Not that I deserve your compassion.

With this letter, I have enclosed a key to the safety deposit box I have rented at the bank on Main Street. In it, is another key and directions to a secure storage facility where you will find all the evidence you need to ensure the monster who wronged you will be locked up for as long as possible. A lifetime, I hope, but I fear the law won’t support me in this.

No one knows about the storage facility. I have left it to you to decide what to do…whatever you find easiest. No one need ever know. It is your decision.

Well, my dearest daughter, time is running out. I still have preparations to make if I’m going to get away from here alive. I long to see your dear, dear face again and tell you how sorry I am that I didn’t see what was before my very eyes, but I’m dreadfully afraid the chance will be snatched away from me and I will take my guilt to the grave.

I only have one final wish, my beautiful daughter. I would hope you might find time to locate my dear friend, Daisy Bloomfield. You’ll find her details in my address book in the top drawer of my desk.

Daisy brought light and laughter into my life at a time when I was in desperate need of it. She made it possible for me to keep going. She also made it possible for me to escape. We had a grand plan, a plan which should have worked. Alas, if you’re reading this, it saddens me to realize it didn’t.

I’d like you to pass on my love and eternal gratitude to Daisy. If our plan failed, it was only on me. Please reassure her it had nothing to do with her and that I will forever cherish our wonderful friendship.

After a brief farewell salutation, the letter ended with her mother’s usual flamboyant signature. Kate fingered the key. She thought of the storage facility and her heart thudded. It had to be the videos, or something equally incriminating.

Riley reached out and touched her hand. “Are you okay?”

She looked up and met his concerned gaze, her heart tripping over at the worry on his face.

“I’m fine. She—she confirmed what we’d already guessed. Somehow, she found out about what Darryl did. She was making plans to leave.” Her voice faded. Emotion tightened her throat and burned behind her eyes.

Riley’s arms came around her, dragging her against him. Burying her face in his shirt, she cried big quiet tears.

“I-I thought I’d cried myself out, but look at me, sobbing all over you again.”

His arm tightened around her. “You can cry on my shirt any day. Or night,” he added.

A tiny smile tugged at her lips. She was grateful for his attempt at levity. The contents of her mother’s letter clarified what they already knew, but to see it written in plain black and white made it somehow more real and more final.

She could only imagine what her mother had gone through after making the horrendous discovery. The shock, the anger, the pain, the self-reproach.

Kate didn’t blame her in the slightest for what had happened. Her mother had lived downstairs. She’d never been off the ground floor the entire time she’d lived there. She couldn’t possibly have known what had gone on above her head under the cover of darkness.

Kate shuddered. Riley bent his head and kissed her hair and she breathed a sigh of gratitude. She’d left that dark place behind her over a decade ago and would never let it define her again. With Riley by her side, she would continue to keep the blackness at bay.

Lifting her head, she offered him a shaky smile and swiped at the tears that lingered in her eyes. He pulled out a clean handkerchief and offered it to her.

“Thank you.” She dabbed at her eyes and swiped at her nose. “I’m all right.”

“I know you are. I’ve told you this before and I’ll tell you whenever I think you’ve stopped believing it. You’re the bravest, strongest woman I know. You’ve walked away from the hell you were dealt and turned your life into something anyone would be proud of.” He stared into her eyes, his gaze bright with emotion. “
I’m
proud of you and you should be, too.”

She tilted her head and waited with anticipation for his mouth to descend upon hers.

EPILOGUE

Six weeks later

Kate spied her husband across the other side of her crowded art gallery and her heart leaped with joy. Looking deliciously gorgeous in his black-on-black Armani suit, he moved with confidence and ease among the rich and famous clients who had come to pay homage to her exhibition. She’d delayed the opening by nearly two months, but the wait seemed to have only whetted the appetite of her buyers. Even the English weather had favored her.

She’d sold all but one piece—an exquisite sculpture in bronze and alloy. The figure of a woman cradling a baby in her arms. The curve of her body was both strong and feminine as she protected the child from the world. Kate had fallen in love with it the moment she’d seen it.

Making her way through the throng of people, she smiled when Riley looked up and saw her coming toward him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mary glide over to the sculpture. Her assistant placed a “sold” sticker on its base. A pang of regret went through her and she brushed it away. She was an art dealer—she bought art and sold it. It was as simple as that.

She reached Riley and threaded her arm through his, her heart taking flight at the look of love and devotion that glistened in his eyes.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?” he murmured, his lips close to her ear.

She shivered from the contact and laid her hand on his chest. She stroked the fabric of his expensive shirt, basking in the warmth and strength of him.

“I’m sure you have, but I never get tired of hearing it,” she smiled.

He bent his head and kissed her. It was soft and lingering and sent fire through her veins.

“How long before we can get out of here?” he murmured against her lips.

“Um…I’ve finished with all the formalities and I think we just sold the last piece, so…anytime you like. The show’s over.”

His eyes flared with emotion. His arm drew her close. His erection pressed through the thin silk of her evening gown, hard and insistent, fueling the heat inside her. Desire surged low in her belly and centered in her core.

She gently disentangled herself and clapped her hands to draw the crowd’s attention.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to thank you all for coming and supporting this event. I am truly grateful. The bad news is this is the last gallery show; I’m relocating with my husband back to Australia.”

A murmur of disappointment went around the room. Kate smiled. “The good news is, I’ll be leaving the gallery in the very capable hands of my senior assistant, Mary Costas and within the next few months, I hope to have opened a sister gallery in Australia.”

A polite applause followed her announcement. “Before you get too carried away,” she continued, “I have another announcement: Thanks to all of you, we’ve sold every last item on exhibition this evening. I’m delighted to say we’ve raised over one million dollars for Rosemary’s Foundation for Women and Children.”

The crowd erupted into loud, spontaneous applause. Riley grinned and kissed her again.

“Congratulations, sweetheart. That’s truly wonderful.”

“Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without your support and encouragement.” Her voice hitched. “I-I hope Mom’s proud.”

“She’s as proud as I am. I know she is.”

Relief and happiness and overwhelming love surged through her. Mindless of the people around them, Kate threw her arms around him and kissed him thoroughly. They were both short of breath when she finally pulled away.