Murder Most Persuasive (30 page)

“I don’t understand,” said Reggie. “Why would Miles kill Michael?”

“Because Miles was the real embezzler. Michael never had a thing to do with it. He was just the fall guy.”

“But why would Miles embezzle from Dad?” Frances asked. “They were practically best friends!”

“Because he needed money to start up his own company and to impress Laura. He loved her, but he believed that he didn’t have a chance with her unless he was successful. He saw her reaction to Joe and Ann’s relationship. He wasn’t going to let that happen to him.”

Ann hung her head when I said this. I was relieved to see Joe grab her hand and murmur something to her. Ann raised her head and smiled at him.

“But how did he do it?” Reggie asked. Her face was pinched with emotions I couldn’t read or begin to understand. For all these years, she’d thought that Michael had stolen from her father and run out on her. He’d done none of those things, but he had used her and tried to attack her sister. In some ways his chapter in Reggie’s life had closed; in other ways it was a fresh hurt.

“I imagine that Miles killed Michael sometime after the party and hid both his body and his car,” I said. “He then drove Michael’s car to the airport on the morning of the fifth. He was scheduled to leave for New York anyway. He met Laura at the airport and proposed on his way out. In New York, he rented a car and drove back to St. Michaels, where he knew construction on the pool was to have begun. He buried the body in the newly dug hole, knowing that the foundation would be poured the next morning. Before he left, he went inside to shower. Unfortunately for him, Bonnie had arrived unexpectedly, having just had a fight with Uncle Marty. Miles couldn’t let Bonnie suspect the real reason he was at the house, so he had to create a reason that he knew she’d never repeat.” I paused.

Ann’s mouth grimaced in disgust. “He seduced her.”

I nodded. “He knew Bonnie’s feelings for him and he used them to his advantage. I don’t know what he said to her once it was over, probably something like ‘this can never happen again.’ Remember, Bonnie seemed to suddenly hate Laura and Miles after she learned of their engagement.”

Around me heads nodded in agreement.

“Anyway,” I said, “after that he drove back to New York and pretended that he’d been there the whole time.”

“But why poison Bonnie?” Reggie asked.

“Because as daffy as she is, she figured it out. She realized that Miles was at the house around the time that Michael was killed. She not only realized it but was going to use it against him. Don’t you remember at the party how she kept going on about how she should have known who it was because she was there? She was sending Miles a message. She needed money and she was banking on Miles giving it to her. Unfortunately, she didn’t think he’d try and kill her.”

“But how did he get the poison?” asked Frances.

“He pretended that he was pushed into the pool,” I said. “The boys were right. They didn’t push him.”

“I knew it!” cried Frances. “Oh, and when I think of how Scott yelled at them—”

I interrupted her. I wasn’t up for hearing about the twins’ essential innocence. From the annoyed faces around me, I doubted if anyone else was either. “Miles fell in the pool so he’d have an excuse to go home, where he knew there were vases full of…”

“Lilies of the valley,” finished Reggie. “That bastard.”

I nodded. “As an owner of a landscaping business, I’m sure he knew the toxic aspects of the flower. I don’t imagine that it was too hard to dump a few drops into Bonnie’s drink and then bring it out to her.”

“But why kill Julian?” Frances asked.

“To distract everyone from the real reason Bonnie was poisoned. If the police thought this was all about the investments, they’d look at a completely different circle of suspects—a circle that he wasn’t in.”

“But how…?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know for sure. He probably went to the Ritz sometime after Scott had left and went to Julian’s room on some trumped-up reason, where he slipped the poison into his drink.”

I paused to take a sip of water. Ann took up the tale. “Once Elizabeth figured it out, though, we needed Bonnie to help us. Bonnie called Miles and told him that she wanted money or she was going to the police. Then Elizabeth pretended to be her by lying in her bed while we waited to see if Miles would strike.”

“Which he did,” I added.

“Joe jumped out from the closet where he was watching the whole thing and arrested him,” said Ann proudly, giving his hand a squeeze.

“That was very brave of you, Elizabeth,” Frances said after a moment. “Thank you. I know Scott will want to thank you as well.”

I nodded.

Frances leaned over and squeezed my hand. “No, really. Thank you.” She continued. “If you’d said what you knew about that night, I don’t know what the police would have done to Scott. Now that it’s all over, I guess I can tell you.” Seeing everyone else’s confused expressions, she clarified. “Scott did fight with Michael that night at the party. I heard them from my window. By the time I got downstairs to break it up, Scott had tried to hit Michael. He was so drunk, though, that all he did was lose his balance and fall, cutting his hand. I tried to defuse the situation, but Michael was particularly nasty about it. He threatened to ruin Scott. I got Scott upstairs and put him to bed. I went back down to talk to Michael, but he was gone. I looked for him, but I couldn’t find him. I was afraid to tell anyone because I knew how it would look.”

“It’s okay,” I said to Frances. “I understand. You were just trying to protect him.”

“Dear God,” said Reggie, shaking her head. “What a rat bastard Michael was. I really can pick them, can’t I?”

“Speaking of picking them, are you really back together with Donny?” Ann asked.

Reggie shrugged. “I could do worse. Hell, who am I kidding? I
have
done worse.”

“Amen to that,” said Ann.

CHAPTER 32

Let me recommend Bath to you.

—
EMMA

A
NN AND I VISITED LAURA
at her house the next day. As expected, she was devastated. Her face was blotchy and her eyes were red and swollen from crying. “What am I going to do?” she asked when she saw us. “I can’t believe this is true. Miles! Miles a killer? There has to be some mistake!”

“I’m sorry, Laura,” said Ann quietly. “I really am. But I’m afraid there’s no mistake. He tried to kill Elizabeth. He thought she was Bonnie.”

At the mention of Bonnie’s name, Laura’s mouth twisted in hate. “That bitch. That stupid bitch.”

“Laura!” cried Ann in surprise. “None of this is her fault!”

“She slept with him!” Laura shot back.

“No, Laura,” Ann said firmly. “
He
seduced
her
! He took advantage of a lonely, stupid woman to hide a crime. He killed Michael and then used Bonnie!”

Laura buried her face in her hands and broke down. “I know. I’m sorry. You’re right. I just don’t know what to think anymore. Oh, what a horrible mess this is,” she moaned.

“Have you seen Miles?” Ann asked gently. “Has he said anything?”

Laura shook her head. “No. He won’t see me. He doesn’t want me to see him in jail.”

I stayed quiet. If Miles’s act of restraint was supposed to impress us, it fell short of the mark.

“I am sorry, Laura,” said Ann. “I really am. If there’s anything Joe and I can do…”

Laura’s head shot up. “Joe? Are you and Joe…”

Ann nodded. “We’re together. He’s been wonderful. He’s always been wonderful,” she added pointedly.

Laura gave a small smile. “Good. I’m glad for you, then.” She paused. “I’m sorry, Ann, for steering you wrong all those years ago. I was too focused on the things that don’t matter. I screwed up your life and mine. Look where my ideals got me. Married to a murderer.”

Fresh tears flowed down her face. Ann went to hug her. “It’s going to be okay, Laura. You’ve got us. We’re your family. We’ll always be here for you.”

I eased out of the room to give them their privacy and went to wait on the front steps. The day was gloriously clear, although there was now a distinct chill in the air that had been absent all week. The lingering warmth of the summer was gone. I rubbed my hands together and waited for Ann. A little while later, she came out. “Is she okay?” I asked.

“As well as can be expected,” Ann said sadly. “This has been such a shock to her. On more than one level.”

I nodded. “Are you okay?”

Ann smiled at me. “I am, actually. Better than I’ve been in years. I feel terrible for saying it, but it’s true. I feel like I’ve been given a gift, a second chance with Joe.”

“Good,” I said, returning her smile.

“I don’t know how to thank you,” she said. “You were amazing. If this doesn’t convince Kit that you have a real talent for solving crime, I don’t know what will.”

I laughed. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that. Kit thinks she should get the credit because it was her idea to watch
Meet the Parents.
”

“Well,
I
think you’ve got talent. And what about you?” she asked. “What are you going to do about Peter? Are you going to move in?”

I told her my decision.

She nodded. “I can see your point.”

*   *   *

Who can be in doubt of what followed? When two people are in love, they are pretty sure by perseverance to carry their point. Joe and Ann picked up almost exactly where they had left off eight years earlier, and I anticipated that I would be eating cake at their wedding in the very near future.

As for me, I told Peter that I needed more time to decide about moving in. I loved him and was pretty sure I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, but was this really the way to start that life? I didn’t want my current situation of not having a job or decent place to live to be the impetus of our moving in together. Although I wasn’t, to quote Jane Austen (oh, please, don’t act surprised), pursuing a man merely for the sake of a situation, I still was bothered by the circumstances surrounding his proposal. So much had happened over the past two weeks that I guess I just needed time to sort it out. Peter took it well, saying that he understood. And although he swore that he wanted me to move in regardless of my employment status, I remained unsure.

A few days later, Aunt Winnie called. She was back on Nantucket. I had barely answered the phone when she shouted out to me, “Elizabeth! You’ve got to pack. I just scored us tickets to the Jane Austen Festival in Bath!”

“Are you kidding me? How’d you get tickets? I thought those were nearly impossible to get!”

“Friend of a friend. I’ll tell you when I see you. I’ve booked us a flight, but you have to get your skinny ass up here by tomorrow. We leave in two days!”

I stared in disbelief at the phone. Bath. I was going to Bath for the Jane Austen Festival!

For once in my life, words failed me.

ALSO BY TRACY KIELY

Murder on the Bride’s Side

Murder at Longbourn

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

A THOMAS DUNNE BOOK FOR MINOTAUR BOOKS.

An imprint of St.Martin’s Publishing Group.

MURDER MOST PERSUASIVE
. Copyright © 2011 by Tracy Kiely. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

www.thomasdunnebooks.com

www.minotaurbooks.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kiely, Tracy.

    Murder most persuasive : a mystery / Tracy Kiely.

            p.   cm.

    e-ISBN 9781429983792

  1.  Murder—Investigation—Fiction.   2.  Police—Maryland—Fiction.   3.  Saint Michaels (Md.)—Fiction.   4.  Domestic fiction.   I.  Title.

    PS3611.I4453M88 2011

    813'.6—dc22

2011018780

First Edition: September 2011