“Except you.”
“Have you ever loved someone and hated them too?”
“My father,” Jack said.
“Then you understand. Sean and I didn’t dare talk or the hate would have come out. My life was dealing with my father’s ambition. He worked his way into upscale events—and he wanted me next to him.”
“You were part of his showroom.”
“I was. Some of my gowns cost more than Sean made in a year.”
“And he stank of horses—which you hate.”
“Exactly,” Nadine said. “By the end, we were seeing our differences. No! We were seeing how alike we were. When I got angry, Sean got more angry. He had a truly vicious temper.”
“When did you tell your father? And how did he take it?”
“It was weeks before I could admit to myself that Sean was actually gone. I kept thinking that he’d return. I soothed myself by planning my anger. I’d throw things at him, then he’d...” She held up her hand as though to stop that memory. “Finally, I had to tell my father about the baby—and I expected rage. I was sure he’d go crazy with anger. But he didn’t. He suggested a solution.”
“Your husband.”
“Yes. A nice, quiet man to whom I’d never paid any attention. But then, with the fire of Sean around me, I couldn’t see anyone else. So I married him. It surprised me that it was good. When I got angry, he held me and told me everything would be all right. I never would have married him if Sean had stayed. Sex causes us to do things that make no sense.”
Jack said, “I’d like to hear your version of what happened the night of the party.”
“I don’t know what actually happened. Sean and I were going to leave together. I know he’d packed a suitcase. I saw it. But I went to the stables and he wasn’t there. His suitcase was gone and the place was empty.”
“And Diana was missing, too,” Jack said.
“Yes, she was.” For a moment, Nadine’s hands clenched into fists. “Everything changed after that night. I left Oxley Manor and I never went back. I didn’t see Clive or Willa again until yesterday.”
“What about the others?”
“I saw some of Byon’s plays but not him. I never even told anyone that I knew him. I never heard anything about Willa or Clive.”
“And Nicky?”
“I went to his funeral, but I didn’t go to the house.”
“Didn’t Bertram say something there?”
“He said we killed Nicky, which I’m sure was true. When we left, Nicky had no one but his father. It was one of my father’s cars that he crashed.”
“Why did your father say that he’d killed Sean?”
Nadine’s mouth tightened. “I... This is hard to say. I think maybe my father paid Sean to leave me.”
“And he took the money?” Jack sounded shocked.
When she looked at him, there was such hate in her eyes that Jack pulled back. “Looks like he did, doesn’t it?” For all of her talk of having a better life without him, it didn’t look like she’d forgiven him.
Seventeen
“Her phone rang and that was the end,” Jack said.
“What if... ?” Kate said slowly.
“I know,” Sara said, “what if Sean told her that he’d rather have her father’s money than her?”
“She would have killed him,” Jack said.
“And Daddy would have disposed of the body,” Sara said.
“One thing is certain,” Kate said. “They all had to show up here. No one could say, ‘I don’t need to go because I know who killed Sean. Me.’”
“Too true,” Sara said, then looked at Jack. “You did a good job with Nadine. So what about Teddy?”
“No time to talk to her. I barely made it here on time.”
“Too bad,” Kate mumbled in a way that made Jack smile.
“So what’s this about the frantics?” Sara asked.
They looked at her in question.
“Both of you used that word. Everyone is now frantic. They must return to wherever.”
“To their lives,” Jack said.
“Don’t we all want that.” Sara looked down at her empty plate. “Anyone up for some English custard?”
“Not me,” Kate said.
“You’ll regret this in the morning,” Jack said. “Sugar and carbs?”
“I already regret it, but I need time to tell about the sleuthing I did on my own.” Sara looked extraordinarily pleased with herself.
“The spotlight is on you,” Jack said. “So spill.”
“Well...” Sara drew it out. “It seemed an odd coincidence that every person here suddenly got an urgent message to leave.” She smiled. “So I made some calls. In spite of what that hate-filled little tabloid said, some people have heard of me and do want—” She broke off at Jack’s look of impatience. “Lord Hazeldean’s office said there is no upcoming party. He’s in Saint Lucia and won’t be back for weeks.”
“But Nadine said...”
“Right,” Sara said. “Someone lied to her.”
“What about Clive?” Jack asked.
“He works for Coutts.” Jack and Kate looked blank. “It’s where the Queen keeps her money and I happen to have a pound or two in that bank.”
“You have a personal banker?” Jack asked.
“Oh yeah. He wears a tailcoat. Anyway, he made a few calls and found out some things. It seems that Clive isn’t one of those rich money people who gets a percentage of his deals. He gets a salary. It’s good but nothing to brag about. His boss told my banker that Clive is so hungry for acknowledgment, for praise, that if he asks for an increase in pay, they just let him have lunch with some big shot and Clive is happy for another two years.”
“They did that to him.” They knew Kate meant the Pack.
“Byon?” Jack asked. “What about him?”
Sara knew how much Jack admired the man, so she wanted to soften the blow. “His agent only talked to me because I said Byon wanted to put one of my books to music. It seems that Byon hasn’t written anything in years. He’s broke. He plays piano in a bar and lives—”