A Deal to Die For (28 page)

“What are you saying?” Bianca asked.

“The truth,” Courtney said. “I couldn’t figure out why I was feeling so sick. I thought
it was the stress of trying to take back what is rightfully mine, but then I got so
violently ill. The doctor at the hospital actually thought I had tried to commit suicide.
The idiot.”

“As if,” Summer said. “And give up all of this?”

“Thank you,” Courtney said as if pleased to finally have someone around who understood
her inherent greed.

“So what happened?” Summer asked.

“They put me on Naloxone, which binds up all of the narcotics in your system and helps
to get rid of them. Then they took my medical history. It turns out, given my past,
that I’ve developed quite an immunity to narcotic analgesics, so that little morphine
overdose you gave me to make it look
like I tried to off myself? Yeah, it wasn’t enough to kill me. Not even close.”

Bianca’s eyes went wide, and Maggie was sure she had the same look of surprise on
her face.

“Ha! That’ll teach you to mess with my bff.” Summer tossed her blonde hair and glared
at Bianca. “You’re going to jail.”

“But I didn’t,” Bianca said. “I wouldn’t. You have to believe me.”

Maggie glanced at Bianca. She was standing in front of the fire with her hands out
in a helpless, imploring gesture. Over her shoulder, Maggie could see the portrait
of her parents, Vera and Buzz, looking down on Bianca as if they had her back.

Maybe it was the lighting in the room or maybe it was the angle of the photograph,
but all of a sudden, Maggie knew who had killed Vera and had tried to kill Courtney,
and it made her blood run cold. If it was true, the killer was going to strike again,
and Maggie had to stop it.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” Summer asked.

“I just remembered something I have to do,” Maggie said. “Bianca, come with me.”

Bianca gave her a surprised look, and then glanced at the door in the corner.

“No, I can’t,” she said.

“This is really important, Bianca,” Maggie said.

“Oh no you don’t,” Courtney said. “The only person taking her out of here is the sheriff,
and he’ll be using handcuffs.”

“You can’t keep me here,” Maggie said, and she hurried to the front door and tugged
it open. Before she could step outside, she smacked right into Molly Spencer, who
was on her way in.

“Molly!” Maggie gasped. “What are you doing here?”

Molly met Maggie’s gaze, and Maggie realized that she had just given herself away.
Caught off guard, she’d let everything she had deduced about the situation show on
her face, and Molly knew it.

“I came to check on Bianca,” Molly said. She stepped into the house, closing the door
behind her, effectively shutting Maggie in.

“I have to—” Maggie began, but Molly interrupted her.

“No, you don’t.”

Molly grabbed Maggie by the elbow and forced her into the study, where Courtney and
Bianca were staring at each other.

“There are too many of us, Molly,” Maggie said. She tried to keep her voice even.
“It’s over. You have to let it go now.”

“I can’t,” Molly said. “Not while
she
still lives.”

“Oh, goody,” Courtney cried when she caught sight of Molly. “Guess what, Molly?”

Molly stared at her, not speaking.

“You’re fired!” Courtney said with a malicious gleam in her eye. “Since Bianca will
be going to jail for the murder of her mother and for attempting to murder me, the
estate is now mine, and I am firing you.”

“Stop it, Courtney,” Maggie said.

She could see the desperation in Molly’s eyes. Courtney’s vindictiveness was not helping
the situation.

“Bianca won’t be going to jail,” Molly said.

“Oh, what do you know?” Courtney scoffed. “I figured it out. When I was sleeping yesterday,
she hit me with an injection of morphine. Luckily, it wasn’t enough to kill me.”

“I didn’t!” Bianca looked outraged. “I would never.”

“I know,” Molly said. “Because I did it.”

“You!” Courtney gasped. “I knew it. I knew you were out to get me.”

“Only because you’re trying to take away what is not yours,” Molly said. “Vera and
I had an understanding. I would help her, and she would make certain that my son,
Jimmy, was taken care of for the rest of his life.”

“I don’t understand,” Bianca said. Her voice was shaky. “Are you saying that you killed
my mother?”

Molly gave Bianca a sad look. “Vera was dying, honey. She had pancreatic cancer. It
doesn’t leave a victim much time. She had a few weeks to live, at best. When she got
the letter from this one, threatening to take everything away from you by proving
that you weren’t really Buzz’s child, well, Vera figured if she was dead, then her
will would stand in place of Buzz’s and Courtney wouldn’t be able to contest it.”

“That conniving…” Courtney began, but Maggie hushed her.

Bianca paled and staggered to a seat. She put her head down between her knees.

“Why didn’t she tell me?” she asked.

“She was afraid you’d put up a fuss,” Molly said. “She wanted to go on her own terms
with no arguments.”

“But why did she go to Dr. Franklin’s then?” Bianca asked. “Did she change her mind?
Was she hoping to live?”

“No,” Molly said softly. “She wanted to say good-bye to him, her one great love.”

“Oh my god,” Summer said. She stared hard at Bianca. “Look at her eyes. Those are
Dr. Franklin’s eyes. She’s his kid.”

Courtney glanced from Summer to Bianca, and then she let out a whoop of joy. “So it’s
true. I suspected it was him, but you’re right. Look at her eyes. They’re light blue
like his.”

Bianca’s eyes went wide, and Maggie was sure the poor woman was going to go into shock.

“So it really is all mine!” Courtney jumped up and down.

“Not yet it isn’t,” Molly said, and she grabbed something from her purse and lunged
at Courtney.

“Molly, no!” Maggie grabbed her by the arm and spun her around. “You can’t do this
now. It’s over.”

“Let me go, Maggie. This doesn’t concern you,” Molly said, and she shoved Maggie aside,
wielding the hypodermic needle in her hand like a knife.

Caught off balance, Maggie stumbled into the coffee table. Courtney was quick, however,
and she dashed behind Summer, who looked horrified.

“Move, Summer, or I’ll take you out with her!” Molly yelled, and she grabbed Summer
by the arm and tried to yank her away from Courtney.

Fair-weather friend that she was, Summer tried to scamper out of the way, but Courtney
had her by the hair and was not about to let go of her human shield.

“Molly, stop this!” Bianca said. “Stop it now!”

A door in the back of the room slammed open and out stepped Max.

“Max, what are you doing here?” Maggie asked.

She saw Max and Bianca look at each other, and it was suddenly obvious who Bianca
was in love with, and, judging by the look on Max’s face, it appeared to be mutual.

Molly was the first to recover from Max’s appearance, and she used everyone’s inattention
to her advantage, as she shoved Summer out of the way and dove for Courtney. Maggie
managed to shove the coffee table at Molly, clipping her in the knee, and jumped forward
to shove Courtney out of the way. Molly was determined, however, and she stumbled
forward to stab Courtney with the hypodermic needle she was brandishng but caught
Maggie in the forearm instead.

Maggie stared at the needle in her arm in surprise and then yelped and smacked it
away.

“Maggie!” Max ran forward. In a fury, he turned on Molly, and shouted, “What the hell
are you doing?”

Molly looked crestfallen. “I have to, don’t you see? I have to get rid of her.”

“Why?” Bianca asked. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because she’s going to take away your home, and if she does, who will take care of
Jimmy?” Molly asked.

She looked determined and a little crazed.

“Probate court will determine the outcome of the estate,” Max said. “You can’t just
go around trying to kill people to get what you want.”

“You have to tell the truth, Molly,” Maggie said. “You have a right to part of this
estate, and instead of killing Courtney, you need to just tell the truth.”

“What truth? You have no right to this estate, either of you!” Courtney declared.

“Yes, she does,” Maggie said. She was beginning to feel dizzy and light-headed.

“What are you talking about?” Courtney scoffed.

“Tell them,” Maggie said. “Tell them who Jimmy’s father is.”

“Buzz,” Molly said. Her voice was so low it was hard to hear, and then she cleared
her throat and said, “Jimmy’s father is Buzz Madison.”

“Liar!” Courtney shrieked. “You’re a liar.”

“Oh my,” Bianca gasped. She reached over and grabbed Max’s hand. He put an arm around
her shoulders and pulled her close.

“Well, that explains so much,” Summer said.

“Shut up,” Courtney snapped at her.

“Don’t talk to me like that!” Summer snapped back.

“This is ridiculous!” Courtney shouted.

“No, it’s the truth!” Molly said.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Bianca asked.

The voices began to swirl around in Maggie’s head, and she couldn’t keep track of
who was saying what. She felt her knees give out, and she slumped to the floor.

Then she heard a voice, a deep man’s voice, shouting over the others, and then she
was falling into a blue so pretty and clear, she was sure it had to be an ocean in
a tropical place, or maybe she was a bird flying in a summer sky. The last thing she
remembered before blacking out was a strong pair
of arms picking her up off of the floor and carrying her out of the room.

Maggie woke up in the hospital to find all of the GBGs sacked out in her room. Joanne
was curled up on a short couch, wrapped in a blanket, while Claire and Ginger were
slumped together on two lightly upholstered wooden chairs, also covered in blankets.
None of them looked comfortable, but Maggie didn’t have the heart to wake them.

It was dark outside, and she pushed up in bed to try to find a clock. A digital one
hanging on the wall read 4:23.

A familiar head of white hair appeared in the doorway, and Maggie smiled as she recognized
Doc. His hair looked worse than usual, as it stood completely on end, but when his
light blue eyes met hers, he looked relieved enough to cry.

He crossed the room quietly and began to check her vitals. He studied her pupils and
checked her heart rate and her breathing.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

“Groggy,” she said. “What happened?”

“You got hit with a subcutaneous intramuscular injection of morphine. Frankly, it
was enough to kill a horse, but it wasn’t a full injection, and Sam got you here in
time.”

Maggie flashed on the blue ocean she had thought she’d seen. It had to have been Sam’s
eyes. They were that same endless blue. Somehow, she was not at all surprised that
he had been the one to save her.

“What happened to everyone?” she asked.

“Well, Sam had backup, so everyone else was rounded up and brought to jail,” he said.
“Last I heard, they were still sorting things out.”

“Bianca knows now,” Maggie said. She put her hand on top of Doc’s, where it rested
on her bedside.

Doc looked shaky and a little excited. “A daughter. Can you believe it?”

Maggie smiled. She wanted to talk more, but her body was having none of it. Still,
she had to know.

“What will happen to Molly?” she asked.

Doc frowned. “I don’t know. Sam said that the autopsy did show that Vera was dying
from pancreatic cancer. Her doctor had prescribed the morphine as a pain reliever
and, according to her will, there is a stipulation that Jimmy be taken care of for
the rest of his life by the estate, so it appears that what Molly was saying is true.”

“But she did try to murder Courtney,” Maggie said.

“She will likely have to serve some time, but there do seem to be an awful lot of
extenuating circumstances,” he said.

Maggie nodded. She tried to keep her eyes open, but she lost the fight. Slipping back
into sleep, she felt Doc squeeze her hand and say, “Get some rest, Maggie, and thank
you.”

“For what?” she asked, forcing her eyelids up to half-
mast.

“For giving me my daughter,” he said.

Doc leaned forward and kissed Maggie’s head as she slipped back into unconsciousness.

Maggie was released late on Friday afternoon. There was no question that her date
with Pete would have to be postponed, and he’d called her at home to check on her
and tell her that he completely understood.

The GBGs took her home as soon as she was cleared to
go, and Sandy and Josh fussed over her as if she’d been gone a month instead of less
than a day.

On Saturday, Maggie woke up feeling normal again. She hadn’t been in her shop in days
and she was determined to still open as planned, so she dressed in her favorite jeans
and sweatshirt and loaded up the back of her Volvo with the meager boxes she’d gathered
in her garage for the shop.