No Accident
EMILY BLAKE
For Anica,
with gratitude and admiration
Alison Rose burst out of the French double doors onto the back patio of Grandmother Diamond's mansion. She had no idea whether the scream she heard was her own or came from her aunts or cousin as they raced in a pack toward the burning building. Shielding her eyes from the searing heat, Alison squinted into the blaze and willed herself to see some movement, some sign of life.
Burning rubble, thrown from the blasts, littered the lawn and fizzled in the water of the swimming pool. Alison could not tear her eyes away from the inferno that had been the
Diamond pool houseâthe pool house she had watched her grandmother, Tamara Diamond, walk into only a moment before it was rocked by a double explosion.
Choking on the thick black smoke, Alison tried to get closer. She had a strong urge to run into the towering flames and pull Tamara out. The family matriarch was more than a force to be reckoned with and often made their lives miserable. But Alison could not imagine her life without her.
Alison flinched as her uncle Bill put a hand on her arm to steady her and hold her back. Alison pulled away sharply, then surrendered and leaned heavily on her uncle's shoulder. It felt unexpectedly good to have somebody looking out for her.
With her uncle still supporting her, Alison watched as the entire structure became engulfed in flames. There was no way Alison could get in and out alive, let alone save Tamara.
If
her grandmother had survived the initial blasts.
The weight of what she was witnessing caused Alison's whole body to shake. She felt like an exposed nerve. Conflicting emotions crashed
like violent waves within her. She was a boat unmoored.
Please let her be all right. Please let her be all right,
Alison repeated her wish in her head like a silent prayer.
“Nice work.”
Startled, Alison looked up to see her cousin, Kelly, smirking beside her. Until recently Kelly Reeves had been the person Alison had turned to for help in all things. Kelly had been more than just a cousin. She had been a best friend. But that was beforeâ¦before the gorgeous, popular, and sharp-edged blonde had cruelly stolen Alison's boyfriend and left her alone and friendless at her lowest moment, just after her mother had been arrested. Just after Alison had lost everything. And now here she was smiling at what could be their grandmother's funeral pyre.
“This a little trick you picked up from Zoey?” Kelly said slyly, working in a jab at the only friend Alison had left after her cousin finished with her. Zoey Ramirez was a good friend, and no pyro. But somehow Kelly'd found out that when Zoey was kicked out of her last school, she'd been accused of trying to burn it down. In less than a
day the exaggerated story had spread all over Stafford Academy. Alison couldn't believe Kelly was bringing it up now. Only Kelly could joke and jab at a moment like this.
Alison didn't bother to reply. Kelly would get hers soon enough. Right now, all Alison wanted was her grandmother back.
Then, like a fiery ghost, a figure came toward them, silhouetted in the flames. Alison squinted. She could not believe her eyes. She should not have survived. And yet, here she was. Tamara Diamond.
Relief washed over Alison. She ran to her grandmother, then stopped just before reaching her. Alison stared at Tamara's face, still shocked to see her alive. Aside from a few black smudges and stray hairs out of place, she looked as crisp and put together as she always did. Her short white hair was illuminated by the blaze behind her and her steely blue eyes looked hard upon her dumbfounded family.
“You're okay,” Alison murmured, touching her arm. In any other family there would be hugging and jubilation. But the Diamonds were not just any family.
“Sorry to disappoint you all,” Grandmother
Diamond said coolly, looking at her granddaughter Kelly, her daughters Phoebe and Christine, and her son-in-law Bill in turn. “It appears the contents of my will shall not be disclosed todayâor anytime soon.”
Alison felt her stomach churn. Grandmother Diamond always suspected the worstâthat everyone in the family was after her sizable fortune and would be happy to see her dead so they could finally get their hands on the cash. The fact that it was largely true did not make it any less harsh.
“Pity,” Alison's aunt Christine murmured. Flames flickered in her green eyes, making them smolder golden.
Kelly's mother, Aunt Phoebe, began to sob. “This is so awful,” she moaned. “The beautiful pool house!” A wailing Phoebe collapsed in her husband's arms. Alison saw Kelly roll her eyes.
“Destroyed,” Tamara completed Phoebe's thought matter-of-factly. She watched the building burn with no hint of emotion. “And all because âsomebody' forgot to turn off the gas on the stove.” Grandmother Diamond looked
Kelly in the eye, accusing her and daring her to deny it at the same time.
Biting her lip, Alison suppressed a smile. Things between Kelly and their grandmother had been strained for quite a while and, truth be told, that's how Alison liked it. Kelly managed to be on top everywhereâ¦except at Grandmother Diamond's. She was the most popular girl at Stafford Academy. She could make or break anyone with a look, a word, her dazzling smile. Kelly seemed to get her way everywhere and in every situation. But not at the Diamond estate. Here, Alison had a powerful ally. Alison was Tamara's favoriteâand she knew she had to keep it that way.
Approaching sirens drowned out Aunt Phoebe's wailing. Flashing lights added to the chaos, and firefighters came swarming around the back of the mansion, rolling out hoses and barking orders. Alison watched them with surprise. The Diamond estate was so large that none of the neighbors could have noticed the smoke this quickly. And it wasn't the type of neighborhood where people liked to poke their
nose into other people's businessâparticularly Tamara Diamond's. So who had called the fire department?
Alison's question was answered when she looked at her grandmother's face. Tamara's eyes were narrow. A small smile played on her lips. She lookedâ¦satisfied. As if everything were going according to plan. For a brief second Alison could not believe what she was thinkingâwhy would her grandmother blow up her own pool house? But everything about the fire and Tamara's survival was suspicious.
It did not take long for the firefighters to gain control of the blaze. The smell of wet burnt wood stuck in Alison's nose as the events of the night swirled in her mind. She coughed, and Uncle Bill pushed her toward the door. “Let's get inside,” he coaxed Tamara. He had struggled free of his damp and suffering wife, foisting her off on their daughter, Kelly.
Tamara pulled away from her son-in-law, taking Alison's arm instead. “Don't rush me, Bill.” She spoke softly, but the words were hard.
“Maybe you should go to the hospital and
make sure you're okay,” Alison's uncle suggested.
“That won't be necessary,” Grandmother Diamond replied.
“At least let the paramedics look you over, Mother,” Aunt Christine chimed in, acting concerned. Her performance was not convincing.
“I said I'm
fine
.” Grandmother Diamond spoke through clenched teeth. She would not be badgered. Leaning on Alison's arm, she stepped inside her palatial house. The servants who had gathered by the windows to watch the fire scattered. In a moment Francesca, the cook, was back with a cup of tea. She handed it to Alison rather than offering it to Tamara herself, and Alison carried it carefully over to the seat her grandmother had taken in the parlor.
As she set the porcelain cup and saucer on the small marble-topped side table, Alison realized her hands were shaking. The grandmother she had thought was dead, that she had begged to still be alive, was fine. She was sitting right in
front of her, unscathed. So why wasn't Alison filled with joy?
She felt like a rubber band stretched to breaking. For as long as she could remember, she had been the rope in a fierce game of tug-of-war between her mother and her grandmother. The battle began long before Alison was born. The story Alison's mother told was that she had eschewed her mother's millions, wanting to make a name for herself on her own terms. Tamara, who did not like being dismissed, promptly wrote Helen out of her will and cut off all communication. She waited, watching to see her proud oldest daughter fail. Then, to Tamara's great dismay, Helen had made it. She single-handedly created her own domestic empire.
To the outside world, Helen Rose was picture-perfect. To her own daughter, she was too busy to care. Helen was a megastar, and a megamillionaire, when disaster struck. Just weeks before, she had been arrested and charged with embezzlement, grand larceny, and tax fraudâframed, she claimed, by her own mother. Alison had been shocked and scared when she witnessed her mother's arrest, but
she'd also been secretly relieved. Her mother was still in jail now, awaiting her trial. Sometimes Alison missed her. Mostly she felt guilty that she did not.
When she had heard that Grandmother Diamond was behind the arrest, Alison didn't want to believe it. But as time went on, the situation became more and more confusing. She didn't know who to believe, who to trust. Her mother and grandmotherâand everyone else in the Diamond familyâhad too many secrets to hide.
Exhausted, Alison sank onto the raw-silk-covered sofa near her grandmother. “Thank goodness the fire department arrived so quickly,” she said carefully, watching her grandmother's face. “If they had come any later, the fire might have spread to the house.” Tamara's expression did not change as she looked away from her granddaughter. She seemed to be studying the Fabergé egg beside her gold-rimmed saucer on the table. “I was so worried,” Alison went on. Her heart pounded in her chest. “When I saw you go into the pool house⦔
At those words Grandmother Diamond's
head jerked up, but her face revealed nothing. “Yes,” she said plainly. She turned and looked directly at Alison. “I'm glad we have this moment alone,” she said. Kelly and her father were calming Phoebe in the kitchen, and Aunt Christine had disappeared into the room she was staying in upstairs. Alison and her grandmother faced each other. For a moment neither of them spoke.
Then Grandmother Diamond set down her tea and sat up even straighter in her wingback chair. She looked at Alison gravely. “I think you should move in with me during thisâ¦difficult time.”
Alison blinked, but only once. There was no doubt in her mind. This was not a request. It was an order.
Running it over in her head, Alison realized it was an order that might be worth her while to obey. Things at her house were not exactly peachy. Nothing was the same after her mom was taken away. The housekeeper didn't come. Her dad was a wreck. There was no food in the fridge. No chauffeur. No money. Besides, Grandmother Diamond's attentions were the
best weapon Alison had in the war with her cousin. Moving in with “Her Highness”âas the granddaughters had dubbed her back when they were friendsâwould be worth it if only to see the look on Kelly's face when she found out. But there could be ramifications.
For the first time all evening, Alison sensed that her grandmother was tense. She did not like to be kept waiting, and Alison's delayed response was forcing her to do just that. But Alison needed time to think things through. She hadn't even stopped shaking yet. It was all happening so fast.
Tamara obviously wanted her granddaughter at the Diamond estate for a reason. Alison suspected she had become an important piece in whatever game Grandmother Diamond was playing with Alison's mother. Tamara wanted to keep a close eye on her. And after tonight Alison wanted to keep an eye on Tamara, too.
“All right,” Alison agreed. “I'll move in next week.”