Silverbridge (26 page)

Damn,
she thought, annoyed at having missed him. While she was sleeping an idea had coalesced in her
brain, and she decided to follow up on it and make a telephone call to Gail.

Meg was in the morning room watching television when Tracy came in. She waved to Meg, dialed Gail's number, and turned away to face the dining table.

When Gail picked up the phone, Tracy said, “Have you heard anything from Sanderson?”

“Yes,” Gail replied. “But it’s not good news. He said that it was impossible to get hold of Mauley’s bank records. They’re available to the police, of course, but not to a private investigator. He said that if you wanted to charge Mauley, then perhaps the police would demand the records, but his own contact in Scotland Yard doesn’t want anything to do with preempting Mauley’s records without demonstrable cause.”

“Damn. I can’t charge Mauley with bribery when I have no evidence, and I can’t get evidence unless I charge him.”

“Um,” Gail said. “Catch 22.”

They talked about a few other business matters and then Tracy said, “I do have one more job for Sanderson, Gail.”

“Shoot.” Gail wrote down what Tracy told her.

“It’s probably a waste of time,” Tracy said, “but we’ve already wandered down so many dead ends that one more won’t matter.”

“Okay. How did the filming go today?”

“We did it in one take, and Dave said it was great.”

“That’s wonderful,” Gail said sincerely.

Tracy laughed. “I don’t think I could have gone through it again. It was that intense.”

“If it was that intense, then it must be good.”

“I think it is. I might even look at the rashes tomorrow.”

She hung up and went to join Meg on the sofa. “Is Harry still at the farm?” she asked as she sat down. “It’s getting rather late.”

Meg turned to her. “No, he came in about half an hour ago. Then he had a call from Tony and went out again.”

Tracy felt all the blood drain from her head. “Do you know where he went, Meg?”

Meg shook her head. “What’s wrong, Tracy? You look terribly white all of a sudden.”

“I don’t like these mysterious phone calls,” Tracy said.

“This wasn’t mysterious,” Meg assured her. “I picked up the phone myself. It was Tony.”

The fear Tracy had felt this afternoon with Jon was nothing compared to the terror that seized her heart now. Harry was in danger. She felt it as surely as she had felt anything in her life. She looked at Meg and opened her lips to tell her.

The eyes that met hers were the same sky-blue as Tony’s, and they re
garded Tracy with trusting inno
cence.

How can I possibly tell her that Harry might not be safe with his own brother?

She fought for control of her voice, so that it would not be shrill with fear, as she said, “What program are you watching, Meggie? Is it any good?”

26

T
he pub was crowded when Harry opened the oak door and stepped in. Most local businesses had just let out, and there were a number of men, and one or two women, who had stopped by for a pint before they went home. Harry looked around, didn’t see Tony, and went to the bar.

“Good evenin’, my lord,” the gray-haired man behind the counter said respectfully. “How can I serve you today?”

“Actually, Tom, I’m looking for my brother. Do you know if he’s here?”

“He’s yonder, in th
e back booth, my lord.”

Harr
y smiled, murmured his thanks, and made his way to the booth, acknowledging greetings along the way.

Tony was hunched over an almost empty glass of Heineken. He looked up as Harry slid into the opposite side of the stained wooden booth, and said gruffly, “Thank you for coming.”

“You’re welcome,” Harry returned, resting his hands on the scarred tabletop. “What’s this all about?”

Tony took a deep breath, mid said in a rush, “I know I’m a selfish bastard, Harry. Mum always gave me everything I wanted, and that’s what I expect to get. I wanted to manage Mauley’s golf complex, and I was angry with you for thwarting me. I’ve been beastly to you, I know that. But I hope you’ll believe that I never never would do anything to harm you.”

These words were spoken as if Tony had memorized them and wanted to get them out as fast as he possibly could.

Harry lifted an eyebrow. “Good heavens. What has brought all this on?”

Tony stared at his glass. “I had a meeting with Mauley this afternoon, and I told him that it was all over, that you weren’t going to sell him the land.” He looked up and met Harry’s eyes. “He went totally bonkers, swearing and calling you all sorts of names. When I said that, after all, it was your land and you had the right to keep it if you wanted to, he blew up at me. Said that I’d led him on, that he’d invested a lot of money in this deal, had taken a lot of risks. I suggested that he look for another piece of property, but he insisted that he wanted this property. When I said, ‘Well, you’re not going to get it,’ I thought he was going to punch me. It was then, as I looked at his ugly rooster red face, that the truth struck me.
My God,
I thought.
Harry was right. This bastard has been trying to kill him.
”

“It’s the only answer that makes any sense,” Harry said. “No one else stands to gain by my death.”

“Except me,” Tony said.

“Except you,” Harry agreed mildly.

Tony gripped his hands tightly around his glass. “You must believe me, Harry. I had nothing to do with Mauley’s actions. My only culpability lies in my refusal to see the kind of man he was. I wanted what he was offering me too much.”

“Can I get you something, my lord?” It was the publican, who was now standing beside their booth.

“Some lemonade,” Harry said.

“Good God.” Tony’s voice was appalled.

“I can’t drink alcohol until my head is back to normal.”

“Oh. Right. Well, you can fetch me another Heineken, Tom.”

“Very good, sir.”

They sat in mutual silence until the drinks came. Once they were alone again, Harry said, “Do we have a chance of nailing him? I realize that at the moment we have nothing to take to the police, but can you think of anything we might do to unmask him?”

Tony said decisively, “We need to find his accomplice. If we can find him, perhaps we can get him to testify against Mauley.”

Harry said nothing.

A note of impatience sounded in Tony’s voice. “You do realize, don’t you, that Mauley had to have an accomplice? The setting of the fire, the cutting of your brake lines, those things had to be done by someone whose presence on the property wouldn’t be questioned. As it wasn’t me, it had to be someone else.”

Still Harry was silent.

Tony said, “Ned was right there on the scene when
the stable burned, and he has unquestioned access to the garage. He’s knowledgeable enough about machinery to know how to cut your brake lines.”

There was a shar
p line between Harry’s brows. “Ned would never do anything to endanger the horses.”

“He got all the horses out,” Tony said. “He was conveniently on the scene in time to make sure he did that.”

The line between Harry’s brows deepened. “It wasn’t Ned.”

“All right,” Tony said reasonably. “If it wasn’t Ned, then who was it?”

Harry moved his shoulders. “I don’t know. One of the stable lads, perhaps.”

“One of the stable lads didn’t shoot at you, Harry. You said the shot would have hit you if you hadn’t stumbled and fallen. Whoever it was knows how to shoot.”
Harry didn’t reply, but his expression was somber. “Ned has a rifle, doesn’t he? I believe I remember the two of you going out shooting together.”

“Owning a rifle doesn’t mean he’s a killer.”

“Well, someone is.”

Silence fell as they both contemplated that statement. Then Tony said, “Until we resolve this matter, you’re in danger. I did tell Mauley that if anything should happen to you, I would honor your wishes and keep the land in the family. But I should continue to tread carefully if I were you.”

Harry’s wide-set brown eyes regarded his brother gravely. “That was well-done of you, Tony.”

Tony shrugged. “I can’t help thinking that I’m partly to blame for this mess. If I hadn’t been such an eager litt
l
e disciple, Mauley might not ever have thought of trying to do away with you.”

Harry slapped his hand on the table. “We can’t let him get away with this.”

Tony said slowly, “Actually, I do have an idea.”

“What is it?”

“The bullets that were shot at you,” Tony said. “Did you recover them?”

They looked at each other. “No.”

“You said he shot twice?”

“Yes.”

“Then the bullets must be there. I suggest we go and look for them. If they match up to Ned’s gun, then we have found our accomplice.”

Harry looked troubled. “I suppose that’s a good idea.”

“It’s a brilliant idea, culled from years of reading detective stories,” Tony shot back. “You would never have thought of it on your own. All you read is
Horse and Hound
and farming journals.”

Harry smiled reluctantly.
“
True enough.”

Tony leaned toward his brother. “Look, Harry, I know you don’t want it to be Ned. But if it is, then don’t you want to know? You don’t want to keep a man who tried to kill you in your employ.”

“No.” Harry ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t.”

Tony pushed his beer toward the middle of the table. “Then let’s not waste any more time. Let’s go down to the lake and look for the bloody bullets.”

Both brothers stood up and left the pub together.

*
*
*

T
racy was playing gin rummy with Meg when Harry walked into the morning room later that evening. The rush of relief she felt at the sight of him almost overwhelmed her. She had spent the last few hours in such a state of fear that she had to keep reminding herself to breathe.

“Harry,” she said in a trembling voice.

Tony came into the room, and Harry crossed to the table where the two young women were playing cards.

“I hope you’re not gambling,” he said lightly. He looked down into Tracy’s upturned face and continued in the same tone. “I thought I could trust you not to corrupt my sister.”

He was giving her a chance to collect herself, she realized. After a moment she managed to say, “Hah. She’s killing me. I haven’t won a game yet.”

Meg hooted. “That’s because your thoughts have been a million miles away.”

Tony slid gracefully into the chair next to his sister. “What have you been playing?”

“Gin rummy,” Meg returned. “But Tracy’s been so distracted that it’s hardly been a challenge.”

“I’ll play you a few rounds,” Tony said. “Then we’ll see what mettle you’re really made of.”

Meg looked delighted to be receiving this attention from her brother. “Great!” Her eyes went to Tracy. “That is, if you don’t mind, Tracy.”

“I don’t mind at all,” Tracy replied, grateful to be released from the torturous charade she had been engaged in for most of the evening.

“Let me get you a glass of wine,” Harry said.

“That sounds wonderful.” She thought quickly. “There’s some white burgundy in the refrigerator. I think I’d like that better than sherry.”

His eyes glinted in acknowledgement. “Let’s go down to the kitchen, then.”

They went down the stairs in silence, Harry going first
.
As soon as he stepped into the kitchen, he turned on the
li
ght and turned to Tracy with his arms held out.

She went to him, leaned against him, and felt the warmth and strength of his arms as they closed around her. She reached her own arms around his waist and held him tight. “I was so frightened,” she said. “When Meg told me that you were meeting Tony
…
”

“Did you suspect Tony of being involved in the plot against me?
” His voice was muffled as his li
ps were pressed against her hair.

She didn’t answer.

He answered his own question. “Of course you did.” He held her a
li
ttle tighter. “He had both opportunity and motive. I’m ashamed to admit that I thought of him myself once or twice.”

“I had his finances investigated to see if he might be dangerously in debt,” she said in a small voice. “He wasn’t.”

“You had his finances
investigated
'?” His arms loosened and he held her away so that he could see her face. “How on earth did you do that?”

“I hired a private investigator.”

“Tom Edsel?”

“No. Someone in London.”

He looked amazed. “Good God.”

“You don’t think it was Tony, then?”

“No. As a matter of fact, we’ve spent the last two hours trying to find the bullets that were shot at me down by the lake. Tony had the idea of trying to match them to the correct gun.”

“How clever of him! Did you find them?”

“We found one.”

She looked puzzled. “But, Harry
…
what gun are you going to try to match it to?”

His mouth looked grim. “Ned’s rifle.”

“Oh,” she said softly.

“
Tony is convinced that Mauley had to have an accomplice on the scene, and he thinks that accomplice might be Ned.”

“I think Tony is right about the accomplice. And it would be easier if you eliminated Ned as a suspect right away.”

He gave her a crooked smile. “Thank you, darling.”

“How are you going to get the rifle tested? Do you want me to contact my private investigator and ask him to arrange it?”

“That’s an excellent idea,” he approved. “I was going to ask the local police to do it, but I’d rather not raise any speculation until we’ve got some proof. Do you think this investigator could get it done in a hurry?”

“I’ll call him right away. Gail has his pager number.”

“Come into my office,” Harry said.

She followed him into the office and went to the telephone on the co
rn
er of his desk. “I’ll have to call Gail for the pager number first.”

“Okay.”

She dialed Gail’s cell phone and after Gail had given her Mark Sanderson’s pager number, she said, “I’m

going to need you to ru
n up to London tomorrow, Gail. I have something that needs to be delivered to Mr. Sanderson ASAP.”

After Gail agreed, Tracy told her to be at Silverbridge by seven-thirty the following morning. Harry nodded his agreement to this time, and when she hung up, he said, “That’s good. Ned is in the stable by six-thirty. That will give me enough time to let myself into his apartment and get his rifle.”

Tracy nodded back and dialed Sanderson’s pager number.

“I’ll get you some of that white burgundy while we’re waiting for him to get back to you,” Harry said.

“Great.”

She was on her second glass when the phone rang. Tracy picked it up. “Mr. Sanderson. Thank you so much for getting back to me.”

It was a short conversation. Sanderson knew a lab that could do the job, but it would be costly to ask them to rush. Tracy assured him that price was no object, and they made arrangements for Gail to deliver the rifle the following day.

When Tracy had hung up, Harry said, “Let me know how much it costs. I don’t want you paying for this.”

She was about to protest, but one look at his face told her not to. “All right,” she said.

“When does Sanderson think we’ll have the results?”

“By tomorrow afternoon, if we’re lucky.”

He nodded somberly.

“Harry
…
if it isn’t Tony and it isn’t Ned, then who can it be?”

“One of the stable lads, perhaps.”

Tracy felt that that was doubtful, but she didn’t want to say so.

“Or it could be a complete outsider,” he went on. “What with all these film people about the place, the staff would think that any stranger was with the film, and the film people would think that any stranger was part of the staff. Someone could easily pose as a gardener, for example.”

That sounded more likely, and Tracy agreed. “That’s true. But if it is a stranger, finding the bullet isn’t going to help. You have to have a gun to match it to.”

He didn’t answer, but picked up her wine glass and took it back into the kitchen. Tracy followed.

“You don’t think you ought to go to the police?” she asked.

He put
the glass on the drain board. “
The only thing the police can do is assign a bodyguard to me, and I don’t want that. If Mauley were less important, they might agree to check his bank account if I asked them. But he’s too powerful a man. They won’t risk his wrath, even for me.”

“I wish you would accept a bodyguard,” Tracy said. “I’m so frightened that something will happen to you, Harry. I
feel
…
I feel like we’re playing out some already-scripted drama whose end is inevitable. You’re in deadly danger. I know you are.”

“It’s not as bad as that, darling,” he said soothingly as he took her gently into his arms. “Believe me, I have no intention of dying.”

“Charles didn’t intend to die either.”

“I’m not Charles. The bullet missed me, remember?”

“Yes. Perhaps you do have a bodyguard after all,” she said. “Perhaps Charles is looking out for you.”

“I don’t know. That sounds pretty weird.”

She rested her cheek against his shoulder. “This whole situation is weird. You and I are weird. Good God, I’ve only known you for a few weeks, and yet I feel that if you should die, then I would want to die with you.”

He didn’t answer.

She lifted her face from his shoulder and looked up at him. “The first time I saw you, I stopped breathing. Isn’t that weird?”

The brown eyes meeting here were grave, “Yes.”

“How did you feel about me?”

“The same.”

“So,” she said. “That’s weird, too.”

The
faintest smile tugged at the corn
ers of his mouth. “I don’t think it’s weird,” he said. “I think it’s wonderful.”

She placed her hands on his upper arms. “Harry. I lost Scotty. I couldn’t bear it if I lost you.”

He kissed her forehead. “Don’t worry, darling. Tony told Mauley that if anything happened to me, he would keep the land in the family the way I wanted. If Mauley realizes that he won’t get the land if I die, then he has no reason to kill me. I think this whole business is finished.”

What he said made sense, but it still did not reassure her. No matter how logical
he might be, she still could
not rid herself of the sense that time was running out.

Following this thought, she said, “We go back to London soon.”

A thick lock of tawny hair fell over his forehead, and he stared at her, frown
ing deeply. “You’re leaving Sil
verbridge?”

“We’ve almost finished filming, Harry.”

“Do you have more shooting to do in London?”

“Some of the other cast members do. I don’t.”

His brow cleared. “In that case, you’re staying here.”

“As your guest?”

“As my intended wife,” he shot back.

Slowly she began to smile. “I think I could manage that.”

His fingers tightened on her shoulders. “I don’t know where Charles and the past fits into all of this. As I said before, it all seems pretty weird. But I do know that you and I belong together.”

She tilted her face invitingly upward. “Yes.”

There was no urgency about this kiss. It was long and gentle and tender, a seal to a covenant made between the two of them. When he finally raised his head, he said anxiously, “I say, do we have to have a big do? Could we possibly just be married quietly without any fuss?”

She thought for a moment “I don’t see why not I already gave my family one big wedding; they don’t need another.”

He grinned. “Did I ever tell you that you were perfect?”

“I don’t believe you have.”

“Well, you are.”

“I’m not, but I’m glad you think so.”

He frowned. “I just hate the idea of Mauley getting away with burning my stable.”

She shook her head in mock disbelief. “His worst crime is not trying to kill you but burning your stable?”

“I’m okay. My stable is not. And if I can’t prove that the E.H. officer was bribed, I’m not going to be able to rebuild it.”

“Sweetheart,” Tracy said softly, “I make twenty million dollars a movie. I’ll rebuild the stable as a wedding present.”

His mouth dropped open.
“Twenty million dollars?”

“Yes. And I have a very clever financial manager who has made me more money than I can possibly spend in one lifetime. Rebuilding your stable will be simple.”

He stared at her. “I don’t know if I like the idea of using your
money…
”

She said reasonably, “One day Silverbridge will belong to my son. You must agree that I have a vested interest in seeing that it is well maintained.”

His brown eyes sparkled. “You sound as if you have thought about this.”

“Girls always do,” she returned demurely.

He didn’t reply, just continued to look at her with those sparkling eyes.

She glanced at the kitchen clock. “Do you think it’s too early to go to bed?”

His reply was immediate. “No.”

“What about Tony and Meg? What will they think if we toddle off to bed together?”

“We’ll tell them that we’re going to get married. That will legitimize us.”
He took her hand and began to walk her toward the kitchen door.

“I foresee only one problem in our marrying, Harry,” she said as they went out into the hallway.

He turned his head. “What’s that?”

“Ebony.”

“Oh.” He grinned. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a little cat.”

“She doesn’t like me.”

“She’ll learn to love you.”

They began to climb the stairs. “Does she like treats?” Tracy asked. “Perhaps I could bribe her with food.”

He laughed. “She’ll come around, Tracy. Once she realizes she’s stuck with you, she’ll come around.” They reached the top of the stairs and went into the morning room to break the news to Tony and Meg.