The Guest List (25 page)

Fran gave the usual polite responses before she got to the point of the call. “I know
Proof Positive
isn’t due until February, but I thought I’d check in with you to see if there’s any chance you might be through with it sooner. We ran into some legal problems with one of our March books and have had to do some rescheduling.”

Abby had never heard her editor sound so frazzled. “As a matter of fact, I’ll be finished with it this week, Fran.”

Abby heard a huge sigh on the other end of the line. “Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. Can you put all the finished chapters in attachments and e-mail them to me? Then I can get started on them right away.”

“I thought it took several months to get a book into print.”

“We can do it overnight if we have to.”

“Overnight? Are you serious?”

“That was an exaggeration, Abby. But being we’re really in a bind here; the entire staff has agreed to work together to make this happen in record time.”

Abby had a million questions. “What about the book tour and all the publicity stuff we were talking about?”

“We’ll reschedule everything. Don’t worry. I’m on top of it. Everything I promised you will still happen, only sooner. Listen, send those chapters out as soon as we hang up, okay? I’m going to get started on them tonight. And thanks, Abby, for being such a good sport.”

Abby hung up the phone and started to work. She didn’t
want to keep her editor waiting. Fran was depending on her. It took her a little over an hour to e-mail off twenty chapters. In the body of the e-mail, she explained that the last two chapters would be e-mailed by Friday afternoon. She was glad she wasn’t one of those writers who saved their spell-checking and punctuation for last. When she finished a chapter, it was fin-ished, right down to the last comma.

The smell of roasting meat reached Abby’s nose. It obviously reached Olivia’s nose, too, because she woke up and sniffed the air. Abby turned off the computer, turned out the lights, and followed Olivia to the kitchen.

“What
is
that delicious smell?” she asked, her mouth watering.

“Ribs. Are you hungry?”

“Starved,” Abby replied as she poured each of them a glass of red wine. “I have news. My editor called a little while ago and wants the book as soon as I’m finished with it, which will be this Friday. There was some legal glitch with another book that was scheduled, and they’re putting mine in its place.” She repeated her editor’s conversation to her sister.

“So much for all that talk about it taking months to produce a book. It’s too bad things didn’t work out so you could use the final chapters of our own little mystery. But it’s probably better this way. By the way, I finished all that stuff you wanted about my dreams. It’s right there by the phone.”

“Good. Your input has been great. I just wish it wasn’t so painful for you.”

“It’s just as painful for you,” Mallory said. She opened the oven door and basted the ribs with a thick, reddish brown sauce. “I was thinking about calling Dr. Oldmeyer’s daughter. She lives in Atlanta near Argone. What do you think?”

“If she gets mad, just tell her how worried you’ve been. That will calm her down.”

Mallory adjusted the top burners on the stove. “Where’s my purse?” She turned around in a circle. “There it is,” she said,
spying it on the counter where she kept her car keys. She rifled through her purse until she found her digital address book. She punched in the numbers. “Keep your fingers crossed,” she said. “It’s the damn machine,” she whispered a second later, disappointed. “Hello, this is Mallory Evans. I’m a good friend of your mother’s, and I’m worried because I haven’t been able to reach her for several days. Could you ask her to please give me a call at area code 843-871-0909.”

Dinner was basically a silent affair, each young woman busy with her own thoughts. They finished at the same time and stared across the table at one another. Mallory refilled their wineglasses.

“Do you suppose Carol has any inkling that Donovan had an affair with Mama?” Abby asked. “If your memories are one hundred percent right, Donovan dated Carol and had an affair with Mama at the same time. Boy, if that isn’t a macho trick. Carol would have been livid
if
she knew about Mama.” She peered over the rim of her glass at Mallory. “Mama
would
have known about Carol. There was nothing hush-hush about their relationship. You have to admit that was pretty shitty of him.” She set her glass down and put her hands on either side of her face. “Oh, God, this is way too much for my peabrain.”

Mallory resembled a melting candle as she leaned back against her chair. Her expression told Abby the thought hadn’t occurred to her. “You’re right,” she said at length. “Jesus, you’re right, Abby.”

“Okay, I’m right. So exactly what does that mean? I’m so confused I don’t even know what I said.”

“I know what you said but I don’t know what it all means. At least not yet. I have to think about it, mull it over, but I’ll bet you it means
something.
And don’t say it could just as easily mean nothing, please.”

Abby bit back what she was about to say. “I wasn’t going to,” she said, the lie hot on her lips. She took a sip of wine and stared into the bottom of the glass where it was safe.

“Donovan has to be real nervous about now. I’m sure Carol told him we’re coming to the dedication. I don’t think she would want to surprise him. When you’re forewarned you’re forearmed. We have to remember that.”

“But, Mallory, if Donovan killed our parents, why did he take us in?”

Mallory’s voice was cold and hard when she said, “Guilt!”

Abby crossed her arms and tried to draw comfort from their warmth as she stared into her sister’s glittering eyes. She didn’t succeed. Instead she started to cry.

“Don’t fall apart on me now, Abby. This is when you have to be strong and tough. I can’t do this alone.”

“I know, Mallory, I know. I’m okay. I’m just tired and stressed, and I think I’ve had too much wine.”

“Okay, let’s dump these dishes in the sink and go in and be couch potatoes. I think
Diagnosis Murder
is on.”

“No thanks. No murder mysteries, if you don’t mind. A comedy or a love story, anything but a murder mystery.”

The phone rang as the sisters were heading into the great room. Mallory picked up the cordless and kept walking. “Hello? Oh, yes, thank you for returning my call. Constance was supposed to call me several days ago and when she didn’t, I tried calling her, but I haven’t been able to reach her. I know I shouldn’t worry but …” Her relieved smile faded. “She what?” Her eyelashes flew upward, her eyes round with horror. “Oh, God no. How?” Abby hurried to Mallory’s side and steadied her. Mallory clutched her hand. “You did order an autopsy? I see. When is the funeral? Yes, I’ll be there. Thank you and … I’m so sorry. She was a wonderful woman. I literally owe her my life. Good-bye.”

Abby put her arms around her sister and held her while she cried. Hot tears stung her eyes as she tried to comprehend what this latest news could mean.

Abby and Steve sat close to each other on the sofa in the great room, their hands entwined, Abby’s head on his shoulder. Mallory sat across from them, slowly sipping her coffee. Only her eyes betrayed her misery. Sad eyes, Connor had called them a long time ago. Today they appeared even more sad if that was possible.

“You need to get some sleep. You look absolutely exhausted, Mallory,” Abby said. She knew for a fact that Mallory hadn’t had a full night’s sleep since before Dr. Oldmeyer’s funeral.

Woody jumped up onto Mallory’s lap and curled up. “I’m too wired to go to sleep. My mind is like a buzzing beehive right now. I can’t stop asking myself questions, like why didn’t it occur to me that Constance would be a threat to Donovan? How in the name of God did I miss that?”

Abby’s forehead furrowed with confusion. “A threat? What are you talking about, Mallory?”

“Constance was my confidante. She knew everything I knew. She knew about Donovan’s affair with Mama, about the DNA
test … Everything! It makes perfect sense that he would want her dead. I just wish I’d thought of it sooner. Maybe I could have stopped him.”

Abby’s jaw dropped. “How could you possibly think Donovan had anything to do with Dr. Oldmeyer’s death. That’s too far-fetched to my way of thinking.” She closed her eyes a moment and reminded herself to be patient, to remember that Mallory wasn’t herself right then, that she was upset. “You talked to Constance’s daughter,” she said in a soothing voice. “You heard her say her mother died in the hospital, that she was with her, and that the autopsy she insisted on confirmed a heart attack. Tell me how that could be anything other than what it is.”

“I know it looks like natural causes on the surface,” Mallory said calmly. “And I’ll admit there’s a fifty-fifty chance it is. But ask yourself if it isn’t awfully coincidental, Constance dying of a ‘heart attack’ right after talking to us. As far as the autopsy goes … the doctor performing it would only have been looking to confirm a heart attack. If he found the evidence, he wouldn’t have looked for anything else. So you see, the autopsy wasn’t conclusive.”

Abby turned to Steve. “Please tell me she’s wrong.”

“I can’t,” Steve said with obvious reluctance. “If the doctor had no reason to suspect anything other than a heart attack, he wouldn’t waste his time looking further.”

Abby thought a moment. “All right. There’s a way we can resolve this. Call Argone, Mallory, and ask them if they have your records. You think Donovan’s killed Constance because of what she knew, but what she knew was also in those files of hers. If they have them, case closed. Right?”

“Right,” Mallory agreed as she stood up and stretched. “I’ll call them first thing tomorrow morning. If you two will excuse me, and I know you will, I think I’ll go to bed. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

Abby struggled off the sofa to head toward her sister. “Please
don’t be upset with me for disagreeing with you, sis. I feel for you. I really do. I know how hard it is to lose someone you love. But I think you’re reaching where Dr. Oldmeyer’s death is concerned.”

“I’m not upset, and I understand how you feel, Abby. Honest. We’re each entitled to our own opinions, and I just stated mine.” Mallory hugged Abby. “See you in the morning.”

Abby sat back down on the sofa next to Steve. He took her in his arms and held her tight. “Considering how Mallory feels right now, don’t you think you should cancel your plans to go to the dedication ceremony tomorrow?” he asked.

“If she wanted to cancel out, she would have said so, but I am going to ask that you not go with us. I love you too much to lose you. If by chance she’s right, and Donovan did kill Connor because of jealousy, then he would be just as jealous of you. So far, he knows nothing about you, and I would like it to stay that way until this is over.”

Steve released her and turned sideways. “I don’t want you to go without me, Abby. I’d be worried sick and …” His beeper chose that particular second to sound off. It was his answering service. He picked up the cordless phone and dialed the number. “This is Dr. Carpenter,” he said. Abby saw his face undergo several expressions: disbelief, anger, concern. He reached for the pad and pen on the coffee table. “It’ll take me a half hour to get there,” he said as he replaced the cordless phone on the table.

“What’s wrong?”

“The police raided a house outside of town and found a puppy mill in the backyard. I’m not going to go into detail, but it’s pretty bad. They need my help, Abby. I know it’s going to take tonight and most of tomorrow to treat the most critically ill animals. Unless I can get another vet to come in …”

“No, Steve. You have to stay. It’s your job, and those dogs need you. Mallory and I will be fine, trust me.”

“Please reconsider.”

Abby waved her hand in dismissal. “Nothing’s going to happen, Steve. Donovan wouldn’t be so foolish as to try anything in public. And besides, I’m still not convinced he killed anybody, especially not Dr. Oldmeyer. Go on now, you need to hurry. Call me on my cell phone if you get a break.”

“What about your dogs?”

“We’ll be back early tomorrow evening. They’ll be fine. I’ve trained them well, thanks to you. Go now.”

Mallory almost seemed like her old self the following morning. The minute she finished her first cup of coffee, she called Argone, only to be told the person in charge of records was out sick and wouldn’t return until the following week. She slammed the phone down in disgust.

Over breakfast the girls made a list of questions and talked about how they might discreetly work them into the day’s conversations, should the opportunity present itself. “We want to know if Donovan was the big contributor Constance was concerned about. And we want to know if he saved any of our parents’ stuff. What else? Oh, I almost forgot. We want to find out where Donovan was when Constance died. Did I miss anything?”

Abby shook her head as she stared at her sister, whose eyes were too bright, her jaw too grim. “We’re nothing like the heroines in my books, you know. They never have this much trouble solving their murder cases. We’re like bumbling idiots in comparison. All we have are our suspicions, suppositions, and theories which translated means the same thing. In other words, we’re duds.”

“I have to admit it does seem like the more questions we ask, the further away from the answer we get,” Mallory responded.

During the twenty-five-minute drive to the retirement village, Abby brought up the possibility of having a party to celebrate the completion of
Proof Positive.

“Hey! I have an idea,” Mallory said.

Abby had heard those words before and was beginning to fear them. “What?” she asked.

“I’m going to wing this and think as I talk, so don’t take everything I say for a book. I’m still in the formulating stage, okay?”

“Okay,” Abby said, steeling herself.

“Donovan and Carol saw me on TV and heard me talk about
Proof Positive.
Just so you know, it was my intention to make Donovan suspect that I wasn’t talking about any old double murder case, but about our parents’ deaths. I think it might have gotten through to him, but I can’t be certain. We need to make sure that he’s suspicious of us and what’s in the book.”

Abby didn’t like what she was hearing and feeling. She said so.

“What we need to do today is,” Mallory continued, “talk a little about the book, drop a little innuendo here and there and make sure one of us mentions that the book is done and has been sent to the publisher. Then we invite Donovan and Carol to the party to celebrate its completion. If I’m right, he’ll be very worried that we’re going to announce the answer to ‘whodunit.’”

“But we wouldn’t do that under any circumstance, would we, Mallory?” Abby said more as a firm statement than a question. “Because if we did, we could buy ourselves some serious legal trouble.”

“Of course we won’t. However, we will let him give himself away,” Mallory said airily.

Abby checked in at the guard gate and proceeded to maneuver Mallory’s Corvette into the parking lot.

“Holy cow!” Mallory exclaimed as they pulled into a reserved spot. “What a place! It’s beautiful.”

“My sentiments exactly,” Abby agreed, looking around at the gardens and ponds and waterfalls.

A tram came by, picked them up, and took them to the
Village Restaurant. After giving their names to the hostess, they were escorted to a table near the back of the restaurant. Abby sucked in her breath when she saw Donovan stand up to greet them.

He looked handsome in his three-piece navy suit and two-hundred-dollar tie. And so normal. He didn’t look like a murderer. How could he have killed four people and still look like Businessman of the Year? Or could he?

Carol turned around just as Donovan stood up. Despite her Donna Karan outfit and her professional grooming, she looked considerably older than the last time Abby had seen her. She looked careworn. This definitely wasn’t the same Carol Abby had once loved and adored.

Bobby, not quite the gentleman his father was, remained seated and grinned.

“Now this is what I call Christmas, New Year’s, and the Fourth of July all rolled into one!” Donovan said, opening his arms to both girls. “When Carol told me the two of you were coming, I could hardly believe my good fortune. This is some day, ladies.” He hugged them each in turn, then pulled out chairs, and waited until they were comfortably seated before taking his own seat across the table from them, directly in their line of vision.

“My God, Mallory, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you,” Donovan said, his eyes shining with love and regret. “You’ve grown up and turned into a beautiful young woman. Tell me about yourself. What are you doing besides playing Abby on TV?”

“I’m working as Abby’s assistant, helping with her research, answering fan mail, that sort of thing. A simple but rewarding life. After living in such a regimented environment for many years, one tends to be more grateful for the simple things in life, if you know what I mean,” Mallory responded sweetly.

Donovan looked like he was about to ask for an explanation when Carol interjected, “I’m sure you’re more than a capable
assistant and a wonderful companion for Abby. I’ve always had the impression being a writer was a very lonely, solitary kind of life. Abby’s lucky to have you.” Carol picked up her napkin and spread it across her lap. “Speaking of your writing, Abby, I hope you don’t mind that I put copies of your books in all the model homes.”

Abby looked at Mallory, then back at Carol. “No, of course I don’t mind. That was very thoughtful of you. Thank you. Any kind of promotion helps.”

“I did it because I’m so proud of you. I want all of Donovan’s clients to know what a talented daughter he has.”

They spoke in generalities, staying on safe and familiar ground until the waitress came for their order. Outside the window an elderly lady was walking her dog. It all looked so normal, so peaceful.

“What a cute little sheltie,” Carol said, observing the woman and her dog. “That reminds me, how is everything at your house, Abby, with the dogs, I mean? I never would have thought you’d turn out to be an animal lover. We didn’t have any pets while you were growing up. How did that happen anyway?”

“After Connor’s funeral, Bunny gave me a dog to keep me company. His name is Beemer. He’s a retired K-9. The vet who delivered him has a clinic nearby and was overloaded with dogs he’d rescued. I volunteered to help him out by taking care of some of them. It’s been quite an experience and it helped me through the roughest time of my life. One I would gladly experience again.” The list she and Mallory had made came to the forefront of her mind. “You donate money to a lot of worthy causes, Donovan,” she said, briefly glancing at Mallory. “Now that you’re no longer contributing to Argone’s coffers, I wish you’d consider contributing to a worthy animal cause.”

“How did you know? … What makes you think I’ve stopped? …” He turned to his wife, his expression suddenly cold and hard. “Carol?”

Carol’s face paled. “You’ve been giving them money for
years, Donovan,” she said. “I thought it was time to let someone else benefit from your generosity. I was going to talk to you about it this weekend as a matter of fact.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that,” he said in a tone that left no doubt that he was angry. He turned to Abby and Mallory. “Carol takes care of the details,” he said by way of explanation.

“Do you have a particular animal charity in mind, Abby?” Carol asked, her lips pursed tightly, obviously trying to redeem herself in her husband’s eyes.

“Actually our local humane society is in serious need of funds. They need to expand the facility so they can house more animals for a longer period of time. They need money for educational materials as well. Their goal is to make people understand the need to have their pets spayed and neutered. If there wasn’t such a pet overpopulation problem, you wouldn’t see so many abused and abandoned animals. It’s terrible. It really is. People treat their animals like so much garbage and throw them away.”

“Sometimes people treat kids like that, too,” Mallory slipped in, a wounded smile on her face.

As prepared as Abby was for anything Mallory might say, she wasn’t prepared for the long silence that followed.

“I didn’t know such a problem existed, Abby,” Donovan said, breaking the silence. “I’ll be glad to help.” To prove his point, he pulled out his checkbook and quickly wrote out a check. “Here’s twenty-five hundred to start with. Tell me if they need more, okay?”

Abby was momentarily at a loss for words. Her hand trembled as she accepted the check. Steve would be so excited.

“How’s
Proof Positive
coming?” Bobby asked, innocent of all the subterfuge.

Abby had been dreading this topic. “It’s all finished,” she said with false cheer. “It went much faster than the other two because of Mallory doing all the research.”

“Is it really based on a real murder, or are you just saying that to get publicity?” Bobby asked.

“Of course it’s based on a real case. Loosely based,” she qualified. “Mallory ran across the case files when she was working as an insurance investigator through the work program at Argone. She brought it to my attention and asked me if I thought it would make a good plot for a book, and I said it would.” She turned and smiled at Mallory for effect. “I’ll tell you, though, it sure makes you wonder about the intelligence of our police. The case could have been solved if they’d done a proper investigation,” she said, improvising as she went. “Actually, it can still be solved. We have more than enough evidence to get them to reopen the case.”