Sylvia hugged her daughter. “I’ll tell you another secret, something I’ve been working on for a long time. As soon as your divorce is final, you and I are going to go away. Out of the country. We’re going to change our names, our identities. Your father and I did well when we sold the shop and my books make some money. When my crime novel comes out, I definitely don’t want to be where Janet can find us.”
“But—”
“It’s going to be okay. I have a friend here in Lachlan who is going to help us. She was my Realtor who sold me this house.” Sylvia paused. “Janet was furious when I bought it! I did it while she was out of town. She went away to do something dreadful to her ex-husband. That poor man! She never leaves him alone. He can’t escape her. That’s how I know that you and I can’t continue to live in this country. Especially not after the book comes out. But Tayla will help us. She’s had some tough times in her life so she understands.”
“I don’t like this,” Lisa said. “Let’s leave now. Today.”
“No, not yet. Your divorce has to be final. We can’t have my brother’s lawyers searching for us. In another few months, you and I will fly away and never return. We just need to choose a place. Italy? France? Maybe a country house in England.”
“From the sound of all this maybe we should move to Afghanistan. A war zone might keep her away.”
“It’s going to be fine. You’ll see. I’ve been planning this for a long time. Let’s go to England and marry you off to a duke.”
“I’d rather have a blacksmith. I love those arms.”
Sylvia laughed. “Come on, let’s go eat. I’m starving.”
“How about two whole wheat pancakes and half a cup of coffee?”
Sylvia groaned. “Wherever we end up, let’s stop in Paris and eat our weight in pastries.”
“Agreed,” Lisa said.
With arms linked, they went to the kitchen.
Twenty
LISA ABRUPTLY STOPPED her story and looked at the others. “The next day I flew home and on the next, I turned myself in to the police.”
/> Kate gasped.
“I couldn’t bear for my mother to have to endure that woman because of what I’d done. I figured I’d serve my time and when I got out, Mother and I would go away. She’d just have to wait a while before her book could come out. I thought she was right when she said it was all going to work out.”
“But it didn’t,” Sara said.
“No.” Lisa had tears in her eyes. “I never saw my mother alive again. When I was told that she’d killed herself, I started screaming that she didn’t do it. But no one believed me.”
“That’s because they assumed that a woman without a man is a miserable being,” Sara said. “Of course she’d want to end her life.”
“How long was it before...?” Kate asked. “You know.”
“Before I was taken into custody? Just weeks.”
“And when you got out, you went looking for Janet,” Jack said.
“No, I didn’t. The woman terrified me. I wanted to put all the bad behind me. I got a job. I got away from my relatives.” She stood up. “What happened to me doesn’t matter. Besides, the rest of the story is Carl’s. You should talk to him.”
“We’d love to,” Sara said. “How do we reach him?”
“You can’t. The poor man has had years of experience in escaping Janet’s wrath so he’s good at hiding. He’ll contact you when he wants to.” She walked to the front door and the others followed her.
“There’s one thing we haven’t spoken of,” Kate said. “Who killed Janet Beeson?”
“And Chet Dakon?” Sara added.
“Don’t you think Janet orchestrated her own death? She was like an evil plant and she nurtured herself.”
It was obvious Lisa wasn’t going to answer their questions. She left and they locked the door behind her.