The Night In Question Page 19

  Julia narrowed her eyes at the older woman, not taken in by her suddenly relaxed demeanor. Everything Olivia did was calculated, she reminded herself, and, like a snake, it was when she stopped hissing that she was at her most dangerous. She felt sudden uneasiness wash over her.

  Maria entered just then with a wheeled tea trolley, and as the housekeeper whisked a linen cloth from a basket of miniature muffins, Julia caught Max’s inquiring glance. She lifted a helpless eyebrow at him.

  She couldn’t figure out Olivia’s game either, and their past relationship was no help in guessing what was behind her mother-in-law’s puzzling attitude. She’d been expecting a reaction much like the one Babs had displayed. Instead, she thought in confusion, she was getting the strong impression that she had suddenly come into favor with Olivia.

  But that made no sense. If what she was saying now was to be believed—and that’s not a given, Julia told herself sharply—then Olivia’s suspicions had shifted, and to her own son, of all people.

  Which blows our theory of her working together with Noel right out of the water, she thought as she accepted a delicately thin cup and saucer from Olivia. However convoluted the woman is, she wouldn’t offer up Noel as a sacrificial lamb if there was a good chance he could implicate her as his partner.

  “Let me play Holmes for a moment, Mr. Ross. Forgive me—lemon? No?” Olivia raised her own cup and saucer. “Barbara will have told you how the management of Tenn-Chem has been set up, I’m sure. After building the company from the ground up and keeping it at the top of a very competitive field until Kenneth pushed me aside, I now must report to my other son like a none-too-bright child who needs constant monitoring.” The rings on her fingers clattered against the bone china and abruptly she set her cup and saucer down on the table in front of her. “That galls,” she said with soft venom.

  “Motive. Noel got control of Tenn-Chem.” Max shot her a keen look. “We’d gotten that far, Mrs. Tennant. Means, ditto. Your daughter told us that growing up as a Tennant meant growing up with the rudimentary knowledge of how to construct a bomb.”

  “Barbara,” Olivia sniffed. She’d regained her composure, Julia saw. “She’d be more likely to blow herself up. But yes, Noel had the means. He had the opportunity too. What would you say if I told you he’d been seen in the Cape Ann area, where a good deal of the evidence was later found, in the weeks just prior to the explosion?”

  She sat back with the air of a cat that had just caught a canary. Julia had the unworthy impulse to be the one who removed the bird from her before she could enjoy it.

  “I’d say, tell us something we don’t know,” she drawled. “Like what happens to Tenn-Chem if Noel is found guilty? Do you get to run the whole show once more? Or does the animosity that Babs has toward you extend to shutting you out of that as well as to curtailing Willa’s time with you?”

  Olivia had been reaching forward for her tea. Now she paused, and the thin lips curved into a smile as she looked at Julia.

  “You’ve changed, my dear,” she said with what seemed like genuine admiration. “You never would have spoken up to me like this before. The last two years have toughened you, haven’t they?”

  “Prison’ll do that to a girl,” Julia said shortly. “But maybe I always was tougher than either of us knew, Olivia. You still haven’t answered my question—will Babs take over Noel’s role at Tenn-Chem if it’s found he was responsible for the bombing?”

  “No, at that point she’d have no other recourse but to let me resume my former role. She knows nothing about the running of the business, and I’m sure she wants Willa’s inheritance to be kept intact,” the older woman said definitely. “Of course, there’s your new status to be considered. I see no reason why you shouldn’t come under my wing now that your conviction’s been reversed, and if you were already involved with Tenn-Chem when it came time to groom Willa for her ultimate position with the business it might make things more comfortable for the girl.”

  Her casual assumption that Willa’s career path was already preordained shook Julia. Olivia had sacrificed one generation on the altar of her precious Tenn-Chem, she thought in stupefaction, and the woman was already planning how best to slot her six-year-old granddaughter into the same corporate mold.

  “I doubt that Barbara would agree to Julia having any closer contact with Willa.” Max sounded mildly regretful, and as Julia, alerted by his tone, looked up, she saw Olivia’s nostrils flare in anger.

  “I know she puts about some crackbrained story about Julia intending to kill her own daughter with that bomb. Barbara’s a fool—especially where her niece is concerned. She’d say anything to keep her. I believe she’s persuaded herself Willa’s her own child—which is almost ironic, since even if he’d lived, Robert could never have given her one.”

  She stopped, biting her thin lower lip as if she’d said more than she’d intended, but Julia wasn’t taken in. This was what Olivia had wanted to tell them from the start, she thought, meeting Max’s eyes. He gave her the slightest of nods and leaned forward.

  “Robert was unable to give her children?” He frowned. “From what I gather, Barbara’s sole reason for marriage was to have a family. Why would she marry a man who couldn’t help her fulfill her greatest desire?”

  Olivia hesitated before answering, as if she were calculating how best to formulate her reply. She wasn’t acting now, Julia thought slowly. Whatever she was about to tell them was something she would normally have kept to herself. But like a master chess player, she was willing to sacrifice even a vital piece for her ultimate goal.

  “Barbara didn’t know,” she said finally. “It was part of the deal. I’m sure if Robert had lived she would eventually have accepted the situation and adopted.”

  “Part of the deal? What deal?” It couldn’t be what she thought it was, Julia thought faintly. What she was suspecting was monstrous—unthinkable. Surely even Olivia couldn’t have been capable of—

  “Oh, it sounds a trifle cold-blooded blurted out like this,” the older woman said testily. “But you have to understand, Kenneth had just gone through a messy battle with Noel and the company had nearly been torn apart over it. He and I both agreed that it couldn’t happen again—ever.”

  “‘Ever’ as in with the next generation of Tennants?” Julia said carefully. She fixed her eyes on Olivia, and, to her disbelief, saw the faintest color creep up under the woman’s expertly powdered cheeks.

  “There could be only one Tennant line to inherit,” Olivia snapped. “And since Kenneth was the first to have produced a child, we decided it would avert future problems if the man Barbara married took care of that eventuality before marriage. Robert saw it as a fair price to pay for a permanent vice-presidency at Tenn-Chem, and we all three decided that Barbara need never know he’d had—”

  “Van Hale had a goddamned vasectomy,” Max said flatly. “He had a vasectomy before he was allowed to marry into the family, didn’t he?”

  “It seemed the most expedient course.” Olivia leveled a hooded gaze over the rim of her teacup, and at that moment she reminded Julia of nothing so much as a hawk. “For God’s sake, Van Hale was at best an adequate second-in-command, and Barbara—” The beringed fingers holding the cup tightened. “Barbara’s always been so infernally weak. The girl can’t say boo to a goose.” She shook her head. “Oh, I know Kenneth hoped to have a son, but Willa’s sex never mattered to me. She comes of strong stock—stronger, I see now, than I realized even then.”

  “You think I did it.” Julia stared at her in horror. “You think I did it—and you don’t care.”

  Olivia looked momentarily disconcerted. She darted a glance at Max and then switched her attention back to Julia. The hooded eyes widened a little.

  “I think you—? Oh, my dear, of course I don’t. And since you can’t be tried twice for the same crime, the official verdict is that you’re innocent too.” She smiled understandingly at Julia, as if she were trying to convey some silent message to her.
“If nothing else, I know you never would have harmed Willa. And Willa wasn’t harmed, was she? Thank God she had that little tummy upset just in time to make sure she had to be removed from the plane.”

  She set her cup and saucer down on the table. Stretching both hands across the elegant silver tea service, she held them out to Julia in the manner of a queen receiving a favorite.

  “It’s been two years, but now it’s over,” she said softly. “Welcome back to the family, Julia.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “I feel unclean.”

  Julia stared straight ahead as, beside her, Max slid into the driver’s seat. Even the few blocks’ brisk walk in the spring sunshine to where they’d parked the car hadn’t dissipated the nausea that had risen in her at the realization that Olivia saw her as an ally. Fists clenched tightly in her lap, she shuddered again and felt Max’s hand on hers.

  “She’s a horrific old bird, I agree. But I think we have to scrap the idea she was Noel’s partner in crime.” He frowned thoughtfully. “I wonder how long she’s known he’s gay?”

  “I caught that too.” She allowed her hands to unclench a fraction. “When she and Kenneth were ensuring he would be the only Tennant to have children, they didn’t even consider Noel. They must have known then. They probably saw it as a weapon they might be able to use against him one day.” She shook her head, her eyes darkening in revulsion. “God, Max—they made a deal with Babs’s husband-to-be to have a vasectomy! It’s—it’s unthinkable!”

  “Olivia was right about one thing.” He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Willa does come from strong stock. She’s all you, Jules. I don’t think there’s a scrap of Tennant in her.”

  Looking up, she met his eyes. “Thank you for that,” she said softly. “I see myself in her too. But there’s an awful lot of Willa that’s pure her and no one else, and that’s one of the reasons I love her so much.”

  “Maybe that’s also why Babs loves her so much.” He exhaled heavily. “And why she’s been so adamant about protecting Willa from what she had to endure as a child, like her ogre of a mother and that boarding school she was banished to.”

  “Hartley House.” Julia smiled sadly. “I hope Babs and I can heal the breach between us one day. I’d like her to be part of Willa’s life, and even if Olivia gets a lenient sentence because of her age she won’t be allowed to—”

  “Olivia?” Max had been about to start the car. Now he took his hand slowly away from the ignition. “Noel, you mean. As soon as I drop you off at home I’m heading to the office to request a meeting with my director. I meant what I said at Olivia’s—I think there’s enough evidence pointing to Noel to reopen the investigation. He’ll probably be charged within a day or two.”

  “Noel? Weren’t you listening to anything that murderous old woman said?” Julia stared at him disbelievingly. “She says she loves her granddaughter, but what if something had gone wrong with her plan to get Willa off that plane in time? She played dice with my little girl’s life, dammit—and you’re thinking of charging Noel?”

  “What plan to get Willa off the plane?” He was staring at her blankly and she felt her already fraying nerves give way.

  “I picked Willa up at Barbara’s that night—she’d stayed over the night before, and Babs had asked if she could keep her for the day. I told you this already, Max.”

  “I know you did, but where the hell does Olivia fit in?” he asked tightly.

  “Olivia had come by to see Barbara just before I arrived. When I walked in she was getting Willa to drink the last of her juice, damn her!” Julia heard the tremor in her own voice. “That must have been when she did it, Max. That must have been when she gave Willa something to make her sick enough so she wouldn’t be able to get on that plane—and it nearly didn’t work! That wicked, evil old woman nearly killed my daughter with her insane scheme!”

  He held her gaze a moment longer. Then he looked away. She saw a muscle jump at the side of his jaw.

  “You don’t believe it,” she said in slow comprehension. “But you were there! You heard what she said—she practically came out and told us that Willa’s illness had been brought on by her.”

  “She still thinks you planted that bomb. She was telling you she knew how you’d ensured Willa’s safety, Jules.” Max raked a stray strand of hair back from his forehead. “I’m willing to bet the rings on those hands have been dipped in blood at least once in her life, but not in this instance. For one thing, she didn’t get what she wanted from Kenneth’s death. If Olivia was the bomber, then it follows she planted that evidence at your cottage. But why would she want to get you out of the way, knowing damn well that Barbara, as Willa’s guardian, would unquestioningly choose Noel to have the final say in Tenn-Chem?”

  “She’d always controlled Babs before. She thought she’d be able to again, but she was wrong,” Julia said swiftly. “Max, Noel’s not the same man I used to know. If he did all this to gain control of the company, what’s he getting out of it? He lives in a one-bedroom walk-up. He doesn’t hang around with the high-rolling crowd that used to be so important to him. He seems to have made a new life for himself with Peter Symington, and what’s more, he seems happy living the way he does. Maybe when Babs asked him to oversee Olivia’s running of the business he only agreed because he doesn’t trust her either.”

  “And maybe he figured it wouldn’t be so obvious if he eased back into Tenn-Chem this way. Olivia’s not a young woman, and she’s already had one heart attack. It’s just a matter of time before the company falls totally into his grasp.” Max shook his head. “He lied about being at Cape Ann and both of us felt he was hiding more than his sexual orientation when we left his apartment the other day. At the very least, Jules, I’ve got a few hard questions for the man.”

  “Then let’s go and ask him those questions right now.” Impulsively she put her hand on his arm. She saw him start to speak, and she continued hurriedly. “I don’t know why he lied about being at Cape Ann either, but what if there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for it? If you tell him his situation’s a lot more serious than it was two days ago and he’s still evasive, then go ahead and have him arrested. But if I’m right and Olivia was behind all this, taking the next few days to build a case against Noel is just a waste of time.”

  “I want this wrapped up as soon as possible too.” A shadow crossed his features, and gently he lifted her hand from his arm. “But we’re not exactly in a race against time here. Willa’s safe for now with—”

  “But that’s just it—we are in a race against time!” This time when she grabbed his arm she could feel her nails digging into hard muscle. She saw the green eyes watching her widen slightly. “I don’t know how to explain it, but from the moment I stepped into Olivia’s sitting room today and saw her again I felt uneasy, and that feeling hasn’t gone away. So help me, Max, if you won’t confront Noel, I’ll march right over to his apartment and question him myself—but one way or another, I want some answers today!”

  “For God’s sake—the man’s probably already killed four people.” Now he was gripping her. He gave her a little shake. “Do you think I’d allow you to walk in there by yourself and—”

  “Allow me?” White-faced, Julia released her hold on him and tried unsuccessfully to break free of his grasp. She gave a short bark of angry laughter. “Allow me, Max? I’m a free agent. You and I have no claims on each other—you said that yourself. And maybe you can turn your back on your own child, but I can’t!”

  She heard his sudden indrawn breath even as the unforgivable words left her mouth. The echo of them hung in the silence between them as slowly Max’s iron hold on her relaxed. Finally free, her hands crept shakily to her mouth and her fingers pressed tightly against her lips. She stared at him, her gaze wide and appalled, but even as she did he turned away.

  “Then we go see Noel, I guess,” he said huskily. “You don’t leave me much choice.”

  He turned the key in the ignition. Th
e car’s motor caught and started. Looking briefly over his shoulder for oncoming traffic, he began to pull out of the parking space.

  Julia let her fingers fall from her lips. “I never meant to say that, Max,” she said dully. “I had no right to say that.”

  “Then we’re even.” Merging with the traffic, he sped up slightly to beat the amber light just ahead. “I’ve said things to you I had no real right to say, Julia. Let’s leave it at that.”

  Taking his eyes from the road for a second, he gave her a briefly impersonal smile. “One way or another, Willa should be back with you soon. I doubt a judge will bar your custody claim once the Agency charges someone else. You’ll be able to throw her a belated birthday party.”

  There was no hostility in his tone. There was no affection in it either. In fact, she thought bleakly, there was nothing in his voice at all. He could have been making a casual comment about the weather with a stranger, instead of saying goodbye to the woman he’d made love with only two nights before.

  Because he was saying goodbye, she told herself. They might spend a few more days together for expediency’s sake, but this was goodbye. The man in the video had gone away for good, never to return, and the man who’d said she could bring him to his knees with want for her had gone too. She stared straight ahead, and saw the world around her shimmer and blur.

  “Yes, I’ll be able to give her her present,” she said softly. “We’ll be able to get to know each other again. I’ve waited a long time for this, Max. Thank you.”

  His voice held an edge of harshness. “I destroyed your life, Julia. I don’t deserve thanks for trying to patch it up again. It was because of me you got that damned scar on your hand. Yeah, I’m a hero, all right.”

  In faint surprise she lifted her left hand and turned it, first one way and then the other. She touched the ugly piercings with the index finger of her right. “You know, it doesn’t bother me anymore,” she said evenly, letting her hands fall again to her lap. “And you didn’t put me in prison, Max. It wasn’t until they hung a number on me that I finally broke free of the bars that had always been around me. I—I wish I could have given you that much,” she added almost inaudibly.