A streak of lightning suddenly lit up the sky; a crack of thunder boomed immediately after. Through the pines, Rex saw a jagged flare of fire catch, sizzle...and fade.
And then the lights in both houses went out. 'Alexi!' he screamed. The rain began to fall as he raced back toward his house. He threw open the front door. 'Alexi! Alexi! Alexi!'
There was no answer but the sure and ceaseless patter of the rain. He'd known she was gone. She was somewhere within the darkened Brandywine house.
'Alexi!' He started to run.
The bed was still warm beside her when Alexi awoke. She smiled. He was up, but he had to be nearby.
It had grown dark. She reached over to switch on the bedside lamp. 'Rex?'
He didn't answer her. Alexi crawled out of bed and scrambled into her clothing. 'Rex!' she called, zipping up her shorts. She started down the stairs and headed for his office. He wasn't there, and some sixth sense told her that he was nowhere in the house. She noticed that his answering machine was blinking. Curious, she went over and pressed the playback button, hoping that a message might give her a clue to his whereabouts. Maybe Gene had called. Maybe Rex had gone to meet him at the house.
Rex seemed to have a dozen messages. She sat through six business calls, two friends saying 'hi' and then a call from Mark Eliot--a call that made her start in surprise. Rex's answers had been recorded, along with Mark's information.
Listening to the exchange, Alexi felt a numbness of fear sweep over her. John was there, on the peninsula. Why? Had he been there all along, watching her, spying on her, stalking her?
She gasped aloud, suddenly more afraid of the sound of Rex's voice. He meant to meet John. And God only knew what he meant to do. 'No, oh, no!' She hurried toward the door. She didn't know what to do; she was too frightened to really think. John was her problem, though. Rex shouldn't be dealing with him. And she was afraid to think about just how Rex might be dealing with the man.
She ran, barefoot, toward the Brandywine house. Against the darkness of night, it seemed ablaze.
She hadn't noticed the coming storm. She screamed out, startled and cringing, as a bolt of lightning lit up the sky. Thunder cracked immediately, and then she saw a flash of fire. The fire sizzled out--and the world was pitched into an ebony darkness.
Rain started to fall against the earth in great, heavy plops.
Alexi swore softly and raced on toward the house. In a flash of lightning she saw an unfamiliar blue car and Emily's red Toyota. She kept going up the path. The front door was ajar; Alexi pushed it inward.
'Rex! Emily? Samson!' She swallowed, straining to see in the darkness. 'John...?'
Alexi stumbled into the kitchen. She groped around the cabinets, reaching to the top to find a candle, then swore vociferously in her efforts to find matches. At last she came across a book of them and managed to light one with her chilled, dripping fingers. She cajoled the wick into catching, then raised the candle high. The kitchen seemed eerie in the darkness.
Something drifted over her bare foot. Alexi screamed and nearly dropped the candle, and for one instant she was convinced that her ancestral home was haunted--and that a ghost had wafted over her. Then she heard a soft, plaintive mewling.
'A kitten!' she whispered, stooping to find the little pile of fluff that had rubbed against her. She picked it up and smiled at the brilliant, scared eyes that met hers. 'Silver. Where's your cohort? And where in heck is Samson? Hey, you're all wet....'
Alexi frowned and raised the candle higher. She gasped then, realizing that the back door was open. She stepped toward it and the porch beyond it, her frown deepening as she noticed a large, huddled form there. Her heart quickened with fear.
'Rex?'
She kept going. She wanted to scream, and she wanted to stop--and she could not. She set the kitten down in the kitchen and stepped out onto the back porch.
The huddled form was a body. She began to shake, terrified. She had to touch it.... Someone was hurt; someone needed help.
She went down on her knees, and her eyes widened. She saw a patch of blond hair.
'John!' She gasped. She touched his shoulder nervously. 'John?' She pulled her hand away and began to shake in earnest. There was blood all over her hand.
'Oh, my God!' she breathed. She heard the front door slam. Then she heard footsteps racing through the house. A scream of terror rose to her throat.
Rex. Rex had come here, and Rex had killed John. It was her fault. John was dead. She'd hated him; she'd feared him--but, oh God, she'd never expected this....
She screamed as a figure burst out upon her.
'Alexi!'
It was Rex. He raced over to her and paused, staring at her, then at the body. He dropped to his knees beside the body and pressed a finger against John's throat. He looked at Alexi again.
'This is Vinto?' His voice had a harsh, strangling sound. Alexi gazed at him blankly. He knew this was John. He had done this thing to him.
'You...you...'
'We've got to get help out here right away,' he muttered.
'Oh, Rex! Oh, God!'
'Alexi, you're going to have to tell the police everything that happened between you. Everything. From before.'
'What?'
'I love you, Alexi. Whatever happens, I'll be by your side.'
'What?' she repeated, amazed and ready to burst into tears. She'd fallen so in love with him. She should have known it was too good to be true. This morning they'd sailed a turquoise sea under a golden sun, and now they were sitting here, drenched and ashen, staring at each other over the body of a man....
'Samson!' he said suddenly. 'I hear Samson.'
She looked up. He was right. The shepherd was racing toward them, skidding across the kitchen floor so fast that he nearly flew into Rex's arms once he'd left the doorframe behind. He barked excitedly, jumping over John's body to crash into Alexi. She burst into tears, hugging the shepherd. It was too much. “Alexi--'' Rex began.
'There you are!'
Rex turned to the doorframe and distractedly noticed Emily standing there in her trench coat. “Emily, thank God you're all right,' he said. He reached out for Alexi. She winced, jerking from his touch. 'Alexi, it's going to be all right!'
'Rex!' Emily said in a strangled voice. She'd seen the body, Rex thought.
'Emily--' He began to turn.
'Oh, my God!' Alexi shrieked. 'Rex--she's got a gun.'
But somehow that fact didn't quite penetrate Rex's mind. 'Emily, what in God's name are you doing?' He started to walk toward her. She raised the barrel so it was even with his chest. 'Stop where you are, Rex.'
He knew from her tone that she meant it. 'Emily--'
'Back up, Rex--now. I mean it. I--I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt either of you. I've got to figure this out now. You'll all have to be found together. A love triangle. I don't know. Maybe you found the two of them together, Rex. Then shot yourself.'
Fingers were touching him. Reaching for his arm. It was Alexi. Numb, Rex encircled her with an arm, drawing her tightly to him.
'Why?' Alexi whispered. Emily looked at her and spoke as if she was trying to explain things to a half-witted child.
'Why, the treasure, child, of course. I finally found it. Today.'
'It's worthless, Emily!' Rex thundered. 'It's worthless paper! It's not--'
'It's not paper at all, Rex Morrow!' Emily corrected him. She sniffed. 'No one knew Pierre Brandy wine--not even his beloved Eugenia! It was gold he left her. Gold bars! A fortune. A real treasure. And it's been in this house all these years because some foolish little maid didn't bother to forward a letter.' Emily smiled. 'I found it, you see. I was cleaning up in the old kitchen before Gene had them put the new stuff in. I found Pierre's letter. Telling
