“Enough to attempt murder?” McManus asked.
She ignored him. “I told Frank you were an idiot and would be easy to take in. You trusted him like a puppy dog.”
“I guess I am naive,” I answered. “I never imagined that you could hate me so much you’d make your mother and sister suffer for it.”
“Who doesn’t help me, hurts me,” she replied coolly.
“They stood in the way.”
“Of the inheritance?” McManus asked. “Perhaps, Holly, you figured that if both Lauren and Nora were dead, and your mother charged with double murder, the money would be yours. At least, you’d be given control over it.”
“You’re smarter than the rest of them,” she said.
“Of course,” McManus continued, “it would help to have Frank moving things along legally. What was he supposed to get out of this?”
“My mother’s property for a good price.” She sounded proud — she sounded absurd, as if there were no difference between a murder plan and a yearbook layout.
“The boathouse was Frank’s idea,” Holly went on. “He saw it was in his best interest to help out. I knew Frank was in bad financial shape — he leaves his papers all over his home office, like he thinks a teenager can’t read. He’s got several banks and some real unhappy investors breathing down his neck. He was desperate to have something to offer them.
“I want a deal,” she told the sheriff. “I’ll give you the evidence you need on Frank, but I want a lawyer with brains to represent me and a good deal from you.”
“We’ll talk about it back at the station,” McManus replied.
Holly eyed Nora. “You let me down, Nora,” she said bitterly. “You screwed your own sister.”
Nora stepped behind me, as if needing my protection.
“I am the one who let you down,” Aunt Jule said, “all three of you. It’s way past time that I tell you why I asked Lauren to come back to Wisteria.
“Seventeen years ago, when Sondra came here pregnant and terribly upset, I myself was pregnant for the third time.
Sondra lost her child. Her baby is buried next to her in the churchyard.”
That was the grave I had seen, the one I’d thought was mine.
“Meanwhile, I had a child I couldn’t afford. We agreed that it would be best for all three children if Sondra took Lauren and pretended she was hers. I knew that Lauren would receive all that a child could want and that Sondra would love her dearly. Sondra sent money every month to help support us here. As part of the agreement, my little girl was to visit each summer.
“But as Lauren grew older and Sondra more troubled, Sondra and I began to fight about how Lauren was being raised. When they came that last summer and I saw how painfully confused Lauren was by Sondra’s behavior, I was furious. We fought about Lauren day and night, as you all well know.
“It’s hard not to be overly critical and jealous of the woman raising your child. But I loved Sondra. I did not kill her. Still, I knew Nora had problems and feared that she had. I was afraid that in therapy, that secret would be discovered and they would take Nora away from us. I thought if I could keep her safe here at home, everything would be all right.
“I knew I had to tell Lauren the truth about her birth, but the longer I put it off, the harder it was. When I finally made up my mind to do it, and Lauren came, painful memories were stirred up in Nora. I worried that Nora might hurt Lauren and was afraid to explain the past and make things worse. I didn’t know what to do.”
Aunt Jule gazed at Nora and me, then turned to Holly. “I have not been a good mother. I have made terrible mistakes. But I have always loved you.” Her voice wavered with emotion. “I will never stop loving all three of you.”
I wanted to put my arms around Aunt Jule, to reassure her, but I couldn’t. I struggled to comprehend that she was my birth mother and to reinterpret all the things I had thought I knew about myself. Nick, who was standing a distance behind us, came forward and took Aunt Jule’s hand.
I finally found my voice. “Nora is innocent of my mother’s — Sondra’s — death,” I said. “Holly convinced Nora that she was guilty because she didn’t go into the river to pull her out, but Nora wasn’t responsible.”
Aunt Jule closed her eyes and shook her head.
“Okay,” McManus said, “I think this soap opera’s over, at least for now. I’ll be sending someone back to you folks for some more statements.”
An officer cut the curtain cords around Holly’s wrists.
When Holly stood up, Aunt Jule tried to put her arms around her, but Holly pushed her aside. “I hate you! I hate all of you.”
“I want cuffs on her,” McManus said.
“Traitor,” Holly hissed at Nick, then moved toward me.
Two officers moved with her.
“Excuse me,” she said, “I have something private to tell Lauren.”
They looked at me and I nodded.
She took a step forward and whispered in my ear, “I killed Sondra, but you’ll never be able to prove it.” Then she turned away laughing and was escorted out the door.
As the police exited, Nick’s parents arrived. They said a quick hello to Aunt Jule and rushed over to Nick. I don’t know how the three of them understood each other, for they all talked at the same time. I turned to Aunt Jule — in my mind, that was still her name. I hugged her and Nora, then pulled away, feeling suddenly shy.
My godmother — mother — touched my cheek gently. “It’s okay, love,” she said. “It’s going to take a while to get used to the idea.
“Your dad knows,” she added, “he has since you were three. I didn’t realize Sondra had told him, not until we spoke at her funeral. The loss of Sondra had upset you so badly, we both thought it best not to tell you about your birth until you were older. Whenever I visited you, your dad would call to find out how I thought you were doing. He may not have been an ideal father — he certainly wasn’t a good husband to Sondra — but he does love you.”
I nodded silently. There was so much to absorb.
Aunt Jule hugged Nora and smiled at me, as if to send me the hug vicariously, while giving me the space I needed at the moment.
“Do you want one of your walks alone?” she asked. “See, I’m learning that you’re not a little girl anymore and like to work things through by yourself.”
I smiled back at her. “Yes, but I want to take Rocky with me. Tell Nick I’ve got him, okay?”
The dog trotted next to me down to the boathouse. I kept a tight hold on his collar as we watched the firefighters continue to douse the grass around the burned-out structure.
Fishing line, crab traps, and nets, some of which looked new, had been dragged out of the water. Yellow police tape surrounded the site.
“Come on, Rocky,” I said and headed in the direction of the dock. He raced past me, then plunged into the water. I watched him swim and tried not to think about Nick.
I had discovered that there was something more painful than falling in love with someone who hasn’t fallen for you: hurting that person — hurting him and not being able to do anything about it I wondered if Nick suspected that Holly had killed my mother. I wouldn’t tell him. Holly was just a kid then — maybe a heartless one, but a kid, and legally a minor. If I pursued the matter I’d create more pain, not achieve justice.
I told myself it was Holly and Frank who had betrayed Nick; still, my return to Wisteria had triggered the whole disturbing chain of events. I wondered if Nick and I would ever be friends again. I thought about the way he had cried when he held me on the grass.
Think about something else, I told myself, think about Dad. In nine months I’d inherit my mother’s money and wouldn’t be dependent on him anymore. It would give me a better chance to strengthen our fragile relationship, to let him know I didn’t need, but wanted, his presence in my life.
And the money would enable me to pay for the psychological care of Nora — for the care of my sister, I
