He's been very upset since the cat died.'
'You said Brook knew you were at the pond.'
'We talked to him as we were leaving the house. He could have painted the back of the bam long before and been waiting for the right moment to set his prank in motion. Adrian had an appointment with his lawyer today, supposedly about his will. I think Brook found himself with the perfect opportunity to stir an already boiling pot.'
'And then he got lucky,' Sam went on, 'because Patrick decided to cross the ice? I don't think so. Kate, hasn't it occurred to you that, according to Patrick's story, he was lured onto the ice, lured by a favorite pet, just as Ashley was?'
I shifted uncomfortably and stretched my legs out in front of me. I thought of it, yes.'
'And have you thought about the fact that you were supposed to be watching him, just as your mother was supposed to be watching Ashley? And that if he had drowned, you would have been blamed, just as your mother was for Ashley's death?'
I had thought about that quite a bit.
He leaned toward me. 'I'm telling you again, you have to leave this place.'
'And I'm telling you I'm not.'
He rubbed his head. 'Maybe your mother will talk some sense into you.'
At first I thought I hadn't heard him correctly. 'Sorry?'
He rested his back against the base of one of the big chairs, seeming a little too pleased with himself, I thought. 'I contacted your mother through the Internet. It wasn't hard-I had a hunch she wasn't hiding the way she did twelve years ago. I got her maiden name from her birth records, poked around some, and found her.'
I stared at him.
'I told her what was going on, just about everything I knew, including how pigheaded you are. She said you inherited that from her.'
I swallowed hard.
'She said she had to get her passport updated, but would come as quickly as possible.'
'Here?' I could barely get out the word.
'Yeah,' he said casually, but he was faking. He had seen my reaction and was trying to downplay things. 'She can stay with Mom and me.'
'I can't believe you did that.' My words came out in a hoarse whisper. 'How dare you!'
His face colored. 'You need her, Kate, whether you want to admit it or not. You need someone on your side, and you won't let it be me. So I asked her.'
I was speechless.
'I want you to lock your bedroom door tonight,' he said.
'It doesn't have a lock.'
'Then push some furniture against it. You've seen movies, you know what to do. I'm serious, totally serious.' He stood up. 'Call me tomorrow. I'll keep trying to reach you, but Stone-Face probably won't let me through. If I don't hear from you, I'm coming here-understand? I'll park in their driveway and stand outside and howl if they don't let me in. I'm sure they won't appreciate another visit,' he added. 'My car's dropping a lot of oil on their drive. Call me.'
I nodded mutely. My mother was coming. I felt as if I couldn't move from where I was.
'It's okay, I can see myself out,' he said, and left.
I ignored Sam's advice to barricade my bedroom doors that night. Though Emily kept Patrick with her, I wanted to be available if he wandered off and needed me. I should have listened to Sam, for as it turned out, exhaustion took over and I didn't hear a thing. The next morning I awoke ten minutes before I was scheduled to drive Patrick to school. I knew I had set my alarm to ring an hour and a half earlier; someone had entered my room and turned it off.
I hurried down the steps to Patrick's room. His pajamas were flung on the bed, which meant he was already dressed. I returned to my room, pulled on my clothes, and arrived on the first floor in time to hear a motor rumbling in the driveway. Peering through the hall window, I saw Emily buckling Patrick into the back of Roger's Jeep. She was keeping him away from me.
'Good morning.'
The greeting was cold, and I took my time turning from the window.
'Good morning, Mrs. Hopewell. Why was my alarm clock turned off?'.
'Mrs. Westbrook said that she was tending to Patrick today. I saw no reason for you to rise.'
'Thank you, but I'll make my own decision about rising.'
'Breakfast is being served,' she went on, without a trace of emotion on her face or in her voice.
'I'm not hungry.'
'Mr. Westbrook has asked that you see him in the office-after you breakfast,' she added.
'I'll see him now.'
'He is not prepared to see you until after you breakfast.'
'Fine,' I said. 'Shall you prepare him for a change in plans, or shall I?'
She pressed her lips together, then walked stiffly toward the office door and knocked.
'Yes, Louise.'
'Miss Venerelli has refused breakfast and insists on seeing you now.'
'Come in, Kate,' he called.
I took a deep breath and entered. I knew this wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation. Adrian rose and nodded at Mrs. Hopewell, who, for once, departed willingly, closing the door behind her.
Adrian gestured for me to sit down. 'How are you this morning?' he asked.
'Fine.' I folded my hands tightly in my lap.
He chose the chair nearest to me. 'Kate, I am not going to beat around the bush, except to say you don't know how much I hate doing this.'
I met his eyes. 'That's all right. I can take correction.'
His hands opened and closed with frustration. 'There is nothing about your work to correct. Nevertheless, I have to let you go.'
'Let me go? You mean fire me?' I should have seen it coming, but I didn't.
'In business,' he said, 'we call it resigning. You resign before I terminate your position. It looks better on your record.'
I thought about it for a moment. 'The problem is, I'm not resigning.'
He raised an eyebrow.
'If you want me to leave, you will have to fire me,' I said.
He leaned forward in his chair, moving his head closer to mine, as if we were friends discussing a problem. 'I am counting on you to understand. This isn't my choice. You have done a wonderful job with Patrick. Unfortunately, on some issues, I need to defer to Patrick's mother, and this is one of them. I have stood up for you against Robyn, Trent, and Mrs. Hopewell, as I'm sure you know. But too many things have happened now-things that are not your fault, of course. Still, for the sake of family cooperation and my wife's peace of mind, I need to let you go.'
'Who is going to look out for Patrick?'
'I will. I promise you I will take a more active role. I should have done so long ago.'
I don't trust any of them,' I said. 'Robyn, Brook, Trent, Mrs. Hopewell-l don't trust anyone with him but Emily.'
'I understand what you are saying,' Adrian replied, 'and I will heed your warning.' Then he offered me a preposterously large amount of money for only a week's worth of work, calling it severance pay.
