before Katie could notice and save him, sending a warning I knew you'd understand. After all, I had to let Patrick live long enough for one more chance at a deal. But not next time. Next time is for keeps.'
'You're a pathetic man,' Adrian said, and began to walk away. 'You're sick, you're delusional, thinking this game will work.'
'Adrian!'
He turned at the shrill sound of my voice.
'Joseph means it. He killed Ashley.'
Adrian's eyes moved quickly to Joseph, then back to me. Joseph said nothing. I couldn't bear to look at him. In my mind, his face was that of a friend, and I couldn't stand to see the betrayal on it.
'Joseph is nothing more than pathetic, Kate,' Adrian said. 'He is a wimp, a whiner, a person who blames others for his own failings. He hasn't the guts or skill to do anything challenging, much less murder.'
'But he killed her,' I insisted. 'Patrick has been tapping into a trace of Ashley's thoughts. That's why he keeps talking about her as if she is alive. He knows Ashley hated and feared her tutor, and he is transferring. those feelings to me.'
'Thank you, Jim Parker,' Joseph remarked. I had hoped his paranormal mumbo jumbo would distract you.
'I don't understand, Kate,' Adrian said. 'What motive could Joseph have had?'
'Money. That's plenty of motive for you, isn't it, Joseph?' The anger that was surging through me finally enabled me to turn to him.
'I rather like it, yes.'
'Who paid you to do it?' I asked.
Joseph didn't reply.
'Trent or Robyn,' I guessed. 'Robyn was horribly jealous of Ashley. And Trent had learned that she was my father's child.'
Joseph smiled. 'That's the delightful part about this family. They're the kind of people who provide plenty of cover for a murderer. Of course, nice people, like you and your mother, can provide cover, too, as Adrian has proven so well. It was he who hired me.'
I turned and stared at Adrian with disbelief. 'You,' I said softly.
Adrian gazed back, his face mild, his blue eyes expressionless. He wasn't going to deny it.
'I told you he couldn't be trusted,' Joseph said. 'I told you, Katie, he'd burn everyone but a Westbrook-me, your mother'-his voice grew whiny-'but you didn't believe me.' 'I can't-'' ' Adrian couldn't endure the thought of his money going to a grandchild who wasn't his own blood,' Joseph went on. 'Corinne had made a fool of him, convincing him that Ashley was a Westbrook. Even so, he didn't want to cut off Corinne and Ashley, not publicly. Nor did Adrian want Trent to file for divorce. Either way, Adrian and Trent would have to admit they had been suckered by Corinne, and Adrian was much too proud for that.
'But if Trent did not admit it, if he took the blame for a failed marriage, he'd lose a large sum of money in the divorce settlement. That would never do.
No, an accidental death was the only way to eliminate Ashley while saving face and money. Adrian wagered that Corinne, feeling nothing for Trent and having lost her darling brat on the estate, would leave, which she did.'
'The two of you killed Ashley.' I was still struggling to believe the horrifying idea.
I baited her with the rabbit, yes. I watched her go under. Adrian likes others to do his dirty work. I told you, Katie,' he said with the voice of a schoolteacher annoyed that a student hadn't listened, 'he uses others, then discards them. He paid only half of what he promised me. Half! And he did nothing to get me admitted to the Conservatory.'
'You never change, Joseph,' Adrian said. 'You're always blaming others for your own failures.' He moved slowly toward the wall where there was a bench and sat down heavily. 'I didn't pay the balance because you stupidly, lavishly spent the first payment within two days, calling attention to yourself and therefore to me, at the very time that Ashley died. You left me no choice. I had to stop the money and quickly take precautions against a police inquiry, hiring a private investigator, pointing him in the direction of Victoria, in case I needed a suspect.'
I swallowed several times, but could not get the bitterness out of my throat. Adrian didn't care how many lives he destroyed as long as he kept the Westbrook money and reputation intact. I began to back away, not out of fear but repulsion.
Adrian eyed me and said to Joseph, 'Now that you have set Kate straight, you have earned yourself another job. Kill her.'
I froze at his words. It was a nightmare turned real: I had no voice to scream; my legs wouldn't move.
'Kill her, and you'll get your money. Please don't misunderstand, Kate,' Adrian added. 'I like you. I like you very much. It's a matter of priorities.'
'Family first,' Joseph remarked with a giggle.
'Exactly.'
'But two for the price of one, Adrian, that's not fair. I want triple the money,' Joseph said, laughing nervously, like a child who knew he was asking too much. 'Ashley's fee, Katie's, and a fee to keep Patrick safe.'
'You're ridiculous.'
'Aren't I, though? Triple.' Joseph continued to laugh in a high-pitched way that set my teeth on edge. My feet suddenly could feel again. I turned and ran.
'Get her!'
'Who, me?' Joseph asked.
'Stop her. She can sink us both.'
'Toss me some money, Adrian. Make me a deal.'
I dodged a handcart and kept running. I was halfway to the closest exit, the rear one, when I heard a door slam back against a wall and the barking of dogs. I glanced over my shoulder. Through a side entrance came a blur of motion, black and tan, two large shepherds, Joseph took off toward the front of the building. The dogs barked anxiously, eager to chase, waiting for their command.
'What are you doing?' Joseph shouted back at Adrian. 'Put them away. I was bluffing.'
Adrian laughed, then gave two commands. I glanced back again. The dogs separated. Joseph ran toward the balcony steps. I turned and raced down a row of chairs and chests.
A dog was quickly on my trail. I climbed over a sofa, landed hard on my ankle in the next aisle, and continued running. In a single leap the dog was there, in my aisle, getting closer with each second.
'Call it off, Adrian,' I heard Joseph scream. He sounded higher up. 'Call it off.'
'Too late,' Adrian replied.
Ahead of me was a line of bureaus, tall ones, side by side. I pulled out a lower drawer, used it as a step, and propelled myself over the furniture. The dog was confused for a moment, its bark changing tone. Then it found a desk farther down the line and slipped under, hot in pursuit again.
I couldn't look back, I'd lose too much time. Its baying grew closer. My heart pounded, my side cramped. Six meters to the door, half that between the dog and me. I wasn't going to make it. I couldn't.
The door opened.
'Sam!'
He charged toward me, grabbing a ceramic lamp, hurling it at the dog. The lamp shattered against the concrete floor and the dog shied away. It was distracted for a moment-barely a moment. I reached for a glass vase and threw it. A thousand pink shards exploded up from the floor.
But the dog would not be intimidated twice. It barely flinched. The position of its ears, the way it focused its eyes on me, I knew what was coming. Sam grabbed another lamp, a floor lamp with a long shaft. The dog lunged.
Sam brought the pole down hard, separating the dog and me. The animal's bark dropped in pitch to an ugly growl. Its upper lip pulled back; its teeth were wet with an excess of white saliva.
