a few times, but I never snooped around. I never knew what she had up there. But when you started digging around and found all those files I had to know what was in them.” Cameron’s gaze shifted back to Sebastian. “When I reached his file, I finally knew what had happened. My mom collected all sorts of information about him.”
“What kind of information?” Maggie asked quietly. “What did he do?”
Cameron’s face was a mask of uncertainty, as if he didn’t know where to begin — or didn’t know how to explain all that he knew. After a moment he nodded toward Sebastian. “Why don’t you ask
Candy’s eyes widened just a bit. On an impulse she crossed the room and removed Sebastian’s gag. “What did she have on you?” she asked him point blank.
Sebastian let out a sputter of air as he strained at his bonds, attempting to rise to his feet. But Candy pushed him back down as everyone erupted at once, Cameron, Amanda, and Maggie all shouting warnings. “Just stay right where you are ’til we sort this out,” Candy told him forcefully, crossing her arms and staring down at Sebastian. “I want the truth. Was she blackmailing you?”
The words came out of Sebastian in a growl. “Of course she was blackmailing me — she has been for years. She was a witch — a cruel, totally heartless witch who stalked me for years and tried to squeeze every last dime out of me. I gave her everything I had, but that still wasn’t enough — she wanted more. She could never get enough. No matter what I did, she wouldn’t stop. She was crazy. And I’m glad — ” He caught himself then, clamping his mouth shut as he cast a wary glance at Cameron, who stood motionless in the corner. “I... I’m sorry you had to hear that, kid, but it’s true,” Sebastian told him. “You can’t believe anything you saw in that file. Yes, I knew your father — and obviously your mother too. But no matter what you might think, I didn’t kill her. That’s the truth.”
“Yes you did, you murderer!” Cameron shouted as his face contorted in sudden rage. Trembling, he raised the rifle as he came forward toward Sebastian, who stiffened in fear and shrieked, “No, don’t shoot, don’t shoot! I didn’t kill her! I swear!”
Cameron brandished the weapon, but before he could do anything foolish, Candy and Maggie both intervened, hands out. “Cameron, calm down!” Candy shouted, positioning herself between Sebastian and the teen.
“Put that rifle down!” Maggie insisted, her fury sharpening as she marched straight toward Cameron and jerked the weapon from his hands. “We’ll have no more of this, mister!” She turned abruptly and walked to Amanda, handing the rifle over to her. “Take this out to Candy’s car and lock it inside,” she instructed, and when Amanda started to protest, she added sharply, “Now!”
Amanda complied. With the weapon gone and the situation neutralized, Maggie turned to Sebastian. “Now we’re going to call the police, and then we’re going to get to the bottom of this.”
She turned and walked to the phone, but before she could pick up the receiver, Sebastian called out. “Wait! Wait!” He struggled against his bonds again, his frustration evident. “I can explain everything... just... no police.”
Candy wheeled on him. “Why not? Talk fast, Sebastian, or I swear, I’ll get that rifle again and shoot you myself.”
“Okay, okay, okay.” Properly chastised, Sebastian settled back in the chair, his fear gone and a strange grin coming to his face. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
“You’d better. This is your last chance. Now, why was Sapphire blackmailing you? What did she have on you?”
“I’ll tell you,” Sebastian said, “but you have to understand... Susan, um, Sapphire, and I had a long history together... we go way back... and yes, I hated her... and I suppose she hated me too... but despite all that, I didn’t kill her. You must believe that.”
“We don’t know what to believe until you tell us what happened,” Maggie said testily, still standing near the phone, “and our patience has run out. Talk.”
Sebastian settled back into his chair, apparently resigned to his fate. He sighed, turned his head first one direction, then the other, as if considering how to proceed. Finally he closed his eyes and leaned back his head, and then, almost imperceptively, he nodded. “All right. I’ll talk.”
Thirty-Three
“This whole thing goes back about eighteen years,” Sebastian began, “when we all were at the University of Southern Maine — myself and Sapphire — er, Susan — and David, Susan’s boyfriend... his father.” Sebastian nodded toward Cameron. “Susan and David were students in one of my English classes — I suppose that’s where they might have met, for I seem to recall they started the class as strangers, or at least as only casual acquaintances. I didn’t notice Susan much at first, but I certainly noticed David, almost immediately. He was a fairly decent poet — quite creative and passionate, though at times he could become too sentimental for my tastes. His writing was raw and undisciplined. Still, he showed incredible promise...”
“Until you killed him,” Cameron cut in.
“That’s nonsense!” Sebastian replied firmly, his heavy brows falling together. “Utter nonsense. I don’t know where you heard that, but it’s just not true.”
“You killed him for his poetry,” Cameron continued.
“I did no such thing.”
“You killed him and stole his poetry!”
Sebastian gave a sarcastic laugh. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You weren’t there. How could you know anything about what happened back then?”
Cameron pointed toward the file on the desk. “It’s all in there. I’ve read it all. Do you want me to tell you what really happened?”
Sebastian’s face hardened. “Very well. You have the floor, young man. Illuminate us.”
“Okay. Okay, I will.” Cameron looked over for a moment as Amanda reentered the room. Outside, fierce gusts of wind were whipping the sea into a frenzied roar. Cameron glanced out at the darkness beyond the windows, gathering his thoughts, then turned his gaze back to Sebastian. “My mother and father met at USM, just like you said, though not in your class. They knew each other before that. They met at a freshman dance. He was a poor kid from Presque Isle, she was the daughter of a boat-builder from Bath. They were inseparable from the start — and from what I can tell, by the time they started your class, she was already pregnant — with me.”
“Oh my God,” Maggie cut in. “That’s why Sapphire looked so happy in that photo! And so
Cameron nodded sadly. “Yeah, she showed that photo to me. It was taken right before my father died.”
“What happened to him?” Maggie asked softly.
“I... I don’t know. She never told me — and there’s nothing in the file...”
Maggie gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. Candy only had to glance at her to know instantly what she was thinking, for the same realization had just come to her. “The obituary... the one we found in the book last night in Sapphire’s attic?”
Maggie nodded, unable to speak.
“What obituary?” Cameron asked.
Briefly Candy explained, and Sebastian confirmed the story. “Your father died in a car accident. Drunk driver. I remember it well. A tragic affair.” He shook his head, then looked over at Candy. “You’ve seen the clipping?”
“I have.” She glanced at Maggie. “We both have. Sapphire kept a copy of it stashed away.”
“Then you know I’m telling the truth, right?”
Candy said nothing, but after a moment she gave a faint nod. Sebastian let out a breath of air, while Cameron took this news with his lips pursed tight, his eyes glassy with emotion. Sebastian thought he still saw disbelief in those eyes. “I didn’t kill your father, kid,” he said again for emphasis. “It’s the truth, I tell you.”
Cameron’s faced hardened again. “If you didn’t kill him, then why did you steal his poetry?”
It took a long time for Sebastian to work around to answering that question. His jaws tightened and his brow furrowed as he weighed his options. But something inside him must have made him realize that it was time for the
