“In a miserable family where everyone escaped from each other in their own way. Me with booze, you with tranquilizers, and Dad with uppers—even Angelica binge drinks.”
“I was miserable. Think of what I went through. I had to stay married to a murderer, pretending to love him all those years for the sake of you and Celeste and Angelica. I made that sacrifice for you.”
“Don’t put that on us. You were the one who wanted the big house and the expensive things. I never cared.”
“Well, you sure weren’t happy when your father said he’d cut you out of his will.”
Mia slapped her hand on the table. “Can we get back to what happened? Did you know who I was, Alma? And if you did, why on earth bring me into your house and show me those pictures of you and Celeste? Didn’t you realize you were risking exposure for Baxter?”
“Of course. I knew you right away. Not like I’d forget the child of the woman my husband murdered. I’d read all about you in the papers. And when you showed up with Angelica at Celeste’s place that day, I did see an opportunity.”
“I was an opportunity?”
“After twenty years, Baxter didn’t worry as much about being found out. I’d been gradually losing control over him. He still adored me, of course, but he’d been indulging his—shall we say indelicate proclivities—on the side, and worse, arguing with the children—particularly Isaiah. I hoped having you around, Mia, would bring Baxter back into line. I wanted to protect Isaiah’s inheritance.” She reached for his hand.
He pulled it off the table as if she were a coiling viper.
“I felt sorry for you, Mia. And I thought you’d be a good reminder to Baxter that he might still be caught. I was furious over the way he treated Isaiah, so I used you to rattle him.”
“Ease up on Isaiah? Toe the line or else,” Mia said.
Alma paused, her throat working in a long swallow. “I wasn’t so obvious as that, but he got the message. And then, toward the end, I started to wonder. How could I trust a man who’d murdered someone and never looked back? And one morning it hit me that if he could kill Emily—” her breath hitched “—what if Celeste found out about him and he’d done something to her? I suspected the whole serial killer grabbing her up in an alley scenario was a little too convenient. I wasn’t sure—not at all. If I had been, I’d have killed him. I didn’t want to believe Baxter could’ve hurt Celeste, but whether he had or not, I wanted him out of my house.”
“You could’ve divorced him,” Mia said.
“I didn’t want a divorce. I wanted everything. And if Baxter was arrested for Emily’s murder, that’s exactly what I’d get. But I couldn’t go to the police with what I knew. I’d cleaned up the blood and burned evidence, and besides, I didn’t want to enrage a murderer.”
“None of what you did seems like a foolproof plan to me.”
“No, there were no guarantees, but it was more of a game than a plan—I saw a chance and I took advantage. Having you in the house made him crazy, and I hoped he’d do something foolish, which he did. He stole that photograph from your mother’s hope chest the very same day you brought it over, and then he made the mistake of showing it to me. He was so relieved to find it, but it reminded me of the story he’d told me all those years ago about your mother hiding it from him. I’d almost forgotten, and that gave me the idea of feeding you clues with our old photo albums. I was tired of protecting Baxter, and our perfect life was far from it. I not only didn’t care if he got caught for Emily’s murder—I prayed he would. I might not have my precious Celeste, but at least I’d have money, and justice would be served.”
“You have a very warped sense of justice.” She could hardly believe this petite, soft-spoken woman in front of her, the woman she’d idolized, was a sociopath, a master manipulator—and she’d relayed her story without a hint of remorse. It was almost as if she wanted them to see how clever she’d been. “If you hadn’t covered up for Baxter twenty years ago, your daughter and Keisha would be alive today.”
“Like I said, I paid the ultimate price.”
“No, Mother—” a tear slid down Isaiah’s cheek “—Celeste is the one who paid.”
Back at the car, Isaiah opened Mia’s door for her and went around to the driver’s side. She clicked her seat belt into place and turned to him. “I don’t blame you for what your parents did. Please know that.”
“I’d understand if you hated me, but I don’t know if I could handle it. Right now, you’re the only friend I have.”
“You’ve got Angelica,” Mia said softly.
“Not at the moment. She’s furious with me for not ‘standing up’ for Dad. According to Angelica, Samuels violated his rights, coercing him into a plea deal because he was afraid of the death penalty.”
Mia now knew more than she’d ever hoped to about the California capital punishment statutes. Despite the governor’s suspension of all executions, the death penalty was still legal in California, and plenty of criminals were being sentenced and sent to death row. If the moratorium on executions was ever lifted, they could be executed. So Baxter had provided a full confession to the murders and spared the families a trial in exchange for taking the death penalty off the table.
“He kidnapped me and took me to the grave sites.”
“There’s no logic on Angelica’s part, just blind loyalty to Dad. Sooner or later, I’m sure she’ll come around, but meanwhile, she wants nothing to do with me.”
“I’m
