Unfortunately, Wink then had taken the enormous guilt leap that this knowledge had helped Nora conceive her plan to kill Dusty, and blame Louise in her place. But I told Wink no. No: it had been Donald’s desire to get out of his marriage that had made Nora kill Wink’s dear friend.
So: Nora had been aware that Louise Upton was strapped for money. This was why Nora had hired Louise to “help” with the party at her house. Once Louise was inside the house, Nora had easily dropped the opal-and- diamond bracelet through a slightly open window into Louise’s car. Louise, thinking a wealthy guest had lost the obviously valuable piece of jewelry, had tried to pawn the thing that very day. Also, when Nora was supposedly out running a few errands, and Louise was safe at the Ellises’ house setting up for the party, Nora had zipped over to Louise’s townhouse complex and left the sledgehammer she’d used on Dusty’s Civic in Louise’s Dumpster.
But Louise wouldn’t, couldn’t, have killed Dusty. She might have been envious of the young, perky paralegal- to-be, but she was too protective of H&J to have its image sullied with a murder. Meanwhile, she’s planning on suing the cops for false arrest.
Perhaps most inscrutable in all this was Donald Ellis. Who was he? He’d had affairs with both Wink and then Dusty, young women who had adored him. And maybe that was what he had been jealous for: adoration. Dusty had had no material goods, and had worshiped Donald because he represented what she was passionate about: the law, or maybe just being attached to a rich lawyer. He loved her, he said. That’s why they’d made love every lunch hour, with him hidden inside Dusty’s car as she drove it into Charlie Baker’s garage.
I wondered. Dusty, judging from her journal, had only
And now, ironically, Donald was getting just what he wanted. First, freedom from Richard and his envy and criticism. And he was getting, finally, freedom from Nora, whom he was divorcing, against whom he was testifying, and whose money he now had to spend. But he wasn’t getting
The cops never did find Jason Gurdley, the fellow who tried to mow down Vic. Vic is doing better now, and we have him over to dinner sometimes. At least, he’s doing a lot better than when he almost was killed holding Dusty’s computer. In any event, I was certain that Nora had hired Gurdley to watch the Routts’ and later our house. When Vic came out of the Routts’ house with a computer, Gurdley had decided to play it better safe than sorry, and attempted to destroy the computer.
Gurdley also could have tried to sideswipe K.D.’s car, since Nora might have worried that K.D. knew something about Uriah, based on her reaction to meeting him at the birthday party. K.D. returned from her hideout in Santa Fe, shocked to learn that what she’d suspected about the bishop had turned out to be true—and that her own husband was also a thief. On the bright side, she no longer has to fight with Richard over the divorce, and seems ready finally to get on with her life. She moved out of the house in Flicker Ridge and into a gorgeous townhouse right near Southwest Hospital.
As for Nora Ellis…she was indeed that very wealthy lady who’d wanted, as Julian had characterized her, “the best-quality stuff, but only at a steep discount.” Facing grand larceny charges, Richard Chenault is now working on a plea bargain that begins with him sharing information. The first thing he told Detective Britt was that Nora Ellis had wanted to buy a Charlie Baker painting for Donald’s birthday present. Nora had asked Richard if he could “help her out,” as she put it. Since Richard had stolen a number of Charlie’s paintings, he’d sold Nora the one for Journey Cake at a huge discount. Nora, gleeful, hadn’t questioned the price, nor had she questioned the recipe, which had been one of the ways that this whole puzzle concerning Dusty’s murder had unraveled.
Well. As things stand now, Nora Ellis is going to be tried for three murders: those of Althea Mannheim, Charlie Baker, and Dusty Routt. In Colorado, she faces the death penalty.
The funeral for Dusty Routt was a somber, stunning affair, with Father Pete presiding. Several of Dusty’s former classmates at both Elk Park Prep and the Mile-High Paralegal Institute gave testimonials describing their fun-loving, hardworking friend. Sally was able to pull herself out of her funk to attend; Marla had bought her a new black dress to wear, and arranged for a hairdresser to visit the Routt home prior to the service. The church was filled to overflowing, and Sally, who’d felt stigmatized for so long as a “welfare person,” appeared both gratified and overwhelmed. Julian and I provided the post-liturgy refreshments, and as is often the case with these things, the food seemed to set the mourners off on a renewed path to life.
Meg Blatchford came, and spoke movingly about what Dusty had provided for all of us: a view of zest, ambition, kindness. We all thanked her afterward. I also told her that she was my new hero, since she’d saved me from being strangled by Nora Ellis. Meg said, “Aw, it was nothing.” I said, “Yeah, right, Sandy Koufax,” which was a compliment with a historical context she could appreciate. She beamed, and invited our whole family to visit her at her Scottsdale home. She’s already packed up her place in Aspen Meadow and headed to Arizona with Grace Mannheim. After all, the winter season for senior softball is about to get under way.
Julian is doing well. After Dusty’s funeral, he went back to Boulder, where he’s begun working again at the bistro. I talked to him yesterday. He said, “Life is so much less eventful here than it is in Aspen Meadow. I may have to come over to that nice, quiet mountain town, just so I can inject some excitement into my life.”
To which Tom said, “Nice and quiet we’re not. But come anyway.”
Tom is better than ever. He’s back down at the department, working a big forgery case. When I asked him to tell me about it, he refused.
I’m not working at H&J anymore. For my part, I’m a little jealous, too: but only for peace and quiet. We’ll see if I actually get it. But in the meantime, our extended family has grown to include Sally, John, and Colin Routt at big biweekly dinners. Tonight Gus is spending the night with Arch, and the two of them have vowed to teach Colin how to throw a Frisbee. For dessert, we’re having the carrot cake that was meant to be Dusty’s birthday cake, and will toast her memory. Tom, bless his heart, had thought to wrap it up and freeze it. My dear husband is also making us gnocchi in veal sauce.
I can’t wait.
Recipes in Dark Tort
Dark Torte
6 large eggs, separated1 cup granulated sugar, divided1? cups ground zwieback crumbs (1 six-ounce box)1 teaspoon baking powder? teaspoon ground cinnamon? teaspoon ground cloves(high altitude: 1 tablespoon cake flour)1/8 teaspoon salt1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar1 cup finely chopped pecansSherry Syrup (recipe below)Whipped Cream Topping (recipe below)
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter two 9-inch cake pans. Butter two cooling racks.In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks until they are light and lemon-colored. Remove 2 tablespoons of sugar from the cup of sugar and set aside. Gradually beat the rest of the sugar (1 cup minus 2 tablespoons) into the egg yolks. In another large bowl,
