Page 134 of Call Back

“With all due respect, Mrs. Rogers, there is a killer on the loose.”

“A killer who lay dormant until you returned.”

“If that’s true, then what happened to Christopher Merritt three years ago? I know you two were meeting, and unlike the gossips here in town, I don’t believe for a minute that you were having an affair.”

She narrowed her eyes to pinpricks. “You think he wouldn’t have me as a lover?”

I crossed my legs, trying to look as demure as possible. “No, I think you wouldn’t have him.”

Rowena laughed and set down her cup. “I’m happy to see you have just as much spunk as you did when you were a child.”

“We’ve met before?” I asked, then amended, “Before last week?”

“Of course. I was very close to your father,” she said with an air of naughtiness.

I wasn’t going to take the bait. I needed to get this back on track. “When did you meet my father?”

“A very long time ago. You were a toddler, and your mother was huge with your brother in her belly. Your father was quite proud of you. Talked about you ad nauseam.” She grimaced, as though she found the memory distasteful.

Ignoring her dig, I continued, “Was it a professional meeting?”

“If you call a fundraiser where investors kiss rich people’s asses a professional meeting, then yes, it was a professional meeting.”

“So you met at a fundraiser?”

“You really want to go down this path?” she asked. Her question held an ominous tone.

Did I? Was it really worth the bloodied price? But I’d come this far. There was no turning back now. “Yes.”

Rowena sat back in her chair and rested her hands on the wooden arms. “Then proceed at your own risk, but a word of warning—I have plans this afternoon, so I will likely cut you off when I’m out of time.”

I suspected she’d cut it off as soon as she’d told me everything she wanted me to know. I knew I was being played, yet I had no choice but to follow her rules. “Who was in charge of Winterhaven?”

Her eyes lit up. “Oh, someone has been doing her homework.” She rested her hands on her lap. “Your father, believe it or not.” She waved a hand. “Well, he wasn’t in charge publicly, but he was calling the shots. The Jackson Project was his idea, and he brought many of us on board to invest in it as well. But I’m sure you heard it all fell apart.” She made a face. “Nasty business. Max and Neil vowed to get revenge, but Bill protected your father. He made sure they never touched him . . . until Brian turned on him, that is.”

I tried to hide my shock. “My father turned on Bill? When? Fourteen years ago when he disappeared?”

She laughed and shook her head. “You poor girl. You always believed he was dead. Brian was counting on that. He was so certain the testimony of his precocious daughter would convince the police he’d come to foul play. But his plan didn’t exactly work out, of course. Max and Neil changed things.”

My heart raced, but I forced myself to maintain my cool exterior. Rowena was counting on me falling apart, and I wasn’t going to give it to her. I was a coldhearted woman no one could touch. If I repeated it enough, I’d believe it. “What does that mean? How did they change things?”

“They knew Brian was planning to take off, so they planned to catch him in the act and punish him. They had Shannon abducted and killed, then planted her car at the airport along with your father’s. Max knew a woman who worked at an airline, and in exchange for a hefty bribe, he got her to claim they’d boarded a plane to the Caribbean. Max had paid for the tickets several days in advance with Shannon’s credit card so there would be a paper trail.”

“It couldn’t have been that easy.”

“It was easier than you might think, particularly if that’s what the police wanted to believe.”

“And my father?”

“He escaped, unscathed, of course, and boarded a plane, but not with Shannon. And under an alias. Rumor has it he went to Tahiti. Or Bora Bora. He took the knowledge of the location of the money with him.”

“Walter Frey, Geraldo Lopez, and Christopher Merritt’s father knew about this? They condoned it?”

“Not at first, but Bill kept them in line. Everyone has their secrets, Magnolia. Things they never want shared in the light of day. Geraldo hid that he was gay. Walter hid that he’d committed incest with his niece. Christopher went on binges with prostitutes and cocaine.”

I felt like I was going to be sick. “And Steve Morrissey?”

“Steve Morrissey was tired of his trashy wife and found out his prenup wasn’t as ironclad as he’d hoped. He gave Max and Neil permission to use her in their scheme.”

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