Page 37 of One Last Night

I hesitate for a moment. The question doesn’t exactly surprise me, but I didn’t expect to get so quickly to the point. “I… I’m sorry.”

“I appreciate that, Miss Wilcox, but that doesn’t answer my question.”

I sigh heavily. “Luann asked me to keep that secret in confidence.”

“Did she volunteer this information, or did you catch the two of them together?”

“I caught Luann sneaking home late one night. She told me she was meeting Kevin secretly because their fathers wouldn’t approve of their relationship. She asked me not to tell anyone, and I agreed on the condition that she stop sneaking out of the house at night.”

“Were you aware that Mr. Cartwright has allegedly been sneaking out of his own house to visit Miss Bellamy here?”

“Not until earlier tonight, no.”

“So when we first talked, you weren’t aware that Mr. Cartwright had been here as recently as yesterday evening?”

“No.”

He nods and leans back, folding his arms across his chest. He regards me for a moment, then says, “What other secrets have you kept on Miss Bellamy’s behalf?”

“That’s the only one.”

“So you didn’t tell Mr. Bellamy that his daughter claims that Kevin Cartwright overheard his father threatening to take unspecified drastic measures to resolve the alleged feud between himself and Mr. Bellamy?”

“I did, but I didn’t keep that secret. I told Julian and Victoria Bellamy right away and then called the police. Well, Julian called the police after…”

I stop myself, but too late. The officer lifts an eyebrow. “After?”

I sigh. “After… There was a confrontation between Victoria and Luann after we told the two elder Bellamys what Luann told me. She was very upset that Luann was still meeting with Kevin.”

“Victoria was upset?”

“Yes.”

“Can you describe this confrontation?”

I hesitated again. I don’t want Victoria to be charged with abuse over an isolated incident caused by extreme emotional distress.

“Miss Wilcox, it’s crucial that you be honest with us right now. I’ll be honest. It looks very bad that you and Miss Luann conspired to withhold information that is turning out to be critical to this investigation.”

I frown. “But I didn’t withhold that information. I told the Bellamys right away, and you were called within minutes. As for Luann, she’s a child. She can’t be expected to have the same maturity as an adult.”

“Butyoucan. And you didn’t tell us about the meetings between Miss Bellamy and Mr. Cartwright until after she revealed the likelihood that the elder Mr. Cartwright was involved in the attack on the Bellamy residence.”

“I was protecting a young woman who doesn’t deserve to be embroiled in a conflict between two adults,” I protest. “I saw no reason to expose her to the police when she’d done nothing wrong.”

Detective Jaleel takes a deep breath. His tone is mildly irritated when he continues. “Because you withheld this information, you allowed Mr. Cartwright additional time to dispose of evidence that might link him to this crime. I’m not going to charge you with obstructing a police investigation yet, but I must emphasize thatyetis the operative word here, Miss Wilcox. Luann might be a minor, but she can also be charged with obstructing. I appreciate that you sympathize with Luann, but your choice to protect her feelings could have put her life in danger. Do you understand that?”

My heart breaks. He’s right. I’ve told Luann more than once that her safety is more important than her feelings, but I haven’t practiced what I’ve preached.

I lower my head and nod. Detective Jaleel’s partner shuffles his feet and sniffs. The sound seems to reverberate loudly in the room.

Jaleel sighs. “Anything else we need to know, Miss Wilcox?”

I swallow. “There have been other incidents of sabotage.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Other than the attack on the Continental Vineyard last month and the attack last night?”

“Yes. There was an attack three weeks ago. Someone chopped down some of Victoria’s Chardonnay vines. And there was a recent instance… I suppose this hasn’t been confirmed, but several barrels of the Pinot Noir harvested from this estate were found to be contaminated withListeria. Well,thatpart’s been confirmed, but we don’t know for sure that it was sabotage.”

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