Page 68 of Death in the Family
Several facts still needled me, slivers of treachery stuck so deep I was desperate to pinch their ends and pull them free. “I think you drugged Jasper last night,” I said when Norton and I were alone. According to Ned, Norton was the only one who saw them after the fight outside. Ned told Norton Jasper had taken a fall. They’d come in through the kitchen.The water ring on Jasper’s bedside table. “You drugged his water, didn’t you? And this morning you got rid of the glass.”
Norton looked at me with grave eyes and nodded.
“You did the same to Abella during last night’s cocktail hour.”From the start, Tim had wondered whether drugs were involved. But Jasper wasn’t the only target. “Did you spike her ice? Clever. If someone else wanted their wine extra cold and ended up knocked out like her, all the better.”
“I didn’t want her to see,” he said feebly. “I was trying to protect her.”
“And you did it again tonight, to Camilla.” She was required to take pills several times daily, Norton had said. But I’d spent a whole day with the family and hadn’t witnessed her take anything, and there were no pills at her bedside. Camilla had seemed tired during our conversation in her bedroom, but she was coherent—nothing like the near-comatose state she slipped into after just a few sips of wine. “You couldn’t have her contributing to a conversation about the family money. Not with Flynn and Bebe in the house.”
Norton brought his hands to his head and squeezed. “You don’t understand! It wasn’t like that!”
“No? Camilla’s dying. The Sinclair fortune’s dried up. All that’s left now is the island. Who gets it when she’s gone? Who did Camilla name as her heir? It’s you, isn’t it? She’s leaving it all to you.”
Philip Norton’s shoulders collapsed and he closed his eyes.
“Jesus,” I said under my breath. More than anything, I felt disappointed. Camilla seemed like such a strong lady, the only one in the family in her right mind. She’d lost her husband, her only son, and the business she’d watched her family build from nothing, but she should’ve had the good sense to spot Norton’s ruse. If only she’d heeded the warnings of her beloved grandson, whose instincts had been on target. Instead, she listened to her friend of twenty years tell her how much Tern Island meant to him. That leaving it to Jasper would put it at risk of being snatched up andsold by Bebe and Flynn. Norton painted himself as the only logical choice. He promised to protect the priceless property until it could safely be transferred to Jasper. Jasper, who was about to disappear into the October mist.
Norton would face a colossal legal battle when Camilla’s wishes were discovered. A widowed empress of New York spurns her rightful heirs and leaves a multimillion-dollar estate to its longtime caretaker? The media would go wild. With Jasper gone, though, Flynn and Bebe were the only ones left to fight for the island, and doing so would inevitably call attention to the family business. The siblings needed Tern Island sold, but if it meant the press might shine a spotlight on Sinclair Fabrics, they’d be better off mourning the tragic loss of their brother and grandmother and letting the property go. Norton must have been overjoyed to hear Flynn announce he and Bebe were corporate criminals. Both faced massive fines, possibly even jail time. There was no one left to interfere with the plan.
“You think this place is worth killing for?” I said. The injustice of what Norton had done made my trigger finger itch. “Was it a kitchen knife or a tool from the shed? Was he dead before his body hit the water, or did he writhe in pain while he drowned? Did you watch him sink to the bottom of the river?Did you?”
Norton clutched his head tighter and released a primal moan.
“I thought you were working alone. When I realized what you’d done—implicating Bloom, the drugs—I was sure you concocted this whole plan. But I don’t think you killed Jasper anymore. No, you left that part to someone else.”
I knew better than anyone, maybe even the Sinclairs, that families don’t always stick together. It was like Flynn said. A blood bond doesn’t guarantee loyalty.
“It’s not too late to save yourself, Philip. I’ll take you back to the station. You can sign a confession. Jade will be safe, I gave her my word.”
Pummeled by wind and rain, Norton slumped against the edge of the canoe and let the water slosh against his knees. He was close to cracking, but not close enough. I was too late.
The storm was loud, and the ambient glow from my flashlight turned the world black and white, all gloss and shimmer, wet grass and mud—but still I felt it. He was here.
Miles Byrd’s rapid breathing preceded him. I didn’t need to see him in the light to know he’d taken a bad fall on his way down. There was a limp in his gait as he stumbled toward us.
“Thereyou are,” Miles said to Norton. “Where’s Jade? It was the right decision, getting her out of there. Flynn’s fucking nuts.” He turned to me. “You were wrong about him, I hope that’s obvious now. Flynn lost it last night, just like he did in there with Ned. Flynn killed Jas and that girl.”
“Stay where you are.” I said it loudly. I needed Jade to hear. Miles was wearing gloves.Where did he get those gloves?
“I came to get my daughter.” Miles squinted against the beam of light and cracked an amiable smile. “Where is she?”
“Neither of you is going anywhere.”
Miles looked at Norton, then back at me. “You can’t mean... Philip? Come on. He’s harmless! He’s not the one you’re looking for.”
“You’re right,” I said as I transferred my aim and my weapon found its true target. “You are.”
Miles wasn’t like Norton. He wasn’t afraid. The man eased back his shoulders and faced me head-on. “I’m curious, is that really how you operate? By process of elimination? Your littlespeech up there, about the others being innocent... tell me that isn’t seriously how you solve a crime.”
“Process of elimination is a handy tactic, Miles. It’s what brought me to both of you.”
Miles laughed and wiped the cold night rain from his brow. “Are you kidding me with this? You and your idiot partner, you’re complete amateurs. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Miles didn’t like where this was going. He couldn’t see his daughter, and despite his bravado that made him nervous.
I clutched the grip of my gun harder and fought through the pain. “I know about the inheritance, Miles.”
A few feet away from him, still knee-deep in water, Norton straightened up. There was panic in his eyes.
Miles brought a gloved hand to his heart and gave me his most earnest smile. “You’re confused,” he said. “That’s understandable. It’s a hell of a situation we’re in. Tell her,” Miles said. “Tell the detective she’s wrong.”
