“Mary, I got to tell you, you’re gonna put me out of a job.” Lou smiled at her warmly. “I hardly lifted a finger.”
“Mary, way to go!” Marshall grinned.
Anne looked happy, but worried. “Great job, Mary, but no job is worth your life.”
Bennie looked askance at Anne, then flashed Mary a thumbs-up, with a sly grin. “Brilliant work. Way to go, partner.”
Mary felt happy and excited, despite the undercurrent of warfare between the DiNunzio and Rotunno clans. “Thanks so much, everybody. You’re all wonderful to come and see me tonight, and I’m so lucky to have all of you in my life.”
Bennie rose, brushing off her khaki suit. “We’re lucky, too, especially me. Maybe we should put your name on the letterhead? Rosato & DiNunzio. What do you say?”
“I say yes,” Mary answered, with a happy smile.
Chapter Fifty-one
The next morning, Mary got herself discharged from the hospital, left a bewildered Anthony at home, changed into jeans and a cotton sweater, and hit the highway in Mike’s old lime-green BMW 2002, which started the moment she twisted on the ignition and still hummed all the way out to Townsend, under clearing skies that she couldn’t help but feel were metaphorical.
In time, Mary reached the winding road to Houyhnhnm Farm, braked, and pressed the button on the Gardners’ call box. “It’s Mary,” she said simply, knowing they would see her immediately. The gates opened wide, and she steered through, followed the gravel road to the house, and parked in the family parking lot, where she cut the ignition and got out of the car.
The air was balmy, sweet, and clean, and Mary took a deep breath, inhaling a lungful before she confronted the task at hand. She walked toward the house, surrounded by the green and glorious property, with its bay horses grazing in the pastures and noisy birds chirping in the aviary. Nothing would suggest this was a home in crisis. Perhaps it always had been, but nobody had known it before.
“Mary?” she heard a man’s voice ask, and she looked over to see Alasdair striding toward her, dressed in a T-shirt and riding breeches, presumably because thoroughbreds had to be exercised, indictments or no.
“Hey, Alasdair.” Mary walked over to him, and they met on the gravel road near the entrance to the house.
“I didn’t recognize the car. The police and various lawyers have been coming and going, most of the morning. You threw me off.”
“It was my husband’s.” Mary’s chest still tightened when she looked at the car. “It runs a lot better than it looks.”
“Oh, I’m sure it does. It’s a beauty. I drive a Triumph, the TR6, which was made by British Leyland. I fixed it up myself.”
“So I guess you heard.”
“Yes, and my wife and I are so sorry about what happened to you.” Alasdair touched her arm, frowning with concern. “How are you? Is your jaw injured?”
“No, I’m fine, and it’s nothing serious.”
“Who knew Richard and Neil would do such a thing?” Alasdair shook his head, his expression pained. “Who knew about any of it?”
“Nobody did, and it’s Allegra I’m worried about. I’m going to see her as soon as I finish here.”
“Good, give her my love and tell her the bees are doing wonderfully. You think they’ll let her come home now?”
“I’m hoping.” Mary glanced at the house, bracing herself. “I’d better get going.”
“Sure, let me know if you need anything.” Alasdair patted her arm again, and Mary took off toward the house, where she was met at the door by the housekeeper, who was short and plump, with a kind smile and halo of gray curls.
“Hello, I’m Janet. You must be Mary. Please, let me show you in.”
“Thanks,” Mary said, steeling herself.
Chapter Fifty-two
The Gardners had a large country kitchen ringed with raw pine cabinets, rustic tile countertops, and top-of-the-line appliances, and Mary sat across from Jane and John Gardner, downcast in their matching polo shirts and khakis, unsure where to begin. “I guess I should explain what happened with Neil last night, then you can fill me in on why you think it all happened.”
“Let me go first.” John shook his head, his expression softer then Mary had ever seen before, which she should’ve expected. “I owe you an apology, that’s job one. I’m very sorry for the way I treated you from the outset. I said some awful things to you and your colleague, and I’m very sorry, especially in view of what’s come to light now.”
“I am, too, very sorry.” Next to him, Jane nodded, her hand clutching a fresh Kleenex. “I’m so sorry that you were in danger last night.”
“That wasn’t your fault.”
Jane pursed her lips. “In a way, it was. We thought we were doing what was best for Allegra, but evidently, we weren’t. We’ve made some grave mistakes in this family and frankly, I don’t know what I’ve been thinking, as a mother.”
Mary could see how upset she felt. “I’m sorry too, for coming on so strong in the beginning. I could’ve been gentler.”
“Not at all, please.” John waved her off. “In any event, to come to the subject, here’s exactly what happened last night, and how we found out about Neil and Richard. Jane and I were here in the kitchen, and I was on the laptop when I saw a story online that Neil had been arrested in the attempted murder of one Mary DiNunzio.”
Mary tried to get used to herself being referred to in the third person, especially in the same sentence as attempted murder.
“You can imagine, we had no idea what was going on. We couldn’t believe our ears. The first thing I did was to call Richard and Edward, and they raced over. We all sat down together, right where we are now.” John gestured vaguely to a pitcher of fresh lemonade and a platter of oatmeal cookies that sat untouched in the middle of the lovely cherrywood table. “I said that I couldn’t understand why any of this was happening, that it didn’t make any sense. Why would Neil try to kill you? Jane felt the same way, we were both of us flabbergasted. Then Richard announced to the room, ‘I have something terrible to tell you. I’m going to call a lawyer and turn myself in to the police.’”
“What?” Mary’s mouth dropped open, even though Gloria Weber had already given her the gist. But it was one thing to hear it from the Chief, and quite another to hear it from the family.
John swallowed, and his Adam’s apple traveled up and down in the open neck of his polo shirt. “By way of background, you know that Fiona had been working on the Meyers acquisition, doing filing and such at the cottage, for him and Neil.”
“Yes.”
“Richard said that at the time, he and Neil had been embezzling from one of our clients, the construction of Foster Towers in Salisbury, Maryland, and hiding the theft in cost overruns and change orders. They’d managed to keep it secret for almost a year, accumulating about six hundred thousand dollars. But then, on the day our new headquarters in the city were to open, Fiona happened to walk in on him and Neil, when they were having a conversation about some of the funds and bank accounts.” John pursed his lips, then continued. “Richard didn’t think Fiona overheard anything, but Neil was worried. He knew she was smart and took an avid interest in the business and he was afraid that she’d tell us or the police. Richard calmed him down and believed that he had allayed Neil’s anxiety. Evidently, he hadn’t, and that night at the party, Neil slipped away and murdered her.”
Mary couldn’t speak for a minute. She had seen that Neil was a belt-and-suspenders kind of guy, when Feet had fallen. Neil had been so careful to make sure that the company didn’t get sued. But she didn’t dream that would extend to murder.
John cleared his throat, without success. “Richard had no idea that Neil had done this, and that night, he believed that Lonnie Stall was the guilty party, just as we all did. Now, fast-forward to the present day, when Allegra hired your firm. You entered the picture and started looking into the murder case, and Neil told Richard everything. The two of them decided to stop you from going
forward, by any means necessary.”
Jane said softly, “It’s awful, I’m so sorry.”
Mary thought back to what Chief Weber had told her last night. “So Richard came forward, confessed, and implicated Neil, in return for a plea deal.”
“Yes. He told us he wanted to take responsibility and spare us all a second trial. He was going to try to convince Neil to do the same, and we hope that he will plead guilty as well.”
Mary sighed. “Well, the deal’s confession puts the nail in the coffin, as far as reopening Lonnie Stall’s case. The prosecution will cover its bases, following up on the payment for the guilty plea and also retesting the original samples of trace evidence, to determine that they are Neil’s. But I believe this will set Lonnie Stall free.”
“We know.” John glanced at Jane and placed his hand over hers. “Obviously, we take some satisfaction in his exoneration, and we’re relieved that Richard turned himself in and accepted responsibility for his complicity. But it doesn’t do anything to bring Fiona back, which is what we both want, in our heart of hearts.”
“I know, and I’m sorry.”
“So are we,” John said, anguished.
“May I ask a question?” Mary didn’t understand something, and neither had Chief Weber. “Why would Richard embezzle money, given his wealth?”
“It wasn’t about the money, for him. Unfortunately, we’ve always had some measure of sibling rivalry, completely on his part, with his feeling that he needs to come out of my shadow.”
Mary flashed on the corporate portraits at the cottage, which featured John so prominently among the brothers, and she remembered her sense that the cottage was distinctly junior to the corporate headquarters, in its fancy award-winning building.
“Richard became emotional last night, and he told us that he just wanted to prove to himself that he could do it. That he was smart enough not only to take the money, but to take it from me and hide it from me. So you see, it didn’t concern money at all.”
Mary eased back in her chair, suddenly exhausted. “I understand the whole picture now, and thanks for taking the time to explain it to me. I know this hasn’t been easy for you, either of you. My primary concern, of course, is Allegra.”
“Ours, too.” Jane sniffled.
“I had intended to see you, then go to Churchill and tell her what happened. I was worried she would find out from TV news or the Internet. More importantly, I thought she should know, amidst all of this pain, that she was right all along, and she deserves to be thanked.”
John nodded, and new tears filled Jane’s eyes.
“I think she really needs to hear that, but now I understand that she doesn’t need to hear it from me. She needs to hear it from you. Both of you.”
John blinked, and Jane sniffled, wiping her eyes, leaving pinkish streaks on her fair cheeks.
“So I propose, at this point, that I bow out. Allegra doesn’t need a lawyer anymore, if she ever did. What she needs is her mother and her father.” Mary could see from their subdued expressions that they were open to hearing her, at long last. “There is no substitute for you both, and you may feel broken and horrible now, but this family can come together. This is the time to start. You may have lost Fiona, but you still have Allegra. As I told you, in my own life, I’ve lost someone to violent crime, too. And the way to honor Fiona is to embrace Allegra.”
Jane rose suddenly. “Mary, I think you’re right. We’ll leave right now, and I can’t wait to see her.”
John looked up at his wife in surprise. “But we’re not on her visitors’ list. She won’t see us.”
Jane stiffened, squaring her shoulders. “John, I don’t go against you often, but this time, I am. Nobody negotiates harder than you do in business, and it’s time you put that expertise to work in this family. We’re going to Churchill and we’re going to sit in that waiting room until she sees us.”
John stood up, with a half smile. “Fair enough, we’ll give it a try.”
Mary got to her feet, feeling a weight lifted. “Good call, John. Your wife is making sense and you need to listen to her.”
John grinned, extending a hand. “Thanks. Now, Mary, I know you’re the only lawyer in the world who doesn’t care about money, but I’ll see to it that your fee is paid.”
Mary smiled, shaking his hand. “Now that I’m a partner, I appreciate the value of money more than I used to. I’ll take you up on that offer. Thank you very much.”
“John, well done.” Jane brightened, coming around the table. “Mary, I’ll walk you out.”
“Yes, please do,” Mary told her, having an ulterior motive.
Chapter Fifty-three
“Feel better?” Mary asked Jane, as they walked in the warm sun to the car.
“Much.” Jane turned to her, with a growing smile. “I’m nervous about dealing with Allegra, but we’re going to make it work. We simply have to heal this family.”
“Good for you. I’m a big believer in the truth setting you free.”
“I think that’s right,” Jane said softly. “By the way, how’s Feet?”
“Wonderful, thanks. If I may, however, there’s one last thing I want to mention to you.” Mary braced herself to lower the boom. “It’s not my business, but I’m on a roll.”
“What is it?” Jane asked, mystified.
“If you remember, this all began when Allegra came to us, saying that she knew Lonnie Stall. She told us that she had seen him when Fiona was babysitting her, yet John said that Fiona was never asked to babysit.”
Jane’s expression darkened, and her pace slowed on the gravel, though she said nothing.
“Jane, I don’t think your husband was lying to me when he said that, so the only logical conclusion is that you lied to him. That means that you were having Fiona babysit Allegra without his knowledge, and I can think of only one reason you would do that.”
Jane hung her head slightly.
“It doesn’t matter to me if you were having an affair.” Mary paused, waiting for Jane to tell her to shut up, but it didn’t happen. “Again, my concern is Allegra. She knows what she knows. She remembers what she remembers. If she’s to have any hope of reclaiming her mental health, somebody has to tell her the truth.”
Jane groaned, shaking her head. “I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because John doesn’t know.” Jane kept shaking her head. “What do I do? Tell Allegra not to tell him?”
“No.” Mary didn’t hesitate. “You need to tell him yourself.”
“About the affair?”
“Yes.”
Jane’s lovely eyes locked with Mary’s. “Even if the man I was having an affair with was Richard?”
Mary absorbed the information without showing the dismay she felt. “Even then, and especially then.”
“But it’s so awful, and of course it ended the night Fiona was killed. It didn’t even go on that long. Now I see that Richard never really loved me, he just wanted to best John.” Jane closed her eyes. “It’s mortifying. It was just Richard proving he was smarter than John. I was a possession to be won.”
Mary touched her arm. “Jane, you’re a good person, and I’m sure there’s a reason why you strayed, but that’s between you and John. Allegra’s welfare is what matters now, over John’s feelings, or yours. She didn’t create the problem, and she doesn’t deserve to suffer for it.”
“I know.” Jane nodded, and they both looked over when Alasdair shouted to them, walking over with a grin.
“Jane! I just had an amazing ride, and Paladin’s so fit, I swear. You must ride out today. He’s keen to go.”
Jane quickly put on a smile. “Maybe I will, tomorrow.”
“Brilliant!” Alasdair reached them in an effusive good mood, gesturing at the green BMW. “And did you see Mary’s car? That’s almost as beautiful as a warmblood, at least to my eye.”
Jane smiled again. “What is it with men and cars?”
Alasdair laughed, thro
wing back his head. “What is it with women and horses?”
But Mary was already getting an idea. “Alasdair, you like my car?”
“Love it! Who wouldn’t? It’s a classic, the BMW 2002. I bet it runs beautifully, doesn’t it?”
“Here, see for yourself.” Mary fished in her back pocket for the keys and handed them over.
“I can take it out for spin? Awesome!”
“No, I have a better idea.” Mary was thinking about what she’d said to the Gardners, which she’d never realized until now. The way to honor Mike was to embrace Anthony. “Give me a ride to the train station, then you can keep it. It’s yours, as a gift.”
Jane gasped. “How terrific!”
“Are you serious?” Alasdair’s eyes popped open. “What are you talking about? I can’t accept it, no way!”
“Take it, please.” Mary smiled, bittersweet. “I want somebody to give it a good home, and love it as much as my late husband did.”
“But why let it go?” Alasdair asked, astounded.
“Because it’s time,” Mary answered, simply.
Chapter Fifty-four
CONGRATULATIONS, read the banner, and Mary scanned the happy scene in the conference room, amazed that so much had happened in a few short months. Richard Gardner’s confession and guilty plea to conspiracy in the attempt to kill Mary, and the statement he gave the authorities about Neil’s murder of Fiona had been instrumental in forcing Neil to plead guilty to Fiona’s murder, and both were both serving time in Graterford Prison. Richard had been given a twenty-year sentence for third-degree murder, and Neil was serving life without parole. In the aftermath, the Gardners had begun to heal their family. Allegra was happy and healthy in school, seeing her bees every day and her therapist once a week. John and Jane Gardner seemed closer than before, and at the moment, the three Gardners stood together by the baked ziti, engaged in an animated conversation with Rita Henley and Lonnie Stall, who had been released from prison last week, completely exonerated.