A Glimpse of the Dream (36 page)

“No, my stomach is just making noises like a small wild animal.”

“You always had a very colorful way of describing something. I’ll introduce you, and then we’ll get something to appease the small furry animal.”

“I didn’t say my stomach was furry, I said it was wild. It’s wild as in sexy, not furry.”

Then it made that noise again, and he responded by laughing. “Yep, that’s sexy.”

I slugged him, not hard but hard.

“Kane, so happy you could make it,” said Sally O’Malley. The petite woman greeted Kane with affection and love in her dark eyes. Yep, definitely a second family for Kane.

“And you must be Teagan. It is so nice to finally meet you.”

Finally.
Did Kane talk about me to the O’Malleys? And then, as if she’d read my mind, she added, “Kane speaks of you so often I feel as if I know you.”

My attention shifted to Kane, whose head was lowered. Taking a play from his book, I ran my finger over his cheek and felt the heat blooming there.

“If you meet my friend Simon, he’ll tell you that I speak incessantly about Kane, but then again, since he’s my favorite person in the world, I guess it’s not really a surprise.”

His head jerked up at that, his eyes turning in my general direction. “Really?”

“Yes, but you already knew that.”

“Still nice to hear,” he whispered.

“Oh, please, you must let me introduce you to Kevin,” she said as she reached for each of our hands and started pulling us along.

Kevin was a large man, almost as tall as Kane and big in the shoulders. His wife only reached his chest; they were so opposite, and yet, watching them, there was no denying the affection.

“Kevin, look who I found. Kane and Teagan. She was just saying how Kane is her favorite person in the world. Doesn’t that sound familiar?”

Kevin grinned. You could tell he thought his wife was the cat’s meow. “Sure does.” His focus turned to me. “It’s nice to officially meet you, Teagan.” His hand engulfed mine, but he was gentle when he shook it.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Would you like a drink, Teagan?” Sally asked.

“Sure, a Coke would be nice.”

“Okay, Kane and I will get drinks. Be back in a jiff.”

Watching her go, her husband said from my side, “She wants to pry information from Kane about how things are going with you two.”

“I guessed. It’s nice he has you.”

“I wish the circumstances that brought us together weren’t what they were, but he’s been like a son to us.”

“He looks to you both as something akin to parents. Regardless of what brought you together, you are together, and you don’t treat him differently. I suspect that’s why he really enjoys your company. You see him and not his scars or his blindness.”

“So do you.”

“Yes, but I’ve known him since I was nine and been in love with him for nearly that long.”

Approval shone in his eyes. “So is it true you had Mrs. T make him a worm potpie? Do tell.”

Later, while Kane was chatting with Kevin about something, I walked through Sally’s gardens. Someone came up next to me. Glancing over, I saw it was Kathy.

“So glad you could make it,” she said.

“Happy to be here. Last time I saw you, you were in need of a job. Any luck?”

“Not yet, but I’ve gotten a few leads.” She nodded toward Kane. “How is he?”

“He’s great. Happy.”

“I can see that. I’m so glad you two are together again. I remember you in school, how you were like Frick and Frack.”

Leaning closer to her, I said, “Kane knows about the fire. Mr. Bowen told him. He isn’t upset. Just thought you should know.”

Her jaw dropped; I had never seen that in real life, but it dropped, hanging open wide enough to catch flies. “So he knows it was Camille who set the fire?”

Now my jaw dropped. “Wait. What?”

Suspicion lit in her eyes. “What exactly did he tell you?”

“That you started the fire, because you heard your parents talking and wanted to help them. Camille witnessed it. She brought Falco to her dad last year, and they threatened to tell the police you started the fire if he didn’t hire Falco.”

“Son of a bitch. I just knew it, knew she was up to something. I didn’t start the fire. She called me and asked me to come with her, to hang with her friends. It was the weekend after Thanksgiving. She was already home, already kicked out of Yale because of her grades, but some of her high school friends were home for the holiday. Since all I’d ever wanted was to hang with her, I went. She was so off that night, just ranting on about Yale, her father, you going off to school, Kane following you to Boston. It was her idea to start the fire. She wanted Kane to come. I thought it was some twisted idea she had that if he saved her in the fire, he’d grow feelings for her, especially since you were out of the picture temporarily. Once the fire got started, it burned too fast to stop it. She came to me after and begged me not to say anything. She told me to think about what would happen to her dad’s practice if his daughter was found guilty of arson, so I said nothing. Everyone thought it was my carelessness anyway.”

“And all the while she’s been lying to her father to get access to Raven’s Peak. Unbelievable.”

“What do you mean?”

“Falco’s terms for the blackmail were to get hired into the firm so he could represent Mrs. Marks and get access to her home.”

“For what purpose?”

“To steal from her, we’re guessing. It seems awfully vindictive, but having never gotten her hands on Raven’s Peak, I’m guessing she wanted to take it in pieces. But then again, the few run-ins I’ve had with Camille, she’s always been vindictive.”

“What do you mean?”

“When Kane rejected Camille’s affections when we were younger, she slashed his tires.”

“What?”

“Creepy, right?”

“I wonder if her intent for that fire wasn’t more malicious,” Kathy said, but she seemed to be thinking out loud.

“Meaning?” Chills went through me.

“Nothing specific, but knowing her better, everything she does has a purpose. Kane loved you back then, and she knew it; she’d be more inclined to make him pay for that than seeking to win his affections, especially since her happy, pampered world was crumbling around her while you two were living the dream.”

Dread and fury warred inside me. Kathy was right. If Camille had set that fire, she’d had an agenda, and I remember her threatening Kane that he’d be sorry for his lack of interest. If she’d purposely harmed him, it was likely I was going to kill her.

“She shouldn’t be allowed to get away with that,” Kathy said.

“I agree. Where is Mr. Bowen?” We both scanned the yard for him. “There he is,” I said, but I was already making my way over to him. That bitch Camille may have intentionally set out to harm Kane. The idea of it was vile, disgusting, and so completely something she would do.

“She lied to you. Camille started that fire,” I said by way of greeting to Mr. Bowen.

“What?”

“I was just talking with Kathy, and I shared with her that Kane knew she had set the fire. She remembers the event entirely differently.”

His focus sliced to Kathy. “Camille set the fire?”

“Yes.”

“Are you kidding me?” Mr. Bowen roared.

At the sound, Kevin and Kane ended their conversation, both walking to where the furious Bowen paced. Camille had cost us so much, and if she had set that fire with malicious intent, I wanted her in prison. “She isn’t going to get away with this,” I demanded.

Mr. Bowen stopped his pacing and leveled me with a haunted expression. “No, she won’t.”

In the next minute, Camille and Mr. Sleazy arrived, oblivious to the undercurrent. I would have thought her father would have told her that the secret was out about the blackmail. But maybe her lack of knowing fed into whatever her father and Mr. Lawson were working on the side for Dimitri. Sparks started flying, and though few words were said, the tension was insane. Kane’s expression set me in motion because he had clearly caught on to the meaning behind the tension: that there had been more to Camille’s involvement with the fire than just having been there. He looked like he wanted to commit murder. I went to him and wrapped my arm around his waist.

“She’s not worth it,” I whispered. And yet, even as I said that, my mind was working. She’d pay if she set that fire on purpose. Whenever I had encountered her, it always ended in a pissing contest. Her need to one up, to get the last word, could be used against her.

“How did you know what I was thinking?”

“It’s all over your face. And I was thinking it too, but she is seriously not worth it.” Turning his face to me, I pressed a kiss to his lips. “Remember, you said it didn’t matter how the fire was started. It was done, in the past. And it is. Don’t let this set you back. She’s taken nine years from us, don’t give her any more.”

“Easier said than done.”

“Agreed, but killing her won’t change the outcome, and, as much fun as it would be before, during, and after her death, we’ll still be right where we are now. That said, I’ve a thought.”

“I know that tone. You have a plan?” I felt some of the tension drain from him.

“I do.”

“I’m hungry. Feed me woman,” he said, his hand finding mine. “And then we’ll discuss this plan.”

“Delighted to. I think I saw a few nice juicy worms in the garden.”

He pulled me closer and kissed my head. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Being here.”

“My pleasure, Kane Doyle, it truly is. Now, let’s eat. The small wild animal that is my stomach is growling again.”

Kane and I were sitting in the kitchen with the family. We’d briefed them on what had happened at the O’Malleys’ the night before. Mrs. Marks looked about ready to launch. “If she set that fire, so help me, I will use every cent of my money to see her put behind bars.”

“I think we can do that without you needing to spend a cent.” It might not work, my idea, but I wanted to try. If Camille had deliberately set the fire, she needed to be held accountable.

“I’m listening.”

“It’ll be like Clue but better. And we’re going to need a few more players.”

Mrs. Marks’s eyes sparkled. “I’m all ears, dear.”

The best china was set, the silver on the table, and Mrs. Marks was dressed to the nines. Mrs. T had spent the day cooking as Kane, Simon, and I cleaned the house. Everything was in place; we were just waiting for our guest to arrive.

The sound of the bell sent Mr. Clancy to the door with determined strides. He pulled it open for Camille. She didn’t wait to be asked in—she walked in as if it were her home. Pulling her coat off, she handed it to Mr. Clancy without even making eye contact.

“Camille, how lovely that you could make it,” Mrs. Marks said. “Please, let’s go to the drawing room. We’ll have tea there. It’s one of my favorite rooms.”

Standing out of sight, I watched the two head down the hall. Mrs. Marks addressed Camille as they went: “Had I known you had such a love of my home, I would have asked you here more often. There is nothing I like more than talking about Raven’s Peak.”

I followed after them and stood near the entrance once used by the servants. Camille walked around the room, her fingers running over several priceless pieces. What was her endgame? Conning a con artist for works of art she really had nowhere to place seemed so odd, which was why I really believed her goal was Kane—to get close to him and win him over. Had I not returned, would she have succeeded? She took the place across from Mrs. Marks, who was serving the tea. On cue, Kane and Zeus walked into the room from the door exactly opposite to where I was standing.