A House to Die For (A Darby Farr Mystery) (27 page)

Laura Gefferelli drove Darby back into town where she checked in
with Tina at Near & Farr. Darby told Tina about the cabin where
Soames Pemberton might be hiding.

"What do you say we take a ride out there this afternoon?"

Tina shuddered. "I really don't want to go anywhere near that
lunatic, but if it will help Lucy, I'm game."

"That's the spirit. It's four P.M. now. Shall we meet back here
in an hour?"

"Nah, let's go now, before I lose my nerve" She saw Darby eyeing her open-toed sandals and chuckled. "Don't worry, I've got
sneakers in my truck that are perfect for tromping around the
dump."

"And I've got a flashlight." She tried calling Miles at the cottage and left a quick message. Maybe he'll call back before we get
there, Darby thought. Not only would I like to see him again, but it
wouldn't hurt to have another person along...

Fifteen minutes later they slowed down by the rutted path.

"This is where we start," Darby said. "I'm not sure how far we
go until we see the cabin, but let's give it a shot."

The two women began walking down the path, trying to be as
quiet as possible. In the distance, Darby could hear the dull throbbing knock of a woodpecker searching for insects in a rotten tree.
The brush was thick; a few mosquitoes buzzed around their heads.
The edge of the quarry came into view, and Darby scanned the
overgrown trees for signs of a dwelling.

"There it is," she pointed, indicating a tumbledown old structure half hidden behind an enormous pine. "Be ready to bolt if
Soames comes at us."

"Don't worry," Tina hissed.

They crept toward the cabin, hearing nothing. Cautiously Darby
pulled open the rotting door and peered at the darkness within.
Suddenly a whoosh of wings made them both scream and fall back.

"Bats!" cried Darby. "You all right, Tina?"

"Never been better," said Tina, sweeping dead leaves from her
legs. "Even though they scared the beejeesus out of me. Anything
else in there?"

Darby switched on her flashlight and looked around. "I don't
see anything," she said. "And it doesn't look like anyone has been
here recently, either."

She began backing out of the cabin when several small plastic
bags caught her eye.

"Tina, is that ... ?"

"Smack," Tina answered, her voice hollow. "He's at it again."

Darby poked at the bag with the flashlight. Beneath it was a file
folder.

"Trimble, Lucille," was typed neatly on a label. She picked it
up and leafed through, reading the notes as fast as she could. The
rumble of a truck made Tina look out the window.

"Shit! Someone is here! Darby, we have got to get out of here!"
Darby flipped through another page as if she had not heard Tina.

"Darby! Now! Whoever's out there is fiddling in his truck. If
we go now he might not see us! Take the damn file with you for
God's sake!"

Darby looked at one last page and put the file back. "Let's get
out of here."

They opened the door and crept around the rear of the cabin,
then into the woods. They walked a short distance through the
brush until they came to Tina's truck.

"Tina, could you tell if it was Soames?"

"I'm not sure. If it was, he probably recognized my truck."

"He's not stupid," agreed Darby. "Hopefully, he's in an altered
state thanks to some of that heroin in the cabin and didn't know
it was us."

"Let's hope." Tina started the truck and quickly turned around.
When they were barreling down the road, she asked, "So what was
in the file? Why didn't you take it with you?"

"I don't want Chief Dupont accusing me of tampering with
evidence," she explained. She took a deep breath.

"I think you need to know what happened to Lucy. She was
sexually assaulted the summer she was sixteen. She went to Dr.
Hotchkiss for treatment, but no one ever pressed charges. They
called it `molestation' back then, but Lucy was raped."

"My God... " Tina breathed. "Soames! That animal!"

"Tina, this time it wasn't Soames Pemberton who did the attacking. The doctor's notes confirm what Lucy herself told me: her
rapist was Emerson Phipps."

"Emerson Phipps? No wonder she didn't want to sell her house
to him! Do you think Mark has any idea?"

"Lucy told Mark and me on Monday."

"It's too awful to think about. Wasn't he a college buddy of
Mark's? I knew from the moment I saw that Emerson Phipps that
he was a slimebag" She slowed the truck to turn onto the harbor
road. "How did Soames get that doctor's file? And why would he
even want it?"

"I can't imagine how he knew about the attack, but Soames
Pemberton is a clever and dangerous man. Somehow he found out
about this incident in her past, and knew Lucy would be the right
person to frame."

"So what do we do now?"

"Truthfully, I don't know. If the chief finds out about that file,
he's got even more of a reason to keep Lucy Trimble as his number
one suspect. But that heroin could help explain how Lucy was poisoned." She paused. "I know one thing: I need to speak to Lucy. I
think it's only fair that she prepares herself for the rest of the world
knowing her secret."

"I'll drive you over there and wait in the car," Tina said. "Take
as long as you need." She turned the wheel of the truck around a
long turn. Darby could see the tension around her coral-frosted
lips.

"That poor girl," Tina muttered. "That poor, poor girl."

IT WAS NEARING FIVE o'clock when Darby and Tina drove over to
Broad Cove, where Lucy Trimble's studio was located. Tina stayed
in the truck while Darby knocked on the weathered old door. Lucy,
holding a canvas in her hands, answered after only one knock.
Dark circles ringed her eyes, but her grin seemed genuine.

"Being accused of murder may have its perks," she said. "Who
knows what will happen once the art show actually starts, but I
had at least a dozen calls today from potential buyers. Maybe the
publicity will be good for business."

"I hope it's good for something positive. What are you doing
now? Can I help you load paintings into your car?"

"That would be great." The two women made several trips carting canvasses from the studio to Lucy's vehicle.

"I haven't seen your brother around," Darby commented.
"What's he up to?"

"Oh, he hates all the tourists invading the island," she said. "He
took off on the boat with this guy he met-Ryan somebody. He runs an island preservation organization and loves to sail. I'm not
sure if they'll be back tonight. What's up?"

"I have a few things to talk with you about, Lucy. Can we go
inside?"

"Sure"

Darby didn't relish the idea of bringing up such a painful part
of Lucy's past. She knew all too well the anguish she would inflict
on her old friend. Still, I have to tell her that Soames knows everything and is the real killer, she thought. I have to bring up the past so
that we can save Lucy's present.

The lupines in Lucy's yard had faded and scattered their blossoms. Beside them, day lilies rose from the rich soil, their buds
just beginning to form. The early summer cycle of the island had
begun. Tourists arrived, stayed a few days, then departed. Summer
people moved in and the little community bustled. The lupines,
then the day lilies, then the peonies bloomed in succession. Life
went on and on.

Darby followed her friend into the kitchen.

"Iced tea?" Lucy asked, pouring herself a tall glass. "The mint is
from my garden."

Darby nodded, the smell of the mint freshening the air in the
little kitchen. The two women sat at the blue enameled table and
sipped the cool amber liquid. Darby cleared her throat.

"An hour or so ago, Tina and I were at an old cabin by the Powderkeg quarry. Inside, we found heroin, along with a file on you
from Dr. Hotchkiss' office. Lucy, that file talks about your rape by
Emerson Phipps. Somehow Soames Pemberton obtained it."

Lucy Trimble set down her glass with a shaking hand. Her blue
eyes searched Darby's face. "Soames?"

Darby nodded. "It's true, Lucy. Somehow Phipps paid Soames
to disrupt the planning board meeting and bring the old deed to
light. Later, Soames must have demanded more money, but Phipps
wouldn't pay it, so Soames hatched a plan to kill him. I don't know
how he knew your medical history, or how he got that file, but
he decided to make it look as if you killed Emerson Phipps. He
then tried to kill you, by pushing you over the cliff, and when that
didn't work, he laced the chocolates with heroin."

"No," Lucy breathed. "It can't be..."

"It all fits. He knew you were a former user from the counseling sessions, right? And if you ever mentioned the attack..."

"I didn't. No one knew about it-no one. My mother and Dr.
Hotchkiss were the only ones I told-and my mother took it to
her grave, I'm sure." She looked down helplessly.

Darby put her hand on Lucy's. "I can't imagine the pain that's
caused you, Lu."

She nodded miserably. "Oh God, I don't want to think about it,
but I suppose it will all come out now, right?"

"I honestly don't know. If the chief searches that cabin, he'll
find the file. I had to leave it there because I'm hoping somehow it
will help prove you were framed."

Lucy nodded again, wiping her eyes with the back of a hand.
"I've dealt with it, you know. I've let it all out in my paintings. The
shame, the pain, the years of nightmares ... Of course, if my mother
had been on my side it wouldn't have been so traumatic. But for her
it was an unbelievable stain on the Trimble name. In her mind, it
was all my fault."

"You must have lived through it all over again when Emerson
Phipps appeared on the island."

She nodded. "I admit it-my thoughts were full of anger when
Mark told me Phipps wanted to buy Fairview. I hated that man for
what he did to me. I hated my mother for not protecting me even
more. She was always in an alcoholic fog, and when I got up the
courage to tell her what had happened, she flew into this rage, denying the whole thing." Lucy exhaled a long breath and seemed to
collect her thoughts. "You need to see this." She lifted her shirt and
revealed a pattern of burn marks resembling Greek letters. "It's a
fraternity symbol. Phipps did it-when he was finished."

"God, Lucy!"

"I spent years hating him, and then-I made peace with it.
When he appeared last week, I slid backward for a while, and then
the peace overcame me once more. I didn't kill him, Darby. Do
you think anyone will believe me?"

"I believe you. Tina believes you, and your brother will, too."

"You're sure it was Soames?"

"I have a strong hunch. I wish I knew for sure. But I do know
one thing: you're innocent."

Tears rolled down Lucy's face as she nodded.

Darby rose and faced her friend. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I am."

"Then I'm going to see Chief Dupont. Trust me, we'll get to the
bottom of this."

Darby was glad Tina was doing the driving as they drove to Charles
Dupont's house. Her hands shaking, she could not get the image
of Lucy's scarred stomach out of her mind. Her thoughts were churning, her emotions a mix of anger and sorrow. All these years,
all these years ...