Hidden Talents (29 page)

“He wanted the pictures. He wanted them real bad.”

“Too bad you didn't take that one payment and run.”

“It was only five thousand,” Firebrace said, looking genuinely offended. “I couldn't stop there. I figured someone in the family would pay again to keep the pictures out of the papers.”

“You were greedy,” Caleb mused. “And you still had the negatives, after all. Why not go back just once more?”

“I planned to go back several more times,” Firebrace said. “As often as I could, in fact. But then Ambrose broke his neck in that fall and destroyed my plans.”

“Because with him dead, you no longer had any protection,” Caleb said. “Continuing the blackmail scheme would be a lot more risky without a fall guy to take the rap. Sooner or later someone might start an investigation. The trail might lead to you. Still, you had to go back just once before you packed it in, didn't you? It was just too much money to throw away.”

Serenity studied Firebrace as if he were a member of the rodent family. “You couldn't resist contacting Franklin with another demand a few days after Ambrose died, could you?”

“It was worth the risk. I'd only gotten one payment out of him. I knew those pictures were worth at last another five grand to the Ventresses. It was unlikely that Franklin Ventress would ever find out precisely when Ambrose died,” Firebrace said.

“Or even that he was dead?” Serenity asked.

Firebrace scowled. “Why would anyone tell him something like that? Asterley's death certainly wasn't significant enough to make the
Ventress Valley News
. Besides, Franklin Ventress was the last person who would start asking questions. All he cared about was his own revenge on Gordon's son.”

“But why did Franklin hate Gordon so much?” Serenity asked softly. “Was it just because Gordon was Roland's heir?”

“That was probably part of it.” Firebrace sounded irritated. “But not all of it. According to Crystal, it was mostly because of Patricia Ventress.”

“Patricia?”

“Don't you get it?” Firebrace said. “He loved her. Really loved her. And she left him because of the scandal. He never saw her again.”

“It fits,” Caleb said slowly.

“Crystal understood.” Firebrace narrowed his eyes. “She knew how much Franklin cared about Patricia. She said he'd seduced Patricia in the beginning because he was envious of Gordon and wanted to take something that belonged to his cousin. But in the end Franklin fell in love with Patricia.”

“Franklin blamed my father for the humiliation Patricia endured.” Caleb thought quickly. “Franklin could never forgive him because the scandal cost him the woman he loved.”

“He could never forgive you, either,” Serenity whispered. “He had to punish you for daring to get involved with a woman who reminded him of Crystal Brooke.”

“Yes.”

“Franklin paid for those photos the first time because he wanted ammunition to use against Caleb,” Serenity said slowly. “But why was he willing to pay the second blackmail demand?”

“Because he was a Ventress,” Firebrace said with a grim laugh. “Damn family is so proud it makes me sick.”

Caleb fingered the stone in his pocket. “You're right. Franklin has the Ventress pride. He didn't want another scandal to hit the local papers any more than anyone else in the family would have wanted it. He knew my grandfather wouldn't pay blackmail so he had no choice but to do it himself.”

“He was caught in his own trap,” Serenity said.

“Exactly,” Caleb said. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Serenity watching him, saw her gaze dip briefly to where his hand disappeared into his pocket. He hoped she realized that he still had Webster's latest discovery, but he couldn't take the risk of looking directly at her to see if she understood the significance of that fact. He kept his attention on Firebrace.

“You seem to know a great deal about my family,” Caleb said.

“I learned everything I needed to know about your whole damned family over three decades ago,” Firebrace said. “Nothing has changed. You Ventresses still think you're more important than the rest of us. You think you can have anything you want just for the taking.”

“You wanted my mother, didn't you?” Caleb said softly. “You wanted Crystal Brooke for yourself.”

Firebrace flinched as if he had been struck. “She was mine.” He blinked several times. “Your father stole her from me. He seduced her with his money and his fancy family name and his big-time political connections. Promised her the world. And she believed him, the little fool. She believed he would marry her.”

“And in the end, that's exactly what he planned to do, wasn't it?” Caleb said.

“She tried to treat me like a friend,” Firebrace said fiercely. “She didn't understand that she belonged to me. She wouldn't allow anyone else to photograph her except me, you know. She trusted me to make her look like a goddess. And I did.” He flung out a hand to indicate the photographs laminated to the walls, ceiling, and floor. “Take a good look. I made Crystal Brooke unforgettably beautiful.”

“I think she was already beautiful to begin with,” Serenity said crisply. “Furthermore, if you cared so much about her all those years ago, why did you try to blackmail the Ventresses? You must have known how much damage you would create.”

“It was for her own good,” Firebrace insisted. “I thought that once the Ventresses realized what was going on between her and Gordon, they'd put pressure on the bastard to end the relationship. But it didn't work. Roland Ventress wouldn't even pay for the pictures. So I sent the photos to the editor of the
Ventress Valley News
. I thought the resulting scandal would force Crystal and Gordon apart.”

“Instead, my father walked away from his family, his political career, and my grandfather's money,” Caleb said. “He announced he was going to get a divorce and marry Crystal.”

“Before I could think of another way to stop the marriage, it was too late. Crystal and Ventress had both been killed in that crash.” Firebrace's voice rose to a keening wail. “You were the only one left alive. It wasn't supposed to end that way. As far as I'm concerned, the Ventresses killed Crystal just as surely as if they'd put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger. After everything I did for her, she was gone forever.”

“Just what did you do for her?” Caleb asked softly. “You certainly weren't the one who took these pictures of her, were you?”

Firebrace's face contorted with fury. “I was her photographer. I made her a goddess. If she hadn't thrown herself away on that son of a bitch who was your father, she'd have become a brilliant film star.”

“Not because of your photography,” Caleb said. “This is Ambrose Asterley's work, isn't it?”

“That's a lie,” Firebrace shouted. “A damned lie.”

“I don't think so,” Caleb said with growing certainty. “I've seen work that resembles this quite recently. There's something about the play of light on the face, the way she looks into the camera, the otherworldly feeling of the picture. Asterley captured those same elements in the pictures that he took of Serenity.”

“No,” Firebrace yelled. “These aren't Ambrose's pictures. Ambrose was a failure.”

“He may have been a commercial failure because of his drinking problem, but the man knew how to handle a camera.” Caleb curved his fingers more tightly around Webster's rock. “And as his business partner, you ripped him off on a regular basis, didn't you? You must have really panicked when he finally gave up and headed for Witt's End. You knew you'd never survive without his talent.”

“That's not true, damn you,” Firebrace shouted. “You don't understand. I was the one with the talent.” He raised the gun a notch and bared his teeth. He braced himself to pull the trigger.

Caleb risked a quick glance at Serenity. And in that instant he knew that she had already read his mind. She had one hand wrapped around a tripod.

With a swift, violent movement, Serenity sent the metal stand crashing into the forest of lamps and cameras. The domino effect took hold. Expensive equipment began to topple to the floor.

“
My cameras
!” Firebrace screamed. He took his gaze off Caleb and instinctively turned toward the scene of the disaster.

Caleb knew it was the only chance he would get. He pulled Webster's rock out of his pocket and hurled it at Firebrace's head.

The small missile struck its target with a dull thud. Firebrace jerked, dropped the gun and crumpled to the floor without a sound.

Several more tripods holding lights and cameras fell with a thundering clatter. The crash of metal and glass seemed to go on forever before a stark silence fell on the black-and-white room.

Serenity looked at Firebrace's motionless body for a shocked instant. She whirled and ran toward Caleb. He opened his arms and caught her close.

“I was right,” she whispered against his jacket. “You did have Webster's rock in your pocket.”

“You mean I had Webster's unique, one-of-a-kind, hand-selected, genuine Witt's End paperweight in my pocket,” Caleb said. “Remind me to make room for his innovative new product in the catalog. No home should be without one.”

Serenity made an odd sound and clung even more tightly to Caleb. “Webster will be thrilled.”

Firebrace groaned.

Caleb released Serenity and walked across the room to where the photographer lay on the floor. Firebrace's lashes fluttered and then opened. He looked up with a dazed expression.

“You'd better find a phone and call 911,” Caleb said to Serenity.

“I think I saw a phone out on the counter.” She started toward the swinging door. “This is going to be a real mess to explain to the cops.”

“I'll take care of it.”

“Yes, I know,” Serenity said softly. “You're good at that kind of thing.” She went through the door.

“It wasn't supposed to end like this,” Firebrace muttered thickly. He gazed up at the picture of Crystal Brooke on the ceiling. “She wasn't supposed to be in the car.”

A chill went through Caleb. He went down on one knee beside Firebrace. “Who wasn't supposed to be in the car?”

“Crystal.” Firebrace stared blindly at the huge photo of Crystal's face. “I loved her. I didn't want her to die. Only Ventress was supposed to be in the car when the brakes failed. Only Ventress and the baby.”

“You son of a bitch,” Caleb whispered. “You killed them both, didn't you?”

“Cost me a thousand dollars to bribe the mechanic. But it didn't work. She died, too.” Firebrace's eyes filled with tears as he gazed up at Crystal Brooke's face. “Why doesn't anything ever go right for me?”

Caleb waited until much later that evening to make the call to Franklin.

“Just tell me one thing.” Caleb tightened his grip around the hotel room phone. “Why did you do it?”

“You don't understand,” Franklin said in a defeated voice. “Gordon always got the best of everything. He even got Patricia. But she didn't love him. She never loved him. She married him for his money. Her family insisted on it. The Clarewood fortune had all but disappeared because of a series of bad investments.”

“So she married my father?”

“She called him a rude, unsophisticated cowboy,” Franklin said. “She told me she couldn't stand to get into the same bed with him. She hated his hands on her. She hated Ventress Valley just as much as she hated Gordon.”

“She turned to you for consolation, didn't she?” Caleb leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. He was aware of Serenity watching him quietly from the other side of the room. “And you encouraged her.”

“I loved her,” Franklin said fiercely. “I admit that at first I wanted her just because she belonged to Gordon. But I fell in love with her. I thought, after the scandal broke, that we would marry.”

“Instead, she went back to Boston.”

“It was Gordon's fault,” Franklin whispered. “Everything was his fault. Patricia had to leave after he died. She said that if she married me, Roland would turn on me. She said he would blame me for seducing her. Accuse me of causing problems in her marriage. She said he would cut me off from the Ventress money.”

“And you knew that was probably exactly what would have happened, didn't you?”

“Roland went a little crazy after Gordon died. He would have vented his rage on any available target. We knew that. Patricia didn't want me to suffer, she said. Said it would be better if we never saw each other again.”

“You kept quiet about your affair with Patricia and she left town.”

“Patricia was right. It was for the best. There's no telling what Roland would have done if he'd discovered our affair. But I did love her. You've got to understand that.”

“Not enough to risk my grandfather's anger.”

“For God's sake, I couldn't. There was too much money involved. And the family name. Gordon had already done enough damage. I had a duty to avoid any more scandal.”

“You did your duty, is that it? You stayed in Ventress Valley, married, and raised a family. And prospered. And nursed your grudge. And then one day you got a phone call telling you that history was about to repeat itself.”

“I did what I had to do. It was my duty to prevent you from humiliating all of us the way your father had. I did it for the sake of the family.”

“I don't think that was why you did it at all, Franklin.” Caleb met Serenity's gentle, sympathetic eyes. “I think you did it because you wanted plain, old-fashioned revenge.”

“What the hell do you mean by that?”

“I wasn't Gordon, the cousin you had resented all of your life, but I was his son. That was close enough, wasn't it? You transferred your resentment of my father to me. And when you got the call telling you that there were nude photos of a woman with whom I was having an affair, you jumped at the opportunity to avenge yourself on me.”

“No, it wasn't like that.”

“I think it was exactly like that,” Caleb said wearily. “You wanted to make certain that I didn't find what my father found for a while, what you yourself had never found.”

“What was that, damn you?”

“Happiness.”

I
'
VE BEEN THINKING
,” S
ERENITY SAID THE FOLLOWING EVE
ning as she went about preparing dinner. “That man Zone thought she saw in the fog the night Ambrose died must have been Firebrace. We assumed it was Royce Kincaid come to terrorize her, but Kincaid himself said he'd only appeared once at her window.”

“You're right.” Caleb concentrated on the bottle of wine he was in the process of opening. “It was probably Firebrace. Based on what he told the cops, the timing fits. And the car that Blade heard driving down the road shortly after midnight must have been his.”

“Jessie told us she had left around eleven.” Serenity selected a knife from the kitchen drawer and went to work on a pile of vegetables for the curry dish she had planned. She only bothered with the elaborate dish, which required a wide variety of exotic spices, on occasions when she was expecting company.

The rice was cooking in the steamer, and a row of small condiment bowls containing chopped peanuts, raisins, chutney, chives, candied ginger, and coconut sat ready on the counter. She had made Caleb stop at a wine shop to select a couple of bottles of expensive chardonnay before they drove back to Witt's End this morning. They had spent the night in Seattle because the interview with the police took most of the afternoon.

Serenity surreptitiously glanced at the clock for the fifth time in the past twenty minutes. Dinner would be ready in half an hour, and there was still no sign of Roland Ventress. She was trying to maintain an outwardly calm facade, but her insides were starting to twist themselves into knots. She had been so certain he would come.

Caleb was in his full stoic mode, acting as if nothing at all was out of the ordinary. He was calm, cool, and in control, as usual. He was not sneaking glances at his watch, as far as Serenity could tell. He hadn't mentioned the possibility of his grandfather arriving for dinner. It was as if he didn't even recall that the invitation had been issued.

But then, Caleb's expectations had been much lower from the start, Serenity reminded herself. Close to zero, most likely. He had never believed that his grandfather would come.

She, however, had convinced herself that Roland would take advantage of the excuse she'd provided him to salvage his relationship with his grandson. She was counting on Roland being too smart to repeat the errors of the past.

The table had not yet been set. Serenity dreaded doing so because then she would be forced to make the decision regarding the number of plates. She could not bring herself to put out only two plates tonight. But she also knew that it would be far worse to set the table for three and have one place setting remain unused. It would be like having a ghost for dinner.

“Are you going to tell your grandfather about what really happened to your parents?” Serenity asked as she attacked a potato with her knife.

“Most of it. He deserves to know the truth.”

Serenity looked up as Caleb poured the wine into two glasses. His face was carved in stone, his eyes unreadable. He was waiting, too, she suddenly realized—listening for the sound of a car in the drive; wondering if there would be a knock on the door.

Waiting, but expecting nothing. He was good at this kind of thing, she thought. But then, he'd had a lot of practice.

“What about Franklin's role in things all those years ago?” Serenity asked quietly. “Are you going to tell Roland about that, too?”

Caleb hesitated. “Probably not. What would be the point? Franklin's got a wife and a son. Grandchildren. They'd all be hurt if the past got thrown in their faces at this stage. And they don't need to know how loyal he still is to his romanticized version of his affair with Patricia.”

“I wonder why your father never told Roland the name of the man who was having an affair with Patricia.”

Caleb was quiet for a moment. “He probably figured he was already doing enough damage to the family. There was no need to do more by naming Franklin as Patricia's lover. It wouldn't make any difference, anyway.”

“And being a Ventress, he was probably too proud to bother trying to justify his affair with Crystal,” Serenity said.

“Probably.”

“So he protected Franklin, and that no doubt made Franklin even more resentful,” Serenity said.

“Why?”

“It would have made Franklin feel weak. What a mess. He had always resented Gordon, but after Patricia left Ventress Valley because of the scandal, and Franklin saw his own happiness forever doomed, at least to his way of thinking, his bitterness grew worse.”

“He blamed the fact that she left on my father.”

“The bottom line,” Serenity said, “is that she probably didn't love him at all. She was unhappy with your father, feeling trapped three thousand miles from the life she knew, so she turned to Franklin for comfort and consolation. But she didn't really love him.”

“No.”

“And deep down Franklin must have known that.”

“Just one more reason why he could never forgive my father.”

“Or you,” Serenity said.

“Or me,” Caleb agreed. “But then, that's no big deal. No one else in the family ever forgave me, either.”

Serenity slanted him a quick glance. His face was still expressionless. “I suppose Franklin reacted so strongly to news of my pictures because he desperately wanted to believe you were Gordon all over again. He wanted to think you were doing what your father had done, that you'd gotten yourself involved with someone who would shame the family. It justified all his bitterness. Verified his belief that you and Gordon were both unworthy of being Ventress heirs.”

“I suppose so.”

Serenity sought for a way to change the subject. “Lucky for us you were a championship player on your high school baseball team.” She recalled the rows of trophies in the glass cabinet in his grandfather's house. “You saved our lives with your pitching skills. You must have had a heck of a coach.”

“My grandfather was my first coach,” Caleb said without inflection.

Serenity stopped chopping vegetables. “Really? Roland taught you to pitch a baseball?”

Caleb picked up his wineglass and looked at her. “You know how you keep saying that we all have bits and pieces of other people stuck to us?”

Serenity touched the griffin that hung on the chain around her throat. “What about it?”

“I think I'm beginning to see what you mean.”

“Caleb—”

“He's not coming tonight, Serenity. I told you that he wouldn't be here. I wish you hadn't gotten your hopes raised.”

“If he doesn't come tonight, he'll come this weekend. I know he will.”

Caleb shook his head once, with grave certainty. “No.”

“I can't believe he would be so rigid and unbending and so stupidly stubborn.”

“He's a Ventress,” Caleb said.

“Okay, I'll admit it appears that a talent for that kind of thing does run in your family. I still can't believe he won't have the sense to do what he can to change the past.”

“Some people don't want the past changed. Take Franklin, for example.”

The sound of an engine in the driveway shocked Serenity into silence. Her eyes locked with Caleb's.

“Someone else,” Caleb said gently. “Montrose or Ariadne.”

“No, I don't think so.” Serenity flung down the towel and raced for the door.

A blast of cold air hit her like a wave as she stepped out onto the front porch. The glare of headlights blinded her. She put up a hand to shield her eyes so that she could see who was getting out of the car.

Caleb emerged from the cottage and casually put one hand on her shoulder.

The car door on the passenger side slammed shut with an air of decisive finality. A tall, broad-shouldered figure stalked forward to stand silhouetted in the lights. It was impossible to see his face against the blinding glare, but Serenity had no doubts as to the visitor's identity.

“I'm so glad you could make it, Mr. Ventress,” she said as she went down the steps. “You're just in time for dinner.”

Roland swung around as the car started to back out of the drive. “Where the hell do you think you're going, Harry?”

“Be back later, boss,” Harry called cheerfully as he gunned the engine.

“Much later,” Serenity murmured. “Come inside, Mr. Ventress. We have a lot to talk about.”

As it happened, they didn't have a lot to discuss. By the time the meal was concluded, Serenity was getting desperate. Her hopes, which had soared so high a short while earlier, were having trouble even staying aloft now. Roland and his grandson were indeed having dinner together, but they seemed to have nothing to say to each other.

“More curry, Mr. Ventress?” she asked.

Roland looked at her. “No, thank you. I've had enough.”

Serenity gave Caleb a beseeching look. “What about you, Caleb?”

“No, thanks.”

“Well, then, I'll get the dessert.” She jumped to her feet and began to clear the table. “I hope everyone likes lemon pie.”

“Fine with me,” Roland said.

“Tea, anyone?” Serenity offered.

“No thank you,” Roland said.

“No thanks,” Caleb muttered.

“Coffee?” Serenity prodded.

“No thank you.”

“No thanks.”

Serenity started to panic. She had exhausted all the usual sources of dinner conversation. The weather, including the possibility of snow, had been the liveliest topic so far. It had lasted for nearly five whole minutes. Roland had shown a brief interest in the curry ingredients, but that subject, too, had quickly waned, as had a short chat about the state of the mountain roads.

She was a desperate woman, Serenity decided as she sliced into the lemon pie. Desperate measures were called for if the evening was to be salvaged. Something had to be done to break the ice. She glanced out the window as she carried the plates of pie back to the table. The darkened bulk of the glass-walled hot tub room loomed in the shadows.

Perhaps it was easier to melt ice than to break it.

“I have a terrific idea,” Serenity said as she set the pie in front of Caleb and his grandfather. “Why don't you two try out the hot tub after dinner?”

Caleb choked on a forkful of pie. “The hot tub?”

Roland looked thoughtful. “Do you know, I've never been in a hot tub.”

“I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Very relaxing,” Serenity said brightly. She ignored Caleb's strange expression. “You two will have to go in alone, however.”

“Damn right,” Caleb said. “You sure as hell aren't going in unless you can dig up a swimsuit.”

“I've got one somewhere,” Serenity murmured. “But I'm not going to go look for it. I plan to stay out of hot tubs for a while.”

Caleb scowled. “Why?”

“For the same reason that I won't be drinking any alcohol for the next several months,” Serenity said serenely. “I'm in training.”

Roland beetled his bushy gray brows. “In training for what?”

“To have a baby.”

Caleb's chair toppled over with a crash as he got to his feet. “You're
what
?”

“Getting in training to have a baby,” Serenity said patiently. “It's time.”

“You're going to marry her, then?” Roland eyed Caleb from the other side of the bubbling hot tub. The lights were off inside the glass-walled room, but there was sufficient glow from the cottage windows to reveal his glowering expression.

“As soon as possible.” Caleb stretched his arms out along the rim of the tub and settled back. A brief memory of his first experience in this room flitted through his mind. He remembered the first time he had touched Serenity's lovely breasts, the enthralling way she had caught her breath and clung to him as the gentle convulsions of her first orgasm shook her. He smiled to himself.

“Just as well, I guess,” Roland grumbled. “Especially if she's serious about having a baby.”

“I take it that the notion of me marrying Serenity is preferable to the thought of the Ventresses being forced to endure the embarrassment of having another bastard in the family?”

“I never thought of you as a bastard,” Roland muttered.

“No?” Caleb looked at him with cool disbelief. “How did you think of me?”

“As my grandson,” Roland said quietly. “The only one I had. You were all that remained to me of Gordon.”

Caleb exhaled slowly. “Bits and pieces of other people.”

“What?”

“Nothing. It's not important. Just something Serenity keeps saying.”

“She's an unusual young woman.”

Caleb watched the hot water churn. “Yes, she is.”

“Did you know that she contacted Dolores yesterday morning?”

“No.”

“Sent word that Phyllis and Franklin had tried to buy her off.”

Caleb frowned. “I didn't know about that.”

“She told Dolores that she wouldn't deal with them. Said if anyone was going to try to buy her off, it would have to be me. And I'd have to come here tonight to do it.”

Anger sliced through Caleb. “I didn't hear about any of this.”

“Expect she didn't intend for you to hear about it.” Roland paused thoughtfully. “I knew what she was up to right away, of course. Knew she was trying to force me to make the first move.”

“Is that why you came here tonight?” Caleb asked. He should have known. He should have guessed that Roland was here only because he'd thought he might be able to buy off Serenity.

“No,” Roland said. “There's not enough money in the world to buy off a woman like her. I knew that from the start.”

The warmth of the hot water seeped slowly back into Caleb, driving out the cold in his guts. “But you came anyway.”

“Figured I had nothing to lose by accepting a dinner invitation,” Roland said. “Hell, maybe she'll be good for all of us. God knows it probably pays to get fresh bloodlines into a family now and then, just like it does in horses.”

“There is that.” Caleb kept his tone neutral, but he was secretly stunned by the massive olive branch Roland had just offered. “There's something I need to tell you.”

“About what?”

“The past. It's a long story.”

“I don't think it's a good idea to talk about the past anymore,” Roland said. “Let's just let it rest in peace.”

“We've never been very good at letting it rest in peace, have we?”