Losing Control (19 page)

“You have to face the consequences of
what you’ve done,” Taury said. “You can’t simply retire to your room and hope
it blows over.”

“I will do as I please!” she huffed.
“I always have.”

She reached the top of the stairs,
swerved about gracefully to stare down at her accusers.

“You can all leave my house, since it
is still mine, for the moment. Jardin, I will be ready when the police arrive.
Send them to me.”

“Yes, Mrs. Trahern,” he answered with
a quivering voice.

Fawn felt like she was part of some
god awful play. Where was the satisfactory ending to all the drama? The karmic
resolution, or divine intervention? Not that she wished harm to
Elizabeth
. She was glad Taury had managed to
restrain his impulse to knock the hate out of her. But still, it seemed an
anti-climax of sorts.

“Well, she’s the Queen to the end,”
June sighed, resting her weary body in a hallway chair.

“Yeah, but we’ll see how long that
lasts in prison.”

“Oh, Taury, I know Mother has done
horrible things but prison? Wouldn’t they put her in some kinder place?”

“And what would that be, Sis? A
mental institution?”

“I guess that’s what I was thinking.”

“It depends on her evaluation, I
should imagine,” Kent Brennan announced.

“I want to know what she did to
Inger.”

“Taury, you do care about her!” Fawn
cried.

“Yeah, I was wondering about her the
whole time we were on the road, trying to figure out what
Elizabeth
might have done. I’m afraid,
Fawn
. What if she had her killed?”

“Madame would never stoop to such
intrigue,” Jardin offered.

“The hell she wouldn’t! What do you
know about all this?”

“Nothing, really. But I’ve been a
devoted servant to Mrs. Trahern for a very long time, and I refuse to believe
she would harm a fly.”

“No, she wouldn’t,” Fawn said, “but
she would hire someone to swat it for her!”

The doorbell rang. Jardin stepped
towards the door, pulled it open to reveal two uniformed policemen.

“We’re here to arrest Mrs. Elizabeth
Trahern on a charge of attempted murder,” one of them declared. “The two
suspects are singing like canaries. Is she here?”

There came a loud, startling boom
from upstairs – a gunshot!

Jardin and the policemen hurried up
the stairs and disappeared down the hall. Taury and the others waited; they all
seemed to be holding their breath in fearful anticipation.

Jardin returned, wearing a somber
frown.

“She’s dead,” he proclaimed.

Libby shrieked, began to sob.
Everyone else stood beside her, whispering gentle words of solace.

Taury ground his fist into a nearby
wall. Fawn took it, kissed it.

“There’s no use for anger now, Taury.
Let it go.”

He peered into her eyes and nodded
then clasped her chin with his hand and softly drew her mouth to his.

NINETEEN

“But now I’ll never know what
happened to Inger,” Taury worried.

They were ensconced on a fluffy sofa
in the basement den of
Elizabeth
’s mansion with Fawn sitting on
Taury’s lap. Her parents were handling the police and press upstairs. Poor
Libby was lying down in her bedroom, under the care of a private nurse.

“You might yet. I’ve had Stephanie
looking into it for me. Let me give her a call.”

He handed her his cell phone.

“Steph?”

“Hey, girl! Is it really you?”

“Yes, it’s me!”

“How are you two holding up?” she
asked. “I heard about Taury’s mom on the BBC. It’s all they’re talking about!”

“Wow, you’re kidding! News travels
fast!” Taury frowned at her, she explained, “Stephanie already knew about
Elizabeth
. It’s all over the BBC News!”

“I have some info about his real
mother. Want to hear it?”

“What’s that? Oh, yes, that’s what I
was calling about! What did your man find out?”

Fawn hit the speaker button on the
phone so they could both hear.

“Well, actually it was a woman. Ryder
Dane, best PI in Frisco! She traced Inger Sjostrom to a tiny village in
Sweden
. Apparently that’s where she’s been
all this time!”

“I don’t get that,” Taury said. “If
she’s okay, why did she leave? Was she paid off? Is she rich?”

“No, Taury, she leads a simple, quiet
life, painting landscapes and living in a log cabin by a lake. She has no
access to technology, so I’m thinking she doesn’t know anything about you.”

“She knew I was born.”

“Yeah, but my PI talked to some
neighbors. Inger told them she had a baby once and it died in childbirth. She
thought the father had abandoned her, so she flew back to
Sweden
and kind of became a recluse.”

“She must have been told that lie by
Elizabeth
,” Fawn started, “or more likely, by
someone hired by
Elizabeth
, like Brisby. Then your father was
misinformed about why Inger left. Oh, it’s all so heartbreaking! They could’ve
lived such a happy life together in
Bodega
Bay
! I could just cry!”

Taury tightened his arms around her.
“We can’t think about the past now. Stephanie, can you email all the
information to me? Especially the location of the cabin?”

Fawn looked at him, her eyes
glistening with tears.

“Sure, I’ll do it right away! When
are you two getting married?”

“As soon as we get back to
Malibu
!”

“Steph, you don’t mind missing the
wedding?”

“I’d really like to be there. Could
you hold off for a week or so? Tom has a pulled shoulder; had to drop out of
his latest tournament. He’s going to be resting for awhile so I thought we’d
stay in
California
to have the baby.”

Taury and Fawn passed shrugs then
nodded.

“That’ll work!” Taury said. “See you
in a week!”

“Great! I can be the matron of honor,
right, Fawn?”

“Right!”

After a bit more chatter, Stephanie
signed off.

“Did you mean that, Taury, about the
wedding?”

“Damn straight I did!”

She kissed him. “Even in a week I
won’t be much of a bride. These staples will be taken out soon but I’ll still
have night sweats and the occasional bleeding and all that. What kind of
honeymoon can we have?”

“I’ll make it special. You just wait
and see!”

She grinned, leaned back on his lap;
knew he was making plans in his mind. She could feel him getting hard
underneath her.

A shadow formed in the darkened
hallway.

“Taury, may I come in?”

“Sure, Libby. You don’t have to ask.
It’s your house now.”

She entered, took a seat nearby. Fawn
adjusted her position so she could see Libby’s face. The girl had dark circles
under the pretty black eyes, and her mood was dim.

“I don’t want it. I always hated this
house. You know that.”

“Yeah. Well, once things are settled,
you can sell it.”

“Or raze it. I think I’d prefer that,
but then I don’t want to be like…”

“You could never be like her, Lib.”

“I look like her. I see her in my
face every time I peer into a mirror.” She cried quietly. “Forgive me, Fawn, I
don’t mean to seem overdramatic. It’s so hard dealing with everything Mother
did.”

“You don’t have to apologize to me.
I’m sorry you had to suffer through all this. If only people would realize how
their selfishness affects others.”

“Selfish people only care about their
own feelings,” Taury hissed, thinking of
Elizabeth
. “They think they’re entitled to
have whatever they want, and to hell with anyone who dares get in their way!”

“I need something to keep my mind off
of her, and my broken marriage. Taury, is there something I could do at the
factory?”

“Sure. You can run it for me.”

“What? Me, run a company? I’d ruin
it!”

“No, you wouldn’t. I’ve seen you handle
all sorts of financial and social situations. You’ve got Dad’s knack for
business, I know. And, if you don’t want to live here, you can use my little
apartment near the factory. It’s a perfect place for one person.”

“Oh, I love that place. It has such a
film noir
feel to it! I’ve never backed down from a challenge. All
right! I’ll take you up on it! But you will help me find my footings?”

“Of course. Fawn has to go back to
the hospital for a minor procedure. Once she’s through, we’ll move into the top
floor penthouse for a couple of days. I’ll be right there to show you all you
need to know!”

“Sounds like a busy job … which is
exactly what I need! Did you make the arrangements … for Mother, I mean?”

“Mr. Brennan said he’d do it. Fawn’s
parents have really taken charge of this mess, straightening everything out.
And the company is solid now, thanks to Fawn finding Dad’s will. Harper Trigg
and Ainsworth are both out for good. Brisby and the two goons are in jail …
well, Henry is under arrest in the hospital, but he’s going to survive. They
said his burns weren’t as serious as they first thought. All the loose ends are
being wrapped up.”

“I wish I could say that. My divorce
won’t be final for a long while.”

“Well, at least you’re on your way to
being free,” Fawn encouraged her, “and you’re home, with people who love you.
That’s the important thing.”

“You’re right. I think I’m going to
like having a sister.”

They all smiled.

After Fawn had her staples removed
she and Taury moved into the luxurious penthouse bedroom on top of the factory
building. It was like a first class hotel room with its king-size bed and
vibrant views of the Bay and the
Golden Gate
Bridge
. When Taury brought her in, he
carried her from the elevator, through the empty secretarial offices and his
own then laid her out on the bed like a delicate doll.

“I’m not fragile, you know,” she
giggled.

“I know, but I’m taking no chances. I
want you to get well so we can take that trip to
Europe
.” He lowered her loose-fitting red
pants, examined the incision on her abdomen. “So it’s healing pretty well, they
said.” He bent down, kissed her all around it. “What’d the doc call this? A
bikini cut?”

“Yes, supposedly it’ll shrink until
it’s barely noticeable. I’m not sure I believe that.”

She began to have a miserable sweat
attack; it poured from her body like sheets of hot rain. She suddenly felt old
and ugly, wanted to cry.

“God, it’s hot in here!”

“No, it isn’t. It’s just you!” he
grinned.

“I hate this, Taury! I shouldn’t have
to deal with these symptoms at my age. It isn’t fair!”

“We knew you’d be going through this.
Let me get a cool rag. That’ll help!”

He entered the bathroom, came back
out with a wet washrag. He laid it on the dark wood nightstand. Then he slowly
removed her red sport top and matching pants, and the low-cut polka dot panties
he’d bought for her.

“Where do I start?”

“Anywhere,” she sighed.

He retrieved the cold rag, sat it on
her midriff; she jumped at the iciness of it. Then he gently dragged it all over
her, from her neck to her breasts, down to her hips and legs. Turning her over,
he rubbed the rag across her shoulders then into the line of her spine and over
her buttocks then onward to her calves.