Chapter 8 - The Trap at Bellweather Villa
The villa appeared empty.
Emma entered through the open glass doors and found Margaret standing beside the swimming pool.
The afternoon sun reflected from the water. A silver tray rested on a table between two white chairs. There were glasses, a bottle of mineral water and a small black remote.
Margaret looked at Emma’s handbag.
“You came alone?”
“Yes.”
“Daniel is incapable of following instructions where you are concerned.”
“He believes I’m at my office.”
Margaret smiled faintly.
“That was almost convincing.”
Emma sat in one of the chairs.
“Where is Marcus?”
“Unavailable.”
“What did you do to him?”
“Nothing permanent.”
Emma kept her breathing even.
The microphone beneath her collar should have been transmitting. Daniel and the investigators should have been listening.
She looked toward the villa’s security camera.
The indicator light was off.
“You blocked the cameras,” she said.
“I own the cameras.”
“What do you want?”
“The memory card.”
“I told you I don’t have it.”
“But you know where it is.”
“So do the investigators.”
“That is a dangerous lie.”
“Richard made copies.”
“Richard trusted systems. Systems fail.”
Margaret lifted the mineral water but did not drink.
“Do you know why he built this pool?”
“For charity events.”
“He built it because he wanted something beautiful that obeyed him. Water contained by stone. Light controlled by glass. Every element placed exactly where he imagined.”
“You hated him.”
“I hated being treated like one of his decorative objects.”
“So you stole from him.”
“I took what I had earned.”
“And damaged his car?”
Margaret’s eyes sharpened.
“You want a confession.”
“I want the truth.”
“The truth is that Richard planned to leave me with a title and no authority. He wanted Daniel to inherit everything through a woman he had known for less than a year.”
“Richard protected the company because you were draining it.”
“I protected the company from his weakness.”
“He was going to expose you.”
“He was going to destroy all of us.”
Emma leaned forward.
“He died because you were afraid of losing control.”
Margaret’s hand tightened around the glass.
Behind the villa, a door moved.
Emma caught a glimpse of Charles.
His face was pale.
Margaret noticed Emma looking.
“Charles has always lacked courage,” she said. “He agreed to help until he understood there might be consequences.”
Charles stepped onto the terrace.
“This has gone far enough.”
Margaret turned toward him.
“You were told to remain inside.”
“The investigators know about the trust.”
“They do not have the card.”
“They have Richard’s files.”
“Suspicion is not evidence.”
Charles looked at Emma.
“I didn’t know she would kill him.”
Margaret stood.
“Be quiet.”
“You said the car would fail near the house. You said he would be frightened and sign the original papers.”
Emma stared at Charles.
“You damaged the car to intimidate him?”
Charles’s eyes filled with panic.
“I changed the electronic sensor. Margaret changed the route in the navigation system. He was supposed to lose control on the private road, not the highway.”
Margaret crossed the terrace and struck Charles across the face.
The movement was fast but not violent enough to knock him down.
Charles stepped back, shocked.
“You weak, ungrateful fool,” Margaret said.
Emma heard a faint sound beneath her dress.
Static.
The microphone was working again.
Marcus had restored the signal.
Emma needed Margaret to keep talking.
“Richard died because your plan went wrong,” Emma said.
Margaret turned toward her.
“Richard died because he refused to understand that I would not surrender my life’s work.”
“Daniel heard that.”
“No, he didn’t.”
Margaret picked up the remote from the table and pressed a button.
A mechanical hum came from beneath the pool terrace.
The automatic cover shifted slightly from its concealed compartment.
Emma looked at it.
Margaret smiled.
“Your microphone stopped transmitting before you entered the gate.”
Emma remained still.
“You seem disappointed,” Margaret continued. “Did you believe Marcus would save you?”
Charles looked toward the villa.
“Where is he?”
“Locked in the security office.”
“You said he had left.”
“I said he was unavailable.”
Charles moved toward Emma.
“We need to go.”
Margaret raised the remote.
“Take another step and the gates remain locked when the police arrive.”
“The police?” Charles asked.
“My police.”
A second figure appeared behind the glass door.
It was a uniformed security guard Emma did not recognize.
He held Daniel’s phone.
Margaret placed it on the table.
The screen showed a message apparently sent by Emma.
The evidence is gone. Meet me at the north road alone.
“You sent that to Daniel,” Emma said.
“He is already moving away from the investigators.”
Emma looked at the time.
3:11.
She needed four minutes.
“Why bring me here?” she asked. “You could have run.”
“Running is an admission of guilt.”
“So is threatening me.”
“Threats disappear when no one survives to report them.”
Charles shook his head.
“No.”
Margaret looked at him.
“You are free to leave.”
Charles glanced toward the guard.
The guard stepped in front of the doorway.
Margaret had never intended to let him leave.
Emma rose slowly.
“What happens to Daniel after I’m gone?”
“He grieves. He becomes unstable. I protect the company until he recovers.”
“He will never believe this was an accident.”
“He will believe you came here to retrieve evidence from the pool. He will believe you ignored every warning and entered the water alone.”
Emma looked at the stone statue beneath the surface.
The chain had been extended from its base.
One end lay on the pool tiles.
Attached to it was the lightweight breakaway cuff.
Margaret picked it up.
“You planned this before I arrived.”
“I planned several possibilities.”
Charles lunged toward the remote.
The guard seized him.
Emma turned toward the villa, but Margaret caught her arms.
For an older woman, she was unexpectedly strong. Fear gave Emma a burst of resistance, but she was careful not to twist or fall against her stomach.
“Let go of me.”
“You took my son, my company and the future Richard promised me.”
“Daniel was never yours to control.”
Margaret’s expression broke.
She shoved Emma backward.
May you like
The sky disappeared.
Cold water closed around Emma.
