THIRTEEN

“Jeb just called,” Seth said as he entered his bedroom. “They’ve turned onto I-70. They’ll be here soon.”

Ava’s mother, Vivian, was packing her suitcase with her new clothing. Ava and Éowyn sat on the bed.

“Amelie? Éowyn?” Vivian looked at her daughters. “I need a moment with Seth.”

“But . . .” Éowyn started.

“Please,” In the silent way of powerful women, Vivian lowered her head to look at the floor.

“Come on, E,” Amelie said. “Let’s make sure you’re all packed.”

“Thank you,” Vivian said.

Vivian watched her daughters leave the room. She waited for the door to close, before turning to Seth.

“I know what you think of me,” Vivian said.

“What’s that?”

“You think I was the stupid wife,” Vivian said. “I lived in the big house, drank the wine, went to the spa, and spent the money while Aaron was out . . .”

Seth watched her struggle for words. As if she was going to cry, her lip vibrated. Her eyes shot hot embers.

“I didn’t know,” Vivian said. “And . . . how could I not know?”

Seth took a step further into the room.

“I knew he was infatuated with Yvonne, you know, Yvonne Smith,” Vivian nodded her head. “But I had no idea he . . . or the depth of which he . . . and . . . I’m not a stupid woman. Sure, he wasn’t as attentive . . . to me, the girls . . . as he was when we were first married, but he was the Colorado Attorney General for God’s sake. And . . ."

She looked up at him. He tracked the lines her despair had etched lines onto her face.

“Should I have known?” she asked.

“I don’t think so.”

“Did you know?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“Mitch and I had the perp in custody,” Seth said. “He confessed to killing and raping the girl, the one Rodney Smith went to prison for. Your husband, he . . .”

Vivian nodded.

“I remember that time,” Vivian said. “He was very agitated, excited almost, couldn’t sleep, didn’t eat, paced around. I was pregnant with . . . Amelie, I guess. My mother said to just ignore him. ‘Men get like that when their wives are pregnant.’”

“And they’re stealing another man’s wife,” Seth said.

“Yes, that’s what he was doing,” Vivian nodded. “Makes you wonder about Helen.”

“Of Troy?” Seth’s quick smile was lost to Vivian.

“Is she . . . ? I mean, is Yvonne . . .?”

“She’s good,” Seth said. “Happy.”

“Does she hate me?”

“No. Yvonne feels horribly for you and the girls,” Seth said. “Like the rest of us, she can’t believe what he’s done. She called him the spider. He really was . . . a terrible person.”

“When I come back,” Vivian’s eyes scanned Seth’s face. “Will you set up a meeting with her? For me? Maybe Éowyn, too?”

“I think she’d like that,” Seth nodded. “She called Amelie when she heard that you would lose the house and . . . everything.”

“She did?”

Seth nodded.

“Leave him alone,” Vivian said. “That’s what my mother said. ‘He’s an important man with important things on his mind. Focus on the girls, your house, and leave him alone.’ But . . . now I look at it, and somewhere, in the middle of it all, I knew. I knew what he was up to. I did know.”

“Of course you did,” Seth said.

“And all of this,” Vivian said. “Throwing me and the girls to the sharks. Giving the Feds every penny we had, our home, our whole life, the life we built, I built . . . They took my wedding ring, my twentieth anniversary ring, and . . . He tossed us away. And now . . . my Bella.”

Vivian broke down. Seth stepped to her. He opened his arms to offer her a shoulder to cry on. She held on and soundlessly weep.

“Did she suffer?” Vivian whispered.

“No.”

“Did he?”

“No.”

“That’s too bad,” Vivian stepped back. She thanked him with a nod and turned her back. He waited while she collected herself. She looked calm and steady when she turned around. “Sorry about that . . .”

“I’ve lost two children,” Seth said. “There’s nothing that describes the pain. And knowing that their other parent was responsible for their death, makes a horrible thing just that much more awful.”

“Unbearable,” Vivian nodded. “And if Éowyn or Amelie . . . I know she’s been distant, and she insists on being called Ava and . . .”

“I think Jeb can keep you safe,” Seth said. “But if he doesn’t . . .”

“What do you mean?” Vivian asked.

Seth plastered on a smile. Her eyes asked the question again. He shook his head.

“Please,” Vivian said. “I’ve lived with enough secrets to last a life time. Please just tell me the truth.”

“We don’t know who’s behind all of this,” Seth said. “We may never know. Aaron betrayed everyone.”

“Why?” Vivian asked. “That’s what I don’t get. Why would he do this?”

Seth watched her for a moment.

“Oh my God,” Vivian said. “He traded it all for Yvonne.”

“And witness protection,” Seth said.

Vivian collapsed onto the bed and stared off into space.

“I know you need time to grieve,” Seth said. “I know you need space. But this is not the time.”

She looked up at him.

“Jeb Elliot,” Seth said. “Why was he here? He’s the sheriff. He was with his dying wife while these cases were investigated. He knows nothing about them. Did he say why he was here?”

Vivian gave a slight shake of her head.

“Nothing?” Seth asked.

Vivian shook her head.

“Are you . . . he . . . uh . . .”

“He’s someone I knew in high school,” Vivian said. “He married my best friend from those days. I’ve seen him maybe twice since my wedding. Christmas cards every year – that kind of thing.”

“And when he was here?”

“He wanted to know about Aaron,” Vivian nodded. “I thought he was being supportive, kind, but I see what you mean. It’s possible he just wanted information from the stupid wife.”

“Did you know anything?”

“No,” Vivian said. “One morning, Aaron and I woke up together in our bedroom in the middle of our old life. I got breakfast together and he got dressed. He told me he had a meeting downtown that might screw up the rest of his day. He said he’d call if he was going to be late. He kissed me on the cheek and . . . I never saw or heard from him again. Nothing.”

Vivian’s eyes glazed over, and she stared at the wall.

“Amelie told me, you know, about Yvonne and witness protection, but I didn’t believe her,” Vivian said. “How could he do this to me? That’s all I thought. I didn’t realize . . . and Bella . . . He loved her, more than the others, more than me . . . ‘Baby Bell’, that’s what he called her until she made him stop when she was in high school.”

Her head bobbed in a nod and then jerked up to look at him.

“He’s going to kill us all,” Vivian said.

“He might,” Seth said. “He didn’t get Yvonne. He doesn’t have to kill you.”

“What do I do?” Vivian asked.

Seth took a small revolver from his pocket and held it out to her.

“Can you shoot?” he asked.

“I was born and raised in Colorado, Seth. Of course I can shoot,” Vivian said. “Amelie made me get a concealed weapon permit when she was at the police academy. Éowyn has been competitive shooting since junior high. She’s won a number of awards. Amelie made sure she had a concealed weapon permit as well. Bella too.”

Vivian’s voice cracked with emotion. She nodded when she felt under control. He gave her the weapon.

“And Éowyn?”

“That’s where they went,” Seth said.

“Good,” Vivian said.

“This guy,” Seth said. “He kills from a distance. You may not have a chance to . . .”

“Then why?” Vivian looked up at him and then nodded. “This is for Jeb.”

“I’m afraid so,” Seth said.

Vivian checked that the weapon was loaded and the safety was on. She stuck the handgun in her pocket.

“Do you have any idea why Bella went to see my husband?” Vivian asked.

“To confront him,” Seth said. “That’s what she told Ava.”

“And did she?”

“Probably,” Seth said what he thought Vivian wanted to hear. “But I don’t know.”

Vivian nodded. He gave her a box of ammunition. She went to set the box in her suitcase.

“What else can I do?” Vivian asked. “I feel . . . hopeless . . . helpless . . .”

“You can keep your wits about you,” Seth said.

“That didn’t help Bella.”

“No,” Seth said. “But she didn’t have the luxury of knowing her life was in danger.”

“You’re sure?”

“If your husband knew his life was in danger, would he have been in that room?”

“Never,” Vivian shook her head.

“Keep your wits about you,” Seth said. “Keep in touch. I have a friend who lives in Rapid City. A woman. Janet Sales.”

He held out a piece of paper with a phone number on it.

“She retired there after twenty years at the Denver PD,” Seth said. “Play it off as an old friend, someone you know from here. Call her on the way into town.”

“He’ll know.”

“I doubt it,” Seth said. “Everyone counts on you being the clueless wife. It’s up to you to decide if you’re going to be what everyone expects you to be.”

Vivian nodded.

“You have money?”

“Amelie took care of that,” Vivian said. “Thank you. Jeb wants me to stay with him, but I convinced him I’d be happier in a hotel.”

“I’ve made your reservations,” Seth said. “The address is on the piece of paper. Janet is planning on having dinner with you tonight. If she doesn’t hear from you, she’ll sound the alarm.”

“Good,” Vivian said.

“Éowyn will see you to Rapid City,” Seth said. “Then she’s off. You won’t know where Ava or Éowyn are located. That’s for your protection.”

“But you’ll keep them safe?”

“I’ll do what I can,” Seth said. “The easiest way to get you to give up your location is to convince you something has happened to Éowyn or Ava. If you hear something, call me.”

“I don’t have a cell phone anymore. Oh,” Vivian nodded.

“Right. You don’t have one so they can’t find you.”

“I’ll call you from the room,” Vivian said. “What are you going to do?”

“I’ll try to find the bastard before he finds you,” Seth said.

Vivian nodded and zipped her suitcase closed.

“Can you promise me one thing?” Vivian asked.

“Sure.”

“If something happens,” Vivian said. “Will you take care of Éowyn and Amelie? No matter what. Please.”

“I will.”

“Good.”

The front door bell rang and Vivian adjusted her demeanor to practiced perfect. Seth put the suitcase on the ground, and she wheeled it to the doorway. Dale carried her suitcase down the stairs. Seth followed Vivian to the entryway.

“Jeb, thank you for rescuing me from . . .” Vivian sneered at Seth. “ . . . this.”

She kissed Jeb’s cheek. Over her shoulder, Jeb glanced at Seth. Seth mouthed, “Mother-in-law,” and shrugged.

“Come on, Viv,” Sheriff Jeb Elliot said. “Let’s get you out of here.”

Vivian hugged Amelie. With a turn of her head, she left the house. Éowyn followed. Maresol closed the front door.

“What would be good for you?” Seth put his hands on Ava’s shoulders. His eyes were soft and kind.

“Catch a murderer,” Ava’s eyes shot fire. She spun in place and marched up the stairs.

Chuckling, Maresol went back into the kitchen.

“Are you coming O’Malley, or am I going to have to catch this guy myself?” Ava yelled from his office.

He limped up the stairs.

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