Sunday, 10 May
“Leave Mummy to go to the ballet? But…it’s Mother’s Day,” Lily insisted. “Shouldn’t I spend it with the person whose womb I inhabited for nine months?”
Eleanor sighed loudly. “The schools now teach Sex Ed—at five?”
“No,” Lily assured her. “I learned that from Hera. She believes the earlier I learn such things, the more likely I’ll be able to ward off improper advances.” The little girl thought a moment before adding, “Well, that and Taekwondo.”
“That’s Hera for you,” Bettina muttered. “Thank God, she’s Lorna’s problem today.”
Eleanor’s warning to Bettina was a raised brow. “Yes, Lily, normally, today would be the day to pay your mother tribute with a burnt-toast breakfast, some useless handmade doodad, and other inane folderol.”
“You shock and dismay me, mother,” Bettina exclaimed sarcastically. “I remember you calling the potholder I made you in the second grade ‘a work of art.’”
Eleanor chucked her daughter’s cheek. “If I left you with that impression, I accomplished my goal. However, your own daughter is about to give you the most important gift of all: relaxation.” She turned to Lily. “You see, new mothers need their rest too. And since your little brother hasn’t quite caught on to that concept, for once, sweet Lily, your absence is the best Mother’s Day gift you can give.”
Lily turned to Bettina. Her mother’s approving nod was all she needed. Taking her grandmother’s hand, she exclaimed, “Good! Now I don’t feel guilty for seeing Cinderella without Mummy. She claims it’s practically her biography.”
“Really?” Eleanor arched a brow. “Wicked stepmother, a few cruel stepsisters? Hmmm! I wonder who they resemble.”
“It was only an analogy based on how I felt at the moment,” Bettina sniffed.
“Apology accepted.” As Eleanor checked her lipstick in the mirror over the mantel, she murmured, “It was so generous of the ballet board to send these matinee tickets right out of the blue.”
“It’s a matinee. They may have needed to paper the house,” Bettina reasoned.
Eleanor nodded. “You’re right. Well, no matter… Ah! If we don’t leave now, we may get caught in traffic and they won’t seat us until after the Shawl Dance—”
Lily knew the ballet well enough to know it was in the first movement. Hearing that, Lily practically dragged her grandmother out the front door.
Ah, peace and quiet, Bettina thought. She stared down at little Nathaniel. His tiny eyelids fluttered, but other than that he was completely still.
Is he Art’s son, or Andy’s, she wondered.
Still, she was glad that she never secretly had his DNA tested.
“All that matters is that you’re mine,” she whispered. “I will always love you. I will always be here for you. I will make sure you are always happy and healthy.”
Dead tired, she dropped onto the bed beside the crib. In no time, she was asleep as well.
Someone was in the room.
Instinctively, she reached over to protect Nathaniel—
Only to discover he was gone.
Bettina leapt up from the bed. In two steps, she was beside the fireplace, where she grabbed the poker. Wielding it over her head, she walked slowly up the staircase. Having grown up in the house, she knew which floorboards to avoid because they creaked.
She was in the hallway in no time. Slowly, she inched her way into the living room.
The man was standing by the big picture window.
She raised the poker over her head, ready to strike—
Just then, he turned around. Nathaniel was in his arms.
Art’s arms.
As she dropped the poker, it clattered at her feet.
“Bettina, babe! Hey, it’s only me!” He held firm, but his laugh was uncertain.
“Don’t you ‘babe’ me!” Bettina sputtered. “I told you I never wanted to see you again, and I meant it!”
Art’s eyes narrowed. “Look, I know it’s your thing to play hard to get, but it’s my thing to see the fruit of my loins.”
She picked up the poker again. “If you mean my son, forget it. You’re not going to get anywhere near him!” She hesitated, then hissed, “And to be perfectly honest, he may not even be yours.”
Art’s usually florid cheeks went pale. “That’s low even for you, Bettina.”
“Art, I mean it.” She blushed, but her eyes didn’t waver.
“Whose, then? Don’t tell me he’s the Fed’s!” His eyes rolled skyward as if he’d find the answer there. Then he realized the right clue could be found in his fingers. With them, he counted off the months. “Nah, can’t be him. Otherwise, you would have dropped our little bundle of joy earlier—”
The doorbell’s chime shut him up.
Bettina hissed, “For once in your life, shut that mouth of yours, and don’t open it until I tell you!” She pointed toward the living room.
He took the hint and went to hide.
Bettina took a moment to smooth down her hair and her robe in the large foyer mirror before taking a deep breath and opening the door.
Andy stood on the stoop. He held a bouquet of flowers. When she opened the door, he bowed. Smiling broadly, he declared, “For you.”
“Oh, no,” Bettina moaned. “Not you!”
Andy’s face fell. “But you said we could be friends.”
“Seriously, Andy, now is not a good time!” To block his view of the foyer, she shut the door.
“But, Bettina, I have something for him—for Nathaniel.” He held up the box. It was wrapped in blue paper. From the shape, she guessed it was a toddler’s soccer ball.
“That is very sweet of you.”
When she tried to grab the ball, he held fast to it. “Bettina, please—I’ve got testicular cancer.”
“Oh!” Bettina, awed, shook her head sadly. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“With the radiation I’m getting, I’ll probably never have children.” He shrugged. “I just want to see him.”
Poor Andy, she thought. Impulsively, she brushed back the lock of hair grazing his forehead.
He teared up at this act of kindness. Then he kissed her.
Behind her, the door opened a slight crack. Art, still with the baby in his arms, exclaimed, “Jesus, Bettina! Where are your manners? Invite your boyfriend to come in.”
Is Art some sort of idiot? Bettina wondered. He’ll be seen!
Frowning, she shoved Andy through the door.
Well, this should be interesting, she thought.
Kimberley gasped. So, Kelly was right after all!
From her bench in Alta Plaza Park, across the street, she watched as Andy walked up onto the portico and rang Eleanor’s doorbell.
The door was answered by Bettina.
He held out his gift.
She tried to take it, but he stopped her with whatever he said next. It had her so hot for him that she couldn’t keep her hands—or for that matter her mouth—off him.
My God, she’s so horny, she’s shoving him through the door! She’ll screw him, and then their pillow talk will be about what he did to me.
And tomorrow, everyone will know about it.
Even if I told them he was here, no one would believe me.
She opened her purse. The gun stared out at her.
It’s now or never, she thought.
Five minutes before…
Art was holding Nathaniel.
Angrily, Bettina rushed toward them.
Even Art knew the safest thing for him to do was to relinquish the infant to his mother. “Calm down! I was taking a moment to bond with my son.”
Andy stared at him, flabbergasted. His gaze shifted to Bettina.
The shake of her head was subtle.
Art caught it anyway. He stared at Andy, then he looked down at the baby in Bettina’s arms. His face reddened with anger. “You were screwing this joker while you were married to me? And then you were going to pawn off his kid as mine?”
Bettina’s eyes narrowed. “You wanted to take me to a sex club, or don’t you remember that? I chose a more civilized route.”
“Don’t bullshit me. This guy practically lives at that club.”
Andy nodded resignedly. “He’s got us there.”
“And he’s not even your type,” Art added. “He’s—a top!”
“That’s just one thing we had in common,” Bettina sneered.
“You and all your Connaught airs!” he shouted. “You’re just a common slut!”
Bettina slapped him—hard.
Art laughed. “Sorry, Wifey. I’ve now got different turn-ons, and you’re not one of them.” Angrily, he jerked the necklace from her neck. “Too bad you don’t have the divorce papers on you because I’d sign them. But trust me”—he held up the key—“you won’t see a dime of alimony.”
Andy must have felt it was time to protect her honor because he lunged at Art.
Bettina watched helplessly as they threw punches at each other. But when Andy’s fist connected with Art’s gut, the older man doubled over. For a moment, Andy had Art in a headlock—
Until Art shoved him with all his might against a bookcase. One of Eleanor’s vases fell from the highest shelf, hitting Andy on his head.
He passed out.
“Oh, my God! You killed him!” Bettina knelt beside him.
Art laughed. “Nah. He’s just out cold.”
She nodded to the key in his hand. “You got what you wanted. Now, get out.”
“Gladly. And, quite frankly, I’m relieved the kid isn’t mine.”
“Trust me, I am too,” she shot back.
Art was about to say something when he stopped. He was staring at something—no, it was someone—in the hallway.
Also five minutes before…
Bettina was stupid not to have locked the door behind her, Kimberley thought jubilantly.
It saved her the problem of coming up with an excuse as to why she was at her enemy’s doorstep. Not that it would have mattered. Anything she would have blathered out would have gotten the same reception: a cold stare and a scornful retort.
Kimberley smiled as she imagined the look on Bettina’s face as she pulled out the gun: surprise, then shock, and finally, fear.
She imagined putting a hole where Bettina’s face would have been.
If, on some off-chance, Bettina had invited her in, she’d have thought nothing of shooting her in the back of the head.
Andy would have been next—even if it meant stalking him through the house.
And hearing him plead for his life.
Nothing he said would change her mind.
Instead, all she needed to do was walk in.
The gun was already in both her hands, held low with a round in the chamber.
Yes, she was ready.
She stood in the foyer and listened for a moment.
She heard nothing.
Then she heard Bettina’s cruel laugh.
She followed the sound down the hall and into Eleanor’s spacious living room.
Bettina stood by the window. She was holding her new baby boy. Yes, someone was with her—but it wasn’t Andy. The man looked familiar, but she couldn’t quite place him.
They stopped arguing when they saw her.
She raised her gun. “Where’s Andy?”
The next thing she knew, someone smacked the gun out of her hand.
Andy.
It hit the floor and went skittering toward Bettina, but she hesitated to pick it up because she had Nathaniel her arms.
The man reached for it instead. He pointed it at Andy and Kimberley. “Jeez!” he hooted. “This has become quite a party. Are we expecting anyone else?”
“No,” Bettina growled.
Maybe not, but the doorbell rang anyway.
Art sighed. He motioned for Kimberley to sit in a straight-back chair. As she gingerly eased herself into it, he nodded toward the door with the gun. “Bettina, go answer it and get rid of whoever it is. Oh, and this time, lock the damned door behind you.”
As she stalked off, she gave him the finger.
It was Daniel.
At least, it looked like Daniel from the waist down. His arms surrounded a large white box tied with a fluffy blue ribbon. He lowered it so that Bettina could confirm this. “I come bearing gifts.”
No, no, no—not now! Not while Art has a gun…
She tried to shut the door in his face, but he had his foot in the doorjamb. “Bettina, the least you can do is let me bring it inside for you. This thing is heavy.”
She knew if she didn’t he’d get suspicious. “Okay,” she said reluctantly. “But just leave it in the foyer.”
As he walked in, casually and very softly he asked, “Is Lily here?”
“She’s at the ballet with Eleanor.”
“So, it’s just you and the baby.” She knew it wasn’t a statement. He meant it as a question.
She looked up sharply at him.
He had a finger on his lips.
She formed her hand into a gun and pointed it at him.
He got the hint. By putting a hand on her shoulder, he indicated she should stay where she was.
However, his footsteps took him as far as the front door. He opened it before shutting it loudly. When he turned the lock, it clicked. He nodded for her to walk back into the living room before ducking into the dining room.
Please, God, don’t let him get shot. Please…
Slowly, she walked back to the living room.
Andy was sitting up, but he was groggy. Kimberley was beside him. She had him cradled in her arms.
Art laughed. “Don’t they make a cute couple?”
“You’re not funny, Art.” Bettina retorted. “Now that you have what you came for—the key—why don’t you just disappear?”
He scowled at her suggestion. “Who was that at the front door?”
“A delivery man.”
“On a Sunday?”
“It’s Amazon. They work seven days a week. Remember?” She pointed to the box in the hallway.
“You’re lying,” Art declared. “It was your other boyfriend, that Warwick guy.”
She winced. “He’s gone. That’s all that matters.”
“You know, now that the little guy is asleep again, I think I’ll take him with me—as a traveling companion. That would keep the three of you quiet, wouldn’t it? In a couple of hours, I’ll call and let you know where you’ll find him—”
Bettina ran toward him “Don’t you dare! You’re not taking my baby—”
He pointed the gun at her. “Don’t tempt me, Wifey.”
She burst into tears.
Andy tried to get up.
Art shifted the gun in his direction. “That goes for you too, Daddy Dearest.”
Kimberley touched Andy’s arm. “Nathaniel—is your son?”
He nodded impatiently, but he kept his eyes on Art.
Kimberley was sobbing too.
“What a fucking soap opera!” Art sighed loudly as he backed out slowly, toward the French doors to the terrace. Holding the infant in one hand, he unlocked them—
He didn’t see Daniel standing there. The punch in his face stunned him enough that he loosened his grip on Nathaniel.
When he did, Daniel grabbed the infant with both hands and turned his back to shield him.
Bettina and Andy ran to help Daniel, but it was too late. Art pointed the gun at him—
But he didn’t fire quickly enough. Prince Vsevolod Ivanovich leapt at him.
Apparently, the dog’s memories of his long-lost master were not pleasant. Otherwise, having been roused by the ruckus on the terrace, he would not have raced from his lounging spot on the pool’s patio in order to attack.
At the sound of the gun’s shot, everyone froze—
Except for Art, who fell backward, off the terrace.
Still in Prince Vsevolod’s grasp.
The twenty-foot fall landed Art on his back beside the pool.
The dog was lucky to have fallen on top of Art. When he got his bearings, he growled at the corpse. Satisfied that his master wasn’t getting up again, he trotted away.
Bettina wrapped her arms around Daniel and Nathaniel as if she’d never let them go.
When, finally, Bettina looked up, she was relieved to see Kimberley heading toward the front door.
“Stay right where you are,” Daniel commanded. “You’re a witness in an ongoing Federal investigation.”
“I—I can’t! It’s Mother’s Day! My family is expecting me—”
“You can call them and tell them you’ve been detained,” Daniel countered.
Kimberley blushed. “No…that’s okay.”
Bettina smirked. “Excellent choice. It will be hard to explain to them why you felt the need to storm my house with a gun and try to kill me.”
“Not just you,” Andy pointed out. “Me, too.”
Daniel stared at Kimberley. “The gun in Art’s hand was yours?”
Slowly, she nodded.
Next, Daniel turned to Andy. “And where do you fit into all of this?”
Andy pointed to the soccer ball. “I brought a gift for the wee one. I take it you’re some sort of copper?”
Daniel frowned. “I’m heading up the investigation of Art Cross.”
“If you had the house under surveillance, why didn’t you come in sooner?” Andy asked.
“Believe me, I didn’t know he was here,” Daniel responded. “I was making a—a social call.”
Kimberley pointed to the hallway. “What’s in the big box?” she asked suspiciously.
“Some damned horse,” Daniel growled.
Bettina’s eyes opened wide. “You were the anonymous bidder?”
“I thought if you wanted it so badly, you should have it,” he admitted.
“But…you paid fifty thousand dollars for it! Where did you get the money?”
He shook his head. “There’s a lot about me you don’t know. Someday, you’ll actually be curious enough to ask me. I’m sure I’ll rue that day.”
Yes, Bettina was intrigued—
But, first things first. She handed Nathaniel to Andy and ran to the box.
Kimberley had already beaten her to the punch. She’d torn off the paper and pried open a side of the box. She kneeled at the base, looking for the release.
Just as Bettina reached her it opened with a click.
Both women fell to the floor and scurried for the files.
Bettina grabbed all the ones within reach, only to hear Kimberley exclaim,“A—ha!” She held it up jubilantly.
Its label had her name on it.
Bettina plucked it from her hand and ran with it and all the others toward the terrace. Just as she turned to start down the steps, she slipped on something. To grab the rail, she had to let go of the files—
Only to see them float through the air.
She looked up to see most of it land in the pool. The rest swooped and fluttered up and away in the brisk breeze.
“No!” Bettina groaned. She buried her head in her hands.
“Yes!” Kimberley shouted jubilantly.
“What were they?” Daniel asked.
“Blackmail files. Bettina has dirt on all of the club’s Top Moms,” Kimberley proclaimed. “Make that, ‘had dirt.’”
Bettina looked up to find Daniel staring at her. Guiltily, she glanced away.
Something caught Andy’s eye. He bent down to the terrace floor, right where Bettina had lost her footing. He picked it up from the terrace floor and held it out to Bettina. “When he tore this from your neck, I should have slugged him,” he declared. “What did that arsehole mean when he said he wouldn’t pay alimony with it?”
Bettina winced. “Nothing. But you’re right. He is—was an asshole.”
Before she could take it, Daniel reached for it. He stared down at the key, and then at Bettina. “This opens a safe deposit box! And you had it all this time?”
“Daniel,” Bettina pleaded, “It’s not what you think—”
“Tell me the truth, Bettina: How long have you had this?”
“Since…New Year’s Eve,” she admitted.
Confused, Daniel shook his head. “He was here that night? But I…we…”
He looked out at the pool. By now, most of the files had sunk to the bottom of it.
He shrugged. Pulling his cell phone from his pocket, he tapped three digits. “This is DOJ Prosecutor Daniel Warwick. I’m at the scene of an accidental death”—he glared at the others—“among other things.”
Bettina slumped into a chair.
So much for a tranquil Mother’s Day.
From the scowl on Daniels’ face, she’d have plenty of time to rest in some state penitentiary.
The police were there in less than five minutes. Acknowledging Daniel’s Department of Justice credentials, the investigating officers allowed him to lead the questioning of the witnesses.
Daniel nodded to Andy. “You start.”
“We walked into the living room, only to find Art there,” Andy explained. “He was holding the baby ransom. Bettina was scared—but she was also livid.”
“You said he jerked the chain with the key off her neck,” Daniel reminded him.
Andy shrugged nonchalantly. “Did I? What I meant to say was that he yanked it off his own neck, and held it up to her, shouting, ‘You won’t get anything.’ Then he threatened to kill her.”
Thank you, Andy, Bettina prayed. I’m glad he doesn’t want his child to visit his mother in jail.
Daniel frowned. “Was that when Mrs. Savitch walked into the room with the gun?”
“Yes,” Andy nodded. “We’d run into each other at the park across the street. She’d waited outside for me while I stopped off to drop off a gift for the wee lad. Thank goodness Mrs. Savitch was suspicious enough to check up on us. She held her gun on Art so that Bettina could call the police. But when she looked away for a moment, he slapped it out of her hand.”
Andy is protecting Kimberley too, thought Bettina.
For once, she wasn’t jealous.
“I wrestled with Art for the gun. Unfortunately, I lost.” Andy pointed to the growing lump on the crown of his head. “When the doorbell rang again, he asked Bettina to answer it, but to send whomever it was away.” Andy grinned. “Turned out, it was you.”
“Yes, as I explained previously, I was returning confiscated property that rightfully belongs to Mrs. Connaught Cross.” Daniel looked at Kimberley. “Let me guess: your testimony will sound just like Mr. Hepburn’s, am I right?”
Kimberley nodded fervently.
Daniel rolled his eyes. “And yours, Mrs. Cross—”
“Connaught Cross,” Bettina corrected him. “I mean Connaught.”
“Yeah, okay. A rose by any name.” He shrugged. “You’ll be corroborating this tall tale as well?”
Bettina nodded vigorously.
“You’re so lucky to have such loyal friends,” he muttered. He reached down toward Nathaniel to stroke his plump cheek and murmured, “For your sake, I hope you’re a chip off the old block.”
He had heard when Art called Andy Daddy Dearest, Bettina realized. He thinks I’m a whore.
“You’re both free to go,” Daniel said to Andy and Kimberley.
He didn’t have to ask twice.
They must have opened the door for Eleanor and Lily, who walked into the living room with eyes opened wide.
Bettina took Eleanor aside and whispered, “Art…is dead. The body is by the pool. It’s covered with a sheet, but...” She looked over at Lily.
“Lily, dear, let’s leave the adults to their meeting,” Eleanor declared briskly.
Lily shook her head adamantly. Instead, she took Daniel’s hand.
It held the safe deposit box key.
She held it up to him. “Did you find the other people’s money?” she asked.
Daniel nodded. “Can you guess where I found it?”
She gave her mother a sidelong glance. Finally, she turned back to Daniel and nodded. “My father had it.”
Daniel looked up, shaking his head. “Like I said, a chip off the old block.”
Lily scowled. “What does that mean?”
Daniel laughed. “Ask your mother.”
He nodded goodbye to Eleanor before heading out the front door.
Eleanor looked at Bettina. “Lover’s spat?”
“We…were never lovers. Or anything else, apparently.”
Eleanor clicked her tongue. “A shame,” she said as she headed toward the kitchen.
“It’s okay,” Lily assured her mother. “I don’t think he likes me either anymore.”
“He doesn’t believe in lying,” Bettina murmured sadly.
Lily tucked her hand into her mother’s. “If he loved you, he wouldn’t want you to go to jail.”
Her daughter had a point.
Lily kissed her mother’s cheek and then ran into the kitchen after her grandmother.
At long last, the crisis that tore our lives apart is behind us, Bettina realized. I can now get on with the task of running the club. Granted, I no longer had to have the files to keep the minions in line. That’s okay. I’ve got something even better: I’m also a successful businesswoman. All’s well that ends well…
But without someone to share it with—without Daniel—it was a hollow victory.
She couldn’t think about that now. She had something more pressing to do:
Break the news to Lily that Art was really dead.
Picking up her sleeping son, she followed Lily into the kitchen.
“Bollocks!” Andy screamed at the top of his lungs. “Bollocks! Bollocks!”
Other people in the park turned to stare at him.
Kimberley’s first impulse was to hush him.
Instead, she gave into the urge to scream too. Jubilantly, she added, “We might have died in there, and yet—I’ve never felt so alive!”
He nodded exuberantly. “I hear ya!”
Then he kissed her.
She crumpled onto the ground, sobbing.
He shushed her, but it was useless. Hiccuping, she gasped, “No, no—you don’t understand! That bitch, Kelly, told me that you and Bettina had rekindled your affair.”
He glanced at her warily. “That’s why you showed up with the gun. You were going to kill us.”
As she nodded, a tear fell off her cheek.
She flinched when he brushed it away.
“I’ll never hit you again,” he swore.
She snickered in disbelief. “Why? Because you now know I’m locked and loaded?”
“No. Because I’m through playing games.” Solemnly, he shook his head. “I’m sick, Red. Testicular cancer.”
She wept all over again.
When she could force herself to stop, she asked, “I know how Kelly feels about Bettina. Still, why would Kelly try to coerce me into shooting you?”
“Because she’s jealous of Bettina. And perhaps she knows that Nathaniel is my son.”
“She’s sick,” Kimberley muttered. “But that makes me sick too, for falling under her spell.”
He laughed. “Welcome to the club.”
“How did Kelly take it—about your cancer?” As hard of a question as it was for him to hear, it was harder for her to ask it. Still, she had to know.
“You know Kelly,” he muttered.
“So what you’re saying is that you never said a word,” Kimberley guessed.
He shrugged. “I figured she’d pity me—or quit caring altogether. In any case, she’d have dropped me. So instead, I dropped her first.”
“Good for you,” Kimberley exclaimed fervently.
Both he and Kelly had used her, and yet she still loved him.
Her way of showing him was to stay the night. She called her husband and said that her sister had asked her to babysit all night; but that she’d be home by the time their children woke tomorrow morning.
As she fell asleep in Andy’s arms, she realized that cuddling was a bigger turn-on than his beatings.