Oddly, the plane was half empty even during early evening, when it was usually full. The flight went smoothly, however, and Olivia arrived in Nashville in no time at all. As she walked through the crowded airport, Olivia couldn’t help think of the time Todd died. As now, she’d felt totally alone and unanchored. Even then, in those awful moments, she knew it would be up to her to help find Todd’s killer. That knowledge had disturbed her then. She’d tried to shake it away and dismiss it. But by now she realized that it could not be dismissed. Olivia had no idea why she’d been chosen for this mission, but by now it did feel like a mission. She knew she was traveling along a path that was inevitable and had belonged to her from the start. But, along with a sense of isolation at times, there was also the feeling that Olivia was doing what she was here to do, living her life to the fullest. That feeling bolstered and strengthened her deeply.
As always, Olivia first checked into the hotel she’d be staying at, before she made her first stop.
Her hotel was small, but charming and lively, overlooking a beautiful garden. Once in her room, Olivia thought about contacting Wayne and letting him know she’d arrived. She didn’t really want to, though.
True, he’d come to the airport to see her off, but still, she felt odd about it. Olivia also thought about contacting Nate or Calia and telling them she arrived. Once again, she decided not to. She wasn’t truly sure what either of them were going through, and it was always better to arrive unannounced, before they had a chance to prepare.
Once settled in and changed, Olivia decided that the first stop would be to the address that Nate had given her. She’d have more clarity, for sure, once that was explored.
Olivia went downstairs immediately and took a cab through winding streets of Nashville, which were bustling with life, out onto a highway which seemed to be leading to a suburb on the edge of town.
“I don’t get too many calls to go here,” the taxi driver commented as they drove along.
“Why not?” asked Olivia.
“It’s out of the way, a dead end,” he responded. “Nothing much happens here, especially
during the evening.”
Interesting, thought Olivia, as the cab wound off the highway through slim streets that seemed somewhat deserted, leading nowhere. A few large homes were placed way back, along these streets, but mostly big, old trees stood in the forefront.
“Who lives around here?” Olivia asked the cab driver.
“Darned if I know,” he replied. “People with money, I guess. Maybe old-timers who like quiet? Maybe they get off on seeing a leaf fall from a tree. Nothing much else really going on.”
Olivia wondered exactly where the driver was taking her, and who would be there when she arrived.
In a few moments he turned into a long, narrow cul de sac. “The address you gave me is at the very end of this street,” he announced.
The cul de sac seemed especially deserted, with no lights on in the homes. Olivia thought of
asking the driver to wait for her. It might be hard to get someone to take her back.
“Can you wait for me?” she suddenly asked.
“For how long?” He seemed surprised.
“Not long, maybe half an hour at the most,” Olivia replied. “I’ll pay for your waiting time.”
“Where do I take you to then?”
“Just back to the hotel you picked me up at,” she said.
“Sure thing,” he said then, turning around to look at her closely. “It’s not going to be cheap, though.”
Nothing is cheap, thought Olivia. There’s a price to pay for everything.
“It’s okay,” she said. “I could be back sooner than half an hour.”
Olivia stepped out of the cab then, in front of what looked like an empty mansion, with a large stucco porch in front. The furniture on the porch was old and beside a few birds perched on the railing, no lights were on, and no one seemed to be around.
Olivia walked along the long entranceway to the front door and stood in front of it thinking that Wayne might have been completely right. Nate could have sent her on a wild goose chase, based on his fears and fantasies.
Olivia quickly pulled out her phone and texted Wayne. I’m here at the address Nate gave me.
She stood on the porch and waited a while for an answer. To her dismay, none came. Okay, she finally decided. Time to knock on the door and see what happens then.
Olivia lifted the large, old-fashioned knocker and hit it loudly on the old wood.
Some crickets in the background chirped loudly, as if answering her. Olivia lifted the knocker and tried once again.
Again, no answer. This had to be some kind of hoax, she decided then, about to turn around, when suddenly she heard a female voice calling from inside.
“What do you want? Who is it?” The voice sounded familiar.
“It’s Olivia Wells,” Olivia called back strongly.
“Olivia Wells?” The voice grew fainter.
Olivia lifted the knocker and banged more harshly. “Open up! Let me in!”
The door flew open then and to Olivia’s shock, Heidi stood there in a flowing, blue robe.
“Heidi?” Olivia was dumbstruck.
“What in the world are you doing here?” Heidi was equally dumbstruck.
“Can I come in?” Olivia finally managed to say.
“No, you cannot. How did you find this place?” Heidi was shaken to the core.
“Please let me come in,” Olivia pleaded. “I’ve come from far.”
“I don’t care,” Heidi stood her ground.
The two women stood there staring at each other. Suddenly Olivia saw someone appear in the background. His was big, handsome, brawny, and young. As he came closer, Olivia saw a huge tattoo on his forearm.
“Get back, Charles.” Heidi began quivering.
“Let me in, Charles,” Olivia called out over Heidi’s voice.
“Who the hell is this?” Charles pushed Heidi back and stood in front of her, confronting Olivia.
“I’m a friend of the family,” Olivia couldn’t help but remark.
“She’s a detective!” Heidi’s voice rose loudly.
Charles’s lip curled as he stared at Olivia. “How’d you get this address?” he demanded.
Olivia knew she could not tell him. “I heard about it,” she offered lamely.
“From who?” Charles wasn’t playing any kind of game.
“Tell her to go home, please,” Heidi was now trembling. “Tell her to turn the corner and leave us alone.”
To Olivia’s surprise, Heidi’s pleas seem to have an effect upon Charles.
“It’s okay, sweetheart, I’m taking charge,” he murmured to her.
Taking charge of what? Olivia wondered. Heidi’s life and resources?
“Let me in,” Olivia said again boldly, not entirely sure why she wanted to enter so badly.
“Anyone with you?” Charles looked around carefully.
“Only a cab driver waiting at the edge of the road to take me home,” Olivia said.
Charles smiled strangely, suddenly looking Olivia over carefully. “You’re young and you’re beautiful,” he said then. “What the hell are you doing here alone?”
“I need to speak to both of you.” Olivia didn’t flinch.
“First tell me who gave you the address and then I’ll let you in,” Charles replied.
“Nate gave me the address,” Olivia decided to say.
“I knew it, I knew it,” Heidi gasped.
“Don’t worry.” Charles turned to her forcefully. “I told you I’m taking care of everything. And I am, I will.”
“You’re not taking care of Nate though.” Heidi’s eyes rolled upward.
“I’m taking care of whatever needs to be taken care of,” Charles insisted.
“Oh my God, my God, not Nate.” Heidi was screaming by now. “My own son, turning on me.”
“Come in,” Charles said. “Olivia is here to help us, Heidi.” He turned to her. “She’ll let us know who else is on to us and what the hell they want.”
Onto them? Olivia looked at both of them closely as Charles pulled the door wide open and yanked her in.
It was dark inside and musty, with bare wooden floors. Olivia walked with them into a sitting room that was messy, with clothing strewn around and smelled like stale wine. In the back of the room a door was open, leading out to the big yard.
As soon as they walked in Heidi quickly ran around, picking up stray pieces of clothing from the floor. Obviously Olivia had barged into their secret love nest.
“Who lives here?” Olivia asked again now.
“What’s it to you?” Charles grew tougher.
“What are you doing here?” Olivia wasn’t backing down.
Charles laughed suddenly. “Honey, if that isn’t obvious, then nothing is.”
Heidi stepped forward bravely, pushing Charles to the side. “Charles is my lover,” she announced suddenly as if thousands were here to receive the news.
Olivia was at a loss as to how to respond. “I’m sorry to hear that,” she said finally.
That was the wrong response, though. “Oh really?” Heidi’s voice got louder then. “Why shouldn’t he be? Mort left me alone all the time, year after year.”
“Mort was with you half the week,” replied Olivia.
“What’s half the week?” Heidi’s eyes flashed in the small light that was on in the corner.
“So, you’ve had a lover all these years?” Olivia exclaimed.
“No, I haven’t,” Heidi stepped forward shrilly. “I was loyal, too loyal and everyone knows it.”
“Then she met me.” Charles grinned proudly.
“It wasn’t that I just met him.” Heidi was on a roll.
“It was that you found out about Mort’s second family?” Olivia finished her sentence.
“Right! How did you know?” Heidi was startled.
“Because I saw the photo of you in Key Biscayne, even though you told us you were never there.” Olivia tried to unnerve her.
“Saw the photo?” It took Heidi awhile to take that in. “How did you see it?”
“Nate must have showed it to her,” Charles burst in. “Your lousy kid is after you, sweetheart, and you’d better face the truth.”
“Is it true, did Nate show it to you?” Heidi began trembling.
“I saw it,” was all the Olivia could say.
“You saw it and what?” Charles wanted more information.
“I saw it and realized that you were in Key Biscayne for a reason,” Olivia filled in.
“Yes, I was, and it was a very good reason.” Heidi calmed down. “Andrea contacted me and asked me to come down. She said she had something important to tell me.”
“Something important to tell you for a price!” Charles reminded her.
“That’s right, for a price,” Heidi conceded.
So Andrea was making money on Mort’s trouble any way she could, Olivia realized.
“Andrea told you about Mort’s second family when you came down?” Olivia asked.
“That’s right, exactly!” said Heidi. “She even showed me pictures of them to prove it.”
“It all cost a pretty penny, too,” Charles thundered.
“Everything isn’t money, money, money, Charles,” Heidi insisted. “I found out the truth and it shook my world. Everything started spinning. That’s when I met Charles. I had a right to be with him completely. If Mort had two wives I thought, why couldn’t I have such one young, handsome lover?”
Charles smiled proudly then.
“How long ago did this start?” Olivia asked.
“When I got the news from Andrea.” Heidi began to whimper. “And I’ve never been happier, either, if you want the truth. Our love has grown deeper and deeper. We found this place to be together in and moved in. We can’t stand to be apart for a second, can we Charles?”
Charles spun around, a dark look on his face then. “No, we can’t,” he repeated, suddenly glaring at Olivia. “It’s a shame you came down here to visit, the whole thing is a shame because you’re nice, I actually like you. In fact you seem like a terrific person to me.”
“Shut the hell up,” Heidi railed at him now.
“You seem like the kind of woman who could hold the world up,” Charles continued. “It would have been different if we met in other circumstances.” His dark eyes narrowed.
“What are you talking about?” Olivia managed to ask then, as Heidi drew closer.
“What do you mean if you’d met her in different circumstances?” Heidi glared at him furiously.
Without another word, Charles lunged forward and grabbed Olivia’s shoulders hard.
“I’m so sorry, but we can’t let you live now that you know about this!” he growled. “We can’t let you go free? How can we?”
Olivia’s entire body began trembling as she tried to push him away. She couldn’t. Instead, his hands began to circle around her neck.
“Get it over with fast,” Heidi called out to him. “Get rid of her fast! Fast! I can’t stand her.”
“Get rid of me?” Olivia gasped for air. “Just like you got rid of Mort?”
Charles laughed. “You got it, honey, and it will go fast. It’ll just take a second. Your neck will snap like a twig in the wind.”
Not my neck, thought Olivia, outraged as she lunged away from Charles for a quick second.
“Tell me what happened first,” she managed to beg. “What difference will it make? Nobody will know.”
Charles laughed hoarsely. “Sure we’ll tell you, why the hell not? It’ll be fun to tell you. Tell her, Heidi.”
Agitated, Heidi began pacing back and forth. “I don’t want to,” she breathed.
“You have to,” he insisted. “It gives me pleasure to hear about it again.”
Suddenly Heidi stopped pacing, came close to Olivia, and stared. “It wasn’t enough for Charles and me, living in hiding like this.” Her voice grew piercing and shrill. “I couldn’t stand it and I told that to him. We have to do something, Charles, I begged him. I love you, we have to be together all the time.”
Olivia felt terrified. “What did you have to do? Come out into the open? Divorce Mort?”
“There was no way I could divorce Mort,” Heidi suddenly whimpered. “Charles and I both needed his money. It’s my money too. I deserve it. I’ve been married to him all these years. There was a nest egg he’d saved just for the two of us for when we got older. He always showed the balance in that bank account to me. That was my money, sitting there, just waiting for me. There was no other way to get free, none at all.” Heidi lunged toward Olivia. “But the rest was Charles’s idea.”
“To kill Mort?” Olivia gasped.
“It wasn’t my idea.” Charles waved her off. “Every night Heidi fed the idea to me. We’ve got to get him out of the picture, Charles, she kept begging. Then we’ve got to get rid of the other wife, too.”
Olivia felt a long chill rise through her body. “You’re the one who made the threatening call to Christine?” she breathed.
“That’s right.” Charles threw his head back. “I wanted the other wife to know what was coming up ahead. That way she’d be more jittery, and slip up. She’d look over her shoulder wherever she went and make big mistakes. That’s how it happens.”
“Heidi sent you down to Key Biscayne to take out Mort first though, didn’t she?” Olivia glared at him. The pieces all suddenly fit together. “You two killed Mort in cold blood.”
“That’s right, Heidi sent me down.” Charles grinned. “It’s a shame you asked me so bluntly. I got there right before the storm and waited for the bastard. We knew he’d be there because that’s what he did, walked in that spot at the beach during all kinds of weather. The idiot enjoyed storms, enjoyed trouble. The minute I saw him I rushed up to him from behind, grabbed him, and put my hands around his neck. He gave one shout, tried to twist around to see me, but it was over in a second. I threw him down onto a big rock, standing there, and he died the minute his head hit it. It was too quick, too easy. Then I had my fun, bashing his face in.”
“Your fun?” Olivia was breathless.
“You never said it was fun before,” whimpered Heidi.
“We all have our fun in our own ways, don’t we, honey?” Charles pulled Olivia a little closer to him.
“You’re both monsters,” Olivia breathed, furiously.
“Oh, really?” Charles sneered as his hands started closing around her neck.
Outraged, Olivia suddenly rallied. She decided to use her last burst of energy to swing sideways into Heidi and with her full strength, knock her down.
Olivia lunged to the side and crashed her body into Heidi’s. Stunned and off balance, Heidi fell to the floor with a sudden shriek. The next sound Olivia heard was Heidi’s head knocking on the wooden floor. Then her painful moaning.
“What the hell did you do? What the hell happened?” Charles was beside himself as he swiftly let go of Olivia and swooped down to Heidi’s side. “Heidi, Heidi, open your eyes. Talk to me.”
In that moment Olivia gasped for air and, trembling, fled out the open back door into the backyard. Once outside she dove into the tall bushes in the yard, hiding. Her heart was pounding. She was here, she was alive. She crouched down for dear life and drank in the cool evening air. Outside it was silent. Charles did not come out after her. Olivia had no idea what was going on inside.
First thing she had to call Wayne, and then she’d find a path to the driver waiting for her at the end of the driveway.
Wayne picked up the instant his phone rang.
“I’m in the back of the house, hiding,” Olivia whispered.
“Hiding?” At first Wayne seemed uncomprehending. “Don’t move. Stay where you are. I’m not far away. I’ll have local police get there instantly.”
“Not far away?” Olivia was confused.
“I took the next flight after yours.” Wayne breathed hard now. “I couldn’t let you do this alone.”
“Heidi was at the address Nate gave me with her lover. Heidi’s lover tried to kill me, the way they killed Mort. They did it together.” Olivia could barely speak. “I had my recorder on with me. It’s over. We’ve got them.”
“My God,” breathed Wayne, “you were right again! How could I have been so stupid? Please, please forgive me!”