together, and they’d never believe my denial. But just to make sure, she had an insurance policy. My fingerprints on the glass that she used to drug Nina’s drink. Mine, not hers. She has it hidden somewhere. That’s why I haven’t turned her in.”
I wanted to believe that Juliet acted alone. I really did. But there was one big, glaring loose end.
“If she really acted alone, why am I getting framed for this? Why didn’t you stop her? Why not come to court today to proclaim my innocence?”
“Why you is easy. She wants you out of the picture.”
“And you’re letting her. Connor, she tried to kill me. She was the one in the Suburban, I’m sure of it. She ran me off the road. I could’ve been killed, the baby, too.”
He looked crestfallen.
“I didn’t believe that before, but I’m starting to think you might be right. When you first told me about that incident, I was sure it was Nina. That car is a company car. Anybody who worked for her had access to it. Lissa did, too, and the more I think about it, the more sense it makes that it would be her. Especially since, to my knowledge, Nina was not aware of your existence.”
“Juliet tried to kill me, and now she’s framing me.”
“Yes, that’s a fair conclusion to draw,” he said.
The sadness in his voice made me angry. It was for her as much as for me. He still cared about her—this woman who’d murdered Nina, who’d tried to kill me and his baby.
“You’re letting her. You still care about her.”
“I understand her. I feel sorry for her. But it’s you I love. And sweetheart, there is no way I’m letting you take the blame for this. I spent today working out a plan. That’s the only reason I wasn’t in court. I was moving assets around, looking for an apartment in Dubai—”
“Flee the country? Never. That’s the same as a confession. And I’m not confessing to something I didn’t do.”
“It would only be temporary. You would go, and I’d stay behind to clean up this mess. I already met with a lawyer and a private detective. We have a plan to find out where Lissa’s got this evidence hidden. Once I have that glass, she has no power over me. I can go to the cops then, without having it come back on me.”
“You know what that tells me? After all that’s happened, you can’t clear my name because you’re worried about protecting yourself. I leave the country, and then what? How do I know you don’t tell the police that I fled because I’m guilty?”
He grabbed my hands, wild-eyed and agonized. “Please—tell me you don’t think that. I would never do that. I love you too much. How can I prove it to you?”
“By coming with me to the police station and telling them the truth. Now.”
“I want to. I really do. But it’s not that simple. We’d end up taking the fall for Nina’s murder. You and I—we need to keep our hands clean. If it gets out there that we were involved, even if it’s not true, it would only muddy the water.”
“Muddy the water?”
I looked at him warily, a terrible understanding dawning.
“Oh, my God. This is still about the money, isn’t it?”
“We can’t forget about the lawsuit. Tabby, if it looks like you or I were involved in Nina’s murder, the courts will rule against me, and Kara Baxter will inherit Nina’s money. This is about our future—our future as a family. I’m not just looking to survive. I want us to be happy.”
“You want us to be rich. It’s not the same thing.”
“You’ll never win by betting on Connor’s ethics. You haven’t figured that out by now?”
Our heads turned in unison. Juliet stood in the doorway, a gun in her hand.
40
Staring at Juliet down the barrel of a gun, I saw a woman transformed. With her hair down and her glasses gone, in jeans and boots, she looked tough and beautiful, a far cry from the demure wallflower she’d pretended to be. But this wasn’t just a costume change. She carried herself like someone else entirely. As I watched a sneer play about her lips, I had a vision of the Warhol hanging downstairs in the library, and realized who. That piratical smile. Those cold blue eyes. She was so like her father. Edward Levitt come back to life—younger, prettier, female, but just as dangerous.
“What do you think you’re doing? Stop