G'Day to Die: A Passport to Peril Mystery - By Maddy Hunter Page 0,80
to visit a Big Banana and a Big Oyster?”
“Yeah, but she was your sister! Did it really matter what her taste was in tourist attractions?”
“She was an embarrassment! Can you imagine the looks on my kids’ faces if I introduced them to the aunt they never knew? You think they’d want to introduce her to their friends? Maybe she could have entertained them by killing insects with her bare hands! How do you think that would have gone over?”
“She wasn’t a freak,” I said quietly.
“The only reason you can say that is because she wasn’t related to you! In the neighborhood where I live, with the high-class people I run with, she’d be a freak.”
I inhaled a calming breath, but it didn’t do much good. “I’m not sure why I ever thought you were such a nice man. You’re nothing but a…a world-class snob! And for your information? Nora had more class than you could ever think of having. Here’s your picture back.”
He seized my wrist. “Like I said, Emily, I liked you, so I’m sorry it’s come to this.”
“What—!” I wrenched back on my arm. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Getting rid of leaks. Sorry, baby doll, you know too much.”
“About your family history? Who cares about your stupid charade?” Which is when I realized that Guy Madelyn cared. He cared very much. “Oh, my God. You killed her. You killed Nora!”
“You saw the shape she was in. She was way overdue. I just gave nature a little nudge before her fool son could track me down on any of the new internet adoption sites. You told me yourself he was getting close. So it was either take care of the problem now or risk having her show up on my front doorstoop. And that last part wasn’t an option.”
“You bastard! You drugged her wine at the vineyard.” Which must have required some fancy sleight of hand considering he hadn’t been anywhere near her at the wine tasting.
“You know about the overdose?” He clucked his disgust. “Autopsies are a real pain in the ass. However, in a tour group this size, I can’t be the only person taking insulin tablets. And since I have no connection to Nora, what possible motive could I have had to kill her?”
“You spiked her wine with insulin? You killed your only sister by sending her into insulin shock?”
“You’re not hearing me. I didn’t want her as a sister. And I didn’t touch her wine. I dropped the crushed tablets into her cucumber raita at the Indian restaurant the other night. It mixed up incredibly well in that thick yogurt base. I doubt she ever tasted it.”
“But she didn’t take ill until the next day! Do you know how many hours you made that poor woman suffer?”
“She didn’t look as if she was suffering too badly.”
“Not suffering badly? She died!” I yelled, driving my foot into his kneecap.
“OW! You—!” He yanked me against his chest and grabbed my hair, jarring every bone in my body and all thirty-two teeth. My bag fell off my shoulder. The photo blew away.
“Is that how you killed Claire?” I yelled into his face. “Did you send her into insulin shock, too?”
“Claire Bellows? Why would I kill her? I didn’t even know her.”
“You didn’t know Nora, either!”
“And thankfully, it’s going to remain that way. Look, Emily, I’m sorry to have to do this, but one of us needs to make an exit, and it’s not going to be me.”
He tramped into the surf, pulling me by the hair behind him. My mind raced. Adrenaline shot through me. Oh, my God. He was going to drown me in the kiddie pool!
“HELLLLLLLLLLP!” I shrieked. Hey, it always worked for Bernice. “HELP ME! SOMEBODY HELLLLLLLP!”
“Jeesuz Mighty.” He clamped his hand over my mouth and jerked me off my feet, crushing me against him.
“MMMMMMMMHHHHHHPPPPPP!” I pounded his forearms and flailed at his legs, my limbs whipping around like eggbeaters.
He waded deeper into the surf, dragging me with him. Oh, God!
I bared my teeth and bit down hard on his finger.
“Aaarhh!”
“I’m glad Nora never found out you were her brother!” I screamed, when his hand flew off my mouth. “She didn’t have to live with the disappointment!”
He plunged my head under the water.
Foam. Bubbles. Muffled quiet. Nooo!
I pulled my legs up beneath me and kicked out like a mule, jackknifing my feet into his groin.
His grip faltered. I rocketed out of the water and gasped for air. “HELLLL—”