and I had trouble punishing her. She came up with such wonderful excuses and told glorious stories about what she’d seen and done. She—” Carolyn waved her hand. “I must get to the facts. That young FBI man has told me I must remember it all.”
“Rowan.”
“I’ve met his parents.”
“Everyone has,” Terri said.
Carolyn sat on the soft chair in the corner. She looked like she’d rather do anything on earth than tell her story. “My son. He was...is... I don’t know how to describe him. He never did anything wrong. His room was always tidy and clean. He made straight As in school. He never got into any trouble. But...”
“No one liked him,” Terri said. “We have people here like that.” She didn’t say that Mr. Owens had been one of them. Here year after year but never made any friends.
“Your father told me that you take care of this place almost single-handedly.”
“I have help.”
Carolyn looked out the window for a moment. “That’s just what Leelee would have said. She ran clubs and charities in high school and college but never bragged on herself. She—” Carolyn paused, then looked at Terri. “My late husband and I refused to believe what she told us about the things Kenneth did. I think we knew but we didn’t want to. Does that make sense?”
“Yes. Where is he now?”
“In...in prison. Or jail. I don’t know. Rowan took him away. There will be a trial and...”
“We’ll be with you,” Terri said.
Carolyn stood up. “I need to lie down now. Perhaps later we can get to know each other.” Before Terri could speak again, she left the room.
Nate entered as soon as she was gone. “Did she tell you what’s happened?”
“Not much.”
Nate took the tray, set it on the chest of drawers, got into bed beside her and drew her head to his shoulder. “Want me to tell you what I know?”
She nodded against him.
“Kenneth was born two years after Leslie and—”
“Leelee. My grandmother calls her Leelee. I like that.”
“All right. Leelee. Seems that Kenneth—never called by any affectionate nickname that I heard—was one of those kids who was obedient and kind to adults but—”
“A monster to his peers.”
“Exactly. He more or less tortured his sister, and he was crazy jealous of her. I mean to the point of insanity. When some distant relative died and left his sister an antique Chinese bowl, Kenneth pretty much lost his mind.”
“He wasn’t left anything?”
“That’s just what I asked. Yes, he was. A Ming dynasty vase. But Kenneth wanted the bowl. Mind you, this happened after Leelee had graduated from college. She said she was sick of fighting with him so she anonymously donated the bowl to a local museum.”
“And he stole it?”
“That’s right. Kenneth took it. Not sure the how of it matters.”
“I guess my mother knew it was her brother who took it.”
“She did. And she searched his room until she found it. He told us that. Said she ‘stole’ it from him, said it was his.”
“Let me guess. She gave it away so she lost possession of it, so when he took it back, it was his.”
“Clever girl.” He kissed her forehead. “The conjecture is that Leelee was so afraid of Kenneth’s revenge, of his rage, that she ran. Disappeared. She left home with just one suitcase and got on a bus.”
“And stopped in Lake Kissel, Virginia.”
“And met your father and that was it.”
Terri took a while to let this sink in. “Her brother came after her.”
“There was a photo of the ground-breaking ceremony of the planned community and Leelee was in it. The article was picked up by some major newspapers as a feel-good piece and Kenneth saw it.”
Nate swiped Terri’s hair from her forehead and kissed it. “I haven’t heard all the facts. Kenneth is with Rowan now and being interrogated, but I know Kenneth showed up here and went to see his sister.”
“And me.”
“Yes. Two-year-old you. The bowl was on the coffee table and...” Nate put both arms around Terri. “They fought and he hit her with the bowl. It didn’t...” Nate took a breath. “It didn’t kill her, just knocked her unconscious. But I guess he knew that when she woke up, she’d turn him in to the police.”
“He tied her up and gagged her,” Terri whispered.
“He’s a big guy and he carried her to her car and dumped her in the trunk. I don’t think he knew what to do next. He hadn’t really planned it. Anyway, it was storming outside and