The Perfect Bride - By Kerry Connor Page 0,71

occupants of Sutton Hall came outside to watch the police and the coroner’s van drive away.

Ed sat in the back of the police cruiser. He hadn’t said a word since Rosie’s death. It had taken some time for the police to arrive due to the storm. The whole time Ed had sat quietly at the top of the stairs and watched over his sister’s body at the bottom. When the authorities had finally arrived, he’d allowed himself to be handcuffed and gone with them willingly, all without saying anything to explain or defend himself while Jillian and Adam told their stories. As the cruiser finally pulled away, he didn’t even look at the people who’d come to watch him go, staring blankly ahead.

“He looks so lost,” Meredith murmured.

There was a trace of sympathy in her voice, and in spite of everything, Jillian couldn’t help but feel a bit of it herself for the man. “He spent his life taking care of his sister and trying to protect her. I wonder if he even cares what will happen to him now. It must feel like he doesn’t have anything left.”

Standing next to Meredith, Adam said nothing. Jillian knew he was still angry with the man, but deep down she suspected he had to admit he understood Ed’s actions, even if he couldn’t excuse them.

“I can’t believe I didn’t know,” Grace murmured faintly, not for the first time. Evidently the Warrens had kept up their pretense to the fullest, even filing their income taxes as a married couple. The only tip-off in retrospect was that they’d asked for twin beds in their room, claiming that Rosie couldn’t sleep with all of Ed’s tossing and turning at night. They’d never shown much physical affection toward each other, but given the clear tension in their relationship, no one had ever taken that as odd. Otherwise there’d been no other indications they weren’t exactly what they’d claimed to be.

The two vehicles slowly headed down the driveway, finally cresting the curve and disappearing from view.

As soon as they were gone, Ray and Zack stepped off the porch and shuffled off toward the groundskeeper’s cottage. It had been a long night for all of them, but for those two in particular, working to curb the damage from the storm in Ed’s absence.

Grace lingered a moment longer before silently turning and withdrawing into the house, leaving Jillian standing on the porch with Adam and Meredith.

It was the first time she’d been able to speak with Meredith since she’d found out the truth, and Jillian couldn’t help but give her an uneasy glance.

“Meredith,” she said, drawing the other woman’s attention. “I’m sorry for lying to you. About who I am, why I really came here.”

Meredith shook her head. “It’s all right. I understand. And if you hadn’t lied, we never would have known the truth about what happened and Rosie would have been free to hurt someone else. I’m just sorry it came to that, and that we allowed her to be in a position where she could hurt you and your friend in the first place.”

“That’s my fault,” Adam said roughly. “I should have checked deeper—”

“No,” Jillian interrupted. “Unless you’re hiring for the government, no standard employment background check is going to dig into people’s families and relationships. There’s no reasonable way you could have known. They’ve been living this charade for twenty-five years and found a way to pull it off and cover their tracks.” She swallowed. “And even if I had been here, I probably couldn’t have saved Courtney. I wouldn’t have been with her all the time, so Rosie would have been able to come through the passages and get to her in her room when she was alone anyway. So no more blaming ourselves for things we couldn’t reasonably control. Any of us.”

“Agreed,” Meredith said pointedly, looking at Adam long and hard.

Adam met her gaze with surprising vulnerability, and it was clear he knew exactly what she was talking about. She was releasing him from the burden he felt he owed her. His strong face softened with such love for his sister that Jillian melted a little inside. Finally, he nodded.

Jillian turned to Meredith. “And now that it’s over, you can make a go of your wedding business for real.”

A sad smile touched Meredith’s lips. “Somehow I doubt anyone will want to get married here now. It was bad enough when everyone thought a bride had accidentally died here. Now that we know it