Whiskey Beach Part 123

"You know better. She lashed out because the woman she thought was her friend had made a fool out of her. The woman she'd thought was her friend threatened everything she held close. The husband she'd lived with, trusted, believed in had betrayed her, and would destroy their marriage for someone else's wife."

"She didn't just say you can have a divorce," Corbett put in. "You fought, she demanded, and you told her you were in love with someone else. Then you told her who."

"That doesn't matter."

"When? When did you tell her about Lindsay?"

"The night before the murder. It doesn't matter. Eden protected me, and all she asked in return was for me to give our marriage another try, another few months. She did it for me."

"She did it for herself." Eli pushed to his feet. "Both of you, all for yourselves, and the h.e.l.l with anyone else. You could've had her, Justin. All I wanted was my grandmother's ring, but Eden wanted more than that, and she used you to get it. It's hard to blame her."

He walked out, and straight to Abra. She pushed off the bench where she'd waited, held tight when his arms came around her, when his forehead dropped to hers.

"It was hard," she said quietly.

"More than I thought it would be."

"Tell me."

"I will. All of it. Let's go home, okay? Let's get the h.e.l.l out of this and go home."

"Eli." Vinnie walked quickly out of the interview room. "Hold up just a second." He paused, taking a scan of Eli's face. "How are you doing?"

"All in all? Good. It's good to have it out, to start thinking it can be over."

"I'm glad to hear it. Corbett wanted me to tell you, when he's finished with Suskind, he'll contact Wolfe directly. They'll pick up Eden Suskind and talk to her. Corbett, if you want my opinion, is going to go into Boston to be in on that."

"That's for them. I'm out of it. None of it's part of my life anymore. Thanks for your help, Vinnie."

"Part of the job, but you could buy me a beer sometime."

"As many as you want."

Abra stepped around, took Vinnie's face in her hands, laid her lips softly on his. "He'll buy the beer, but that's from me."

"Might be better than beer."

"Let's go home," Eli repeated. "This is done."

But it wasn't, not for him. Not quite.

The next morning, with Abra by his side, Eli sat across from Eden Suskind.

Though pale, she kept her gaze steady, her voice absolutely calm.

"I appreciate both of you coming into Boston this way. I know it's an inconvenience."

"You had something you wanted to say to me, to us," Eli corrected.

"Yes. I could see when you came to my home the two of you had something strong between you. I've always believed in that, that bond, that connection, and the promises that come out of it. I built my adult life on that, only to have it broken. So I wanted to talk to both of you. I've been speaking with the police for some time now since last night, in the presence of my lawyer, of course."

"That's wise."

"Justin hasn't been, but then he's always been impulsive, a little rash. I balanced that out, as I tend to think things through, weigh options. We were a good team for a long time. You understand what I mean about balance," she said to Abra.

"Yes, I do."

"I thought you would. Now that Justin has confessed to, well, so much, now that I know what he's done, I can, and I want to, move on. I can't protect him, balance him, hope that he'll come to his senses again and put our family first. It's never going to happen. The police believe he killed a man in cold blood."

"Yes."

"And he caused your grandmother serious injury."

"Yes."

"It's his obsession. That's not an excuse, but it's simple fact. About three years ago his great-uncle died, and Justin found letters, a journal, all these things that connected his family to yours, and to that dowry."

"Information about Violeta Landon, Nathanial Broome?"

"Yes. I don't know much as he started h.o.a.rding it all, keeping it from me. Everything began to change from that point. He kept pushing, digging, paying heavy fees. I won't bore you with problems Justin had in the past, his ability and need to blame others for failures or mistakes or shortcomings. But I'll tell you that the more he learned about this part of his ancestry, the more he felt you and your family were to blame for everything he didn't have that he wanted. More, when he learned I actually knew your wife, and worked with her from time to time, he saw it as a sign. Who knows? Maybe it was."

"He pursued her."

"Yes. I didn't know to what extent. He deceived me there, and I think, honestly? He began to want her, to convince himself he loved her because she was yours. He wanted what was yours, and saw it as his right. I didn't know about the property in Whiskey Beach, or the investigator, or the break-ins. I only knew, in those months before Lindsay's death, my husband was slipping away from me, lying to me. I think we know, don't we?" she said to Abra.

"Yes, we probably do."

"I tried everything, and finally stopped arguing with him about the time, the money, and convinced myself to simply wait it out. He'd had obsessions before, pulled away a bit before, but he always settled back again."

She paused a moment, tucked the swing of her hair behind her ear. "This time, it was different. He told me he was filing for divorce. Just like that, as if it was nothing but a formality. He didn't want our life any longer, couldn't pretend to love me any longer. Again, I won't bore you, but he shattered me. We fought, and said terrible things, as people do, and he told me he'd been involved with Lindsay, that she was his soul mate-those hackneyed words-and that they intended to be together."

"That must've been terribly hurtful," Abra said when Eden fell silent.

"It was horrible. The worst moment of my life. Everything I loved and believed in was slipping through my fingers. He said we'd tell the children over the weekend so we'd have plenty of time with them to ease the blow, and in the meantime, he'd sleep in the guest room, and we'd maintain a civilized front. I swear to you, I could hear Lindsay's words coming out of his mouth, her way, her tone. You understand me?" she asked Eli.

"Yeah, I do."

Her shoulders very straight, she nodded. "What I say next is without my lawyer or the police present, without the record, but I feel you deserve to hear it, and for me to say it to you."

"I know you killed her."

"Aren't you interested in knowing what happened that night? In knowing why and how?"

Before Eli could speak, Abra laid a hand over his. "I am. I'd like to know."

"There's that balance at work. You'd walk away because you're so angry, and she'll help you stay because knowing will help you close the door on this, as much as you ever will."