CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

Victor sits on the couch next to his daughter, softly stroking her hair while she sleeps. She is freshly showered and in clean clothing, and the only sign that she’s spent the past twenty-four hours missing are slightly darkened circles under her eyes. Reyes stands in the foyer, watching the scene with a smile on her face.

There’s a great deal of pain in that smile. Her misstep earlier allowed Lisa enough time to hurt Evelyn. I imagine she will still be handing in her resignation once the paperwork for this case is completed. But Celeste and Victor Holloway are still alive. There is bitterness in this ending, but there is sweetness too.

I sit in one of the upholstered chairs, enduring the slight embarrassment of baring my left leg to the knee so Sean can bandage my wound. He gives me an irritated look and mutters something about “this crazy old bag.” I’ll scold him for it later.

Victor looks at me and smiles. “Thank you. For not giving up on her.”

I return his smile. “Of course not. She’s worth all of the effort it took to save her.”

He looks at her. There’s sadness in his smile too. “Yes. Yes, she is.” He looks back at me and says, “I think we’ll move from here, Mary. It was a mistake for me to stay here after Elias died.”

My eyes widen. “This was Elias’s house?”

“Well, no, but this was his town. Everywhere I go, I see him. It’s… hard to explain what he meant to me.”

Grief washes over his face, and for a brief moment, he’s the harried, broken man I hear ranting in his studio days ago. That look vanishes when he looks back down at his daughter. “But she means more. It’s not healthy for me to be around here, and it’s not healthy for her to be around a not-healthy me. My sister has a place in Nevada. I think we’ll stay with her for a while. At least until Celeste is well enough to go to school.” He gives me a sheepish look. “I’ll make sure you’re paid in full for the semester you’re owed.”

“Give that money to Celeste,” I tell him. “I don’t need it. Just keep in touch with me.”

“I will. I promise.”

I’m saddened to hear that I won’t get to be her governess anymore, but I can’t wait to watch her grow into a wonderful young woman, even if I’ll only see it from afar. I smile at her sleeping form and say, “I’m so glad you found her.”

“Yes, how did you find her?” Sean asks. “And where have you been? What happened, why didn’t you call, and so forth?”

Victor’s smile fades. He lifts his shirt up to reveal a crude bandage taped to his abdomen. “I was shot by a dartgun.”

My eyes widen. “A dartgun?”

He nods. “Through my studio window. It hit me, and I looked out the window and saw the man who attacked me. There’s a hidden staircase behind one of my cabinets that leads to a secret gate behind the property. It was meant to be… Actually, I’m not sure why it’s there. But it helped me.”

“So you used that to get away.”

“I did. I chased my attacker and caught him just before he got into his car. We fought, and I overpowered him and demanded that he tell me who sent him. I have to say, the answer didn’t surprise me.”

“Marcus Fairfax.”

Victor nods. “And Lisa. I knew Lisa was mad at me for not lending her any more money, but I never figured she’d go this far. Marcus… well, he was just a sleaze. I knew he couldn’t have come up with this plan on his own, so I figured Lisa was the mastermind.”

“So why didn’t you call the police?” I ask. “Why did you go into hiding?”

His face falls. “I thought it would be safer for Celeste if I disappeared until Lisa and Marcus were gone. I figured they’d take what they wanted and leave, and then I’d come back. I can always paint more, so I wasn’t worried about losing the art. I stayed at the hidden cove to bandage my wound, then swam to shore a few dozen yards past the cave.” He chuckles. “Then I had to bandage my wound again, of course. I didn’t really think any of this through. Anyway, I know Celeste always liked this meadow by the lighthouse, and I knew that if I stayed out of the way while the lighthouse was open, I could avoid being seen. I guess I got lucky. If I hadn’t been there…”

He looks at Celeste and leaves the thought unsaid. Sean, Reyes and I share sober looks. It's remarkable how thin the line is between survival and death sometimes. One poor decision can nearly cause the death of an innocent woman, while another seemingly trivial decision can save the life of an innocent girl. Perhaps we are all alive simply because we're lucky to have accidentally made decisions that keep us that way.

“I think I will sell the art I have,” Victor says. “I’ll use the money to cover Evelyn’s medical expenses.” His face falls again. “God. I can’t believe you two were hurt. All because of me.”

I have to think about my response for a moment. It’s true that Victor is, in a way, responsible for what happened. But he is on a better path now, one that will lead to healing for him and for Celeste. For her sake, it’s better that he doesn’t fall into depression over mistakes that, while tragic, are also innocent.

“You did what you thought you had to do to protect your daughter,” I tell him. “Now you’re going to make a better decision: one that will help both of you. Do what you can for the Torres family. Then do what you must for your family.”

He gives me a soft smile. “Thank you.”

We fall silent for a moment. There’s more I want to ask Victor, but I don’t want to talk to him about it in front of Reyes. Or Sean. I’ll end up sharing everything important with him later, but I am in too fragile of a state emotionally to have him here when I ask Victor about Annie.

I look at him, and thankfully, he understands my meaning. He stands and nods at Reyes. “Unless you have any questions for Mr. Holloway, Detective, I think we should let them rest. What do you say?”

Reyes nods. “I’ll need a statement from both of them, but I can get that later. I’ll see you later, Mr. Holloway.” She nods at me. “Mary.”

“Goodbye, Detective.”

Sean and Reyes leave, and I turn to Victor. “May I talk to you on the balcony for a moment?”

He lifts an eyebrow but doesn’t question the favor. “Sure.”

He kisses Celeste’s forehead, then follows me outside. My calf still aches, but I limp only slightly on my way to the table outside.

He takes a seat across from me and waits. I look out across the ocean for a moment. The sun is high in the sky. It’s already nearly noon. How swiftly time flies.

I turn to him and say, “You painted a picture of a woman. A blonde woman with blue eyes. Who was she?”

His eyes widen in surprise. “A blonde woman?” Then he laughs. “Oh my God. Where did you find that picture?”

“In the little art closet in the basement. I… well, I have trouble sleeping at night, so I went exploring. I do hope you’ll forgive me for intruding.”

“Oh, that’s fine,” he says. “I didn’t want you in the studio because I thought it would interrupt my process.” He laughs again. “God, that sounds so stupid now.” He looks out over the ocean. “Wow. I haven’t thought about Grace in… God, not since I met Julia. Over twenty years ago.”

“Grace? That was her name?”

“That was her name. Grace Wilson.” His eyes grow slightly wistful. “She was the first woman I ever loved. Or thought I loved.”

“You were together then?”

“Oh no,” he says with another chuckle. “No, she was Elias’s girlfriend. Elias Blackwood. He was my mentor. He dated her for… a few months. I forget how long. Less than a year. Anyway, she just showed up out of nowhere one day, but poor Elias was just completely smitten. He introduced me, and I could see why.”

His eyes take on a wistful look again. “I think it’s a folly of us artist types. We’re always looking for the perfect expression of beauty, and anytime we see something or someone that fits that ideal, they instantly become the most important thing in our lives. Grace was tall, naturally blonde, blue eyes, beautiful, soft features, good hips”—he glances at me and reddens a little— “well, I was young, and she was hot. So she became my ideal someone.”

I smile at him, not without some wistfulness of my own. “I certainly understand what you mean.”

"We never did anything," he continues. "She was loyal to Elias. She let me paint her n… um… well, she let me paint her once, the day before she left. Gave me a kiss, too. That was as far as it went." He laughs again and shakes his head. "I held onto that kiss for five years. Then I accidentally bumped into Julia in the grocery store. She turned around, freckled and wearing glasses, and shouted, 'You want to watch where you're going, dipshit?' And just like that, I forgot all about Grace."

I laugh, but my smile fades quickly. I feel sorry for Annie. She never could find a place where she truly belonged. “Where did she go?”

“I have no idea. I asked her when she left, and I think she gave me some bullshit answer like, ‘Wherever the wind takes me,’ or something like that.” He gives me a quizzical look. “Did you know her?”

I think for a moment before I reply. When I began this conversation, I intended to tell Victor who she was to me, but now…

“I thought she was someone I recognized,” I reply. “But I was wrong.”

“Ah. Well, wherever Grace is, I hope she’s happy.”

"Yes," I agree. "I hope so, too."