Carol O’Connell - Winter House

When she could see again, she turned in the direction that every light was focused upon. All the mirrors had been taken down from one wall. It was covered over with hundreds of papers and nails and cracks running jagged down the plaster. After a full minute of stunned silence, she looked back over one shoulder. The detective had not changed her stance, but was she at least one platform lower – closer?

„How did you get these trust documents?“ Bitty strived to convey a suspicion of theft. „No judge would ever sign a warrant to raid a law firm for – “

„Your father didn’t tell you? Why doesn’t that surprise me?“ Mallory stepped off the narrow wooden plank and dropped to the wider platform below. This time, her running shoes made noise with contact. „Old Sheldon didn’t like you much, did he? Well, maybe you pissed him off when you tried to blackmail his law firm.“

„You can’t be – “

„You threatened him with a very old crime.“ Mallory pointed to the wall. „Right below the trust documents, you’ll find the warrant for your father’s safety-deposit box. That’s where I found the restitution agreement for the embezzled trust fund. It proves that the law firm stole money from the Winter children. That was my partner’s favorite piece of evidence – proof of lawyers robbing orphans.“

Bitty turned to face the scaffold, one hand shading her eyes from the bright lights. „I swear to you, I never – “

„You knew. When you worked in your father’s firm, you had lots of time to study the trust fund documents. I also found a copy of his will. Two years ago, he cut you off without a cent. That’s how I know you didn’t leave on sabbatical. He fired you. I’ve seen the firm’s financials – yours, too. He paid you hush money – your allowance. That’s what he called it – ten percent of your old salary. You actually made less money as a blackmailer.“ The detective’s smile was derisive. „You just couldn’t stand up to him, could you? He called your bluff, and you folded. You crept away with a few pathetic crumbs like a good little mouse.“

Mallory stepped to the edge of the platform.

Bitty’s head snapped left toward the distraction of a faulty pole light blinking on and off. When she turned back to the scaffold, Mallory was gone, and this silent piece of work was more alarming than the sound of the crashing suitcase. Could Mallory have dropped to earth from such a high place without making the slightest noise?

Or could she fly?

„I know everything now,“ said Mallory.

Bitty jumped. Her heart banged. Her eyes went everywhere. Where had -

„When blackmail didn’t work, you came up with a new swindle.“

Bitty slowly revolved, her eyes alternately squinting at bright lights and peering into shadows. „I have no idea what you’re – “

„I know how you found your aunt.“ The detective stood under a spotlight at one end of the wall, as if she had simply materialized there. „It was a job that generations of good cops couldn’t do. That bothered me from the beginning.“

„If you had only asked – “ Bitty’s hands joined tightly, fingers interlaced, but not in prayer. „I would’ve told you about the investigator.“

„Joshua Addison?“

„Yes, my private investigator.“

„No, he’s mine now.“ Mallory ripped a sheaf of papers from the wall. „This is his statement – all your requirements for the job.“

Bitty nodded unconsciously. She knew this list by heart: find an old woman approximately seventy years of age, tall and fair and blue of eye, a woman without documents or memories of family and home.

„It was a shopping list for a doppelganger,“ said Mallory. „You weren’t even looking for your aunt. Any old woman would do, as long as Cleo and Lionel believed she was their sister. You didn’t even have to worry about a DNA test. By the time – “

„I wanted to please them.“

„No, you didn’t. They were horrified. That’s the way Nedda put it in her last diary, the one she started in the hospice. She mentioned you, too – in detail. It was her impression that you weren’t all that surprised by the reception she got from Cleo and Lionel. Now back to your Pi’s shopping list. Addison told me you were only interested in nursing homes. Good hunting grounds for old women who can’t even remember their names.“

Bitty eased herself down to the floor, fearing that if she did not sit down, she might fall on weakening knees. Mallory had erred on one point. Not just any old woman would do to separate her family from their money. It had taken years and all of her savings to find just the right one, a senile old crone with a resemblance to the Winter family. How astonished she had been to discover that the best candidate of the lot was the genuine article.

„I even know why you picked the state of Maine.“ Mallory was moving across the room, and it seemed to Bitty that the detective would walk over her or through her, but the young woman stopped suddenly, as a train would stop just short of collision. „Maine was close enough to keep tabs on your search,“ said Mallory. „But it was far enough from New York City so you wouldn’t have to worry about the Smyth name being linked to the Winter family. The PI was pretty lame, and I’m guessing that’s why you picked him. But he finally made that connection.“

Bitty was always looking up at people, and suddenly she tired of this. She fixed her eyes on a middle ground, and her voice was insistent when she said, „I didn’t break any laws. I never – “

„Your plan was too complicated.“ Mallory hunkered down to Bitty’s eye-level. „That’s why so many things went wrong. You had to improvise too much. But, in every new game plan, Nedda was meant to die. Your mother and your uncle would take the blame. You supplied them with a motive. Their uncle James planted the idea, but you’re the one who convinced them that Nedda murdered their family.“

As Bitty formed the idea that Mallory was using pure guesswork, the detective was shaking her head, saying, „I know how you poisoned them against Nedda. So you planned a revenge motive for Cleo and Lionel. They do everything together, don’t they? Get one, you get two. With them in prison, you’d control all the money.“ Mallory held a sheet of paper within an inch of the other woman’s face. „Now you get nothing.“

Pulling back, Bitty recognized the page torn from a book on New York State law. The underscored passage mandated that felons could not profit from a crime. She watched the paper drift to the floor. In one fluid motion, Mallory was risen, then gone, and Bitty was left to stare at the fallen page washed in bright light. „I didn’t commit any felonies. There’s no proof of – “

„Let’s start with Willy Roy Boyd, the scum you hired to kill Nedda.“ The detective ripped a newspaper clipping from the wall and held it up for Bitty to see. The headline recounted the capture of a serial killer. „This was your idea of the help-wanted pages. It cost you a lot of money to get him out on bail with that new hearing. He’d need lots more to keep his pricey lawyer. He would’ve killed a battalion of women for you.“ She let go of the clipping, and it drifted to the floor.

Bitty turned away. „You can’t seriously – “

„I’m dead serious.“ Mallory’s voice came from behind, and Bitty could feel the breath on her neck. „I talked to Boyd’s lawyer.“ Another piece of paper rattled close by Bitty’s ear. „I have the letter you sent with the payoff money.“

Bitty raised her head with new hope. „In my handwriting? I don’t think so.“ The letter had been typed on a computer.

„Don’t even try to run a bluff on me.“ Mallory’s face appeared in front of her, blotting out everything else in the world. „Your bedroom was the only one with locks, two heavy-duty bolts – recently installed. You were afraid that Boyd might get carried away and kill you, too. He never knew that you were the one who hired him.“