A Dark and Twisting Path Page 24

  Sam leaned in. “Where was it you came from, Cliff?”

  “Saint Louis.”

  “Did you grow up there?”

  Cliff looked startled. “Thereabouts.”

  “Doug said you had a good job out there.”

  He fiddled with his IV, not looking at Sam. “It was a good fit. But then I heard about an opening in Blue Lake.”

  “And you left Saint Louis? I can’t imagine Blue Lake pays you more. And it’s a pretty small town, Cliff.”

  “I had always been interested in the place. Ever since I followed your case, to be honest. You moved here from New York, and I always wondered why. What would make a guy like Sam West choose this little town?”

  “So you relocated here?” Sam sounded dubious. But if he was trying to force an admission from Cliff, it was going to be slow going. The brothers were equally reticent.

  “Cliff,” I said. “Should we call your parents? Are they in Saint Louis?”

  Cliff looked at me, surprised. “They are, yeah. But don’t call them. I think I’m going to beat the Grim Reaper this time, and I don’t want them getting all upset over nothing.”

  “It wasn’t nothing,” I said. “You almost died, Cliff. And I’m guessing you’re their only child.”

  He frowned. “Why do you think that?”

  “Because people who adopt often have only one child.”

  Now he looked secretive. “Did I mention that I was adopted?”

  “No,” I said. “I guessed.”

  “How did you guess?” he asked.

  “Because I found out that Sam had a long-lost sibling, a child of his mother that he never knew about. And yesterday I started to suspect that long-lost sibling was you. Am I right, Cliff?”

  He wouldn’t look at me, or at Sam. His white face grew a bit redder. “I wasn’t going to bother you with it. I just wanted to see you. Maybe get to know you. The thing was—I talked to her, way back when. I had written her a letter, and she called me. She was real sweet on the phone, and she said she would love to meet me. Said she never wanted to give me up, in fact. I guess she was pressured pretty heavily by her parents, who didn’t like my dad. They were both kids, really. Anyway, when I talked to her, she said she wanted to tell her family first, and then we would all meet together—a big reunion, she called it. Once she told her daughter and her son, she would call me back, and we’d all get together. She said—she told me she loved me the moment I was born, and she always had me in her heart.”

  The room was silent for a moment. Cliff’s eyes were on the window, through which we could see a pigeon on the gutter, sunning himself and blinking his eyes.

  Cliff stole a look at Sam. “I saw the crash story on the news. They started listing victims, and I saw that it was all of them but you. I couldn’t bother you then. I didn’t know if she had told you or not, and even if she had, you had just lost your whole world. You didn’t need me to come barging in and making demands. So I just waited, and once in a while I tried to find out what was happening with you. When you ended up in the news, too, after Victoria disappeared—well, I followed that very closely. I tried to think of every scenario in which you could be innocent, and I thought of quite a few. I sent a letter to the DA in New York, outlining them all.”

  “What?” Sam said, shocked.

  “He never even responded. They were good points. And one of them was the possibility that Victoria had been abducted by someone who was not giving her access to communication with the outside world.”

  “That’s amazing,” said Sam. His eyes had not really left Cliff’s face since we had entered the room.

  “Anyway,” Cliff said, “I can’t tell you how great it was to see you in person. When Lena introduced us at Allison’s house, that day she found the body in the woods—Lena was so casual, saying ‘this is Sam West.’ She couldn’t have known how wonderful those words were to me. But like I said, I never meant to be a bother.”

  Sam waited until Cliff looked at him and then said, “How could it be a bother, Cliff? You’re the only family I have in the world. You’re my brother!” He smiled so widely that Cliff couldn’t help but smile back. “Not to mention the fact that you saved my life!”

  Cliff looked dazed by the turn of events. “I did not expect to tell you all this today. I guess Lena got it out of me. I just felt happy to be able to be close to you. Hang out with you sometimes. Get to know you—and Lena. I saw you both in the papers back in winter, and I was happy for you. That you had someone in your life again. I remember way back when I read about your marriage to Victoria. That seems like a long time ago.

  “Anyway, I thought maybe, someday, there’d be a good time to mention the connection to you.”

  “Oh God, men!” I yelled. “You never would have told him! You’re two of a kind.”

  They grinned at this, and Sam pulled his chair closer to his brother’s bed. “Is that why you watched my house at night? Because you were protecting me?”

  Cliff nodded. “Ever since that dead body turned up I’ve had a bad feeling. Nikon Lazos had it out for you; Doug and I talked about it a lot, and Doug said this had his fingerprints all over it. Metaphorically, anyway. I just—I’d get nervous when I didn’t have you guys in my sights. So I figured I’d just sort of camp out there, see what I could see. Doug ended up asking me about it—all the extra time I was spending. I told him I just had a bad feeling, and that I wanted to do what I could. He probably thought I was bucking for a promotion.”

  “That’s why you were right there when the bearded man attacked me,” I said.

  “And why you sat outside my house when you were off duty,” Sam said. “When did you sleep, Cliff?”

  He shrugged. “Here and there. It’s a good thing we were all vigilant. Especially after your break-in, and Lena’s notes—I knew we were dealing with someone who wasn’t quite right. Have they got her under lock and key, by the way? Because she is nuts.”

  “Agatha’s in jail.”

  “Did they find the baby?” Cliff asked, pale and concerned.

  “Yes!” I said. “In Agatha’s house. Right down the hall from where Nikon shot you. But it was Agatha who murdered Eddie Stack. He knew about her, and Nikon, and probably the baby. She said she shot him.”

  Cliff nodded. “That doesn’t surprise me. Lazos didn’t strike me as the kind of guy who does his own dirty work. But it is surprising that he delegated it to his little sister!” He shook his head. “So—Nikon?”

  “In custody,” said Sam.

  “And what about the poor baby?”

  “Back with her mother,” I said.

  “Really? Wow, that’s great!” This made Cliff smile, then laugh, until he clutched his stomach in pain. Sam leaned forward, solicitous.

  “You need to take it easy,” Sam said. “We should leave so you can rest.”

  “I’d prefer it if you stayed,” Cliff said. “I like to keep my eye on you, little brother.”

  The words had the same effect on all of us, and it was through my tears that I saw Sam lean forward and take his brother’s hand. “Then I’ll be right here,” he said.

  20

  They boarded the plane together, but it was hard for them to leave this land, ancient and profound, where they had sought adventure and found each other. Despite their fear and the danger they had faced in the country, Greece and its people had stayed in their hearts.

  They watched the sun go down over Delphi, and he kissed her—a promise of a new dawn.

  —From Death at Delphi

  ONE WEEK LATER I sat in the kitchen with Camilla, drinking tea. We had been chatting about the book, and about Adam and Sam, and Nikon and Agatha, and about Clifford Blake.

  Jake Elliott had written a follow-up article in which he had detailed some of the misdeeds of the Lazos siblings, but in which he had also covered the unexpected revelation th
at Sam West was not alone in the world. He had included a photo of Sam and Cliff talking together in Cliff’s hospital room, and somehow he had captured the resemblance that none of us had seen until the day that Cliff saved Sam’s life.

  The article had been picked up by every major media outlet, and Sam West led the headlines once again. We heard his name on the television news and on the car radio. We saw his face in newspapers and magazines. He and Cliff received endless calls to appear on television and tell their story. The only thing in the news that got more attention than the reunited brothers was the even more dramatic (and photogenic) reunion of Victoria West and her lovely baby.

  Unlike Sam, Victoria was eager to tell her story to the press who had been so accommodating while she was looking for her daughter, and she, Athena, and Tim (who seemed to be functioning now more as boyfriend than bodyguard) had stopped by to thank us before flying out to New York to appear on the Today show and to reunite with her family out there.

  “But we’ll always keep our place in Blue Lake, and we’ll come here on vacations,” Victoria promised in a final visit to us before she left. She intended to move to New York permanently with her child and her new boyfriend to be close to her family and start a new life. “I’ll never stop being grateful to you all. And don’t forget that you have a reward coming. I offered one hundred thousand, remember? And you found my baby, the two of you.”

  Sam and I stared at each other; I saw what I was thinking in his eyes. He nodded at me and said, “Vic, we don’t want your money. Save it for Athena’s college account, or as seed money for her future career, or maybe a future wedding. We have everything we need, and you don’t have that kind of money to throw around, do you?”

  Victoria smiled at us, a smug and secret smile. “Nikon considered us married. He never signed any documents over to me, but he said that everything of his was also mine. I took him at his word on the day I left the yacht. He liked to have portable money, usable in any country, so he had some gold on the ship. Can you believe it? Some gold pieces and bits of jewelry, and some plain old bars of gold. I helped myself before I left. I had some in my purse, and some in a bag that I asked one of the nice Federal men to carry for me. Now it’s all safely in a bank under my name. I’m not as rich as Nikon, but I’m rich.”

  I laughed. “Victoria, I’m so happy for you. They say living well is the best revenge. I think you and Athena will live very well.”

  She pulled me into an almost fierce embrace. “Thank you, Lena. For everything. And you take care of our dear Sam.”

  “I will,” I said. She turned to hug Sam, and then Camilla, and Adam. Tim, less demonstrative but surprisingly earnest, shook everyone’s hand. Victoria allowed us all to hug and kiss the smiling baby before they swept out of Camilla’s house and out of Blue Lake. A part of me was sad to see them go, while another part was highly relieved.

  And so we had reached this placid day, on which it seemed the drama was behind us. Sam had gone to the hospital to pick up Cliff, who was being released and was planning to convalesce at Sam’s house for a while. We were waiting for their arrival; Camilla had asked if she could make lunch for them (or, more specifically, if Rhonda could).

  When someone knocked at the door, I ran to answer it, finding not Sam and Cliff, but Belinda and Darla. Belinda wore a stern expression, and Darla looked at the ground with downcast eyes.

  “Do you have a minute, Lena?”

  “Sure. Come on in,” I said. I introduced Darla to Camilla, who had come out of the kitchen to see who was at the door.

  Camilla shook Darla’s hand, and Belinda said, “I persuaded Darla to come here with me today to make a little confession to you.”

  Camilla’s look was shrewd. “Why don’t we all sit down?”

  We did so; Belinda and Darla sat on a couch facing the chairs that Camilla and I chose. Belinda said, “Darla waited a week because she was very upset. She found out about Agatha when the rest of us did. She didn’t know anything about her except that they both liked books and they were both fascinated with Sam West.”

  Darla really did look miserable, and I felt a burst of pity for her. “Is this about the paper you wrote about Sam?” I asked gently.

  She shook her head miserably. “No. Although I really did write that paper. But I mentioned it to Agatha once, in passing, while we were talking about law school and how expensive it is. I guess I was feeling sorry for myself, thinking about all my debt, and the next thing I knew she was offering me money. Anything I could find out about Sam West, she would pay me—and I mean lots of money. In cash. So I told her I would do it.”

  I wasn’t surprised. I had expected something like this the moment I had seen them on the steps. “That’s unfortunate,” I said.

  Darla looked up, her eyes wide. “I didn’t find that much. I took a picture of you once, which wasn’t okay, but that was really the extent of it. I tried to get information from you and Sam, but you just didn’t give me anything.”

  I stiffened. “Are you Joseph Williams?”

  She shrugged. “No—that’s just a name one of the editors of the Indiana News X-press made up. But I did supply the picture and a few statements about you two that I had learned from Belinda.”

  “Sorry,” Belinda said, still looking stern.

  We all thought about this in silence for a while, and Darla finally said, “I’m really sorry. I hope you’ll forgive me. I was just blinded by the amount of money she was offering.”

  “How much money did you get out of her?” I asked. “I hope it was a lot.”

  Darla’s eyes widened. “Well, like I said, I didn’t get that far. But after the Joseph Williams article, she told me to keep it coming, and to send her my latest tuition bill. She paid it, and my outstanding tuition balance, too. I guess it was an act of faith for what she figured would be a long-standing agreement. I’m really sorry,” she said again.

  I sniffed. “Be sorry about lying and misleading us. But don’t be sorry about taking her money. They’re filthy rich, and they’re criminals. Hopefully, when you get your law degree you’ll help people and it will balance things out.”

  Darla wiped at her eyes. “That’s a generous way of looking at it.”

  Camilla spoke from her chair. “You clearly were led astray by a bad woman with a certain charisma that she shared with her brother. Those two were very good at getting people to do their bidding.”

  Darla was starting to look like a woman reprieved. It seemed she had feared a very different response to her confession.

  I looked at Belinda, who also seemed pleased with our response. “The fact is, though, that you have to make these apologies to Sam, not Camilla and me.”

  The misery came back to Darla’s face. “I know. I—I’ll do it today. Do you know when he might be by?”

  I shook my head. “You can’t do it today, because he’ll be busy with his brother, and the two of them have a lot of catching up to do. I don’t want this upsetting him while he’s enjoying getting to know Cliff. When the time is right, I’ll mention what happened with Agatha, and I’ll tell Sam you’d like to apologize. And then he can decide when he wants that to happen.”

  “Okay.” Darla looked uncertain.

  Belinda nodded. “That will give him lots of time to come to terms with it. Then maybe he won’t feel as upset when you finally do talk to him.”

  “Okay,” Darla said again. “I hope he won’t want me fired from the library. I need the money.”

  “Sam would never try to deprive you of your job,” I assured her.

  Camilla stood up. “Thank you so much for coming by, Belinda and Darla.”

  Belinda stood up, too, tapping Darla on the shoulder. “I’m glad we could get this out in the open,” Belinda said. “Now I’m going to take Darla back and check on Doug.”

  “Hey,” I said. “He never told us what he decided—about the chief th
ing.”

  “I’ll let Doug tell you. That’s his news to share, not mine.”

  Darla had thanked us and made her way down the steps when I stopped Belinda. “You guys are back together, right?”

  Belinda smiled. “We are. Thanks for nudging me in that direction. We’re—really happy.”

  “I’m so glad.”

  I gave her a quick hug and she went down the stairs to her car; she and Darla pulled out of the driveway and disappeared down the gravel road.

  While I watched, another car pulled in. I saw Sam’s familiar profile at the wheel, and Cliff’s dark head in the passenger seat. I could see, even from this distance, that they were in the middle of a discussion. Sam parked near the porch, but they sat there for a while, finishing their chat. Then Sam got out and came around the side to help Cliff out.

  Cliff looked far better than he had a week ago; his coloring had improved, and he was smiling, but he still moved gingerly.

  I greeted them and welcomed them into Camilla’s house. Soon after we had seated both men at Camilla’s table, Doug showed up and joined us. The five of us chatted and laughed, dining on sandwiches that Rhonda had made for the occasion.

  “How long do you think you’ll stay at Sam’s, Cliff?” Camilla asked.

  Cliff shrugged. “The doctors are already impressed with my recovery, so it should be all downhill from here. I’d like to be back on the job soon.”

  Doug shook his head. “We’re covered. Don’t hurry back on our account. We’ve got a guy from Meridien covering your shifts; he’ll do fine until you’re back on your feet.”

  Sam grabbed a chicken salad sandwich and put it on his plate. “He’ll stay as long as it takes him to recuperate. That was a life-threatening wound, and he needs to rest and relax. We’re going to investigate the local scene known as Blue Lake fishing. What’s more relaxing than that? And I’ve never done it. I went out and bought us some new poles.”