Part 36 (2/2)
”But where are my manners?” Adrian said pleasantly. ”I should introduce the two of you.”
”As Mr. Sayers has just pointed out, we have already met.”
”Ah, but you don't know his full name.” Adrian paused. ”Allow me to introduce Mr. Emmet Sayers Hardwell.”
”Hardwell?” She frowned. ”As in Sir George Hardwell?”
”Sir George was my father.” Sayers smirked. ”Which means you are my dear cousin. Oh, quite distant, of course, but we are relations nonetheless. Indeed, I am your only living relative.”
Evelyn stared in disbelief.
”Evie, dear, Mr. Sayers or rather Mr. Hardwell has been good enough to explain everything to me.” Adrian shrugged as best he could given his bonds. ”As he intends to kill me, it seemed only fair.”
”How very gracious of you”-she forced out the word-”cousin.”
”It seems, darling, your parents did not leave you penniless after all.” Adrian's tone was light. ”You have quite a sizable fortune in trust that you will inherit on your thirtieth birthday.”
”However,” Hardwell began, ”that same fortune has provided for my father and myself. I had no idea, of course. I thought my family was financially sound. As it turns out, my dear father had been taking money from your trust for, oh, as long as he had been in control of it.”
”I see,” she murmured. It was most interesting but not of any great concern at the moment. Still, every minute she kept him talking was another minute for Max and his men to surround him.
”I knew nothing of this until my father cut me off a few months ago. Apparently, in his declining years he had developed something of a conscience. That and the fact that he knew he would be found out when you turned thirty, which, I believe, is next week.” He heaved a dramatic sigh. ”Unfortunately, he pa.s.sed away that very same night.”
”Helped by his loving son,” Adrian added.
”Well, I would have hated to see the old man imprisoned for embezzlement.” Hardwell shuddered. ”He wouldn't have liked that at all.”
”What a good son you are,” Adrian said under his breath.
”I'm afraid I find this all most confusing.” She shook her head. ”I would think then that you'd want to kill me, not my husband.”
”Ah, but if I were to kill you first, the inheritance would go to your husband. If I killed him after your birthday, your inheritance might well become part of his estate.” He grinned in a most evil manner. The man was obviously mad as well as dangerous. ”But if I kill him before you inherit, I can wait as long as I wish to kill you.”
”How very clever of you, cousin.”
”I thought so,” he said modestly.
”You do realize I would not have come alone,” she said coolly. ”You will not escape this.”
”On the contrary, cousin.” He scoffed. ”I have explored this building thoroughly. I know every entrance, every exit. And I know them in the dark. Once I dispatch your husband, I shall extinguish the light and vanish in the shadows.” His tone hardened. ”Admittedly, I had originally planned simply to slit his throat and throw his body in the river. It would have been much more expedient that way. But I am thoroughly prepared for the circ.u.mstances I now find myself in.”
”I am sorry, cousin, to disillusion you but you cannot get away with this.”
”Oh, but I can. You see ...” He lowered his voice in a confidential manner. ”Your friend Sir Maxwell heads an organization that is ... how to explain it?” He thought for a moment. ”Let us just say they do not work within the confines of the law. Were I to be imprisoned, even executed, I shall make certain the activities of your lover's organization were made public.” He shook his head in a mournful manner. ”It would be most distressing to the entire government. I cannot imagine the political repercussions. Therefore, it's in everyone's best interests to let me vanish and forget all about me. Once I am finished here, of course.”
There was an obvious flaw in his plan, but the man was too smug or too mad to see it.
”My, you are clever. But you have forgotten one thing.” She raised the pistol. ”I have a firearm.”
He chuckled. ”And a charming little toy it is, too. However ...” He laid the knife against Adrian's throat. ”Unless you can kill me with one shot, you will not have the chance for a second.”
”One shot, oh dear.” She shook her head. ”That is awkward.”
”At the very least,” Adrian murmured.
”Do try to keep still, dear.”
”I am trying.” A tense note sounded in his voice. Oddly enough, his concern lessened hers and she'd never been calmer.
”Come now, cousin,” Hardwell scoffed. ”Your hand is already shaking.”
She cupped her right hand with her left. ”That's better, I think.”
Hardwell laughed. ”I must give you credit, cousin. You do bluff well.” His eyes narrowed. ”But as amusing as I find this, I am tiring of this game.”
Her gaze met Hardwell's. ”Do you trust me, Adrian?”
”With my life, apparently.”
”Did you know I am an excellent shot, darling?”
”I do hope so, my dear.”
”Even if you could make that shot,” Hardwell said, ”I daresay you won't shoot the only remaining member of your family.”
”Oh, but you are not my family, Mr. Hardwell. My husband is.” Her tone sharpened. ”And if you do not drop that knife and step away right now, do not doubt for a moment, I will shoot you.”
A slow, evil smile spread across his face. His hand twitched and she squeezed the trigger. The shot caught him right above the bridge of his nose. His eyes widened in surprise and the knife dropped from his hand. No more than a trickle of blood oozed from the smoking hole in his face. Odd, she'd thought there would be more blood. Slowly he crumpled to the floor.
Adrian stared in shock.
”Excellent shot.” Max emerged from the shadows.
”Are you all right?” Concern sounded in Adrian's voice.
”Quite.” She nodded, turned, took a few steps, doubled over, and retched.
And in the end ...
Revelation.
... but at the length truth will out.
-William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice.
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