Part 25 (1/2)
Hannah thought of another question as fast as she could. ”I know about some of Max's other loans and how he forced people to sign over their property as collateral. Is that what he did to you?”
”Yes. DelRay suffered a setback and when Del needed more capital, he signed over my home. He was a fool to do it. I advised him against it, but he wouldn't listen. Del was never very bright.”
The gun barrel wavered slightly and Hannah wondered if she should make a grab for it. In one of the detective shows she'd watched, the main character had jammed his finger somewhere or other to keep the gun from firing. But that gun hadn't looked like the one that Judith held. If she got out of this alive, she was going to find out everything she could about guns and how they operated.
”You're very quiet, Hannah.” Judith's lips twisted up in a parody of a smile. ”Aren't you going to ask me any more questions?”
Hannah shook off all thoughts that weren't useful and latched on to another question. It was good that Judith wanted to talk about Max and what she'd done to him. ”Why didn't Del get a loan from the bank? It would have been a lot safer than going to Max.”
”The bank refused him. They said that he was overextended and they were right. I advised Del to close the doors, but all he could think about was how it would affect his work force. Those people would have found other jobs. And even if they hadn't, it wouldn't have mattered to me!”
Hannah tried not to let her emotions show. Judith was totally self-centered. Her only concern was for her home, not for the hundreds of Lake Eden workers who would have lost their jobs. ”I a.s.sume that Max called in Del's loan and that's why you felt you had to...to act.”
”That's exactly right. I warned Del to be careful about hidden clauses when he signed the loan papers, but he's never been proficient at reading legal doc.u.ments. Max took advantage of his naivete.”
”He didn't have a lawyer read over the loan papers?”
”There wasn't time. Max told him that the deal was off if he didn't sign right away. Del was desperate and that made him vulnerable. Max counted on that. The man had no scruples!”
Hannah took a deep breath. From what she'd learned about Max, she could agree with Judith completely on that point. ”You're right, Judith. And you're not the first person that Max tried to ruin. Was he really going to foreclose on your home?”
”Yes, and I couldn't let that happen. Del built this house for me. It was a condition of our marriage. I had the architect follow the blueprints for my father's house. This is an exact replica and I couldn't bear to lose it. Surely you can appreciate that.”
”Your home means that much to you?”
”It's my life!” Judith looked fiercely protective. ”How could I stand by and do nothing while Max Turner was threatening to take my life life away?” away?”
Hannah bit back the urge to remind Judith that she had taken Max's life away in a much more tangible and permanent fas.h.i.+on. ”Is that the reason you called Benton home?”
”Of course it is. But Benton doesn't love this house the way I do. He actually told me that I had to accept it, that his father had signed those loan papers voluntarily and there was no recourse we could take.”
”So you decided to kill Max and get the loan papers back?”
”What other choice did I have? I couldn't stand by and let Max Turner evict me from my lovely home!”
”No, I guess not.” Hannah saw that Judith's hand was trembling slightly and she asked another question to calm her down. ”Wasn't Max suspicious when you called and said you wanted to see him?”
Judith gave a cold little laugh. ”Max wasn't bright enough to be suspicious. I told him I'd sold some family heirlooms and that I was prepared to pay off Del's debt. When I arrived at his office, I demanded to see the loan papers before I gave him the money.”
”So he took you into the old dairy and got them out of the safe?”
”Yes, but I had to show him the money first. You should have seen the greed on his face. It was appalling!”
Hannah was confused. ”Then you had enough money to pay off the loan?”
”Of course not. I simply let him glimpse a sheaf of thousand dollar bills. Max was too stupid to realize that only the top five were authentic. And after he handed me the loan papers, I took a great deal of pleasure in ridding the world of Maxwell Turner!”
Judith's eyes turned hard and Hannah knew she should do something to appease her anger. ”There are a lot of people who'd thank you, Judith. If the other people that Max tried to ruin knew what I know, they'd probably erect a statue of you in Lake Eden park.”
”But they don't know.” Judith wasn't so easily taken in. ”And they won't won't know.” know.”
”Of course they won't. n.o.body will ever figure it out. But why did you kill Ron?”
”He saw me with Max.” Judith sounded sad. ”I didn't want to do it, Hannah. It was nothing personal and I do feel a great deal of remorse about ending his life. It's important that you believe that.”
”Then Ron's only fault was being in the wrong place at the wrong time?”
Judith sighed. ”That's right. I do wish that he hadn't come into the dairy, but once he saw me, I had to act. When Max's body was discovered, he would have mentioned seeing me there. It wasn't pleasant, Hannah. I liked Ron. He didn't deserve to die.”
”Do I deserve to die?” Hannah held her breath, waiting for Judith's answer. Perhaps, if Judith felt guilty enough, she might reconsider.
”No. I like you, Hannah. Your candor is refres.h.i.+ng. And that's precisely why this whole situation is so difficult. At least it'll be over quickly. I wouldn't want you to suffer. I have everything all planned out.”
”Really?” Hannah attempted to sound interested, but talking about her impending death was frightening. ”What have you planned? You won't want to slip up now, when you're so close to getting away with the perfect murders.”
”I won't slip up,” Judith sounded very confident. ”It's simple, Hannah. I'm going to walk you outside, shoot you in the back of your truck, and drive it down to the lake on the back of our property. Once I release the brake and push your truck down the hill, it'll sink without a trace.”
Hannah s.h.i.+vered and picked up her teacup to take another sip. Hearing about the disposal of her very alive body in such a cold-blooded way made her mouth go dry. ”That's very clever. But how about your housekeeper? She knows I'm here and she'll hear the shot.”
”She's gone. I dismissed her for the remainder of the day. We're quite alone, Hannah, and Benton and Del won't be home for hours. They have a late meeting at the plant.” Judith motioned with the gun barrel. ”That's enough talking. Put down your teacup, Hannah. This tea set is a priceless family heirloom. It's been in my family for almost two hundred years. It was a gift from King George the Third, and my paternal grandmother brought it here from England. I'm really quite fond of it.”
Hannah thought fast, still holding the teacup. ”My mother's a collector. This is Wedgwood, isn't it?”
”Of course.” Judith gave an amused laugh. ”Even an amateur collector would recognize its value immediately. Do you know that I've been offered over a hundred thousand dollars for the set?”
”You should have taken it,” Hannah blurted out, an idea beginning to form in her head. ”It's a fake.”
”What?” Judith gasped, staring at her in disbelief.
”Here, I'll show you.” Hannah put down her teacup and lifted the lid of the pot to examine the mark that was stamped on the underside. ”A lot of people don't know it, but I made a study of Wedgwood for my mother. This tea set is very rare and Wedgwood put a double maker's mark right here. Yours has only one maker's mark and that proves it's not authentic Wedgwood. See what I mean?”
Hannah transferred the lid to her left hand and the gun barrel dropped an inch or so as Judith leaned over to look at the mark. This was it. Hannah knew she'd never have a better chance. She grabbed the teapot with her right hand and threw the steaming tea directly at Judith's face. Judith reacted by jumping back and Hannah tackled her before she could catch her balance. The gun went flying out of Judith's hand, and Hannah knocked her to the floor as hard as she could, grinding her down into the nap of the expensive Aubusson carpet.
Judith flailed out with long manicured nails, but she was no match for Hannah's adrenaline rush. It also helped that Hannah outweighed her by a good thirty pounds. In no time at all, she had flipped Judith over on her stomach, twisted her hands behind her back, and bound them firmly with the Hermes silk scarf that Judith had been wearing around her neck.
Hannah's hands were shaking as she picked up the gun and trained it on the back of Judith's head. ”One move and you're dead. You got that, Judith?”
There was no reply from the quaking socialite on the floor, but Hannah hadn't expected one. She marched to the phone, intending to tell the secretary at the sheriff's station to get Bill on the line, when the very brother-in-law that she was about to call rushed into the room.
”I'll take over now, Hannah.” Bill sounded proud of her, but Hannah was a bit too rattled to react. ”You can give me the gun.”
Hannah shook her head. She wasn't about to take any chances with the woman who'd almost killed her. ”Cuff her first, Bill. She's tricky and that silk scarf might not hold.”
”Okay.” Bill started to grin as he walked over to Judith and slipped on the cuffs. ”She killed Max and Ron?”
”That's right. Read her her rights, Bill. I sure don't want this case dismissed on a technicality.”