Part 14 (2/2)
”Detective Sherman, if my brother had been meeting Vienna Blake that night, she would not have been a.s.saulted. He would never have allowed her to walk over here unescorted.”
”Where was your brother?”
”Isn't it in your file?” Mason steadied her breathing. ”He was the one who disturbed the attack. He was knocked unconscious.”
”And where were you at the time?”
”At the barns. One of our horses was foaling. I was a.s.sisting our vet.” That, at least, was the truth.
”Ah, yes.” Sherman tapped his pen thoughtfully against the pad. ”The vet left at ten p.m. and you then remained in the barns with a member of your staff.”
”Yes, Mr. Pettibone.”
”Is Mr. Pettibone still employed by your family?” At Mason's nod, he asked, ”Where can I find him?”
”At this time of year, he'll be raking leaves if he's not in his apartment around the back of the house. I can give you his cell phone number.”
”I'd appreciate that.” Detective Sherman glanced out the wide bay window into the garden. ”That's where she was found, isn't it?”
”Yes, over to left, near the cemetery.”
”A note was found at the scene.” He rummaged in his briefcase and produced a set of photographs. Handing one of these to Mason, he asked, ”Have you ever seen this before?”
”Yes.” The words danced in front of her.
It's time we talked. Would you do me the honor of joining me for dinner next Sat.u.r.day? Please reply below.
”Is that your brother's handwriting?”
”No.”
”Your father stated that it was.”
Perspiration damped Mason's hairline. ”Detective, I wrote the note myself.”
Sherman studied her closely. ”Why didn't you say so before?”
”No one asked me.”
Mason's hands were cold despite the fire she'd lit when she knew Josh was coming. She stared out into the garden and felt the past pressing down on her. If she hadn't sent that note, Vienna would not have been wandering through the grounds in the middle of the night. Mason had thought she was being wildly optimistic to hope for a reply; she'd never imagined Vienna would want to give her answer in person or she would have gone with Pettibone's grandson and waited outside. She'd drawn the obvious conclusion when the boy didn't return to the barn after an hour or so. It wasn't the first time she'd offered an olive branch, and her overtures were usually ignored. But this time Vienna had sent the Pettibone boy to the kitchen for a meal after telling him she would take the reply to Mason herself.
The change of heart had always plagued Mason. She didn't know if Vienna intended to express annoyance or accept the date. Either way, the consequences were the same. Whatever might have been was swept away.
”Why did you invite Ms. Blake to dinner?” Sherman asked.
”As you probably know, our families weren't on the best of terms,” Mason said. ”I thought things could be different for us. She hadn't been at Penwraithe for awhile, but I knew she would be at the ball, so I sent the note over with Mr. Pettibone's grandson.”
”And Ms. Blake came over here in the dead of night to see you?” Sherman eyed her with sudden suspicion. ”How well do you know each other, Ms. Cavender?”
”Are you asking if we were having a lesbian relations.h.i.+p?”
”Were you?”
Mason stretched her legs casually in front of her. ”Unfortunately not.”
The detective rifled through his notes, his cheeks slightly flushed, then handed her another photograph. ”This necklace was also recovered. The Blakes confirmed their daughter was wearing it that night. There was speculation that the attack could have been a robbery attempt.”
”It's a valuable necklace,” Mason said.
”Ms. Blake telephoned this morning and informed me that this is the necklace known as the Cavender Diamonds.” He finally seemed to be getting to the point. ”Is it possible that your father saw Ms. Blake wearing this important heirloom and lost his temper? Could he have seized the opportunity to get the necklace back?”
”My father is the one who sold it to the Blakes,” Mason said patiently. ”Besides, he wasn't at Laudes Absalom when Vienna was attacked.”
”But you and your brother were. How did you two feel about seeing your neighbor's daughter wearing that necklace? After all, it should have been yours.”
”Detective Sherman, the first time I ever saw Vienna wearing that necklace was last night.”
Undeterred, Sherman said, ”Would you object to providing a DNA sample?”
”Are you suggesting that I had something to do with the attack?”
”DNA wasn't so widely used ten years ago,” Sherman said. ”But we now have the opportunity to re-examine the evidence. If we have a sample, we can rule you out.”
”Then I have nothing to lose.”
Sherman whipped out a kit and swabbed her mouth. ”We appreciate your cooperation, Ms. Cavender.”
”No problem.” Mason stood.
As Detective Sherman walked with her to the door, he said, ”I have one more question.”
Mason had been waiting for the shoe to fall. ”Yes?”
”Do you know who did it?”
”I'm not a detective,” Mason said. ”All I can tell you is that it won't matter what you find out. The Blakes have never wanted to know the truth.”
Chapter sixteen.
I don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about,” Marjorie said. Her tone was whiny. She had a fas.h.i.+on show to get to and Vienna's questions were holding her up. ”Oh, d.a.m.n. I've just applied the wrong fragrance. Bal Versailles in the middle of the afternoon. No one will be expecting that.”
”Think of it as a style statement,” Vienna said unsympathetically.
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