Page 94 of Close Up

Vivian shivered, a wave of shock and panic icing her nerves. Her mouth got very dry. She turned around and saw Fenella, gun in hand, standing a few feet away.

“I saw you leave in the cab,” Vivian said.

“I got out as soon as the taxi turned the corner. I told the driver it was such a nice day I had decided to walk home. Did you think I didn’t notice you in that blue speedster at the end of the block? I’m not a fool. I knew you were getting suspicious. Inside. Now. Or I will pull this trigger.”

“That would be stupid,” Vivian said. “People will hear the shot.”

“Unlikely. The neighborhood is deserted at this time of day. Even if someone did happen to hear it, the sound would be dismissed as a backfire. Go on, into my shop. Don’t worry. I left the door open for you.”

Vivian briefly contemplated making a run for it, but Fenella was too close and the strange glitter in her eyes made it clear that she was more than willing to pull the trigger.

“If you’re going to kill me anyway, why not shoot me now?” Vivian asked.

“Shut up and go inside. There is something I want you to see.”

Vivian went up the back steps, opened the door, and moved into the shadows of Fenella’s back room. She understood why people obeyed when someone held a gun on them. It was all about buying time.

“I assume this means you never really intended to display my pictures in your next exhibition,” Vivian said.

Chapter 46

You’re wrong,” Fenella said. “I had every intention of exhibiting your photographs in my next show.”

“Why? I can’t believe you would have done me any favors just because Winston Bancroft failed to deliver a couple of pictures.”

“That was something of a story, I’m afraid. Bancroft has already delivered his photos. But I needed to convince you that I really did want your pictures for the exhibition. I wanted to make sure you were in the gallery that evening so that you could witness your failure as an artist.”

“You just assumed my photographs would not get any attention? That no one would buy them?”

“Exactly. Later you were going to take your own life. The plan was for you to retreat here to my back room and put a bullet in your head. Everyone would have assumed you could not handle the pain of finding out for certain that you were a failure.”

“You had the whole scene composed in your mind.”

“Yes. I had it all worked out.”

“Do you really think the people who know me would have believed your ridiculous story for even sixty seconds?”

“Why not?” Fenella’s voice tightened. “You call yourself anartist. They’re notoriously dramatic and emotional. Unstable.”

“Nick Sundridge and my family would never have bought that version of events, trust me.”

“It doesn’t matter because plans have changed. The stairs. Go on. What I have to show you is in the room at the top.”

The overhead fixtures were off in the back room of the gallery and the blinds were closed but the staircase that led to the balcony on the floor above was illuminated by a couple of narrow windows.

Vivian started up the steps, moving as slowly as she dared, trying to buy time to come up with a strategy. Fenella followed close behind but not so close that Vivian could risk trying to shove her down the stairs.

The one thing that was clear now was that Fenella did not want to pull the trigger until after the so-called private viewing.

“Why murder Toby Flint?” Vivian asked.

“I needed him to find you after you and Sundridge disappeared,” Fenella said. “Toby never missed a meeting of the Adelina Beach Photography Club. I waited for him in his car that night. When he came out of the meeting hall I did a deal with him. I offered to pay off his gambling debts if he could find you. It didn’t take him long to discover that you and Sundridge were in Burning Cove.”

“He called my sister in San Francisco. She told him where I was. But that wasn’t enough for you, was it? You made him go to Burning Cove. You told him he had to do one more thing to get his money. He had to place the phone call that would draw me out of the hotel that night. You wanted me on that empty street so that you could run me down with your car.”

“I couldn’t think of any other way to get you out of the hotel. I knew you and Toby were friends. You trusted him.”

“Yes,” Vivian said. A sense of sadness flitted through her. “I did trust him. I thought he called me to warn me that I was in danger. But I guess he needed the money too much.”

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