Page 44 of The Bride Wore White

“I told you back at the start that this case feels as if it turns on a revenge motive. Nothing about it is random. That suggests a killer who either is inside the Dover household or has an intimate history with it. Someone so obsessed with his goal that he went to the extremes of kidnapping you and setting up that elaborate scene in the honeymoon suite at the Pentland Plaza.” Jack capped the pen, sat back in his chair, and studied what he had drawn. “It suggests someone who is close enough to the Dover household to know how and when to lure Gilbert to Los Angeles. That individual also knew how to get close enough to murder him.”

She shivered. “I see what you mean. When you think about it, there were a lot of logistical problems involved, weren’t there?”

“Yes. The killer had a great deal of inside knowledge about the family.”

“What else does your crime tree tell you?”

Jack studied the chart. “Not enough. Not yet. But we are dealing with a very organized killer, one who had everything planned out to the last detail. Your escape from the honeymoon suite ruined those plans. Now everything is in chaos, as far as he is concerned, and that is bound to have rattled him. Things are still spinning out of control. Clara Dover is in Burning Cove instead of San Francisco. You are here, too. The killer has to be unnerved.”

“Do you think he will panic?”

“Not immediately. First he will try to come up with a new plan, but he no longer has the luxury of time. He will make mistakes.”

Understanding made her smile. “You’ve set your own stage. It’s a trap.”

“That’s the idea.”

She studied the crime tree more intently and saw that some of the other squares were partially filled in.

“You’ve got a square for me.” She braced her palms on the desktop and leaned forward to get a better look. “And there are notes. Let me see.”

“The crime tree is still in its very early stages,” Jack said. He started to move the desk accessories aside, obviously intending to roll up the chart.

She planted one hand on the crystal paperweight so that he could not move it and used her other hand to pin the opposite corner of the chart. “I want to see what you wrote about me.”

Resigned, Jack leaned back in his chair and gripped the arms very tightly.

Prudence scrutinized the notes in the square marked with her name.“Marriage annulled?She looked up. “Why is there a question mark after that entry? There’s no question about it. I am no longer married. Why is my marriage even on your chart? It has nothing to do with this case.”

“I need context and information on everyone involved,” he said.

Prudence ignored him to read off the rest of the notes.“Last dream reading client dead. Circumstances?”She looked up again. “What are you implying with that question mark after circumstances?”

“Just that I’d like more information on Tapson’s death.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Natural causes, remember?”

“I remember,” Jack said.

She went back to the chart.“Librarian. Paranormal research. Fired.Psychic?”She looked up again. “Another question mark? Why didn’t you just writefraud?”

“I told you, I’m not concerned with whether or not you are a fraud,” he muttered.

“Yes, you are, you just won’t admit it.” She straightened. “Never mind. Did you give me my very own square on your crime tree because you think I’m a suspect in the murder of Gilbert Dover?”

“No, damn it.” Jack was suddenly on his feet. “You’ve got a place on the chart because you are at the center of this case.”

She pursed her lips. “The center? I thought I was just a pawn.”

He watched her with a wary expression. “You started out as a pawn, but things have changed because the pawn—that would be you—didn’t play the part the killer assigned you to play. You are now the key to this case.”

“I am?”

“I keep coming back to the fact that you were not chosen at random to play the role of the Killer Bride.”

“Hmm.”

He watched her. “What?”

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