Letters in the Attic(67)

“But wouldn’t the paper and the ink be different on that page? And the machine it was printed on?”

“I don’t know. I guess the police will do some digging once this all comes out.”

“It is going to come out, right?” Annie glanced at her and then turned her eyes back to the road. “You’ve got to tell them now, Susan.”

Susan nodded. “I should have done it a long time ago. I’ve wasted twenty years of my life being afraid of a man who’s really no more than a coward and a bully.”

“I hope it wasn’t all a waste.”

“No.” There was a sudden glow in Susan’s weary eyes. “Tom was never a waste. He took me just the way I was, no questions asked. I know he sounded rude to you, but he’s really not like that. He just knew how scared I was and tried his best to protect me.”

“It makes more sense to me now.”

“He always wanted me to stand up to Archer, but he never tried to push me to do anything. Now that it’s all over, I’m sorry I didn’t listen to him in the first place. And I’m sorry he’s the one who’s had to get hurt by a decision I made.”

Annie took her eyes off the road just long enough make sure Susan was looking at her.

“It wasn’t your decision, and it wasn’t my decision. I’ve been blaming myself for stirring up all this, for bringing Prescott here. But he was the one who made the wrong decisions. He was the one who’s been hurting other people—not me and not you.” She reached over and squeezed Susan’s hand. “And you’re going to be with Tom in just a few minutes. I’m sure that’s the best medicine he could have.”

By then they were at the county hospital, and the two of them hurried inside.

****

Annie drove back to Stony Point alone. She had offered to stay at the hospital, but Susan said she was fine there with Tom. She had permission to stay in his room with him overnight, and they were both expected to be able to come home the next day. Annie had volunteered to drive them home again then, and Susan had gratefully accepted.

For now, Annie was just happy to see Grey Gables come into view. Poor Boots must be half starved, and Annie could think of nothing more inviting than a hot bath and her own soft bed. When she pulled into the drive, though, she realized she wasn’t going to get either for a little while yet.

Alice and Mary Beth had obviously spotted her car from the carriage house and were hurrying over to her.

“Annie, are you all right?” Alice opened the driver’s side door and practically pulled Annie to her feet. “We were so worried.”

Mary Beth wrapped Annie in a motherly hug. “I knew we were going to have trouble as soon as I realized Tom Maxwell wasn’t in the basement anymore. I tried forever to call you, and just kept getting a message that said your number was unavailable.”

“Come over and have some coffee with us,” Alice said. “I know you must be worn out, but you’ve got to tell us what happened.”

Annie took each of the others by one arm. “You both come have coffee with me. I need to feed Boots, and if I don’t get out of these shoes pretty soon I’m going to keel over.”

Soon the three of them were sitting at the big table in the kitchen. Boots had quickly lost interest in the food Annie put down for her and was content to lie with her head resting on Annie’s feet. Annie smiled wearily, soothed by her rumbling purr.

“I didn’t even know he was gone.” Mary Beth warmed her hands on the generous mug of coffee in front of her. “I had several customers after Alice came in, and it wasn’t until I went down to get some needles from a new shipment that I realized he wasn’t there anymore. He must have heard us mention Prescott’s name and that he was in town.”

Annie turned to Alice. “And you saw Prescott at the Gas N Go?”

“You know how Scooter always runs your credit card and then thanks you by name? I had just filled up, and I heard him say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Prescott.’ And I looked, and I just knew this guy looked like the picture on the JFP website. So I left you a message, and then I told Mary Beth about it when I went into the shop later on.”

“I didn’t think anything of it,” Mary Beth said. “I thought that, if it was the same guy, you probably knew he was coming into town already. And we thought maybe he’d go talk to Sandy Maxwell, since she was living in Susan’s old house.”

“Then why’d you call the police?”

“I figured Tom might go out to the house if he thought Prescott was going to try to talk to his wife. And I was afraid, after the last time, that Tom might cause trouble if he found you out there, too, so when I couldn’t get you on the phone, I called the police.”