Annie shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to discuss any details of my purchase of the painting."
"Ah." He dropped his empty cup onto the tray, crumpled up his napkin, and tossed it there too. "Well, Annie Payne, allow me to explain to you just what kind of pile of muck you're sinking into. I met Vic Denardo about a year before my wife was murdered. He was a merchant marine, a colorful character. One day he showed up at the marina where I kept my boat, and we got to talking. Next thing, he was crewing for me on a regular basis. He didn't mind rough, cold conditions. Sometimes it was just the two of us. Other times I'd have Haley with me, her father, her grandfather, Linwood friends, members of their staff or mine. He got along with everyone."
"Did Sarah Linwood sail?"
"No, and Haley only when conditions were ideal. Do you sail?"
The question caught Annie off guard. She nodded. "I grew up on the water—my father was a seaman. I don't remember him, but I guess one of the ways I felt I could get close to him was by going out on the water." She managed a smile. "And I'm from Maine—if I waited for perfect conditions, I'd never leave land."
Garvin surprised her by smiling back. "Understood."
"Please," Annie said softly, "go on."
"One day Sarah came out to the marina to pick Haley up, and she met Vic. Pretty soon he was showing up less and less. I assumed he'd gone back to sea or found other things to amuse himself. I literally didn't think a thing of it." His tone was steady, clinical; it was as if he were struggling not to engage his emotions as he related the events that led to two murders five years ago. "A few months later, I found out he and Sarah were having an affair."
Annie held back a gasp of pure shock. The woman in the little pink house and the man in her workroom? It seemed an impossible combination. "Was it a secret?" she asked.
"Oh, yes. Sarah's father—Thomas Linwood—was a difficult man, especially harsh with her. She knew he wouldn't approve. To make matters worse, Vic introduced her to gambling. For years Sarah lived the life her father expected her to live. She was well-mannered, dutiful, absolutely devoted to her family. She occupied herself with good works and polite hobbies. When it all came apart, it came apart in a big way. She took up gambling like there was no tomorrow. Cards, horses, slot machines. She loved them all. She lost thousands of dollars before anyone found out."
"Was she an addict?" Annie asked, feeling herself go pale.
If Garvin noticed, he didn't say. "I'd say yes, definitely. Once he found out, Thomas did what he could to cut off her funds and get her away from Denardo. But she went up against him in a way she probably should have at fourteen. Refused to budge. Smug as hell. She was the center of attention maybe for the first time in her life, and I think she liked it."
"How sad."
"It was a sad year. Thomas and Haley were killed about a week later. From what we've been able to piece together, Sarah decided she didn't want Linwood money. She had Vic get her money from a couple of loan sharks so she could support her gambling habit. She refused to pay up. She believed her jackpot was around the corner. But Vic got impatient or his loan sharks did, and finally he went to see Thomas."
"Without Sarah's knowledge?"
"That's what she told the police."
Annie's eyes narrowed. "You have doubts?"
"Let's just say I've tried to keep an open mind. Thomas and Vic met in the library one evening. A housekeeper heard them arguing. A little while later, Vic stormed out. The housekeeper left not long after. About a half hour after that, Haley stopped in. Her grandfather was dead."
"She found him?" Annie shuddered, trying not to imagine the grisly scene. "How awful. And then she—"
"Yes," Garvin said. "And then she was killed."
"You don't have to tell me," Annie said quietly.
He shook his head. "I think you need to know everything, Annie. The police wanted to talk to Vic. Sarah claimed she hadn't seen him that day and didn't know where he was. Before the police could track him down, Haley was killed in the same room where Thomas was killed. No one was in the house at the time."
"But it must have been a crime scene still. What was she doing there?"
"I don't know for sure. She'd been doing some investigating on her own, looking into Sarah's finances, trying to get a lead on the loan sharks, I think. She was very devoted to Sarah and wanted to help her."
"Who—how was she found?"
"I found her."
Annie swallowed, twisted her fingers together. She'd seen death before. She'd been with her mother when she'd died, then, years later, with Gran. But they hadn't been snatched from her by the violent hand of another. They hadn't been murdered.
"There were no witnesses," Garvin MacCrae went on in a level, almost clinical, voice. "Ballistics tests showed she and Thomas were killed with the same gun. The police questioned Sarah. Again, she claimed ignorance."