Things clicked together in my sluggish mind, my mother's last words falling like puzzle pieces into place with what they were telling me. The rage I felt cleared my mind, overtaking any pain I’d been in before. "Is that why you all had her killed?" I spat the words at him, no longer caring about my life.
"That wasn't our call," Davenport said. "Your mother wanted out, but she'd already benefited from the club she'd helped form. She couldn't be allowed to leave."
Gray took a step toward me. "She knew too much. Just like you. She knew the laws we'd all broken. The compromises we'd each made to help each other."
I looked back and forth between them, my eyes narrowed. "All of you were in the club. The Greek letters, it was your club, wasn't it? Alpha Pi Omega—the beginning and end tied up in a never ending middle. You two, Maxwell, my mother, Lauren… you all met at Harvard…"
"Close." Davenport smirked. "Maxwell wasn't involved."
"So you called yourself what, Alexander? Which one were you?"
"Caesar," said Davenport. He pointed at Detective Gray. "He was Alexander."
"Why'd you kill all those people? The Midnight Murders?"
"We started innocently enough," said Davenport. "We just wanted to create a club that would support each other. But opportunities came and we couldn't pass them up. We all wanted wealth and prestige in our chosen careers. Some of us wanted more. A certain thrill. But it all came at a cost. Your mother got tired of lying to her husband. She didn't want you hurt by our choices, so she tried to pull out. Not everyone was okay with that. Everyone we killed could have gotten in our way. Just like that little bitch my son couldn't help but knock up."
My heart sank. "Molly. You killed Molly. Why?"
Davenport smirked. "She was starting to ask too many questions. Piece together things she had no business knowing."
I turned to Gray. "And you're covering it up. Making it look like a suicide."
He gave a mock bow. "We do what we have to. While my peers retire on nothing but a tiny pension and a fake gold watch, I will live like a god. It's a small price to pay."
A shot rang out, and bits of blood and skull and brain tissue splattered my face and chest. Detective Gray tried to duck, but another shot took him down. I spun around as a woman laughed. "The price just went up," Mrs. Davenport said, training her gun on me.
Chapter Thirty Four
Life After Death
THE DAY OF THE FUNERAL
I CHECKED MY rearview and side mirrors again, turning down random streets and stopping and starting multiple times before I felt safe that I wasn't being followed.
I'd snuck away after the funeral and memorial, saying I needed to pick up some Tylenol at the store and grab something for dinner. I insisted Ash stay home and rest and that I'd surprise him with something special, but I didn't have much time before he'd become suspicious.
The motel parking lot was empty, likely so was the motel, but I pulled into the spot in front of room 13 and knocked on the door.
When Jon answered, I pushed him into the room and shut the door behind me. "What were you thinking, showing up at your own funeral like that? If I recognized you, someone else might have as well." It hadn’t taken me long to figure out the figure hiding in the distance had been Jon.
He flopped on the bed, his expression one of boyish dismissiveness. "You worry too much. No one expected to see the dead guy at his own funeral. Besides, I wanted to see what people would say. It seems I'm loved more in death than I ever was in life. Maybe it's better if I just stay dead."
Chapter Thirty Five
Behind Every Great Man…
PRESENT DAY
"YOU'RE MOTHER… EVERYONE loved your mother. She wasn't even the prettiest of us, but she was the most loved by all. And then she wanted out. I couldn't let that happen. She would ruin it for everyone. She wouldn't have settled for just leaving quietly, she would have eventually confessed everything, and I couldn't let that happen." Mrs. Davenport took a step forward, and I took a step back as I searched for something I could use to fight her.
"So you had her killed?"
"It wasn't hard. There were others who had issues with your mother. The men always thought they were in charge of our little club. They were fools."
I scrambled away as she moved closer. "You were the one who shot me."
She frowned and raised a finger to her chin. For a slight moment, she was distracted.
My hand gripped a bucket someone had left out, and I threw it at her face and turned to run, screaming for help.
I heard Mrs. Davenport scrambling behind me, her heels clicking on the deck as she chased me. Smoke billowed from somewhere and I smelled fire. "What did you do?"
"You and I are getting off this yacht, and you're taking me to your mother's book. While we're gone, there's going to be a terrible fire and this yacht will sink. It will be a true tragedy on the night of such a lovely celebration." Her voice shook with insanity, and I screamed again and ran straight into Professor Cavin.