“It must have been heart-wrenching.”
“It was! Every time, when I got back in the hospital, I’d vow to beat my addiction. I’d tell God that if I couldn’t do it, He should take me right then and there, and not let me suffer.”
“I’m sure that Lily missed you, every bit as much as you missed her,” Hannah said, reaching down to make sure her cell phone was still recording their conversation. “But you did come home! And you’re still home.”
“Yes. Yes, I am. And I’m going to throw away the pills the minute I get back to the house. I don’t want to go through this again, Hannah. I really don’t. I want to be strong enough to get along without the drugs. I know I can do it this time, now that Sonny is dead and Lily is safe from living with a substance abuser.”
“Do you think that Sonny was addicted to pills?” Hannah asked.
“No, but Sonny’s addiction was just as dangerous. He couldn’t stop drinking. Lily told me that. He promised her that if they got married he’d go into treatment, but he was weak-willed, Hannah. It never would have worked. He would have quit for a week or so and then he would have gone back to drinking again! I know how it works.” Janette gave a resigned sigh. “I’ve been there.”
“And you feel sure that treatment wouldn’t have worked with Sonny?”
“That’s right! He would have gone through treatment, come home, and fallen off the wagon so fast it would have taken a stopwatch to clock it! I couldn’t let my daughter go through life the way that dear Wally did. Living with an addict is hell, Hannah. It’s probably just as painful as being an addict. There was no way I could let Sonny put my sweet little girl through something like that!”
“So you killed Sonny to save Lily?”
“Exactly! I had to kill him before he hurt my daughter any more. You understand that, don’t you?”
“I think I do understand,” Hannah said.
“All right, then,” Janette said, and she looked very determined. “Stand up, Hannah. I want you to look at the water lily garden. It’s so lovely this time of year. I’m going to kill you the same way I killed Sonny. I made him look at the water lily garden, too.”
Janette stood up in front of her, and Hannah knew she had to use every trick in the book to keep Janette talking. A fishing boat was approaching them rapidly, and she needed to keep Janette from turning her head to spot it, so she said the first thing that popped into her mind. “Did Sonny think the water lily garden was beautiful?”
“What difference does that make?” Janette asked, and she sounded puzzled.
“I was just curious because I didn’t think Sonny was the type of person to notice things like that.”
“You’re very observant, Hannah,” Janette answered, “and you’re right. Sonny didn’t appreciate beautiful things like my daughter and he destroyed them.” She paused for a moment and then she went on. “Look at the water lily garden, Hannah. I want your last sight to be of something beautiful.”
“But you don’t have to kill me, Janette.” Hannah did her best to delay what seemed to be inevitable. “Everyone will understand that you had to kill Sonny to save your daughter.”
“Maybe, but I don’t want to take that chance. And you won’t be able to tell anyone that I killed him, because the dead can’t talk.”
Hannah reached out for the side of the boat to brace herself. The fishing boat had accelerated and it was about to ram into them!
There was a loud crash as the fishing boat collided with them. Hannah was braced for the collision, but Janette was not. As she fought to keep her balance, Hannah reached out to grab the barrel of the gun and managed to wrench it out of Janette’s hand. Janette was just beginning to recover when a fishing net smashed down over Janette’s head and pulled her down to the floor of the boat.
“We’re here!” a voice shouted as a patrol boat pulled up beside them. Lonnie held onto the side of Janette’s boat and Mike leaped into it to cuff Janette.
Hannah sank back down in her seat. She was shaking, and she took several deep breaths to calm herself. She’d confronted another killer, and this time she’d come very close to losing her life. There was no doubt in Hannah’s mind that if help hadn’t arrived at exactly the right time, she would no longer be alive.
“Are you okay, Hannah?” Mike asked.
“I am now,” Hannah replied. “How did you know where to find me?”
“Andrea came back from her showing and when she didn’t find you in your room, she went looking for you,” Mike explained. “She found your Murder Book in the kitchen with Janette Wallace’s name at the top of your suspect page. After she called me, she talked to Craig, who told her you were going out to the water lily garden with Janette. He brought her out in a boat and left instructions for us to follow.”
Hannah then looked over at her sister, who was still holding the handle of the fishing net and grinning broadly.
“I didn’t forget!” Andrea told her. “I thought everything Dad told me to do for the little fish he caught was silly, but he taught me a useful skill after all!”
Hannah laughed. “Nice work, Andrea. This time you really netted a big one!”
Chapter Twenty-four
That night they all had a double celebration. Of course they celebrated Lonnie’s birthday, but they also celebrated closing Sonny’s murder case. Janette was locked up in jail at the sheriff’s station and everyone including Lonnie and Mike were at one of the big private tables in Sally’s dining room.
Dinner had been excellent and they had toasted Lonnie with one of Dick’s excellent champagnes. They were just leaning back in satisfaction when one of Sally’s waiters had arrived with coffee for those who wanted it, and he took orders for after-dinner drinks for those who wanted them. Since Michelle had stipulated no presents, Hannah had decided to give Lonnie’s brownies to Michelle to give to Lonnie later.
“It’s almost time for Lonnie’s special birthday dessert,” Sally told them, arriving at their table. “It just came out of the oven and they’re bringing it in two minutes. I hope you saved some room for dessert, Lonnie. It’s something that has to be served right away so you can’t take it home.”
“I’m like Mike,” Lonnie told her. “I can always find room for dessert. What is it, Sally?”
“It’s Butterscotch Sundae Cake.”
“Butterscotch?” Lonnie began to smile. “I love butterscotch!”
Sally smiled back. “I know. I called your mother to ask her your favorite flavors. She told me that butterscotch was number one on the list.”
“It’s number one on my list, too,” Doc told Lonnie, and then he turned back to Sally. “What’s a sundae cake? I’ve never heard of it before.”
“You’ll see because here it comes,” Sally replied, gesturing toward the two waiters who’d just arrived with a dessert cart. “Ready?” she asked her waiters.