An Unsinkable Love

chapter 43


Eldon swerved behind the corner of a building fifty yards from the carriage house, surprised no light appeared in any nearby window. A dog barked and he expected it wouldn't be long before someone came to investigate the shots. He peered up the pitch-black alley, but couldn't see Malcolm's silhouette in the window any longer. Movement on the ground drew his gaze. Two figures hurried away, toward the street.

He knew he didn't have a shot. Teeth gritted in frustration and pain, Eldon held his shirt tightly to the wound in his stomach. It hurt, but not as much as he would have expected. Perhaps he wasn't injured that badly?

He waited until he heard the rumble of the Mercer's engine then crept back to the garage, crawling in through the opening Malcolm had made. He savagely kicked the body at the base of the stairs, cursing the interfering sailor for ruining his chance to kill his stepson. Upstairs, Eldon ripped the sheets off the bed and tore them into bandages which he gingerly wrapped around his torso. Back downstairs, he opened the boot on the Pierce Arrow and removed a small valise, changing into a clean shirt. He'd packed a few articles of clothing in case he had to lie low until he forced Malcolm to pay a ransom for his lovely fiancée—not that he would have given her back. Eldon's face contorted with anger. The whelp and his red-headed bitch had ruined everything! First Elizabeth, now the two of them, had thwarted his plans.

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An Unsinkable Love

by Terri Benson

The pain in his stomach was nothing compared to the burning rage flowing through him like lava. He climbed into the car and backed it right through the doors. The rusty hinges gave way with a wrenching screech. The rotted wood shattered and flew in all directions. Eldon knew the glossy shine of the car would be destroyed, but he was past caring.

He stopped long enough to splash petrol from his spare can around the garage and over the body. Standing at the door, he flicked a match and threw it, jerking back as the vapors exploded. Backing down the alley, he could already see flames licking hungrily up the walls.

A quarter of an hour later, he eased the Arrow off the main road and down an old wagon trail meandering through the forest at the back of the DuMont estate. The moon had dropped below the horizon leaving the night dark as ink. The track was familiar—he'd used it for frequent hunting excursions—so he didn't need headlamps. "Tonight I'll be doing a different kind of hunting," he muttered. Eldon recalled the last time he'd pursued Malcolm through the woods. It was sheer luck he'd spotted the horse and rider on the river trail.

It was sheer bad luck he'd been unsuccessful in killing the hotheaded pup then. Now he had the chance to rectify the situation.

The fenders of the car were mangled by the time Eldon coasted to a halt. Brightly lit windows glowed in the distance.

There weren't any cars visible on the curved drive, and he assumed the party guests had left. The journey from town had given him time to think over his options. As usual, he'd managed to come up with a plan to get out of trouble. Of the 261

An Unsinkable Love

by Terri Benson

people who could bring him to grief, three were dead—never to talk again. The other three were there, in the house. If he disposed of Elizabeth, Malcolm and, sadly, the lovely Bridget, and without Eleanor, Carlisle and the Titanic crewman, there would be no one to stand witness against him. He would have more money than anyone else in the state. He would be untouchable.

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An Unsinkable Love

by Terri Benson