Adrian sighed. "All right. We'll talk some more when you're feeling better." He stood up, still holding his son. "I'm taking Patrick out to the car."
"He can walk if you hold his hand and move slowly," I said, for Adrian seemed out of breath. Patrick wasn't light, and the building was as long as a playing field.
I can carry him," Adrian replied. This was his little boy, and he didn't want to let go.
I walked with him, and Joseph followed.
"I don't want Kate to come," Patrick said. "Please, Daddy, don't let her."
Adrian turned to Joseph and me. "I would like both of you to remain here so we can talk. It's time to get to the bottom of this foolishness."
"You can't leave Patrick alone in the car," I protested.
"I've brought someone else who will take him to a safe place."
The second set of tracks, I thought.
"Still, Adrian, I'd like to-" "If you care about Patrick, you will stay here," he said firmly. "I don't want him frightened any more than he already is."
I swallowed hard and nodded.
As soon as the door closed behind Adrian and Patrick, Joseph began to pace. He paused to finger merchandise, picking up and putting down stemware, teacups, soup bowls, dinner plates. I wanted-to blurt out my suspicions. I wanted Joseph to look stunned, then explain to me how it couldn't be so. I couldn't stand thinking there was a chance he had murdered Ashley. Nervous and cold, I rubbed my hands together, then folded my arms across my chest.
Beneath the thin soles of my shoes, the building's concrete floor felt like a block of ice. Emergency lights were on at each exit, and two ceiling lights lit either end of the rectangular structure, but in between the space was a confusion of objects and shadows. The balcony receded into darkness. This was no place to be alone with a murderer-no place to ask if he was one. Still, I had to know. "Joseph?"
He was immersed in his own thoughts.
"Joseph?"
He turned suddenly to look at me. "What?" he asked, his voice sharper than usual.
"Sorry. Never mind."
To my relief, I heard the back door open again and Adrian's footsteps. "Now," he said, when he reached us, "we have some matters to settle."
"We do, indeed," Joseph agreed. "You owe me, Adrian. Who knows what could have happened to Patrick if Katie and I hadn't found him."
"I admit, this last bit of shenanigans has caught me by surprise," Adrian said. "I believed that Kate had taken him, and that Trent would find him at your house, Joseph."
"How could you?" I asked. "How could you not trust me after all that has happened?"
Adrian rested a hand on my shoulder. "I underestimated how true blue you are. My apologies, Kate. I've made some-some rather poor decisions lately."
His voice sounded, tired. In the thin fluorescent lighting, his skin looked pallid. "So, Joseph, what exactly is it that you want?"
"You know. FedEx delivered."
"Twice," Adrian answered. "Twice a waste of your money and my time."
I remembered the package Adrian had opened in front of me, the one with the blue-striped envelope inside-Olivia's stationery. I had seen it earlier today, when Joseph was looking for a store tag. The slim hope I had clung to, that Joseph wanted nothing more than reward money, faded.
"If you think I will pay you a dime," Adrian went on, "you're even more ridiculous than I thought."
Joseph's neck turned pink.
I realize you were disappointed by your mother's estate. She left you with quite a mess, didn't she?"
His face grew mottled.
"But I thought you were earning an honest living now, you know, writing about the Conservatory, rubbing elbows with more talented musicians."
"You'll live to regret this," Joseph whispered.
"Will I?" Adrian laughed. "Perhaps you forgot-with so little time to live, there is not much I fear anymore."
"You should fear for Patrick," Joseph replied quickly. "You know what I'm talking about-you received my warnings. You must have guessed who loosened the bolts on the swing set."
I cringed. I had told Joseph how Patrick preferred the old play equipment.
"And then there was the little accident on the ice," Joseph added.
I had given him that opportunity, too, telling him I was taking Patrick to the pond that day.
"I didn't think I could pull it off, not when Katie wouldn't take the bait and go to the barn," Joseph continued in a boasting voice. "I had to think fast.
Brook's phone number was listed. And I was sure he didn't pay enough attention to his mother to know the names of her stable boys-that part was easy.
But the timing. ." Joseph smiled to himself. "The timing was delicate."
"You were there in the trees, watching us," I said accusingly.
"It was a wonder you didn't smell me out with my collection of fish and a rank old tomcat in a cage," Joseph replied, obviously enjoying his own story.
He turned to Adrian. "My window of opportunity was small for tossing the fish on the ice and releasing the cat. Even if Katie had gone to the barn, I counted on her to return quickly to check on Patrick. Oh, I didn't plan to kill Patrick," Joseph added. "No, no, I didn't miss my mark, Adrian. I executed perfectly-getting him on the ice just before Katie could notice and save him, sending a warning I knew you'd understand. After all, I had to let Patrick live long enough for one more chance at a deal. But not next time. Next time is for keeps."
"You're a pathetic man," Adrian said, and began to walk away. "You're sick, you're delusional, thinking this game will work."
"Adrian!"
He turned at the shrill sound of my voice.
"Joseph means it. He killed Ashley."
Adrian's eyes moved quickly to Joseph, then back to me. Joseph said nothing. I couldn't bear to look at him. In my mind, his face was that of a friend, and I couldn't stand to see the betrayal on it.
"Joseph is nothing more than pathetic, Kate," Adrian said. "He is a wimp, a whiner, a person who blames others for his own failings. He hasn't the guts or skill to do anything challenging, much less murder."