kneehole." Aside from the muscle in his clenched jaw twitching, Daniel
didn't show any reaction to her announcement.
"You're the witness? " he demanded.
"Yes. I'm so sorry I didn't have the courage to come forward sooner,
but I was frightened. Jessica and Rebecca had already left the bank.
They were telling you the truth. I wasn't, and now I've caused them
all sorts of trouble. You'll let them leave now, won't you? " Daniel
didn't answer her. His gut was telling him she was lying. The longer
he stood there the angrier he became.
"How many were there? " Without a pause, she answered, "Seven. "
Tears brimmed in her eyes, and Daniel suddenly had the urge to comfort
her and shake her at the same time. He didn't give in to either
inclination. "All right, I'm taking you back to the hotel, and you can
tell me everything."
"But I'm worried about Jessica and Rebecca, " she cried. "I believe
I've found a way to make certain that they'll be left alone." Daniel
guessed what was coming and let out a loud groan.
"Ah, hell, you didn't talk to the reporter, did you? " The question
surprised her, for she had only just come up with the idea. "No, but I
want to, " she said. "I thought I would go to the newspaper office and
ask the gentleman there to print the truth in tomorrow's paper. I'm
sure the reporter will be happy to listen to what I have to say. "
"You are not going to talk to the reporter." He snapped the command
and squeezed her hand to let her know he meant what he said.
She was stunned by his burst of anger. He was furious, she realized,
for his blue eyes had turned as cold as winter. She bowed her head.
"I thought you would be pleased with my confession. I don't understand
your anger, Daniel." He took a deep breath. "Grace, " he began.
"Are you telling the truth? " She jerked her hand away from his and
tried to get around him. "There's something else you should know. "
"Yes? " Daniel asked.
"The fire . . . it wasn't an accident, " she blurted out. "I remember
what happened, and I remember . . . apples."
"Apples? " he repeated, clearly not understanding.
She nodded. "I was having trouble sleeping. That isn't unusual, " she
thought to add. "I never sleep through the night. I thought I heard a
peculiar noise coming from downstairs. It sounded like glasses
tinkling."
"I don't understand."
"You know . . . when you toast someone and your glass clinks against
another glass . . . It was that sound that I thought I heard."
"So what did you do? " "Tilly wasn't feeling very well, and I didn't
want to disturb her, so I put on my robe and my slippers and went
downstairs to investigate. If someone was knocking on the front door,
I wasn't going to open it, of course.
I was going to tell whoever it was to come back in the morning.
When I reached the foyer, I noticed the dining room window was wide
open. The wind was making the curtains billow into the room. I became
alarmed because I remembered closing it before I went up to bed, and I