AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Nick?" she called from her spot in the back.
"Yes."
"Have you had any luck locating Maude?"
"Not yet, no."
Quinn turned her attention to Gabriel who was watching her from his seat next to Nick. She knew he had chosen shotgun to give her time to think and grieve. She held his gaze and mouthed, "I love you."
His smile in response, the one that affected every one of his features, would stay with her always.
Derek's flat was located in a very posh high rise, so posh that the doorman was going to bar their entrance until he saw Nick and Gabriel pulling up the rear and quickly escorted them to the front desk located in the lofty foyer of marble and crystal.
"How may I help you?" A man dressed in a gray uniform asked from his spot behind the marble desk.
"We're here to see Derek Blake," Nick said in a smooth voice.
"Let me check to see if Mr. Blake is available."
Nick leaned forward and all pretense of civility faded from his tone. "He's here. Tell him we aren't leaving until we speak to him."
The man's hand shook as he lifted the phone and after a short, muffled conversation, he replaced the receiver and gestured to the elevators.
"Sixth floor, room 605."
Nick's smile was more a sneer, "Thank you."
Derek pulled the door open and cleared his throat. "Please come inside."
Derek looked to Quinn once they were settled in his spacious living room.
"I'm sorry, Quinn, I really am. Who would have thought there was such a hornet's nest waiting?"
Quinn held his gaze. "What do you mean?"
"I just wanted the treasure, some invaluable Scarcliff treasure that was about to be unveiled. Yes, I know that's stealing and I'll admit to being a thief but I'm not a murderer." He turned from the group before he continued, "When I spoke to Constance after her return to the present, she told me she was afraid for herself and for Archer and Nickie. She mentioned that Bryon disliked Morgan, and blamed Archer for marrying her and bringing down the Scarcliff name, but he didn't act on his feelings until the woman arrived. She knew just what to say, knew how to incite his dislike to full out hatred. It was the woman's idea to have that doctor, Jenkins, murder Morgan."
Then it came to Quinn where she had heard that name before. "Jenkins!" she cried out. "That was the name of Nickie's nurse."
"Yeah, she was the daughter of the doctor and she was a mean-spirited person but she wasn't crazy. Not like the other."
"What other?" Gabriel asked and though his voice sounded calm he was anything but.
"Katherine."
Quinn's jaw dropped at that. "What?"
"Katherine. She approached the father, wormed her way into his life, and put the idea into his head to rid Archer of his wife. It didn't take long and when Morgan was dead, Katherine wanted Archer for herself and got Bryon to agree to push Archer in her direction. But after Morgan's death, the Earl had a change of heart and I guess decided he didn't want to link his family to Katherine since she was just as common as Morgan but was also clearly insane. No one knows for certain but I think it was Katherine who killed Bryon."
"And then you linked up with her?" Quinn accused.
"I didn't know any of this at the time, didn't know it was Katherine that Constance feared. I needed access to Whispering Winds and Katherine wanted Archer so we teamed up since we had a common goal. It wasn't until my last trip into the past that I started putting it together."
"But then you left without warning anyone," Quinn hissed.
Derek leaned up in his chair as his face flushed with his own temper. "Who do you think notified the Danvers of the squatters in their home?"
Quinn fell silent at that.
