All She Ever Wanted - Barbara Freethy [121]
"Where did you get that?" Drew made a grab for the book, but Cole held it out of reach.
"It doesn't matter where I got it," Cole said. "What did you do to Emily?"
"Nothing."
"Drew, you have to tell us," Laura pleaded. "Whatever happened, we have to know. Otherwise, this will never end."
"I didn't hurt Emily," Drew said sharply.
"Then why did you go to her room that night?"
"You want to know why? Fine. I went to Emily's room to look for the journal. I heard Madison joking with Emily one day that she could probably blackmail people with her journal, and I got to thinking that maybe she'd written something in there about me. I didn't get a chance to look for it, because Emily was in the room, talking on the phone to someone, so I left. I'm sure someone saw Emily after me. Maybe Madison."
"Madison?" Dylan asked. "Madison was with Emily that night?"
"I don't know for sure," Drew said, "but—"
"Shit!" Dylan swore.
Cole sent Dylan a curious look. "What's wrong?"
"Madison said she loved me when we were in college, that she was angry that I never paid any attention to her; I was always too busy with Emily."
Cole connected the dots and suddenly there was a new picture, one he hadn't considered. "Where's Madison now?"
"She left us a while ago to follow Diane, Professor Martin's wife," Laura explained, looking confused and troubled. "What's going on? You don't think Madison had anything to do with Emily's fall, do you?"
Cole took the stairs two at a time. He had to get to Natalie before Madison did.
* * *
"You pushed Emily off the roof," Natalie said, staring at the woman in front of her. Everything suddenly made so much sense.
"It was an accident. She slipped."
"That's what you wanted us to think."
"That's what everyone did think. You certainly couldn't remember anything. But your memory has come back, hasn't it? I knew it would. I knew you'd remember seeing me run out of Emily's room right after she screamed. I had an explanation all ready. I kept waiting for the questions to come. But they never did."
Natalie stared at the woman she'd thought she'd known. Had she seen her run out of Emily's room? She blinked, remembering that dizzy, nauseous feeling as she turned toward the bathroom, her stomach churning. A flash of red had caught her eye, then disappeared. "I didn't remember until now," she said. "You shouldn't have told me."
Uncertainty flashed in the woman's eyes as she realized her mistake. "You won't tell anyone. I won't let you."
"How will you stop me? I'm not going to slip off this roof the way Emily did."
"No, she's not," Cole interrupted, as he came through the window.
Natalie was shocked by his appearance but relieved to see him, and was even happier when Dylan, Drew, and finally Laura followed him.
The woman between them suddenly realized she was cornered. "It was an accident," she said, putting up a hand. "A stupid accident. No one can prove otherwise."
"I can—Diane," Madison said, as she climbed out onto the roof. "And so can your husband. Come on out here, Professor Martin."
Natalie's jaw dropped as the man they'd spent the past week searching for came through the window. Professor Martin looked nothing like Garrett Malone. The beard was gone, as were the thick glasses and the long hair. He was pale with a crew cut and ordinary brown eyes.
"Tell them what you told me," Madison ordered, nudging the professor's arm.
Greg Martin was staring at his wife in disbelief. "Did they just say that you pushed Emily off the roof? How is that possible?"
"It was an accident. I came here that night to tell that little home wrecker to stay away from you," Diane replied. "I would have been justified in pushing her, but the truth is she slipped. It was an accident, and no one would have ever known if you hadn't written that damn book, Greg."
"I didn't know it was you. I thought it was Natalie. When I came to the house that night I saw two women on the roof. And I saw ..." His voice broke, and he struggled for control. "I saw Emily fall. I heard her scream.