False Pretenses - Kathy Herman [39]
“Haven’t secrets caused you enough pain?” Adele said. “Wouldn’t it be better all the way around if you just told your husband the truth?”
“I can’t do that. He loves Zoe Benoit, not Shelby Sieger.”
“But she’s one and the same, hon.”
“Not to Pierce. He thinks I’m Cajun. That means a lot to him. He can’t know I lied about that. Or that I stole from you. It’d break his heart. I just want to pay back the money and put all this behind me.”
Adele traced the flowers on the arm of the love seat. “Assuming I’m willing to go along with some sort of repayment, don’t forget I collected thirty thousand dollars from the insurance company. I’ll need to give that money back. There will be questions, hon. And another thorough investigation. All this will come out. They may decide to file a civil suit of some kind.”
“That’s why you can’t tell them I stole the ring.” Zoe suddenly felt hot all over. “Please, Mrs. Woodmore. You don’t have to give back the money until I pay you in full. I promise I’ll give you every penny. I’ve thought about this, and I can come up with a thousand a month. I’ll have you paid back in thirty months. Let’s do this quietly so Pierce doesn’t find out. Just have your attorney draw up the papers.”
Adele twirled a white curl on her temple. “I forgive you for stealing from me, Zoe. And I’m open to your paying me back by the month. But I don’t want to be a party to deception.”
“The insurance company has already been deceived. After I pay you back, you can return the money to them. They’ll be shocked that you’re so honest, and I doubt they’ll care why you returned it.”
“But you’re deceiving your husband, hon.”
“I’ve never had the courage to tell him about my father’s abuse. I told him my parents died in a house fire. He thinks it was my inheritance money that bought Zoe B’s. He’ll be devastated if he finds out the truth.”
“Not if he loves you. It’d take time and effort to regain his trust, but you’d be free of the lies.”
“Pierce and I never talk about my past. I lied to him way back in the beginning of our relationship. But it’s history. It’s not worth risking what I have now to dredge all that up. Please, Mrs. Woodmore. Can’t we work out a payment plan and keep it between us? That’s the only way I know to stop whoever is sending me the notes.”
Adele fingered the gold cross on the pendant around her neck and seemed miles away. Finally she turned to Zoe. “I’ll talk to my attorney about drawing up the papers. But I’m going to talk to God about your dilemma. Paying me back is merely a Band-Aid, hon. You’re never going to be free as long as you’re living a lie.”
CHAPTER 12
Vanessa Langley leaned on the filigree iron railing on the gallery outside her apartment, observing the diversity of tourists milling about on the street on a Thursday night.
A kaleidoscope of creative neon signs and the smell of mesquite wood, popcorn, and homemade fudge gave rue Madeline a festival-like atmosphere. Near the outdoor tables at Breaux’s, children waltzed to the sound of the fiddle and accordion that were as much a part of the Cajun culture as beignets and étoufée.
On the other side of rue Madeline, a sleek black horse, its hoofs clicking the pavement, pulled an open carriage filled with T-shirt-clad tourists. From the galleries neighbors watched and waved, some nearly hidden by the abundance of lush greenery and flowering plants. And on the sidewalks scores of buyers and browsers ambled from one shop to another, toting everything from camera bags and kids to plastic bags and cotton candy. Two little boys were marching in place in a puddle left by today’s storm.
Les Barbes was fascinating—such a quaint, engaging community with a distinctive old-world charm. Could she have ever imagined when they moved here that they would end up in the middle of another murder investigation? What if the