an do about it. Just as I can’t stop you from going back to Atlanta tomorrow. I wish you didn’t have to leave so soon.”
She would be hurt to know just how badly he wanted to escape this house that held so many horrible memories for him. He’d stayed this long only because he didn’t want to leave her alone in her grief. But he wouldn’t breathe easily until he was miles away.
“Mostly,” she said on a sigh, “I wish that Howard had lived long enough to see the end of all this.”
“I wish that, too. But thank God it’ll soon be over for the rest of us. Bellamy’s quest, for lack of a better word, came to an end when Susan’s undies were found in Ray Stickland’s house. Case closed.”
Olivia put her elbow on the arm of her chair, leaned her head into her hand, and massaged her forehead. “The recovery of her panties will be in the news. It will be written about, talked about, speculated on. For days.”
“But not forever. Another scandalous story will soon come along.”
“That little trick of hers cost us all so dearly.”
Steven went perfectly still. He stopped breathing, and he would have sworn that his heart stopped also, except that his body was infused with an incredible rush of heat. His eyes remained fixed and unblinking on his mother.
Eventually she lowered her hand, raised her head, and looked over at him, smiling wanly. “We have no choice but to get through the coming media blitz. God knows I—” She broke off and looked at him curiously. “Steven? What is it?”
He swallowed. “You said that little trick of Susan’s cost us all so dearly.”
Olivia’s lips parted, but nothing came out.
“What little trick were you referring to, Mother?”
She still didn’t speak.
“Mother, I asked you a question. What little trick? Her little trick of taking off her panties and giving them to men?”
“I—”
He shot to his feet. “You knew?”
“No, I—”
“You knew, didn’t you? You knew she’d done that little trick with me. Many times. Did you also know about everything else?”
When she stood up she was wobbly on her feet and had to grab the back of her chair for support. “Steven, listen to me. Please.”
“You knew about… everything? All of it? And didn’t do anything about it?”
“Steven—”
“You didn’t stop it. Why?”
“I couldn’t,” she whimpered.
He trembled with rage. “It ruined my life!”
She covered her mouth to stifle her sobs. Her entire body was racked by them, but he bore down on her mercilessly. “Why didn’t you stop it?”
“I—”
“Why? Why?”
“Because of Howard!” she cried. “It would have destroyed him to know.”
For long moments, Steven stood there, staring into her stricken face. “It would have destroyed Howard, and you couldn’t have that. But it was okay for me to be destroyed.”
“No,” she wailed, reaching for him.