ChapterTwenty-Three
The rest of the story came to Mallory and Elsa in bits and pieces, mostly from Bruce himself, who received extensive information from the authorities that evening.
By the time the cops arrived at Peter and Agnes Larker’s multi-million-dollar mansion, Peter had long-since disappeared into his Lamborghini and driven his way back to Edgartown Harbor, where he kept his sailboat. He’d left Agnes in a lurch, sneaking out while she’d been in the bathroom. When she’d answered the door for the cops, she’d given them a bug-eyed stare and stepped back, allowing them to enter and search the basement. Sure enough, they discovered the stolen items from the Remington House, even as Agnes maintained her innocence. “I had no idea that stuff was down there!”
Meanwhile, Peter Larker greeted everyone at the sailing docks with that jocular smile of his, bought a six-pack of beer, loaded up his sailboat, and disembarked, just as he had thousands of times before. Nobody thought anything of it until the cops arrived about a half-hour after his departure, ready to sick the coastguard on him.
“It’s remarkable, isn’t it?” Bruce asked, mid-laughter as he described the dramatic tale of Peter’s attempt to escape. “He actually thought he could escape the cops out at sea, like a pirate ship in an old movie.”
Elsa and Mallory howled with laughter, both still pumping with adrenaline from the adventurous afternoon. They sat out on the back porch of the Remington House, halfway through a bottle of wine.
“And did they catch him?” Mallory asked, her eyes in slits.
“Within an hour,” Bruce affirmed. “The cop I spoke to reported that Peter buzzed around in circles for a while, like a little kid trying to escape his parents. They have him in custody now. Susan’s headed in to speak with him in the morning. With all that evidence stacked against him, I can’t imagine that she’ll manage to find a very good plea for him.”
“Good riddance,” Elsa said, scowling.
“Already, the cops have done some initial digging into the financial affairs of Peter and Agnes,” Bruce continued, collecting a handful of mixed nuts from the center bowl.
“Debt?” Elsa asked softly.
“You can’t even believe the amount of debt!” Bruce howled. “Millions of dollars of debt. They pressed Agnes for more information about the debt, and she burst into tears, saying that Peter promised he’d make it all back so that they wouldn’t lose the house.”
“Oh, but she must have known about the robbery,” Elsa countered.
“Yeah! She acted so weirdly around us at the Round the Island Race,” Mallory affirmed.
“So awkward,” Elsa teased.
“There’s no way to prove that, I’m afraid. Not with perceived awkwardness,” Bruce joked. “With that said, the Larkers are ruined. It’ll take some time, as everything needs to be processed, but your heirlooms and antiques will be returned to you, as though nothing happened. They just went on a little adventure up the road, is all.”
“What a relief.” Elsa let out a sigh.
“Peter must have known how to break into the house,” Mallory offered. “It’s why it was so seamless for him. We were the obvious choice.”
“Gosh, you’re right. Peter and Aiden helped Dad install his security system about ten years back. I’d nearly forgotten,” Elsa breathed.
“Very handy,” Bruce affirmed.
“If you’d have told me that Peter would turn on us ten years later, I would never have believed you,” Elsa whispered, her voice lined with nostalgia. “That day was so blissful. We barbecued right there on the beach and played in the waves and drank wine and laughed. I remember an old photograph I took of my father, Aiden, and Peter, all in swim trunks and healthy-looking, tan.”
Over the table, Bruce draped his hand over hers. Elsa allowed a single tear to streak down her cheek, ballooning across her lip.
“I shouldn’t be nostalgic for a memory with a criminal,” she whispered.
“No. I understand it,” Mallory offered. “When I was in Peter’s basement, I was thinking about all these times we can’t get back. All these times of laughter and love and conversation. It’s just awful that Peter had to taint all those good times with something so heinous.”
“Well said,” Elsa murmured.
“People change,” Bruce affirmed. “They grow desperate and animal-like and destroy things they once held dear. We’re so lucky that we haven’t built our lives like that.”
“So lucky,” Elsa whispered, giving him a little, hopeful smile.