Nelly folded her arms across her chest and glared at Robin.
“Why don’t you tell everyone how I killed my father when I was in the hall when the elevator went up.”
“Your plan was brilliant. You knew your father believed in the Black Oaks curse, and you decided to frighten him with the box with the pentagram and the knife with the silver, werewolf handle. During dinner, you went into the kitchen to order drinks for everyone. There is a door from the kitchen into the main hall. We talked to the caterers. They remember you coming into the kitchen with the drink orders, then going into the hall and returning. That’s when you put the box with the knife in the hall for Mrs. Raskin to find.
“When your father reacted to the knife as you thought he would, you made sure he went into the library, and you brought the box with the knife there. When your father was calmer, you told everyone to go to bed.
“Next, you had to get Sheila away from you and your father, so you told her to get Mr. Melville’s brandy. That’s when you pulled your magic trick. It was brilliant, but we were able to duplicate it using a computer simulation.
“You’d taken the knife out of the box at some point. As soon as your father was in the elevator, you stabbed him in the heart.Death would have been instantaneous. Then you pressed in the Stop/Alarm button with one end of the pipe and kept it in place by wedging it against your father’s forehead. When that was done, you pressed the button for the third floor.
“The first time I came to Black Oaks, Mrs. Raskin took me to the third floor in the elevator. She pressed the button, but the car didn’t move. She explained that I had to shut the gate or the car wouldn’t go up. You pressed the third-floor button, stepped out of the elevator, and closed the gate. As the elevator rose, you hurried back to the hall just before Sheila came out of the kitchen.
“The first time I went up in the elevator, it jerked to a stop for a moment between the second and third floors hard enough for me to lose my balance. Mrs. Raskin said it did that frequently, and she’d asked your father to fix it. You knew the elevator would jerk when it was halfway between the second and third floor. When it did, your father was thrown back in his chair, the pipe fell to the floor, the Stop/Alarm was activated, and the elevator came to a halt.”
“Wow. That’s some theory, but it’s all speculation.”
“Not really,” Robin said. “Someone in Black Oaks killed your father. I’ve already eliminated Jose, Zelko, and Rockwell. The caterers, Mrs. Raskin, and Luther didn’t have a motive and were nowhere near the elevator when your father was killed. Justin may have had a motive, since he loved you, but he was nowhere near the elevator when your father was killed, and Sheila was in the kitchen getting the brandy, so she couldn’t have killed your father. That leaves only one person, you. And you were the only person who went in the elevator when the piece of pipe went missing.”
“You’re forgetting one thing, Robin. I loved my father. I sacrificed everything to be with him after my mom died and he wasinjured. And Justin and I were planning to marry. What possible motive could I have for killing the two most important people in my life?”
“That was the hardest thing to figure out, but I have. Justin Trent specialized in probate at his law firm. He would be the person your father consulted if he wanted to change his will. Justin and your father had a meeting when he came to Black Oaks, but no one else was at it. Any notes about that meeting would have been on Justin’s laptop or phone, and they’ve gone missing. I think that the person who killed Justin got rid of the laptop and phone. I’m willing to bet that they’re somewhere in the woods around Black Oaks, and I’m willing to bet that the person who buried them in those woods knew about ways to get out of the manor without being seen, which would require a knowledge of the secret passages in the manor house.
“Justin was in love with you, Nelly. He would have told you that your father was going to marry Sheila and make her his beneficiary. I’m guessing that you felt your father had betrayed you after everything you’d done for him. You left Oxford and became his full-time caregiver. As you just said, you sacrificed your life to help him.”
“What are you talking about?” Nelly said. “I didn’t know about the marriage until Dad announced it at dinner. How did I manufacture that knife between Dad’s announcement and his murder?”
“I think you knew about the marriage and the will well before that dinner. Your father called Justin to tell him that he was going to marry Sheila and wanted to change his will a month and a half before he was murdered. The police subpoenaed Justin’s notes.They also have phone records showing that your father called him from Black Oaks, and Justin called you soon after.
“Justin loved you and he told you that you were going to be cut out of your inheritance. That’s why Justin had to die after you killed Mr. Melville. Everyone thought you loved your father, and no one could think of a motive you might have for killing him or Justin. Only Justin could supply the motive. He would never have suspected that he was in danger when you asked to meet him in the basement. That’s why there were no defense wounds.”
“This is complete nonsense,” Nelly said. “I loved Justin and I loved my father.”
“I’m afraid we’re at the point in this case where a jury will have to decide whether you hated them more than you loved them,” Sergeant Pine said. “Right now, I’m placing you under arrest for the murder of Frank Melville and Justin Trent. Anything you say can be held against you…”
Robin tuned out the sergeant while he gave Nelly the rest of the Miranda warnings. She should have felt proud of herself for solving a case this complex. Instead, she felt awful.
EPILOGUE
SEVERAL MONTHS LATER
Robin had been tied up in trial on Monday and Tuesday, so she hadn’t been able to write a brief that had to be filed in the Oregon Court of Appeals by the end of the week. She was banging away on her computer keyboard when Loretta walked into her office.
The guilt phase of Nelly Melville’s trial for aggravated murder had lasted three weeks, and Robin had been a witness. After the jury handed down a guilty verdict, the sentencing phase had started. It had lasted a week, and Loretta had been following it.
“I just heard. The jury voted for life with the possibility of parole, so no death sentence.”
“That’s a relief.”
“You don’t think she deserved to be on death row?”
“I know Nelly killed two people, but I can’t help feeling sorry for her. She did give up everything to live in that awful place and take care of her father. Then he falls in love and decides to leaveeverything to Sheila Monroe. I can see how she would feel betrayed.”
“It doesn’t excuse what she did.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
Loretta sat in one of the client chairs. “Do you believe in curses?”