Betrayed by Love Page 9

  Nancy was on her way up the path when she thought she heard someone calling her name— or was it just the howling of the wind?

  "Nancy! Are you all right?''

  It was Ned's voice! When she reached the top of the bluff, he ran to meet her. He hugged her close, almost squeezing the breath out of her. It hurt her injured arm, but Nancy was so glad to see him that she didn't care.

  "How did you know where to find me?" she exclaimed.

  "I didn't. It was just a lucky guess," Ned said. "When I looked out my bedroom window and saw you drive off with Mr. Tremain, I figured he'd be taking you here to scout around for clues. I was kind of surprised, though, since he thought your mistaken-identity theory was all wet—" He broke off. ''Hey, you're all wet! What happened?''

  Looking over his shoulder, Nancy saw the red Corvette parked next to Howard's Mercedes, The Corvette had a phone!

  "I'll explain everything later," she promised, "but right now, I have to call the Port Wellington police."

  "The police?" Ned echoed. "How come? What's going on?"

  He followed Nancy to the car. She grabbed the phone and dialed 911, and when Ned heard what she told the oflBicer who answered, his eyes widened in amazement.

  "The cops are on their way," she said as she rang off.

  "You're something else, Nancy," Ned said. "I can't believe you actually found the guy who attacked Shannon Mulcahey and knocked him out!"

  "You're really not going to believe it when I tell you who the guy is," she said.

  "You mean it's someone we know?"

  "Someone we thought we knew," Nancy corrected. "Are you ready for this, Ned? It's Mr. Tremain. He confessed everything. He tried to murder Shannon, thinking she was Angela, and

  Vm sure he's been slowly poisoning Angela's mother for the fortune he'll inherit from Mrs. Tremain if Angela dies before she turns twenty-one. He was about to kill me, too!"

  His jaw dropped. "You've got to be kidding!"

  "See for yourself," Nancy said. "I left him lying on the pier."

  Ned raced to the edge of the bluJflT and looked down. "Well, he's not there now."

  Nancy ran to his side and discovered that Ned was right.

  Howard Tremain had disappeared!

  Chapter Fifteen

  "I NEVER THOUGHT he'd come to sO soon. We can't let him get away!'' Nancy cried. "We have to find him!"

  "That shouldn't be too hard. He can't have gone very far." Ned scowled. "And when we do find him, am I ever going to enjoy punching his lights out!"

  They dashed down the path, but when they got to the beach, the only living things in sight were the gulls that wheeled high overhead or perched on the pilings of the pier. It took Nancy and Ned only a few minutes to realize that there was no place for anyone to hide on that stretch of rocky, barren shore. There was no sign of Howard Tremain. He seemed to have vanished into thin air.

  "I don't understand it," Nancy muttered.

  ''Where can he have gone? He couldn't have come up the path or we would have seen him."

  "You got me." Ned turned around to look back at the bluff. "You know, Nan, I just noticed something. There's more than one way to get down here." He pointed to several other paths. "Tremain might have taken one of those, then doubled back to get his car."

  "True, but if he did, it wouldn't do him any good," Nancy said. "After I knocked him out, I took his keys."

  Ned suddenly slapped his forehead. "Keys! Oh, wow!"

  "What's the matter?"

  "I just remembered that I left the keys to the Corvette in the ignition!" he groaned. "Tremain could be on his way to the Islip airport by now, and if he makes it to that jet of his, he's out of here, free and clear!"

  Nancy knew that Ned was right. "Let's hurry. Maybe it's not too late," she said. "Even though he had a head start, he can't be moving very fast. He hit the pier like a ton of bricks when I threw him, so he still has to be pretty groggy!"

  She sprinted for the bluff and raced up the slope with Ned close behind her. They reached the top just in time to see Howard Tremain climbing into the red Corvette.

  He saw them, too.

  For one horrible moment his mad, blazing eyes burned into Nancy's, and the hatred she saw there froze her to the spot.

  Nancy watched as he revved the powerful engine. But he didn't try to escape by heading for the main road as she had expected. Instead, he turned the wheel of the Corvette and headed straight for Nancy and Ned.

  ''Look out!'' Ned yelled.

  He dived at Nancy, wrapping his arms around her waist, and flung her aside just in the nick of time. The car shot past them, teetered for a fraction of a second on the brink of the cliff, then plunged down the slope, pitching wildly from side to side. As it shuddered to a stop on the rocks below, a patrol car pulled up with lights flashing and siren wailing.

  Two officers leaped out and came over to Nancy and Ned. "Okay, where's the perpetrator?" one of them asked.

  Ned pointed to the beach. "His car went over the cliff when he tried to run us down just now."

  The first policeman radioed for an ambulance, then ran down the path to check on the driver of the Corvette.

  "Hang on a minute, kid!" The other officer scowled at Ned suspiciously. "That doesn't add up. According to the report we got, the guy was unconscious. If you knocked him out, how was he able to drive a car?"

  "He didn't stay unconscious for long," Ned replied. "And for the record, / didn't knock him out. My friend here did."

  The offier stared at Nancy. "You did?"

  "What can I say?" She shrugged modestly, "When I threw him, he hit his head on the pier. It was self-defense, officer. Mr. Tremain was going to kill me."

  "Are you talking about Howard Tremain, the millionaire who owns Soundview?" he asked, astonished.

  Nancy nodded. "That's right. He couldn't let me live after I found out that he was the one who attacked Shannon Mulcahey last night— and why."

  "Now, hold it right there, young lady!" the officer blustered. "Do you actually expect me to believe that a respectable citizen like Howard Tremain could be capable of attempted murder?"

  Nancy looked him straight in the eye. "Yes, I do, because it's the truth. And that's not all. Once I .was out of the way, Mr. Tremain planned to dispose of his stepdaughter and his wife as well. He told me so himself." Suddenly she realized that the recorder had been running ever since she began talking with Sean, and now she took it out of her jacket pocket and held it up. "It's all right here on this tape!"

  "It is, huh?" The officer looked at Nancy with new respect. "I guess you'd better tell me the whole story from the very beginning, miss."

  So Nancy did.

  That part was easy, but breaking the news to Angela and her mother was one of the hardest things Nancy had ever done.

  Luckily, Rafe was there when she and Ned returned to Soundview that evening. He sat on the couch between Angela and her mother, with his arms around them.

  Nancy slowly began to describe the events of the past few hours: her conversation with Sean, her plan to visit Rocky Point, and finally her conversation and life-threatening encounter with Howard Tremain. She carefully recounted how he had plotted to murder Angela and her mother to secure the Chamberlain fortune for his own purposes.

  "I don't know what to say to you. I'm sorry, Angela, Mrs. Tremain. I'm sorry for all that has happened. I'm just relieved you both managed to escape Mr. Tremain's horrible plans for you." Nancy looked from her friend to Mrs. Tremain and could barely stand the pain in their eyes.

  "Nancy, there's nothing to be sorry about." Trembling violently, Felicia Tremain covered her face with her hands. "This whole dreadful thing was my fault. I never should have married

  Howard, but after Gordon died, I simply couldn't cope. I was so' terribly lonely, and Howard was always there, helping me get through that awful time. I didn't love him, but I was so weak, and he seemed so strong and safe. . . . How wrong I was!" She turned to Angela, her eyes filled with tears. "Can
you ever forgive me for putting your life in danger, darling?"

  "There's nothing to forgive. Mother," Angela said wearily. "There was no way you could have guessed how sick Howard was, any more than I could. He fooled everyone."

  Nancy grimaced. "Including me."

  "Me, too," Ned added.

  "But not for long," Mrs. Tremain said. "You saw through him just in time, and you risked your lives to save ours. How can I ever thank you?"

  "By getting well as fast as you can," Nancy replied, forcing a smile. "That's also the best Christmas present you can give all of us."

  Rafe put his hand on Felicia Tremain's. "And the best wedding present as well!"

  Over the following days, Nancy and Ned did their best to help Angela and her mother recover from the shock of Howard Tremain's treachery. Rafe hardly ever left Angela's side. They had postponed their wedding until New Year's Day, and Christmas at Soundview passed quietly.

  Nancy's tape of Mr. Tremain's confession, added to the vial of arsenic the police found in their search of the house, proved his guilt beyond a shadow of a doubt. He had been taken to the county prison hospital, where he was recuperating from the injuries he'd sustained when his car went over the cliff at Rocky Point. It was just a matter of time before he'd really be paying for his crimes.

  On the afternoon of New Year's Day, a very small, select group gathered in the drawing room at Soundview to witness the marriage of Angela Chamberlain and Raphael Marino. Aside from the servants and Judge Galvin, who was to perform the ceremony, only seven people had been invited, including Mr. and Mrs. Freeman. Like the Freemans, the other two couples had been close friends of Gordon and Felicia Chamberlain. Along with Nancy, Ned, and Rafe, they had offered badly needed comfort and support to Felicia and Angela since Howard Tremain's arrest.

  The seventh guest was Carson Drew. The Steinbeck case had ended with a verdict in favor of his client, and Mr. Drew arrived at Soundview on New Year's Eve. Nancy had kept him posted by phone on all that was happening, and when Angela's mother requested that he give the bride away, he readily agreed.

  Shortly before four o'clock when the ceremony was scheduled to begin, Nancy came into Angela's bedroom, wearing the red velvet gown her friend had made. As she watched Felicia Tremain fasten a strand of pearis around her daughter's slender throat in front of the full-length mirror, she knew that their nightmare was finally over. Although Mrs, Tremain's health was steadily improving, she was still thin and frail. But the long, softly draped lavender gown she wore was very becoming to her. Her amethyst jewelry echoed the color of her dress, and Nancy could see traces of her former beauty returning.

  When Angela turned away from the mirror to face her, Nancy caught her breath. This was the first time she had seen her friend in her bridal gown and veil, and the effect was dazzling.

  "Angela, you look fantastic!" she exclaimed.

  Smiling tremulously, Angela said, "Do you really think so?"

  Felicia Tremain stroked her daughter's cheek. "You both look absolutely beautiful," she murmured. "Just like a pair of fairy-tale princesses!"

  "Except that this particular fairy tale has a weird kind of twist," Angela said. "The villain turned to be the evil stepfather instead of the wicked stepmother."

  Her mother shuddered. "I can't bear to think about it! We have to put all that behind us now, darling. A new year is beginning, and so is a wonderful new life for you and Rafe."

  Just then there was a brisk knock on the bedroom door. Nancy heard Ned's voice saying, "Are you about ready in there? The bridegroom's downstairs, and he's starting to get a little antsy."

  "We're on our way," Nancy called.

  Mrs. Tremain took two dainty nosegays of sweetheart roses from the florist's box on the bed. She handed the white bouquet to Angela and the red one to Nancy, kissed each girl tenderly on the cheek, then opened the door.

  Carson Drew and Ned, elegantly handsome in black tuxedos, were waiting to escort them to the drawing room. "I've never seen three lovelier ladies," Mr. Drew said, offering one arm to Angela and the other to her mother.

  "My sentiments exactly." Ned smiled at Nancy as she tucked her arm through his. "You look spectacular. Nan!"

  She smiled back. "You don't look so bad yourself."

  As they followed the others down the hall, Ned said, "I just realized something, Nan. We were going to have a private exchange of Christmas presents, but we haven't had any time to ourselves."

  "I know," Nancy said. "Since we've waited this long, why don't we wait a little longer and exchange gifts when we get back to River Heights tomorrow? Today belongs to Angela and Rafe. We can celebrate at home, just the two of us."

  "You're on." Ned paused at the top of the staircase and drew Nancy into his arms, murmuring into her ear, "But before we do, how about starting the new year right?"

  "Sounds like an excellent plan to me," Nancy whispered as she closed her eyes and raised her lips to his.