Christopher continued. “Oliver Spangler, I am placing you under arrest for the attempted murder of your father, Milton Spangler.”
Patricia cried out: “No! No, it wasn’t Oliver! It was me!”
Milton looked at her sadly. “Why, Patricia? Why?”
“I wasn’t trying to kill you, Milton. I was just trying to stop the meeting. I knew Oliver was in trouble. I hoped I could buy some time until I could figure it out.” Patricia was weeping.
Chris bit his lip. “Mrs. Patricia Spangler, I am arresting you for attempted murder and aggravated assault.”
“No! No! No!” She was screaming.
“But before you go, there is one more thing that needs to be shared.” Milton was standing tall. “I know about your affair with Garret. I also know he’s Oliver’s biological father.”
Oliver was shrieking. Patricia was wailing. It was a cacophony of agony, despair, and disbelief. All the facades were in ruins.
Chris placed Patricia in handcuffs and walked her toward the front door. He turned to Myra. “How did you know she’d confess?”
“A mother will do anything to protect her child,” Myra said with sad eyes.
Annie tossed the bottle of counterfeit fentanyl she had wrestled from Patricia over to Chris. “Evidence?”
Christopher opened the front door and helped Patricia over the threshold. Cameras and portable lights were immediately in her face. Questions from a reporter were being jackhammered. “Did you cheat on your husband, Mrs. Spangler? Is it true that you poisoned him?” Lights were flashing. People were yammering. It was humiliation in its highest form. She now had a true understanding of the expression “die of embarrassment.”
Back on the patio, Milton leaned against the outdoor stone fireplace. It was terrible to think that he actually felt a sense of relief.
* * *
Dickie and Bart arrived at the office at the same time. Deputy Nelson was already there, smoking a cigarette. “What’s this all about?” he asked the other two men.
“Got no idea.” Dickie looked at Bart.
“What? Beats me, boss.”
“Let’s get this over with.” Nelson jerked his head in the direction of the side door. It was the only one in use after business hours. As soon as the three men were halfway down the hall, canisters of incapacitating gas came rolling toward them. They started coughing and grasping at their throats. Seconds later, they were on the floor.
Pearl’s operatives quickly moved the three men out the south door and into a waiting van. One of the brawny men pulled out a syringe and injected the listless bodies with a sedative. “Nighty-night,” he said to the sleeping lowlifes. He slid the doors shut, locked them, and hopped into the driver’s seat, as the other one got into the passenger side. They gave a short salute and drove the three away, never to be seen or heard from again.
* * *
Milton turned to Oliver. “It’s time for you to go.” Oliver sulked his way toward the door. Some of the press still lingered.
“Don’t you people have something better to do?” he screamed at them. That, too, would appear on the eleven o’clock news later that evening.
Milton sat at the table with Benjamin, Myra, and Annie. “Are you alright, Dad?” Benjamin took his father’s hand.
“Aside from this drama?” Milton smiled. “It’s been a heck of a week, wouldn’t you say?”
EPILOGUE
The following day, the women packed up and headed back to Virginia with some extra baggage. Once they carried out their plan, Oliver would be swiftly dispatched to a place with unpaved roads, no electricity, and no designer suits. They told Milton he was going away to rehabilitation. They just didn’t tell him what kind.
Marshal Gaines got commendations for dismantling a drug ring, and for rescuing a kidnap victim. Chandler also received an award, and a year’s supply of dog chews.
* * *
Vanessa Rowan mended her relationship with her mother and began a small baking business to help raise money for Danielle’s charities. Lori George finished her two-year degree and got a job as a concierge at the Four Seasons in Montreal. She and Vanessa are writing a memoir together.
Patricia was sentenced to ten years in a women’s penitentiary for aggravated assault and attempted murder.
* * *
Bart, Dickie, and Deputy Nelson were never seen or heard from again.
* * *
Benjamin and his father divvied up the S.E.I. responsibilities, and Danielle decided to help with the family business. They were all in it together.
Milton enjoyed spending more time at work. It was what he’d always loved: the scent of freshly cut wood, the camaraderie of his employees, and now, an occasional dinner with Jessica. She was a hoot.
