Imperfect Strangers

CHAPTER 37

They were in the middle of breakfast before Sandy plucked up enough courage to begin talking.

"I have some things to tell you," he said.

She looked up from her eggs. "I'm all ears."

"This is going to be difficult for both of us, and I hope you'll hear me out before you start making judgments about me."

"I'll do my best," she said.

"I'm… acquainted with your ex-husband," he began.

Her eyebrows went up. "You know Peter? Why on earth didn't you tell me?"

"We met on an airplane-God, it seems like a year ago, but it was only in May."

"Oh," she said, relieved, "is that all?"

"I'm afraid not," he replied. "There's a great deal more."

"Tell me; I'll try not to interrupt."

He began with the movie on the airplane, with his drunken spilling of his life story, then went on to Peter's sly suggestion.

"He really proposed that?" she asked, shocked.

"Yes."

"He's even crazier than I thought."

"Probably." Sandy resumed his story, took her through the reading of Jock's will and his meeting with Joan.

"Oh, God, Sandy, I'm so sorry about Mr. Bailley's will," Cara said.

"Don't be sorry, just listen." He struggled on, telling her of his meeting in the park with Peter, then, before she could interrupt him, went on to his reconsideration of the plan and his message to Peter, canceling their pact.

Cara had put her fork down now and was pale. "Sandy, you did the right thing. Peter would have gone through with it."

"Peter did go through with it," Sandy said.

Cara's mouth dropped open. "Are you telling me that Peter murdered your wife?"

"I am."

"Didn't you go to the police?"

"Don't you understand? I couldn't do that; Peter would have implicated me, and I'd be in jail, now, awaiting trial for conspiracy to murder."

"But you backed out of the bargain!"

"Of course I did, but Peter would have denied that. You know him; don't you think he could have convinced the police that I was his accomplice?"

She nodded. "Yes, you're right; he could have convinced them. So how did you keep your part of the bargain?"

"Wait a minute," she said, and she stood up, looking frightened. "Is that what you were doing in that garage in San Francisco? You were there to murder me?"

"Cara, please sit down and listen."

Slowly, she sat down, never taking her eyes off him, remaining on the edge of her seat.

"I was there to warn Helena Martindale that her husband intended to kill her. I had no idea you and she were the same person. I had no intention of killing her or you." This was not quite true, he remembered. He had, after all, contemplated doing just that, but he could never let Cara know he'd even considered it, or they would be finished.

She sat, obviously thinking hard. "Now I'm beginning to get it," she said. "You told Peter that you'd done it, didn't you? You told him I was dead."

"In the circumstances, it seemed the best thing to do. I needed some time without pressure from Peter to figure out what to do about all this, and I did the right thing, because he bought it. He thinks that your body is in the trunk of your car and that your car is at the bottom of San Francisco Bay."

She slumped against the back of her chair, dumbfounded.

He gave her a moment, then went on. "So, as long as Peter thinks you're dead you're safe from him; do you understand that?"

She tried to speak and failed, so she nodded.

"I mean, it's not a permanent solution to the problem; one way or another, sooner or later, he'll find out you're alive. I brought you to London to keep that from happening for a while longer." He looked at her closely. "Are you all right?"

She nodded. "I'm just running through it in my mind-who knows I'm alive that might inadvertently let Peter know? I don't think there's anybody. Saul Winner won't say anything-not on purpose, anyway, and Thea certainly won't, but that won't keep me from running into some mutual acquaintance on the street in New York who might mention it to Peter."

He was relieved that she was analyzing the problem. "I confess I actually thought of finding some way to kill Peter, but he was way ahead of me. He told me he'd written his own account of what happened to Joan, implicating me, and deposited it in his lawyer's safe."

Cara managed a wry laugh. "Well, Sandy, it was sweet of you to think of murdering my ex-husband, but it would be exactly like Peter to actually do what he said he did-the letter with the lawyer, so please put the idea out of your mind."

"I wish I could," Sandy said ruefully "I have fantasies about strangling him with my bare hands or booting him off the Golden Gate Bridge."

She laughed again. "Believe me, I've had the same fantasies."

"There's something else you should know," Sandy said.

"Oh, God, not something else!"

"I'm afraid so. Peter is in London. In fact, he was in the restaurant downstairs last night when we were having dinner. He just walked in with another man and sat down."

Cara was alarmed. "Did he-"

"No, he didn't see us. I had the maitre d' move a screen to block his view, and he's not staying in the hotel."

"Thank heaven for small favors," she said, relaxing again.

"But I'm inclined to think that if Peter is in London, we should be back in New York. How much more do you have to do in the shop to have what you need for the New York designs?"

"I've taken photographs and made sketches," she said. "That's really all I need."

"Then maybe we'd better forgo your sightseeing on this trip and head home. There's a flight early this afternoon."

"Then let's go. I suppose it would be too much of a coincidence for Peter to be on the same flight."

"I think that's stretching it, even for Peter."

"I'd better start packing," she said.

"I'll call my travel agent and let the hotel know we're checking out."

They both stood up to begin their tasks, then they stopped and looked at each other. Sandy held out his arms and she came to him, hugged him. He was relieved to know that, after hearing his story, she still wanted to be in his arms.

"You know," she said, "I'm glad all this is out in the open. I felt so alone before, fighting Peter all by myself; I'm glad to have some help."

Sandy felt the same way.