“Such as?” Owen asked. He was aware that Amy’s gaze was softening rapidly. He was not surprised. He recalled their conversation regarding his move to Misplaced Island. He’d suspected all along that she had a soft heart.
Arthur’s mouth twisted. “Such as making a number of trips to Seattle. Villantry was having an affair in the city. A lot of people were aware of it, but of course no one actually said anything to Madeline. No one thought she knew. I came across her one day after a committee meeting. She was sitting all alone in a conference room, crying her heart out.”
Amy looked at him with sympathetic eyes. “And you comforted her?”
Arthur nodded. “One thing led to another. She wasn’t in love with me, nor I with her. But she needed someone, and she was a lovely woman. And so very brave.” He moved his hands in a vague gesture. “What can I say? We had an affair.”
“What ended it?” Owen demanded. “Did her husband discover what was going on?”
“Oh, no.” Arthur frowned. “No one ever discovered us. At least, I thought no one knew. We were very, very careful. Madeline had her reputation and her family to consider. She was so terrified of being caught that she ended the affair after a couple of months.”
Amy frowned. “Why?”
“She said she had to consider the future of her two young children. She didn’t want to jeopardize their inheritance by risking a divorce. And she had her parents to think of, too. She was their only child. She was afraid that they would be humiliated if we were found out.”
“Hmm,” Amy said.
Owen glanced at her. He was starting to recognize that tone in her voice. “Yes? Did you have something you wanted to share with the rest of the class?”
Amy shrugged. “Not really. It just occurred to me that Madeline made a very financially astute decision.”
“It was a very brave decision,” Arthur corrected gallantly. “For which she paid a great price. She endured an unhappy marriage for years in order to salvage her children’s inheritance and to protect her family from humiliation.”
“There is that,” Amy agreed.
It occurred to Owen that Amy had already deduced the truth about Madeline Villantry’s marriage from the photo she had seen in the old edition of the Villantry Gazette. He turned to Crabshaw. “How many blackmail payments have you made?”
“Two. Or rather, one. I got the first note a few weeks ago, right after Bernice and I announced our engagement.” Arthur nodded glumly at the envelope Owen had placed on the table. “The thousand in there was supposed to be the second payment.”
“So the blackmail is recent?” Owen asked sharply. “You weren’t bothered by any demands until a few weeks ago?”
“No.” Arthur dropped his head into his hands. “I thought there would only be the one payment. Then, two days ago, there was a second demand.”
“There always is,” Owen said.
“But it hasn’t been made, because you took the envelope,” Arthur whispered hoarsely. “Now it will all come out into the open. Madeline’s reputation will be ruined. Bernice will be crushed. And all because of me.”
“No.” Amy stepped forward quickly and patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, Arthur. Owen will take care of everything. He’ll find out who the blackmailer is and stop him before anything else happens.”
Owen stared at her. “I will?”
She gave him a bracing smile. “Of course you will.”
Owen narrowed his eyes. She had apparently forgotten that she had hired him to discover Arthur Crabshaw’s secrets. He had done precisely that. Nothing had been said about saving Crabshaw’s rear. “Uh, Amy, maybe we’d better discuss this out on the porch.”
“Later, Owen. Right now we need to figure out how to keep the blackmailer silent.”
“The quickest way to pull the blackmailer’s teeth is to call his bluff,” Owen said.
“I can’t risk it,” Arthur whispered.
“Of course not,” Amy murmured. “Owen will handle this.”
Arthur sighed heavily. “What can Sweet do? It’s too late to replace the money. I left that envelope in the restroom shortly after ten this morning. It’s nearly five. By now the blackmailer will have checked the toilet tank lid and realized that I didn’t follow his instructions. He’ll be furious.”
“Don’t fret about it, Crabshaw,” Owen said. “There will definitely be a second chance. And a third and fourth chance, as well. If we allow this thing to go on that long.”
“Which we won’t,” Amy said confidently.
Owen raised his brows but offered no comment. He didn’t need a weather report to tell him that Amy had recently undergone a sea change.
Arthur lifted his head and gave Owen a quizzical look. “What do you mean there will be a second chance? The blackmailer said in his note that he would reveal everything if I didn’t make the payments.”
Owen smiled grimly. “You’re a businessman, Crabshaw. Look at this from the blackmailer’s point of view. If he reveals the truth, it’s all over for him. He can’t expect his victim to make any more payments once the secrets are out in the open.”
The anguish and frustration faded in Arthur’s eyes. Intelligent perception replaced it. “Good point. I hadn’t thought of that.”
“The only way the blackmailer can make money is to keep quiet and apply more pressure on you,” Owen said.
Amy searched his face. “That makes sense. He’s got nothing to gain by revealing the truth, and everything to lose. I’d say he definitely has a strong incentive to try to persuade Arthur to continue with the payments. And when he does, we’ll be ready for him, won’t we.”
“It’s beginning to look that way.”
Arthur stared at Owen with dawning hope. “You’re going to help me?”
Owen looked at Amy, who gave him a glowing smile. He was briefly dazzled by it. He wondered if it was her sign-here-and-you’ve-got-yourself-a-house smile. He’d never actually seen that smile because when he’d bought the Draycott place from her, he’d almost had to type up the papers himself. She had tried to talk him out of the deal right up until the ink was dry. He had to admit the smile was very effective.
“Something tells me I don’t have a lot of choice,” Owen said.
• • •