Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead(Finlay Donovan #2)(86)

“I could say the same about you. Haven’t seen you here in quite a while. Awfully late for a visit, isn’t it?” she asked bitterly.

“I apologize. I know I should have called. Steven’s running late, too. He just sent me a message. Said he got tied up with some car trouble, but he’s on his way.”

Vero grabbed my arm. “Tied up? Car trouble?” she whispered.

That couldn’t have been a coincidence. We’d left his cell phone in the van and the keys for Ramón. Leave it to Steven to know exactly how to get my van running. “Steven must have gotten himself out of the motel room.”

Ted’s voice turned suspicious. “Is someone else in there with you?”

Mrs. Westover swung the shotgun into her arms, nudging the door open with her foot.

Ted raised his hands slowly, taking a cautious step back from the door, his brow furrowing with confusion. “Barbara, I know Carl was real upset after our last meeting, but I’m sure we can work something out just as soon as Steven gets here.”

“Carl passed away this past summer, Ted. But I’m guessing you already figured that out.” Barbara stepped out onto the porch, the gun leveled at his chest. “Is that what this mysterious meeting is all about? You planning to get rid of your last business partner and take the farm for yourself? Maybe you want to talk to Steven’s ex-wife about that idea first.” Barbara jerked her head in my direction. Ted’s eyes widened when they spotted me behind her. “Come on inside, Ted. Seems we have a few things to clear up.”

Barbara stepped aside, letting Ted enter the house first. She kept the shotgun pointed at his back as she directed him to the kitchen table. The rest of us circled around it as he sat, like a jury awaiting a confession.

“I’m sorry, Barbara,” he began, his throat tight with emotion. “I had no idea Carl had passed. I should have called or come by sooner. I should never have left things the way I did. I didn’t realize his illness was so advanced.”

“Carl didn’t want anyone feeling sorry for him. He was a good man. I can’t say the same about you.”

“I don’t know what to say for myself,” he admitted quietly.

“Why don’t you start by telling us who is FedUp?” I suggested. I wanted to hear him confess that he’d posted the ad on the forum. That he was responsible for all these attempts on Steven’s life. That Ted scheduled this meeting to lure Steven here so EasyClean could finish the job. “Start with the fire at the farm and go from there.”

His head snapped up. “You know about that?”

Vero crossed her arms over her chest, drumming her nails. “We know a whole lot of things.”

Ted swallowed hard. “Please understand, my wife never meant to hurt anyone when she set that fire. Melissa was just angry with me. She’d been pestering me to cut ties with Steven for a long time, but Steven and I had a deal, and I’m a man of my word.”

I shook my head, confused. “Your wife set Steven’s trailer on fire? Why?”

Ted’s cheeks flushed, and he looked down at the table. “Last spring, I asked Steven to hire my daughter to work in the office a few days per week as part of our agreement. Only, Bree developed a bit of a crush, and Steven … well, you know Steven.” Ted’s eyes lifted apologetically to mine.

“Hello! I’m right here.” Theresa waved her hands at me and Ted. “Does anyone care that he was engaged to me at the time?”

Vero grabbed the open wine bottle and thrust it in Theresa’s hand. “No. But have a consolation prize. You,” she said to Ted, “keep talking.”

He drew a breath and continued. “Melissa was livid when she figured out Steven and Bree were romantically involved. She insisted we tell Bree she couldn’t work for him anymore, but my daughter’s a grown woman, and I didn’t think it was our place to dictate her relationships.”

Vero made a sound of disgust. “More like the farm was making money, so you decided to overlook the fact that a philandering creep was taking advantage of your daughter.”

Ted admitted his guilt with a tight nod. “Melissa called him incessantly. She hounded him all summer, demanding he terminate Bree’s employment. She wanted an end to whatever relationship they had. Melissa finally got her way after that whole mess in October, when Steven had an excuse to lay Bree off.

“Bree was miserable. She stayed in bed for days crying, and the farm was losing money hand over fist, but Melissa was finally happy. That lasted for about a month, until Steven had a few drinks one night—Thanksgiving, I think it was—and he called our house at an indecent hour, looking for Bree.” That must have been the booty call I’d seen on his call log when I’d snooped through his phone. The call he’d made to Bree’s home number, not her cell.

“Bree had already gone to bed,” Ted continued. “Melissa saw his number on the caller ID and didn’t bother answering the phone, so Steven left a voicemail message, telling Bree he missed her and he’d made a mistake. He said he had a new place of his own and he wanted to see her.” Vero looked at me, her eyebrow raised. That was the night Steven had shown up in my driveway and caught me making out with Julian. When he’d told me that his new house didn’t feel like home because me and the kids weren’t in it.

“Go on,” I said to Ted.