The Black Widow

J.C. laughed. “I’d like to be a fly on the wall when he unearths the truth about Dan and Jordan’s marriage.”

“Whatever he finds out, he’ll keep to himself. It’s a rule of some kind that private eyes have.”

“Aren’t you the least bit curious about the baby?” J.C. asked. “It’s kind of difficult for a woman to get pregnant if her husband isn’t screwing her.”

“I don’t want to hear anymore talk like that either. The baby Jordan is carrying is Dan Price’s kid, Dan’s heir. You got that?”

J.C. winked at his mother. “Yeah, I got it. And if she gets more of Dan’s money for that kid, then it’ll mean more for all of us, right?”

“You’re a greedy, ungrateful—”

“I just tell it like I see it.” He narrowed his gaze and studied his mother for a couple of seconds. “You didn’t by any chance know, before Dan killed himself, that he had Alzheimer’s, did you, Ma?”

J.C. was creating problems they didn’t need. She’d probably have to deal with him sooner rather than later. The very thought of disposing of him was abhorrent to her since he was part of the family. She had put up with his bad behavior, excused his misdeeds, and refrained from killing him because he had not posed a real threat to them. Not until now. He had become a liability. Even before she’d killed Dan, she had known it was only a matter of time before J.C. would have to be eliminated. His actions were hurting them more and more all the time. She couldn’t allow him to continue upsetting them, not with a baby on the way. Nothing and no one was more important than their child.

She would simply have to wait for the right moment and then strike. And it had to look like an accident. If only she could have found a way to have made Dan’s death look accidental instead of like suicide, as she had some of the other deaths.

Killing J.C. immediately was out of the question. First of all, she never eliminated someone without reason and that required her to consider all sides of a situation. Once she had made her decision, as she had with J.C., she formulated a plan. That took time, days, even weeks. She couldn’t do anything to bring suspicion on herself, especially this soon after Dan’s death. And she certainly couldn’t take any undue chances with a private detective living here at Price Manor.

But when the time was right, she would remove J.C. from their lives, just as she had removed all the others who had betrayed them, either intentionally or simply by an act of fate.

Jordan waved goodbye to Kendra and Wes as they drove away. As much as she would have loved having them here until Sunday, sending them off today had been the right decision. She couldn’t risk what might happen if they stayed and Kendra disobeyed her and encouraged J.C.’s attention. Her stepbrother couldn’t be trusted around any woman who appealed to him, and young, inexperienced girls like Kendra appealed to him greatly. She remembered all too well how he’d come on to her more than once when she’d been in her teens. For years, she was able to fend him off without any real harm done, but eventually, she’d had to go to Roselynne. She never knew what her stepmother had said or done, but whatever it had been, Jordan had never had to fight off J.C. again.

“We’ll miss them, won’t we?” Darlene came up beside Jordan so quietly that Jordan jumped.

“Oh, dear, I didn’t mean to startle you. I’m so sorry.”

She smiled at Darlene. “It’s okay. I guess I’m a little edgy this afternoon.” She draped her arm through Darlene’s and smiled. “Yes, we will miss them, but sending them back to school will save us from having any more problems for the time being.”

“You should send J.C. packing,” Darlene said. “That man…” She sighed. “I hate to speak ill of anyone, but J.C. is nothing but trouble.”

“I know, but we’ll give Roselynne a chance to deal with him first and if that doesn’t work, I’ll ask him to leave. He’s stayed longer than he usually does when he visits. I really didn’t expect him to stay this long.”

“He’s waiting for the will to be read, hoping when you come into your inheritance, you’ll be generous with him and Roselynne and Tammy.”

“I suppose you’re right about his reasons for staying. Maybe I should tell him that although I’ll take care of Roselynne and Tammy, I’ve washed my hands of him. He won’t have any more luck getting money from me than he did getting it from Dan.”

“I…uh…really shouldn’t say this, but…well, have you ever considered the possibility that J.C. killed Dan?”

“Let’s walk.” Jordan tugged gently on Darlene’s arm.

Darlene nodded agreement and the two women strolled down the long drive that led from the house to the county road half a mile away.

“Are you upset with me for—?” Darlene asked.

“No, of course not,” Jordan replied. “It had never entered my mind that J.C. might have killed Dan. But you’re the second person today who has suggested that J.C. could be a murderer.”

“Was Wesley the other person?”

“Yes.”

“Wesley is a very bright boy. I know that Roselynne and her children are family, but if it turns out that Dan was murdered, I think Mr. Carson and the sheriff should look to those three first. I’ve seen Tammy throw some hysterical hissy fits over the years. There’s no telling what she might do. And Roselynne…well, if there’s any money involved…”

“Mr. Carson suspects that I might have killed Dan,” Jordan said.

Darlene gasped. “That’s the most preposterous thing I’ve ever heard.”

“No, it isn’t. Not really. When you look at the facts, that my fiancé, my first husband and now my second husband have all met untimely deaths—”

“Robby Joe’s death was an accident, a tragic accident that almost destroyed us. How could anyone think that you killed him when you loved him with all your heart?”

Jordan stopped, took both of Darlene’s hands into hers and smiled warmly at Robby Joe’s mother, a woman who was as dear to her as anyone on earth.

“Robby Joe was the love of my life.” Jordan kept her smile in place even though she wanted to cry. She had to stay strong, for Darlene’s sake as well as her own.

“If the baby is a boy, I wish you could name him Robby Joe, but I know that’s out of the question.” Darlene laid her open palm over Jordan’s flat belly.

“I haven’t thought about names. Besides, this may be a little girl.” She laid her hand over Darlene’s on her stomach.

“If it is, you should name her after your mother.”

“My mother and Dan’s mother—Elizabeth Helene.”

“And Daniel, Jr., if it’s a boy?”

A cold chill rippled through Jordan. No, she couldn’t name her son Daniel, Jr. “There’s plenty of time to decide on a name. I’m sure that in seven months, we’ll come up with something perfect for our baby.”

Darlene sighed as she removed her hand from Jordan’s stomach. “You are so generous to share your child with us, with me and Devon and the others. Your son or daughter will be the closest thing to a grandchild that I’ll ever have.”

“He will be a very lucky child to have so many people to love and care for him—or her. My family and friends and Dan’s family and friends.”

Jordan glanced toward the sky and noted the swirling dark clouds. “I believe it’s going to rain. Maybe we’d better head back to the house.”

Darlene gazed skyward. “You’re right. It looks like a springtime storm is brewing.”

They walked hurriedly up the drive, barely making it onto the veranda before the first raindrops hit the ground. By the time they were inside, the bottom fell out and distant flashes of lightning zigzagged through the sky.

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