Hidden Talents

Ambrose?”
    “That's easy,” Caleb said. “He wanted to do a little more fussing with the scene, didn't you, Firebrace? You couldn't resist checking the details. You wanted to make certain that you hadn't left any evidence behind.”
    “Once I knew Ambrose's body had been discovered, I thought it was safe to go back,” Firebrace explained. “After all, what could be more natural than for an old friend to stop by after hearing of the tragedy?”
    Caleb eyed him thoughtfully. “And who would notice, after all, if you helped yourself to a couple of cameras or some lighting equipment. Just a few mementos of your old friend and partner.”
    “Well, why not?” Firebrace's smile was bitter. “Ambrose sure as hell didn't need the gear any longer. Some of that equipment was worth a small fortune.”
    “There's one thing I don't understand,” Serenity said. “How did you know that I'd gone to see Caleb about my plans for expanding my business?”
    Firebrace shrugged. “Ambrose called me up a couple of weeks after you went to see Ventress the first time. He tried to hit me up for a few bucks. It was a regular routine with him, you know.”
    “I know,” Serenity said softly.
    “As usual, I told him I didn't have a dime to spare,” Firebrace said. “Then, out of the clear blue sky, he started talking about the old days. Said something about life being weird and how what goes around, comes around. He said that he'd just sent a friend to see Crystal Brooke's son. Asked me if I remembered Crystal.”
    Caleb glanced around the walls of the studio. “Obviously you did.”
    The gun jerked in Firebrace's hand. “Ambrose was having one of his good days. He wanted to talk. He told me all about Miss Makepeace's plans for Witt's End.”
    “Did you know about the pictures he'd taken of me?” Serenity asked.
    “Sure.” Firebrace made a face. “He'd bragged about them last spring after he'd finished the shoot. He said at the time that it was some of the finest work he'd ever done.”
    “When he told you that I was going to see Caleb, you remembered the old scandal, didn't you?” Serenity said. “You knew what you could do with those photos. You realized that if you could convince the Ventresses that I was involved with Caleb, you could capitalize on their fear of a new scandal.”
    Firebrace rocked on his heels. “Very clever, Miss Makepeace. You're right. I knew all about the Ventresses. I had a good idea of how they'd react to the news that the heir apparent to the family fortune was following in his father's footsteps. All I had to do was make it appear that Caleb was romantically involved with you. That was easy to do.”
    Serenity frowned. “How did you do that? Caleb and I weren't really involved in anything but a business arrangement at that point.”
    “I took a few shots of you and Ventress leaving his office here in Seattle together. One of you and him going into a restaurant. Franklin Ventress's imagination did the rest.” Firebrace chuckled humorlessly. “Imagine my surprise when I discovered later that you and Ventress actually were involved.”
    “You were too smart to go to my grandfather with your demands,” Caleb said. “You knew how he'd respond to a blackmail threat.”
    “Hell, yes, I knew.” Frustrated anger flashed in Firebrace's eyes. “He'd refused to pay thirty-four years ago when I'd sent him the pictures of Crystal and Gordon Ventress. But I knew there were other members of the family who weren't so stubborn and who would do anything to keep the precious family name from being dragged through the Ventress Valley News again.”
    Serenity drew a deep breath. “You were the one who tried to blackmail Roland Ventress all those years ago?”
    “Everything went wrong that time,” Firebrace said in a strange, faraway voice. Then his eyes hardened. “But I made up for it this time. I planned things more carefully. I contacted the banker in the family, not the old man. I knew Franklin Ventress would be an easier target. I was sure he'd pay.”
    “What made you think you knew him so well?” Caleb asked, suddenly and deeply curious about the answer.
    “Crystal told me about him,” Firebrace said impatiently.
    “What did she tell you about him?”
    “Just what your father had told her. Franklin was having an affair with Gordon's wife. I knew he had hated Gordon Ventress with a passion. I took a chance that he probably also hated Gordon's son and would give anything to see him