Hidden Talents

ruined in the old man's eyes.”
    “Damn,” Caleb said under his breath as the missing pieces of the puzzle fell into place. “So Franklin came across with the first five thousand without even batting an eye, didn't he?”
    “He wanted the pictures. He wanted them real bad.”
    “Too bad you didn't take that one payment and run.”
    “It was only five thousand,” Firebrace said, looking genuinely offended. “I couldn't stop there. I figured someone in the family would pay again to keep the pictures out of the papers.”
    “You were greedy,” Caleb mused. “And you still had the negatives, after all. Why not go back just once more?”
    “I planned to go back several more times,” Firebrace said. “As often as I could, in fact. But then Ambrose broke his neck in that fall and destroyed my plans.”
    “Because with him dead, you no longer had any protection,” Caleb said. “Continuing the blackmail scheme would be a lot more risky without a fall guy to take the rap. Sooner or later someone might start an investigation. The trail might lead to you. Still, you had to go back just once before you packed it in, didn't you? It was just too much money to throw away.”
    Serenity studied Firebrace as if he were a member of the rodent family. “You couldn't resist contacting Franklin with another demand a few days after Ambrose died, could you?”
    “It was worth the risk. I'd only gotten one payment out of him. I knew those pictures were worth at last another five grand to the Ventresses. It was unlikely that Franklin Ventress would ever find out precisely when Ambrose died,” Firebrace said.
    “Or even that he was dead?” Serenity asked.
    Firebrace scowled. “Why would anyone tell him something like that? Asterley's death certainly wasn't significant enough to make the Ventress Valley News . Besides, Franklin Ventress was the last person who would start asking questions. All he cared about was his own revenge on Gordon's son.”
    “But why did Franklin hate Gordon so much?” Serenity asked softly. “Was it just because Gordon was Roland's heir?”
    “That was probably part of it.” Firebrace sounded irritated. “But not all of it. According to Crystal, it was mostly because of Patricia Ventress.”
    “Patricia?”
    “Don't you get it?” Firebrace said. “He loved her. Really loved her. And she left him because of the scandal. He never saw her again.”
    “It fits,” Caleb said slowly.
    “Crystal understood.” Firebrace narrowed his eyes. “She knew how much Franklin cared about Patricia. She said he'd seduced Patricia in the beginning because he was envious of Gordon and wanted to take something that belonged to his cousin. But in the end Franklin fell in love with Patricia.”
    “Franklin blamed my father for the humiliation Patricia endured.” Caleb thought quickly. “Franklin could never forgive him because the scandal cost him the woman he loved.”
    “He could never forgive you, either,” Serenity whispered. “He had to punish you for daring to get involved with a woman who reminded him of Crystal Brooke.”
    “Yes.”
    “Franklin paid for those photos the first time because he wanted ammunition to use against Caleb,” Serenity said slowly. “But why was he willing to pay the second blackmail demand?”
    “Because he was a Ventress,” Firebrace said with a grim laugh. “Damn family is so proud it makes me sick.”
    Caleb fingered the stone in his pocket. “You're right. Franklin has the Ventress pride. He didn't want another scandal to hit the local papers any more than anyone else in the family would have wanted it. He knew my grandfather wouldn't pay blackmail so he had no choice but to do it himself.”
    “He was caught in his own trap,” Serenity said.
    “Exactly,” Caleb said. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Serenity watching him, saw her gaze dip briefly to where his hand disappeared into his pocket. He hoped she realized that he still had Webster's latest discovery, but he couldn't take the risk of looking directly at her to see if she understood the significance of that fact. He kept his attention on Firebrace.
    “You seem to know a great deal about my family,” Caleb said.
    “I learned everything I needed to know about your whole damned family over three decades ago,” Firebrace said. “Nothing has changed. You Ventresses still think you're more important than the rest of us. You think you can have anything you want just for the taking.”
    “You