Hidden Talents

here to make a formal announcement of that fact to everyone involved so that there will be no misunderstanding.”
    “Blackmail.” Roland appeared more confused than outraged. “What the devil are you talking about?”
    Caleb did not take his eyes off Franklin. “Why don't you tell him, Uncle?”
    “I don't know what you mean,” Franklin blustered.
    “All right, if you won't do it, I will.” Caleb switched his focus to his grandfather. “Franklin called me yesterday and told me that he was the victim of an extortion threat.”
    Roland froze in his chair. “On what grounds?”
    “The usual.” Caleb's smile was fleeting and cold. “Pictures. In this case of Serenity.”
    “What the hell?” Roland stared at Serenity.
    “Miss Makepeace?” Phyllis glanced quickly at Serenity and then pinned Caleb with a scandalized gaze. “Are you telling us that there are dirty pictures of Miss Makepeace floating around?”
    “They aren't dirty,” Caleb said. “They're works of art created by a gifted photographer. And as far as I know, they've only floated as far as Franklin, who, it turns out, was not actually being blackmailed. Just the opposite.”
    “The opposite?” Phyllis frowned.
    “That's right,” Caleb said. “He's the blackmailer.”
    “Me? A blackmailer?” Franklin shot to his feet, his face reddening with fury. “This is an outrage. How dare you accuse me of blackmail? I'm the one who's being blackmailed with those filthy pictures.”
    “Christ. Blackmail.” Roland leaned his head back against his chair and closed his eyes. “Not again.”
    Franklin rounded on him. “Roland, listen to me. The note said that if I didn't pay ten thousand dollars, the photos of Miss Makepeace would be sent to the Ventress Valley News . Just like last time.”
    “Damn it to hell.” Roland opened his eyes. His expression was savage. “Goddamn it to hell.”
    “The only thing I could do was call Caleb and tell him what had happened,” Franklin said desperately. “I wasn't blackmailing him, for God's sake. I was the victim. All of us were potential victims. It's Miss Makepeace's fault. She brought this disaster down on us.”
    “Oh, my God,” Phyllis looked faint. “Roland's right. This is just like the last time.”
    Franklin swung around to face her. “Except that I was the one who received the photos this time. Naturally, I did my best to protect the family. I called Caleb at once and told him exactly what sort of woman he had gotten himself involved with. I expected him to handle the problem with discretion.”
    “But several days before that you sent the photos to Serenity, didn't you?” Caleb asked with lethal softness. “And in the accompanying note you told her that if she didn't call off her business arrangement with Ventress Ventures immediately, you would send the pictures on to me. You thought she'd cave in to your threat, didn't you? You thought she'd back out of the deal.”
    “I don't know what you're talking about,” Franklin said.
    Caleb ignored the interruption. “Instead, she came to me and told me about the pictures and the blackmail threat. You hadn't counted on that, had you? Or if you did take that possibility into consideration, you probably assumed that I'd be so disgusted by the knowledge that Serenity had posed nude that I'd end my relationship with her.”
    “Posed nude?” Phyllis's tone rose to a horrified shriek. “Miss Makepeace, have you no shame?”
    “I did it for art,” Serenity mumbled. Speaking of art, she thought, the scene was becoming distinctly surreal.
    “Art? Don't you dare try to excuse such filth as art. I know your sort,” Phyllis retorted. “You're part of that immoral, left-wing artistic crowd, aren't you? The sort that takes our hard-earned tax money and uses it to fund obscene photographs and foul-mouthed plays.”
    Serenity felt as if she had slipped into the Twilight Zone. “I assure you, poor Ambrose never got a dime from the National Endowment for the Arts, if that's what's worrying you.”
    “To think that our government has sunk to the level of funding nude photography with that national endowment thing,” Phyllis continued. “It's unconscionable.”
    “That's enough, Aunt Phyllis,” Caleb warned.
    “I'll say it is,” she snapped. “Franklin is right, this is outrageous.”
    “Of course it is,” Franklin declared. “I won't tolerate it.”
    “That's my line,” Caleb said. “That's why I'm here today. To tell you that I