Poisoned Prose (A Books by the Bay Mystery)

Violetta had known that someone she’d once been close to was likely to betray her, steal her treasure, and end her life.
    “Greg was her lover,” Olivia said aloud. “Greg was with her Thursday night. Not you. He was the man she used and then tossed aside like trash. He was the man who had a plan to make her pay for how he’d been treated.”
    Flynn was staring at Olivia mournfully. “That’s how she went through life. People adored her, were spellbound by her, fell deeply in love with her, and could never touch her. Not here.” He tapped the center of his chest. “She was as hard and cold as those diamonds. Greg made her pay for that. Amabel asked her over and over where the diamonds were hidden, and she responded by laughing at them. She laughed until the air was all gone.”
    Suddenly, Olivia realized what Flynn was saying. “You watched her die?”
    He said nothing. She waited, and eventually, he gave a single nod.
    “Why didn’t you try to stop them?” she asked.
    Again, he turned toward the ocean. A rumble of thunder reverberated over the waves and both Flynn and Olivia raised their eyes to the slate sky. The clouds appeared to be sinking, closing the gap between heaven and earth. A sheet of lightning lit up the horizon, competing with the lighthouse beacon.
    “I just wanted Vi to give me something,” Flynn whispered. “Amabel wanted it all. She hated that Vi and Elijah had a special bond. She hated that she hadn’t been born blue and, therefore, wasn’t special. She hated that her sister left home and never looked back. Never sought her out. Never cared that as sisters, they were supposed to share a bond too. Amabel wanted to be Violetta. Amabel thought that if her sister was gone and she had the diamonds, center stage, and me, then she’d finally be happy.”
    Olivia had to lean forward to hear him. The breeze was escalating into a bona fide wind. It whistled around the lighthouse, scattering fistfuls of sand and salt. “When did you and Amabel start talking again?”
    “She called me after Hicks died. Of course, I had no idea Violetta pushed him to his death. Amabel only told me about that when she couldn’t find the diamonds. She planned to get them away from Vi during her trip here, and we’d split them equally. I’d save the store, and she’d buy all the things she’d lived without her whole life.” He shook his head. “I had no idea that she wanted to kill Violetta, and Amabel must have realized that I’d never hurt her sister. That’s why she dragged Greg Rapson into her scheme.”
    “She was going to divvy up the diamonds with whoever helped her,” Olivia mused aloud, horrified by Amabel’s ability to plot her sister’s murder. Olivia had sensed a coldness in her from the moment they’d met, but she had no idea that Amabel was so calculating, so utterly remorseless. To premeditate the murder of one’s own sister . . .
    Flynn was watching her. “I thought you might be able to explain it all to me. How can old wounds suddenly fester? How can the things we’ve shoved into the deepest pits of our souls claw and scratch their way out? Why couldn’t Amabel lead her own life? Why couldn’t I let go of Violetta? Why did someone else seeking the diamonds set off this sequence of tragedies? You have insight into this kind of thing. Can you tell me why this happened?” He swallowed hard.
    Olivia fell silent, giving serious consideration to his question. “I don’t know, Flynn. Some people are more adept at moving on. And then there are those who can’t forget. Or forgive. Violetta had no problem leaving people after she’d gotten what she wanted from them. She must have known that eventually, she’d make someone so angry that they’d want to hurt her.”
    “And yet, it took Amabel years to act. After Vi left home, they never saw each other again until that night in Charlotte after Hicks died. Amabel didn’t attend the same storyteller events as her sister, but the bitterness grew in her all the same. She couldn’t go anywhere without hearing about the amazing Violetta Devereaux. She couldn’t escape her younger sister’s shadow.” Flynn touched his chest. “And that shadow grew until Amabel’s heart turned black.”
    “So their second reunion of the year occurred here? In our library? When Vi pointed at Amabel in the audience the night she was killed?” The notion chilled Olivia. “That’s how Violetta knew her time had come. She looked into her