“And then you read about Donna’s apitherapy experiments.”
“I got one bee—only one, mind you—just to have a try. Henry wasn’t too keen, but I persisted.”
“Because Donna advised it.”
“Donna.vip has always been my bible. Long before I started to work for her. Donna knows.”
“But what Donna didn’t know was that bee sting therapy can be very dangerous.”
“Even lethal,” Hillary said, her voice hoarse now. “One sting, that’s all it took.” She looked away, swiping at her eyes. “I placed it on her arm with a pair of tweezers, just the way I was supposed to. Henry was working late, and Suzy had been complaining about the pain again, so I decided to give it a try. Suzy was brave—oh, so brave. She said she didn’t mind a little prick. She was actually more worried about the bee than herself. Said she didn’t want the bee to die, like she read online. The prick was fine. Just a little sting, just like I promised. But then…” She choked. “She had trouble breathing, her throat closing up.”
“Probably because her tongue was swollen.”
“She looked into my eyes and said the bee had made her dizzy. And then her eyes turned up and she was gone. I—I tried to revive her but I—I couldn’t. By the time the ambulance showed up, it was too late. She—she died in my arms. And all from one little bee sting.”
“Anaphylactic shock. One sting is enough.”
“I didn’t know,” said Hillary, shaking her head. “The website… there had been no warning, no instructions on what to do if something went wrong. So…”
“So you blamed Donna Bruce for the death of your girl.”
Hillary merely stared at her, eyes wide, face pale.
“You decided that if you could only get close enough to her, you might find a way to make her pay. And you were in luck. She needed a CEO and you had just the right qualifications. So you worked closely with her, trying to figure out how you could get your revenge.”
“The woman was totally irresponsible,” said Hillary. “She didn’t care. All she cared about was making more money and becoming the biggest name in lifestyle advice. When I told her perhaps we should add a disclaimer to the site—at least to the most controversial claims, she laughed me out of the room. Said if people were dumb enough to buy the junk she was peddling, they got exactly what they deserved. That’s when I knew she was simply evil.”
“So you killed her.”
“Yes,” said Hillary, her clear blue eyes unwavering. “And I made sure she suffered just as much as Suzy did. And as much as Suzy’s mommy and daddy did. I did it for her. And for Henry.”
“I understand, Hillary,” said Odelia. “And I’m sure that a jury will, too, when they hear the whole story.”
The woman frowned.“A jury? What are you talking about?”
“If you come with me now, you can turn yourself in. I’ll be there every step of the way.”
Hillary laughed.“You can’t seriously think I’m going to jail for this.”
“You killed someone, Hillary. You didn’t think you were going to get away with this, did you?”
“Of course I’m getting away with it. I did what was right. I killed the woman who killed my little girl. Donna got exactly what she deserved, and my only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner.”
“Donna had two children of her own. I’m sure they won’t feel the same way.”
Hillary pressed her lips together.“Donna didn’t care about those two little brats. All she cared about was herself, and the attention she could get as a mother of two. She used those kids. To her they were nothing more than a PR stunt.”
“Let’s just—hey!”
Quick as a flash, Hillary gave her such a powerful shove that she fell backwards, tumbling through the open door into the sauna cabin. And before she could get up, the former CEO had slammed the wooden door shut and bolted it from the outside. A sudden sense of panic rose in her chest like bile. She pounded the door.“Let me out! Let me out right now!”
But Hillary merely regarded her coolly, and then she was gone.
“Hey! Hillary!”
She darted an anxious look at the ceiling, hoping the same fate that had befallen Donna wouldn’t happen to her. She would hate to be stung to death by a couple thousand bees! When no sound came through the ventilator, she sighed with relief. But then she noticed the temperature in the small space was rising and rising fast. God, no. Hillary had turned up the heat—probably cranked it up to the max! And had turned off the fan.
She tried the door but it was bolted shut. She pounded the one tiny window that offered a view of the outside but it was thick glass, unbreakable without the right tools. She quickly searched her pockets but came up empty. Her purse containing her phone was still in the pickup.
The heat was rising quickly and sweat broke out on her brow. Worse, she was starting to have trouble breathing because of the lack of ventilation. She understood now what Hillary was trying to accomplish. She’d simply let her die from heat exposure. Make it look like an accident. Already she was feeling the strain, and dropped down on the wooden bench. She removed her T-shirt and jeans, and tried to stay calm and collected. Panic wasn’t her friend right now—slowing down her heartbeat and helping her body deal with this sudden assault was.
She closed her eyes and tried to remember the few yoga lessons she’d taken. Slow breaths. Centering herself. Someone would come. She’d get through this. She was not going to die.
As the temperature soared, she was now sweating so much her underwear was soaked and she was starting to feel dizzy. And just before she dropped down on the bench, she thought she felt a rush of cool air and a face swimming before her eyes. And then she passed out.
When she came to, she found herself gazing into Chase’s eyes. She was lying on the floor and someone was poking at her arm.
“Chase?” she asked weakly. “Where am I? What happened?”
He smiled.“Thank God. I thought I lost you, honey. How are you feeling?”
She smacked her lips.“Thirsty.”
He laughed, and when she looked down, she saw that a male nurse was checking her pulse.“She’ll be fine,” he said. “She’s going to need a lot of fluids, though.”
“I’ll make sure she gets what she needs,” Chase assured the man.
She looked around, and saw she was right outside the sauna, the sauna door open. Then memory returned and she tried to sit up. The moment she did, her head started swimming again.“Hillary!” she cried. “Hillary tried to kill me!”
“I know,” said Chase, gently easing her down again. “We got her. She’s in custody.”
“And how is my favorite niece?” asked her uncle, crouching down next to her.
“I’m your only niece,” she said weakly.
Her uncle seemed worried.“Please, Odelia, if you don’t want me to die from heart failure, never pull a stunt like this again. Next time you want to confront a suspect, call for backup.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I wasn’t sure Hillary was the one—though I had my suspicions.”
“Good thing Chase had the same suspicions.”
She gave Chase a look of surprise.“You did?”
“After what happened on the beach I started looking for the name of that girl from Cleveland. Don’t ask me why. A hunch, I guess.”
“Women’s intuition,” she said with a smile. “It’s rubbed off on you.”
“That might well be the case. Cause that girl turned out to be Hillary’s daughter. Died seven years ago after an apitherapy attempt gone wrong. It wasn’t a big leap from that incident to Donna’s death by bee sting, so…”
“So you flew to my side like a rescuing angel.”
“Only a lot uglier,” Uncle Alec said with a grin.
Odelia placed her hand on Chase’s cheek. “Chase isn’t ugly. He’s gorgeous.”
“That’s just the drugs talking,” Chase grunted.