There had at least been three 911 calls from the address previously, though, when Darrin had attacked Terry over money. Agnes had called the police despite Terry’s pleas. Try as he might, Darrin couldn’t intimidate Agnes, who had powerful relatives. He wasn’t drunk enough to do that, but he had pushed Terry into firing her. A temporary housekeeper had been engaged to work in her place, and Esther’s heart had been broken at the treatment her surrogate mother had suffered. Terry had taken Darrin’s side against her daughter for protesting. Darrin had threatened her with a black eye if she interfered with him again or if she dared to call the police. Those 911 calls would be on record. Even though Darrin was sure to swear that Terry’s was an accidental death, there would be an investigation, because of Darrin’s prior abuses. Surely he’d be found out!
Esther was far too afraid to do anything. She would call the police, she decided, so that at least Darrin wouldn’t have the opportunity to hide the body. She’d do it anonymously, however, and from a pay phone. If she could find one. She’d never used a public phone. She wasn’t sure where to go. But they recorded those calls, didn’t they? And what if Darrin’s friend at the police station recognized her voice and traced the call before she could get out of town? What then?
Buses ran. But Darrin would be after that diamond, and even worse, after her mother’s will. Esther hadn’t understood why her mother had stuffed the legal document into her purse the night before. You must keep it close, she’d said, and never take it out of your purse. Esther had asked why. Her mother had looked horrified and murmured something about a terrible threat. Darrin was jealous. He thought she was seeing someone else. He wasn’t about to give up his luxury bed and board and he’d already started drinking. Her mother had seen an attorney, unknown to Darrin, and changed her will so that Darrin inherited nothing. In one of his rages, Darrin had gone with Terry to an attorney and had her revise her will to leave everything to him. Intimidated, Terry had agreed. But two days before her death, she got up enough courage to go back to the attorney and change the will so that her daughter would inherit everything. She told the lawyer she’d had a premonition. So now Esther stood to inherit the incredible amount of wealth, and she had the new, revised will, naming her beneficiary. She had the diamond, too. But the will and the ring were only useful if she lived.
She had to get out of town and somewhere she could hide, where Darrin couldn’t find her. When she was safe, she could decide what to do. Tears stung her eyes. Her poor, sweet mother, who had no sense of self-preservation, who trusted everyone. Esther knew what Darrin was the minute she saw him. Her mother was certain that he was only misunderstood, and he was so manly!
The first time Darrin had struck her mother in the face, Terry had realized with horror what sort of person he really was. But it was too late. He intimidated her to the point of separating her from every friend she had. He watched her, and Esther, like a hawk. The abuse had grown so much worse when he insisted on coming here to Aspen, to the grandest of Terry’s many homes. They didn’t dare tell anyone. He had a friend on the local police force, he told them, and he’d know if they tried to sell him out. They didn’t have the nerve. Agnes, the only one in the household who wasn’t afraid of him, had called 911, and been fired. Poor Agnes, who’d sacrificed so much to take care of the little girl Terry ignored. It broke Esther’s heart.
And now her mother was dead, and Esther was running for her own life. She didn’t have the price of a plane ticket. But she knew that Darrin had that friend on the police force. He might have someone who knew how to hack credit card companies to find out if a card in Terry’s name had been used. So it was just as well that Esther didn’t have the card. She couldn’t fly, because she didn’t have enough for a ticket. She couldn’t take a bus because she could be traced that way. Even a train