Chapter 34 Chapter Thirty-Three

The dizziness was getting worse, and Kate's brain was starting to go haywire.Sometimes she sits at her desk, thinking about a company merger plan, and suddenly realizes that plan has been put into practice ten years ago.It terrified her.Finally, she decided to take Brad Rogers's advice and see Dr. John Harley. It had been a long time since Dr Harry had persuaded Kate Blackwell to have a full medical examination.So this time she came to see a doctor, he had to make good use of this opportunity.He gave her a full health check and asked her to wait for him in his office.John Harry felt uneasy.For her age, Kate Wellekwell was mobile and clear-headed.But there are also some worrisome omens.Arteriosclerosis is certain, so she occasionally feels dizzy and her memory declines.She should have retired long ago, but she persisted stubbornly, unwilling to hand over the power in her hands to anyone. "What right do I have to say that?" he thought. "Isn't it time for me to retire?"

Looking at the test results in front of him, John Harry said, "Kate, I wish I could have a body as good as yours." "Don't sound nice, John, what's my problem?" "Age, mainly old age, some arterial problems, and—" "Atherosclerosis?" "Yeah, is that a medical term?" said Dr. Harry. "Anyway, you've got that." "How serious is it?" "I think it's pretty normal for your age. These things are relative." "Can you prescribe some medicine to stop that nasty dizziness? I really don't want to faint in front of a room full of men. I'm a woman and it wouldn't look good."

He nodded. "I don't think it'll be a problem. When are you going to retire, Kate?" "When I have a great-grandson who can take over the whole business." These are two old friends who have known each other for many years.They sat on either side of the desk, looking at each other.John Harry didn't quite agree with Kate, but he had always admired her courage. Kate seemed to read his mind, sighed and said, "John, do you know what the biggest disappointment in my life is? It's Eve. I do care about the child. I wanted to give everything to him. She, but she never cared about anyone but herself."

"You're wrong, Kate, Eve still cares about you." "Caring about a ghost!" "I'm well aware of that. Recently she—" he had to choose his words carefully, "had a terrible accident that nearly killed her." Kate felt her heart flutter, "Why—why didn't you tell me?" "She didn't let me do this, she was afraid that you would worry about her, so she made me swear not to mention a word to you." "Oh, my God." That was a heart-rending cry. "She—is she alright?" Kate's voice was hoarse. "At present, she has recovered."

Kate sat there, staring blankly ahead. "Thank you for telling me, John, thank you very much." "I'll write you a prescription." After finishing the prescription, he looked up and found that Kate Blackwell had left. ※※※ Eve opened the door, and was stunned for a moment. She couldn't believe her eyes. It was her grandma standing at the door. As usual, she was standing upright, refusing to show any signs of weakness. "Can I come in?" Kate asked. Eve stepped aside, a little overwhelmed by what was happening before her eyes, "Of course." Kate walked in and looked around the tiny apartment without comment, "May I sit down?"

"I'm sorry, please sit down. Excuse me—it's too—may I get you something? Tea, coffee, or something?" "No thanks, how are you, Eve?" "Thank you, I'm fine." "I've just come from Dr. Harry and he said you've had a terrible accident." Eve carefully observed her grandmother, not sure what she was going to say next, "Yes..." "He said that you almost died, and that you didn't want him to tell me, because you were afraid that I would worry." So it turned out that Eve had a better idea. "Yes, Grandma."

"I think it shows," Kate's voice broke suddenly, "that--you can still be considerate." Eve was relieved and started to cry. "Of course I am thinking of you, and I am always concerned about you." Afterwards, Eve snuggled into grandma's arms.Kate hugged Eve tightly, her mouth pressed against her blond hair in her lap.Then whispered, "I'm a damned old fool, can you forgive me?" Kate drew out a handkerchief and blew her nose. "I've been so hard on you," she said aloud, "I can't bear it if anything happens to you."

Eve stroked her grandmother's vein-covered hand, and comforted her, "I'm fine, grandma, there's nothing wrong with me." Kate stood up, blinking her tear-filled eyes. "Let's start from scratch, shall we?" She pulled Eve closer to her. "Like your grandfather, I am a bit stubborn. I want to redeem my fault. The first thing to do is to write your name into my will and restore your due inheritance rights." It's all too good to be true! "I—I don't care about the money, I only think about you." "You are all my heirs—you and Alexandra, and I have no relation to you but you two."

"Isn't that nice of me," said Eve, "but if that pleases you—" "That would make me very happy, darling, really very happy. When will you be able to move back home?" Eve hesitated only for a moment. "I think I'd be better off here, but I can see you any time you want. Oh, Grandma, you don't know how lonely I've been." Kate shook her granddaughter's hand and said: "Can you forgive me?" Eve looked her in the eyes and said seriously, "Of course, I can forgive you." ※※※ As soon as Kate left, Eve poured herself a glass of scotch and water before plopping down on the couch, slowly recovering from the unbelievable scene that had just transpired.She almost cried out with excitement that she and Alexandra were the only heirs to the Blackwell estate now, and it would be easy to get rid of Alexandra.Eve is now worried about George Melis, who suddenly becomes a stumbling block.

※※※ "There's been a change in the original plan," Eve said to George. "Kate has put my name in her will again." George was lighting a cigarette, and was stunned when he heard this. "Really? Congratulations." "If anything happened to Alexandra now, people would be suspicious. So we'll deal with her later, and wait—" "I'm afraid it won't be suitable for me in the future." "What's the meaning?" "I'm not stupid, my dear, and if something happens to Alexandra, I'll take her share. You want to get rid of me, don't you?"

Eve shrugged. "Let's put it this way, you don't need to get involved. I'm willing to make a deal with you: you divorce her, and once the money is in my hands, I'll give you—" He laughed. "It's ridiculous, it's not going to work, sweetie, everything is on schedule, nothing can change. Alex and I have an appointment at Dark Harbor on Friday night, and I'll be there on time." ※※※ Alexandra was overjoyed to hear that Eve and her grandmother had reconciled. "Now we're a family again," she said. ※※※ The phone rang. "Hey, I hope I'm not bothering you, Eve. I'm Keith Webster." He calls her two or three times a week, and at first Eve is amused by his stupidity, but lately he's become It's getting more and more annoying. "I don't have time to talk to you," Eve said, "I was just going out." "Oh," he said apologetically, "then I won't hold you back. I have two tickets for next week's rodeo, and I know you like horses, and I thought—" "I'm sorry, but I may be out of town next week." "Oh, that's right." She could hear the disappointment in his voice. "Well, maybe next week or so, I'm going to buy tickets, what would you like to see?" "I've seen it all." Eve said angrily, "I have to go now." She said and hung up the phone.Time to change clothes.She was going to meet the young actor Rory McKenna.She had seen him play in a theater off Broadway.This one was five years her junior, an insatiable stallion...she was looking forward to an exciting evening. ※※※ On the way home, George Melis stopped to buy Alexandra a bouquet.He was elated and triumphant.It's an interesting irony that the old lady put Eve's name in the will again, but it doesn't change anything. After Alexandra was killed, he came to deal with Eve again.Everything was arranged, and on Friday, Alexandra would be waiting for him in Dark Harbor. "Just the two of us," he had begged her once, kissing her, "my dear, send all your servants away, will you?" ※※※ Peter Templeton couldn't get Alexandra Mehlis out of his head.George Mellis's words kept ringing in his ears: "I might take her out of town, I think she needs a change of scenery." Peter's instinct told him that Alexandra was in danger, but he didn't think much of it. There is nothing you can do about it.He couldn't go to Nick Pappas with personal suspicions, because he had no proof. ※※※ Across town, in the office of the president of Kruger-Brent Ltd., Kate Blackwell is signing a new will, leaving most of her fortune to her two granddaughters. ※※※ In upstate New York, in the garden of a nursing home, Tony Blackwell stood before his easel, painting colors as utterly scribbled as if they had been painted by an ignorant child.Tony stepped back, smiling contentedly. ※※※ Friday, 10:57 a.m. LaGuardia Airport.A taxi drove to the Eastern Airlines terminal, and Eve Blackwell stepped out of the car.She gave the driver a hundred dollar bill. "Oh! Ma'am, I can't find it," he said. "Have you any change?" "No." "Then you have to go inside and change it." "I don't have time. I have to catch this flight to Washington." She looked at the watch on her wrist, and then made a decision. "Don't look for it," she said to the startled driver. Eve walked into the terminal in a hurry, and she half-walked and half-runned to the ticket office marked with tickets between Washington and D.C. "A round-trip ticket to Washington," Eve panted. A man looked at the clock overhead and said, "You're two minutes late, the plane is taking off." "I have to catch that flight, I have an appointment to catch—is there no other way?" She panicked. "Don't worry, miss, there is another plane in an hour." "That's—damn it!" He saw her gradually calm down again. "Okay then, I'll wait. Is there a coffee shop here?" "No, ma'am. But there's a coffee machine down the hall." "Thank you." He looked at her back and thought: What a beauty, the guy she was so eager to meet is really enviable. ※※※ Friday, 2 p.m. That would be a second honeymoon, Alexandra thought.The thought thrilled her.Send all the servants away, my angel, I want only the two of us together.We're going to have a great weekend.At this very moment, Alexandra was leaving home to meet George at Dark Harbor.She started a little later than expected, because she had been at a luncheon where she had been too long."I'm leaving," she said to the servant. "Come back Monday morning." When Alexandra came to the front door, the phone rang.I'm late, let it ring. As she thought about it, she hurried out the door. ※※※ Friday, 7 p.m. George Mellis thought over Eve's plan.Not a single bug.A motor boat will be waiting for you at Fair Creek Bay.You take a motorboat to Dal Harbor and be careful not to be seen.Then hitch it to the stern of the Kossel.You took Alexandra on a boat rippling on the blue waves under the bright moonlight.When you come to sea, you can do whatever you want.But George, don't leave any blood.Throw the body into the sea.Then you hop on a jet ski and let the Kessel drift at sea.You take the motorboat back to Fair Creek Bay and catch the Lincoln Valley ferry back to Dark Harbor.Take another taxi to the house, and make an excuse for the driver to go in too, so you can both see that the Coselle is not at the pier.When you can't find Alexandra, you call the police.They couldn't find Alexandra's body because the tide would wash her out to sea.Two reputable doctors will testify - it may have been a suicide. Sure enough, he found the motorboat anchored in Fair Creek Bay, waiting for him as planned. George left the lights on as he crossed the bay, groping his way entirely by moonlight.He passed some yachts moored there but was undetected and arrived safely at the Blackwell family's private dock. He turned off the engine and tied the motorboat firmly to the stern of the large yacht, the Kossel. When George came in, she was waiting for him in the living room, talking to someone on the phone, she waved to him when he came in, put her hand on the receiver and said, "It's Eve. She listened for a while, then said, "Eve, I have to go, my husband just arrived. See you at lunch next week!" She put down the receiver and hurried over to give George a hug. "I'm so glad you came early." "I miss you so much, I put down all my work and came to see you non-stop." She kissed him, "I love you." "I love you too, have you sent all the servants away?" She smiled. "Just the two of us. Can you guess? I made you custard." He lightly brushed her protruding nipples under her silk blouse with his fingers, "Do you know what I was thinking about in the dull office all afternoon? I will take a boat ride with you on the blue waves. The wind here is really strong, let's go out How about playing for an hour or two?" "Of course, if you like, but my custard—" He pressed his hand on her chest, "Can we wait for dinner, I can't wait." she laughed. "Okay then, I'll go and change, and I'll be here right away." "I race with you." He sprinted upstairs to his wardrobe and changed into a pair of baggy trousers, a sweatshirt, and a pair of boat shoes.Now that the time has finally come, his heart is like a raging sea, full of expectations, so excited that he seems to explode. He heard her voice: "Honey, I'm ready." He turned around, but saw her standing at the door, wearing a sweater, a pair of black trousers and a pair of cloth shoes.Her fair hair was tied back with a blue ribbon.My god, she is gorgeous.He sighed, almost regretting that this peerless beauty was about to be destroyed. "I'm ready, too," George told her. She noticed a motorboat hitched to the stern of the yacht. "Honey, what's that for?" "There's a small island at the end of the harbour, and I've always wanted to see it," George explained. "We'll go up there on a motorboat so we won't be afraid of those rocks." He untied the cable and slowly drove the yacht out of the berth.He turned the bow of the boat to the wind and hoisted the mainsail and jib ahead.The boat tackled to starboard.The wind filled the sails, and the "Coselle" began to break through the waves, and George sailed out to sea.After they passed the breakwater, a strong force five wind rushed towards them, the ship began to tilt, and the waves rushed to the rear deck and swept over the side railing of the ship. "This is so much fun and exciting!" she exclaimed. "I'm so happy, darling." "Me too," he said with a smile. Somehow, seeing Alexandra happy, and knowing that she would die in joy, George Melis could not help being relieved.He scanned the horizon carefully to make sure there were no other ships nearby, only a faint light flickering in the distance, and it was time. He put the helm on autopilot, took one last look at the open horizon, and walked to the leeward rail.His heart was pounding with excitement. "Alex," he called, "come and see this!" She walked up to him, then looked down to see the cold, murky water rushing past their feet. "Come here!" His voice sounded like a stern order. She threw herself into his arms, and he kissed her hard on the lips.He wrapped his arms around her and felt her body relax.He tensed his muscles and lifted her up in one jerk, then turned to the rail beside the boat. Suddenly she wrestled with him. "George!" He lifted her higher, and he felt like she was trying to break free, but his strength was too much for her.She was about to be lifted over the railing.Her legs kicked furiously, and he threw all his strength to throw her.At that critical moment, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest, and his first thought was: I have a heart attack.He opened his mouth to speak, but blood gushed out like a fountain.He lowered his arms and looked at his chest in disbelief, only to see that blood was continuously gushing out from a huge wound.He looked up and saw her standing there with a bloody dagger in her hand, smiling at him. George Mellis' last flash was: Eve...