Salem
A couple days later
"You expecting something Dad?"
The sound of Rex's voice brought a smile that brightened Tony's face. "A delivery," he answered, turning from where he'd been staring out of the French doors in the living room to see Rex coming in from the foyer. "Yes." It was still early and he was only halfway through his first cup of morning coffee and hadn't expected to see either of the twins for another hour or so but Rex it appeared was wide awake, though still in his robe. Tony wondered if he'd spent all night working on his computer.
"Business?" asked Rex curiously, noting the Salem postmark on the top of the envelope he had in his hands as he carried it over to Tony.
Tony nodded his thanks but otherwise ignored the question, taking the envelope and slipping it into his pocket as he took another swallow of his coffee and gestured in the direction of the table, offering Rex some breakfast.
"Why do you always do that?"
Meeting his son's gaze with a practiced ease that was beginning to wear thin after the last several months, Tony turned back to the scene that beckoned outside. For some reason this morning it reminded him of Kirsten. That happened so rarely anymore that the memories took him by surprise and soon he'd found himself remembering a horseback ride they'd taken on just such a morning as this, down along the edge of the lake which had been so still it gleamed with a magnificent luster, the entire surface radiating the sun so that it transformed the scene into something magical...
"I wish you'd stop treating me as though I'm naïve…still a child just because of the way I was raised…can't you at least allow me to learn about the family business?"
The boy's wounded pride was blatantly apparent in the accusation, and he was right. Tony was going to have to think of something to appease him. If not, Rex would no doubt finagle a way of getting involved on his own and while the prospect of watching his son demonstrate the abilities that Tony knew he possessed in spades rather appealed to him, it would hardly be the most intelligent move, not with this father lurking.
Tony had tossed a fit about Cassie's newest venture into the world of reality television but he'd also been the one praying for something to keep her occupied, and though this wasn't what he had it mind, he had to admit it was working. She'd even stopped the constant hints and suggestions whenever they were together about Marlena and how he could get closer to her if he'd just put a little more effort into his wooing when they were together instead of arguing about John, and as usual, the thought of Marlena reminded him that Anna would be arriving in less than a week. That thought made him sigh with longing and a touch of resignation.
"I'm not that hopeless, am I?"
Crestfallen, Rex eyed him, seemingly waiting for a verdict or the preverbal ax to fall and instantly Tony felt guilty. "Of course not, but this isn't business, nor is it anything you need to worry about, son."
That didn't go over so well either as he could see Rex considered it a dodge. "Are you ever going to trust us?"
Rex had his share of normal male inhibitions and had displayed his prickly nature on a number of occasions but his emotions remained closer to the surface than most boys his age, and he wasn't afraid to show them. His disappointment was obvious now so that Tony felt a complete heel and knowing he was doing all of this to keep both of the twins safe didn't help diminish his guilt, which in turn made him curse his father even more vehemently. God, he hated this ridiculous balancing act he'd been doing his damndest to maintain since he'd come back from the compound. It made him feel even dirtier than operating that whorehouse.
"I trust both you and your sister completely but this involves my past…my mistakes. The idea of them effecting you and Cassie may be inevitable in the eyes of some, but I'd rather not contribute to that situation if I can help it."
"And why would knowing about your past change anything for us?"
"Well, for one thing, knowing the family secrets has destroyed a number of your relatives."
He could see from the look on his son's face that Rex was thinking back to the conversation they'd all had before Colin's wake a few months earlier, after the twins had discovered the family Bible and plied him with questions about the old photographs tucked inside, and about the past…
"I told you a few of the details about what happened to my wife, and there were others."
"The one who is dead…the one John stole from you."
Tony sighed, and took another swallow of his coffee that was quickly growing cold. "He was part of it, yes, but there were others as well and…" Pausing, he met his son's fervent gaze and silently debated with himself about how much he could afford to tell him at this point because Rex was showing signs lately of wanting to prove himself in ways that made Tony nervous. If the boy got wind that his old mentor was tied to Andre…or learned any of what Andre and Rolf had been responsible for, especially when it came to his mother or Cassie, Tony feared Rex's need for payback might consume him. "Those involved aren't really the issue," he said, trying to diffuse the tension with a shrug, "it's just personal, and a mess I don't want to involve you and your sister in. John is your stepfather. Whatever I feel about him, your mother cares for him very deeply and I don't want to put the two of you in the middle.
A frown slowly creased his son's face. "But wouldn't it be better if you told us before it all came out in public, like at the wake for Shawn's cousin?"
Reminding Tony of Colin's wake was the wrong thing to do and his temper kicked in. "Enough," he snapped, brushing past Rex to slam his cup down onto the table and he stood, staring down with unseeing eyes as he fumed once more at that impossible situation he found himself mired in and what it was doing to his children. Damn his father, but he was sick to death of lying to these two, of being forced to manipulate them, and worse, living in fear everyday that nothing he did would be enough to keep them safe from his cousin, or Stefano.
"Tony, I….look, I'm sorry, but it just seems that whatever this feud is between you and John, it's not going to disappear anytime soon, no matter how Marlena feels about him and it would be easier to understand why you're both so angry, and why he's so threatened by us…by our entire family if you'd…I don't know…share some of what happened between the two of you."
"What happened." Tony shook his head with disgust. "That's a story that never bloody well ends..." but his voice trailed off.
"I'll settle for the abbreviated version," said Rex with a persistence that was a trait Tony recognized but wasn't thrilled with at the moment.
"You've already heard that…he seduced my wife and once he had her, he…" Tony had to stop suddenly to keep his voice from cracking under the strain of all the old feelings that came flooding back, most notably the intense hatred that nearly overwhelmed him. What was going on with him this morning? He hadn't let any of this upset him in this way or take control of him for months now.
"Tony…"
A hand rested itself tentatively on his shoulder.
"Are you alright?"
Squeezing his eyes shut, Tony concentrated, willing himself to find a calm center within and cling to it, and as the minutes ticked by, it slowly began to have the desired effect, though he didn't turn to face Rex, when he answered him. "Thank you, and yes I'm …I'll be fine."
Despite the steady voice he'd managed, he could feel his son's eyes burning into him. "Is it really you John hates, or is this a way for him to convey the anger he had for Grandfather?"
The question took Tony by surprise and straightening up, he reached for the pot of coffee and poured another cup. "Why would you think that?" he asked, turning from the table and with only a brief glance at his son, walked back the French doors and the view he felt drawn to, despite the grief it was dredging up.
"John's made no secret of his loathing for Stefano…he and the Bradys always…well, the insults they hurl in your direction carry such resentment as though, despite Stefano being gone, they can't seem to let go, and I get the impression that you've become a convenient substitute for them."
Tony could feel his eyes begin to burn as he listened to his son's quiet assessment of craziness he'd witnessed almost on a daily basis over the last few months. "John has his reasons…more than ample reasons for his attitude when it comes to Stefano, but that's not the reason he hates me," said Tony, still choosing his words carefully. "That was personal and it had nothing to do with my father, though he'd like to excuse his behavior even now by convincing himself and anyone else willing to listen that he had justification, and that, what he feared from the beginning when I arrived back in Salem, came to pass because I am my father's son." The last few words betrayed the fierce animosity Tony was beginning to think he'd never be rid of until either he or John were finally dead.
"But that's….ah, confusing. I mean, how could he know how you'd react if the two of you had never met?"
"He couldn't…" Tony clenched his jaw until it ached, as the memories of the day he and Kristen married came flooding back. "But he wanted her and it wouldn't have mattered who I was…being Stefano's son gave him a weapon to use, but he would have invented another in order to get what he wanted…Kristen, only when he'd finally claimed his prize, and everything between Kristen and I had been utterly destroyed, he chose your mother instead."
Rex apparently had no idea of how to respond to what he'd just heard and silence descended through the room, an oddly companionable one and Tony allowed it to continue as he knew how confusing all this must be for a boy who'd spend most of his life in isolation. Finally, he glanced back from where he stood, resting against the doorframe and their eyes met.
Tony could see that his son hadn't even suspected what was coming and with some difficulty, he managed to contain his bitter smile at the thought that Rex would be more shocked to hear John capable of such behavior. John…that paragon of virtues that all others in this community were measured by. "Difficult to imagine of Belle's father, eh?"
"No," returned Rex a little too quickly but Tony was thankful for the lie anyway. "I…I guess what I find difficult to understand is how my mother could treat you as suspiciously as she does if…" he paused in confusion and then, "doesn't she care what…"
"John did?" Tony finished for him when Rex couldn't bring himself to ask on his own and he watched his son nod mutely. "To be honest, I don't know and…" he sucked in a deep breath, "Your mother has changed over the years since I first met her and to be fair, Stefano was responsible for a great deal of that, for the horrors in her life, so that I'm sure it was inevitable that, despite his faults, John would be the one she trusted, and I would be suspect…always capable of nefarious motives even if I wasn't actually guilty."
"Because of Stefano."
The indignation in his son's voice was impossible to miss. "Yes and you didn't know your grandfather the way your mother did, or the rest of us. There is good reason…"
"To excuse her husband's vile behavior because of your father?"
"I know how this must sound to you Rex, but the situation wasn't that simple and your mother loves John…" Tony paused and smiled sadly, "Love excuses many things."
Rex didn't reply immediately. Instead he gazed back searching Tony's face but not giving away any hint as to what he might be thinking. "That's the part about this mess I don't' know how to accept, that John's problem with you and me and Cassie for that matter, is all because of a man I don't even remember…."
"No Rex," Tony quickly cut in before could get any further, "John is worried about what Stefano planned to do with you and Cassie...that is the reason he fears you and has had such difficulty accepting you as Marlena's children and as for him and I…well, that is another matter entirely and no longer has much to do with Stefano. My father is dead after all."
"Except in everyone's imagination."
Tony quickly turned back to the window to hide the grin that sprang to his lips. The boy had a keen eye when it came to the hypocrisy displayed by the law-abiding citizens of Salem. What he'd give to be able to confide in him but that was out of the question and as much as he hated the situation they were all stuck in, his only real option remained the one he and Shane were pursuing, though knowing what that was going to do to Rex and Cassie made him sick inside. They were going to hate him.
"Dad."
Not trusting himself to face Rex, Tony stayed where he was and said, "Yes?"
"How…do you really feel about my mother?"
Tony rolled his eyes in disgust at the thought of having to discuss this subject again. Something else he was sick of frankly. Sick of talking about it, and thoroughly sick of trying to figure out a way to explain what the hell he felt, other than guilt and shame and regret and his son was the last person on a rather long list of those that he had any desire to share his confusion with, though the boy did deserve some kind of answer.
"Worried," he said simply, looking over his shoulder at his son who in turn shook his head in confusion.
"Because of us?"
"Not exactly and I'm not going to say anything else about this subject," he continued, letting his tone become flat and distant. "I'm sorry Rex, but you need to stay out of the antagonism between John and I, and just concentrate on the relationship you and Cassie are developing with your mother. That's what important right now, making up for lost time."
"Why?" came his instant and very suspicious reply.
"Why what?"
"Well, it almost sounds as though you believe there is something or someone out that that could take it all away."
If this was what raising children entailed, this constant deflecting he was having to keep up nearly every moment of every damn day, Tony wasn't all that sure he was turning out to be great parenting material and for the tiniest second, he wondered how many times his own father had dealt with such frustrations. "Staying on your toes is never a bad thing in this family but it wasn't my intention to suggest there is trouble ahead…"
"Except for you and John."
The sigh that slipped out of Tony was agitated and he could feel his temper beginning to fray at the edges once again. "The man has made his intentions obvious, despite a number of overtures on my part…."
"None of which were undertaken for his benefit." Rex didn't even make it a question and Tony's face hurt from keeping the emotions boiling within him from erupting.
"No."
"And if my mother wasn't involved?"
Though Tony could answer this honestly, it felt like a half-truth as he uttered the words, "Marlena wasn't at the bottom of what started this mess and there isn't anything she can do to put an end to it either, and John simply refuses. I honestly don't see that changing unless he were to miraculously retrieve what my father stole from him in the first place…his past."
"And is that what was in that package that came this morning?" Rex guessed shrewdly.
Tired of all the lying he'd been compelled to do, especially with his children, Tony merely stood and stared back at Rex and pleaded with him silently to let this go.
Oddly enough, Rex didn't seem as hurt as when Tony brushed him off the first time, though he also seemed on the verge of pressing the issue but at that moment, came the ringing of the door bell and his expression immediately shifted and mumbling, "excuse me," he hurried off to answer it.
Tony figured he probably ought to be concerned about whatever it was Rex was so eagerly expecting but after their conversation, he was relieved. Let the boy return to his project. He could hear bits and pieces of the short conversation and the door shut and a moment later, Rex stuck his head in the living room.
"I have to finish something upstairs. You don't mind if I run out on breakfast with you I hope."
"Only as long as you don't skip it entirely."
"No, I'll ask Bart to bring me up something." And worried perhaps that Tony would change his mind and begin inquiring into what he was busy working on, he turned and disappeared, presumably upstairs to his room.
The sense Tony got that the boy was lying to him, or keeping his own secrets had explain the bizarre glimmer in his son's dark eyes that reminded him of his ex-wife, though maybe it was just the fact that everything this morning seemed to bring back memories of her…the way she's tossed her head, laughing as her hair spun and danced in the wind, like a halo that caught the light radiating off the lake, riding in front of him…
Tony tried to blot out the sight, but shutting his eyes only brought the memory into focus with more clarity. The vivid quality of it sharpened his senses and he could hear her voice and smell every scent…the crispness of the air mingled with that of his horse, and the vegetation trampled beneath the pounding hooves on their headlong race from the house to the shore of the lake, and as he caught up to her, the aroma of her perfume…one he'd not thought about in years and yet it was as distinctive to him now as the first day she'd opened his gift and put it on and before he was aware of it, tears began rolling down his face.
What the hell had brought this all on so abruptly…surely not the mere sight of the lake and how it shone this morning, uncanny though the imitation appeared to be, or was someone playing with his mind again?
"Damn it," he muttered, tearing his eyes from the window, though seeing the table set for breakfast in the same spot they'd always eaten together didn't help to banish the sight and smell of her from his mind, or the feelings it was generating. There wasn't anywhere he could go in this house to scour them away...every corner of it could produce its own set of images and yet in the months since his return, he'd rarely experienced the feelings crowding in on him now, the way he had after she'd left him and he'd lived in a house literally haunted by her presence. "This is absurd," he told himself and he glared at the empty space around him. It wasn't as though he'd chosen her or literally survived hell for just the chance to spend time in her company as he had with Renee and Anna, or defied his father to do so…but even as the rationalizations piled one on top of another, he scowled at himself in disgust.
Perhaps it was Stefano's idea in the beginning, but Tony had still made a conscious choice and it was hardly Kristen's fault if she'd been used as some pawn in the old man's games. It certainly was not a reason to minimize the feelings they'd shared. No matter what she'd done, he still couldn't find it in his heart to blame her for his own weaknesses. That was something Stefano would do…assign blame to avoid accepting his own failure.
Tony swallowed past the lump in his throat and the irony almost made him laugh. "Is that what you're doing Kristen?" he whispered, walking back to the view that beckoned through the French doors with all it's alluring and bittersweet memories.
The angle of the sun as it bounced off the glassy still water created the most amazing effect along the shoreline where the line of trees stood, bare of any foliage but aglow as though the branches were lit from within, making them iridescent and altogether a vision of enchantment. A breathtaking illusion.
And that was what his life with Kristen had been, an illusion from beginning to end though even illusions left their scars…and provided their measure of painful lessons…
Of course it wasn't so much a matter of being honest with Anna he knew, as it was about being honest with himself and for the first time since he'd returned from the compound he faced his problem in the one way he'd avoided so far…what did the past he and Marlena share together mean to him…not for his children, or his wife or brother, or anyone else caught in this situation but simply how did he honestly feel about her?
He'd slept with her.
He'd slept with plenty of women after divorcing Anna but there wasn't a single one of them whose name he remembered.
And none of them were the mother of his children.
Nor were they married to his brother…a man whose purpose in Salem, Tony was beginning to realize was still a total mystery…a man he utterly despised, who'd cheated his way into love with Marlena and Kristen and hurt both of them…
"And who are you kidding," he told himself with a sneer. It wasn't as though he'd done any better, as if he would have married Kristen or stayed loyal to her if he believed for a single instant that any real chance existed for him and Anna…and then Marlena, who at time of their brief fling had been married and so very desperate for any companionship other than his father's. What an utter cad he'd been, not to mention a fool and how the hell was he going to explain to Anna how he felt when he wasn't even willing to face his own answers.
So what did he feel for Marlena? Affection…concern…love…obligation…or was it more a matter of guilt? That was something neither of them had a shortage of in their lives and the connection did exist between them for whatever reason and that seemed as good as any other. He didn't feel about her the way he felt about Anna…the fascination that hadn't faded with time or distance, or the longing that had been his one constant companion over the years, nor did he feel even a hint of the almost unbearable obsession that lay at the heart of what he'd shared with Renee, and yet he couldn't simply pretend the tie was a figment of his imagination, not any longer.
He did give a damn about what she thought, even though it irked him.
Worse yet, he found himself making excuses for the way she blindly accepted her husband's fears and humored his paranoia of everything remotely connected to the DiMeras. Yes, she had plenty of history to back it up, even if some of it was a matter of purposely ignoring the facts that might otherwise complicate her relationship to a man who's own history was nothing more than a gaping black hole, and after the things she'd said and done over the past nine months, he ought to hate her guts now that he knew the truth….only he couldn't.
Perhaps that was a good sign. If this had been Anna, he would have been out for her blood at just the idea that she would wish to hurt him but as he thought about the two women, he suspected it wasn't that simple. Marlena was nothing like Anna. For better or worse, his wife was a woman ruled by her passions, and her uncanny ability to land on her feet. He'd called her a little mercenary once and the description was quite apt, but then he wasn't much better. They understood each other's faults, and appreciated them.
Marlena didn't look at character flaws in the same way, as though they might make a person more intriguing. For all of her own faults, it seemed she'd grown less tolerant over the years because to her, flaws were those pesky things a person was supposed to fix, or at least overcome and Tony knew deep down there was a philosophy that would grate on him. Yes, he was the first to recognize there were mitigating circumstances but hypocrisy was the one sin he had difficulty putting up with and Marlena Evans Black displayed hers like a badge on honor lately, which was all the more reason why he ought to hate her.
So what the hell was wrong with him?
Why, in God's name, did he continue hoping that she was going to change her mind, or make an effort to see beyond her husband's bias…see what she'd always been able to recognize in the past when it came to Stefano and the joy he took in manipulating any and all of the situations he touched, and as the wish materialized, he knew that was a large part of his problem.
He kept hoping this Marlena, the one he'd found on his return would change, become the woman he'd respected once, the one with a brain as well as a heart and soul.
He missed that woman, the one who had been loyal but still sharp enough that she hadn't been blinded by her feelings for any man, Back at the compound all those years ago…after learning that John was not Roman…she not used her feelings as an crutch to whitewash his past. For all of her speeches about the healing power of love and somewhat romantic inclinations, she'd been as much a realist as Alice Horton and no amount of pain had seduced her into believing otherwise…so what happened to her…
Stefano's incessant hounding? Stefano manipulating her life at every turn until she'd simply clung to the one person in her life who was willing to fight the old bastard at her side, accepting the unquestioning loyalty she believed went with it?
That was the obvious explanation.
Unfortunately there was another one, though he didn't really like contemplating the thought of it.
Rolf.
The fact was, Stefano couldn't have erased Marlena's memories without the doctor's assistance and Tony had no illusions left when it came to his family's resident mad scientist. Fear of Stefano hadn't stopped him from threatening to unleash his men to gang rape her, so Tony seriously doubted that messing with her mind would have caused Rolf so much as a moment's worth of guilt or trepidation.
Considering such behavior left him feeling nauseous and to his surprise, Tony realized he still had a hard time trying to fathom the evil his father had unleashed on all of them. First Andre and then Rolf, all in the name of what? Despite the number of months since coming out of his coma, and the things he and Shane had learned, he still didn't have a clear picture, just lose ends that didn't relate to each other, and problems that were dammed inconvenient, like the one he was wrestling with currently.
Course, he couldn't exactly blame what had happened between him and Marlena on his father, not completely anyhow.
As with Kristen, he'd made his own choice.
"Alright," he murmured, focusing on the brilliance of the lake's surface again, "so I know the two of you didn't end up the best of friends, but I don't want to hurt her as I hurt you so many times…" and as the words created tiny patches of steam on the inside of the window, the complete absurdity of the situation registered and his own laughter echoed in the empty room, though it was painful to his ears. He'd come so damn close before only to have the love he'd fought for slip through his fingers and the idea of it happening again, all because of a woman that despised him, who he didn't want or need, or suspect he'd even be able to tolerate was maddening. It was Anna he wanted in his life, not Marlena, but he sensed it wouldn't that easy to untangle the mess that he was at least partially responsible for which had taken place back at the compound in the aftermath of the twins' birth.
He'd made a choice then, right or wrong, and that choice came with history and feelings he couldn't simply ignore just because Marlena didn't remember any of it.
Like his brother, he'd been through this before, having to maneuver between two complicated women, absolutely certain at the time he'd loved one and not the other only to discover eventually what an imbecile he'd been because of his own stubborn pride.
As well, he'd heard plenty of stories about how Kristen changed after his 'death,' but he also had no doubts about his brother's feelings when it came to Marlena, more so now with the memories Marlena had confided to him years ago, so that he was certain no matter what Kirsten would have done, John leaving her was inevitable and he had to wonder how John lived with that fact…or did he excuse it with the memory of Kristen's slippery fall from grace?
John might believe he could do that without consequences but Tony knew better having lived with the memory of Renee's death for twenty years.
The past never truly disappeared, even if a person had no knowledge of it, and if their memories were intact, it wove though the present in ways so subtle, its existence was nearly impossible to detect until it was too late and Tony refused to tread that road again.
Eugene was right; love could not survive without honor.
Somehow he was going to have to explain Marlena to his very jealous and insecure Contessa...try to explain a tie he couldn't simply cut and be done with as though it never happened at all which ought to be quite amusing since this was more a matter of intuition than anything else. Those short couple of months weighed on his conscious. How utterly transformed the thread running through all of their lives would have been if only he'd done things differently…taken her or Sebastian's advice more seriously. Perhaps it wouldn't have changed things between him and his brother but it might have prevented Kristen's death, and his children would have had parents who loved them instead of Rolf…and Marlena…who he'd given his word to…she would have known her children and had the chance to raise them instead of imagining the hell they endured with his father.
The mess may not have been of his design, but the minute he'd walked onto that compound and found her there, and made the choice to stay, the responsibility for her safety became his, and he'd failed, and that was a burden he couldn't live with.
"And damn it, you've been counting on that, haven't you Father," he muttered, more than thoroughly disgusted with himself and the entire situation. He had to find a way out from under Stefano's thumb.
Hopefully, Andre was about to do that for him. Tony had been rolling this scenario around in his mind ever since he'd spoken to Shane and seen the tape his cousin had made in Aremid because Andre was the wild card here, with his own agenda and given Shane's speculations when it came to his cousin's attitude towards John, Tony sensed that he was the one who might unravel Stefano's schemes. He'd been willing back on the island to spill the whole story to both Tony and Marlena before passing out due to loss of blood, so what if he'd found another way?
Pulling out the envelope that had arrived earlier, he carried it and his empty cup back to the table and sat, wondering as he did so what Roman and Bo would think if they were to discover the answer to some of their questions had been right under their noses at the station, locked up with the rest of Raymond Grant's files since the day of lawyer's murder last December. Tony shook his head at the ability of the Salem PD to overlook the obvious, and grinned as he ripped open the package. Inside was a sheath of papers…a copy of the will he'd supposedly written and stashed in the safe deposit box before his death in 1995 and with it, a smaller envelope addressed to his father.
"Yes," and he breathed a sigh. "So, just what did you cook up for Stefano, cousin?"
It wasn't sealed and inside, a single sheet of Tony's own stationary bore a handwritten message.
November 1995
Uncle,
Of all the things I will miss, the sight of your face as you read your destiny…the fate you have brought down upon yourself and the rest of the family is what I crave to see and I must admit to having indulged myself for at last several days, imagining its ultimate conclusion.
Cry woe, destruction, ruin, and decay-
The worst is death, and death will have his day…
…all but you that is, because you, Stefano…you will survive and suffer as you and your wife's bastard have made me suffer all these years, doing your best to turn my life into a living hell.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping
than you can understand.
Farewell.
Beneath the closing, were two more lines, the name and address of the hospital in Switzerland where Tony had spent the last seven years of his life, languishing in the coma Andre and Rolf has put him in, and leaning back in his chair, he stared at the faded script, marveling how his existence had come down to the words written on a page between two men who hated each other more bitterly than they hated him…a thoroughly self-indulgent and morbid observation, he chided himself. Reading the note again, he did recognize the last quote…Yeats, and beyond the literal interpretation, immediately understood it implied something neither he nor Shane had considered.
His brother had in some way been involved with Colin's fate, to the point that Andre blamed John for his son's death.
Unbidden came the words Andre had spoken on the tape…He has the potential to be very different from the man we think we know. He is capable of great evil. He is capable of killing without the twinge of conscious…"
As the words echoed in his head, Tony rose and wandered back over to the French doors where the magnificent view of the lake and the trees lingered. He could still sense her presence. And with it, came frustration and unmitigated rage such as he'd not experienced since that first terrible instant he discovered the truth of what had transpired between John and his wife.
