Chapter Sixteen
Juliette should have felt better after sending Bonnie home, but her sense of foreboding kept growing. She’d even been convinced that Bonnie had nothing to do with Leanne’s plot to kill the twins. The police had questioned Bonnie thoroughly already, of course. And she seemed concerned about leaving Juliette and Gunther to tend to the twins alone, and was willing to help.
But she didn’t make an issue of it the way someone might have if they were supposed to stay there and do something sinister. Her concern seemed genuine, as did her delight to find she’d still be getting paid for her time off. She left after reminding Juliette that she could call her anytime and she’d come back.
Bonnie hadn’t been the problem. She wasn’t what made Juliette’s skin itch as the hairs stood on end, her tiger pacing and fretting that something was simply wrong.
Wilhelm had called before they lifted off, and Juliette had worried that maybe her sense of something about to happen was related to him. She’d questioned him about the plane and pilot, about Sven and anyone else close to him. But he owned the plane and the pilot and Sven were longtime employees he had full confidence in. He trusted them in a way he hadn’t Leanne, because he hadn’t known her at all.
He’d convinced Juliette there was no need to worry about Sven or his pilot. He even had the plane double-checked without resistance, as if he understood just how much caution was necessary.
She couldn’t wait for him to get back and tell her all that had gone on in Aspen.
But more than that, Juliette was sure she had to get out of that house.
A change of scenery would ease her mind. The babies had recently been fed and would be content for a while, and weren’t car rides supposed to lull babies to sleep anyway? They had a double stroller and all the supplies she could have needed, so she asked Gunther if he’d mind if they went to Bonbon for a while, at least until Wilhelm got back.
“I’m supposed to do whatever you want, Juliette,” Gunther said with a smile. “Or Wilhelm will have my head on a plaque on his wall. I’ll start packing the car.”
She told him which things to take and which to leave, grateful that he wasn’t fighting her on leaving. “Do you feel at all uneasy here, Gunther? It’s a beautiful home, but I just need to be somewhere else.” It hadn’t bothered her when Wilhelm was there. She’d spent the night without hesitation. Now, it seemed too dark and bleak.
Gunther loaded the double stroller into the trunk of his car. “I’ve always been uncomfortable here, but after what’s happened, even more so.”
“I know, but I mean today. Do you feel like something’s wrong?”
Gunther stopped for a moment and looked at the mansion. “Maybe? It’s hard to tell with all the bad feelings surrounding this place.”
They put the babies in their car seats in the back of the Mercedes, and Gunther patted his pockets. “Wilhelm should be touching down at any second. I’ll let him know we’ll be at your shop.” He checked his inside pockets. “Must have left my phone on the table.”
As Gunther headed back inside, Juliette pulled her phone out. “I’ll call him while you’re getting it.” She closed the back door on Thomas’ side and turned her back to the car as she dialed Wilhelm’s number. It might not go through if he was still in the air, but she’d probably be able to leave a message.
It was still ringing when a loud click sounded through the air, and she and Gunther both froze for a split second.
The front windows and doors of the mansion exploded outward. Glass, wood, and brick flying through the air narrowly missed her, and the blast knocked Gunther backward. He caught himself and stayed upright, but turned and dove toward Juliette, screaming, “Get down!”
Another blast, louder than the first, sent more shrapnel peppering the front lawn and driveway, pinging off the car. Glass cracked, and Juliette managed to see past Gunther that the passenger side window had shattered in a tight spiderweb of lines.
Both babies cried inside the car, and she scrambled to get out from beneath Gunther to check on them. When they stood to see the flaming, smoking ruins of what was once a gorgeous mansion, Juliette’s breath caught.
If not for the sheer extravagance of it, with its circular driveway and long walk to the front door with hedges and statuary, they could have all been killed. If they’d been twenty or thirty feet closer to the blast, maybe even the babies in the car . . .
She rushed around to the opposite side of the car and pulled Leah out. Juliette passed her to Gunther before crawling across the seat and picking up Thomas.
“There could be more,” Gunther said, pushing her to hurry down the drive as far away from the mansion as possible. Gunther spied her phone where she’d dropped it during the blast and snatched it from the ground. He held it up. The screen was badly damaged, but it was on.
“I’ll try 911,” he said as they rushed away from the burning mansion. Juliette held Thomas tightly to her and thanked whatever gods were listening that she’d felt the need to get out of that house when she had.