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Page 266
ing your flunky. I tampered with cars and elevators, even set up an incendiary device to start a fire in what I thought was still your bedroomand you always got away."
Abby swallowed at the fury that narrowed Mike's eyes as he asked, "You tampered with what car?"
Lowell gave a crazy little laugh. "Yours, of course, the night of that fancy little pretheater party of yours last winter. You were talking about all your plans for Arlen's Kitchensthings I never heard aboutwithout even getting my opinion, let alone my ideas. I didn't mean for Dixie to get hurt, but it was okay. When she was gone, when you were so depressed and had no one else, I figured you'd kill yourself and leave the chain to Ruth and me. And Ruth I can manage."
Abby heard Mike's uneven breathing. He was growing so angry that he was liable to try anything. Facing a madman, that could be fatal.
But at least any guilt Mike might have harbored for causing Dixie's death must surely now have evaporated, cast into oblivion by Lowell's confession.
"But you're like a cat with nine lives," Lowell whined, this time using the fingers of his free hand to scoot his glasses up to the bridge of his nose. "You escaped all my traps. I could have cried when you told us at the office about your little episode with the bee sting. Had I known, maybe I could have gotten rid of your medical kit or put something else in the container. I finally

 
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