FREE ESSAY ON EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

A Wrongful Death
The theme of the book, Eye of the Beholder, by Jayne Ann Krentz, is to stop and take a
breath before jumping to conclusions.
Twelve years ago, Trask's father was killed in a car accident. He had driven his car off
Avalon Point. Because of the sharp curve, this was not unusual. Everyone in town just
believed that Trask's father was another fatality. Trask knew it was more. He believed
his father's death was murder. 
Trask believed Kenyon had killed his father because of a business deal gone bad. Trask's
father, Kenyon, and Guthrie had been working on the deal for months. Trask's father had
found a problem and believed the plan would cause the men to go bankrupt. With this
information, Trask's father decided to take his money and get out of the deal. 
Immediately after Trask found out about his father's death, he went to Kenyon's home.
Trask went with his gun in hand. He wasn't sure of his own plans; he only knew that
someone was going to pay for his father's death. Probably for the best of them all, Alexa
walked into the room in time to see Trask pull out his gun. Trask left when Alexa got to
the phone and threatened to call the police. 
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The opening of the newest of the Avalon hotel chain couldn't have been planned more
perfectly. Trask knew it was perfect. He had been in the business for years and was quite
good. So far, all of his hotel's had been a great success. He was unsure of this one
though. Most of the town believed that if Trask ever did come back, it would be for
revenge. Trask had left the night of his father's death and hadn't been seen since. Many
had heard of the successful business man he had become and praised him for it.
The night of the opening ceremony, Alexa was upstairs by herself. She knew Trask would be
at the hotel and had done her best to avoid him. Everyone in town believed Trask was back
for revenge and had chosen this sight for a hotel as an excuse. Alexa felt she would be
the last person Trask needed to see. If there was any contact, she hoped Trask wouldn't
recognize her.
While upstairs, Alexa looked over the artwork. Trask, who recognized Alexa immediately,
entered the room. They talked briefly before Trask commented on how she had changed.
Alexa couldn't believe it. She had hoped and prayed Trask wouldn't remember her. To her
surprise, he asked her out. She agreed, but only because she hoped to get information
about what he was really in town for. 
At dinner, Alexa tried to bring back the past. Every attempt was unsuccessful until the
last one. Trask finally explained to her that he did still believe his father's death
wasn't an accident but had accepted it. If he could find out the truth, he would.
While walking out of the restaurant, a limo pulled up. It was Guthrie. Guthrie expressed
his feeling for Trask by telling him to get out of town. There was nothing seriously
threatening 
about it, but the two felt threatened. 
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Alexa and Trask went back to the hotel to talk things through. Deciding to work together,
the two shared and analyzed the information they had compiled. Trask now knew that
Alexa's father had nothing to do with the murder but instead blamed Guthrie. Alexa wasn't
so quick to blame Guthrie. She had found evidence leading to Webster Bell. He was the man
who owned the Dimensions Institute. She had just recently discovered that the business
deal was one supporting Bell's Institute. She was also good friend's with Webster Bell's
sister, Joanna. Joanna had been acting weird since Trask had returned home.
Alexa headed home that night with a lot on her mind, and she was still up when the phone
rang at 2:30. She contemplated answering the phone but decided to. It might have been
Trask. The voice on the other end was raspy and harsh. It warned her to stay away from
Trask.
The next morning, Alexa and Joanna finished their tea and got ready to open their shops.
They each owned a little shop in the Avalon Mall. Alexa told Joanna about her dinner with
Trask and about the late night calls. She skipped a few details about the plans to work
together and solve the problem she and Trask had encountered. 
A few days went by. Alexa and Trask decided to have dinner again. This time they prepared
and ate the dinner at Alexa's house. After dinner, Trask was sitting on the back porch
when he heard a loud crash. Together, Alexa and Trask headed toward the sound of the
accident. A car had gone over Avalon Point. It was Guthrie. The police took statements
from Trask and Alexa.
Guthrie was dead and had driven off the same point Trask's father had. Upon discovering
this, Trask didn't know what to think. He was sure Guthrie had had something to do with
his father's death. Alexa had decided it was time to tell him everything that she knew
about Webster 
4
Bell. She explained how angry he had been when he discovered the men were thinking about
backing out. Trask immediately jumped to conclusions. He wanted to find out all he could
about Guthrie and Bell. 
Alexa continued to get phone calls between two and three o'clock in the morning. Each had
threatened her to stay away from Trask. She finally decided to tell Trask about the
calls. He assumed they were some how tied into the deaths. 
One morning before work, Alexa got a call. It was Joanna asking Alexa to take care of her
shop. Alexa agreed but was worried. At her lunch break, Alexa called Joanna and got no
answer. She decided to drive to Joanna's home. 
Alexa knocked without a reply and decided to peek in the windows. Joanna was passed out
on the floor. Alexa found the key and car inside. The smell of gas filled the room. Alexa
called 911 and dragged Joanna outside. While dragging her, a bottle fell out of Joanna's
robe pocket. It was an empty bottle of prescription tranquilizers. A few minutes before
the emergency help arrived, Joanna woke. She was falling in and out of consciousness. In
between, Joanna apologized repeatedly. Alexa was barely able to understand, but she did
understand that Joanna was telling her something about Guthrie and Bell working together
for the Dimensions Institute. 
Guthrie had killed Trask's father. Guthrie and Bell's plan was working ad almost
complete. Bell had began to get greedy so he killed Guthrie. Both murders had worked out
perfectly because of Avalon Point. Joanna also apologized for making the phone calls. She
explained that the reason she had taken the pills was because she could handle the burden
of it any longer. 
5
Immediately after the ambulance arrived, Trask pulled up. After Joanna had been taken 
away, Alexa called Webster Bell. She told him what had happened to his sister.
After hanging up the phone, Alexa told Trask all Joanna had told her. She wanted to head
to the police station, but Trask reminded her that they had no evidence. 
That night, they broke into Bell's office using a key they had found at Joanna's house.
It didn't take long before they had found what they needed. There was a file with copies
of Guthrie's will, Trask's father's will, and graphs so show what would be done with the
money after the men died. 
The two had been successful but still hadn't found a way to get Bell convicted. They
couldn't tell the authorities about breaking into the office. Trask used his influence in
the business world. He called an friend of his, Dylan Fenn, who happened to be a private
investigator. Fenn agreed to do research on the case but explained that he needed time. 
A week later, there was an article in the newspaper telling about the Dimension Institute
scandal. Trask was looked upon as a hero to the town. Because of the new hotel and his
relationship with Alexa, he decided he could stick around for a while.