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. 2 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. 3 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.