by Kay Hooper
“Ignore him. You look fine. Gorgeous, in fact.”
Laura looked at Josie’s long dress, which was a stunning silvery sheath, then glanced down at her own elegant black dress and couldn’t help but laugh at the color reversal. “Thanks, so do you.”
“Transformations,” Alex noted lazily as he leaned on the bar, “are fascinating, don’t you think?”
“Not if you’re the one transforming,” Laura told him ruefully.
“Amen,” Josie said.
“Uncomfortable,” Laura said with a nod.
Josie sighed. “To say the least. And unnerving to not know yourself anymore.”
“To not be able to control yourself,” Laura murmured, she thought under her breath, and sipped her drink.
Alex began to laugh.
“Bastard,” Josie said affably.
“Sorry, sweet, but if you two could see your faces!”
Josie glanced up at Laura from her position on the couch. “His biggest character defect is misplaced levity. You may have noticed.” She didn’t react at all to the endearment, other than with a slight rise in color.
“The ties gave him away,” Laura said.
Alex looked down at the one he was wearing currently, a violent multicolored vision of characters from a popular comic strip which clashed beautifully with his sober dark suit, and said, “I resent that.”
“Resent what?” Daniel asked as he came into the room.
“They’re casting aspersions,” Alex told him, automatically fixing a Scotch and handing it over as Daniel passed. “Attacking my tie.”
“I wouldn’t worry. That tie can probably defend itself.”
Josie and Laura both burst out laughing, and since Laura was still laughing when Daniel came around the sofa to her side, she didn’t have time to stiffen up when he put an arm around her waist and kissed her.
“You look beautiful tonight,” he said huskily.
Laura looked somewhat dazedly up at a usually hard face altered amazingly by tenderness, and decided that she’d let the rest of this family or anybody else think anything they liked about her if her reward was having him look at her like this. “Thank you,” she murmured.
Without an ounce of self-consciousness, Daniel kept his arm around her, his fingers moving slightly at her side as though he couldn’t touch her without also caressing her. As for Laura, she discovered without much surprise that her body had a mind of its own, leaning against his with a sensual familiarity about as subtle as neon. She only just managed to stop herself from opening up his suit jacket and burrowing in to get even closer to him.
Either he saw or sensed her feelings, because there was a pleased glint in his eyes. But Daniel didn’t say anything about that. Instead he looked across the room at Alex and asked, “Have you seen Anne?”
“Nope.” Alex apparently felt no need to comment further on transformations, though he was smiling faintly. “But given what Josie told me about what happened at lunch today, I wouldn’t expect her to show her face for a while. Did you read her the riot act?”
“More or less. Then she stormed out of here, and I haven’t seen her since.”
Josie sighed. “You know her, Daniel. She’ll come home when she’s thought of some way of blaming her tantrum on someone else.”
“It was worse than a tantrum this time,” Daniel said somewhat grimly.
Whatever else he might have added to that was lost as Kerry came into the room, drawing their attention with her innate grace—and the fact that tonight she was wearing a dress even Amelia wouldn’t be able to find fault with. It was a long, high-necked dress that left her arms and shoulders bare, and the simple style made her look fragile rather than thin. It was a shade of deep burgundy, and the color lent warmth to her pale skin and glints of light to her hair.
As she normally did around the family, she wore only minimal makeup rather than the heavy stuff designed to hide her scars, yet even so they seemed less obvious than usual. Her expression was as serene as it always was, but there was a spark of something in her eyes, life that hadn’t been there—or had been hidden—before.
She’s stopped playing Amelia’s game, Laura realized, wondering if the scene at lunch today had produced a different result than the one Anne had intended.
“The usual, Kerry?” Receiving a smiling nod, Alex fixed her drink and handed it over, and she went to join Josie on the sofa near the window. She smiled at the others, accepting Daniel and Laura’s closeness without a blink.
“You look great,” Josie told her. “Why haven’t I seen you wear that color before?”
“Probably for the same reason I haven’t seen you wear that color,” Kerry replied, her soft voice faintly amused. “I think we’ve both been … taking the path of least resistance.”
Curious, Josie said, “I know what knocked me off the path; how about you?”
“A realization,” Kerry answered without answering. “Slow in coming, but here at last.” She lifted her glass in a little toast, sipped, then said with a tiny smile, “Amelia won’t be happy tonight.”
Laura had just been thinking the same thing. To all appearances, today Amelia had lost at least some of her domination over Josie and Kerry, to say nothing of Anne’s attack at lunch. And there was still no way of knowing what her reaction would be to Laura’s very public defection into Daniel’s arms.
Before anyone could comment aloud, Madeline came in, dressed and made up flawlessly as usual—and vague as usual. If she even noticed a couple of the more obvious changes in the group she joined, it wasn’t apparent. She accepted her usual drink from Alex and went to her usual place on the other sofa, murmuring greetings to the room at large.
Laura glanced up at Daniel, remembering his comment about his mother’s distant attitude toward him. He was looking at her, detached as always, but Laura had some idea now of the hurt he must have felt as a boy, and what it had probably cost him to earn that priceless detachment. For the first time, she felt angry at Madeline. Two sons, and it had been the worthless one with the shallow charm and easy smiles she had preferred rather than the more complex and definitely superior Daniel.
How could any mother choose like that?
Then Laura met Madeline’s gaze fleetingly across the room, and the pale eyes so superficially like Daniel’s were utterly vacant. They didn’t really see Laura. They didn’t see her son, or her son’s arm around Laura. They didn’t see anything. They didn’t care about anything.
Laura put her hand over Daniel’s at her waist and smiled at him when he turned his head to look down at her in an instant response. His face softened, his eyes flickered with sudden heat, and he pulled her a bit closer.
That was what Amelia saw when she came into the room. The two of them looking at each other as if no one else existed. And she saw Josie wearing a pale dress and looking nothing like a widow, saw Kerry wearing a dress that suited her beautifully. Perhaps she saw her grip on her family loosening.
Laura tore her gaze from Daniel’s with an effort when she heard Amelia’s cane tapping, and she saw the old lady as she paused in the doorway. She thought she saw that face of aged beauty quiver a bit, but if she did it was a fleeting reaction. Dark eyes unreadable, Amelia came into the room and took her accustomed chair and her accustomed drink from Alex.
“You all look very nice tonight,” she said, and there was in her voice the faintest suggestion of effort, as if the accustomed words no longer fit.
I can almost feel sorry for her, Laura thought. And then, in surprise, I can paint her now. I know I can.
“Someone should have built a fire,” Amelia said, gazing toward the unlit gas logs in the fireplace. “It’s chilly tonight.”
“Allow me,” Alex said, and crossed the room to light the fire, a quick and simple procedure.
“Thank you,” Amelia murmured.
Looking at her, Laura thought there was something rather forlorn, even bewildered, about Amelia tonight. Though she was as upright as always, she seemed smaller and somehow le
ss substantial, the iron gone from her backbone. And she looked older, that haughty face less taut, the lines around her eyes and mouth more apparent.
No one seemed willing to break the silence, and Laura wondered if everyone else was as relieved as she was when they heard the front doorbell ring. Even more, she wondered if Amelia was as conscious as Laura was of the fact that this time Alex didn’t ask for permission before responding to that summons.
Alex came back into the silent room a few moments later, his expression somewhat guarded. “Again, it isn’t a social visit,” he said.
Brent Landry was behind him. The police lieutenant was, as before, soberly but elegantly dressed and looked quite at home in the parlor. Also as before, he went to the fireplace, where he could see everyone in the room, and murmured a greeting to the group. One of his black brows may have lifted a fraction of an inch when he saw Laura and Daniel standing as they were, but that was his only reaction.
“We were about to sit down to dinner,” Amelia told him, frosty but not nearly so incensed as she had been the last time
“I’m sorry, Miss Amelia. But there’s a matter I need to clear up in my investigation, and it won’t wait.”
“Have you found out who—?” Madeline was looking at him, her eyes intense now
As before, his voice gentled. “No, not yet We’re still eliminating suspects.”
“How many enemies could one young man have?” Amelia demanded, grim.
“Enough to keep us busy,” Landry replied very politely.
Her lips tightened. “Very well, get on with it.”
His penetrating gray eyes swept the room slowly, settling at last on Kerry. “I have a few questions for you, Mrs. Kilbourne”
She looked up at him, expressionless.
“Kerry was in California when Peter was killed,” Josie said. “What could she know about it?”
“Perhaps more than you might think,” Landry replied, his gaze still fixed on Kerry’s face. “Mrs. Kilbourne, were you aware that your husband had gambling debts?”
“Yes,” she replied matter-of-factly.
“Before you married him?”
She hesitated almost imperceptibly. “No.”
“Were you aware that, two months ago, your husband participated in a high-stakes poker game in the private back room of an Atlanta club, losing over three hundred thousand dollars in a single night?”
It was Alex who first broke the silence with a muttered, “Jesus.”
Kerry said, “He didn’t have that kind of cash.”
“No,” Landry said. “He didn’t. But he knew the manager of the club rather well, and the manager accepted his markers. Do you have any idea of whom I’m speaking, Mrs. Kilbourne?”
A very faint smile curved Kerry’s lips. “I would imagine you mean my brother.”
He nodded. “Lorenzo DeMitri. Did you know that your husband owed that kind of money to your brother?”
“Yes.”
“It didn’t surprise you?”
“Nothing Peter did surprised me.”
Amelia spoke up then, directing harsh questions to the detective. “Are you saying that this gambling debt is why Peter was murdered? That Kerry’s brother had something to do with it?”
Landry’s gaze shifted to Amelia, but only fleetingly. “I’m saying that this is … another avenue to explore, Miss Amelia. Mrs. Kilbourne, were you aware that your brother had your husband physically thrown out of his club just two days before he was murdered?”
“I was in California then.”
“But were you aware that the incident took place?”
“At the time, no.”
“When did you learn of it?”
“While I was in California.”
“How did you learn of it?”
Kerry drew a little breath. Her hazel eyes were clear and calm. “When my brother called my father.”
“To report the incident?”
“No. To explain why the club was in possession of worthless markers totaling over three hundred thousand dollars. The club, as you well know, belongs to my father.”
Landry’s eyes narrowed. “Then your brother had no intention of trying to redeem those markers?”
“He knew they were worthless. So did my father.”
“Then why were they accepted in the first place?”
Kerry smiled. “Peter was family.”
Skeptically, Landry said, “Do you expect me to believe that your brother, a hard-nosed businessman, coolly and calmly accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of worthless markers simply because they were from his brother-in-law?”
“It’s the truth,” she said.
“And your father accepted this as well? He gave no order that your brother should attempt to redeem the markers?”
“No.”
“He wasn’t furious at your husband?”
“Angry, perhaps. But he knew Peter too well to do more than shrug it off and tell Lorenzo that Peter wasn’t to play at the club again.”
Landry stared at her for a moment, then said, “Would it surprise you to know that your brother was seen that night less than two blocks from the motel where Peter Kilbourne was killed?”
Kerry shrugged. “Not especially. Lorenzo has many interests. They keep him busy.”
Alex spoke, his lazy voice belying his very sharp eyes. “Come on, Brent. Surely you don’t believe DeMitri killed his brother-in-law over gambling markers—however staggering the total. What would he have to gain? A dead man can’t redeem markers; at least with Peter alive there was a chance to collect.”
“Maybe the chances were better with him dead,” Landry said. “Mrs. Kilbourne, were you aware that your father had insured your husband’s life to the tune of one million dollars? And named you as beneficiary?”
Kerry looked faintly surprised, then considering. “No. But it sounds like something he would do. He knew how Peter was with money, and probably wanted to make sure I’d have some kind of independence if I were left alone.” She smiled. “And I can assure you, Lieutenant, that neither my father nor my brother would ask me to use insurance money to pay Peter’s debts—even those he owed to them.”
“I think this avenue has a dead end, Brent,” Daniel said quietly. “Unless, of course, you have some kind of evidence that Kerry’s brother—or someone in his employ—actually met with Peter the night he was killed.”
Landry glanced at him, then returned his gaze to Kerry. “One final thing, Mrs. Kilbourne. If your father wasn’t angry at your husband, then why did he place a call to Peter Kilbourne’s private number here at the house on the afternoon he was killed?”
“He didn’t,” Kerry replied. “I did.”
“Do you mind telling me why?”
In a very gentle tone, Kerry said, “Yes, I do mind.”
“That’s enough, Brent,” Alex said. “Kerry was three thousand miles away, and nothing she and Peter discussed could be pertinent to your investigation.”
For a moment it seemed that the detective would insist, but then he nodded. “I agree. Unless new evidence comes to light which would alter that.”
There was a little silence, and then Amelia said, “If you’re finished, Brent, we would like to have our dinner now.”
Not visibly discomfited by her asperity, Landry merely inclined his head politely and said, “Of course, Miss Amelia. Please do forgive me for delaying you. Never mind, Alex—I’ll see myself out.”
Nobody moved or spoke until they heard the front door close quietly behind Landry, and then it was Amelia who rose to her feet and said as though nothing out of the ordinary had occurred, “It’s apparent Anne isn’t going to join us, so we won’t wait any longer.”
Laura obeyed the slight pressure of Daniel’s fingers, and they lagged behind as the others got up and obediently followed Amelia from the room. When they were alone, she said, “That was unexpected—to me, at least. Did he strongly imply that Kerry’s family was in organized crime, or have I been watching too m
any gangster movies?”
Daniel began guiding her toward the bar, where they could leave their virtually untouched drinks, and said, “Too many movies. However, rumor has it that both her brother and father are ruthless when it comes to business, and not too picky about which side of the law they stand on. That private back room at their club is evidence of that.”
“Then why forgive Peter’s debts? Just because he was family?”
“Maybe. Or maybe there’s more to the story than Kerry’s willing to tell.”
Laura thought there was probably a lot more, but she and Daniel had to join the others then and there was no time to discuss possibilities. Especially as the rest of the family followed Amelia’s lead and at least outwardly acted as though nothing unusual had happened. In fact, Amelia behaved as though the entire day had been normal, allowing no mention of Anne’s outburst or Landry’s visit to pass her lips, and simply ignoring the minor rebellion when Daniel seated Laura in the chair beside his own rather than in her accustomed place at Amelia’s right hand.
Instead she directed the conversation as if nothing had changed, inquiring after everyone’s day and suggesting that a game or two of bridge would fill the evening nicely. Alex and Josie were both good players, Kerry passable, and as for Laura—
“Count us out,” Daniel said, pleasantly but firmly. “We have plans for the evening.”
Laura thought that was a little high-handed, to say nothing of disconcerting, but since his hand touched her thigh beneath the table just then, stroking lightly in a caress she felt easily through the thin material of her dress, she couldn’t seem to find the words or the will to protest. She glanced down the table to see Amelia’s lips tighten slightly, but the old lady merely nodded in regal acquiescence and went on arranging everyone else’s evening.
With the meal over, the family made their way back toward the den, with the exception of Daniel and Laura, who stopped at the foot of the stairs.
“Plans?” she said.
“Plans.” He put his hands on her waist and pulled her against him, smiling. “Spending the next few hours in my bed while I try to persuade you to spend the rest of the night there.”
“Daniel …”
