by Tara Thomas
They didn’t talk much on the way to Benedict House, though Keaton seemed to relax at the sight of both Kipling’s and Derrick’s cars in the drive, with no police cruiser in sight. Once inside, they made it to the living room where Derrick sat on a couch and Kipling paced. The oldest Benedict looked up and gave a weak smile at their arrival.
Derrick waved for Tilly and Keaton to sit down. “I called that Officer Adams. They’ll be here soon.” To Kipling he asked, “You were where last night?”
Kipling stopped pacing. “I told you. Lena’s youngest daughter had a ruptured appendix. Her husband is deployed and the regular sitter was busy. I volunteered to watch their two-year-old.”
Keaton half snorted, half coughed. “You what?”
“He likes ships and we played boats for three hours until he fell asleep. Lena wasn’t back, so I slept over.”
“Oh my God,” Keaton said.
Kipling rolled his eyes. “Do me a favor and don’t tell anyone.”
“I’m afraid we can’t make that promise,” someone said from the doorway, and they all turned to find Officer Drake standing at the entranceway to the living room with his arms crossed. By his side stood Alyssa, an unreadable expression on her face.
“Want to tell us what you were doing before you went babysitting?” the policeman asked, walking into to living room.
Kipling looked to Derrick, but the lawyer only nodded.
“I went by the office and then walked down the docks.” Kipling hesitated only a second, before continuing. “I ran into Mandy. We spoke briefly. She propositioned me and I declined. Right after that I got the call from Lena and I left.”
Alyssa had recovered from her stupor at hearing Kipling say he babysat two-year-olds. “Was Mandy alive when you left her?”
Kipling spun around. “Yes, Officer Adams. Do you really think I killed her and then went to play boats with a two-year-old? Seriously?”
“Just doing my job, Mr. Benedict.”
“You’re doing it wrong,” Kipling countered. “There’s a killer running around out there and instead of finding him, you’re harassing me.”
“Mandy had traces of semen in her mouth,” Alyssa said, and Tilly noticed her partner did not look pleased she’d shared that information.
Kipling didn’t miss a beat. “Then you’d know it wasn’t me because I didn’t touch her.”
Alyssa was silent and for a long second, they stood almost toe to toe, each watching the other. But then with a nod to her partner, she broke it with a bombshell. He handed her a flash-frozen black rose. She held it up to Kipling.
“Have you ever—” she started, but Kipling interrupted.
“Did you get that out of my car?” He looked over to Derrick. “Can they do that without a search warrant?”
Tilly wasn’t looking at Derrick, her eyes were on Alyssa and she looked stunned. At her partner’s cough, she shook herself.
“It didn’t come from your car,” she said. “It came from Mandy’s body. Kipling Benedict, you have the right to remain silent…”
* * *
Sitting in the Charleston police station with Derrick and Kipling hours later, Keaton wondered if he’d lost his mind completely.
“I strongly suggest,” Derrick was saying, “that you hire another attorney. I’m not equipped to handle a capital murder case.”
“It’s not going to be a capital murder case,” Kipling said. “I didn’t do it.”
“As much as I believe you, that’s what everybody says.” Derrick opened a file he’d placed on the table. “You need someone with expertise beyond what I have. Now, if you want me to act as co-counsel, I can do that. But you need to bring in someone else to be lead.”
“Hell, you do think I did it.”
“I would like to know how that rose made it from your car to her body,” Keaton said.
Kipling’s jaw tightened. “It’s not what sounds like. I found that rose in my office days ago. I had it preserved and it’s been in my car ever since. Obviously, someone took it from my car and put it on Mandy’s body.”
Derrick slammed his folder closed and stood up. “I’m not sitting here listening to this. Kipling, I’ll be by later with some recommended names for you. In the meantime, keep your mouth shut.”
The brothers watched him walk out. “He thinks I did it.” Kipling sunk into his chair after Derrick left. “He honestly thinks I did it.”
“How’s it going securing the bail?” Keaton decided a change in subjects was needed. Heck, for all he knew, Alyssa was listening in on their conversation.
“Good as far as I know. Derrick’s admin was working with our accounts people to get everything transferred.”
“Sounds good. Maybe you’ll be out of here soon.” Keaton paused for a second. “We need to find out who got into your car. Do you think it was the same person who put it in your office?”
Kipling didn’t have a chance to answer, because at that moment the door to the room opened and Alyssa walked in. “Time’s up, gentlemen.”
Kipling looked at the officer like she was prey to tease. “You know, Officer Adams, if you wanted to spend time with me, you only had to ask. You didn’t have to arrest me.”
“Mr. Benedict,” she said and her voice was calm and even, though her flushed skin belied her otherwise composed demeanor. “Murder is a very serious charge. It may behoove you to take it seriously.”
Kipling tapped the table. “Don’t make assumptions, Officer. I’m taking it very seriously, I just happen to know I didn’t do it and that’s all I need.”
“It would appear you also need an attorney,” she said. “Yours told us he’s advised you to select new counsel.”
“Yes.”
“Would you like to answer a few questions now?”
Kipling raised an eyebrow. “Do I look stupid?”
Alyssa crossed her arms. “You’re sitting in jail, charged with murder. That leads me to believe you may not be as intelligent as you think yourself to be.”
“Rest assured, there is no need to question my intelligence. I know I’m innocent, but I’m not so inept that I’m about to answer anything without an attorney present. Regardless of what you think, my staff is transferring the funds needed for bail and I’ll be out of your hair shortly.”
“You seem to think you’ve actually been in my hair. Trust me, you haven’t been. You’re part of my job, that’s all.”
“You know what the best part of your denial is?”
Alyssa smirked. “How it’s the truth?”
“How satisfying it’s going to be when you finally surrender to me.”
“Keep dreaming, Mr. Benedict.”
“Is it wrong how much it turns me on when you call me Mr. Benedict?”
Keaton kicked him under the table. Are you insane? he mouthed to his brother. Kipling shrugged.
“I’m not even going to justify that question with an answer.”
Kipling didn’t appear to be too upset with her statement. “Follow up and make sure everything’s lined up for my bail. I really don’t want to spend the night here.”
Keaton nodded. He’d left Tilly at Benedict House before coming to the station. He wanted to go check on her. He thought Elise’s internship started today and she wouldn’t be there, but Tilly had been slightly uneasy about staying. “I’m going by the house, I’ll make some phone calls from there.”
* * *
Though Tilly wasn’t thrilled to be alone at Benedict House, her discomfort was currently underscored by her concern for Keaton. He insisted he was fine, but it was her opinion that people weren’t fine when their older brother was arrested and charged with murder in front of them.
“Truly,” he’d told her, “I’m fine because the only other alternative is to have a breakdown.”
So she’d agreed to stay at the house while he went to go meet with Kipling and Derrick. He’d also told her that Elise was to have started her internship today. If she had been at the house, Tilly would have in
sisted on going with him and staying in the car. She did not want to deal with Elise today.
After Keaton left, she went to the kitchen. She knew Lena was at the hospital and not in the kitchen, but that room had always seemed so warm and inviting. Just standing in it or walking through it could brighten her day.
Unfortunately, she had not thought about the one person who could ruin that feeling. Elise.
“I thought you started your internship today,” Tilly said, instead of greeting her.
She knew she had to tread lightly. While Elise had told Keaton not to say anything to his brothers about the blackmail, she hadn’t said he couldn’t tell Tilly. They both thought it was probably an oversight on her part. Odds were, she didn’t want Keaton telling anyone.
All that meant Tilly now had to put on the performance of a lifetime.
“I called and told them I wouldn’t be in because of a family emergency.” Currently, Elise’s idea of helping during a time of crisis appeared to be filing her nails. “I figured my future brother-in-law being arrested for murder was an emergency, don’t you?”
“I’m sure it qualifies.” Tilly nodded to Elise’s half-finished self-manicure. “And I’m sure Kipling appreciates you taking time to ensure your nails look good.”
Anger flashed in Elise’s eyes. “You’re a real bitch, you know that?”
Tilly nodded. “In this case, yes.”
Elise calmly went back to doing her nails. “I saw you two getting ice cream yesterday.”
She hadn’t imagined it after all. Some part of her really wished she had. “I thought I saw you when I looked out the window. You should have joined us.”
“I should have, but I decided not to. When Keaton announces our engagement, I don’t want anyone to think we’re friends.”
“Trust me, no one will ever think that.”
Elise ignored her and kept talking. “And I hope you enjoyed your day with him because there won’t be many more of those.”
“Why, thank you. I did. I thoroughly enjoyed our day together, though now that I think about it, I’d have to say I enjoyed our night together so much more.”
Tilly had only thought she saw Elise angry before, but the woman in front of her now appeared as if she’d slay her with her eyes alone. Elise could be very dangerous. Tilly wasn’t sure where that thought came from, but she knew she needed to heed it.
And just that quickly, the murderous look passed and Elise went back to filing her nails. Albeit a bit intensely. “It doesn’t bother me that Keaton’s been with other women because I know two things. One, once we’re engaged he’ll be faithful to me.”
The best thing Tilly could do was to get away from Elise. Staying anywhere near the conniving bitch was just asking for trouble.
“You tell yourself that, why don’t you,” Tilly told her. “Tell yourself that enough times and maybe you’ll start to believe it. But I know the truth. And the truth is no matter how good it ever gets between you and Keaton, there’ll always be a part of you that wonders. Maybe not during the day, but at night, when everything’s quiet and it’s only you and your thoughts. And you’ll wonder as you lie in his arms if his mind is really with you or if he’s thinking of me.” She took a step closer to the table. “And when he’s making love to you, you’ll wonder if it’s you he sees or if he’s imagining me in your place. When you’re touching him, you’ll never do it without wondering if I touched him better.”
Elise stood up so fast, she bumped the table and knocked over an open bottle of nail polish. She didn’t turn back to pick it up or clean the mess, but stomped off out of the kitchen. Tilly didn’t allow herself to feel victorious. She had the sinking feeling that no matter how good it’d felt to say that to Elise, she was going to end up regretting she’d done so.
* * *
Later that afternoon, Keaton was working on his proposal for Kipling. Derrick had notified him earlier that bail had been posted and Kipling would be getting out of jail within the next two hours. Tilly was studying in the library. He didn’t know where Elise was, nor did he care. Tilly had filled him in on the conversation she had with Elise when he got back from the station. He thought she handled it as well as she could have, but he agreed with her that it hadn’t been a good idea to piss Elise off.
“There you are,” the woman in question said from his doorway.
He stopped typing with a big sigh. He had known this was coming. Best to get it over with now.
“I brought copies of the information I told you about,” Elise said. “Want to look over them, see if you have any questions, and then announce our engagement?”
“You’re awful sure of yourself.” His stomach turned at both the thought of looking over the papers she had and thinking for a minute about asking her to marry him.
She tossed her hair back over her shoulder, and he wondered if she practiced that move in the mirror. “I have every right to be sure. It’s win-win for both of us, Keaton. Eventually, you’ll see that.”
He doubted if he had all the time in the universe plus an extra million years added on, that he would ever think marrying Elise was win-win.
He went and took the papers from her, but didn’t look at them. Elise didn’t move, but stood there, as if waiting for him to do something. “Don’t you have anything to do?” Seriously, was she just going to stand there in his doorway?
“No, not really,” she replied.
“Well, I do.” He closed the door right in her face. Like Tilly, he had a feeling that hadn’t been the best way to deal with Elise, but it sure did feel good, he thought with a smile.
His gaze fell on the stack of papers he’d placed on his desk. Hell, he didn’t want to look at them. He knew his father had been ruthless in business, but there was a huge difference between being ruthless and having someone murdered in cold blood.
To do the same to your own child signified an evil he couldn’t comprehend.
No matter what the outcome, he knew after today, he’d never see his father in the same light. Jesus, what was it saying about him that he actually gave thought to the idea that his father was capable of such a thing? Hell, after today, he’d never see himself in the same light.
He remembered his dad so well. The senior Benedict had never been a soft man or one to show his emotions easily, but he had been fiercely protective when it came to his wife and sons.
The question was, did that protectiveness mean keeping a half sibling from his sons? And if so, how far was he willing to go to ensure they never knew?
Heart heavy with dread, he reached for the pile and began to read.
* * *
Tilly’s head shot up at the sound of the library door closing. She breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Keaton.
“Thank goodness it’s you,” she said. “I half expected to look up and see Elise.”
He didn’t smile or say anything, just walked over and sat down beside her. Her heart sank and her arms went automatically around him. He gave a soft sigh and, maybe it was her imagination, but she thought he relaxed a bit.
“You saw her evidence, didn’t you?” That had to be the reason for his broken look. It hit her at that moment that this was more than his being blackmailed, it was learning something that rocked the very foundation of who he was.
She buried her head in his neck. “God, Keaton, I’m so sorry.”
He embraced her as a sob ripped through his body. “I had a sister. A little sister.”
Tilly knew he was not only crying for the sister he never had a chance to meet, but also for the man he thought his father was.
He kept his head buried in her hair. “How could he do something like that? Kill his own daughter? She was five! Five! She never even had a chance to live.”
He had walked into the library empty-handed, but obviously thought whatever evidence Elise had provided was enough to prove her allegations were true.
“There’s no way she could have falsified anything?” she asked, because truly, in her min
d, it was the only logical explanation.
He pulled back. “There’s nothing I’d like more than for that to be the case. Unfortunately, I don’t see how that’s possible. She has phone records showing calls were made from his office phone and bank records that clearly show the payout. I won’t say it’s not possible to create all that, but it wouldn’t be easy. There’s more too that she hasn’t shown me. I’ll need your help when I get it.”
“Of course,” she assured him.
He didn’t say anything more, but she knew he was holding back. “Tell me.”
“I went into the family’s online banking records. I’ve never done that before, I’ve always left it to Kipling, but they matched.” He pulled back and she saw the pain in his eyes. “They matched down to the last penny.”
“Don’t you think Elise would do anything it took to get her hands on you?” Tilly didn’t see a little forgery standing in the way of Elise. Not when it came to Keaton.
“I don’t see how she could do this. She’d have to have access to our accounts and there’s no way she does.” He took her hand. “Thank you for being here with me. I couldn’t do this without you.”
And she didn’t want him to do it alone. “What are you going to do?”
“I’d really like to sit down with Knox and Kipling to get their take. I mean, they don’t even know we had a sister. Who am I to keep her from them?” He took a deep breath. “But I have a feeling I’m going to piss her off enough as it is, so I really don’t need to add fuel to that fire.”
“How do you plan on pissing her off?”
He smiled for the first time since walking into the library. “I’m telling her I’m not going to marry her.”
Tilly gave a low whistle. “Wow. That will totally piss her off. In fact, piss off is probably too mild of a way to put it.” She’d never actually thought he’d marry her, but even the thought of a fake engagement had been enough to make her rage internally.
“The way I see it is, if I give into her demands, she wins, her dad wins, and my dad wins. After what he did, what do I care about his reputation?”
“But didn’t she also say she could set up you and your brothers to make it look as if the three of you were in on it?”
