Framed!

by Robin Caroll

  “But evidence now suggests there might be a link between your brother and Mrs. Farley.”

  “Because of his last words, right?”

  “Yes. Do you have any idea what they could mean?”

  “As I told you before, Sheriff, I have no idea what Dylan was trying to relay with his final words. No idea whatsoever.” She only wished she had an answer.

  “But Mrs. Farley most likely wouldn’t have liked whatever explanation there is for his words, don’t you think?”

  “I couldn’t say.” Wait a minute. Were they now going back to the theory that Leah had killed Earl, Angelina, and now Dylan? Actually…now that she thought about it, Leah did have a connection to all three of them. A very strong connection.

  “I see.” He stood, pocketing his notebook. “So you wouldn’t have any personal knowledge about Mrs. Farley looking into real estate prior to her disappearance?”

  “Just what I’ve heard about town.” Now where was he going?

  “Or anything about a connection between Earl Farley and Georgia Duffy?”

  “No.” Grasping at straws, that’s what he was doing. Although, rumor had it that Georgia and Leah’s husband, Earl, might’ve had something interesting going on. Still, Ava knew firsthand how rumors were often untrue.

  “Heard anything about Mrs. Farley firing Ms. Duffy as her real estate agent?”

  “Sure, the town was talking about it, but I don’t believe gossip, Sheriff.”

  He let out a harrumph. “I think those are all my questions for now.” He passed her his business card. “If you think of anything else, even if it merely strikes you as odd, call me. A deputy will be by to deliver Dylan’s personal effects that we’ve released. We’re still going through some effects taken from his office.”

  His personal effects. How impersonally stated.

  Ava stood and accepted his card. “Bea will see you out.”

  As if on cue, the maid appeared in the doorway. The sheriff paused at the door and glanced back at Ava. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  She just bet he was. “Thank you.”

  Alone again, Ava plopped into a chair. Her thoughts drifted to her last conversations with her brother. Dylan had told Ava that he’d broken off things with Angelina because she’d started to get too serious, talking about love and future. To her brother, such discussions were the kiss of death in a relationship.

  A long, red hair? Maybe they were still reaching to link him to Angelina’s death. But she’d been found six days before Dylan was shot. It didn’t make any sense.

  Nothing made sense except her grief.

  Maybe the sheriff had stumbled onto something about it being work related. Maybe it was something Dylan was involved with that he kept hidden from Charla. Ava could certainly understand—their mother hunted for reasons to interfere in their lives. But Ava had no way of knowing what Dylan had been working on. Ava stiffened her spine—all that would change now.

  Her mother had pushed Ava into following a female career. How many times had Charla lectured that a man of stature, one Ava was expected to find and marry, wouldn’t be interested in a domineering businesswoman? Ava laughed at the irony. Charla Renault had always been a shrewd businesswoman, taking over her father’s business when he died. Marriage hadn’t stopped her, didn’t even slow her down when she had children. As a matter of fact, she’d never even taken her husband’s name when she married. Nor did she give her husband’s last name to her children.

  “May I take the tray, Ms. Ava?”

  She nodded at Bea, determination settling into her chest. Charla was in no condition to oversee anything, much less the multi-million-dollar corporation bearing the family name. All the hard work and time Dylan had invested in the company shouldn’t just go down the tubes. The time had come for Ava to take the bull by the horns, as her father would’ve said. Ava stood and crossed the hall to the study. Hovering over the desk, she made her decision and called her assistant at I Dream of Weddings. Cathy would have to take over the planning for the Halloway wedding in New Orleans next week, because she would make sure the Renault Corporation continued to be successful.

  After instructing Cathy to not book anything in the immediate future that she, herself, couldn’t oversee, Ava pressed the speed dial number for the Renault Corporation.

  It was time to take control, to become the businesswoman she knew she could be. One who could run a corporation as intelligently as Charla Renault, but with a heart—and a soul.

  Now was Ava’s time.

  The last vestige of the sun’s rays streaked across the February sky. Max smiled, loving this time of the year, driving home from work when the day had already given way to welcoming the night.

  It’d been a long day. Busy, but productive. There were so many calls today from locals wanting to invest in real estate that if Max didn’t know better, he’d think people needed tax write-offs. But it was the wrong time of year and he did know better—the influx of people with money to spend was directly due to Dylan Renault’s death. People were nervous over the leader of Renault Corporation being dead, and from what Max had witnessed at the funeral, it didn’t appear Charla Renault was in any condition to take over the helm of the investment corporation.

  Max didn’t like what’d happened, yet he wasn’t stupid. His own business would suffer if he didn’t provide the service his company was founded upon. But he didn’t have to like making a profit off Ava’s loss.

  Speaking of Ava, she hadn’t called like she said she would. He tried not to be disappointed, tried to rationalize that she probably had a million things to do, but his heart sank to his toes. Max entered his home, his mouth watering for the stir-fry he planned to make. He’d been so busy he’d only had time to gulp down a sandwich from the vendor who made daily visits to the offices along Main and Church streets. His stomach rumbled at the memory.

  “Working late?”

  Max glared at his mother. “What are you doing here again? You can’t just keep letting yourself in, Mom. This is my home.”

  “I just miss you is all.” She used the tone of hers that bordered on whining. How often she’d lamented the fact he’d moved into his own condo years ago.

  Did she really think he’d just live with her forever?

  “Look, I’ve had a long day at work, and all I want to do is make a little stir-fry, catch the news and call it an early night.”

  His mother smiled. “Can I join you? I’ll help cut the vegetables.”

  He opened his mouth to protest, then stopped. His mother didn’t have many friends, mainly because she’d spent her life dedicated to him. While he’d never asked her to, she’d sacrificed everything to see to his happiness. Max let out a sigh. “Sure. Grab the squash and zucchini from the fridge and start chopping.”

  He’d just set up the wok when the phone rang. “Hello.”

  “Max?” Just the way Ava said his name made his stomach quiver, and it wasn’t from hunger.

  “Ava. Is anything wrong?” His mother’s hand froze, knife poised over the squash. She arched a well-drawn eyebrow. Max moved into the living room.

  “No. Yes.” Ava hesitated. “I don’t know. Sheriff Reed was here, asking questions. He’s got me all confused.”

  “How so?”

  “Trying to make a connection between Dylan and Angelina Loring and Leah Farley. All these deaths.”

  “I thought the police had wrapped them all up. Well, except for Dylan’s.”

  “They liked Dylan for Angelina’s murder, but now…well, they found a long, red hair on Dylan’s clothes, and I don’t think it was Angelina’s. Not by the questions the sheriff asked. And I’m still trying to figure out why Dylan was even at Renault Hall.” She sighed. “It doesn’t make sense.”

  “Maybe he went by just to check out the property. Maybe he was considering getting the area appraised.” He tightened his hold on the phone.

  Ava snorted. “Not hardly. Mother forbade us to even step foot on the property.”

>   “You never know. Things change. So do people.”

  “I suppose.”

  He hated hearing the pain in her voice. It did strange things to his gut. “Do you want me to come get you and take you somewhere?”

  “No, I just wanted to vent a little.” Her voice hitched as she drew in a shaky breath.

  She didn’t have anyone to talk to—certainly not her mother, by the way she’d carried on at the funeral.

  “We can go somewhere and talk.” He ached to hold her again. Smooth her silky hair and tell her everything would be okay. “I meant what I said. If there’s anything I can do for you…”

  “I appreciate that, but maybe I should just call it a night.”

  “You can call me anytime, you know.”

  “Thanks, Max.” The smile came through in her voice.

  “Good night, Ava.” Turning around to head into the kitchen, he nearly ran smack into his mother hovering in the hallway.

  “You’re going to see her? Ava Renault?”

  He nudged past her and set the phone on its base. “No, I just made the offer.”

  “Why?” His mother cut the knife through the air. “She’s not good enough for you, never was. She’s nothing but trouble.”

  After setting the temperature on the wok, he sliced a chicken breast. “Mom, she’s not trouble. She’s grieving, for pity’s sake.”

  Lenore pointed the tip of the knife at his face. “You mark my words, Maximilion, if you get tangled up with her again, she’s gonna break your heart. For a second time.”

  He didn’t bother answering, just reached for the bell peppers.

  And hoped his mother was dead wrong.

  THREE

  Sleep had remained as elusive to Ava as the mystery surrounding her brother’s death.

  Now, determination to prove herself in the corporate world drove her to dress in a classy business suit and head downstairs.

  Rhett’s barking beckoned Ava down the hall to her mother’s suites at eight. As per usual these days, the door was shut. Ava rapped softly. “Mother?”

  “Go away and leave me alone.”

  The temptation to flee nearly spun Ava in the opposite direction, but she couldn’t disregard her mother’s grief. Squaring her shoulders, Ava turned the knob and pushed open the door. The little dog met her, prancing and whining. “Have you let Rhett out this morning?”

  “I told you to leave me alone.” Charla sat in her wheelchair facing the window, her back to the door.

  Ava ignored her mother’s bitter tone and crossed to the patio door, then flung it open. Crisp, early February air swirled through the rooms. The little dog burst outside into the yard. She faced her mother and nearly gasped aloud. Never before had she seen her so…so unkempt. No makeup, her hair in total disarray, and in the same outfit she’d worn to the funeral. Had she slept in those clothes?

  “Will you please leave now?”

  Maybe she should. She certainly didn’t know what to say. Every instinct she had urged her to do as her mother requested, but her heart wouldn’t allow her to budge.

  Ava cracked the patio door open wider, allowing the air admittance. Once the stuffiness had been banished down the corridor, Ava faced Charla, hands on her hips. “Mother, I know you’re grieving—I am, too. Please don’t shut me out. I miss Dylan terribly.” Tears clogged her throat.

  “Don’t talk to me about missing him.” Charla’s voice raised an octave and quivered. “He always was too weak for this earth. Letting himself get distracted and led astray. Just too much like his father…”

  Ava swallowed as disappointment crawled up her spine. “I know you’re crushed, but don’t push me away.” She softened her tone. “We’re it, Mother. All that’s left of the family. We should be pulling together, not mourning alone.”

  Charla’s bright green eyes, identical to Ava’s, filled with moisture. For a moment, Ava detected a softness in her mother she’d never seen before. A vulnerability of sorts. A blink later, it was gone. “I’d like you to leave now.”

  Ava teared up as well, despite trying not to break down. “Mother, please don’t do this. We need each other.” She all but begged.

  Before Charla could speak, the little terrier bolted back into the room, so full of vigor his little body quivered.

  Ava stared at her mother, her emotions knotting. She’d never been able to run to Charla for comfort, even as a child. Her father had been the one who held her when she had nightmares, kissed her bumps and bruises, put ointment on her scraped knees. Her mother had never shown any maternal instinct. Now that Ava thought about it, Charla hadn’t ever shown any affection for her daughter. Sure, she’d doted on Dylan, but never Ava.

  Bitterness held Ava’s tongue. Charla called Rhett into her lap, gripped him tightly and glared. “Just leave me alone.”

  She clenched and unclenched her hands at her sides, fighting for what composure she could retain. “What about the Renault Corporation, Mother? Are you going to ignore it as well? The company Dylan put so much time and energy into?”

  “I can’t even face the office—reminders of my sweet boy are everywhere.” Charla narrowed her eyes.

  That answered that. There was no reasoning with her, and Ava didn’t have the strength left to argue. Or to ask for control of the company…yet.

  She shut the patio door and marched from the suites without another word. After turning the corner of the hall, Ava pressed her back against the wall. She closed her eyes and slid to the floor.

  Daddy…Dylan…no one to turn to now. Dear Lord, please give me strength and peace.

  The pent-up tears spewed from her eyes, making warm tracks down her cheeks. She didn’t care. Let them fall where they would, Ava couldn’t hold back the pain any longer. She’d never felt so alone in her life. At least after the car accident, Dylan had been there to hold her and soothe the loss of their father. Drawing her knees to her chest, she rested her forearms atop her knees, then laid her head on her arms, sobbing without control.

  Max’s image flitted across her mind. She didn’t have to be alone if she didn’t want to be. He said he’d be there for her.

  Ava shook her head and wiped her face against her sleeve. Now she was being downright silly. After the way she’d brushed Max off the last several years, it was a miracle he even spoke to her, much less be willing to help her in any way.

  “Ms. Ava, are you okay?”

  Ava pushed to her feet and swiped her sleeve over her eyes again. “I’m fine, Bea.” She smoothed her shirt. “Was there something you needed?”

  The elderly lady cocked her head. “Just checking on Ms. Charla this morning.” Concern etched into the lines deep in her face.

  The woman had been with the family since Ava was a toddler. If anyone knew Charla Renault at all, it was Bea. Or Bosworth, who had been with Charla even longer. Since childhood, really.

  “Mother’s still not feeling well.”

  “Oh.”

  “Thank you, though.” Ava held her head high and strode to the office. Only when she was ensconced safely behind the massive oak doors did she collapse in the kid leather chair, her eyes again spilling with tears.

  She glanced at the picture on the corner of the desk. Her father and Dylan had their arms over each other’s shoulders, their silly, smiling faces posing for Ava behind the lens. Tears flowed from her eyes. Why both of them?

  Sniffing, Ava cleared her throat, but questions still niggled against her mind. What about the red hair found? What had Dylan been doing at the abandoned Renault Hall? He had to be meeting someone. That was the only logical explanation.

  Meeting his own murderer.

  Just the thought sent shivers down her back. She needed to do something. To talk to someone.

  Max.

  Amazing how her fingers pressed the numbers of his cell so quickly, as if they moved of their own accord. She gripped the phone tightly. What was she doing calling Max at this hour of the morning? She shouldn’t bother him. “Hello.” His voice
was a nice mix of baritone with Southern drawl.

  “Hi, Max.”

  “Ava. How are you?”

  “Holding on. I’m going to head into Renault Corporation and see where the business is. Try to make heads or tails of everything.”

  “I’ll be more than happy to help you catch up, I mean, if you’d like input from someone with an MBA.”

  “As opposed to someone who is just-a-nothing wedding planner?”

  He hesitated. “I didn’t mean any offense, Ava. Just offering to help.”

  “I know. It’s just that very reaction is what I ran into when I called the office. The office manager seemed shocked I even knew where the building was located.” She twisted the phone cord around her finger.

  “I’m at your service, ma’am.”

  She laughed, throaty and humorless. “Well, I’m smart enough to know I’m going to need help, and I don’t believe the workers will think I’m worthy to be brought up to speed.” She paused, her breathing a bit erratic over the thought of working with him, side by side. “I gratefully take you up on your offer. Can you meet me at the office at ten?”

  “I’d be honored. But, uh, Ava, you realize your mother will have a fit if I so much as park in the parking lot at Renault Corporation, right?”

  “You saw her at the funeral. There’s no way she can oversee the company right now.”

  “You’ll need to get your company lawyer to obtain a power of attorney over the corporation—otherwise, you can’t sign anything.”

  Something else she’d have to handle. Alone. “I’ll get on that.”

  “What about your business?”

  “My assistant is handling things for the time being.”

  “Then I’ll see you soon.”

  “I really appreciate it.” Her words lilted with relief. “I mean it, Max. I really do appreciate your willingness to help me out.”

  “No problem.”

  The familiar beep of another call coming through sounded against her ear. “We can talk more when I see you.”

  “Looking forward to it.”

  She pressed the button on the phone to answer the other call. “Hello.”