by Brenda Novak
“She would’ve been working, very busy. I doubt she noticed. Besides...”
“What?”
“I’d rather keep this quiet if we can. The suspicion alone will destroy what’s left of my mother’s reputation. And news of this could really hurt my sister and her kids. I know it doesn’t seem likely right now, but...maybe there’s some explanation other than what we’re thinking.”
“Like...?”
“Landon was trying to send this to his wife, and accidentally texted it to the wrong person?”
“That would be embarrassing, wouldn’t it?” she said with a laugh.
“The worst possible outcome.”
“Not as bad as what we’re thinking. And it’s feasible, I suppose. Only I’d guess he meant to send it to someone besides his wife. Rocki was with him that night at the party. Why would he try to send her a naked picture of himself from the bathroom?”
Keith scrambled to come up with an explanation that would preserve Landon’s dignity. “Maybe it was a joke, a game. Stranger things have happened. But...until we know more, can we be careful with this information? Let me ask a few discreet questions to people I trust before you take this public?”
“People you trust? Who might that be?”
“Pippa, of course. And Nancy. She was at the party, too. Maybe she’ll have something to add.”
“Did you see her last night?”
He felt bad letting Harper know he’d gone to see another woman after dropping her off, but he’d already admitted his interest at dinner, so he told her the truth. “I did.”
“How’d it go?”
“Not too well.”
She chuckled softly.
“What?”
“It’s funny that she doesn’t realize how much you want her.”
“She’s not interested in what I have to offer.”
She gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Maybe she’ll move in your direction. Or—” she winked at him “—maybe you’ll move in hers.”
After he showed Harper to the door, he went in search of his keys. He was taking Nancy out for that lunch she’d agreed to. After last night, he wasn’t convinced she’d give him the time of day. But he figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask. She might be able to shed some light on how his mother and Landon were behaving at that party.
Even if she couldn’t, he wanted to see her.
15
NANCY WAS STARVING when Keith knocked on her door. She had Saturdays off and had spent the morning cleaning, too intent on finishing her housework to take a break, even to eat. She was also afraid that if she stopped, she’d only start obsessing over last night—what she’d said and done and how Keith had responded. What on earth had possessed her to be so bold? She’d never been a tease, but she’d definitely been out to make Keith sit up and take notice.
And she’d achieved her goal. She’d felt so vindicated to see the desire in his eyes, that rapt look on his face. But she’d been just as affected as he was.
Anyway, he’d probably forgotten about her and her silly lingerie as soon as he drove off—went to Harper’s or somewhere else, while she tossed and turned all night, imagining his hands on her body.
“Have you come to talk business?” she asked, because she had no interest in doing anything else.
“No. I’ve come to take you to lunch. Do you have an hour or so?”
She glanced over her shoulder at the vacuum, which was still in the middle of the floor.
“Come on, Nancy. Cleaning can wait until you get back.”
He was right. She was almost done, anyway. But she hadn’t showered yet. “When?”
“How about now?”
“You couldn’t have called? I need time to have a shower and get changed.”
“I like you just the way you are.”
“Well, thanks for that, but there’ll be other people in the restaurant. Can’t we talk here?”
“We can if you’re willing to let me in.”
She remembered where that had led last night and didn’t dare take the same chance. “Never mind. I’m fine with going out.”
She expected him to chuckle at that, but he remained somber. “Thank you.”
She hurried to brush her hair into a ponytail and pull on a sweater, some jeans and a pair of boots. When she walked out, she found him wandering around her living room. “I’m ready.”
“Great. Let’s go.” He waited as she locked up. Then he gestured toward his mother’s Mercedes.
“You took your rental back?”
“Not yet. I should do that in the next few days. Didn’t see any point in letting a nicer car sit in the garage unused.”
“Makes sense.”
“Where should we go?” he asked.
“You like burgers. Why don’t we go to Billy’s?”
“What would you like?”
She preferred a salad. Buying that lingerie had renewed her motivation to lose those last twenty pounds—and to find someone who’d appreciate all her effort. “A salad at the Wild Rose Café sounds good to me.”
“Fine.” He opened the door for her and waited until she got in before walking around to the driver’s side.
She breathed deeply, taking in the scent of the expensive leather. She could also smell a hint of Josephine’s perfume, which made her a little uncomfortable. Fortunately, the heater came on as soon as Keith started the engine, quickly concealing that scent. But then his cologne reached her nostrils...
“What’s going on?” she asked as he backed out of her drive. He seemed so serious today.
He shrugged off the question. “We’re having lunch.”
“You said you wanted to talk to me. That suggests you have a purpose in mind.”
“We’ll get to it.”
“Where’s Maisey?”
“Haven’t talked to her today.”
“Maybe she’d like to join us. Should I call her?” She’d feel safer in a group, but he shot her a look that left little question as to his feelings on the matter. “You’d rather she didn’t come?”
“We’ll be fine on our own.”
They rode the four blocks to the café in silence.
“I’m sorry about last night,” she said as he parked. “I was out of line. I really can’t explain what got into me.”
“The part when you sent me home was the only part I didn’t like, so unless that’s what you’re apologizing for, forget it.”
He didn’t wait for her to respond. He got out and came around to her side. But this wasn’t a date—not to her—so she opened her own door.
He motioned for her to climb out. Then he shut the door and hit the button that would lock the car.
Although Rose’s had a brisk business in the summer, it was never very busy in the winter—except on weekends. Nancy was just regretting that she hadn’t insisted Keith wait until she could shower when her neighbor, Justin Cruz, who worked at Rose’s, said, “Hey, good-lookin’. Haven’t seen you in forever.”
“I was at your New Year’s party!”
“That was weeks ago,” he teased. “You should stop by the house more often.”
“I’ll do that.” She liked going there. Justin and his significant other really knew how to decorate and cook.
He nodded at Keith. “Two for lunch?”
Nancy answered since Keith was checking his phone. “Yes, please.”
Before Keith looked up, Justin waggled his eyebrows at her as if to say she’d found a “hot one,” and she gave him a slight shake of her head to let him know Keith was not a romantic possibility.
“Where’d you meet the guy who seated us?” Keith asked after Justin left them with menus and went to get their water.
“Justin? He and Tyler are
partners. They live down the street from me.”
“Tyler who?”
“Broome, the owner’s son.”
“Oh! Right. I remember him. I never knew he was gay.”
“He had several girlfriends when we were growing up. He hadn’t come out then. Or he could be bi, I guess. I’ve never asked.”
“Then we’ll have to clarify that as soon as he gets back.”
When she glanced up, he flashed her a smile to indicate that he was joking.
“So why have you brought me here?” she asked once she was ready to set her menu aside.
He put his menu on top of hers. “Because we’re friends, remember?”
“Friends?” She lowered her voice. “Not quite yet—I mean, if last night is anything to go by.”
“Friends with benefits if I have my choice. But you’re being stubborn.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re unbelievable! You were out with the chief of police only minutes before you propositioned me.”
“That was a business dinner.”
“Yeah, right. It looked like one,” she said with a laugh. “Anyway, the point is you have plenty of other options.”
“It’s not about options.”
“Then what is it about? Taking care of your, uh, needs while you’re on the island because you can’t go without for a few weeks? Or one last screw for old times’ sake?”
He scowled at her but didn’t answer. Leslie, their server, was approaching the table.
Keith ordered chicken potpie; she went with the Cobb salad.
“I need to talk to you about something,” he said once Leslie had moved away.
Nancy was surprised that he hadn’t picked up the conversation where they’d left it. “So this isn’t about friendship.”
“That’s a separate issue.”
Feeling both relieved and curious, she took a sip of water. “What do you want to discuss?”
“How well do you know Landon?”
He was wearing a blue sweater that molded to his broad shoulders. She found him so damn handsome—not that she cared to acknowledge that. “This is the second time you’ve brought up your brother-in-law since you’ve been back.”
“I realize that.”
“What’s going on?”
“You were at my mother’s Christmas party.”
“Yes...”
He put his coffee cup right side up and pushed it to the edge of the table. “Landon and Rocki were there, too.”
She slid her cup next to his. “They were. I’m the one who told you that.”
“I remember. Did you see Landon interact with my mother at all?”
The question was a simple one, but Nancy felt that a lot depended on her answer, and Keith was edging close to a memory she’d rather not speculate on. Something about what she’d seen that night had felt off, but what if she was wrong?
“I saw them interact...a little,” she hedged.
He waited for a server carrying a coffeepot to pour them each a cup. “Did that interaction seem...normal?” he asked as he added cream.
When she didn’t reply, he looked up. “No answer?”
“I’m thinking.”
“Yes or no will do. Don’t hold back. Just tell me.”
She opened a packet of sugar for her own coffee. “I’m not sure I should say anything. That’s why I haven’t spoken about it to anyone.”
“I’m going to share a few details with you that I hope you won’t tell anyone else.”
He was taking her into his confidence, once again involving her in his problems. She doubted letting him do that would be wise, but she was too curious to object. “Of course.”
“Chief Underwood found a naked picture of Landon on my mother’s computer.”
She’d just taken her first sip of coffee. At this, she coughed and then wiped her mouth. “What kind of naked picture?”
“What could be unclear about naked?”
“The intent behind it, I guess. Was it...pornographic or something else? I mean, a picture of Landon mooning his mother-in-law would be different from a picture of him...say...touching himself.”
He lowered his voice. “He took a selfie in front of a mirror while he had an erection—wearing nothing, I might add, except the tie he’d had on at the party. Does that clarify things?”
She grimaced. “I’m afraid it does.”
“I’m guessing he texted it to her that night, since the picture was taken in a bathroom at Coldiron House.”
The odd feeling Nancy had gotten at the Christmas party welled up again. “That’s...revolting.”
He sat back and studied her. “And yet you don’t sound surprised.”
“I was hoping I was wrong.”
“About...”
She took another sip of coffee because she needed an extra second to examine the memory. “I saw him...whisper to her. That’s all. A brief moment when he leaned close to her, bent his head and said...something.”
“You don’t know what?”
“No.”
“So...what makes you uneasy about that moment?”
Keith knew there had to be some hint that Landon wasn’t merely telling Josephine what he’d bought Rocki for Christmas, or Nancy wouldn’t have reservations. He watched as she put her coffee cup down.
“The way he touched her when he did it, the look on his face after. All of it. It...made me uncomfortable.”
“Did you get the feeling there was some romantic interest between them?”
As soon as Landon noticed she was observing them, he’d dropped his hand and straightened. “Honestly? Yes.”
When Keith propped his elbows on the table, rested his chin in his hands and began rubbing his temples, Nancy wished she could smooth his hair back or do something else to comfort him. She used to rub his back and neck when he was at his most troubled. He’d ended up resorting to drugs on some of those nights. But there’d been other instances when she’d been able to calm him.
So many people thought he’d been born with a silver spoon in his mouth and acted out in later years only because he was spoiled. They didn’t understand the abuse he’d suffered and how hard he’d tried to figure out some way to get along with his overpowering mother while still retaining a connection to the grandfather he’d adored. One had to know Josephine Lazarow to understand just how narcissistic and controlling she could be. That was why Nancy couldn’t hold any of his actions—including what he’d done to her—against him. She’d been close enough to see his pain.
Was that the reason she couldn’t get over him? Because she’d forgiven him even before he asked?
“I could be wrong,” she said. “It’s important to keep that in mind.”
He straightened his silverware. “You weren’t wrong.”
“We can’t be sure,” she insisted. “How much contact could they have had? It’s not like he’s ever lived on Fairham.”
“He brought his family to visit a few times each year.”
“Only once or twice—not often. If he was coming here every week or two, Pippa would know. And Rocki would probably suspect.”
“If my mother was expecting him, she could easily give Pippa the day off or the afternoon off or whatever. Pippa only works five days a week and those days are flexible. She wouldn’t know what went on in her absence. Or my mother could’ve met Landon elsewhere—someplace she considered more exciting, like New Orleans. She loved to travel, and New Orleans was one of her favorite destinations.”
This was sounding worse by the moment. “How close is New Orleans to Lafitte?”
“Less than an hour’s drive.”
“But your mother was seeing someone else before she died—someone from Australia.” Nancy toyed with the empty sugar pa
cket next to her plate. “At least, that’s what I told myself after catching that odd...caress or whatever.”
“Hugh Pointer? He’s married, Nancy.”
She blinked at him. “Oh. Wow. You’re kidding. Did she know he had a wife?”
“Apparently she did.”
“I wouldn’t have expected her to be so tolerant.”
“That came as a surprise to me, too.”
“So, what now?”
The waitress arrived with their food. Keith held his tongue until she was gone. Then he said, “I’m beginning to wonder if Landon could’ve killed her.”
Nancy’s stomach knotted. Although she didn’t know Rocki well, she understood how deeply that would hurt her—and that it would negatively impact her kids, as well as Maisey and Keith. “That can’t be the case.”
“It could be. Which is why I’m feeling sick to my stomach.”
* * *
Rocki heard her husband’s truck in the drive. Fortunately, Zac had gone skateboarding and Chloe wasn’t due to return from her friend’s house until tomorrow. Rocki was home alone, and was so grateful for that. Coping with whatever was going on would be much more difficult if she had to suppress her emotions until she and Landon could speak privately.
Digging her fingernails into her palms, she stayed in the kitchen while waiting for him to come through the door. What would he say? Where had he gone? She’d called his parents’ house. They’d acted surprised that she didn’t know where he was and claimed they hadn’t seen him.
Were they lying?
They had to be, didn’t they? She couldn’t think of one other place he might’ve gone. His best friend lived nearby, but Landon hated his best friend’s wife. Most people did. Chrissy wasn’t an easy person to get along with. Rocki couldn’t imagine that he’d put himself at her mercy.
Just when she thought he wasn’t coming in, after all, that he’d gone around back to mow the lawn or do some other chore instead of greeting her, she heard the door creak open. Her eyes began to burn but she blinked back the tears. She’d promised herself they’d have a calm conversation—that she’d say what she was thinking and feeling without creating another argument.
