by Brenda Novak
“What’s your problem, Detective?” Hugh demanded.
It had gotten very, very quiet on that staircase. Bennett glanced around and saw that they had nearly everyone’s attention in the immediate area.
“Where is your phone?” Each word was a growl from Bennett.
Hugh just blinked. “Uh, in my pocket?”
Bennett let him go. “Give it to me. Now.”
Hugh pulled out his phone. “You’re a crazy SOB, you know that?”
“You had this phone all night? You never let it out of your sight?”
Hugh looked around. His cheeks reddened. “You interrogating me, now?”
Ivy pushed against Bennett. “The man we’re after is getting away!”
Was he? Bennett wasn’t so sure…
***
“Hugh?” Shelly Estes rubbed her arms as she walked across the balcony on the west side of Melton House. It was dark back there, with only a few couples hiding in the shadows. Kissing. Sharing their secrets in the night.
The balcony on the east side had been a totally different story—the crush out there had been unbelievable. Probably because the band was playing closer to that balcony. It had been the place to see and be seen.
Maybe Hugh doesn’t want to be seen, though. Maybe he is out here.
She put her hands on her hips. When she found Hugh, the jerk was going to get it. He didn’t get to cut out in the middle of the ball, not when it was her night. Sure, she understood that he was worried about his sister, but that didn’t mean the guy got to pull a vanishing act on her and—
“You’re looking for Hugh DuLane?” A dark, deep voice queried from her right.
Shelly spun around. A tall, handsome man stood just a few feet away. He smiled at her, showing off perfectly straight, white teeth. “Or is there…” he murmured. “Another Hugh gone missing tonight?”
“Ah, no, I am looking for Hugh DuLane.” She took a step toward him. “Have you seen him?”
“I have.” His smile stretched a bit. “Want me to take you to him?”
Relief rushed through her. “Yes.” Then she’d give Hugh a serious piece of her mind. Jerk.
He held up his hand to her. White gloves covered his fingers. She put her fingers in his. They headed back into the house.
He glanced over at her as the bright lights fell on them both and appreciation lit his gaze. A brilliant, blue gaze.
Shelly hesitated. “Have we met before?” Because he seemed familiar. Maybe… “Didn’t I see you at the ball last night?”
His smile seemed to tighten. “Did you?”
She lifted her hand and her fingers brushed against her mask. She pulled it up so that he could see her face.
“I don’t think I’d forget a lady as lovely as you.”
That was nice. Hugh should say nice things like that to her.
The man’s gaze seemed to linger on her hair as he said, “No, I wouldn’t be able to forget a woman with hair like yours. So dark and beautiful.”
She laughed at that. “Well, actually, I was a redhead last night. But I like to change things up.” She’d wanted to look extra special for the ball, so a change had seemed like a good idea.
“Do you now…” He put his hand at the small of her back. Because her dress had a deep, plunging back, his gloved hand slid against her skin. A tingle of awareness pulsed through her. This is why Hugh shouldn’t abandon me at a ball. There are plenty of other handsome men who can appreciate me.
Her smile stretched a little more. “How do you know Hugh?”
“I actually met him through his sister.” He steered her toward a closed door. He opened the door, but kept his other hand on her back. “Are you well acquainted with Ivy?”
She nodded. “Why, yes, I—”
He shoved her inside and shut the door behind him.
She stumbled and nearly fell as her high heels wobbled. “Wh-what are you doing?”
He turned the lock on the door. She realized they were in some kind of storage room. And they were alone.
He reached inside of his coat and pulled out a white mask. Staring at her, he put that mask over his face.
“This isn’t funny,” Shelly snapped. She tried to surge around him. “I’m going back to the party.”
He grabbed her, held her tight and—something sharp pressed under her chin. “You aren’t going anywhere,” he told her.
Her breath heaved out.
“I wasn’t going to kill you…you weren’t my plan.” The tip of a knife slid up her chin and began to trail over her lips. “But then you said you saw me last night. I had my mask on, love. You weren’t supposed to remember me.”
She…she… “Your eyes,” she whispered. “I remembered them.” Because she’d been at the whiskey bar with Hugh and Cameron. Cameron had been talking with that man. He’d looked over at them, and she’d been caught by his eyes. Such bright, blue eyes.
Unforgettable eyes.
Eyes that she suddenly wished she’d never seen.
Shelly wanted to scream, but that blade was right at her lips. She had a horrible flash of him cutting her mouth. Of him using that knife on her…
She stopped moving.
“Are you going to be good to me, Shelly?” he asked her.
She managed a nod.
“Good. Then don’t make a sound…” He moved the knife away from her lips. Her breath heaved out. Her heartbeat was drumming in her ears. Maybe if she didn’t fight him, he’d just let her go. Maybe…maybe he was just going to scare her.
“I won’t tell anyone,” Shelly whispered as tears stung her eyes. “I promise.”
He smiled at her. “I know you won’t.”
She tried to smile back at him.
He drove the knife into her chest. “Because the dead can’t talk.”
She stared up at his mask. Up at his unforgettable eyes. His eyes were the last thing she saw.
***
“This is bullshit!” Hugh snarled. “Get out of my face, Detective Morgan!”
Bennett just leaned closer. “You told me you had this phone with you all night. Then explain to me,” he ordered, “about the phone call that Ivy got less than thirty minutes ago. A call from the killer…from the guy I heard confess to stabbing the councilman.”
Hugh’s face went slack with shock. “Wait…what?”
“If you had the phone, then you made the call.”
“No, I didn’t!” Hugh denied. His gaze swung to Ivy. “Hell, I swear it! You know I’d never do anything to hurt you!”
No, just the rest of the world.
“It wasn’t Hugh.” And Ivy shoved around them both as she hurried up the stairs. “And you two are wasting time. He’s up there!”
Bennett glared at Hugh even as he carefully put that phone in his coat pocket. He’d run the phone for prints and see what they turned up, and in the meantime, he’d keep Hugh in sight.
Hugh tried to push past him, hurrying after Ivy.
Bennett grabbed him and barked, “You do anything to hurt Ivy, and you are a dead man.” Ivy might trust her brother, but Bennett recognized the guy for exactly what he was.
Trouble.
He locked his hand in Hugh’s collar and pushed the guy up ahead of him. Ivy was at the top of the stairs now, and she glanced back, glaring at them both.
She didn’t see her brother for what he was—she had her blinders on with him. Always had. But Bennett wasn’t blind.
“I-I need to find Shelly,” Hugh mumbled. “I was going upstairs to get some air when I saw you come in.”
Bennett’s eyes narrowed at those words. So Hugh wanted him to believe that he hadn’t been on the balcony.
“Shelly was upstairs when I saw her last,” Hugh said, hurrying his steps as they neared the landing. “When we find her, she can clear everything up for me.”
Bennett wasn’t seeing Shelly, though. He also wasn’t seeing anyone else that could have been the killer. Just Hugh. The other men they passed didn’t match the guy�
�s description. A few moments later, Bennett followed Ivy out onto the balcony. There were only couples out there. One man with red hair was embracing a blonde. A balding guy was slow dancing with his partner. A fellow in Navy dress blues held hands with his date.
Where is the bastard in the mask?
“He’s not here,” Ivy said. She hurried past him and ran back into the hallway. “We should look—”
Hugh reached out and grabbed her arm. “If the killer is here, then I want to find Shelly, now.” A new urgency had entered his tone.
Ivy searched his gaze, then she nodded. She pulled out her phone and dialed quickly. “She answered me before. I’ll get her again.”
Hugh nodded, appearing relieved.
But…
“No answer,” Ivy said as she began to walk. She kept the phone at her ear, no doubt listening to it ring, as she said, “there’s another balcony around back, let’s search it.”
Bennett yanked Hugh after her. Bennett assessed every man they passed. He paused at the top of the stairs, his gaze trekking down below, looking for that taunting bastard. The men at this party weren’t wearing masks, though. The bastard had probably just taken it off once he’d left the balcony, and then he’d blended right in with the crowd.
The thick crowd truly did make for a perfect hunting ground.
He turned away from the stairs, ready to check that other balcony. Hugh was at his side, Bennett made sure of that with his grip on the guy. They took a few quick steps forward—
Hugh froze. “That’s her tone.”
Ivy kept walking. She still had the phone at her ear.
“That’s Shelly’s ring tone!” Hugh yelled.
Ivy whirled back around.
Hugh jerked free of Bennett’s hold. He put his head next to the door on the right. “I can hear it.” He glanced back at Ivy. “You know she loves Katie Perry.” He grabbed for the door knob and twisted, but the door didn’t open. “Shelly!” Hugh called. He knocked his fist on the door. “Shelly, open up! I need you to talk with the jerk Morgan! Tell him that I’ve been with you.”
Ivy put her phone down. Her worried gaze met Bennett’s.
“Shelly?” Hugh knocked on the door again. “Come on, baby. Open the door. This isn’t funny.” He laughed, the sound rough and awkward. “I’m sorry that I didn’t come back upstairs right away. It’s just…I needed a break. The crowd was pressing in on me. I felt like everyone was staring. Watching. You know the way gossip follows my family.”
There was no response from within that room. Bennett put his hand on Hugh’s shoulder and pushed him back. Bennett tried the knob—definitely locked.
“Maybe it’s not her,” Ivy said as she approached them. The phone on the other side of that door had stopped ringing. “I’m sure Katie Perry songs are real popular ring tones.”
Bennett glanced down at the phone cradled in Ivy’s hands. “Call her again.”
She swallowed and her fingers slid across the screen. He saw the screen note of Dialing Shelly…and Shelly’s smiling face appeared on Ivy’s screen.
Then the call connected.
And Katie Perry began to sing from behind the door.
“She could have dropped her phone,” Hugh said quickly as he gave a hard nod. “I bet that’s what happened. She dropped her phone in there. She’s probably somewhere else, hell, maybe she’s even looking for her phone…”
Bennett wasn’t so sure of that, and, judging by the worry on Ivy’s face, she wasn’t, either. They both knew the killer was there—and he could already have a new victim.
“Get back,” Bennett ordered.
“Why?” Hugh blustered. “What are you—”
Growling, Bennett pushed the guy back once more. Then he kicked in that door. If he was wrong, he’d pay for a new door. If he was right—
He saw the blood.
Shit, but he hadn’t wanted to be right.
Shelly was on the floor, blood covering her gown, and a green mask was just inches from her fingers. Her mask?
Her lashes were closed, her body so still. He hurried to her, and Bennett put his fingers on her throat.
No pulse, but she was still warm. So warm because…he just killed her. “We need to lock this place down. No one else leaves.” He surged to his feet.
“Shelly!” Hugh tried to rush past Bennett.
Bennett grabbed the guy. “No, dammit! This is a crime scene, stay back!”
But Hugh fought his hold. Twisting, and punching and when Hugh’s fist slammed into his jaw, Bennett swore, but didn’t let the other guy go. “You can’t help her now. She’s gone man, I’m sorry.”
“No.” Hugh’s denial was sharp. “No, she’s not!” He kept fighting, but Bennett pulled Hugh out of the room. “Shelly! Shelly, baby—no!” Pain and fear laced his voice. “Please, no,” he whispered.
Bennett glanced at Ivy. Her hand was over her mouth and tears trekked down her cheeks. “We have to get security to close this scene,” Bennett said softly. “No one can leave, not until my men talk to everyone here.” Because the killer was there—if the bastard hadn’t already slipped away. “We close this place down, now.”
Ivy nodded.
“Shelly?” Hugh’s voice was lost. “Why…Shelly?”
***
“Have a good night, gentlemen,” he murmured as he cleared the security gate. He gave the security staff a friendly wave as he waited for the valet to bring his car around. He didn’t want to appear nervous, after all. Why would he want to do that?
He smiled at them. “Sure were some pretty women here tonight.”
Shelly had been a pleasant surprise. Would they find her soon? He certainly hoped so. What fun that discovery would be.
The man to his right—a big, balding fellow who was built rather like a tank—gave him a broad smile. “Plenty of pretty women,” the guy agreed. A diamond winked from his ear lobe.
And, because it tempted him so much, he just had to tell the man, “There was one brunette there…” He whistled. “She was to die for.”
The valet appeared, driving up in the Porsche.
Such a beautiful ride. One that commanded attention. Just like he commanded attention.
The smile was still on his lips as he climbed into the driver’s seat. He handed off his tip to the valet.
And he heard the crackle of a radio to the right. He glanced over, idly curious. The bald guard with the earring pulled the radio away from the clip on his hip.
“This is Morris,” he said.
“We’re under lockdown…a detective is saying that no one should—”
Ah, that would be his cue to leave. “Have a good night.” He closed his door, pushed his foot down on the gas pedal and got the hell out of there before Morris’s boss could finish giving him instructions. Instructions that he was sure originated from Detective Bennett Morgan.
You found her.
Much faster than he’d thought. Yes, it was definitely time to leave this particular party. And he was getting away clean. The way he always did.
Chapter Eight
Ivy hunched her shoulders when the body was brought out of Melton House. She was getting really tired of seeing dead bodies.
Only that wasn’t just any dead body…
I’ve known Shelly for years. They’d shared secrets. Laughter. Tears. Shelly had always been trailing after Hugh, and her brother had finally gotten his shit together and seen the beautiful woman who wanted him.
Now she was gone.
Ivy shivered in the night air.
Dozens of cops were at the scene. Police tape blocked the driveway—so did armed guards. No one was getting out of that ball without talking to the cops. They were getting names and addresses. They were questioning everyone for details about that night.
And her brother…he was one of the ones being grilled the most.
Hugh was currently in the back of a patrol car. The door was open, and another detective—Drew Trout—was leaning in close, talking to him. Grill
ing him.
It’s not Hugh.
Bennett should understand that. He needed to get his colleague to understand that the killer had tried to set up Hugh. That he’d used Hugh’s phone.
That he’d killed Hugh’s lover.
Her gaze slid back to the body bag.
I’m so sorry, Shelly.
“No, no, I’m telling you…” A man’s voice rose, drawing her attention to the left. “I shut the place down as soon as I got the radio message from my boss.”
Her body turned toward that voice. She saw Bennett with his arms crossed, sizing up one of the security guards at the event—the guy they’d passed when they’d first arrived. Big, tough, with a gleaming bald head and good taste in diamonds.
“No one got out of here after I got that message,” the guy said flatly. “My boys and I secured the scene. No one got past us then.”
She inched closer to them.
“Did anyone leave right before that?” Bennett asked.
The fellow sputtered and said, “Yeah, folks been coming and going all night. I didn’t know to stop them!”
Bennett’s hands fell to his side. “Morris, I need to know if a man left. A man about my size with dark hair. I think he would have been traveling alone.”
Morris’s gaze slid away from his. The guy seemed to be staring over near the valet line. A line that wasn’t moving very much at all.
“He said,” Morris licked his lips, “he said the brunette…that she was ‘to die for’…”
Ivy swallowed as nausea rose within her.
“Who said that?” Bennett asked immediately.
“The guy—the guy who drove off in the Porsche. Real sweet ride.” Morris ran a hand over the top of his head. “He was your height. Had his tux coat tucked under his arm.”
Because he was hiding some blood that might have gotten on it?
“I need a full description of him.” Bennett’s voice was grim.
“I-I didn’t know to stop him. Not then. He was friendly. Not in any kind of rush. I mean, if he’d just killed that lady…” Now the bouncer’s gaze slid toward the ME’s van. His jaw locked. “Shouldn’t he have been running?”
Not him. He’s too cool. Too controlled.
