Hart was continuing his explanation. "First they killed your husband for crossing them. They made sure to leave an obvious clue for the police—the missing hands—then they passed the news on to the press. But I mucked up their plan by insisting Detective Kidder track down the thug. I should have assigned it to someone else. He was getting on, slowing down, couldn't hear worth a damn."
Teri realized the captain blamed himself for Kidder's death, but she didn't know what consoling words would be appropriate, under the circumstances.
For a moment Hart seemed lost in his own thoughts. "He would have been off the street completely in another day or two. I should have left him alone."
"Was he retiring?" Drew asked, speaking up for the first time since greeting the captain.
"No. It was just a transfer. But Bill thought it was worse than a death sentence. He was so damn anxious to solve this case and prove he could still do his job." He went on talking distractedly about his co-worker for several minutes.
Comprehension of why Kidder had been pushing her so hard didn't make Teri any more appreciative of his investigative efforts against her and Drew. Apparently he must have found the time to push someone else as well. Someone much more dangerous than she was. But when? He had practically been camped on her doorstep.
The captain seemed to think that Kidder was concentrating solely on the mob. So, she and Drew must have been right about Kidder harassing her on his own. A complaint now, however, would serve no purpose, especially considering how badly Captain Hart was hurting over the loss of his friend.
"Forgive me," Hart said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I got a little sidetracked there. The reason I came by was to warn you about the lab findings. It doesn't sound like that part has leaked out yet but, when it does, the press is liable to be after you for a reaction. There were fingerprints picked up at the scene, outside the broken window and on the gun. They were identified as your husband's."
Chapter 16
Teri splashed cold water on her face, then brushed her teeth. The nice picnic lunch had rebelled by the time she'd heard Captain Hart's full report. It was beyond her imagination how any human could be so perverted to do what had been done. But before he left, Hart had explained that it was a ploy used by the mob before.
"Teri?" Drew called through the bathroom door. "Are you all right?"
She dried her face and opened the door. His concerned frown let her know words were not necessary. He understood and took her into his arms. But the temporary comfort was interrupted by a telephone call from a local reporter. As the captain had predicted, the minute word about the fingerprints got around, the media wanted a statement from the widow.
Drew picked up the second and third calls, telling them Mrs. Gambini was in a state of shock and could not be disturbed. He finally took the phone off the hook and they went up to the studio for the rest of the afternoon. After one persistent reporter found them there, Drew finished his work and insisted they leave the house for a while. Teri quickly agreed and took advantage of the outing to drop off the bags of Rico's clothes at a Goodwill location. She was suddenly in a great hurry to get every reminder of Rico out of her sight.
Drew was reluctant to leave her alone that night, but they both knew it was still best to part for appearance sake.
He was back, though, minutes after the sun reached a respectable level above the horizon.
"You didn't sleep," he stated after examining the dark circles under Teri's eyes.
"I'll be okay. I had a little trouble dealing with the ghosts that kept popping up when I closed my eyes. They'll go away, just like they did after Rico was found. Anyway, you weren't my first visitor this morning. A reporter beat you to it. I didn't answer the door but there was no going back to bed after that."
Reassured that her mental condition was returning to normal, he kissed her to check on her physical state. Her warm response did much more than merely reassure him.
It was mid-morning by the time they were getting into Drew's car to start their search for some photogenic faces. But their departure was delayed when Selena's white Cadillac pulled into the driveway behind them. The glowering expression on her face as she slammed her car door shut served as a sharp reminder to Teri of their conversation the day before.
"Oh, dear," was all Teri said before Selena reached her.
"Why didn't you call me?" she demanded. "You promised you'd call. I hate it when people break their promises."
"I'm sorry, Selena. So much has happened since I talked to you, I guess I forgot."
"Forgot? I couldn't forget you," she whined back. "I worry about you. You said we would spend the day together. I was counting on it."
Teri was fairly sure she had only promised a phone call, but Selena was acting more like a spoiled child than an adult friend, and Teri didn't get the impression contradicting her would help. She had never dreamed Selena's dependence on her would go this far.
"Were you going somewhere with him?"
Teri was stunned to see Selena glaring at Drew as if he was an enemy she had never seen before. Teri's intuition told her to tread carefully. Although it didn't make sense, Selena was not only angry over being forgotten, she was showing serious signs of jealousy. "Drew and I were going in search of some subjects for my new series. You know, the one I started sketching you for. He's going to help with the photography." Before her eyes Teri watched Selena's body relax and her angry features soften. Almost too abruptly, the lovely adult replaced the spoiled, jealous child.
"You know how much your work fascinates me. Would you mind if I come along? I won't be in your way. In fact, I could help by getting the subjects to sign your releases."
Teri minded. Without looking at Drew, she was certain he minded also. But guilt over forgetting to call Selena beat out irritation over the young woman's momentary childishness. "Sure. It actually would be a big help if you took care of the paperwork. Besides, you might spot somebody we'd miss." As Selena got in the back seat, Teri threw Drew a glance that promised she'd make it up to him later.
* * *
Selena felt better after Teri invited her along. She understood how important Teri's painting was to her, and she supposed creative people tended to be forgetful. She had to remember to make allowances. Seeing Teri ready to work again with a happy smile on her face was enough reward for her efforts.
Teri's feelings toward Drew confused her, however. He was extremely polite and, unlike most men, never looked at her with sex on his mind. She considered the possibility that he was a homosexual. If so, she might even get used to having him around. On the other hand, he'd watched Teri very closely. That could be for professional reasons, yet Detective Kidder had seemed certain there was something more going on between them. Drew would require more study before she could make up her mind about him. And this was the day to do it.
When they stopped at a park and got out of the car to walk around, Selena stayed a few steps behind. Whenever Teri turned around with that worried look on her face, Selena gave her a smile to let her know everything was fine. Selena knew she wasn't being much help in finding an interesting face, but at the moment it was more important to her to watch Drew.
He was a good photographer, she'd grant him that. When Teri convinced a very old woman to let them photograph her, Drew put her at ease with his soft drawl and didn't take forever to focus his camera.
Before they left the park, Teri also found an Hispanic maintenance man who agreed to have his picture taken, and Drew approved Teri's choice with a wink and a grin.
Selena's opinion of Drew remained unsettled until they were getting back into the car. It was such a small thing that alerted her—a small but familiar gesture. As Drew opened the door for Teri, he watched her get into the car with an intent look in his eyes. And when she was settled, he brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers.
Selena's mind flashed a memory of another man's eyes and the first time he had touched her like that.
* * *
/> "I hate you," thirteen-year-old Selena raged at her stepfather. "I'm telling Mommy what you did."
"Now, baby, calm down," Tom said, blocking her way into the house.
"I don't want to calm down. I saw you. Through the Eskers' kitchen window. You were kissing Mrs. Esker. And touching her where you shouldn't. How could you do that when you're married to my mother? I thought you loved her."
Tom gripped her arm and led her away from the house. "I do love your mother. I can explain. I swear you'll understand if you'd just listen to me."
Through teary eyes, Selena stared up at the man she had learned to love and trust in the last year—a kind, sweet man whom she called Daddy as a reward for making her mother so happy, and for helping her forget some of the nightmare she had known with her real father.
"Please, baby, come take a ride with me and we can talk. You always like our long talks."
Because she didn't really want the good times to end so quickly, she agreed to listen to what he had to say. But she knew from past experience that they wouldn't discuss anything while he was driving to their special place.
Right after Tom married her mother, he moved them to the country. When he had pointed to a spot on the map outside Kingston in Ulster County, New York, it hadn't looked all that far away from the big city. He had said it would be worth driving a little further to have a nicer house and own so much land. Selena's mother had liked the one-story ranch house right away and used a part of her first husband's insurance money to buy it. The rest of it, she always said, was for Selena's education. Her mother swore it didn't bother her that their nearest neighbor was over a mile away or that no one could even see the redwood house if they were out on the road. But Selena had the feeling her mother liked it because Tom liked it.
To get to the house, you could go up the winding one-thousand-foot dirt driveway to the top of the hill, or you could find your way through the pine forest that surrounded the house. Marking trails through the trees that only she could figure out became one of Selena's favorite pastimes. The second was canoeing on the Ashokan Reservoir with her stepfather.
That was what she'd had in mind today as she'd hiked through the forest to the Eskers' house in search of him. Mommy had told her he'd gone over there to help Mrs. Esker unclog her kitchen sink. Mrs. Esker always had something that needed fixing, and her husband was usually out of town on business. Now Selena couldn't help but wonder about all her stepfather's helpful trips to their neighbor's house.
When they reached the edge of the reservoir and parked among the trees, it took him another few seconds to begin talking. "I didn't want to tell you this, baby, but I don't know any other way to explain what you saw today."
He looked so sad, Selena almost forgave him before he explained anything.
"Your mom's got a weak heart. She didn't want you to know."
Her eyes opened wide. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, she shouldn't be overly excited, or it could..."
"You mean she could die?" Selena's eyes filled with tears at the thought.
Tom moved across the seat and pulled her into his arms. "Now, now. There's no need to cry. She'll be fine. As long as we take care of her and don't upset her too much."
Selena raised her head from his shoulder. "Then how could you cheat on her? That would tear her apart."
He squeezed his eyes shut and lowered his head. Selena thought he was going to cry, but since he wouldn't look at her, she couldn't tell for sure.
"It would probably kill her," he said quietly after a moment. "And I can't help myself. I love her so much, but I don't know what to do."
"I don't understand. You know it would kill her to find out and you say you love her. So why were you kissing Mrs. Esker?"
He took his arms from around her and turned away. "I'm a weak man, Selena, but I have strong physical needs. And, with your mom's health the way it is, I can't ask her to satisfy them as often as I need to. That's the only reason I was visiting Mrs. Esker. I don't really want to be with her, but she's willing... to help me with my needs."
Selena thought about this for a moment. She knew men were different from women. Her own father had needs, but his hurt the body rather than the heart. There had been times before he died when Selena had drawn his brutal attention to herself, hoping to save her mother from punishment. She would have to protect her mother from pain again. "I won't tell. This time. But I'm afraid she'll find out anyway. I want you to promise you won't go see Mrs. Esker again." She heard him sigh, though he still had his head turned away from her. "Daddy? Please?"
Slowly he faced her again and brushed the back of his fingers over her cheek. The affectionate touch was so typical of him, so tender, it made her young heart flutter with love.
"You're so beautiful, baby. When I first started dating your mom, you were just a kid. How could I have known how quickly you'd turn into a desirable woman?"
Part of Selena was pleased he had called her a woman, but she could see he was upset, and it had something to do with the compliment he had just paid her. "I don't understand."
Again he caressed her cheek. "No. I don't suppose you do. It's not your fault that every time I see you, my... I ache with the need to... to be with a woman. It wouldn't be so bad if I could go to your mother for relief more often. She'd understand how I love you both the same. But with her poor health, I can't expect her to make the ache go away all the time."
"And so you go to see Mrs. Esker." He nodded, his regret so obvious that Selena had to forgive him for his weakness. "And it's... because of the way I've..." She glanced down at her unusually large breasts for a girl her age. "...changed?" Hesitantly, he nodded again, and she made the only decision possible. "I meant it when I said I don't want you to go to Mrs. Esker again. Or any other woman. I don't want there to be any chance that my mother would ever find out you cheated on her. If you have to kiss someone besides my mother—and it really is partly my fault—I'd rather it be me."
He blinked at her in surprise. "And you won't tell her, or anyone else, about anything we do together?"
She bowed her head. "I promise. I won't tell." Then she raised her gaze to hold his. "And do you promise never ever to go to another woman and to keep making my mom happy?"
He kissed her softly on the mouth. "I promise."
"Should I call you Tom, now that I'm a woman?"
"I don't think so. Your mother would notice, and we don't want to upset her, do we?" She frowned and shook her head. "Just keep calling me daddy. I like it."
He stroked her arm in a way that made goose-bumps rise. "Okay. Daddy?"
"Yes, baby?" His fingers brushed the front of her breast and her nipple tightened to a point. He repeated it over the other breast.
She tried to ignore the way her body tensed with each touch. "I don't know very much about the kind of kissing you and Mrs. Esker were doing."
He smiled at her in a way Selena had never seen before, and didn't particularly like.
"You shouldn't lie to me, Selena. You know exactly what I need from you."
When she narrowed her brows in confusion, his smile tilted, making her suddenly nervous.
"I saw you watching your mom and me one night before I asked her to marry me. I knew you were curious, so I didn't send you away. I made your mom very, very happy that night."
"I know," she said, embarrassed, but unable to deny any of it. "I could tell. She sang to me while she made breakfast the next morning. I didn't remember her ever doing that before."
"Your mom's probably wondering where we are, so I think we'd better get back. But I'd like to make her very, very happy again tonight. Like the other time. I'll leave the door open."
Selena's heart was pounding. This was not what she had expected him to ask of her. She thought he wanted kisses or maybe to touch her breasts, as she had seen him do with Mrs. Esker, but now she understood how much more he needed from her to keep her mother happy. If she refused him, she could be risking her mother's life. With a reluct
ant nod, she agreed to peek into their bedroom one more time.
His smile broadened. "Now, give your daddy a kiss to seal our secret bargain."
That was the first time a man had pushed his tongue into her mouth. But it was only the first of many personal invasions to come in the years that followed.
As Selena watched Drew, she knew without a doubt what he wanted from Teri, and it was up to Selena to warn her friend before she found herself helpless at another man's mercy.
* * *
By midnight, Teri finally realized that neither Selena nor Drew were willing to be the first to call it a night. They had both stayed with the excuse of fielding reporters for her, but the media had apparently lost interest in her again. When they turned on the television to watch the nightly news, they saw Captain Hart assuring a reporter that the police would soon track down whoever was responsible for Detective Kidder's death. To the question "Was it a mob hit?" he was evasive, but no one watching would think he believed anything else. Not having had much sleep the night before, Teri decided it was no longer necessary to play the polite hostess.
"Listen, guys. I've had a great day and evening with you, but I'm dead on my feet. Drew, if you'll be developing that film tomorrow, I'll see you then. Selena, I'll give you a call as soon as I need you to sit, but it probably won't be for about a week. I've got a lot of other things to work on right now." Selena's frown made her add, "This time, I won't forget to call, I swear."
Drew looked as though he couldn't make up his mind about whether to go ahead and leave, or give Teri the kiss they'd both been thinking about all day. She made his decision for him by holding out her hand and saying, "See you tomorrow," but her eyes held a promise of reward for his patience today.
Teri stood at the open front door after he left, expecting Selena to walk out right behind him. One look at Selena's face let her know she was wrong.
"Close the door," Selena ordered abruptly. "We have to talk."
Wicked Obsessions Page 18
