by Amy Atwell
***
Justin didn’t get to meet the youngest of the three sisters until she arrived at the police station that afternoon. Opening the door to the small interrogation cubicle, he spied her sitting in one of the two chairs, head bent, contemplating the floor. She didn’t seem to hear him, so he cleared his throat. “Sorry to keep you waiting, Miss Fortune. I’m Detective Hunter.”
She lifted her head and swiveled her body in the chair to gaze his way, striking him momentarily senseless with an ethereal beauty, golden hair, creamy skin and the biggest damn eyes he’d seen this side of the barn owl who’d roosted outside his bedroom window when he was a kid. Unlike her neat and tidy sister Iris, this girl had the look of someone dying to be rescued.
Her gaze shifted up to the ceiling. “There’s a female named Darby on your bomb squad here who should be given a leave of absence. She’s pregnant.”
“Excuse me?” He stepped forward and cautiously closed the door. Perhaps she didn’t need rescuing as much as she needed to be locked in a padded cell.
She shook her head slightly until the mesmerized glint in her eyes disappeared. “Sorry, it was just something I picked up. I should know better than to blurt out my discoveries to strangers.” She uncrossed her legs and stood to offer her hand, surprising him with her height, which almost matched his own. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Detective. Is there any sign of my father?”
“Not specifically.” Her palm felt smooth but firm in his clasp, and he noted muscle and sinew wound up her shapely arms. And those legs of hers—even in a city renowned for showgirls, she had striking legs. Not a powder-puff fairy queen, no, this girl had the strength of a professional gymnast. He’d have to remember that. “Look, Alberta—may I call you that?”
An abbreviated laugh escaped her pink-tinted lips. “Heavens, no one calls me Alberta, not even Daddy. Call me Allie.”
He nodded an acknowledgement even as he motioned her to reseat herself. “Family name?” Were those legs of hers from her family? Certainly Cosmo Fortune’s pictures didn’t look like he’d ever exhibited any physical prowess.
“Alberta? No, I’m named after Einstein. Daddy was always fascinated with his theories of relativity. You know, time not being linear, alternate realities, that kind of thing.”
That made some sense, although Justin would have pegged Cosmo’s interest more in copying Einstein’s wild hair.
“I appreciate you coming down here. We’re trying to gather all the information we can to help us track down your father.”
“Thank you. I know you’ll do your best.”
He looked up at the simple sincerity of her words, a refreshing reaction after meeting her sisters’ defensiveness. Of course, he reminded himself she was under stress and willing to believe the absolute best in anyone, even a complete stranger such as himself. Besides, he had a badge. Pulling out the other chair at the table, he prepared himself for polite interrogation. He certainly didn’t want to tip his hand just yet.
“You live here in Vegas?”
“Yes.” She watched him jot the address down as she recited it, a nice little subdivision a few miles from the Strip.
“You rent there?”
“No.” Her nose wrinkled as if she might sneeze. “My mom left it to me. It’s paid off.”
Justin tapped his pen against the pad a couple of times, then connected the dots in a neat square. “Your mom has passed away then.”
“From a stroke when I was a toddler. Daddy was a rock, and my aunt Erna helped out when he couldn’t be there.” Her lids flickered shut then reopened, again revealing large eyes that seemed to see into his soul. They were a paler shade of color than Iris’s, like topazes, with a soft angelic glow to the golden tints.
“Do you have any brothers and sisters?” he asked.
“I wish. But Daddy always said siblings just weren’t in the cards for me.”
He nodded, thinking that Cosmo was a cad for lying to his daughters. “And what do you do for a living, Allie?”
“I’m a stagehand over at MGM, but I eventually plan to become a veterinarian.”
“Those must be two different worlds.” He smiled and was surprised to feel a physical response when she smiled back. Whoa, Nellie. He had no business conjuring up images of that smile or those legs in a skimpy little stage costume. Or wiggling out of it.
He drew another square on the notepad. “Did you learn about theater from your father?”
“Daddy taught me a number of tricks of the trade. I used to help him in his act, but about three months ago he got me this other job. Told me it was time for me to move on and stop working for a hack like him.”
Justin’s brows knit at her words. Was it possible Cosmo had foreseen some kind of danger to his daughter if she were close by his side? “I guess our parents always want to push us out of the nest,” he said as he scribbled more notes.
Fifteen minutes later, he’d gained enough factual information to give him some insight to Alberta Fortune. She was young, beautiful, highly intelligent and just a little quirky. She didn’t strike him as someone who would keep secrets, but she did seem highly protective. On a hunch, Justin decided not to mention her sisters. He’d watch to see how she reacted upon meeting them.
Allie closed her eyes for a few moments, her brow furrowed. When she reopened them, she stared at the ceiling with a beatific smile on her face. “There will be five babies.”
A chill ran up Justin’s spine. That quirky thing about her could be a dangerously unknown factor. “Five babies?”
She started, as if she’d forgotten his presence. “Oh, sorry. Just a vision, still a little foggy, but I’m pretty sure five is right.”
“This isn’t the lady on the bomb squad—”
“I’m pretty sure it is. I can’t tell until I see her face to face.”
“Uh huh.” What else was he supposed to say? “Come with me. There are two women I’d like you to meet.”
***
Iris stood aside while a police officer who’d introduced herself as Linda opened yet another door. Just being inside the police station gave Iris the creeps—all the locked doors, all the damaged lives, the struggle to provide order and safety in a chaotic and dangerous world.
Linda turned with a smile, perfectly at home in this setting. “You can wait in here. No one will bother you.”
Far from consoled, Iris stepped into the room and folded her arms. Recognizing the movement as a defense mechanism, she made herself uncross them and smoothed back a loose curl. Damn, her pins weren’t holding the French knot in place.
“Can I get you anything?” Linda’s hands rested on her weapon-laden belt.
God, what Iris wouldn’t give for a cigarette right now. Funny, since she hadn’t smoked since college. Smoking was one more dangerous habit she’d stamped out of her life. She’d conquered all of them—sweets, smoking, alcohol, that brief interlude with the sexy philosophy professor, who insisted she try horticulture to expand her horizons and the ensuing nightmare of explaining to the authorities she really didn’t have a clue it was marijuana.
No, she’d wrestled control of her life, and she wasn’t ever giving that up again.
“Thanks, I’m fine.” Iris felt she’d not only answered Linda’s question, she’d proclaimed her motto in life. She was fine. She didn’t need any help from anyone.
“Suit yourself. The others will be here in a minute.” Linda closed the door with a tactful click.
The others. Her stomach tugged into a tight knot as she looked into the large mirror that formed part of one of the white walls. Dissatisfied with her reflection, she turned her back and leaned against the mirror. Surely Justin Hunter had it wrong. It was ludicrous to think she had not one but two half sisters living in Las Vegas. Sisters she’d never dreamed existed.
No, Cosmo couldn’t have pulled that off. Even a master of illusion would have found it impossible to hide three sisters from each other for over twenty-five years.
But then sh
e recalled the business trips he’d take every few weeks when she was little, and later, the lengthy disappearing acts, when neither she nor her mom had a clue where he’d gone.
It amazed her that her level-headed mom never divorced him, a tribute to Cosmo’s devilish charm. That, Iris had learned, was the real danger—allowing a man to wriggle so completely into your life, to give way and fall in love with a blindness that defied reason. Her mom had made that mistake, and while she might have been wildly happy sometimes, she was also miserable other times, the pendulum swinging in unsteady arcs.
Following her mom’s death nearly eight years ago, Iris had looked at her father not with the eyes of a daughter, but from the mature perspective of her then-twenty years. She still saw the charm, faded now to a devilish twinkling in his eye, but she wasn’t fooled by it anymore. Cosmo did what he wanted to do, a selfish, self-promoting con man always out to make a buck and impress the world.
It would be just like him to have harbored two other families and divided himself among them. Resentment simmered within her, but she tempered it with the knowledge that she’d always expected something like this from her father. Still, expecting it and living it were two different things.
The door opened without a warning knock, and a male uniformed officer ushered in a younger woman—tall, lithe, blonde, striking in an angelic way—the polar opposite to Cosmo’s short, stocky build. Maybe Justin Hunter had been pulling her leg.
The young woman’s gaze roved around the small room and settled on her. Coming forward, the woman smiled nervously. “I suppose it’s all right for us to talk while we wait. I’m Allie Fortune.”
Momentarily stunned by the familiar golden eyes, eyes that looked exactly like her father’s, Iris could do nothing but swallow. “I’m Iris,” she finally managed to say.
Allie paced the small room, giving wide berth to Iris’s corner. “This is so nerve-wracking. Almost makes me wish I smoked or something, you know?”
“Yes.”
“My daddy disappeared last night, and I’m supposed to review some photos.” She drew to a halt, her short skirt swishing across her long legs. “Why are you here?”
Iris leaned against the two-way glass. “Same exact reason.”
“Really?” The incredulity in Allie’s voice might have been comic except it seemed sincere. “How weird is that?”
“Plenty weird.” Her fingers itched to wring Hunter’s neck.
Perfect timing. Hunter opened the door to usher in another young woman—this one about Iris’s size but with olive skin, yards of black curls and a mutinous expression that immediately raised Iris’s sympathy.
His gaze swept over all three of the women. Iris knew the look—he was appraising them, measuring their value independently and collectively. The same type of look a buyer gave cases of jewelry at her shop.
Loosening his tie, he made a quick introduction. “Corazon, this is Allie and Iris.”
The brunette nodded but made no effort to smile or shake hands. She withdrew to the farthest corner of the room.
Still leaning against the mirror, Iris aimed her question straight at the detective who’d screwed up her day. “Do they know?”
Before he could respond, Corazon interrupted. “He’s told me his theories, but I think he’s mistaken.”
Allie looked from person to person. “What are you talking about?”
Iris felt a pang of empathy for the girl.
“Do you want to tell her, or should I?” Justin asked.
“It’s your party,” Iris said.
“All right, then, ladies, let me make full introductions. Iris Fortune, meet Alberta Fortune and Corazon Fortune. Your father Cosmo was married to all three of your mothers.”
Corazon shook her head vehemently, her curls tossing in the darkened corner. “I still say it’s impossible. Look how close we are in age—how could he do such a thing?”
Amazed that anyone who knew Cosmo could defend him, Iris laughed out loud. “Easy. It’s called bigamy.”
Chapter Four
Corazon stared at her, and Iris felt the prick of daggers tipped with bitterness and anger.
“Oh.” Little more than a soft gasp, the single syllable pulled her attention to Allie, whose eyes were brimming with moisture. “Then we’re sisters. I have sisters.” The blonde grinned.
Sisters. Iris shared a common bond with these two women. They’d all been betrayed by Cosmo. Peachy.
“I still say it’s a mistake,” Corazon told the detective. “These are lies to get us to reveal information to you.”
“Information about what? About your father’s dealings?” Justin asked, suddenly alert.
“Dealings?” Allie’s nose scrunched up as cute as a bunny’s. “He was a magician.”
“And a gambler, a cardsharp, a con man, a liar—” Iris ticked them off with her fingers. “And apparently, a womanizer.”
Corazon’s eyes flared with heat. “My father was no liar or cheat.”
“Really?” Iris raised an eyebrow, feeling more righteous than intimidated by the brunette. “Maybe you’re lucky—maybe your mother cheated on Cosmo.”
The brunette’s olive skin paled. “Leave my mother out of this. The love they had was real, not some cheap imitation.”
Before Iris could spit out her comeback, a shrill whistle cut through the room. She winced and looked to Hunter, but he stood with his hands over his ears.
To her surprise, the delicate Allie lowered her fingers from her lips. “Sorry about that, but throwing insults won’t get us anywhere. It’s pretty obvious both of you were happy being an only child.” The blonde gave a heartbreaking smile. “But I love knowing I have sisters. I hope we’ll get to know each other, but for now, we should focus on Daddy.”
“Daddy?” Corazon’s incredulous tone nearly made Iris laugh. This whole situation was absurd.
“Daddy doesn’t need any help from anyone,” Iris said flatly.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Hunter scratch his ear, a wry grin twisting his lips. “I’m not so sure of that,” he said. “We think Cosmo got involved in some kind of deal—something shady—and now someone’s out to kill him. He may be running scared.”
A tremor coursed up Iris’s spine as she remembered the sexy con man who’d whispered about ten million in gems. Then there’d been the call from her security company. But if Cosmo had been in serious trouble, surely he would have left her a message? He’d known he could count on her, right?
She remained mute, unwilling to share her suspicions. Noticing Corazon’s lips pressed together in a stubborn line, Iris wondered whether the brunette was also holding her cards closely to her vest.
Apparently, secrets were a Fortune family trademark.
“I’m sorry this has come as a shock to all of you, but we sincerely want to help your father.” Hunter retrieved a stack of papers from the small table near the door and handed a packet to each of the women. “These are some highlights from the background check we did on Cosmo. It’s how we traced the three of you. It would help us if you’d each review this and see if there are any pertinent details we’ve missed, anything at all that might give us a clue as to where he could be hiding.”
Silence hung about the room as they all looked at each other until, finally, Hunter chuckled sheepishly. “Look, I can’t force information out of you. I’m just asking. I’ll step out of the room for a few minutes, give you ladies a chance to talk in private.”
“Like you won’t be listening at the keyhole?” Corazon’s head tilted, weighted down by sarcasm. Against her will, Iris found herself rooting for the brunette.
“I won’t need to.” Justin backed up and opened the door. “We’re recording everything you say.” He stepped out, and the door snapped shut behind him.
If anything, the tension in the room increased. Apparently, silence could be measured in decibel levels. Right now, it was deafening.
“This is a travesty,” Iris said.
“A curse,�
�� Corazon muttered.
Allie continued smiling. “It’s a blessing, and one day, you’ll both see it.” Without another word, the blonde began to peruse the pages in her hand.
God forbid. Iris looked to Corazon, and discovered she was also reading. Despite the needles of fear pricking her, Iris focused on the document. What could be more shocking than learning Cosmo had two other daughters?
Well, learning that Cosmo had been married to Allie’s mother for fourteen years before he married Irina Nikolaevsky. Or that Iris had been born a scant six months following her parents’ marriage. Even though she was older than Corazon by two years and Allie by five, she had to wonder what Cosmo’s life had been like all those years before he married her mother.
Biting her lip, Iris folded the document in half and pulled her car keys from her purse. “I need to get back to my shop.” The urge to flee nearly swamped her.
“But we need to talk.” Allie stepped toward her then paused as if she feared Iris would bolt. “Between us, we may have the answers to finding Daddy.”
That term of endearment wedged a spike between Iris’s ribs, straight at the heart. He’d been her daddy, once, long ago. Before she’d lost faith in him, and maybe in herself.
Iris tugged on the doorknob. “Let’s get this straight. I’ve been trying to rid my life of Cosmo for nearly ten years now. I don’t see any reason to help find him.”
Finding him wouldn’t make anything better. Only worse.
***
McCarran Airport wasn’t the only spot in Vegas that still had pay phones, Cosmo knew. But if he gave the police enough time to trace a call, he might be able to convince them he’d split town.
He slid the Alaska Airways ticket inside his jacket and retrieved the leather briefcase from the conveyor belt. Security hadn’t questioned his identity at all. He’d have to compliment Viktor on the quality of the fake ID. Assuming he still didn’t get caught.
Nudging his way through the crowded gate area, he finally reached a bank of five pay phones. Each offered a tiny seat and practically no privacy. Cosmo set the briefcase down and straightened his cuffs. Now the polished professional, complete from pomaded hair to wingtips, he doubted anyone would be interested in listening to him.