For His Daughter

by Dani Sinclair

  “Of course. Merry can stay as long as she needs to. Oh, my dear. I am so sorry.”

  “So am I.” As much as he’d disliked, even hated Fay, he’d give anything to have her alive and sneering at him again right now.

  “Fay and I weren’t close. We weren’t even friends anymore. But she’s Meredith’s mother....” He hesitated, knowing the minutes were ticking past all too quickly. “Look, I don’t know the details just yet, so I want to get over to the park right away. If you don’t mind...?”

  “Of course. Of course. Merry is welcome to stay here as long as necessary. You go help the police. I’ll take good care of your daughter.”

  Lee surprised them both by kissing her wrinkled forehead. She smelled of lavender, a scent his grandmother had used.

  “Thank you. I’ll be back.”

  Over her shoulder, he saw a uniformed officer step outside onto Kayla’s front porch.

  Mary Lou followed him to the back door with surprising speed, considering the cane. He returned her wave before heading down the path at a fast trot. As soon as he rounded the bend, out of sight, he stopped. The path through the woods must run parallel with the alley and the parking lot behind the stores on Main Street. He had no intention of going back to the park just yet, and thankfully, he discovered his guess was right. A six-foot-high chain-link fence separated the parking area from the woods. Lee scaled it in seconds.

  There was no one around, though the lot held at least a dozen parked cars. He moved between them and ran for the driveway leading to Main Street. As he reached the sidewalk, he slowed. Running would draw attention he didn’t want even though he might only have minutes before the police car started to sweep the area. He was determined to reach his car and his backup weapon before that happened. The empty holster at his waist was a flag he didn’t want to wave. And besides, he didn’t want to be caught weaponless again. Not with someone taking potshots at him.

  He could explain most of his actions to the police easily enough so far. No cop would fault him for going after his weapon. The shooting would also help cast a little doubt on his guilt. After all, it couldn’t be coincidence that Fay was dead and now someone wanted him to join her.

  But why?

  He slowed his pace, aware that he was clearly visible to anyone in the shops that lined the road. Crossing Main Street, he cut through the driveway beside the movie theater. Behind the alley was another parking area. The restaurant sat on the hill across the street.

  Lee broke into a trot in the alley. The only thing he’d done this morning to point a guilty finger in his direction was going out the back of Kayla’s house with the police coming to the front door. With a little time to think, he was sure he could explain even that action away.

  Time, however, was one commodity he had very little of. He crossed Perry Road and hurried up the steep entrance of the restaurant parking lot. He realized the restaurant was open for lunch, because his car was no longer the only one in the lot. And it had drawn attention. Lee came to a stop. Two men peered through the driver’s side window. The taller of the pair abruptly turned to look right at him. Vaguely Lee thought he’d seen the guy before.

  “Your car?”

  The man didn’t raise his voice, but it carried the distance anyhow. There was nothing for it but to bluff his way clear. Lee started toward them.

  “Yeah. Is there a problem?”

  “I’d say so.”

  The man had brooding good looks in a weathered, livedin sort of face. He wore an expensive suit and wore it well. A little older than Lee, maybe late thirties or early forties, the man carried himself with an air of command.

  The person with him was much younger, fifteen or sixteen at a guess. The teen was dressed in the requisite jeans and a black T-shirt with some sort of rock band logo on it. His acne-pocked face was pinched with excitement that changed to a trace of fear as he saw Lee.

  “I didn’t do it,” the kid said immediately. “I found it this way. Honest. I reported it to Mr. Collins right away.”

  That made the man Jake Collins, the restaurant’s owner. Lee remembered one of the locals pointing him out to someone in the bar last night. From what he’d overheard, Collins was new in town, as was his restaurant.

  “Take it easy, Matt,” Collins said. “No one’s accusing you of anything.”

  Lee closed the distance and looked more closely at his car. The driver’s-side window had been smashed in completely. Shattered glass glittered in nasty shards, covering the driver’s seat and floor. The stereo system had been ripped away with no finesse. And the sports equipment he’d had on the front seat was gone.

  “Smash and grab?” he muttered. Or was it only supposed to look that way? Lee had a feeling his gun wasn’t going to be tucked safely up beneath the seat anymore.

  “So it would appear,” Collins agreed. “You shouldn’t touch anything until the police have a look.”

  Lee nodded as he unlocked the opposite door. He opened it carefully, trying not to damage potential prints. “Your police force is having a busy day.” He stopped to flash his badge, wondering how much longer he’d have it to show.

  “You’re a cop?” The youth’s voice broke on a squeak.

  “D.C. force,” Lee told the kid, who looked more and more uneasy. Lee crouched beside the car and reached across the passenger seat, mindful of the glass. His hand came away from below the driver’s seat empty. The gun and its holder were gone.

  Collins watched him closely. “Wouldn’t the car start last night?”

  “I was too drunk to drive.”

  The kid’s eyes widened. Collins frowned. “I’ll have a talk with my people. They aren’t supposed to serve anyone over the limit.”

  “They didn’t. I only had a couple of beers. My body doesn’t tolerate alcohol.”

  Collins pondered that for a second. “You want to come in and use the phone?”

  Lee shook his head. That was the last thing he wanted to do. “The police station’s right across the street,” he said. “I’ll go make their day a little brighter. Is the car going to be in your way for now?”

  “Shouldn’t be.”

  Lee tipped his head. “Then I’ll come back for it later. Thanks for reporting it, Matt.”

  The boy jumped, startled at being addressed by his name. His Adam’s apple rode up and down his skinny throat and Lee noticed he looked away quickly, his face flushed brightly. Matt might not have burglarized the car himself, but Lee would give odds he knew, or thought he knew, who had.

  Oh, yeah. Lee would be back. The kid wouldn’t answer questions under the watchful eyes of Jake Collins. And that left Lee with a serious problem. What should he do now? If he went to the police station, his freedom was over. If he didn’t, he’d better come up with a heck of a good reason to explain where he did go.

  Lee walked away, aware of the two sets of eyes following his progress.

  KAYLA COULDN’T CRY after all. Numbly she stared at her reflection in the vanity mirror without seeing a thing. Her grip on the edge of the sink was almost painful. Lee had known about Fay. She was almost certain he had known. The knowledge had been in his eyes right before he closed them.

  And Alex. The vibes coming from her brother had been all wrong. Why would he try to play the overprotective brother now, after all these years?

  But it was Meredith that tugged at her heartstrings. Fay hadn’t been much, but she had been Meredith’s mother. Now Lee would take her back to D.C. and Kayla would never see her again.

  “Kayla?”

  Chief Hepplewhite’s deep bass voice sent her reaching for the bathroom door. He stood in the hall, one hand resting on the gun at his side.

  “Sorry. I didn’t hear you come in.”

  His stance relaxed only a fraction. “Your front door’s standing wide open.”

  “My brother forgot to close it.”

  “Alex was here?”

  “You just missed him.” The policeman didn’t move back into the dining room. He stood i
n the hall, his eyes on her bedroom door.

  “Where’s Garvey?”

  “I...isn’t he here?”

  “No.”

  The word was flat. That hollow, empty feeling returned to her stomach. “Lee?” she called out. “He must have gone after Alex.”

  “Mind if I have a quick look around?”

  From his harsh expression, Kayla was pretty sure he didn’t care if she minded or not.

  “G-go ahead.”

  She stood in fear while he looked not only in the two bedrooms, but in the bathroom, as well. He thought she was lying? This was like a nightmare. Lee had left, even though he’d promised to wait for the police.

  “How long ago did he leave, Kayla?”

  “I don’t know. I went into the bathroom a few minutes ago. I was...upset.”

  “You know what happened out at the Bide Awhile?”

  “Alex told me. It’s really her? Fay’s dead?”

  The lines around his eyes softened. “I’m afraid so. Wait here while I see if Garvey is out back, all right? Do you always leave this back door unlocked?”

  She shook her head, trembling. Lee must have used the back door. But why? He would have gone out the front if he’d gone after Alex.

  The police chief returned a few minutes later. Banked anger lay behind his expression. “He’s not outside. You have any idea where he might have gone?”

  “No. Yes, wait! He must have gone to check on Meredith. She’s over at the Strongmores. I’ll bet that’s where he went. Mary Lou was feeding her lunch and Lee told her we’d be back to get her later. Do you want me to call?”

  The officer pushed on the brim of his hat. “I’ll go over in a minute. Tell me about the shooting this morning.”

  He listened without interrupting until she finished.

  “And you’re sure someone was aiming at Garvey?”

  “Pretty sure. He was almost killed. Do you think it was the same person who killed Fay?”

  This time the police chief pushed his hat to the very top of his head. “Kayla, I don’t know what to think right now. I’ve got a mess on my hands and I need to ask you a lot of questions, but first I want to talk with Garvey.”

  “I’m sure he’ll be right back. Why don’t I call Mary Lou?”

  “I’ll go over there. Stay here, okay?”

  “Can I go down to my office? I really should check my messages.”

  “Fine. But stay away from the windows, Kayla.”

  “You think the person in the woods might come here?”

  “No, but until I know what’s going on, I don’t want you taking any unnecessary risks, okay?”

  She felt sick as she followed him downstairs and watched him cross the street. She unlocked the door to the realty office with icy fingers. Instead of going to her desk, she watched the officer standing on the porch across the street talking with Mary Lou. Her heart bumped when she realized he was coming back alone minutes later. Lee wasn’t at Mary Lou’s?

  She went to the front porch. The chief talked into his radio while he walked. He wore a forbidding expression.

  “Where’s Lee?”

  “Kayla, get back inside and stay there. He told Mary Lou he was going to the park to find me.”

  Relief flooded her. “Oh. Okay. I’ll wait here.”

  “Do that. And Kayla? If he comes back? Don’t let him in. Call my office right away.”

  Don’t let him in?

  Why would the policeman say such a thing?

  Because he thought Lee had killed Fay.

  Hadn’t Alex implied as much? Hadn’t she stood in the bathroom trying not to wonder about the very same thing?

  The scene last night. The way Lee had acted with Meredith today. And he’d known! Before Alex had said the words, he’d known Fay was dead. She was sure he’d known, though she couldn’t have said exactly why. He just hadn’t reacted as if it was the first time he’d heard about her death.

  Alex had said Fay was shot by the sort of gun D.C. cops carried. Lee hadn’t had his gun with him. If he had, he would have used it this morning at the park.

  Kayla folded bonelessly onto one of the visitor’s chairs in her office. It all made a horrible sort of sense. Lee had disappeared as soon as her back was turned. He wasn’t coming back. Fay had finally pushed him over the edge last night and he’d killed her in a drunken rage, just as Fay had always predicted he would.

  Kayla didn’t know how long she sat staring at nothing while her thoughts wove wild and crazy patterns in her mind, but a sound from overhead suddenly made her sit up. She listened, hardly daring to breathe. Footsteps. Someone was in the house right above her head.

  Her mouth went dry. She hadn’t locked the doors when she’d followed the police chief downstairs. But she hadn’t been so lost in thought that she wouldn’t have seen someone come up on the front porch. That meant whoever it was had gone up the back steps. And the only one who knew that door was unlocked was the police chief—and Lee Garvey.

  She stood quickly and looked outside. No cars were parked on the street or in the driveway. Her pulse raced with fear.

  Where had the footsteps gone? All her nerves strained to listen, but there was complete silence overhead. Had she really heard them in the first place or was her imagination playing tricks?

  If he comes back, don’t let him in.

  “Lee won’t be coming back,” she whispered to the ceiling. “Not if he killed Fay.” But what if he hadn’t?

  Maybe she hadn’t heard footsteps after all. It was an old house, one that tended to creak and groan for no reason at all. But she knew what she’d heard.

  Call my office right away.

  “And tell them what?” she said out loud. “That I’m standing here in broad daylight scaring myself silly?”

  She twisted the lock on the front door and heaved a sigh of relief. If she heard another sound from upstairs she’d pick up the phone and call the police. Better to be safe than stupid.

  Minutes passed. She heard nothing overhead.

  “There’s no one upstairs.” The normal sound of her voice calmed her.

  She turned around, and the heart-pounding fear gave vent to an ear-shattering scream. A figure stood silhouetted by the windows, only a few feet away. Kayla twisted back to the door, fumbling for the lock.

  Chapter Four

  “Kayla!”

  Lee reached for her and found himself holding one hundred twenty-five pounds of terrified fury. He pinned her against the wall, barely blocking a knee that would have emasculated him.

  “What’s the matter with you?” But he was very much afraid he knew. She stopped struggling, threw back her head and glared at him in true Kayla fashion.

  “You jerk! Why did you scare me like that? What’s the big idea of sneaking up on me?” Despite the fury of her words, fear ghosted her eyes.

  Lee relaxed his hold, but he didn’t step back and he didn’t let her go, afraid she’d make another try for the door before he could explain. “I’m sorry.”

  “Right.” But her voice had lost most of its heat. She regarded him warily with unblinking eyes.

  “Really,” he said more softly. “I never meant to startle you.”

  As she stared at him, the air surrounding them became charged with a new, guarded awareness. His senses seemed to heighten even as his muscles tensed. Her breasts were pressed against his chest. The light floral scent of her shampoo became almost as distracting as the feel of her ragged breath against his throat.

  “Are you afraid of me, Kayla?”

  She tipped her head up defiantly. “No.”

  “Good.” He stroked her hair back from her face in a soothing gesture. A tactical error. Her hair felt so silky beneath his hand that his fingers lingered before he regained some control.

  Lee stepped back regretfully before the stark vulnerability in her face got to him any further. He watched her take a deep shaky breath and swipe at her bangs with a hand that wasn’t quite steady.

  He knew the
feeling. His body had picked a heck of a time to remind him that he was strongly attracted to his ex-wife’s best friend. He was lucky she wasn’t screaming her head off or making another grab for the door.

  “I’m sorry,” he repeated. “I went upstairs and you weren’t there. Your car was still in the driveway so I figured you were either in here or across the street.”

  “Have you ever heard of knocking?”

  Her bold disdain didn’t disguise the uncertainty in her expression. What was it about Kayla that got to him like this? He knew several single women—some who could be considered classically beautiful—and not one of them would have objected if he’d shown any interest. Yet he’d never experienced this pull with any of them. And Kayla wasn’t even trying to attract his attention.

  “I gather the police have come and gone already?” he said in a reasonably normal tone of voice.

  “Isn’t that why you came back?”

  Lee ran a hand wearily over the back of his neck. His headache had returned with reinforcements and he pinched the bridge of his nose to try to ease the pain.

  “Did you kill her, Lee?”

  The question effectively blocked the pull that had been distracting him. He walked to the window, inspecting the deserted street.

  “You know, that question doesn’t say much for your common sense, Kayla, but I’ll give you credit for having the guts to ask me.”

  “Did you?” she demanded.

  He closed his eyes and opened them quickly. He didn’t want to remember Fay’s lifeless body. “If I had, I’d be pretty stupid to say so, now wouldn’t I?”

  He crossed the room to the display board of property listings.

  She worked for a large realty chain and she must be doing all right or she’d have rented out the bottom half of her duplex instead of using it for an office.

  “That isn’t an answer.”

  She wasn’t going to let it go. Lee couldn’t blame her. He turned to face her. “What do you think?”

  She came away from the wall, moving cautiously into the room. “I honestly don’t know what to think. Chief Hepplewhite said not to let you in if you came back. I’m supposed to call him right away.”