Lee gave a mental curse, even though it was what he’d expected. “The phone’s right over there,” he said wearily.
Her eyes flicked from it to him. “What are you going to do if I pick it up?”
A dozen possible answers filled his head, but Lee hesitated. Whatever he said next would probably determine the course of action he took from here on out. He closed his eyes again, wishing the pounding in his head would take a rest. “Why don’t you pick it up and we’ll both find out.”
“That isn’t funny.”
He opened his eyes. “It wasn’t meant to be. Have you got any aspirin?”
Kayla started to ask another question, then clamped her lips together and walked over to the desk. Every nerve in his body went on alert. He waited, but she didn’t reach for the phone. Instead, she opened a desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of ibuprofen tablets.
“When did you last eat?”
Good question. He couldn’t remember the answer.
“We just had ice cream,” he temporized. “And I know I had a candy bar yesterday afternoon after I checked into the motel.”
“No wonder you have a headache. Let’s go upstairs and I’ll make—”
He snagged the arm holding out the bottle of tablets. Alarmed, she stared at him.
“Tell me what’s going through that pretty head of yours, Kayla.”
She didn’t try to pull free. She returned his gaze with frank appraisal. “Did you kill Fay?”
Her softly voiced question knifed his gut, because it was easy to see she thought he might have done it. He took the pill bottle and released her arm, feeling oddly disappointed. “I wish I knew.”
The words fell into the air between them, leaving stunned silence in their wake. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud. Angry at his stupidity, Lee headed for the kitchen area at the back of her office.
A lone glass sat upside down on the drain board. He picked it up, rinsed it, filled it with tap water and spilled several tablets into his palm, swallowing them down with the tepid water.
“Yes or no?” Kayla demanded. She stood in the doorway, looking fragile but determined. One of the pills caught in his throat and he had to gulp another hasty glass of water to force it all the way down. Kayla waited, tapping her hand nervously against the wall.
“What did the police say?” he asked.
“Nothing. Chief Hepplewhite wanted you.”
Wryly he nodded. “I imagine he did.”
“He asked me about the shooting and went over to the Strongmores’ to see if you were there. When he came back, he told me not to let you in.” Lee managed a crooked grin.
“Too late.”
“Not funny. What did you mean when you said you wished you knew?”
Lee set the glass in the sink and took a deep breath, blowing it out on a sigh. Exhaustion tugged at him. He could go to sleep right here, right now. Too bad it wasn’t an option.
“You witnessed our fight in the parking lot. I was drunk. I clearly remember you glaring at me, much as you’re doing right now.” He raised his hand to stave off her interjection. “I remember thinking I needed a bathroom before I puked or passed out on the spot. And I don’t remember another thing after that until I woke up this morning.”
His stomach lurched as the aspirins settled uneasily against the empty lining.
Kayla shook her head, her hair glinting in the light streaming in from the window over the sink. “You’re going to have a hard time selling that defense, Lee.”
Doubt was back in her expression, though she was doing a pretty good job trying to cover it up. Lee wanted to smash something in his frustration. She believed he was guilty and how could he blame her? Maybe he was guilty. What other explanation was there?
His hands gripped the edge of the sink while he fought against a moment of sheer panic. “You’re right, of course,” he said when he had control again. “Unfortunately, that defense happens to be the truth. Are you still willing to give me a sandwich before you call the cops? I’m not sure the aspirins are going to stay down otherwise.”
Kayla hesitated so long he decided it was pointless. He turned around wearily. “Never mind. Just answer a couple of questions and I’ll be out of here.”
“Is that why you came back? To ask me questions?”
“Yes.” No point lying to her. Pink dusted her cheeks. Why? What had she expected him to say? “Maybe I should have lied?”
As he’d already seen, she was a spunky lady. She rallied quickly, annoyed. “You just never know when to quit, do you?”
“Yeah, I do. This just isn’t the moment. You know, my former partner was accused of murder a few years ago. He took off to find proof of his innocence. When I asked him why, he said, when it’s your neck on the line waiting to get chopped, you don’t sit around hoping others will prove your innocence. Now I know exactly what he meant.”
“You aren’t going to talk to the police, are you?”
“Sure. Eventually. But I’m the prime suspect, Kayla. No one else has as much to lose as I do right now. Your local police will investigate, but not as hard as I will. I’ve got the knowledge and the training. All I have to do is stay out of jail as long as possible and try to find out what really happened last night.”
“Let’s go upstairs,” she said suddenly.
Lee stopped rubbing his temples and contemplating his options to scrutinize her. “Why?”
“You need something to eat.”
“You know what I mean. Why aren’t you picking up the telephone?”
She wouldn’t make eye contact. While she didn’t like the police and she was attracted to him, even if she didn’t want to be, somehow, he didn’t think either of those reasons had anything to do with her actions right now.
“Chief Hepplewhite will be back shortly. In the meantime—” she lifted her head and stared straight into his eyes “—I want some answers, too, so we’ll trade information. I’ll answer your questions if you answer mine.”
He really admired her courage. Given the circumstances, she was a fool to trust him. On the other hand, he’d be an even bigger fool to argue with her. “Deal. I like ham sandwiches.”
“Well, you’re getting turkey on rye or peanut butter. I don’t have ham.”
“You’re taking a risk, Kayla,” he felt obliged to point out.
“What? You get violent if I don’t have ham?”
Amazingly, Lee found he could still smile. “Don’t worry, I like turkey, too.”
More color heightened her cheeks, but she didn’t look away. “I wasn’t worried. You have nothing to gain by killing me. I wasn’t married to you.”
She walked to the back door without waiting for a response.
“Just out of curiosity,” she said, waiting for him to precede her out the door so she could lock it, “how did you get in past the dead bolt?”
“The back door was unlocked.”
“I know. I meant the one down here.”
“So did I.”
For a frozen minute, she just stood there. Lee’s heart began to race.
“Does your brother have a key to your office, too?” Lee asked quietly.
“Umm—I’m not sure. I don’t think so.”
“Are you certain this door was locked?”
“I check it every night even though I almost never use it.”
“Maybe I’d better go back inside and have a look around.”
“Didn’t we do this once already today?” Her attempted smile wobbled and collapsed.
Lee plucked the keys from her hand. Her fingers were cold despite the heat of the late afternoon sun. “I suppose it’s pointless to tell you to wait here?”
“Pretty much,” she agreed. “I feel exposed. The chief told me to keep away from windows.”
“Well, at least he’s taking the shooting incident seriously.” With trees and heavy underbrush leading down to Rumble Creek behind her house, the directive made sense. At night, this area would be pitch-dark, leaving Kayla’s
back doors and windows highly accessible to anyone who didn’t want to be seen. But there was nothing to indicate the door had been forced and the lock was a good, sturdy one.
“Maybe you’d better have another talk with good old Alex about exactly what keys he has. This lock wasn’t picked, unless it was done by a real pro. In the meantime,” he said hurriedly to prevent her interruption, “stay behind me while I take a quick look around the other rooms, okay?”
“I’ll wait in the kitchen,” she agreed.
The two bedrooms, including the closets, were devoid of furniture. Other than the stack of red, white and green realty signs with her name on them and several other storage items, the rooms were totally empty. So was the bathroom.
Kayla hadn’t waited in the kitchen after all. He found her standing over her desk with a concentrated frown.
“Problem?”
“Someone went through my desk. Maybe the filing cabinet as well. I don’t see anything missing, but things have been moved around.”
“Do you keep money down here?”
“No.”
“Alex must have looked for his book down here before going upstairs to ransack your bedrooms. Still think he’s harmless?”
She fisted her hands on her hips. “Why are you and Alex so hostile?”
“Do you really need to ask?”
“You don’t even know him.”
“I know his type, Kayla. I bust them for a living.”
She winced but came back strong. “He’s not the one the police want to talk to about Fay’s murder.”
Touché. “Not yet, anyhow.”
“You—”
He held up his hand. “Kayla, in about fifteen minutes, I’m leaving. Are you going to feed me or not?”
Not hovered on her lips, but she went back outside without another word. She held her back stiffly. That didn’t stop him from noticing the view as he followed her up the stairs to her living quarters. He shouldn’t be noticing the sway of her hips or the fit of her slacks at all, but that knowledge didn’t seem to help. Maybe he was just looking for a diversion to hold his fear at bay.
Upstairs, she whisked around her kitchen with silent efficiency, careful not to bump into him as he attempted to help.
“Here, you can core this apple.”
“Not unless you show me how. What is this gizmo?”
She took the device from his hand. “It’s an apple corer. Would you please just sit down and let me finish?”
Lee sat down, defeated. Frankly, it was more interesting to watch her than to participate. He wasn’t used to having a woman fuss over him. His mother believed in equality in the kitchen even though he and his sister shared Fay’s idea of food preparation—calling the nearest delivery service.
Kayla fascinated him. He’d never been able to figure out what a shy, quiet woman like her was doing in a friendship with his flashy, acerbic wife.
He’d always been intrigued by the way Kayla either avoided him, or on those occasions when it wasn’t possible, stayed as far from him as she could, while watching him from pale blue eyes whenever she thought he didn’t notice. She never responded to his banter no matter how he provoked her. Only her eyes had ever gleamed with unspoken retorts.
Women didn’t generally treat him like that. His teasing usually earned him a flirtatious smile at the very least.
“Why have you always disliked me, Kayla?”
She set a plate of food in front of him on a brightly woven place mat. The aroma of chocolate-chip cookies still lingered in the air from this morning, practically driving him to drool. He was ravenous, he realized.
“Go ahead and start. Milk, orange juice or iced tea?”
Lee took a bite of the thick sandwich, chewed and swallowed. “Milk is fine. Do I remind you of some old boyfriend or something?” he persisted.
She poured them each a glass of milk and sat down on the opposite side of the table as far from him as the small table allowed.
“Is that one of the questions you wanted to ask me? You only have seven of those fifteen minutes left, you know.”
She could drive a man crazy in three seconds flat. He wolfed down another bite of sandwich. “Okay, we’ll play it your way. But one of these days we’re going to talk about the chemistry between us.”
“You need to do something about your ego. The only thing between us is polite antagonism.”
Under his knowing stare, her cheeks flamed.
“Lie to yourself if you want, Kayla. We both know that isn’t true. When this is over, I’ll prove it. Now, where can I find your brother?”
Kayla set the carrot stick back on her plate without taking a bite. “Why?”
Lee crunched his own carrot before answering. “A question for a question, remember?”
“I’m not telling you anything about my brother,” she said flatly.
“Does he have a long criminal record?”
She started to rise. He reached for her hand. “Don’t.”
“Then change the subject.”
“I can’t.” He gripped her fingers more tightly. “I need information, Kayla. I’m going to be left hanging out to dry if I don’t figure out what happened last night. You want facts? Fay is dead. My gun is missing. I don’t have an alibi since I can’t remember what happened last night, and I’m a cop. That means I know the prime suspect in Fay’s murder is me.”
Fear settled over the table. His and hers.
“Unless you pin it on my brother?” she asked finally. “Well, guess whose side I’m going to take?”
“No sides, Kayla. I need to know what really happened last night. If I did kill her...” He shrugged.
“No one deserves to be murdered.”
Lee thought there might be exceptions to that rule. Fay was probably one of them, but he wasn’t going to say so.
“You were mad at her last night.”
“I was furious and I was drunk. I think we already settled those points. If she’d been strangled, I’d surrender to the authorities without a fight. But shooting an unarmed woman just isn’t my style.” He hoped to God that was true. “And your brother knows entirely too much about that crime scene.”
Anxiety widened her eyes. He stroked the back of her hand before he released it, making her jump.
“Even if your chief of police is a bumbling hick—”
“He’s not!”
“—he wouldn’t let a civilian into a crime scene and he wouldn’t be talking about details like the murder weapon where he could be overheard. Even a first-year rookie knows better. That means your brother was in that room.”
“You can’t know that!”
“Then he’d better have a good explanation for his knowledge of the murder scene.”
“Maybe the maid told him what she saw. Alex...has a way with women.”
“Yeah.” No surprise there. “But not too many maids would know the caliber of the bullet, let alone that the D.C. police carry guns that shoot that caliber.”
“You’re trying to frame—”
“No. No frames, no wild accusations. I simply want to know what happened. I want to know how Alex knows so much.”
“You said your gun is missing.”
“Both of my guns are missing. When you disappeared into the bathroom earlier, I decided to retrieve my backup piece from my car. Someone got there first. That gun is gone, as well.”
“Alex didn’t take it.”
“And you know this because...?”
She twisted her napkin in agitation. “He wouldn’t kill anyone.”
“Fine. Then it doesn’t matter if I talk to him.”
“You’ll fight.”
Lee nearly smiled. “Not unless I’m better armed. One beating a day is my limit.”
“He didn’t beat you.”
“Tell that to my sore muscles. Your brother’s fast and he’s got a mean left hook. Plus he carries a wicked-looking knife. You couldn’t see it from where you were, but it wasn’t exactly Boy Scout approved.
The police, myself included, tend to take dim views of knives like that one. And your brother made it quite clear that he’d slit my throat if I even blinked twice.”
Instead of springing to his defense, Kayla chewed on her bottom lip.
“Was Alex Fay’s lover, Kayla?”
Guilt stamped her features.
“That’s what I thought.”
“I didn’t say anything!”
“Not in words.”
“Lee, wait.” This time it was her hand that spanned the table. Her nails were short and unpainted but neatly trimmed. He could feel a small callus on her palm.
“I don’t know if they were lovers. Fay was interested in him, but I’m pretty sure there was someone else.”
“Knowing Fay, that estimate is entirely. too low.”
“You make her sound like a whore.”
He figured that was pretty close even if he wouldn’t have put it quite so crudely. “I was married to her, remember? I know exactly what Fay was. She needed men and money the way some people need drugs. What I want to know is who her enemies were. The shortlist will do for a start.”
“She didn’t—”
“Don’t.” He recaptured her hand, entwining their fingers. “Don’t even try to tell me she didn’t have enemies, Kayla. The woman lived to antagonize people.”
“That isn’t fair. She wasn’t all bad, Lee.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“I mean it. There was another side to Fay. She came to my rescue once when no one else would have.”
“What was in it for her?”
“Nothing. Not one thing.” Anger flashed in Kayla’s eyes. “Whatever you think, she was nice to me when that wasn’t a popular stand to take.”
“What does that mean?” They both heard the cuckoo clock proclaim the hour. “Your fifteen minutes are up, Lee.”
Whatever had happened between Fay and Kayla had been a pivotal point in Kayla’s life, he’d take bets on it. And while he wanted to hear the story, the police could return at any time. Lee finished his sandwich and reached for the cookies. His headache had started to recede either from the pills or the food or both.
“You’re right. We’ll table this discussion for now. But I’m not going to let it alone, Kayla. I want to know everything.”
For His Daughter Page 8