A Dangerous Dance

by Pauline Baird Jones

  * * * *

  Dorothy looked at Kate. “Well, that was interesting. Weird, but interesting.”

  “Do you want to look at what he left you?” Kate asked Dorothy.

  Dorothy hesitated. “That's what he wants me to do. I'm tired of doing what people want me to do. What I want to do is talk to you. You said you might be able to answer some of my questions. Is now a good time for you?”

  “Of course. If you're sure you're up to it. It's been a rather challenging day.”

  Dorothy smiled. “That's an understatement of massive proportions.” She hesitated. Where to begin? It didn't help that her time was short. Remy was driving out to join them, as was Titus, when the cops let him go. It was clear they needed to put their heads together and figure out if they knew anything or had made any progress. Time was short. She should just get on with it.

  “I guess the big question is, when they broke up, why didn't Magus keep in touch with me?” She tried to keep her tone neutral, but some of the pain she still felt about that slipped in anyway.

  Kate's face whitened. “Your mother, she didn't tell you anything?”

  “I didn't know Magus existed until he showed up the day my mother died. He asked me to take a paternity test, and then he asked me come live with him. But he made it clear he didn't feel guilt and never explained anything. I sometimes thought that later, when we were more comfortable together, he wanted to talk to me about that time, but he died.”

  Kate covered Dorothy's hand with hers. “Neither of your parents served you well, did they?”

  Dorothy didn't look at her. “Oddly enough, I loved them both, but it's like I can't see them because of all the questions that I never thought would be answered. There's all this stuff in between my memories of them. I feel like they're slipping away from me because of it.”

  Kate nodded. She looked down, considering and then said slowly, “Your paternity is the answer to your question. Emma, well, Emma wasn't faithful to Magus.”

  Dorothy had expected this. The clues were rather obvious since she'd come back, but it still was painful to hear. “It seems so not like her.”

  “Emma loved Magus, Dorothy. But Magus...” She appeared to struggle for the right words. “He liked pursuing things more than having them. I think he loved Emma, but he didn't...nurture the relationship. She...did outrageous things trying to get his attention. Then she got pregnant. She could have kept her indiscretions from him, but I think she felt like she had to be honest if they were going to have a chance of making things work. And she thought it would finally get his attention. And she did. He was furious. He didn't believe her when she said you were his. They had a terrible fight and he told her to get out, so she did.”

  “So he didn't wait to find out? He just threw her out?” She could see Magus doing that. He'd had a lot of pride, but still. Why wait for eighteen years to find out if she was his daughter? Was he never curious? It hurt, she realized, more than she'd expected. Knowledge didn't always heal.

  “Magus prized loyalty above all else.” Kate's gaze pleaded with her not to pursue it, but it was too late for that now. “And the men she chose were supposedly his friends.”

  Dorothy rubbed her face and braced herself. “Darius Smith.” It wasn't a question, but Kate nodded. “Bozo Luc?” Another nod. “Please tell me she didn't sleep with Bubba Joe?”

  Kate's face twitched and her grip on Dorothy's hand tightened painfully. “She intended to, but found she couldn't. Only he wouldn't let her...stop. He...forced her. He knew she wouldn't charge him with anything because she sought him out. He kept her bra. And he claimed he had pictures.”

  “So that's what he intended to tell me tonight.” Dorothy covered her face with her hands. Had he hoped to replay family history? She couldn't think of a word bad enough to describe him.

  “That's why I didn't want you to go when you told me where you were going. I wouldn't have put it past him to try the same trick on you. He really was a cockroach.”

  “No wonder mom didn't like men.” It explained how the mother she knew could be so different from what everyone else remembered. “Why didn't she tell Magus?”

  Kate shook her head. “She felt a lot of guilt for what happened. I think she felt she deserved to be punished. Thirty years ago, people still had a lot of misconceptions about rape, particularly date rape. She had sought him out intending to seduce him. When it all came apart you weren't real to her yet. You were just a consequence of her actions. A reminder of what she'd done.”

  “So she never knew which one was my father?”

  Kate shook her head. “She knew. I think at first, she couldn't forgive Magus and then later, she was afraid he'd take you away from her. He could have given you so much more than she could.”

  “And then she got sick.”

  “We weren't in touch then, but I'm sure she felt she couldn't leave you without anyone. Who knows? Maybe she at the end she could forgive him and wanted you both to have a chance to be together.”

  “Why...didn't you ever contact us? Why didn't she talk about you either?”

  Kate looked sad. “It all seems so silly now. I thought she should contact Magus and she wouldn't. She couldn't. I can see that now, but then...it seemed to matter. I wasn't...the best person either. I wasn't making good decisions. She...wanted you to have a good life. That was more important to her than anything.”

  Dorothy felt there was much Kate wasn't telling her, but maybe it was just as well. Old quarrels needed to stay in the past. “It was a good life. It was hard sometimes, but that's a good thing. I'd never have survived Magus's world if I hadn't had that solid start.”

  Kate's smile was teary, but brilliant, too. It gave Dorothy a glimpse of the charm that her mother probably had.

  “I wonder what made Magus come? I wonder what she told him.”

  Kate shook her head. “That I can't answer, Dorothy, but maybe it's enough to know he did come. I...know he was very proud of you.”

  Dorothy was surprised. “You remember speaking with him?”

  She nodded. “It's been coming back to me, faster now that I'm here.” She looked down, the lines of her face both tense and sad. “I needed money. I thought he might help me, for old time's sake.”

  “Did he?”

  “I don't know. He didn't want me there, didn't want me to talk to you. I don't blame him. He wanted to protect you from what I was. And then I had my little, ten-year break down.” She smiled wryly. “I'm grateful for the chance to change my life, but I'll always regret that I wasn't there for you.”

  “It's nice to have you here now.” Dorothy smiled at Kate. She hadn't heard deception in Kate's voice, but she still felt she was holding something back. What Dorothy didn't know was if it mattered. It could just be the awful truth about who and what she'd been. Or maybe she knew something about Magus's death. She sensed so much guilt from her aunt, it was hard to sort it all out. She pushed it aside.

  “Yes?” Kate said.

  “There's one thing that really bugs me. Were you ever to Oz when mom was there? Because it's like she was never there. I don't even know what room she slept in or where she spent her time. If anything there was something she bought or liked. I can still feel Magus there, but not her.”

  Kate looked like she wanted to say something, but instead she slowly shook her head. “No, I was never there then. She had a maid, though. I'll bet Titus would remember her name. If she's still around, still alive, she'd know.”

  Dorothy smiled. “Yeah. I don't know why I didn't think of that. Magus's housekeeper lives in town in little house Magus had bought for her. I'll bet she'd know.”

  “It's not Helene Tierry, is it?”

  “You knew her?”

  Kate appeared to pause before she said, “Emma told me about her. That she was very kind to her. Our mother died when we were young, you know. I think Helene tried to help Emma cope with things. Emma realized it later and was grateful. I'd like to see her, thank her on Emma's behalf.”


  “She'd like that. I stopped in and saw her the first day I was back. She helped me, too, but she never talked about my mother. And I never asked her. It never occurred to me she was there then. I wonder why she never said anything.”

  “Probably because she knew too much,” Kate said dryly.

  “Poor Mom. Poor Helene,” Dorothy said, softly. She smiled at Kate. “Thank you.”

  Kate's answering smile was a bit dewy, but her face closed again as she looked past Dorothy.

  “Here's your friend and Titus now.” Kate looked quizzically at Dorothy. “Do you like him, your Remy?”

  Dorothy felt color surge into her cheeks. “Yes, I do.” It was both a lie and the truth. Weird. But then, her life hadn't been normal for a long time.

  She waved at them, feeling her heart leap in her throat at Remy's approach. It was going to have to stop doing that. It wasn't good for it. Remy smiled at her and it leapt again. The heedless thing. Did it have no sense of survival?

  Remy and Titus pulled out chairs and sat down. The waitress rushed over and took their orders and brought their drinks before bustling away and finally leaving them alone.

  “What did you find out?” Dorothy asked. “Was it suicide?”

  “The cops aren't sure,” Remy said. “He had good reason to take his life.”

  “What do you mean?” Dorothy looked from him to Titus.

  “There was a photocopy of a contract on his desk,” Titus said.

  “Contract?” Dorothy's throat went dry.

  “Between him and Verrol Vance for the death of Magus Merlinn,” Remy said.

  Dorothy sagged back in her chair. “So he's the one.” Something in Remy's face told her there was more, though. “What?”

  “In the contract, it spelled out the consequences to Bubba Joe if anything happened to Vonda.”

  Dorothy stared at Remy. “So, someone else killed her? But why?”

  Titus shrugged. “Someone else could have found out and killed her to bring him down. Someone who hated him. Or maybe someone was afraid of something else that Vance might have told her, something unrelated. Vance was a hired killer.”

  Dorothy exchanged a troubled look with Remy. It was hard for her to believe it was all some awful, yet fortuitous coincidence that Bubba Joe had been exposed. “What do you think?” she asked Remy.

  “I find it hard to believe Bubba Joe had enough money to keep Vance quietly in jail until he could pardon him.”

  “Do you think he was framed?” Kate asked.

  “No,” Remy shook his head. “He was in it up to his eye balls. But was he in it alone?”

  Titus snorted derisively. “So what, you think it was some big conspiracy?”

  Remy shook his head again. “No, but what if it were a small one? Darius Smith, Bozo Luc and Bubba Joe Henry all had good reason to want Magus out of the way.”

  “They'd never work together,” Titus scoffed, but Dorothy could see he was intrigued by the idea.

  “What if they didn't know about each other? What if Vance approached them? Or they each approached him on their own? If he had people throwing money at him to kill the same person, I'll bet he'd take it and think it was funny.” He leaned forward. “In the agreement he had with Bubba Joe, there was a timer that kicked in if Vonda died. Now we find that agreement on his desk and he's dead. Do I think he killed himself? No.”

  “You think someone has...” Dorothy hesitated, looking for the right word. “Executed the consequences in the agreement with Bubba Joe?”

  “Yeah, I do,” Remy said.

  Titus looked troubled.

  “But, let's say you're right, then wouldn't that mean that the other men were in danger, too? Because if that's the case, then we can just sit back and let events unfold, can't we?” Dorothy said.

  “There's just one problem,” Remy said, his gaze sober and worried.

  “What?”

  “They're all likely to think you're the one behind this. That's probably why Bubba Joe wanted to talk to you this evening.”

  Unfortunately, he made a lot of sense. Who else had as much to gain from the situation as she did? “But I couldn't have killed him. I was with Titus.”

  “I know you didn't do it. I'm telling you what they might think. They'd know you have the resources to hire someone to take care of things for you. It's what they'd do in your place.” Remy's face was grim, his body tense. “And if they feel threatened, they're likely to strike first.”

  Dorothy looked at Kate, her eyes widening. Then she turned and pulled the letter out of her purse.

  “What's that?” Remy asked.

  “Bozo dropped it off a few minutes ago. Maybe it's his first strike.” Dorothy stared at it. Call me, he'd said, confident she would. She bit her lip, then slid her finger under the flap and loosened it. She removed the sheet of paper inside and unfolded it. She had to read it twice before it sunk in what it was. She could feel her eyes widen and then narrow.

  “What is it?” Kate asked, sounding worried.

  “It's my paternity test.” She glanced up. “According to this Magus wasn't my father.”

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  * * *

  THIRTEEN

  * * * *

  Darius felt uncharacteristically relaxed. He was even reclining. He couldn't remember the last time he'd used his recliner the way it was intended to be used. Oh, he felt mild regret that he'd had to kill Cassandra, too, but it was overshadowed by the deep contentment both deaths had given him.

  Now he felt satisfied.

  He sighed and stretched. He didn't need Emma's memory anymore. He had something better, something immediate that he could use to fill that void. Idly he wondered how long the feeling would last before he would have to kill again. Because he would kill again. He knew that now. It was, at the moment, the only thing he knew for sure.

  He needed to consider what he would tell the police. They'd been seen together at lunch. That was certain. He'd already made sure there was no video of him entering the hotel room. Only Cassandra would be on the tape. She'd be seen leaving and then returning. He'd left the pictures of them together, but had been careful to remove any with him in them and destroy them. It would have been nice to keep one, as a memento of his first real kill, but it would also be incredibly foolish. It wasn't like he was some demented serial killer. He was just a man who liked to kill.

  For so many years he'd sought power, but always out of sight, always indirectly. This was very direct and completely urgent. What could be more fulfilling than power of life and death? Yes, life was part of it. Each time, the first thrill would be in the choosing. Would he let her live? And then there would be the building anticipation for that moment when he decided death must come. Then the sublime rush as life ebbed and flowed between his hands, contentment when it slowly faded away. It was much better than sex. Sex was so untidy and messy. Death was clean and swift and sure.

  There was, of course, great risk, but if properly managed, risk could be reduced. And, he had to admit, the risk was part of the thrill.

  He and the grim reaper had gone into business together and it wasn't costing him a thing. He smiled to himself. Not even his sleep. He breathed deeply and then reluctantly sat up. As good as this was, it didn't solve the puzzle of Dorothy.

  He'd told Suzanne she might be involved as a way to toy with her, but the idea, once planted in his mind, had taken root. What if she was the timer or the recipient of the information? What if she had also hired Vance and he'd told her about the other partners? She'd be sitting pretty if any one of them went down for the murder. Just the sympathy alone would help propel Mistral into the mansion, particularly if they married.

  For a moment he toyed with the idea of Dorothy as his next victim, but she was too like Emma. Even in his imagination, he couldn't do it. Unless she became unreasonable. The ideal, the most expedient plan would be for them to become allies.

  His gaze narrowed. What did he mean by that? He closed his eyes, trying t
o picture Dorothy. Where would she be if they were aligned? Suzanne had used her body to build a pact with him. He saw her again in the bed, her arms reaching for him. Then the picture shifted and it was Dorothy in bed, reaching for him.

  Well, why not? Her mother had come to him. She wasn't his daughter. It wasn't illegal. It would take some persuading. She'd have to realize it was the expedient thing to do. She seemed to have attached herself to Mistral. And if he were eliminated? He couldn't do it himself, of course. He didn't want to. There'd be precious little pleasure to be had in any encounter with Mistral. The man was a cretin. A fool.

  It must be done quickly, before she could become any more attached to him. Her period of mourning must be, of necessity, short. Last time, she'd gone into seclusion. That would work for him, only this time, he'd arrange her seclusion. She might be angry at first, but over time, she'd come around. It would be just recompense for her mother's abandonment of him. Emma owed him. He realized that now. She'd used him to get back at Magus. Her daughter must pay her debt for her. It was only right and proper. In time, she'd understand that and come to welcome the opportunity he was providing her. It was better than being dead.

  The phone rang, breaking into his thoughts. He frowned, waiting for the caller ID to show up. Bozo? He picked up the receiver.

  “Yes?”

  “Did you hear about Bubba Joe?” Bozo asked him, his voice veering between excitement and worry.

  “What about him?” Darius wasn't really interested in Bubba Joe right now. His mind was filled with thoughts of Dorothy, in his house, in his bed. He'd have the best of both worlds. Death and life.

  “He's dead.”

  That got his attention. “How?”

  “It looked like suicide, but the cops aren't sure yet. He was found with documents that tied him to Vance. He hired Vance to kill Magus, or at least that's what the documents indicate.”

  Darius already knew that part, but his death was...troubling. “Why do they suspect foul play? If he was going to be revealed, coupled with his wife's murder today, suicide seems almost logical, even for a selfish bastard like Bubba Joe.”