“Naomi is acting dumb, but she can’t even do that right She mentioned missing files and photos,” Adrienne said flatly.
“Naomi? Naomi at police headquarters? Naomi knows how to chew gum and wear tight clothes. That about covers it”
“She thinks she’s a friend of Rachel’s.”
Drew let out a sharp laugh. “That’s a joke. If Rachel is nice to Naomi, it’s only to get information.” He paused, then groaned. “Missing photos.”
“Naomi turned over the photo of Trey to Rachel.”
“You don’t know she gave the picture to Rachel, Adrienne. Police headquarters is Bruce’s beat”
“And I turned Skye over to Bruce,” Adrienne went on stonily.
“You didn’t turn Skye over to Bruce. You turned her over to your sister.”
“The drunk.”
“She didn’t look drunk when she dragged Philip out of the gala. Vicky is not irresponsible and she’s not an alcoholic. Something is bothering her lately and she’s trying to hide behind liquor. God, she’s your own sister. Can’t you see her for what she really is?”
Adrienne bent her head and put her face in her hands. She wanted to cry, but tears wouldn’t come. “No, I don’t know what my sister is. I don’t know what anybody is, except that someone around here is a killer and my little girl is in danger. You didn’t hear her voice on the phone, Drew. She was terrified.”
“But alive. Try Lucas at home, and if you can’t get him, call Naomi again and tell her to roust out Sonny Keller or some of the other deputies.” She looked at him hopelessly. He glared and said harshly, “Don’t you dare give me that nervous, incompetent look, dammit. Make the calls!”
Drew’s severe tone galvanized her. He was absolutely right. This was no time for hysterics. She had to be strong.
After all, her daughter’s life could depend on her.
2
Skye Reynolds thought the scariest time of her whole life was the day she and her mother found Julianna Brent murdered in a bed at la Belle. But it wasn’t. That day had been eclipsed by the moment she had bent over the shattered but still living body of Miles Shaw and had gazed in horror at the sharp spikes poking up through his stomach. Automatically she’d reached for her cell phone and, like a little girl, called her mother. While she was talking frantically, she’d glanced at Miles’s face just in time to see his green eyes widen. A feeling as painful as an electric shock ran through her, and she’d turned to find a gun pointed in her face before someone ripped the cell phone out of her hand. Someone familiar. Someone she loved.
“I’m sorry this had to happen, Skye.”
Still crouching, her right hand bloody from where she’d touched Miles, Skye asked incredulously, “Rachel, what are you doing?”
“Something I don’t want to, but I have to, now.” Rachel paused, sadness filling her blue eyes, the breeze wafting silky ash-blond hair around her beautiful face. “Stand up, Skye.”
Skye looked at her cousin in disbelief, then wariness. “Rachel, I know this is some kind of trick, but it’s not funny. Mr. Shaw is hurt really bad. And you’re scaring me. Please don’t point that gun at me.”
“Stand up, Skye!”
“But—”
“Stand up now!” Rachel’s face was deadly white, her eyes turning cold and hard. “Dammit, Skye, don’t make this any worse than it is. Do what I say!”
Abruptly, Skye stood. Rachel still pointed the gun at her head, and Skye had the sickening feeling that her cousin had gone crazy. Either that or she’d been drugged. Skye latched onto the last idea with a vengeance. That was it Someone had drugged Rachel. She didn’t know what she was doing.
Earlier, Bruce had come by the Hamilton house to pick up Rachel, but she still hadn’t come home, even though she’d said she was only going out to buy lipstick. That had been over an hour ago. Skye explained this to an annoyed Bruce, who’d managed to wait another half hour before he’d blown up and said he knew damn well where Rachel was. The place she’d become obsessed with. In a rage, he’d headed for his car, and worried about her cousin, Skye had jumped in Bruce’s car with him. To the Belle they’d raced, Skye terrified they were going to wreck.
When they’d reached the hotel, Bruce had glanced at Miles, then run inside. Skye thought she heard a noise, like a firecracker, but she’d ignored it and gone to Miles. Horrified by his wounds, she’d called her mother. And now Rachel was standing over her with a gun.
Yes, Rachel was drugged. Skye didn’t know how it could have happened, but it was the only answer. She wanted to help Rachel, but she realized Rachel wasn’t in control. Skye knew drugged people had no idea of what they were doing. Skye also knew it was very important for her not to upset Rachel, because she was temporarily crazy and she could do something that, in her normal state, she would never do in a million years. The only way she could help was to make Rachel feel calm and safe and like everything was cool.
“It’s okay, Rachel,” she said in the mildest voice she could manage. “I’ll do whatever you say. But could we get some help for Mr. Shaw? I think he’s in lots of pain.”
Rachel looked down at Miles without a trace of sympathy. “He deserves to be in pain.”
“Oh,” Skye said, then understood completely. “You think he murdered Julianna.”
Rachel looked at her quizzically for a moment. “Whatever made you think that?” Then she smiled her beautiful, girl-next-door smile. “No, Skye. Miles didn’t murder Julianna. I did.”
3
“I called 911,” Adrienne told Drew as she turned off her cell phone. “I hope they get someone here fast, even if it’s Keller.” Adrienne’s hands had begun to perspire. “I don’t understand why my daughter is at la Belle.”
“Because Bruce and Rachel took her there.”
“Why? They were supposed to come to the gala. What are they doing at the hotel?”
Drew was silent for a moment, as if thinking. “How about this? Somehow one of them got word that Lottie Brent was seen around the hotel. Everyone is looking for Lottie Brent. Bruce and Rachel are reporters. Naturally they wanted to be in on the excitement. Hell, maybe they thought they’d capture her themselves.”
“But why take Skye with them?”
“Skye is fourteen. Do you think she’d remain quietly at home while those two went roaring off on an adventure? My guess is that she planted herself in the car and refused to move.”
“That sounds like Skye,” Adrienne said slowly, knowing she was grasping at straws. “She thinks she’s all grown-up. And she also thinks she loves danger. She at least loves excitement.”
“There you go.” Drew smiled. “Mystery solved.”
“Oh, Drew, it is not,” Adrienne said desolately. “We’re just guessing.”
“I think it’s a good guess.”
Adrienne closed her eyes against the last of the fading daylight. “I hope so, because if anything happens to Skye, it will be all my fault. And I can’t live with that. I won’t live with that.”
4
“Come into the hotel, Skye,” Rachel said gently. “There are some things I want to explain to you.”
Skye glanced at Miles Shaw. His eyes were closed, but he was breathing. Please let him live until my mom gets here, she prayed. Please let me do the right thing to help Rachel.
Feeling as if she were sleepwalking, Skye stood up and moved slowly toward the front entrance of the hotel, knowing Rachel still pointed the gun at her, not certain whether or not she would actually use it. Skye climbed the front steps onto the wide porch. “The police had the doors sealed,” she said. “Did you open them, Rachel?”
“Yes. Why?”
“I just wondered. I wouldn’t have nerve enough to open a door sealed by the police, but you were always a lot braver than me.”
“I didn’t think about being brave,” Rachel said offhandedly. “I just did what I wanted.”
“Yeah, that’s cool. That’s the kind of thing Buffy the Vampire Slayer would do or the girls on Cha
rmed.” Skye hesitated at the hotel entrance. “You want me to go inside?”
“That’s what I said. We can sit down in there. It will be more comfortable. Don’t worry. You won’t get in trouble. I won’t let anyone punish you.”
“Thanks, Rachel. You’ve always been my very best friend, not just my cousin. I know you’ll take care of me. You’re so good to me, even though I’m younger.”
“I like you. I guess I love you, like I’d love the little sister I never had.” Inside the dim lobby, Skye banged her thigh against the corner of an end table by a settee. “Be careful,” Rachel said. “Just keep walking straight to the staircase. We’re going to the second floor.”
We’re not going there, Skye thought in dread. We can’t be going there. But once they reached the second floor, she saw candlelight flickering out into the hallway from one of the rooms—the room where Julianna Brent had been murdered. Skye shuddered, hoping Rachel didn’t notice, but walked on without hesitation. She knew she had to do what Rachel wanted. She had no choice.
When they reached the doorway, Skye stopped. Knowing what Rachel wanted her to do was one thing. Making her body cooperate was another. “Rachel, can’t we just talk about things here in the hall?” she asked. “I mean, well, that room has some pretty bad memories for me.”
“We have to go in.” Rachel’s voice sounded patient but determined. “No one is in there. And memories can’t hurt you. Go on, Skye. We’ll talk things out, and then everything will be fine.”
Skye felt as if Rachel could hear her mind screaming, “Mom! Mommy! Where are you? Help me!” But of course Rachel couldn’t hear. Not unless she could read minds. Neither could Skye’s mother. But hadn’t her mom said that sometimes there was a link between the minds of a mother and child? Or was she just imagining that because she was so scared? She didn’t know anymore. All she knew was that Mommy was nowhere around and Rachel had a gun. Choking down her rising panic, Skye said, “The candles are pretty, Rachel.”
“Miles only lit three of them, but I found a couple more in his knapsack. I hate the smell of jasmine, but I lit them anyway. They look pretty, at least. No wonder Julianna liked to put them everywhere. They say women appear more beautiful by candlelight. Julianna would have thought of that, particularly since she was getting older and wouldn’t want her wrinkles to show.”
“But Julianna didn’t have wrinkles,” Skye protested, then immediately sensed her mistake. “Well, she was as old as my mom. She must have had wrinkles. I guess she just covered them up. Models know how to do tricks with makeup.”
“Julianna knew many tricks, Skye. Many more than you can even guess.”
“She did? Well …” Suddenly the situation had become too much for Skye. She felt as if she were going to faint. Or cry. Or scream. Any such disruption could be fatal though. “Can we sit down, Rachel?” she asked sweetly. “You said we were going to talk, but I can’t even see your face with you standing behind me. You don’t have to worry. I’m not going to run away. This is sort of an adventure.”
“I’m glad you see it that way,” Rachel said pleasantly. “Okay. Let’s sit on the floor facing each other like we do up in my room. I wish we had some Cokes and potato chips.”
“Yeah,” Skye said faintly as she sank down to the floor, her head beginning to spin. Cokes and potato chips. Something to snack on would sure make things cozy right about now. Jeez, Rachel, she thought. Just how screwed up are you?
“Where’s Bruce?” Skye blurted in a little burst of fear.
“Oh, around,” Rachel said vaguely. “We’re not going to worry about him. He’s not worth it. I never really liked him, you know. I only dated him because my parents wanted me to.”
“I didn’t like him, either,” Skye agreed. “He was kind of snotty.” Her comment met with silence. Rachel gazed around the room, almost as if she’d forgotten Skye was with her. Unable to sit quietly any longer, Skye burst out, “Why did you kill Julianna?”
Rachel’s blue gaze sliced back to her. “I had a good reason. I know you liked her, Skye, but she wasn’t a good person. Not good at all.”
Skye could not believe this of Julianna, but she thought it wise to nod her head. “I see. What did she do?”
“She was having an affair with my father,” Rachel said harshly. “I guess Dad got involved with her because she was so beautiful and he and Mom weren’t very happy together, but it was a mistake.” Her eyes seemed to turn inward, as if she were searching for a story, the way she did when she was trying to entertain Skye with scary or romantic tales late at night when they were having a sleepover. Skye had always thought Rachel was excellent at making up stories. “But that’s all the affair was on Dad’s part—a mistake. A mistake that he wanted to fix,” Rachel went on. Then her eyes livened, as if she’d just had an inspiration. “He wanted to break things off with Julianna, but she wouldn’t let him. She threatened him, Skye. She told him if he didn’t keep seeing her, she’d tell everyone they’d been having an affair and then his career would be ruined.”
“Oh gosh,” Skye said meekly, pretending she believed every word although she could always tell when Rachel was fibbing.
“But it was worse than that.” Rachel’s voice had picked up pace and volume. “Dad said he didn’t care who she told—Mom and I were more important to him than his career. He wanted to keep his family together more than anything in the world, even more than he wanted to be governor. So … so Julianna said if he didn’t stay with her, she would kill Mom!”
“Julianna said she would kill Aunt Vicky?” Skye gasped with what she hoped was appropriate horror. “I didn’t think Julianna would kill anybody.”
Rachel’s eyes narrowed. “She had you fooled just like everybody else. She was evil, Skye. She would have done it. Dad was a nervous wreck. That’s why he’s been so mean lately. He was trapped, you see. He either had to stay with Julianna, who by now he hated, or risk her killing Mom. It was awful for him!”
Skye merely stared, heartsick. Rachel was lying to her. They were cousins and best friends and Rachel said Skye was like her little sister, but now she was telling this crazy story and expecting Skye to believe it.
“I went to Julianna’s apartment one night. I’d confronted her before, but this time I meant to really threaten her. I’d been following her all evening, trying to get up my nerve. She knew I was following her and she locked herself in her apartment, but I had a spare key I’d gotten from my dad’s desk drawer. I just walked in on her. We argued. She told me to leave her alone or else. I guess she meant she’d kill Mom and me. Then she said someone was coming over, a man who would protect her, but she was lying just to get me to go away, because nobody ever came. Just in case, though, I stayed until about midnight. I thought I’d put a big enough fright in her to drive her away from Dad.” Rachel shook her head. “But I hadn’t. I followed Dad and he went to la Belle where he always met her.”
“Why did they always come here?” Skye asked.
“Privacy. And Julianna had managed to get a key from Kit’s mother, Ellen, without Ellen even knowing it. She was really sneaky.”
Skye thought it had been pretty sneaky of Rachel to steal her father’s key to Julianna’s apartment too, but she didn’t say anything. She sat perfectly still, hoping desperately that her mother would come—her mother and a whole bunch of police—to save her. In the meantime, she listened.
“That morning I waited until after Dad left, then I came into this room. I picked up the lamp by the bed and hit her with it. You know how strong I am from all the sports I play. You saw that killer serve of mine when we played tennis this afternoon. Anyway, the base of the lamp was heavy and it knocked her out.
“I bent over her, but she was still breathing,” Rachel went on. “The bitch was still breathing. So I looked around and on the floor I saw a wine bottle. And beside it was a corkscrew. A big, long corkscrew with a really sharp point.” Rachel’s eyes seemed to glaze at this point. “I picked up that wicked-looking corkscrew, a
nd I pushed Julianna’s hair back, and with all my might I plunged the corkscrew in her neck, right into the carotid artery.” Skye winced, feeling nauseated. “There was so much blood, I could hardly believe it. It was all over the sheets and her hair and running down her shoulder. I waited a while, just watching the blood pour out of her.” Rachel looked at Skye and smiled. “And then I pulled out the corkscrew neat as you please and it was all over. Just like that!”
Skye’s stomach roiled dangerously. Throwing up would not be a good thing to do now, she thought. Rachel wouldn’t like it. She’d be offended. Frantic, Skye remembered hearing on some TV show that smiling suppressed the gag reflex, so she smiled brightly at Rachel. She smiled and smiled, which Rachel took as a sign of approval. “I knew you’d understand,” Rachel said. “You’ve always understood me, little cousin.
“Everything would have been cool,” she went on, “except that then there was a big crash down on the highway. That awful wreck. Claude Duncan was out of his cabin in a flash, running all over like the lunatic he was. I couldn’t get back down to the road without him or the people involved in the wreck or the cops seeing me. I couldn’t go up the hill because that’s where Lottie Brent lives and she’s always out early in the mornings. So I hung around in the woods. Then, of all things, you and your mom and Brandon came. God, it was like the whole world decided this was the place to be. Brandon came tearing into the woods after me. He seemed to think we were playing a game.”
“That’s why he was acting so weird!” Skye said suddenly. “He was bounding around like a puppy. It was because of you! He loves you!”
“I love him too, but I could have done without him right then. And to make matters worse, while I was dodging around trying to avoid Brandon and you, Aunt Adrienne started snapping photos like there was no tomorrow.” She looked at Skye sadly. “That’s why I had to get the camera from your mom before she had those pictures developed. She might have gotten a good shot of me.”
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