If Looks Could Kill

by Heather Graham

  The dispatcher called in just as Jake Ramone stepped from the car to join Kyle. He paused to take the call, then turned to Kyle. “Sir, it’s your Washington office, patched in on the radio.”

  Kyle took the radio. It was Ricky Haines.

  “What’s up, Ricky?”

  “Nothing much. I heard you got married.”

  Kyle exhaled. Naturally. He’d reported in to his superiors, and word had filtered down.

  “Yeah.”

  “You married your sister?” Ricky said.

  “She was once my stepsister,” Kyle said patiently.

  “Oh, yeah. Right. Sorry. Things just seem a little weird from this distance, you know?”

  “Sure. Ricky, did you call to torment me, or is there a purpose to this?”

  “Yep, there’s a purpose. You remember how you told me to look for any connection between these murders and Lainie Adair’s? I think you were on to something. I’ve been browsing through some old records. I wondered if you knew that one of Lainie Adair’s last movies was called A Rose among Thorns.”

  “I remember it vaguely. She plays a woman in the mountains of West Virginia, right?”

  “Yep. It’s a Cinderella story about a young woman who grows up with a pack of thieves. She’s too ashamed of what she is to fall for the hero, until he discovers that she isn’t who she thinks she is at all. She was kidnapped by the evil thieves from a rich New York family.”

  “I remember.”

  “Well, it gives credence to your theory that these murders are related to your stepmother’s murder, what with the killer’s ‘signature’ being a rose with thorns. You’re talking classic-case here. A man with a grudge against Lainie Adair, killing her, controlling his urge to kill for a while, then killing again. Women who look just Lainie, this time.”

  “Thanks, Ricky. Call me with anything, no matter how small.”

  “Will do. Oh, and congratulations. On marrying your sister.”

  “Ricky, get a life,” Kyle said, breaking the connection. “Okay, Jake, let’s try the Rusty Rumhouse.”

  It was dark inside. Smoky, and dark. There was a central bar, with tables scattered into the four corners of the room. Kyle found the manager, a pleasant fellow by the name of Brad Maxwell, and when Kyle produced a picture of Holly Tyler, one of the waitresses let out a little squeal.

  “Yes. Yes! I waited on her. It wasn’t this weekend, but the, umm…Thursday or Friday before,” the girl volunteered excitedly. She was young, petite, no more than five-foot-one, with a headful of bouncing blond curls.

  “What’s your name, miss?” Kyle asked her.

  “Bitsy. Bitsy Larkin.”

  “Well, Bitsy, thanks for remembering, and for being so helpful. It’s incredibly important. She must have eaten here on Friday,” Kyle said.

  “You’re right! It had to be Friday, because she ordered the Friday special, the shrimp étouffée.”

  “Right,” Kyle breathed, inhaling raggedly. He felt shaky inside. That was what police work was like. Weeks and weeks of work without a clue panning out, then some little step opened up the gates.

  Please, God, he prayed in silence, let this be the step that gives us this lunatic!

  “Can you remember who Holly was with?”

  “Yeah, sure I can.”

  “Think you could identify him?”

  “Absolutely!” Bitsy vowed solemnly. “Oh, absolutely.”

  17

  Madison was just zipping her jeans when she heard her father’s voice, and she quickly threw on a shirt, then hurried out to greet him.

  Jordan looked a lot better than he had the last time she saw him, when he was so worried about her. His color was good, his long gray hair in a neat queue—he looked like the handsome, mature, sexy celebrity he was.

  He smiled when he saw her, shaking his head. “Mrs. Montgomery.”

  “Dad!” she said, hurrying to him, accepting his warm hug.

  “Breakfast is on the counter in the kitchen. I’ll leave you to it,” Peggy said, exiting to go about her work in some far corner of the house.

  Madison looked anxiously at her father. “Do you mind?”

  “Not at all. I’m delighted for you. You two did make a pretty quick decision there.”

  “I think he married me just to keep me safe.”

  Jordan caught her hands and leaned back, studying her. “I think he married you because you’re a stunning woman with a wonderful mind and a warm heart.”

  “Dad, thanks! What a beautiful thing to say.”

  “I’m very proud of you, Madison. I’m proud of all my children. And I’m glad Kyle is my son-in-law.”

  “How about some breakfast?” she suggested, suddenly embarrassed. “I’m starving.”

  “Busy night, huh?” her father teased.

  “Dad!” she protested.

  They ate in silence at the kitchen table for a minute; then he cleared his throat. “Did you hear?”

  “Hear what?”

  “Harry Nore managed to hang himself in his jail cell. He had smuggled in some ultrathin wire and…”

  Madison set her fork down. “God. I don’t know whether to be sorry or not.”

  “He killed your mother, and he tried to kill you. I can’t feel much remorse.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know why, I know the murder weapon was found on him and all, but…I just never thought he really did kill my mother.”

  “Madison! I’ll never forget the terror in my heart when I heard him saying those things to you on Sunday! Then, seeing him lunge at you…The man was definitely homicidal.”

  Madison nodded, wondering why she was so upset. Then she realized that Kyle had probably read about Nore’s death in the paper and decided not to tell her while they were on the island. Now he couldn’t talk to Nore, couldn’t learn from Nore. It was hard to clear a dead man. And it was hard to hunt for a killer if people believed the killer was already dead.

  She shivered.

  “Kyle didn’t tell me.”

  “He is trying to protect you.”

  “Maybe he’s trying too hard. Oh, Dad! I’m just not sure about this at all….”

  Jordan Adair shook his head ruefully, staring out the window. “Honey, I’ll be sure for you. I always liked Kyle. From the first time I met him. Even when he was really young, he had a way of looking at the world…wisdom, I guess. I don’t know exactly what it was about him. But there was some chemistry between the two of you from beginning. At first you just adored him like a big brother. I’m not sure when that changed. Maybe he kept away from you purposely when you started getting older. He wanted to give you a chance to grow up, I think. And then, of course, he met Fallon….”

  “He met Fallon, and I married Darryl. Well…I’m glad you’re happy, Dad,” Madison murmured.

  He nodded again, as if there were more he wanted to say. Then he rose, slowly pacing the kitchen. “You know, he never accused me of murder, even though he was there when your mother and I had one of our worst fights ever.”

  “Dad…” she said uncomfortably.

  “No, hear me out. I guess I’ve wanted to tell you this for a long time. The day Lainie was killed, she’d called me over. Roger had refused to cancel a personal appearance in Toronto to stay home to see her do a play in Miami Beach. She was furious—she really expected us all to jump every time she snapped her fingers. She wanted me to hang around so she could convince Roger it would be dangerous to leave the two of us in the city alone.” Jordan shrugged thoughtfully. “I did still love her. I always loved her. I’ll love her until the day I die myself. But I knew she was using me, and I refused her, so she started throwing things. I grabbed her…and then I released her and walked out.

  “She—she liked a physical fight. She’d been sure that if she could just get me to touch her, she could seduce me. But I managed to remember that Roger was a friend, and that Lainie had used me too often already. I left. Kyle was in his room, pretending not to hear us fight. But when it got vio
lent, he came out—as if he could stop it if something really bad were about to happen. Lainie was furious—she hadn’t known he was home. But he just turned away from her and walked me out. He was as smooth as a mature man that day, and the kid was just getting out of high school. Anyway…” He turned and stared at Madison, so much pain in his dark eyes that she found herself rushing to him.

  “Oh, Dad! You can’t keep punishing yourself over Lainie. We all loved her, and she hurt us all. But she loved us, too, in her way. I think she loved you very much. And I love you, Kaila loves you, Trent loves you, Jassy loves you—even Kyle and Rafe love you! You’ve been a great dad.”

  “In my way,” he said softly, holding her. “In my weird way. I do love you, Madison. And you know, you’re not like her. Not in the least. You and Kyle are going to stay married. Your vows mean something to you both. And I mean it—I couldn’t be happier for you.” He sighed then. “I guess I’ve got to go. I’m heading home. Roger’s show is a success, and I’ve got to start on my new book.”

  “What’s it about this time, Dad?”

  “Pirates, sunken treasure. My macho hero is going to discover modern-day piracy, save the girl and discover hidden treasure. Thank God I’m old and have been at it a long time, so I don’t have to be politically correct.”

  “Sounds like a great adventure, Dad.”

  He kissed her cheek, holding her close again. “Life is the adventure, baby. I’m glad you’re living it. I wish you and your new husband the very best. Tell him I said so. And somewhere along the line, we’ll have to celebrate. I thought Jassy was about to run off and marry some guy, and instead it’s you.”

  “Oh, well…” Madison teased.

  “Who is he?”

  “Who is who?”

  “The guy Jassy is dating.”

  Madison laughed. “I don’t know. In fact, if she doesn’t tell me, I’m not inviting her to my wedding reception. When I get around to having one.” She made a mental note to herself—it was time to tell Kyle they had to find out exactly who Jassy was seeing.

  Her father grinned and kissed her cheek one more time. “You be careful!”

  She nodded. “I will be,” she promised him. She saw him to the door, kissed him again, waved and carefully locked the door behind him. She’d barely started picking up the breakfast dishes when the bell rang.

  Being careful, she looked through the peephole before turning the first bolt. She thought maybe her father had returned, but it wasn’t her dad, it was Kyle’s.

  “Roger!” Madison said, opening the door. She began to wonder if she wasn’t going to see every member of their extended family that day, one by one.

  “Congratulations, Madison. I can’t tell you how pleased I am.” He enveloped her in a big bear hug.

  She accepted the embrace, hugging him back. “Thanks, come on in.”

  He followed her into the living room. “What can I get you? The coffee is fresh.”

  “Coffee sounds great. Where’s that son of mine?”

  “Working.”

  “Humph! So much for a honeymoon, huh?”

  Madison tried to keep her smile in place as she watched Roger. She decided that both their families were insane. She and Kyle had run off and gotten married less than two weeks after seeing one another again for the first time in years, and both their fathers seemed to think it was the greatest thing in the world.

  “He was sent down here on an important case,” Madison reminded him.

  Roger frowned. “But Harry Nore came after you, Madison. Honey, he tried to kill you! He’s dead, you know, and good riddance to him!”

  Madison hesitated. “Maybe it’s for the best. I think he was a tortured soul. And he probably did scare a few years off my life! But, Roger, honest to God, I don’t think that he killed my mother. And Kyle doesn’t think he can possibly be the same man who killed these other poor women.”

  Roger narrowed his eyes, frowning thoughtfully. He’d always been a handsome man, and age had done nothing to change that fact. Character was etched into the fine lines around his eyes and mouth, and his smile remained as charismatic as ever.

  Kyle was going to look like Roger in another twenty-five years.

  “It frightens me to think there’s any way what’s happening now could be related to your mother’s death,” Roger said.

  “It does seem impossible,” Madison murmured.

  The phone rang, and she excused herself. It was Joey, reminding her that she was supposed to be working in the studio with the Storm Fronts later on in the week.

  “I talked to Kyle. He said the two of you got married,” Joey said. “Any truth to it?”

  “Did you think he lied to you?”

  “So you really did it, huh?”

  “We really did it.”

  “That was fast.”

  “I know.”

  “Well, congratulations.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Sheila is going to be disappointed.”

  “Oh?”

  “She really wanted to get to know him better.”

  “Well, tell her he’s off-limits now.”

  “Yeah, she’ll get over it. Frankly, I think she was just hoping for one night with him. Sheila and an FBI agent? Can’t see it.”

  “What about me and an FBI agent?”

  “You’ll be fine.”

  “So what exactly are you saying about Sheila—and me?” she queried.

  He laughed. “You’re going to do fine, kid. See ya later.” He hung up, and Madison guiltily remember Roger. She hurried back to the living room, apologizing.

  Roger waved a hand in the air. “It’s all right. I was just thinking.”

  “About what?”

  He hesitated, looking at her. “Your mother.”

  “Oh?”

  He shrugged. “You know I loved her.”

  “I know.”

  “But, Madison, she was hell on all of us. If she had lived, the marriage would never have lasted.” He hesitated. “You know we had a huge fight the day she was killed.”

  Madison wondered if this was what it felt like to be a priest, with everyone coming to you with a confession to make. “Everyone fought with Lainie, Roger.”

  He lifted his hands. “That day, it was a bad one. She changed her schedule, and she thought I could do the same with a snap of my fingers. I told her no, and she completely lost her temper. She told me other men would go out of their way to be with her. She cried, told me I didn’t care…. I told her she was a bitch, and she slapped me…and I walked out. And the next thing I knew, I was holding her after she’d bled to death in our bedroom.”

  Madison was quiet for a moment. “Roger, it’s all right. I loved Lainie very much, she was my mother, but I’m an adult, and I know she hurt people. I don’t hold you or my dad responsible for any of the pain in the past.”

  “I’m glad,” he told her, rising. “Because I think you and Kyle are going to be something special together.”

  “Thanks. I hope so,” Madison said, rising as well.

  “It was good to have you as a stepdaughter. It’s better to have you for a daughter-in-law.”

  “You’re pretty great, too, Roger.”

  He gave her a kiss on the forehead. She walked him to the door, and was startled to see that Trent had just parked his Karmann Ghia at an odd angle on her lawn and was hurrying toward her.

  “Hey, Roger.”

  “Hello, Trent. Coming with congratulations, as well?”

  “What?” Trent said, frowning. “Oh…no, yes, yes, of course! Hey, sis, congratulations.”

  “Well, I’ve got to get going,” Roger said. “You take care. Madison, since you and Kyle kind of ran away to get married, we’ll have to plan some kind of family reception later, huh?”

  “Sounds good, Roger, thanks,” she said.

  Roger walked to his car. Madison turned to Trent. “I know, you want to wish me well, then you’re going to tell me that you had a big fight with my mother on the day sh
e died.”

  Trent looked confused for a moment, then frowned. “I didn’t fight with her. I stayed away from her.”

  “Oh,” Madison murmured. “And you didn’t come to congratulate me?”

  A guilty flush spread over his cheeks. “Sorry. I am happy for you, I’m just not shocked. I mean, I thought you two would wind up together a long time ago, but then Kyle married Fallon, and you…Well, you know. But, honest, I am happy for you.”

  “Then…?”

  “Madison!” he said, gripping her arms.

  “What?” She gripped his arms in return.

  “I sold my first novel. Without Dad’s help. I didn’t even use my own name when I sent in the manuscript. Madison, I got a six-figure offer for this book and its sequel! Oh, God, Madison, I can write. I can actually write!” He started hopping up and down with her on her front walk, and she started to laugh.

  “Trent, I’m so glad! What’s the name of it?”

  “Right now, it’s The Color of Death. It’s a slasher book.”

  “A…a slasher book.”

  He flushed again. “It’s not like Roger’s books. Mine is…grittier. Hey, I hang around with a pathologist, and now there’s an FBI agent in the family….”

  “Yeah, there’s an FBI agent in the family,” Madison murmured.

  He smiled. “Will you read it for me and tell me what you think? I’ve got the manuscript in the car.”

  “Of course. I’ll be delighted. But you said it’s already sold.”

  “I still want your opinion.”

  “Sure.”

  He grinned and went to the car. He returned with his manuscript, handing it her. “Now, I know it’s not what you’d usually choose to read—I’m not such a rotten brother that I’m not attuned to the fact that you have enough bad things going through your own mind half the time. But I need your opinion. Madison, I’ve wanted to write so badly, but being Dad’s son, actually getting a novel out was hard. I didn’t want to use his influence with an agent or a publisher. You understand, right?”

  She nodded. “I understand.”

  Trent took hold of her arms, pulling her close, smacking her on the forehead with a kiss. “Like I said, I’m really happy for you, it’s just not a shock. I mean, you’ve been sleeping together since he rode back into town, huh? God, I’m crude. Sorry. Well, we’ll be having a party soon, I guess. Love you, and thanks a lot. I’ll get out of here now!”