by Meryl Sawyer
He walked closer, and she said, “I promised Mother that I would bring Renata to Miami.”
“Sounds like a one-way road to hell. Renata’s social skills are … questionable. Are you sure your mother is ready for her?”
She turned to him, her eyes troubled. The blush had disappeared, leaving her skin pale. “It won’t be pleasant. That’s for sure, but I have no choice. Do you think we can convince Renata to come to Miami for the weekend?”
Man, oh, man. Get real. He was positive Renata was playing hard to get.
“Let me talk to her.”
There was no answer at Renata’s when Shane called. He had no choice but to phone Caleb. The man answered on the second ring, his voice a redneck’s ludicrous attempt at an English accent.
Some women might find Bassett captivating, but Shane’s bullshit tolerance was down to zip, so he came right to the point.
“What’s it going to take to get Renata to come to Miami for the weekend? Vanessa Maxwell wants to see her.”
“Really? I’m surprised.”
“Cut the crap. Let’s get this settled.”
Shane knew whatever Caleb had said to Vanessa when they’d originally spoken had convinced the woman that Renata was her daughter. This request wasn’t a shock.
“Well, I may be able to convince my daughter. She’s sitting right here. We’re about to have breakfast.”
What a strange relationship. For a second, Shane wondered if they really were father and daughter. He’d have a better idea when he saw them together. There was a certain chemistry between couples who were involved.
“Talk to Renata then call me here.”
Shane gave Caleb his room number at the Windsor Court, then hung up. He walked over to the window where Taylor had stood less than an hour earlier. She’d gone back to her room to pack.
Are we having fun yet?
Getting close to Taylor was one thing, this was another. He had the crazy-ass feeling that he was in the middle of something more complicated than he’d bargained for. He tried to ignore his suspicions, but he couldn’t.
He’d brought this on himself by seeking out Taylor. Now he had no choice but to help her.
The phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. It was Caleb Bassett with Renata on the extension.
“I had a hard time convincing her,” Caleb began.
Yeah, and I’m the pope.
“I have to give up three nights of shows,” Renata said. “Weekend shows when I make the most money.”
Here comes the pitch for money.
“We think five thousand dollars should cover it,” Caleb said, all traces of his attempt at a British accent gone.
“I don’t know,” Shane said, although this was less than he’d expected them to ask.
“I have to have the money or I’m staying here.”
He could almost see the belligerent thrust of Renata’s jaw as she made her demand.
“Caleb has to come, too. I’m not going there alone.”
Shane silently congratulated himself. These two must be lovers. Okay, so, did that mean Renata wasn’t Vanessa’s missing daughter?
Not necessarily.
Doyle Maxwell smiled inwardly as Raoul and Trent emerged from the jail. He’d put up the money for their bonds, but they’d have to return for trial—if it came to that. Alan Friedman, the pricey lawyer, had advised Doyle that they should accept a plea bargain for a lesser charge.
“Thanks,” Raoul said. “I owe you one.”
“Ditto,” Trent added, giving Doyle a quick hug. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“Don’t thank me yet. We haven’t seen the end of this.”
Raoul shrugged, but he didn’t look as cocky as he usually did. A night in a cell with Miami’s scum had taken him down a notch, Doyle hoped. He led them to the lot where his Mercedes was parked.
“Mother doesn’t know anything about this, does she?” Trent asked.
“No. I haven’t told anyone.”
“Not even Brianna?” asked Raoul.
Doyle thought he detected a hint of disdain in Raoul’s voice. It was no secret that he and Brianna were extremely close. He planned to tell her, consult with her on the best way to play this drug arrest to his advantage, but the arrogant Cuban didn’t have to know about it.
Brianna didn’t have to know everything, either.
He’d managed to keep his financial problems from her. She’d married him for his money; she’d leave him if he lost it. This drug arrest could very well be key to reviving his finances.
“No, I haven’t mentioned anything to Brianna.” He unlocked the sleek black Mercedes by pressing on his key. He opened the door, saving to Trent, “I think your mother is going to be too preoccupied for the next week to find out about your arrest. She’s invited Renata Rollins to come stay with her.”
Trent dropped into the front seat, his shoulders sagging. “That woman proved she’s related to us?”
“No. The investigator hasn’t been able to prove or disprove the woman’s story, but your mother still wants to meet her.”
“Why?” Raoul asked from the backseat as Doyle took his place behind the wheel.
It’s none of your damn business, Doyle wanted to say, but he kept his cool. In time the uppity Cuban would get his.
“Vanessa thinks she’ll be able to tell if this is her daughter.”
“I don’t think she’s in any condition to—”
“Mother is obsessed by this,” Trent cut off Raoul. “Her illness has made things worse.”
Doyle drove the car out of the dark structure into the blinding Miami sunlight. “Obsessed is a good word. Vanessa wants Renata and her father to come here even though there’s no proof the woman is her daughter and—get this—Renata works as a stripper.”
“You’re kidding. My mother wouldn’t—”
“Jesus H. Christ!” Raoul said. “I think we need a plan.”
For once Doyle agreed with the cocky Cuban.
Chapter 8
The defining moment.
For every person there is a moment—often just an instant—when a decision must be made, a choice that will alter the course of their life. It’s always fun to watch … and wait to see which choice a person will make.
“People seal their fate with the decisions they make.”
Right now, he was watching the Maxwells cement their fate. Of course, Vanessa’s fate had been sealed by her decision.
The bitch was getting what she deserved—a slow agonizing death.
“That doesn’t mean Vanessa doesn’t deserve some more torture. If finding the daughter she gave up—her defining moment—is her heart’s desire, then she should meet her child.”
A crack of laugher reverberated off the walls. It took a few moments for the sound to die away, leaving a hollow, tomblike echo.
“Be careful what you ask for. You just might get it.”
The appearance of Renata Rollins in Vanessa’s life should prove interesting. How would the family react?
There’s more than one way to torment a person. Cancer alone isn’t enough. Vanessa needs to suffer a whole lot more.
The way he’d suffered.
“I wonder if Vanessa needs to know the one daughter that she’s positive is her own has been marked for death?”
He checked another laugh. This just kept getting better and better.
“Let Taylor’s death come as a surprise.”
Has Taylor experienced a defining moment when she must make a life-altering choice?
“No, but she will when she faces her killer.”
Shane stroked Auggie’s head as he brought Vince Walker up to speed on the situation with Renata Rollins. He hated boarding Auggie. The dog needed socializing, not isolation, but he hadn’t made any friends who could take his pet.
Maybe he would never have real friends. He was too much of a loner to let anyone get close to him.
“The Rollins woman and her father are flying in tomorrow to spend the weeken
d with Vanessa. I bought their tickets and promised I’d pay them when they arrive. That should wipe out the advance Vanessa gave us. We’ll need more if we’re going to continue investigating Renata.”
Nodding, Vince’s eyes cut away from Shane. The E-mail icon on his computer screen was blinking.
“Let me see what this is.”
Shane stroked Auggie’s gloss-black far, thinking about Caleb and Renata. He hadn’t seen them together yet, but he would this weekend. Then he’d know if they were lovers.
The situation bothered him, yet no one else had mentioned it. Maybe it was the age difference between Caleb and Renata that had fooled Taylor and Brianna. Caleb was old enough to be Renata’s father, but the age difference didn’t mean he wasn’t her lover.
“Nothing important,” Vince said, turning away from his computer. “I was hoping it was info on some of Maxx’s competitors. While you were gone, I took a preliminary look at their computer security problems. I’d say someone is trying to ruin their business to head off a deal with one of the big cosmetics firms.”
“What makes you think its a competitor? Couldn’t the problem be in-house?”
“Possibly, but the major players with the security codes all stand to gain if the business is sold.”
“Really? Someone like Taylor might see it as a family venture and not want to sell.”
“Nope. Taylor would like to start a firm specializing in online games. You know, the kind where you play on the Net against people all over the world. She’s working on a trivia game right now.”
Shane nodded, taken by surprise. He thought he knew a lot about Taylor, but this information was brand new.
“Raoul wants Trent to start a company with him. A cosmetics company like To The Maxx. According to my sources, what Raoul wants, Raoul gets.”
“That leaves Vanessa and Doyle. I don’t suppose Vanessa cares all that much, considering her health.”
“She favors a sale and has been letting Doyle handle the preliminary discussions with two of the big firms after the company. Doyle needs the money. He lost a bundle in the market. Like a lot of people, he loaded up on tech stocks and got killed.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
“Yeah, Doyle’s a bit of a high flyer with a dynamite young wife.”
Vince chuckled, and Shane knew that although Vince was a poster boy for the single life, he had the hots for Brianna.
“Doyle and Vanessa get along now, but they didn’t at first. Doyle was really close with his twin brother, and when Vanessa came along … well, things changed. For years, he barely spoke to Vanessa.”
“Interesting,” Shane said, mentally kicking himself.
His usually infallible sixth sense hadn’t picked up on any hostility between Doyle and Vanessa. If people didn’t speak for years, it usually meant there was latent anger that could be detected.
No doubt his mind had been on Taylor, and it had distracted him.
“What brought Vanessa and Doyle together?”
“You’ll love this.” Vince chuckled. “Vanessa supported Doyle when he wanted to divorce his wife. It seems Sophie Maxwell despised Vanessa. The woman did everything she could to keep Vanessa out of the elite social groups.”
Why wasn’t he completely surprised? Vanessa had been mellowed by time and illness, but Shane knew a social climber when he met one.
“You’d be amazed at how many enemies Vanessa Maxwell has,” Vince added. “Any one of them could want to ruin To The Maxx.”
“Clue me in.”
“Raoul Cathcart is at the top of the list. Although no one knows it, Vanessa tried to pay Raoul big bucks to get out of Trent’s life. He refused and he’s had it in for Vanessa ever since.”
“How’d you find out, if no one knows?”
Vince rocked back in his chair; his dark eyes reflected his amusement.
“You’d be amazed at what people tell their hairdressers and manicurists. Stuff they wouldn’t confide in their best friend. Why? Because it’s someone who’ll listen and agree with them.”
“Damn straight, they’ll agree or lose a customer.”
“Raoul has been going to the same beauty shop for years. For a hundred bucks, his hairdresser told me the story.”
Go to a hairdresser? God forbid.
“Vince, you already said Raoul wants to go into business with Trent. The start-up money has to come from the sale, right? Why would he want to sabotage a deal?”
“It defies logic, but there’s something strange about Raoul. He spent six months in a private psychiatric hospital. I’m trying to get his file, but I haven’t had any luck yet.”
Raoul was not what he would call a guy’s guy, and something about him had disturbed Shane, yet he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He was going to have to keep his mind off Taylor and watch the players this weekend.
“Who else has a grudge against Vanessa?” he asked Vince.
“Brianna, possibly. Vanessa backed Doyle when he wanted to leave Sophie, but she didn’t bargain for a Cuban lap dancer. Except for family functions, when Doyle has to be included, Vanessa never sees Brianna.”
“Do you think Brianna cares?”
“Hard to say, but you know women.”
Don’t go there.
To say he knew women—out of the sack—would be like saying he was a rocket scientist. His longest so-called relationship had lasted two months, then he’d received a new assignment and was transferred to the other side of the world.
“Sophie, the ex-wife, has every reason to want Maxx to go under,” continued Vince. “She took a huge settlement instead of alimony. If Doyle goes bust, she isn’t hurt.”
“Okay, suppose Sophie or Brianna or even Raoul were behind this, they wouldn’t have the expertise to tamper with the company’s computer files.”
“True, but it wouldn’t be hard to find a hacker who could.”
Vince studied the screen saver on his computer for a moment, then added, “There’s another possibility. Lisa Abbott, Trent’s former wife, was really hurt by the divorce. Her background is finance. She’d have the know-how to access the system.”
“Trent might have told her the security code when they were married.”
“Right. I’m taking a closer look at her. I wouldn’t be surprised to find she’s one of those ‘hell hath no fury’ women.”
Shane remembered the striking brunette on the morning he’d introduced himself to Taylor. He stroked Auggie’s head, trying to imagine Lisa sabotaging the company. She didn’t seem to be the type.
But who knew? When it came to understanding the female mind, he was clueless.
“Here’s what we decided to do,” Trent told Taylor as they drove to the airport that evening to meet Renata’s flight from New Orleans.
“When the Rollins woman arrives let’s see if we can pay her off. Raoul thinks we should offer her twenty-five thousand dollars but be prepared to go to fifty. I’m kicking in some, Doyle’s paying his share, and we want you to come up with a third.”
Taylor listened, thinking how much her brother had changed. Once he would have consulted with her first before agreeing to a plan like this. Now he listened to Raoul, then took action without running it by her.
“I don’t know,” she replied. “I promised Mother—”
“I know, but this is only going to upset her. You said so yourself.”
Trent drove the Beamer onto the expressway. As usual, the cars were bumper to bumper.
“A stripper. Just our luck. Raoul says she probably turns tricks on the side.”
Taylor didn’t mention that Shane had said the same thing. Why prejudice Trent unnecessarily? They might very well have to deal with this obnoxious woman.
“I don’t think Renata will take the money,” she said.
“Why not? It has to be a fortune to a woman like her.”
“True, but she’s strange. It took some convincing to get her to come here. Money might not move her the way it would other people.”
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“Come on. I’m not buying that bridge. After all, Shane had to pay her to make up for her lost wages.”
Trent nudged the car into the fast lane, as if it would do any good.
“If she sees Mother’s house in Coral Gables, she’s likely to insist on a lot more money,” he said. “With luck we can arrange a payoff and put her on the next plane back to the Big Easy.”
“Did we get lucky or what?” Trent asked. “They’ve changed their minds and decided to stay in New Orleans.”
Taylor watched the pilot and copilot walk away from the baggage claim area. The flight attendant had already confirmed that no more passengers were on the plane.
“Maybe they missed the flight. You’d think they would have called, though. I gave them my number and my cell number.”
“Do you think they phoned Shane, since he set it up?”
Taylor pulled her cell phone out of her purse, then grabbed her Palm Pilot to find Shane’s number. When he answered, she explained the situation, but he hadn’t heard a thing from Caleb or Renata. He said he would try to find out what happened.
“Mother’s going to be really disappointed. When I spoke to her this morning, she was so excited.” Taylor walked beside her brother toward the exit. “She expected them for dinner. I’m sure she’s gone over every little detail. You know how she is about entertaining.”
They were in the parking lot when Taylor’s cell phone beeped. It was Shane.
“You’re not going to believe this,” he said. “They took an earlier flight. They’re already at your mother’s house. From what your mother told me, they’re all getting along like old friends.”
“You’re kidding.”
She covered the phone with her hand and told Trent what had happened.
“Why didn’t they call? They could have saved us a trip to the airport.”
“Beats me,” Shane said. “Your mother seems convinced Renata is her daughter.”
“Great. Well, we’re on our way there. Do you want to meet us?”
She didn’t know what prompted her to invite Shane, but she had the feeling she could use the help with Renata and Caleb. No telling what she might find when she arrived.