"See, that's the kind of detective Rabe is. He digs up and distorts things that happened in the past."
"Are you going to tell me about it?"
"Sure." He stopped at a red light and turned to her. Ardin could see he was enjoying himself.
"My brother, Rob, played college basketball and, believe me, he was damn good. I was in school forty miles away, but I attended as many of his games as I could. One night Rob's team was playing the top team in the state. Their forward elbowed Rob and got a foul. Rob scored. His team moved ahead and won the game." He winked, causing her heart to lurch with pure lust.
"For some reason, that night Rob had taken his car instead of the team bus. His best friend and I walked with him to where he'd parked it, when four players on the other team came at us. Well, I won't say they didn't get in their punches, but in a matter of minutes we had those guys on the run."
He looked down at his right fist. Turned it one way, then the other. "I happened to take a swing at the forward, and it broke his nose. He tried to press charges, except Rob's coach came on the scene and threatened a counter suit. That was the last we heard of it."
"Until Rabe went poking around," Ardin said, feeling her last trace of suspicion disappear.
"He's great at digging up dirt, stinks at detecting." The light turned to green, and Brett accelerated onto the parkway.
"But if we start snooping around, won't we antagonize the murderer?" She shuddered. "Then he'll come after both of us."
"I'm afraid there's not much we can do, other than keep our eyes and ears open and share whatever information we have. Anything we remember about Suziette, any theories or brilliant ideas.
"I never went through her things Frank brought over from the office. They're still in the garage, hopefully, untouched by the fire."
"Look through them. Maybe you'll find a lead to Leonie's biological father. That's something else we need to find out."
"I agree." But she didn't want to think about the complications in their lives right now. "Where are we going?"
"You'll see. We're almost there."
"Okay."
She hummed as they sped along with the light traffic, taking delight in the budding trees and dazzling-yellow forsythia. For the first time in days, she was free of the terror that had held her in its grip. Marshall Crewe would be released by the end of the day, but it wasn't very likely he'd be bothering her again. She sighed and felt tension drain from her body. Now they could concentrate on finding Suziette's murderer and stop worrying that someone was out to get her.
The clicking directional caught her attention. She gasped as Brett turned onto the ramp exiting the parkway.
"Where are you taking me?"
"I know this park that has a great track."
"Not Running Brook Park!"
"Pretty, isn't it? Leonie loves it."
Panic rose in Ardin's throat. "But it's in Pembroke. I-- I can't go there. What if...?" She was too upset to finish the sentence.
Brett stopped the Jeep at the red light and turned to her. "What if we run into Corey and his wife? Is that what's bothering you?"
She nodded, hating her fear and hurt by the disappointment in his voice. The light turned green, but they didn't move.
"We can turn around and hightail it back to Thornedale, or take our chances running into your ex. What do you say?"
She wanted to be brave and say it didn't matter. Only it did.
Brett took her hand in his. "Stop letting him limit your life. Look at it this way: if we see Corey we can ask him a few questions. Like did he break into my house to search for Suziette's date book?"
"Or break into Aunt Julia's and take my copy of her tally book?"
"Exactly."
She squeezed his hand, glad to have him at her side. Glad, too, he wasn't turning this into a macho issue by offering his brawn as protection against Corey. Brett was right. It was time she stopped being afraid of Corey MacAllister. He was the biggest mistake of her life, and she'd been smart to leave him when she did.
She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "All right. Let's go to the park."
Brett winked. "I knew you wouldn't cave."
He heard her sigh of relief when they'd passed through the quaint little town, and wondered if he'd pushed her too far by choosing this park. He didn't want to upset Ardin further after all she'd been through, but it irked him how she let that punk of an ex-husband keep her in an emotional prison.
"I haven't been here since my senior year of high school," Ardin said, as he parked in the nearly empty lot. "It sure brings back memories."
"You look no more than seventeen right now," he teased, "with your hair in a ponytail."
"Five or six of us came for an early spring picnic," she reminisced. "We ate burgers and chips we'd bought along the way, and then had a game of Frisbee. Except for the couple that went off on their own," she added wistfully. "I remember feeling envious as they walked down the path, their arms around each other's waist."
She gave a wry little laugh. "A few weeks later, I ran into Corey at a 7-Eleven store, and we got to talking. That was how it started."
She climbed down from the Jeep and slammed the door shut. "I like to stretch before I set out."
"Fine with me."
He lunged, working out the kinks of one calf and then the other, and tried not to stare at her slender, lithe body moving in every direction. "Let's start off easy. I haven't done this in years."
His pulse quickened as she scanned his body. "Okay, but you look fit enough."
They set off, side by side. From their first few strides, Brett knew Ardin was someone he could run with. She showed consideration regarding their pacing and maintained a comfortable space between them. After a few minutes, he felt the sense of exhilaration running always gave him, now heightened by her company. When he glanced at her, she was looking his way. He smiled, having no need for words.
They passed the playground, the two soccer fields and, as if by common consent, picked up speed. The path ran along the edge of a vast lawn, where they had the company of other joggers and walkers, and had to be on guard against the occasional cyclist zipping by, despite the "No Bicycles" signs.
"Again?" he said as they approached their starting point twenty minutes later.
"Sure, why not?"
They went around again. The sun was stronger now, and they were both sweating as they ran. As they reached their starting point, they slowed into a cool down, jogging around the playground until their breathing was normal.
"That was terrific!" At the Jeep, he grabbed two bottles of water and handed her one. He downed his in deep gulps.
Her gleaming eyes and easy smile told him she was completely relaxed. "It's so pretty here."
"We can stay a while longer. Want to sit by the brook?"
She bit her lip. "I've so much to do..."
"It can wait," he said. "A short rest will do you some good."
She nodded, making him as happy as a kid having a snow day off from school. He, too, needed a break from the realities of life. He couldn't remember the last time he had nothing more on his mind than a restful morning in a park.
They followed the path, surrounded by giant rhododendron bushes that gave the sense of walking in deep woods, to the brook. A small boy atop his father's shoulders called out a greeting in passing.
As they approached the clearing. Ardin froze. He turned to her, saw the look of terror on her face. Then he, too, recognized the angry voice of Corey MacAllister.
He can't hurt me. He won't hurt me. Silently Ardin chanted her mantra as she stared at her ex-husband and his wife. An hysterical gurgle of laugher almost escaped her lips as she took in their matching chocolate-colored warm-up suits, the pair of bicycles leaning against a tree. Obviously, they'd started out sharing a friendly morning ride. Now they stood on either side of a bench like fighting dogs, growling and baring their fangs.
Tiffany's chest was heaving. "Don't lie to me! You still lov
e her. You'll always love her."
"Idiot! I love you."
"Liar! You couldn't keep away. You'd still be sleeping with her if she wasn't dead."
Corey shook his head wearily, as if he'd been through this a hundred times.
"I've told you like I told that creep of a therapist you made me see. She was a drug, Tiff. I couldn't help it. But she's gone now, and I'm rid of her forever."
"Yes." Tiffany wore a strange smile. "We're finally rid of her, aren't we?"
Ardin shivered. Was Tiffany hinting that she'd killed Suziette? She was fit and no doubt strong, if petite--at least three inches shorter than Suziette. Though how could she have strangled Dimitri, who'd been in the best possible shape?
Corey let out a petulant sigh. "Will you forget about her so we can get on with our lives?" He moved closer. "What we have is different, Tiff. Don't spoil it."
Tiffany raised her hands as she stepped backward toward the brook. "Touch me and I swear I'll file charges. I'm not a wimp like your first wife."
Ardin winced. Her eyes widened in amazement as Corey crumpled onto the bench, his face buried in his hands.
"I wasn't about to hit you. I love you, Tiff. You're the most important person in the world to me. The only woman I really loved."
Tiffany sat down next to him. "What about Ardin? Did you love her?"
Corey snorted. "Are you kidding? I was out to make Suziette jealous, only she never noticed. Marrying Ardin was the biggest mistake of my life."
Tears of humiliation filled Ardin's eyes. Damn Brett for witnessing her shame. Hearing this proof that no man would ever love her.
She turned, poised to run as far from this place as she could go, when Brett put an arm around her shoulders and drew her close. His expression was kind as he put a finger to his lips.
Tiffany was glaring at her husband. "Getting mixed up with Suziette was the biggest mistake of your life. And we'll never be free of her. Never!"
Corey jumped up and strode toward his bicycle. "I've had enough of this."
"What about Leonie?"
He stopped in his tracks. "What do you mean?"
"Ever since Tuesday you've been going around dazed, muttering her name. Is she yours, Corey? Is that what's eating you up alive?"
In two strides he was facing his wife. He gripped her shoulders and shook her hard. "Not another word, Tiff. You hear that? Not another word about Leonie or I'll--"
Ardin shivered. That maniacal look, the set jaw. Any second now he'd punch Tiffany. Would Brett run to defend her?
"Corey." Tiffany's voice was firm, yet gentle, as she stood her ground. "Just tell me, yes or no."
"Noooo!" Corey's shout was a long banner of pain. He let go of Tiffany, mounted his bicycle, and sped away.
"Idiot." Tiffany rode off after him.
Ardin stumbled into the clearing and dropped heavily onto the bench. She felt Brett sit beside her, and was grateful that he made no move to touch her.
Finally, he spoke. "It sure hurts to hear your spouse say he never loved you. Even a creep like Corey."
She ignored the tears streaming down her cheeks. She no longer cared how she looked or what Brett thought of her. "I'm just not made for love and marriage."
"That's where you're dead wrong," Brett murmured, so low she barely heard him. He reached into the back pocket of his warm-up pants and pulled out a handkerchief. "It's wrinkled but clean."
Ardin blew her nose. She stared out at the brook, totally depleted. "I feel so awful."
"I know exactly what you mean."
She was about to tell him he knew no such thing, when he continued. "Suziette never loved me. I figured that out on our honeymoon. I just happened to be part of her plan to marry someone--anyone--who wasn't from Thornedale and knew what she was like." He gave a humorless laugh. "It seems to me, she and Corey deserved each other."
"But Corey loves Tiffany. Didn't you hear?"
He put an arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder. Some of her shame dropped away. Brett knew rejection first hand, just as she did. He, of all people, understood what she was feeling, and didn't look down on her because Corey despised her.
"I'm wondering if Corey broke into my house Tuesday morning," Brett mused, "and found Suziette's date book."
Ardin thought back on Corey and Tiffany's quarrel. "That's when Tiffany said he started acting strange." She had a sudden idea. "I wonder if he came across an entry in which Suziette named him as Leonie's father and--"
"And he never knew."
"Right!" They looked at each other, excited with their mutual flash of discovery.
Brett scratched his head. "Now the problem is, how to confront him about this? I suppose if we both go talk to him, he can't do much damage."
Ardin shivered. "I don't think that's a good idea. Let's start back. I must go and see Aunt Julia."
"I'll come with you, if you don't mind. I haven't seen her since the day of the funeral."
She shrugged, careful not to show her pleasure. "I must warn you, from there I'm going to visit my mother."
"Fine with me."
"Be my guest. But if I were the suspicious type, I'd say you were turning into a bodyguard."
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Back at the house, they separated to shower and change. Brett realized he was starving. He made a beeline for the refrigerator and took out roast beef, chicken salad, bread, and mayonnaise.
"I'll put up coffee," Ardin said.
He spun around. "I didn't hear you."
"You weren't meant to."
He considered making a retort, until he realized she was joking.
"Toast?" he said.
"Uh huh. I'll get the milk."
They moved easily about the kitchen, in sync with one another's rhythm. No small feat, he knew, after living with Suziette.
Afterward, he watched Ardin rub vigorously at a stubborn spot on the table. She was a worker, all right, diligent and determined. And yet, despite her keen intelligence and legal knowhow, she'd let Corey MacAllister trample on her ego. How she'd taken his word that she wasn't worth loving was beyond belief. Damn it, she was twice as pretty as little Tiffany, and four times as smart.
And devious. He'd better not forget how devious she was--plotting to take Leonie from him after he'd asked for her help in the custody morass. Ardin hardly knew the child, certainly not the way he knew her. But he had to admit Leonie loved her Cousin Ardin, and Ardin was a more attentive mother than Suziette had ever been.
They said little as they ate. Brett decided Ardin's own jeans and polo suited her better than Suziette's flashy warm up suit. She gave him a teasing smile.
"I'm warning you--if you come with me to visit my mother, she's bound to introduce you to everyone as my boyfriend."
He grinned. "I've been called lots worse in my life."
Ten minutes later they were in the Jeep driving down Main Street.
"Stop here, Brett," she told him as they approached the florist. "I'll get some flowers for Aunt Julia, then run into the gourmet shop for my mother."
"Yes, ma'am." He doffed an imaginary cap.
He watched her stride toward the florist shop. She was loving and capable, yet so vulnerable. How he'd longed to wrap his arms around her while that moron Corey was humiliating her. But she'd rebounded like a trouper. Which meant there was hope.
Hope for what? He laughed derisively. Their little twosome wasn't going anywhere. They were rivals, for God's sake. Each of them bogged down with enough emotional baggage to sink a ship.
A blue van drove slowly by, and sped down the street. Was someone tailing them? Who could it be? Not Crewe, who was still in police custody. Frustrated, Brett curled his hands into fists. How could he protect Ardin when he had no idea who was after her?
Ardin returned to the Jeep, a look of triumph on her face. "Got a beautiful bunch of mixed flowers on sale and some lovely grapes!"
She placed her purchases carefully on the back seat. He was glad she didn
't catch him checking out cars and pedestrians before he drove off.
* * * *
The sight of a strange woman snoring in her aunt's hospital bed sent Ardin's heart vaulting to her throat.
"Where is she? What did they do with her?" she demanded of Brett as she race-walked to the nurses' station. The longest three minutes of her life passed before she managed to catch someone's attention. Finally the nice young Indonesian nurse, who had been so kind to Aunt Julia, appeared.
"Where is my aunt, Mrs. Darling? Is she all right?"
"Your aunt had a cardiac episode. They took her over to the CCU."
"But what caused it? Was it the tests? Why didn't anyone call me? Oh, damn!" She slapped her hand on her forehead. "They don't have my cell number, and I'm not at the house. I never thought to call in Brett's number."
Ardin caught the nurse's uneasy expression. "Don't tell me! Somehow my aunt found out about the fire."
The nod was barely perceivable. "I'm sorry, Ms. Wesley. She was terribly upset."
Ardin was furious. "Who was it? Some nurses gossiping in the hall right outside her door?" Her voice rose until she was shouting. "They deserve to be fired for bringing on another heart attack!"
"Ms. Wesley," the nurse began, but Ardin ignored her.
"It's my fault." She glared at Brett, angry at him as well as at herself. "I should have come here, tests or no tests, to tell her first thing this morning instead of going off running."
Brett appeared unshaken by her fury. "It's nobody's fault. Don't start piling up blame on top of everything else." He turned to the nurse. "How do we get to the CCU from here?"
The Cardiac Care Unit was in another wing. Above the nurse's station were monitors registering the vital signs of every patient. A gray-haired nurse told them where they could find Julia. "No flowers," she said.
She was in a cubicle-like room, inert on a narrow bed and connected to several tubes and wires.
"I'll take the flowers to the children's ward, if you tell me where that is," Brett said.
"Thanks." Ardin squeezed his arm. He was giving her time alone with her aunt.
Tremulously she approached the bed.
Despite her bulk, Julia appeared fragile. She opened her eyes.
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