‘What?’ Was he resorting to evasion? ‘Yes. I’ve been fascinated by her ever since I was a kid. I wanted to be a pilot.’
‘Did you take flying lessons?’
‘No. My mother thought they were too dangerous.’
‘And you didn’t take them after you became an adult?’
‘I’m afraid not.’
‘It’s never too late.’
‘I’ll give it some thought.’
‘What do you think happened to her? Amelia, I mean.’
‘I believe her plane crashed in the Pacific Ocean and she died. Why? Do you have a theory?’
Declan grinned. ‘Currently no, although I used to believe she survived her crash and lived the rest of her life in happy secrecy on an exotic island. Actually, that is my mother’s theory. She’s a romantic.’ He shifted his gaze to her. ‘That smells like fresh coffee in the pot behind you. May I have some?’
Kelsey wanted to tell him to mind his own business and kick him out of her office, but this was not the time for a childish show of temper. She’d already tried to insult him about his father and that hadn’t worked. He seemed to take jibes in his stride. Maybe it was best to find out as much about this man and Cole Harrington as possible.
She stood up and lifted a thermal coffee mug. ‘How do you take it?’
‘Black.’
Kelsey poured the coffee. As she leaned across her desk in order to pass the mug to him, Declan stood and reached out for it. Their hands touched and Kelsey felt absurdly aware of the contact of her skin with his. She nearly jerked her hand away. Declan seemed to ignore it. Before he sat down, he took a sip of the coffee and smiled. ‘It’s good.’
‘It’s hazelnut – one of my favorites.’
‘I’ll remember that.’
‘Why? Do you picture us sharing coffee often?’
‘I guess you don’t.’ He grinned at her, showing straight white teeth. ‘Forgive my assumption, Kelsey.’
How cocky he is, Kelsey thought angrily. He didn’t ask if he could call me Kelsey. He’s also not one bit sorry that he misrepresented himself so he could invade our home.
Telling him to call her ‘Miss March’ would sound prissy, so she attacked on another front. ‘You mentioned Cole, so I feel I’m entitled to ask another question about him and I’d appreciate an answer to this one. Don’t try to change the subject.’
‘Yes, ma’am.’ There was a glint in his eye.
‘And don’t patronize me. I know your father was involved with a lot of women and had several children. Are all of Grant Harrington’s children friends, like you and Cole?’
Kelsey had thought she’d at least make Declan Adair uncomfortable, but he only gave her a half-smile and nodded. ‘My mother’s name is Gemma. She was beautiful – still is – and had a good singing voice. She could act fairly well and wanted to be a Broadway star. Grant “discovered” her when she was twenty. They were together for three years.
‘To answer your earlier question,’ he went on, ‘the only reason Mom allowed me to be friends with Cole was because she came on to the scene after Cole’s mother, Joan. Grant hadn’t even met my mother when he left Joan. Grant wanted Cole and me to be close because we were his sons. Joan allowed it because she thought it would make Grant happy and she desperately wanted him back.’ Declan smiled. ‘Also, Mom had insisted – very vocally – that my last name be Adair, not Harrington. For some reason, Joan saw that as making me less of a threat to Cole. People still thought of him as Grant’s only son.
‘When I was about four, Joan got uterine cancer,’ Declan went on. ‘While she was dying and living with her sister, Mom and I spent time with her and Cole. The end of the story is that my mother never became a star on Broadway – she could sing, but she was no Barbra Streisand and directors said her acting was wooden. Miraculously, though, Joan and my mother became friends and remained friends until Joan’s death. Cole and I are still close.’
‘I see. Did Grant spend time with Joan after she got sick?’
‘No. He said illness depressed him.’
‘Why am I not surprised? He was a real prince, wasn’t he?’
‘He was a jerk, and I’ve known it since I was about six years old.’ Declan flashed his disarming smile. ‘He died nine years ago and I’ve had a lot of time to work on forgiving him. I now realize he was simply incapable of forming a lasting relationship with a woman. And he did provide for his children …’ Again, the smile. ‘All six of them. I have four half-sisters.’
‘Gosh!’ Kelsey realized she’d sounded like a shocked child and tried to regain her distance by asking coolly, ‘Are you close to your sisters?’
‘No. One lives in Canada, one in England, one in Spain, and the youngest in Mozambique. Three of them exchange emails with me at Christmas. I’ve never even seen the one who lives in Spain.’
‘Your half-sisters span the globe, but you and Cole grew up in New York City?’
‘Yes. When I was eighteen, I went to California. I stayed in Los Angeles until I was twenty-three, then I came back to New York City. Cole never left New York. His aunt was a successful fashion photographer, and Cole had a foot in the door by the time he was seventeen. He was extremely talented – a wunderkind – and he’s been one of the top fashion photographers for at least twelve years.’
‘Which is why his wife doesn’t want him to throw over his career in fashion to be a wildlife photographer.’
‘Partly. Delphina wants him in New York with her because she has no intention of following him to Africa to take pictures of “filthy animals,” as she calls them. Also, she knows Cole is both fickle and refined. No doubt he’d get tired of being a wildlife photographer within a couple of years. He’s not like our father, who loved the heat, the dirt, the bugs, setting up camp, and food cooked over the campfire. And Cole is too impatient to wait hours on end for an animal to do something worth a photo. He’s not cut out for it, but he wants to follow in our father’s footsteps.’
‘He wants to be like Grant?’
‘He wants to be better than Grant. That’s the whole point of this planned career change. Competition with his father.’
‘And you don’t want to compete with Grant?’
‘No. I admired him in some ways, but I don’t have enough feeling for him to want to emulate him or try to outshine him.’
‘How did you become a private investigator?’
Suddenly, Declan’s demeanor changed. He hesitated then said tersely, ‘I was an officer with the New York Police Department. When I was twenty-six, I decided to quit and become a private investigator.’ He looked at her coolly. ‘Do you have any other questions for me, Kelsey?’
‘Yes. How did you get your tan and your sun-bleached hair?’
Declan looked surprised, then laughed. His laughter was joyous and resonant, and his smile returned. Kelsey felt tension melting away from her slightly.
‘I’m back from a three-week vacation in Los Angeles. More specifically, Malibu.’
‘Three whole weeks?’
‘Yep. I love surfing. Have you ever tried it?’
‘I’m a weak swimmer, so no.’
‘You’re probably a great equestrienne.’
‘Not really. None of those horses I pointed out to you the day of Lori’s funeral was mine.’ Declan had the grace to look slightly abashed. ‘About that day. I suppose Cole asked you to come to Lorelei’s funeral.’
‘Yes.’
‘Why?’
Declan’s gaze slid away from her and he exhaled. Kelsey could see that he was uncomfortable and hoped that meant she was getting somewhere. ‘Do you mind if I smoke?’
‘Yes.’
‘OK. May I just hold a cigarette?’
‘If you must.’
‘I must. I’m quitting after a ten-year habit.’ He produced a cigarette and began twirling it through his fingers. ‘I’ll start at the beginning,’ he said slowly. ‘Delphina was at the peak of her career when she met Cole. She was twenty-nine, and he was twenty-two and
starstruck when she started coming on to him. Even though she was demanding and possessive and unbelievably insecure, I can honestly say he was in love with her when they got married.’ He sighed. ‘You probably know where this is going.’
‘I’d rather you tell me than to guess,’ Kelsey said. ‘You witnessed their marriage – I didn’t.’
‘At first everything was fine. Delphina had to travel a lot for her career, but Cole wasn’t a big name yet so was able to go with her. Then, over a course of about two years, Cole’s career took off and he was traveling as much as Delphina. They were always going to different places, though. Finally, Delphina’s career started lagging. To put it plainly, she didn’t age well.’
‘Oh?’
A corner of Declan’s mouth lifted. ‘I know what you’re thinking – the PI business is sexist and I’m sexist. Well, the business can be sexist, but I’m not. Let’s get that cleared up right now.’
Kelsey shrugged, hoping to convey indifference.
‘Back to Cole and Delphina,’ Declan said. ‘First, Delphina started putting on weight she couldn’t lose. Then she had some health problems – nothing serious, but she was violently allergic to one of her medications. Her face swelled and blistered. The blisters healed but they left noticeable pits and her face stayed slightly puffy. Her career took a dive and her self-confidence hit bottom. People weren’t kind to her, and there she was with a young, very good-looking celebrity husband who wanted children. Before they got married, Delphina said she did too – but later, when her career slowed down, she thought pregnancy would affect her already fading beauty. Meanwhile, models were coming on to Cole right and left. My brother is outgoing and flirtatious. He enjoyed the attention and returned too much of it. Delphina started making his life miserable. That’s the truth, Kelsey. I’m not going on Cole’s word. I saw Delphina turn into, frankly, a jealous bitch. I’ve never been married but I know I couldn’t have taken as much as Cole did. Then Lorelei came along.’
‘And they had an affair, and Delphina found out about it.’
‘Yes. Cole was extremely attracted to Lorelei, and I don’t mean just physically. He never talked to me about other women but he did talk about Lorelei. A lot. He even introduced me to her.’
Kelsey blinked, remembering. ‘The night she was killed, she told me she knew a private investigator. She must have meant you.’
‘Maybe. Cole, Lorelei and I had drinks together one evening.’
‘Oh. Cole wanted his half-brother and his girlfriend to socialize? Really?’
‘Yes, really. We met in a bar called Black and White. Ever been there?’
‘No.’
Declan smiled. ‘Delphina never went there, either. It was a safe choice. Anyway, Cole wanted me to meet Lorelei. We spent at least an hour over drinks, and it was obvious that in Cole’s eyes she wasn’t just a fling. She was unbelievably beautiful, which I already knew, and even though she was only twenty-one she seemed even younger. She was intelligent but she seemed innocent. She wasn’t like other twenty-one-year-olds I’d met who’d been a big name in the fashion business for a couple of years. I liked her.’ He paused. ‘I liked her a lot, Kelsey, and Cole …’ He jiggled his unlit cigarette. ‘I could tell Cole was crazy about her.’
Kelsey was shocked but didn’t want to show it. ‘Cole Harrington, a married professional ladies’ man, and my innocent sister had a meeting of minds?’
Declan’s expression changed. ‘You don’t need to sound so sarcastic, Kelsey. That is unless you think your sister wasn’t capable of attracting a man with anything except her looks.’
Kelsey felt as if he’d slapped her. That’s exactly how she’d sounded, and her intelligent, sweet, kind sister deserved better. ‘I didn’t mean to malign Lori,’ she said softly. ‘I just hate to think of her being seduced by a serial womanizer.’
‘And now it’s my turn to defend my sibling.’ His eyes locked on hers. ‘Cole isn’t a serial womanizer. He was serious about your sister. He kept their relationship extremely low-key. He’s always known Delphina kept a close eye on him. I was surprised to learn that he’d given Lorelei a necklace. She showed it to me. It was a heart locket—’
‘With CGH engraved inside. We found it in her bedroom at home. I thought maybe she’d bought it for herself.’
‘No. Cole said he’d given it to her that day.’
‘Giving her a necklace would be one thing. Giving her a necklace with his initials engraved inside doesn’t sound like he was keeping the relationship low-key.’
‘Lorelei said it was a secret gift. He told me later he’d asked Delphina for a divorce.’
‘Divorce?’ Kelsey repeated. ‘Are you sure?’
‘I could always tell when Cole was being sincere. He said he couldn’t stand life with Delphina anymore. He was in love with someone.’
‘But he didn’t say this someone was Lorelei.’
‘Not when he told me he’d begun talking divorce with Delphina. After I met Lorelei, he didn’t need to say it. He said Delphina had begged him to wait, to think about things, not get carried away. He’d expected her to lose it and have a fit like she usually does when things don’t go her way. She has the temper of a cobra. But he said she just asked for time. He was suspicious, though. He wondered if she had an ace in the hole, if she was planning something. Then, like every year when neither of them was working, they came to her parents’ home in Louisville to see the Kentucky Derby.’
‘And Lorelei had come home to Louisville, too.’
Declan nodded. ‘Cole knows Delphina better than anyone does. He knows she’s crafty and scheming, and that she doesn’t intend to let him go without a fight. She also insisted on going back to New York less than eight hours after your sister’s death. She didn’t want anyone questioning Cole about Lorelei. The day after they got back to New York, Delphina flew to their house in Caracas by herself – Grant had a vacation home there and left it to Cole.’ He paused. ‘Delphina’s never liked it there … I don’t know if it suddenly occurred to her that Venezuela doesn’t have an extradition treaty with the United States.’
Kelsey couldn’t speak. Pike had said Declan Adair was extremely smart and very good at his job, and it seemed he was right.
‘When Cole heard about Lorelei’s death, he was crushed,’ Declan went on. ‘He called me immediately, and I’ve never heard him sound so devastated. Aside from his grief, though, he’s afraid Delphina may have had her own PI following Lorelei. He wants to know who’s behind this.’ Declan leaned forward, his expression intense, almost pained. ‘Kelsey, Cole is sick with fear that his wife might have hired someone to murder your sister – to shoot Lorelei dead on the street so she would never feel threatened by Lorelei March again.’
TEN
Kelsey applied another coat of mascara, blinked rapidly to dry it, then leaned back to look at her face in her vanity mirror. Was it because she hadn’t applied concealer on the dark circles under her eyes, or did she really look at least five years older than she had two weeks ago?
‘I do look older, concealer or not,’ she said aloud. ‘I look more than five years older.’ She turned her gaze toward Gatsby, who always lounged on the vanity devotedly watching her apply makeup. ‘A month ago, I would’ve been disturbed that I look older. Now I’m glad. Brad Fairbourne used to tell me I’m cold and unfeeling. He wouldn’t look at me now and think I could lose Lori and Grandfather without a shadow on my face.’
Kelsey applied some blush to her unusually pale cheeks. She didn’t care about looking pretty. She only wanted to look normal, to act normal, although her sister had lain on top of her bleeding to death from a stranger’s bullets; even though she’d watched her grandfather running from the inferno of a barn he’d loved and fall ablaze with fire writhing in front her. No, she knew she would never feel normal again, but she could at least give the appearance of being normal. That she could do until they discovered who had caused the deaths of beautiful Lorelei and darling Grandfather Vaden.
&nb
sp; Half an hour later, she entered the office of MG Interiors with a smile and said an overly loud ‘Good morning!’ to Giles Miller, with his lean porcelain-skinned face and blonde wavy hair falling halfway over his forehead. He looked at her with surprise.
‘How’s your mother doing, Giles?’
‘Not at all well,’ he said despondently. ‘If you remember, she has another operation scheduled for next week. Wednesday.’
‘Oh, yes, you did tell me.’ At the moment, Kelsey couldn’t remember Mrs Miller’s health problems – only that she seemed to have a new one every few weeks. ‘You’ll take Wednesday and the rest of the week off. She’ll need you. Of course I’m hoping for the best!’ Giles’s pale blue gaze went cold and Kelsey realized she sounded exuberant and insincere. ‘Wish her well from me. From all of us.’
‘Thank you,’ Giles said stiffly.
He stared at her and she decided to abandon the subject. ‘What are you working on?’
‘The Barrett lap pool and fire pit. You assigned that to me.’
‘Oh! I guess I did. If you’d rather not do it …’
‘I’m happy to do it. I’ve already made a lot of progress.’
‘OK. I’m a little absent-minded, Giles. Please forgive me.’
His genteel face softened and he smiled. ‘It’s understandable, Kelsey. We all sympathize with what you’ve gone through lately. I hope you got my flowers for the … well, services.’ He flushed. ‘I couldn’t attend. Mother needed me. But I felt so bad for you.’
Kelsey suddenly felt like she was going to cry. ‘We got the flowers. They were beautiful. Thank you, Giles.’
She wanted to say more but tears were already rising in her eyes. She turned away from him and hurried into her office, shutting the door behind her. I cannot cry in front of everyone who works here, she thought. I want their respect. I need their respect.
Kelsey wiped away the tears that had spilled down her face and put a pot of coffee on. This time she chose Irish Crème, which promised to produce a holiday spirit. While the coffee brewed, she looked at her African violets in their cream-and-gold glazed ceramic self-watering pot. Her grandmother had loved violets. Every Easter Sunday, Pieter used to order an old-fashioned wrist corsage of violets and lace for her to wear to church. The memory made Kelsey’s stomach clench painfully and tears pressed behind her eyes. ‘I will not cry, especially here,’ she said aloud. ‘Pull yourself together, Kelsey.’
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