‘I’ve been in Louisville since two days after Lorelei March’s death. Today I was following Kelsey.’
‘Lorelei March’s killer is dead,’ Olivia stated. ‘Why are you following Kelsey? Do you think she’s responsible for Lori’s murder? What do you have to do with my son? And why in God’s name are you here, all the way from New York City? I want an answer!’
Declan looked at Olivia with faint amusement. ‘You asked several questions, Mrs Fairbourne. Which one do you want me to answer?’
Olivia turned on Kelsey furiously. ‘Who is he?’
Before Kelsey could answer, Declan said, ‘You went to Kelsey’s loft this morning looking for your son, didn’t you, Mrs Fairbourne?’ He didn’t give her a chance to answer. ‘When I said I was a private investigator, you asked if I was investigating your son for John Reid.’
‘John Reid wants you to find Brad?’
‘I spoke with Mr Reid at the reception after Lorelei’s funeral,’ Declan said calmly. ‘Your son was showing signs of stress that day. You can’t deny it. I know his performance at the law firm was subpar and also that he’s been seen with Megan Reid, who’s only eighteen. Surely you can put two and two together?’
‘You got him fired from the firm!’
‘Brad did that all by himself.’
‘Oh, my …’ Olivia seemed to sink deeper into the sofa. ‘Why are you still looking for him?’
‘John Reid isn’t heartless. I understand that he’s known your son for a long time.’ Declan paused. ‘And there’s Megan.’
‘So you’ve been hired to follow my poor boy to see if he’s with Megan?’
Declan said nothing.
‘Why isn’t she away in college?’
‘She will be in September, Mrs Fairbourne. This is May.’
‘She’s not at home with John and Elaine?’
‘Not at this moment. I thought she might be here.’
‘Well, obviously she isn’t, the little slut.’
‘Is she a slut because she’s dating your son?’
‘She’s a slut because she’s probably been pursuing him and gotten him into all of this trouble with John. My son hasn’t done anything.’
Declan looked at Kelsey. She knew he was considering telling Olivia about the roses with the threatening message Brad had sent to her and Eve. Kelsey shook her head slightly – if Olivia believed him, she’d do anything to shield Brad from trouble and they’d never find him.
Declan turned to Olivia. ‘Do you have any idea where he is?’
‘No. When I talked to him early Friday afternoon, he didn’t say he was going anywhere. Now he doesn’t answer his cell phone. It’s usually glued to his ear but he hasn’t taken five minutes to call his mother.’ She ran her hands through her silver hair. ‘Maybe we should call the police.’ Her voice rose. ‘Bradley could have been kidnapped!’
‘Who would want to kidnap him?’ Declan asked calmly. ‘Besides, you haven’t received a ransom request. And do you want the police searching your son’s house with all of this marijuana around?’ Olivia blanched and seemed to fold in on herself. ‘I think you should give Brad at least two more days to contact you or turn up of his own accord before you go to the police. In the meantime, I’ll look for him, Mrs Fairbourne. I’m very good at what I do. I wish you’d trust me.’ He waited a beat and said with feeling, ‘Kelsey does.’
Kelsey shot him a withering glance. She wanted to snap that she barely knew him, but Olivia seemed to be relaxing. Slightly. Her breathing was slowing to a normal rate. The woman was still upset, but not on the verge of hysteria like she was before Declan arrived.
‘But what about all the blood in the bathroom?’ she asked meekly.
‘There wasn’t a lot of blood. And the message on the mirror just means that Brad is mad at Kelsey.’
‘Why?’
‘He could be jealous, or it could have been a threat.’
‘My son doesn’t threaten people!’
‘I think your son has been both drunk and stoned most of the last few days. He’s had a shock and he’s not himself, but the police wouldn’t care about his feelings – only his actions or what they think he might do. So, Mrs Fairbourne, do you really want them to see those words written in what is probably blood on Brad’s mirror?’
‘No. No, of course not,’ Olivia said anxiously. Then she sighed. ‘I haven’t slept for over twenty-four hours. I’m exhausted. I need to go home to rest and think.’
‘That’s a good idea,’ Kelsey said. ‘We came in your car, so if you’ll drop me at my loft you can go home.’
Olivia huffed in exasperation. ‘Oh, Kelsey, really? I’m a nervous wreck. I don’t feel like driving all around town. Do you always think only of yourself?’
‘All I ask is that you take me back to my loft—’
‘I’ll take Kelsey home,’ Declan said in a helpful voice.
‘Oh, thank you! That sounds fine,’ Olivia said immediately. ‘Is that all right, Kelsey?’ Her voice was tight and high-pitched. Her hands shook. Kelsey knew the woman was on the verge of another panic attack and suddenly decided she was actually afraid to ride with Olivia.
‘Yes, that’ll be all right,’ Kelsey said, not making eye contact with Declan but feeling his smile. ‘We’ll just close up here. Do you want Brad’s keys?’
‘Oh, certainly!’ Kelsey handed them to Olivia. ‘Maybe I’ll come back tomorrow and check the house again. I’m sure Brad will be back by then or will at least have called me. None of this is like him,’ she said as she headed for the front door. ‘He knows how I worry. This is very bad of him – very bad – and it’s not like him at all.’
As soon as Olivia left, Kelsey turned to Declan. ‘I’ll take a cab home.’
‘If you like, but I have a car right outside. I promise not to abduct you.’
‘Of course you won’t,’ Kelsey returned acidly. ‘You just want to follow me like a stalker. I saw you at the Riverside Grille when I was having lunch with Stuart.’
‘I know you saw me. I wasn’t hiding. Was your Brownie Sundae good?’
Kelsey glared at him, her breath coming hard in annoyance. ‘Very.’ Declan looked like he was going to laugh. ‘We might as well go. Unless you want to search the house.’
‘I already glanced around while Olivia was pouring out Brad’s tragic history to you in the bathroom. So Milton Fairbourne is Brad’s biological father. How interesting! And our boy Brad is very dramatic. First red roses with a threat buried in a rhyme and then a broken mirror with a message written in blood.’
‘I think he’s falling apart and someone should help him.’
‘I agree, but you’re not the one to do it. You shouldn’t be here, Kelsey. He’s dangerous.’
‘I wouldn’t be here if Olivia hadn’t dragged me into this mess.’
‘Olivia couldn’t have dragged you into anything if you’d just said no.’
‘She didn’t have keys to this house.’
‘You could have given them to her. That would have been the smart thing to do.’
‘As you saw, she was in no shape to walk into this place alone.’
‘So now you’re Olivia Fairbourne’s guardian angel?’
‘I don’t think I like you, Mr Adair,’ Kelsey spat, but not with as much venom as she’d have liked.
‘Don’t you? My feelings are hurt.’ Declan gave her a cool stare. ‘Ready to go, Miss March? My humble carriage awaits you.’
As they headed back to Kelsey’s loft, she stared straight ahead and said nothing until she couldn’t stand it any longer. ‘You didn’t tell Olivia the real reason why you were at Brad’s house – because of him and me.’
‘I didn’t need to lie,’ Declan said. ‘She kept coming up with her own explanations. She thought I’d been sent by John Reid because of his daughter. I just didn’t set her straight.’
She looked at him. ‘And you wouldn’t have lied even if she’d asked you a direct question? Because you don’t lie.’
D
eclan cocked his head and gave her a disarming smile. ‘That sounded dangerously close to a compliment.’
‘Don’t flatter yourself. I’m just repeating what you told me.’ Kelsey shifted her gaze. ‘Where do you think Brad is?’
‘I have no idea. I don’t like his disappearance, though.’
‘Why have you been following me? I thought Cole wanted you to find out who hired Vernon Nott. You know I didn’t.’
‘But Nott could have been hired to kill you too. By whom, I don’t know. However, it’s not a secret that Brad Fairbourne isn’t your biggest fan these days. You think I’ve been stalking you, but he’s done his fair share of stalking. Several people know about it. Also, I’m not certain he didn’t have something to do with your sister’s death. His mother wants to marry your father and Lorelei was violently opposed.’ He glanced at Kelsey. ‘Lorelei told Cole about it and he told me. Maybe Brad thought that with your sister out of the way Olivia would have a better chance with your father. That’s why I’ve tried to keep an eye on him.’ He shrugged. ‘Cole won’t be happy that I’ve lost him.’
Kelsey didn’t want to admit that she’d thought the same of Brad. ‘Cole Harrington, my sister’s secret lover. Does he still also think his wife might have masterminded Lori’s murder?’
‘I’m still on the job, aren’t I?’
‘You’re dodging the question.’
He shrugged.
‘Do you know where Megan Reid is?’
‘I haven’t spoken to John Reid. I don’t work for him. His problems with his daughter aren’t my concern.’
‘Why did you follow me to lunch with Stuart Girard? Do you think he might have had Lori murdered?’
‘His motive would be more obscure than Brad’s. However, you’re the major stockholder of MG Interiors, and according to Lorelei you wouldn’t consider selling any stock.’
‘What does that have to do with Cole?’
‘Cole says Delphina thinks she might move back to Louisville someday, especially if he divorces her. Her ego couldn’t stand facing her celebrity friends in New York.’
‘What does that have to do with my stock in MG Interiors?’
‘Are you aware that Stuart knows Delphina? When they were much younger, they used to date. She’s always liked younger men. And they’ve kept in touch. Hasn’t Stuart mentioned her to you?’
‘Well … no.’ Kelsey was surprised but not stunned. Stuart was a handsome man from a prominent family. ‘Why would he talk about Delphina to me?’
‘I thought you two had been close friends for years.’
‘I met him four years ago. We’ve always gotten along well and he’s a great business partner, but I wouldn’t say he’s a close friend. He certainly hasn’t discussed his dating history with me.’
‘Maybe not. Besides, it would have been a sensitive subject, especially lately with your sister being involved with Delphina’s husband.’
‘I knew nothing about that until the night Lori was killed.’
‘Then neither Stuart nor Delphina could have known when you found out about the affair?’
Kelsey realized she was getting defensive. ‘I still don’t know what any of this has to do with my stock in the business.’
‘Cole has met Stuart. Delphina’s told Cole a lot about Stuart’s past – about his father denying Stuart was his son and not leaving him any money. Stuart hates him for it. He’s also humiliated. Girard wants to be someone besides a junior partner in a business of which the major stockholder is a twenty-seven-year-old woman.’
‘Stuart and I talked about this over lunch. He doesn’t care that I own more stock than he does.’
Declan looked at her impatiently. ‘Do you think a man as sophisticated and polished as Stuart Girard can’t act? He has you convinced that he’s able to overlook the dirty deal his father gave him. That it’s all just water under the bridge, etc. Like hell it is. He wants all of the business, Kelsey, not just forty-five percent. Delphina said so.’
‘Stuart doesn’t have enough money to buy fifty-five percent of MG Interiors. If he did, he would have built his own business.’
Declan hesitated. ‘If you repeat what I’m going to tell you, you could end up in danger. But you should know. Stuart’s father did business with a man named Teddy Blakemore. Blakemore has underworld connections.’
‘I already know about Teddy Blakemore. Stuart told me about him and how good Blakemore was to him during the years when Stuart’s father was denying that Stuart was his son. I also know that Blakemore is in prison.’
‘Not anymore – he’s out on compassionate grounds because he has pancreatic cancer. He doesn’t have long to live, and he doesn’t have children. What he does have is access to money he kept hidden when he was in prison. He also has Stuart Girard, a man he thinks of as a son.’
‘So you believe Blakemore’s grooming Stuart to be his successor? I don’t believe it. And even if I did, I don’t see what that has to do with MG Interiors.’
‘Blakemore wants all of MG Interiors as a stepping stone for Stuart.’
‘So you think that, instead of having Stuart offer to buy me out, Blakemore masterminded a plan to kill me? Even if I were dead, Stuart wouldn’t own MG Interiors.’
‘He could if your father sold it to him. Why would Truman March want the business? He has enough going on with March Vaden.’
‘Is this all speculation? Do you really know anything for certain?’
‘I’ve learned some things. Unfortunately, not enough to go to the Feds about yet.’
‘You mean the FBI? I think your imagination is running wild!’
‘Enzo Pike thinks my speculation, as you call it, is worth considering.’
‘Pike?’ Kelsey looked at Declan’s clean-cut profile. ‘You’ve been talking to Detective Pike?’
‘I introduced myself to him after your sister’s funeral. At the reception, he thought I was Cole Harrington. I didn’t want to get off on the wrong foot with him, if possible. The police generally don’t like having a PI working on their cases. The best way to overcome some of their dislike and distrust is to meet them and be as open as possible.’
‘You told him Cole wanted to find out if his wife had put out a hit on his mistress?’
‘Well, I wasn’t that open. I told Pike that Cole knew Lorelei. Pike got the subtext – that maybe there was more to Cole’s and Lorelei’s relationship than friendliness, that Cole cared for her, and that he wanted to know for certain what had happened.’
‘So he knew about Lori’s affair—’
‘I didn’t say anything to him about an affair.’
‘You didn’t have to. He’s not a fool.’
‘He sure isn’t,’ Declan said dryly. ‘Before I met him, I did some research. He’s beyond smart. He’s resourceful and sharp and canny. The Bangor police department was sorry to lose him.’
‘Why did he leave?’
‘About ten months ago his wife and four-year-old daughter were killed in a car wreck. Pike was seriously injured. The other driver was drunk.’
‘Oh, my God!’ Pity rushed through Kelsey and she pictured the tall, very thin man with his hawk-like features and his depthless dark eyes – eyes behind which always hovered the images of his wife and daughter. As hard as he tried to hide his sorrow, she’d heard it in his voice on the day he came to the March home and mentioned that his wife had loved flowers. ‘He must still be in so much pain.’
‘I was told not to express sympathy. He can’t even talk about what happened.’
‘So you told Pike you’re a private investigator,’ Kelsey said slowly, forcing her mind back to the present matter. ‘What did he say?’
‘He heard me out. He was polite. A lot of cops aren’t polite to private investigators.’
‘I have a feeling he’s usually polite.’
‘Me, too. Anyway, he gave me the party line of hoping that I wouldn’t interfere with the police investigation, that he’d appreciate me touching base with him from t
ime to time, and couldn’t share information discovered by Louisville Metro.’ Declan frowned. ‘But I felt he wasn’t just getting rid of me, and wouldn’t forget about me as soon as I left his office. I thought he might actually work with me in a minor way. And I wasn’t wrong. I saw him a second time and told him what I think about Stuart Girard.’
‘What was his reaction?’
‘He was careful with his wording and his demeanor, but I could tell I wasn’t giving him new information. He told me the same thing I told you – that there’s not enough information to take to the FBI – and gave me the obligatory warning about keeping the information to myself.’ Declan smiled. ‘And then he thanked me. I’ve been in this business for almost eight years and no cop has ever thanked me for giving information.’
‘He does have beautiful manners,’ Kelsey said.
‘I’ll say! When he tried to shake hands with me, I just gaped at him for a few seconds. He didn’t take his hand away. I finally pulled myself together and shook it.’
‘Well, I’m glad you talked to him, but I still can’t believe that Stuart would do anything illegal. Stuart’s father – maybe. Stuart – no.’
‘Kelsey, you’ve already said you aren’t close friends with Stuart. How well do you really know him? I’m sure you aren’t aware of how deep his friendship with Teddy Blakemore goes. And don’t forget – Blakemore was responsible for industrial espionage in March Vaden. Both of your grandfathers and your father gathered the evidence that landed him in prison. This man that Stuart Girard thinks he owes so much to was in prison for years because of your family, and he’s only been released so he can die outside of prison walls. He is a complete invalid.’
‘Now you sound sorry for him,’ Kelsey said faintly.
‘I’m not. Not one bit. Teddy Blakemore has ruined a lot of people financially, and his goons have physically hurt quite a few.’
‘Goons?’
‘That’s what they call Mafia enforcers on television. I thought you’d be familiar with the word.’
‘Thank you for simplifying your vocabulary to suit my limited intellectual level!’
‘Don’t be so touchy.’
Kelsey didn’t answer, her mind flashing back to Eve telling her about the phone calls Stuart had been receiving that left him tense and troubled. Then there was the one Eve had overheard when Stuart had been speaking to a man named Ted who was telling him he owed something to him and if he didn’t go along there would be consequences. Eve said Stuart had been furious that she’d accidentally heard part of the phone call and wanted to know exactly how much she’d heard.
Just a Breath Away Page 20