“I see,” breathed Kelly, terrified. “You want me back where I belong.”
“Mmm-hmm,” murmured Gillis, looking into her eyes. “You keep me intrigued.”
“You win,” she said softly.
“That’s more like it,” he murmured back, smiling as he slid out of the car. “See you tomorrow night, then.” He walked swiftly away from the car as Kelly watched him in her rearview mirror. Once more, the hyena was on the trail of his prey.
Brigante got out of a Mercedes limousine parked half a block behind them and held the door open for Gillis. Kelly’s heart sank. She had been so scared, she hadn’t even noticed they’d been followed.
As the limo passed Kelly’s car, Gillis waved from a rolled-down window.
Kelly took three deep breaths, then put the car back into drive. She focused her mind on one thought: She had to get back to Jake.
CHAPTER 30
JAKE AND KELLY HUDDLED CLOSE TO EACH other under a blanket on a couch. Besides the moonlight streaming in through the picture windows, the only light in the room came from Jake’s laptop computer. Kelly pressed a few keys.
“He’s taking in money from a lot of different sources, and it’s going toward his portion of the funding for the group home. But look, here again is a payout to a specific family.”
Jake nodded. He saw the pattern too. That the money would go to residential group facilities made sense; that Gillis would be funneling money to a few specific foster homes—on top of what they received from the state—did not.
He let his gaze drift up from the computer. On the other side of the dark picture windows, the Malibu surf pounded the sand in front of the house, the moon whitening the spray into whipping cream. Jake had been in this house many times. Porter and Suzanne had bought it after her father had died; it was their California touchstone and their getaway. It had been redecorated since Jake had last been there. Fussy window treatments had been replaced by sleek blinds, and the ornate, gilded coffee table was now a chunk of marble supporting a slab of glass. The cushy sofas had become low platforms covered in leather, while the Persian carpets had given way to rough sisal.
Although Jake had never liked the artificiality of the house before, he found that he missed it a little. It seemed as sterile as an operating room, a too-permanent reminder of Porter’s absence. Porter had liked warmth and comfort, and to any situation he invited conversation and hospitality. He must have hated the coldness of this room.
Suddenly Jake heard Kelly gasp.
“Look here,” she said.
Jake looked at the columns of numbers on the screen. Kelly highlighted a row. He looked across to the right of the screen and in the final column saw whom the payout had gone to: Gary Gordon. He checked the date. Six months earlier. The Gordons were still taking money from Gillis.
“Bastards,” he whispered. Kelly double-clicked on their name and the record of all their payments came onto the screen. Gillis had been paying them, roughly every six months, in installments of $20,000. The records went back four years. The Gordons had received $160,000 from Gillis just in that time, not counting all the years Kelly and Stacy had been in their home.
Jake grabbed Kelly’s hand. “We can do something with this,” he said.
Kelly shook her head, frustrated. “I have less than twenty-four hours. This isn’t going to do it. No proof of anything that can put him behind bars.” She groaned, covering her face with her free hand. “What am I looking for?”
“Let’s keep at it,” said Jake with a brightness he didn’t feel. When Kelly had told him what had happened in Beverly Hills, he’d felt sick. He had wanted to go with her to the Gillis Foundation, but she had insisted otherwise. She always worked alone. He would blow her cover. Jake knew that this was true, especially because he was a public figure, so easily recognizable. But now he wished he had sent one of his investigators with her. He didn’t want to acknowledge the sinking feeling that Gillis could have gotten to Kelly no matter what defenses he’d thought up.
Now Gillis had imposed a deadline, and Kelly believed he meant business. Jake couldn’t understand why Gillis would ever set Kelly free—but he fully understood how Kelly operated. She took things as they came. In her world, planning far ahead was a luxury she couldn’t afford. She evaluated her best options in each moment, took them, and then dealt with the consequences down the road.
Right now, assuming they couldn’t find something solid to incriminate Gillis in the next twelve hours, she believed that her best option was to go back to him and figure out another way to leave him as soon as possible. A wave of anger swept over Jake. That would happen over his dead body.
“We’re going to Las Vegas,” he said decisively. “You said Gillis has called an Executive Committee meeting. Maybe we can learn something. Something we can use. I can arrange to have a plane at Maguire Aviation. It will be ready by the time we get there.”
Kelly closed the laptop. “Okay.”
Jake looked at her and was surprised by the depth of the love he felt for her. She was so game, so willing to say something so outrageous in the face of terrible odds. He grabbed her shoulders and kissed her.
“It’s going to be alright,” he tried to assure her.
“Why do people always say that?” said an angry voice.
Jake and Kelly wheeled around.
Barely visible in the hallway, her hand shaking, stood Suzanne Garrett. She was holding a gun.
CHAPTER 31
KELLY STARED. OF ALL THE PEOPLE SHE HAD feared might find her, Suzanne Garrett was at the bottom of the list. How had she known they’d be here? What was she doing waving a gun around?
“Joyce told me where I could find you, and I knew you had a key,” Suzanne said to Jake, forcing her voice to sound reasonable, while fraying at the seams.
“She wouldn’t,” said Jake.
“Maybe not in most cases, Guv, but it’s hard to resist spilling the beans when you’re staring down the hole of one of these.” She flicked her wrist to indicate the gun.
“Joyce has seen enough of those to know who is—and who isn’t—capable of actually firing one,” said Jake. And with that, something clicked in his head. He pulled out his cell phone. Sure enough, it was an unread text message from Joyce, staring him in the face.
Kelly studied Porter’s widow. Her customary sleek bob was disheveled. She wore a black Windbreaker with jeans and sneakers. She looked shorter in the casual clothes and, as Jake was trying to get her to admit, fairly ridiculous holding the gun. But when she moved swiftly toward Kelly and stuck the gun in her face, it didn’t seem quite so ridiculous.
“You’re the whore who did all this. Everything was fine until you came along.”
Kelly could see the rage building in Suzanne’s eyes and tried to hold her gaze. Jake was moving slowly to get behind her. Suddenly Suzanne whirled on him.
“Hold it, Jake!” Suzanne backed up so she had both of them at bay once more. “You both need to listen. I don’t know what you’re up to, but I know it will end up keeping me out of office. And I want you to know how serious I am about serving in Porter’s stead. Nothing is going to keep me out of that seat. Not you, Guv, and certainly not your little whore here.” She looked them over with a derisive sneer. “Jake, you never could keep your hands off Porter’s things.”
More calmly than he felt, Jake reached out an arm and picked up the phone. He held the receiver in front of him.
“Suzanne, I’m ten seconds away from calling the press and telling them you just threatened us with a gun. How long do you think your political career would last after that revelation? An hour? Or you can shoot Kelly and me now, and obviously you’d be kissing your political career good-bye. Go home and play politics like a good little girl.”
Suzanne looked from Jake to Kelly, with the gun still leveled at their heads, but Kelly could see that her will had already left her. Suzanne knew Jake was right. She dropped her arm to her side and collapsed onto the hard, planklike, white leath
er sofa.
“Jake, I’ve been an idiot,” she said sadly. Kelly thought her voice actually sounded sincere. “I suppose I could have found a different way to talk to you. But this is your fault … making me crazy with your phone calls.”
“What phone calls?”
“Don’t do that, Jake. I’ve acted stupidly, but don’t patronize me.”
“What phone calls, Suzanne?” Jake shook his head and looked at her blankly.
“All day long I’ve been getting messages: ‘The governor wants to know about Kelly Jensen. We know about some of the stunts you pulled.’”
Jake shook his head in disbelief. “Suzanne, why would I leave you a message like that? Was it even my voice? Or coming from my number?”
“It wasn’t your voice, no. But you could’ve had someone else do it.” Suzanne continued, “You couldn’t stand that I’m going to pick up where Porter left off. You’ve never been able to handle competing with Porter, so you took or co-opted or stole everything Porter had or said or did.”
Jake anger overtook him. “Why would I care if you ran for Porter’s seat, Suzanne?”
“My point exactly,” said Suzanne acidly. “You disappeared from the campaign immediately after the funeral. You dropped off the face of the earth. All to chase after Porter’s … cunt.”
Jake looked over at Kelly to see her reaction, but saw only a distant look on her face, as if she had already checked out of the conversation. He spoke levelly. “I’ve been trying to find Porter’s killer. And we did.”
Suzanne snorted. “We did? You had nothing to do with that investigation. The only reason you were anywhere near it was because you had my permission to be there. Without me, you’d have been out on your ass faster than it takes you to pick up a hooker.”
Jake clenched his jaw and looked again at Kelly. She had listened intently to this last exchange of his with Suzanne and now had a strange look in her eyes. He felt a sudden plunge of fear. Did Kelly have a stake in haunting Suzanne with these phone calls? He hated Suzanne for planting a seed of doubt. He hated himself for wondering.
Kelly was still trying to figure out what it was that Suzanne really wanted. She clearly hadn’t wanted to kill them. And if she had wanted to find out whether Jake was making harassing phone calls, she could have traced the calls. That left the possibility of something more complicated going on here, something that went back a long time. Did Suzanne feel some sort of unrequited love for Jake?
Either way, Kelly also knew the likely explanation for the phone calls, and she knew she was running out of time.
“Gillis is behind this,” she said quietly.
“Gillis?” said Suzanne, wheeling on her. “What are you talking about?”
“Todd Gillis,” said Kelly. “He’s my husband.”
Suzanne laughed. “That’s the best joke I’ve heard all year.”
“It’s true,” said Jake.
Kelly continued, “He knows I was with Porter the night he was murdered. He knows I’d been performing a Marilyn Monroe number at a club. He knows about the blonde wig.”
Suzanne’s eyes turned wary, but she was curious. “Why would that have anything to do with me?” She paused a moment and said under her breath, “You little slut.”
Kelly glanced at Jake and proceeded carefully. “I think Gillis had something to do with Porter’s death. I think it was because he knew Porter and I were in lo—because Porter and I were seeing each other.”
Suzanne glared, but Kelly pressed on.
“Gillis is capable of destroying whomever he pleases. I think he is trying to set me up and is using every available avenue. If he’s calling you about the case, I’m sure it has something to do with me.”
“For a gutter whore, you have an awfully inflated view of yourself,” said Suzanne. “I find it hard to believe that Todd Gillis would look twice at you, much less marry you.”
“Oh, for God’s sake, Suzanne,” bellowed Jake. “Listen to her. She’s trying to help.”
Suzanne recoiled. “Help? Help me?”
Jake held up his hands. “Calm down, Suzanne. Hear us out.”
Kelly decided to put it in terms Suzanne could understand: “Todd Gillis is meeting tonight with Theodore Henckle.”
Suzanne’s mouth actually fell open. “But Gillis has contributed to my campaign.”
Jake snorted. “Come on, Suzanne, you’ve been at this longer than that. You think you’re the only candidate getting his money?”
The transformation in Suzanne’s face was remarkable. The previous moment she had been fiery, angry, and openly scornful; a split second later, her look became calculating, cold, and sly.
“Gillis is trying to take me out of the running?”
Jake nodded. “He knows about Porter and Kelly. So that secret will be out. And he’s threatening to pin the murder on Kelly. Once he makes the first link, you’re on shaky ground. When he makes the second, you’re toast. I can read the tabloid headlines now: A Wife in Name Only. The Ice Widow. The Loveless Marriage of Porter and Suzanne Garrett.”
Suzanne silently digested the scenario Jake had described. “How does he make the second link?”
When Jake hesitated, Kelly spoke up right away. “He’s got a knife with what he says are my fingerprints and Porter’s blood on it.” She spoke forcefully and clinically, watching for Suzanne’s reaction. Suzanne’s mouth opened slightly, but Kelly saw her push her mind away from the questions, the sad and gory details of Porter’s death and his affair. Kelly admired Suzanne at that moment. Like a true politician, Suzanne turned around 180 degrees when shown evidence of what would suit her interests in the campaign.
“How do we get this asshole?” she said flatly.
Jake smiled. “Atta girl. Gillis is meeting in Vegas tonight with his Executive Committee. We don’t know for sure what they’re up to, but we think we’ll find something there.”
“Take my plane,” said Suzanne. “It’s at Santa Monica. I’ll call ahead. And keep me posted.”
Jake nodded. Kelly reached for her bag and the computer.
“Take my car, too. One of my security guards can drive you. I think I’ll stay here tonight—at least until he comes back.”
On their way out the door, Kelly turned. “I never meant to hurt you,” she said. “And thank you for this tonight.”
Seated on the white couch with the vast, dark windows behind her, Suzanne looked small. But when she spoke, it was like a queen dismissing a subject. “Not one more word from you,” she snapped. “Just clean up this mess you’ve made.”
Kelly glared at her for a beat, then strode through the door. Jake shut it behind them.
CHAPTER 32
THE LINE ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF LAS VEGAS demarcating civilization and wilderness is very clear. Either you’re standing in a developed area or you’re standing in the desert. Throughout Nevada, as in other parts of the country where populations are moving in droves, civilization’s edges creep ever outward, and the bulk of the encroachment is made up of housing developments.
The address Kelly had memorized from the file at the Gillis Foundation offices was that of a house within a new development in the first stage of completion. The gated entrance still fluttered with flags, inviting prospective buyers to tour the model homes. It was an upscale housing “community” made up of McMansions—nearly identical, behemoth houses of no fewer than five thousand square feet, straining at the edges of their property lines. Although each property cost upwards of $2 million, the whole place had the feeling of a tent city—impermanent, lonely, and easily abandoned.
Some of the houses were occupied, but some were dark. Others already had FOR SALE signs in the still-unlandscaped front yards. Jake pulled into the driveway of one of these.
“He’ll probably have a thug posted outside. Let’s not get any closer,” Jake whispered to Kelly, mulling over the brainstorming they’d done on the plane, marveling at her uncanny ability to spin, on the spot, multiple anticipated counteractions to any numb
er of Gillis’s schemes.
“It should just be around that bend up ahead,” Kelly said, pointing at the map they had printed out at Suzanne’s beach house. The site of the Executive Committee meeting was at the very edge of the development, next to where the second stage was slated to begin. According to the map, it appeared that ground had not yet been broken on the next stage, so Gillis’s house would be sitting with a neighboring home on one side and the empty expanse of the desert on the other.
The sliver of a moon revealed an infinite scattering of stars. Kelly and Jake moved quickly, pulling black caps over their hair and zipping up black jackets.
“You ready?” breathed Jake.
Kelly nodded. She felt a sense of foreboding, but there was also the feeling that she was reaching the end of this chapter. She would soon be free—or she would be going back to Gillis to avoid being framed for murder. But either way, nothing would be the same after tonight.
They circled around at a distance and approached the house from the rear, where it backed onto a man-made lake. Standing between the lake and the back fence, they could see bulldozers parked on the empty land at the desert edge of the house, waiting to clear the way for more mansions.
The house itself looked like every other one in the development. Built in a Mediterranean style, of white plaster and exposed beams, it had an external balcony running the length of the second story. The windows were arched with paned glass, red tile covered the roof, and decorative ironwork framed the staircase that led from the balcony down into the backyard. Sacrificed to the immensity of the house, that yard was a small sliver of dirt upon which sat a wooden shade structure and some iron furniture. Terra-cotta and glazed pots stood artfully but empty around the corners of the yard, awaiting succulents and bougainvillea and climbing trumpet vines. A flagstone pathway led from the house to a stone deck along the back fence, where a gas barbecue stood.
Under the balcony ran one long picture window, which formed the back wall of the first floor. Uncovered, and with the lights on inside, the window offered Jake and Kelly a clear view of the interior: a large kitchen that held stainless-steel appliances set off by Mexican tilework. A cooking island in the center was strewn with open bottles of alcohol, bags of tortilla chips, and tubs of salsa and dips. Off the kitchen was a great room that contained a wall-sized flat-screen TV, sectional sofas, and a coffee table holding a couple of open laptops and piles of papers.
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