by Stacy-Deanne
No evidence of a soul or conscience whatsoever.
You bastard.
“Hello again, Mr. Copeland.” Penelope pointed to Alexis. “This is—”
“I know who she is,” he said with a voice so deep his words rumbled. “You’re Stossel and Elizabeth’s daughter.” He took Alexis’ hand and kissed it. “Alexis.”
She fought the bile bubbling in her stomach.
“I don’t mean to stare.” He presented a crooked smile. “But you look just like your mother.”
She tried to take her hand away but he held it tighter.
“When I saw you I thought maybe I was dreaming. Like the past had resurfaced.”
She yanked her hand from his. “If it’s all the same to you I don’t think we should talk about my mother.”
“Why not talk about her?”
“I don’t think talking about my mother would end up being a pleasant conversation.” Alexis took out her notepad.
“I don’t see why not.” The wrinkles around Grant’s eyes rose when he smiled. “Your mother was very special to me. No other woman has ever come close to touching me the way she did. I was in love with—”
“Don’t.” Alexis squinted. “Just…don’t.”
“But it’s important for you to know the truth.” Grant’s gold ring caught the sun from the window. “You were a teenager back then. You couldn’t have understood what was going on.”
“How dare you tell me I didn’t understand? I understood what happened better than anyone.” She held in tears. “Because of you my family was torn apart and nothing was ever the same between my father and I.”
Grant straightened up. “I’m sorry.”
“No you’re not because you don’t care about anyone but yourself.”
“No I cared about Elizabeth.” He looked away. “She’s one of few people in this world I ever have cared about.”
“Lexi?” Penelope licked her lips. “We need to get to the case. This isn’t the time, okay?”
Alexis took a deep breath to calm her nerves but as long as Grant was in the room that wasn’t a possibility.
“So you’re back now?” he asked Alexis. “For good?”
“Yes, I moved back about a month ago.”
“And already working for the department?” He smirked. “I’m sure you made one hell of a detective in Los Angeles, didn’t you? I’m surprised though.” He walked behind his desk.
“At what?” Alexis held the notepad to her side.
He sat with a sly grin on his face. “That you didn’t come to your own father’s funeral. I was hoping you and Elizabeth would be there.”
She cleared her throat. “My mother’s dead.”
His smiled disappeared. “What?”
“She died of breast cancer three years ago.”
“Oh.” He grimaced, glancing around the room. “It can’t be. Elizabeth is dead?” He rubbed his chin. “As if it hasn’t been hard enough for me to deal with what happened.”
Once again it took all the strength Alexis had to not grab him from that chair. “For you to deal with? Give me a break. You got off free. You seduced my mother, ruined her marriage, and everyone in this town treated her like she was the worst person to ever live. It got so bad she had to move away because she was no longer a person but a scandal.”
“I never wanted any of that to happen.”
“Did you once think what would happen to my mother, my parents once the affair got out? Dad was your best friend for God’s sake. Did you even care about betraying him?”
“You keep saying I ‘seduced’ your mother as if she had no say. It wasn’t like that, Alexis. There are a lot of things you don’t know. Your mother and I had mutual feelings for each other and they were stronger than anything we’d ever experienced.”
“I don’t wanna hear this.” She jerked her head away.
“It’s the truth damn it.” He hit the desk. “I was gonna ask your mother to marry me. That’s how much I loved her.”
“You didn’t love her,” she snarled. “You saw a woman you could take advantage of so you did it.”
“Your mother wasn’t the type of woman to let anyone take advantage of her.”
“This sick infatuation you had with her started years before I was born,” Alexis said. “She told me how you chased after her when she was your father’s secretary back when he ran Copeland. Even when you were young you couldn’t take no for an answer. You act like whatever you want is what you should get and to hell with everyone else.”
“I can see that no matter what I say you have your mind made up.” He tapped the keyboard of his computer. “I’m not the villain in this, Alexis. I never forced your mother to do anything. I think maybe that’s what you need to realize.”
She scoffed, completely disgusted. “Let’s get to Brett Myers’ murder so we can get out of here.” Alexis sat in the chair beside his desk.
“Elizabeth.” Grant reclined in his chair. “I always think about her but with you here I won’t be able to stop.”
“Well try.” Alexis took out her pencil.
“She was so beautiful.” He tilted his head. “So beautiful.”
Penelope raised her hand. “Mr. Copeland—”
“She worked well under my father.” He rocked in his chair. “She worked well under me too.”
Alexis jumped up. “You bastard!”
“Lexi!” Penelope grabbed her. “Calm down.”
“Calm down?”
It took everything inside of her not to pull out her gun and blow his face off. “You ruined my mother’s life!” Alexis hit the desk. “She was never the same after being driven out of town.”
“How many times must I say this?” Grant rocked in the chair. “I’m afraid you have the wrong idea of me.”
She pointed the pencil. “You’re gonna pay for what you did to her and my father.”
“Stossel?” Grant sat up straight. “All I ever did for him was be his best friend and give him a job where he made nearly millions. I don’t think he’d complain about that if he were still here.”
“You—”
“Lexi, sit down.” Penelope shoved her in the chair. “We’re here about Brett Myers and nothing else.”
Grant pulled at the sleeves of his shirt. “It’s a shame what happened to Brett. I want to help the police in any way I can.”
Son of a…
Alexis slapped a page of her notepad over.
Penelope stood behind Alexis’ chair. “We were informed that you and Brett had a falling out recently. Is this correct?”
“I fired him at the last board meeting.” Grant straightened his Roberto Cavalli watch. “I didn’t want it to go that far but he acted ridiculous. He apparently didn’t agree with me naming Kevin as the CEO for when I step down. I don’t plan on working much longer and I’ve been grooming Kevin to take over. Apparently Brett had an issue with that.”
“I can’t say I blame him, sir,” Penelope said. “For years it’s been rumored that you’d hand the company over to Brett and then you just say in a meeting that you were handing it to Kevin?”
“I thought that was the right decision. Kevin’s young and he can take the company in a better direction.” He twisted a pen in his hand. “I tried to explain to Brett that it was nothing personal but he got irate.”
“Is that when he said he’d expose your secret?” Alexis asked.
“What are you talking about?” Grant gestured with his hand as if to dismiss the idea. “I have no secrets.”
Alexis nodded, jotting on her pad. “Some seem to think you do.”
“Alexis, as popular as I am and as small as Tate Valley is do you think I could keep a secret from anyone?” Grant rocked in the chair with that condescending grin she’d never forgotten. “Are you two trying to implicate me in murder?”
“No, sir.” Penelope rushed from behind Alexis’ chair.
Alexis glared at her.
“We’re just asking questions,” Penelope said.
>
“But if it points to you being a major suspect…we intend to get to the bottom of things.”
He laughed. “You seem so sure of yourself, Alexis.”
She stood and pulled down the hem of her blouse. “I am.”
“I didn’t kill Brett.” He laid his hands on the desk. “But what if I did? What would you do about it?”
Alexis leaned over the desk. “I’d put your ass in jail. That’s what I’d do.”
“What jail?” He laughed. “The jail I own? The jail that answers to me?” He shook his head. “You’ve been gone a long time so maybe you need to be reminded of how things work in Tate Valley.”
“I know all too well how they work.” Alexis shoved a book off his desk.
“Lexi.” Penelope grabbed her. “We’re cops and we have to act a certain way remember?”
“Ooh wee!” Grant stuck out his tongue. “You got that fire that your momma had, don’t you?”
“You son of a bitch!” Before she realized what she was doing, Alexis jumped on the desk and reached for his neck.
“Lexi!” Penelope grabbed her. “Stop it!”
“Wow!” Grant laughed as he gripped Alexis’ wrists. “You are a firecracker, aren’t you?”
Grant’s bulky black security guard ran inside. “Let him go, Detective!” He rushed to the desk and grabbed Alexis by her waist.
Alexis struggled as he yanked her off the desk. “Let go of me!” She spit at Grant.
“Stop it, Lexi!” Penelope shouted.
“You’re gonna pay for all that you’ve done, Grant!” Alexis kicked at his desk as the guard pulled her toward the door. “You’re not getting away with it anymore!”
“Take her out of here.” Grant straightened his tie.
The guard grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room.
“Get off me.” Alexis ripped her arm away from the guard. “Touch me again and I’ll arrest your big ass.”
Sweat ran down the guard’s face. “You just assaulted Mr. Copeland but you’re threatening me with arrest?” He pointed down the hall. “Get out and don’t come back.”
“I’ll be back.” Alexis straightened her blouse as Penelope pulled her to the front door. “I’ll definitely be back.”
Chapter Three
“Mr. Reed?” The redheaded secretary led Alexis and Penelope into Kevin Reed’s third-floor office of Copeland Enterprises. “You have visitors.”
The gorgeous, clean-shaven white man with short brown hair and stunning gray eyes looked up from the papers at his desk. He stared at Alexis with his mouth open.
Alexis once again wanted to throw up but not from fear, from shock. For years she’d imagined how Kevin would look grown up and even in her most passionate dreams he didn’t look this good.
Even though she could always get lost in his eyes she found herself staring at his mouth, thinking of all those sweet kisses she’d missed. And all the kisses she’d been dying to share with him since she left Tate Valley.
Some things never changed.
Kevin stood, rubbing his tie. His expression seemed to mimic how Alexis felt about seeing him again. His mouth rose in the corner as if he’d smile but it instantly disappeared. He stood with his back erect and straightened his throat.
“Alexis,” he said in a dry tone. “Never thought I’d see you again.”
“Is that all you have to say after nineteen years?” She chuckled though her heart broke a bit at his hollow greeting.
But what did she expect? For him to hug and kiss her after she’d practically abandoned him just as their young love blossomed into something that was sure to be the most amazing thing she’d ever experience.
“How are you, Kevin?” Alexis asked with a shaky voice. “You look great.”
“So do you.” He acted like it caused him pain to give her a compliment. “I didn’t think you could get more beautiful than you were before but I see I’m wrong.” His cheeks turned red.
He’s blushing.
Alexis smiled.
He doesn’t hate me as much as he wants to let on.
“Hey, Kevin.” Penelope waved.
“Penelope. It’s nice to see you as always.” His gaze remained on Alexis. “I’m surprised you came back to Tate Valley, Lexi. Considering how you’d obviously forgotten it existed.”
Alexis dug for her notepad. “You know that’s not true.”
“Do I?” His voice cracked, apparently from the pain he’d felt all these years. “All I know is that you just went to LA with your mother and never even contacted me again. You talked to Penelope through the years.” He gestured to Penelope who acted awkwardly at his acknowledgement. “You called me what, a few times for the first few years and then disappeared.”
“I…” She swallowed. “I never meant to hurt you, Kevin. You know I never wanted to leave but I was a child. What was I supposed to do? Go against my mother?”
“It’s not about you leaving, Lexi.” He pointed to her. “It’s about you not taking the time to remember that people who loved you still lived here.”
“Love?” she whispered.
He sighed and looked away.
“I expected you to be pissed, Kevin.” Alexis joked, trying to lighten the mood. “But can I at least get a hug?”
“No.” He slipped his hands in the pockets of his Gucci slacks. “That would be a little too much to ask right now.”
Her heart sunk into her chest.
“Just because I’m pissed doesn’t mean I can’t give you my condolences right?” He sat on the edge of his desk. “I’m so sorry about Stossel’s passing. I really admired him and enjoyed working with him. He was a big part of the Copeland family.”
“He’d appreciate that I’m sure.” She swept her hair over her shoulder, observing him. “He always did like you. He used to joke that he thought we’d grow up and get married.”
Kevin frowned.
She cleared her throat. “I appreciate your sympathies.”
“You weren’t at the funeral.” He raised a brown eyebrow.
She sighed. “No I wasn’t at the funeral and my mother died three years ago.”
“I’m sorry about your mother.” He crossed his arms. “I liked Elizabeth and Stossel very much. Why are you back? You never even visited after you and your mother left.”
“I missed my home town.”
“Come on, Lexi.” He touched his lips. “You expect me to believe that you simply got homesick for Tate Valley after you couldn’t stand to visit in almost twenty years?”
She faked a smile. “I have the feeling that you won’t believe anything I tell you, Kevin. Or at least that you wouldn’t want to.” She opened her notepad. “Let’s get to this case.”
“Finally.” Penelope exhaled. “This whole day’s been like a soap opera so far.” “I’m sure you’ve heard that someone broke into Brett’s house and beat him to death in his bed last night,” Alexis said to Kevin. “We’ve pinpointed that it happened between nine p.m. and midnight. Mrs. Myers found the body.”
“Yes I know,” Kevin said. “I called her this morning and gave her my condolences. All of us at Copeland Enterprises are deeply saddened by the loss. Like your father, Brett was a huge part of this company.”
“Did you get along with Brett?” Alexis asked. “We believe there might’ve been some bad blood between you two.”
“We had our disagreements at times.” Kevin tugged on his collar. “But we mostly got along.”
“We heard that Brett and Grant had a huge blowout at the company meeting because Grant announced he was making you the CEO when he steps down.” Alexis chewed on her pencil. “Is this true?”
Kevin fidgeted. “Yes it’s true.”
“So you expect me to think that you and Brett got along when Brett was upset that you were trying to take his place?”
“You know me, Lexi. You know I would never hurt anyone.”
“I’m not saying you did but I’m a cop, Kevin. I gotta look at any potential motives,
right? It had to be pretty tense around here between you and Brett.”
Kevin laid his hands flat on the desk. “I didn’t even know Grant wanted to make me the CEO. At first I was against it because I didn’t want to cause any issues within the company, but when Grant makes his mind up, that’s it.”
“Kevin, you just said I know you,” Alexis said. “But do I really still know you? How can I be so sure of what you’d do with the company you keep these days?”
Kevin’s dark eyebrows furrowed. “What does that mean?”
“Can I still expect honesty or integrity from a man who works with Grant Copeland and holds him in such high esteem?”
Kevin’s jaws filled with air. “Just because you hate Grant doesn’t mean everyone else has to, Lexi.”
She shook her foot, becoming more irritated. “How could you work for that man after what he did to my family? I feel so betrayed, Kevin.”
“I don’t really give a damn how you feel about the decisions I’ve made in my life.” He peered at her. “Who do you think you are, Lexi? You left and acted like you’d never even knew me and now you expect me to explain myself to you? Go to hell or wherever it is you came from.”
“God.” Penelope slapped her forehead. “Guys, just calm down. Can we—?”
“Even when you were a teenager you were stubborn.” Kevin shook his head. “You have this idea in your head that Grant is a horrible person just because he had an affair with your mother but that was their business, Lexi.”
“It’s very much my business too! It ruined my family.”
“You’re thirty four years old now!” he shouted. “When are you gonna get over it? Everyone else has moved on but you. Even Stossel moved on. Speaking of Stossel, he and Grant had resumed their friendship and they were closer than ever. Grant did the eulogy for Stossel’s funeral when your ass didn’t even show up! Who are you to judge Grant because of something that happened twenty years ago?”
“Fuck you.”
“Fuck you.” He pointed. “Who the hell do you think you are coming in here and questioning me about my relationship with Grant? You don’t know anything about him except that he slept with your mother.”
“I know that he’s been a disease in this town ever since he was born and everyone is either afraid of him or snowed by him but I’m not.”