Drop Dead Gorgeous (27 page)

There was a soft knocking on the door, and Brad grinned, then went to answer it.

Jan experienced a terrible moment of panic. Of course, she could still back out. She could back out until the very end.

She turned around. The woman was in the room, a bosomy blonde who certainly looked the part, and yet
…

“Hi. I’m Muffy. Oh, a hot tub! Great, isn’t this place just too much? Champagne, definitely
the right way to start. May I have a glass?”

Brad was already fumbling with the bottle. Muffy didn’t get the first glass. Jan did. In fact, Muffy didn’t get a glass of the first bottle at all because Jan just drank straight from it and wouldn’t let it go.

She drank the whole thing.

G
ramps was quiet as they drove.
“
Where are we g
oing?” Lori asked him. “I think
it’s a little too early for even you to head for a bar.”

He arched a brow to her. “It’s never too early for really old, sick Irish Catholics to head for the bar, but no, I don’t want a drink, a breakfast place will be just fine.”

They opted for Denny’s. The early crowd was gone, the place was slow. The waitress gave them coffee and took their order.

“Okay, Gramps, what is it?” Lori asked as soon as the waitress had gone.

He wagged a finger at her. “I may be old, and I may be sick, but I’m damned sure not blind as yet!”

“All right, I don’t remember suggesting that you are.”

“Other people aren’t blind, either.”

“Gramps, what are you getting at?”

“Brendan.”

She felt as if she had been doused by a bucket of cold water. She inhaled, “Gramps, I don’t—”

“Right. You don’t go taking me for a fool! His eyes are all Kelly, right enough, but you see him and Sean Black up close in the same
room and
…
”
He lifted his hands, shrugging
.

She sipped her coffee, feeling trapped, desperate, and really afraid.

“When are you going to tell him?”

She stared at her grandfather, about to hedge or lie again. “I don’t know. I was ready to just blurt it out when I first saw him again, but
…
but I don’t know. I mis
sed the right moment. And now…
well, now he’s just trusting me, and I’m really worried about what’s going on. I’m scared for Sue, really scared, and I’m scared for Sean just the same. He needs to trust someone right now, and if he discovers t
hat I kept a secret like that…
well, I didn’t mean to, Gramps, I really didn’t mean to, I tried to reach him before I fled to England, but his dad was never able to give him the message, and then it was as if he had just disappeared, all his family had disappeared, and I was alone, and I assumed he hated me, and
…
and I met Ian Corcoran, and he was my solution.”

She sat back, biting her lower lip, suddenly glad that she’d confessed the truth to someone other than the friend and husband she had inadvertently met, sobbing her eyes out in a coffeehouse her first night in London. A folk group had been playing; Ian had been the singer/songwriter, and he’d been good. He’d seen her sitting there, seen her wiping her tears. And she’d talked, telling him that everything was so ho
rrible she wanted to die, and
he’d told her that no, she didn’t, he was dying, and it wasn’t easy, but neither was living—life itself was precious, to be cherished.

There’d been a quiet strength about him, and after a week of friendship, she’d been glad of his solution.

“
I’ll
marry you.”

“That’s not fair to you. I couldn’t—”

“It’s hardly fair to you. Because I am dying, and you’ll be with me, and it won’t be pretty.” It wasn’t pretty; and by the time he died, she had loved him with all her heart, despite the fact that their marriage had never been anything other than platonic.

“Lori,” Gramps told her then, “I’m not telling you that you did anything wrong— hell, you were young, it was one hell of a bad situation! But I think you need to tell Sean Black that Brendan is his son. I can’t believe he has
n’t figured it out yet himself.
”

“We were only together once, Gramps.”

“I told you, honey, I’m not judging you.”

She nodded. “I’m going to tell him. But I am trying to pick the right time.”

“I hope you get a ‘right time’ soon,” he told her. “Where is that waitress? I could use more coffee.”

“She’s not as good as old Mickey at the pub, eh, Gramps?” Lori said. “Too bad we didn’t go there.”

“Why’s that?”

“I could have used the drink today,” she said dryly.

He grinned. “You’re going to be all right, girl,” he told her.

She smiled, but felt an inward shiver. Was she?

18

I
t wasn’t half so bad as Jan had imagined.

Of course, the champagne helped, but it didn’t matter.

She drank a lot, and she was really lethargic by the time she somehow wound up in the ridiculous heart-shaped bed.

Muffy suggested a blindfold, and delicate little scarves that tied her wrists to the brass bedposts. She didn’t really care at that point.

Then it began
…

And it was just a blur of sensations and images. Brad’s voice, his whisper, so excited. His kiss
…
it seemed really good to kiss him
…
then she realized, dimly, that if he was kissing her lips, then the lips moving so seductively over her other, extremely intimate places, had to be
…

Didn’t matter, didn’t matter, had to be the champagne.

And yet
…

Oh, God.

It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t horrible, it was
…

Exciting.

A
rnie Harris had come down to Palm Beach on Saturday morning.

“You didn’t need to come down here for me, Arnie,” Sean told him. “Anytime I need help, I call you, you know that.
”

“We’re not writing a book here, Sean. I’m
not giving
you hypothetical advice for a character. This is your life. Besides, I didn’t come for you, I came for Maggie. She just loves this old hotel.”

He and Maggie were staying at the Breakers, a majestic establishment built during the twenties, and still lording it over the houses in the area where presidents, princes, and the simply filthy rich had their winter homes.

A fine strip of beach flanked the back of the hotel, and Sean walked it along with Arnie. They were both barefoot, pant legs rolled up, relaxed in their movements. But Arnie’s mind was far from idle, and Sean knew that his friend had come down just to be near him because of the Eleanor Metz thing.

And now Sue was missing.

“Maybe you’re not so paranoid,” Arnie said after a moment. “But if you’re not, it’s a terrifying thought.”

“What is?”

Arnie paused, squinting beneath the sun. “Say your old girlfriend Mandy was murdered. It might have been a spur-of-the-moment thing— hell, it must have been a spur of the moment thing. The girl in the water, the vine handy. So it wasn’t a premeditated murder, just a murder of convenie
nce.” Arnie grimaced. “Murder…
one, two, three, not planned, but easy. Young deviants don’t usually plan to throw rocks at dogs, drown kittens, rip the wings off butterflies. The
creatures are just there, and…
”

“So he was losing it, Mandy was in the w
ater, a vine was in the water…
so he kills
Mandy, but then waits?” Sean said. “And then
this many
years comes back for Ellie—and then Sue?”

Arnie shook his head slowly. “He wasn’t waiting. Your Doctor Gillespie has been trying to convince the local police that there’s a serial killer in your midst. You looked at those bones yourself; you know what you’re doing. You don’t need me to tell you any of this, you just want some reassurances on what you’re thinking. The killer is good, really good. You want a profile? He lives alone, or is able to be alone, because he plans things out. He plans the occasions of his murders, and just where he’ll find his victims. He knows how to dispose of the bodies so that they’re
usually
almost totally decomposed before they’re found. No fingerprinting to be done—the last victim, your friend, however, was found. Maybe he wanted that to happen. Maybe he knew you were back in town and wanted people associating you with the murder. She was raped. Any blood, semen, anything?” Arnie asked.

“Nothing was found, not a drop of blood, nothing. She didn’t have a speck of flesh beneath her nails.”

“He knows how he can be caught,” Arnie said. “I imagine he has a deep-seated hatred for women, but he hides it with charisma. There’s something very personal about his feelings—he goes into overkill. Someone this organized probably appears to be a respectably functioning member of the community.”

“But he’s supposed to make a mistake somewhere along the line, right?” Sean inquired with a touch of bitterness.

Arnie looked at him. “I’m sorry to say that some of these killers have apparently walked away from their crimes. The Seattle murders have never been solved, there are high-profile cases in California
…
look how long Bundy got away with murder, how many states he traveled, how many
years
he killed before he was brought to justice.”

“We’re talking about my life here, Arnie. I have to find this killer, or spend my life with people looking at me, pointi
ng…
thinking I’m guilty.”

“You know the truth.”

“Yes, but how do you inflict that kind of life on anyone else, Arnie?”

Arnie shrugged. “If a killer won’t trip himself up, you can try to give him a little nudge.”

“I don’t know who the killer is.”

“But you do have a theory th
at goes back to Mandy’s death…
one of your old friends, your good old boys, is a killer. Start talking to them. Find out who has alibis for when. Find out who had a thing on Mandy Olin and—”

“And?”

“On you. But be careful. If you pus
h too hard…
”

“What?”

Arnie smiled grimly. “Obviously. He’ll push back. You want him to make a mistake. Just don’t let that mistake be you.”

* * *

S
ean hadn’t waited for her. Lori found a note at her house; he’d gone to Palm Beach, he didn’t know when he’d be back, she should stay with her parents.

She walked up the
stairs to
the small tower at the back of the house
and
surveyed her surroundings. She loved the lush foliage, the pretty old houses, some of them renovated, some of them ladies of fading grandeur. She was glad to have come home. Gramps was right, she’d lived a lie too long, and she wanted a life with Sean. He seemed to think that someone they knew might be involved in the murders. The same someone who had killed Mandy.

She stood. She probably would spend the night at her folks house, but she could go later. She went to her desk for paper and a pen, sat down, and started writing out a list. Who had been there that day? Ricky Garcia, Ted Larson. Brad. Sean. Her cousin, Josh, her brother, Andrew, and Sean’s brother, Michael. Ricky and Ted had become cops. Did that exonerate them? No. There were cases of bad cops. Josh, Jeff, and Brad, were attorneys. Did that make them killers? Sharks, according to some, but killers? Then there was Andrew. Her brother. Making porno movies, resenting every minute of it.

No, her brother wasn’t a killer. She scratched out his name. She refused to accept such a concept.

No! Don’t.
If you
’re making a list
,
you have
to make a list!
she chastised herself. She wrote down his name again.

That left Michael. Sean’s brother. Working with marine mammals and fish, trying to cure cancer. Gentle, decent. Couldn’t be.

But their mother had left them. He might well resent other women. And Mandy Olin had been running around on his brother, acting cruelly, hurting Sean, embarrassing th
em all. And what had happened w
ith Mandy had nearly destroyed his family, it had killed his father.

All the same things could be said of Sean.

And Brad, bless him, wanted his ex-wife to engage in a
ménage
a trois!

She laid her forehead down on the desk. There was Jeff Olin. An attorney, one of those ruthless sharks.

Jeff. Mandy’s brother. And Ellie had been her best friend.

Ricky dealt with homicide every day. He’d know how to get away with murder. Ted had been inside Sue’s house. Ted had been the one to tell them that her purse and bag were gone
…

She groaned softly. There had to be a way to prove Sean innocent without indicting her other friends.

She sat up again. Okay, so she didn’t want to put her own brother’s name on a list. Why not start by eliminating him? She picked up the phone and dialed Andrew’s number. An answering service picked up. When Lori said it was a personal call, the woman said that she’d have Andrew call back. Frustrated, Lori stared
at the phone. She called again and put on a soft Southern accent. “Hi, honey, I’m trying to reach Mr. Kelly about today’s shoot? I seem to have lost the address.”

“They’re filming on the Beach.”

Bingo.
South Beach.

“Do you have that exact address?”

The woman gave it to her. Lori started out of the house. She saw a car driving up and frowned, then realized that it was Jeff Olin. He swung into her drive. What the hell, she could start with Jeff.

“Hey, Lori. Heading out?”

“Errands. I’m supposed to start teaching Thursday. But I have a few minutes. Want some coffee, a soda, lunch? What brings you by?”

“Coffee would be great. Actually, I came by to see Sean. Is he here?”

“No, but he might be back any minute. I really can’t say.” She wasn’t sure why she lied; she just didn’t trust anybody at the moment.

“Is Sean okay?” Jeff asked as they walked inside and through to the kitchen.

“Yeah, he’s all right.”

“He has to be upset. You don’t have to bother with coffee, Lori. I thought it might be made.”

“No, it’s fine. It only takes a second.”
She measured out coffee, smiling at him. “So how is the law these days?”

“The law is a beautiful thing.”

“Because it protects the innocent?”

“Because it makes me a lot of money,” he
said, grinning. “Did your son go to school today?”

“Yes.” It suddenly occurred to Lori that if she really thought there was a murderer among her friends it probably wasn’t such a smart idea to quiz one of them in her house alone. “I think he’ll be home about now, too.”

“No, the school kids won’t be out for several hours,” Jeff said, looking at his watch. “I wonder how long I can wait for Sean.”

“Well, the coffee is ready,” Lori told him. “Drink it, and we’ll see if he comes.”

“Join me?”

“Of course.” She poured herself a cup and sat with him.

“How is he, really?”

“Sean?”

“Yeah.”

“Angry, I think.”

“More upset than he’s willing to say.”

“Well, it is an awful accusation.”

“I seriously think he should sue the reporter and the newspaper. Sheer speculation. They could damage him personally and professionally. He shouldn’t let some little hot s
h
ot, trying to make a name for herself, get away with something like this.”

“I’m sure he’s glad that you feel that way.”

“I’ve always liked Sean. My folks didn’t care for him—they thought that he corrupted Mandy. They didn’t understand the strong will of a teenage girl.”

“I hope the reporter doesn’t know that.”

“No one knew—except your parents, Brad’s
parents
…
the others. And they closed ranks tighter than the military when other people started questioning them. I’ve been thinking about making some kind of a statement, about the fact that I know Sean would never have killed my sister. I’m trying to decide whether I’d be going to far, or if it would be helpful. The reporter can still dig up the trial transcripts if she wants to, and some of the things we all said were pretty damaging, just because they did have a row that day and hadn’t been getting along.”

“Sean will appreciate the fact that you’re so supportive,” Lori said.

He smiled at her. “In lots of ways, he’s a lucky guy.” He reached out for her suddenly, and she felt a moment’s panic.
She was an idiot, letting Jeff in here when she was all alone, and now he was going to reach out and strangle her, drag her out, take her somewhere, kill
…

He brushed back a lock of her hair, smiling again. “He’s lucky to have you behind him,” Jeff said. He stood. “I’ve got to go. Tell Sean to call me if he thinks I can do anything. We’ll see you all tomorrow, anyway.”

“Oh?”

“Golf.”

“I don’t golf.”

“No, but we thought we’d meet at Jan’s after for a dip in the pool and Jacuzzi—and a call to a pizza place that delivers. You’ll come, won’t you?”

“Yes,” she said, following him to the front door. As she opened it, feeling like a fool
and
hoping he didn’t see the sheer panic in her face, Ted was just driving onto the embankment in front of her house.

“What’s up?” he asked, getting out. He was in uniform, on duty.

“Just came by to see Sean. But he’s not here,” Jeff said.

“You all r
ight, Lori?” Ted asked. “Sean…
?”

“He’s fine, thanks. And, of course, I’m all right.”

Was she? Even Ted was making her nervous.
A man in uniform
,
a cop
,
could make a vulnerable woman do almost anything, trustingly
.

“Ted, any news on Sue?” Lori asked anxiously.

He shook his head. “Strange. I followed her home from lunch after the funeral, and checked up on her after the party. She didn’t say a thing about going anywhere. But she packed her toothbrush, so she must have planned on being away.”

“It is strange,” Lori said.

“Scary,” Ted agreed.

She thought that Ted and Jeff might even be suspicious of one another, because neither of them moved. She finally excused herself. “Well, I’ve got some errands. Thanks, guys, for being friends.”

“Sure thing, Lori.”

They were leaning against the rear of Jeff’s car, both watching her, as she drove away.

J
an was practically passed out when Muffy left. She lay on the heart-shaped bed, her head spinning, wanting only to sleep.

She felt Brad near her, whispering in her ear. “Jan, I love you. I know how hard this was for you
…
thanks.”

She mumbled something.

“Jan…
”

He turned her over. She slit her eyes open, saw the diamond he held glittering, even in the subdued light.

“Marry me?” He said. He suddenly seemed somewhat tense. “You know, I really need you now in my life. I need your support, I
need to say you’re with me…
at all times.”

Her head really hurt. She did love him, and she wanted to marry him.

But not now.

She rolled back over. “It would serve you right if I ran off with another woman,” she told him.

He might have kept talking; she’d never know. The champagne was just too much.

She passed out.

A
t last Jan was home
.

The killer knew, because he watched her. He’d known about her whole day ahead of time; they said that women talked
,
but men were just as bad.

She showered. Forever and ever it seemed, just letting the water rush over her. She was totally unaware that he stood within the redwood enclosure that encircled the glassed-in hot tub and shower area of her bathroom. She was usually safe from prying eyes because of that privacy fence and the profusion of hybiscus bushes that surrounded the fence.

But he knew her house. Knew that the pool and patio area were hidden by heavy foliage as well. Hell, he even knew her damned neighborhood. The old bat next door was watching
Oprah.
The couple in back both worked. The house on the other side was empty; snowbirds owned it, and they were back up north.

Can’t wash it away, Jan, can’t wash away what you’ve done!
he thought
₃
amused.

But it was nothing. Nothing at all compared to what she was going to do.

Soon
,
Jan.

With me.

It won’t matter if you
’
r
e
willing.

It won’t even matter if you’re alive or dead.

L
ori reached the address the woman had given her. It was one of the old hotels, and she discovered at the desk that MFOT Productions had rented a rear suite. She made a mental note to ask her brother what “MFOT” stood for, then walked around the hotel and saw the camera crews first. She followed a deli caterer into the back of a large suite facing the ocean, then saw her brother in a chair, and a pair of long-limbed young women cuddled up together on the bed.

“Did Muffy get in yet? We need to get to the stud shots soon.”

“Muffy’s in back, she’s clocked in!” someone called back.

Andrew was swearing softly to himself, then he called out a direction, “Come on, ladies, you’re looking bored as hell! This is a
seduction for you, Tanya, and a discovery for you, Betty. Look like you’re into it.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m into it!” Betty said, bored.

“You’re paid to be into it!” Andrew snapped, gritting his teeth and pressing his temples between his fingers. He looked up, and saw his sister.

“Jesus!” he cried, jumping up. “Take five!” he shouted to his crew, grabbing Lori by the elbow and propelling her out of the suite and down the walk toward the beach.

“Andrew—” she protested.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he asked with dismay.

“Calm down, I know what you do—”

“And you know I pee, too, but I don’t want you watching me!”

She smiled. “Andrew, I’ve seen porno flicks. And it seems that half our friends have starred in the damned things.”

“Only Brad, Jeff, and Josh,” he mumbled.

“Andrew, what’s MFOT?”

He stared at her dully. “Money for Other Things,” he muttered. She smiled. “Lori, come on. What the hell are you doing here?”

“I just came to see if you wanted lunch,” she lied. He looked innocent as hell. Her brother couldn’t have killed anyone.

He hadn’t looked half so innocent when he had been yelling at Tanya and Betty. Did he hate women, somewhere down deep?
Or just these so-called actresses?

“Lunch?” he inquired, puzzled. She realized he was looking past her, to the door to the suite.