Hit and Run (12 page)

Shirley took her hand off the railing to settle an errant hank of gray-streaked hair. ‘As much as I convinced myself that this would be a lark, it
is
a tad irritating watching the two boys – Lucinda's Tyler and Rose's Eddie – try to out-audition each other. And that Sugar seems determined to rekindle something that shouldn't have happened in the first place. I'm surprised Joy hasn't knocked her block off yet.'

‘I think Joy's still reeling from not having the whole sordid thing to hold over Dickens' head any longer.' As they reached the top of the staircase, AnnaLise said, ‘Have you spoken anymore with Lucinda?'

‘Meaning
my
“other woman”?' Hart's first wife asked. ‘A little – my trying to fan the flames of her anger over this “logo” work she feels Dickens stole.'

‘You and Joy are determined to be troublemakers, aren't you?'

‘Do I detect a hint of surprise?' Shirley asked. ‘We didn't come this weekend to give Dickens Hart the “Ex-wives Seal of Approval,” you know. The two of us made a pact. That we'd enjoy ourselves.'

For her part, AnnaLise was just hoping to survive. ‘Did you manage to rile Lucinda up even more than she already was?'

A sigh. ‘Sadly, no. Apparently Mama Bear has decided not to jeopardize Baby Bear's chances during this treasure-hunt weekend. She may well be steaming internally, but outwardly she's as boring as ever. I remember thinking, at the time Dickens took up with her, that he must be going through a dead-fish period.'

Shirley interrupted herself, hooking a thumb north. ‘I'm at the end of this hallway.'

‘And I'm the same, but this first door on the right.' AnnaLise nodded at it.

‘Across from your mother and Phyllis, while I'm opposite Joy farther down. I'm sure you noticed from the floor plan that all of the non-locals are in the south wing.'

‘I did.' AnnaLise realized she'd left her diagram downstairs somewhere. ‘Do you think that's significant?'

A lift of an eyebrow from Shirley. ‘Only in that Dickens seems to have his game pieces positioned right where he wants them.'

AnnaLise laughed. ‘I do like your attitude.'

Shirley patted the younger woman's shoulder. ‘And I, your fortitude. I divorced Hart and can choose to be done with the bastard. You're stuck watching him play Lord of the Manor, as Joy says, for life.'

‘True, but at least he does it well,' AnnaLise said. ‘And it
is
quite the manor.'

‘Without a doubt, on both counts. My only regret divorcing the cad is that I didn't get a chance to live here.' Shirley Hart shook her head. ‘And I was naïve enough to think I'd taken the bastard for everything he had.'

 

When AnnaLise turned over the next morning, the sun was already slanting through the windows. She checked the clock on her bedside table: eight forty-six.

After leaving Shirley Hart, AnnaLise had gotten to bed at about eleven and was just dropping off when the movie must have ended. While the vaulted foyer and Lake Room looked magnificent, noise from people heading up the stairs to their rooms echoed from the marble foyer right through the walls.

Things had gradually quieted down, with the last straggler – Joy, since Shirley was already in her room – passing through the north wing's hallway at about eleven-thirty. AnnaLise knew this because she'd lain watching the bedside clock's digital numbers change for another half hour after that. Finally, approaching midnight, she'd crawled out of bed and dug through her purse for aspirin, hoping the drug would ward off the – admittedly fine – wine-induced hangover she already felt coming on.

Coming up with two tablets, AnnaLise was padding back to bed when an engine roared out front. She'd parted the French door curtains to see a green land yacht pull up on the circle drive and hear the front door below open and close. A figure trotted down the porch steps – Nicole, almost certainly, being picked up by her grandfather.

AnnaLise had finally fallen asleep after that, but somehow the eight hours hadn't refreshed her. In fact, her stomach was queasy and her head ached. So much for the healing qualities of aspirin.

But then, there was always caffeine.

Pulling on sweats, she padded down the steps toward the dining room. With luck, everyone else would be long done with breakfast and AnnaLise could have her coffee in relative peace without seeing anybody or being seen, given the way she feared she might look.

Alas, the one man even close to her age, Tyler Puckett, and Rose Boccaccio's son, Eddie, were still at the breakfast table. AnnaLise couldn't help but notice that Tyler was wearing his lanyard name badge, while Eddie wasn't.

She pasted a bright smile on her face. ‘Good morning!'

‘Happy Thanksgiving!' Tyler said, looking up from what he was reading. ‘Like part of my paper?'

‘I'd love it,' said AnnaLise, grateful that no chit-chat seemed required. ‘Just as soon as I get my coffee.'

‘Nicole just brought it in fresh.' Eddie waved toward the sideboard. ‘I think there's some toast and eggs, too, though I'm sure she'll bring you something else if you'd like.'

‘Nicole's great,' AnnaLise said, returning to the table with her coffee. Even dry toast seemed too much to handle at this point. ‘She goes to the University of the Mountain here in Sutherton.'

‘Like my mom,' Tyler said. His hair was more auburn than strawberry blonde like Lucinda's, but he had her fine spray of freckles across the nose and cheeks and a friendly smile. ‘Did you go there, too?'

‘Too expensive for my “towny” blood, I'm afraid,' AnnaLise said, tipping cream into her cup. ‘Besides, I wanted to go away to school, so I studied journalism at Wisconsin.'

‘The flagship campus in Madison?' Tyler asked, passing her the Sports section. ‘They've got a good pre-law curriculum, not to mention a great football program.'

But Eddie looked confused. ‘I don't mean to pry, but why would tuition have been a problem? You are Hart's daughter, correct?'

‘I am.' AnnaLise thought she knew where this was leading. ‘Though for most of my life, I didn't know that. Nor, in fairness, did Dickens.'

‘Then not so much different than Tyler or me,' Eddie said, raking his bandaged hand from the window blow-out through thinning blond hair. ‘Assuming, of course, that the results of our DNA tests – when we have them – come out the same.'

AnnaLise took a tentative sip of her coffee, wondering if Eddie's gesture was natural or an attempt to mimic Dickens Hart. ‘Were you cut badly last night?'

‘A mere flesh wound,' Eddie said shortly, putting the hand in his lap.

‘Just because Dickens didn't want his party interrupted doesn't mean you have to be a hero if you're hurt,' AnnaLise said. ‘If you need stitches or something for pain—'

Tyler interrupted, like a ten-year-old eager to redirect the conversation to himself. ‘I can certainly understand Dickens' desire for the weekend to go off perfectly. This is an important weekend for him. And for the three of us.'

‘The three of
us
?' AnnaLise repeated. ‘I—'

Tyler grinned. ‘Sorry, I meant Eddie, Lacey and me. Though now that I think about it, you're the one who has the most to lose, while we only stand to gain.'

‘Potentially,' Eddie reminded him pointedly.

‘But Lacey …' AnnaLise started to say, then let her voice drift off, realizing that Hart's vasectomy was none of their business, for now. In fact, AnnaLise wouldn't know about it, either, if she wasn't privy to his journals – and Joy, of course.

Happily, Tyler took up where he thought she'd left off. ‘I know. Gotta give the old guy credit, maybe having a daughter that age.'

‘Hey,' Eddie said, taking off his reading glasses. ‘Lacey's fifteen and Hart's sixty-eight, so he wouldn't have been much older than I am when she was conceived.'

‘But, don't you see, my—'

‘You think sex ends at forty?' Eddied demanded, the pupils in his eyes getting bigger. ‘Men far older have fathered children.'

‘No, I mean that it's an amazing …'

AnnaLise jumped in. ‘Age-span between Dickens' potential children? I agree. Between you, Eddie, and Lacey would be … thirty-six years?'

‘Exactly,' Tyler said, gratefully. ‘Have to admire that kind of … of …'

‘Libido?' AnnaLise suggested, her head starting to pound again. If she was to serve as both thesaurus and referee, this was shaping up to be a very long weekend.

Happily, the conversation was interrupted by the arrival of yet another late riser – the girl they'd just been talking about.

‘Morning,' Lacey said, rubbing her eyes like a sleepy toddler. ‘Am I too late for breakfast?'

‘Nope. And you're only a few minutes behind me,' AnnaLise said.

‘I'm not much of an early riser,' Lacey said. ‘Ooh, toast!'

‘Eggs, too,' Eddie said, as he had when AnnaLise arrived. ‘Though I'm not sure how hot they are anymore.'

‘That's OK,' Lacey said. ‘Toast and juice is fine.'

She stacked two pieces of toast on a plate and added marble-sized balls of butter. ‘Do we have jam?'

‘In there,' Tyler said, pointing toward what looked like a Waterford crystal jelly jar.

‘Oh,' Lacey said, picking up the tiny spoon. ‘This is so cute. But I was just looking for those little jam packets to take back to our room.'

‘You're not going to join us?' AnnaLise was disappointed. The presence of the teenager might save the reporter from further discussion of her biological father's profile, biologically speaking, anyway.

‘I'm not really presentable,' Lacey said, looking down at her pajama pants and baggy T-shirt.

‘That's OK,' AnnaLise said. ‘I'm in sweats.'

‘Oh, let the kid go,' Tyler said, with a wink at Lacey. ‘She obviously doesn't want to sit here with us geezers.'

Lacey looked sheepish. ‘It's not that, really. I just—'

‘Go run along, tadpole,' Eddie said, waving his hand. ‘Your mother went for a walk on the lake with the rest of the group.'

‘You all didn't want to join them?' Lacey asked, spooning jam on the edge of her plate and then getting a juice glass.

‘My mother came knocking at my door, waking me out of a sound sleep.' Tyler yawned. ‘But I prefer to ease into my mornings.'

‘Same,' Eddie said. ‘I woke just in time to see the hikers heading out across the back lawn.'

‘I even missed that,' AnnaLise admitted. ‘Your mother must be an early riser, Lacey.'

‘She is. Though, like I said, I'm just the opposite.' The girl picked up her juice and plate, seeming uncertain how to make a graceful exit.

‘You're excused,' AnnaLise said with a smile. ‘Enjoy your breakfast.'

‘Nice kid.' Tyler was watching her leave. ‘Bet she's wishing she brought a friend along for the weekend.'

‘She did – her mother.' AnnaLise felt herself redden. ‘Sorry, that was catty. It's just that Sugar doesn't look much older than Lacey.'

‘She doesn't act it, either.' Eddie slipped his reading glasses back on. ‘The mother went off hiking this morning in a short plaid skirt and thigh-high knee socks.'

‘
Clueless
,' AnnaLise said. ‘The movie, I mean. Nineteen ninety-five, Alicia Silverstone?'

‘I'll take your word for it,' Eddie said, lifting the newspaper section he'd been reading. ‘Smacked more of naughty schoolgirl to me.'

Determined not to further criticize Sugar, AnnaLise got up to get a piece of dry toast. ‘So,' she said, re-taking her chair, ‘how was
When Harry Met Sally
?'

‘Good,' Tyler said. ‘There was probably more talking than watching, but I have to hand it to Hart: it's a good choice as a generational ice-breaker. I'm kind of surprised you weren't there.'

‘I'd had a long day.' And too much wine.

‘It wasn't a late night,' Tyler said. ‘The movie was over by about a quarter past eleven, I think, and then Dickens left, more or less bringing the party to a close.'

‘Nobody to impress,' Eddie said a little sourly from behind the newspaper.

My, my, somebody seemed to have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed.

Not that AnnaLise would let that stop her from making nice, now that her own head was feeling a little better. She picked up her coffee cup. ‘What do you do for a living, Eddie?'

‘Why?' His voice was sharp as he set aside his reading material.

‘Jesus, take a pill,' Tyler said, tossing his napkin on the table. ‘She's just making conversation.'

‘Sorry, sorry.' Eddie held up his hands. ‘I'm just a little touchy. As … well, as interesting and potentially life-changing as this whole situation is, it also feels like a competition.'

‘I get that,' AnnaLise said. ‘And I'm sorry. But Tyler's right, I was just making conversation.'

‘No, I'm the one who should be sorry,' Eddie said, looking sheepish. ‘To answer your question, I'm a dentist.'

‘Oh,' AnnaLise said, perking up. They'd never had a dentist in the family. Actually, they'd never had anybody in their family besides her, Daisy and Mama. ‘And what about you, Tyler?'

‘Broker.'

‘Real estate has—'

At that moment, Boozer Bacchus came in. Hair disheveled and eyes red, he looked worse than AnnaLise, making her wonder if he'd hit his flask as hard as she had the cabernet. ‘AnnaLise? Can I talk to you in the other room?'

‘Sure.' AnnaLise scooted back her chair. ‘Excuse me for just a second?'

She followed Bacchus through the hallway and into the Lake Room. ‘Is there something wrong? I mean, besides the obvious?' She crossed the room to the twenty-foot-wide plywood non-window.