The Deep End (A Saints & Strangers Cozy Mystery Book 2) (16 page)

“Why not?” Kit asked. “If you love her, why not fight for her once the real killer has been arrested?”

He lowered his head. “Because you’re right. I’m not good enough for her. I have no respectable family, no money, no sense of decency.”

“What happened to your money?” Rebecca asked. She and Kit knew perfectly well what happened to Brendan’s money, but she wanted to hear it from him.

“Why does it matter?” he said simply. “It was gone before I ever truly had it. I’d been living off the kindness of friends who felt sorry for me after my father’s incarceration. Then I took up with Jasmine and she’d started seeing your father. The Porsche was a gift from her, but I’m sure you already figured that out.”

Rebecca didn’t reply, trying to scrub away the mental image of Brendan and Jasmine together.

Kit took a step closer to Brendan, her instincts kicking in. “Why would you protect him, even now?” she asked gently.

He refused to meet her gaze, choosing to stare at the floor. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Kit could usually tell when someone was hiding something and she was certain that Brendan fit the bill. She’d developed the skill during her years on the
Fool’s Gold
set. It became useful in her personal life, too, especially when she began to suspect that her boyfriend was cheating on her. Charlie Owen may have charmed millions of television viewers, but he’d made Kit’s life miserable. Deep down, she suspected that he was partly responsible for her expulsion from Hollywood. She hated to give him more credit than he deserved, though.

“You didn’t spend your trust fund, did you?” Kit asked. She placed a comforting hand on his arm.

Brendan’s eyes met hers and she saw the truth there. He hadn’t been the architect of his own financial demise after all.

“He needed it,” Brendan said simply and she knew that he meant his father.

Rebecca’s mouth hung open. The conversation had taken an unexpected turn for her. “You didn’t actually gamble away your trust fund?”

Brendan smiled ruefully. “I didn’t gamble it. I didn’t spend it on hookers or drugs. I didn’t buy too many Prada shoes.”

Rebecca couldn’t seem to wrap her head around it. “But you’re a spoiled rich kid who never grew up. Another Peter Pan of trust funds.”

“Except he isn’t,” Kit said. She felt a twinge of sympathy. Although her trust fund had been revoked by her mother under different circumstances, she understood how difficult familial relationships could be. Her mother had certain expectations for how Kit should live and Kit had failed to live up to them. The end result was the same. No money.

“He told me he was innocent,” Brendan said. “He asked me for the money, to mount his defense. His own accounts had been frozen. He couldn’t access any money, but mine was up for grabs.” He looked away, embarrassed by his own naiveté.

“And you gave it all to him,” Kit said.

“Every penny,” Brendan admitted. “He was guilty as hell, of course, which I discovered too late. To be fair, he did use part of the money to pay his team of expensive lawyers.”

“Then where is the rest of it?” Rebecca asked.

Brendan shrugged. “My father is a master manipulator. He’s hidden that money away for the day he gets out of prison. No one will find it unless he wants them to.”

“But you’re his son,” Rebecca objected. “It was your money.”

“And I gave it to him freely,” Brendan said. “It was my own error in judgment, but he was my father. What was I supposed to do?” He rubbed his temples. “I’ve been adrift ever since. No ambition, that’s for sure. Ambition destroyed my family.”

Rebecca felt her resistance to him softening. “And, in your search for deep pockets, you found Jasmine.”

“I’d known her for years. We went to the same parties. She’d always had a thing for me, but I wasn’t interested.”

“Until she had a worthy bank account,” Kit interjected.

“She wasn’t a nice person,” Brendan said, dragging a frustrated hand through his hair. “You know perfectly well how awful she could be, but she liked to spend and she liked to feel in control. I was happy to let her do both.”

“I’m glad we didn’t inherit Father’s money,” Rebecca said, “because I would hate for Charlotte to be a temptation to you. She’d never be confident that you were with her for the right reasons.”

His eyes flickered with pain. “Of course I would. I love her.”

“I believe you,” Kit said because she did. There were no more lies lurking beneath his handsome demeanor.

“So what happens now with your father’s estate?” he asked.

“It looks like it will go to Jasmine’s brother as her next of kin.”

“Jake,” he said softly to himself.

“Do you know Jake?” Rebecca asked, her chest tightening. “He and Jasmine didn’t seem particularly close.”

“Nobody was truly close to Jasmine,” Brendan admitted. “Not even me.” This time he met her gaze. “From what I know about Jake, I doubt very much that he killed his sister.”

Although Rebecca was inwardly relieved, she tried not to show it. As angry and upset as she was with him, she didn’t want to think of him as a killer.

“Why would you doubt it?” Kit asked.

“Jasmine said he was spineless,” Brendan told them. “That he was a workhorse and nothing more. She hated that about him. Not to mention, she was stronger than he was.” He allowed himself a vague smile. “You wouldn’t know it to look at her, but Jasmine packed a powerful punch.”

Rebecca conjured up an image of Jake’s lanky body and his bumbling ways. Brendan was right. Jake couldn’t possibly have overpowered Jasmine in the pool. The murderer had to be someone with more strength and more emotion. Neither word described Jake. But then who was left?

“There’s something else,” Brendan began. “Something I should have told Charlotte early on, but I didn’t want to risk her finding out about my relationship with Jasmine.”

Rebecca’s ears perked up. “Go on.”

“Your father’s will. It wasn’t real,” he admitted. “Jasmine had a forgery made.”

“But how?” Rebecca asked. “It had my father’s signature and witnesses. Believe me, Jackson would have loved nothing more than to declare it invalid. He hated to see Jasmine walk away with our inheritance.”

Brendan shrugged. “I don’t know the details, but she confessed to me that she’d managed to have the entire estate left to her. She was furious when she found out that he was leaving everything to you and Charlotte.”

Rebecca glanced at him sharply. “He was?”

“Apart from a quarter of a million dollars. That’s what he left to Jasmine in the original will. But it wasn’t enough for her.” He closed his eyes, remembering. “Nothing was ever enough for her.”

Kit and Rebecca exchanged looks. Romeo needed to hear this and quickly.

Rebecca stepped toward Brendan and placed a tentative hand on his arm. “Thank you for the information, Brendan. I’ll pass it along to the detective on the case. He’s a very nice man, I promise you.” She flashed a brief smile at Kit. “I’m sure he’d like to speak with you, if you decide to come out of hiding.”

“Do you think Charlotte might hate me a little less if I did?” he asked. He reminded Kit of a small child seeking a loved one’s approval.

Despite her misgivings about him, Rebecca was touched. “She doesn’t hate you, Brendan. Charlotte isn’t capable of hating anyone, not even Jasmine.”

“When she’s home again, will you tell her what I’ve said? Will you tell her that my feelings for her were genuine? I hate the thought of her not knowing the truth.”

“Why tell me? Why not tell her yourself?” Rebecca asked.

Brendan turned away. “After this case is resolved, I’m moving away. I have friends with a house in the Canary Islands. They’ve offered me the use of it until I get back on my feet.”

Kit wondered how he’d be able to get back on his feet on an island with few job prospects for foreigners. No one said the man made good decisions.

“I know I can never see her again,” he continued. “It would never work out. Every time she looked at me, I would wonder if she was remembering Jasmine and burying her disappointment in me. She deserves better and I don’t want to be the cause of any further grief. Now that I know she’s alive and safe, I don’t want to know anything else. I don’t want the awful day to come when I read the news that she’s engaged to someone else.”

Rebecca studied him. “She will, you know. She’s young and smart and beautiful. She has a good heart. She’ll move on and be happier for it.”

Impulsively, Brendan hugged Rebecca. “Thank you for hearing me out. Being here again. Feeling her presence…It reminds me of what real happiness feels like.”

He pressed his lips hard against her cheek and bolted out of the house, leaving Kit and Rebecca to stare after him in wonder.

Kit’s phone buzzed as she left her last class of the day. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Romeo’s name on the screen.

“How may I be of service, Detective Moretti?”

“Guess who showed up on the doorstep of the Westdale Police, lawyerless and ready to talk?”

“I’ll take a stab in the dark — Brendan.”

Romeo fell silent a moment, surprised by Kit’s knowing tone. “He ordered sushi for the officers in the building while he waited for me to get there.” Romeo laughed as he remembered the look on Officer Hartley’s face. “Lucas was not impressed by Japanese food.”

“I’ll bet he was hoping for pepperoni pizza,” Kit said.

“Even penniless, the guy has expensive taste,” Romeo said.

“Where did he get the money to pay for the food?” she asked.

“Apparently, he sold the Porsche. He’s using it to fund his new venture in the Canary Islands.”

“His new venture as a beach bum?” Kit queried.

“He’s talking with a friend about opening a new bar and restaurant there,” he said.

Kit had to give the guy credit. Like her, he was making an effort to make lemonade out of lemons. “Was he able to keep the money from the Porsche?”

“It was his Porsche. Jasmine gifted it to him months before she died.”

“So, really, the Tiltons have funded Brendan’s new venture.” Kit wondered what Rebecca and Charlotte would think of it. She suspected that the news would please them.

“I guess that’s one way of looking at it.”

“Did you look into his claims about the fraudulent will?” she asked.

“I went to Kohler’s office, but the receptionist said he was away.”

“Away in hiding or away on vacation?” With a fraudulent will in the mix, Jackson Kohler was looking more and more like a suspect.

“I’m still trying to find out. She claims not to know his location and he’s not answering his cell.”

Kit chewed her lip thoughtfully. “He has a son. See if Derek knows where he is.”

“And where might I find Derek Kohler?”

“Let me check with Charlotte and call you back. She’ll know for sure.” It was Charlotte’s first day back at school since her hospital stay. She’d walked to school with Kit that very morning, looking as bright and cheerful as ever and Kit admired her greatly for it.

“Kit,” Romeo said gruffly, “make sure you call me back with the address. Don’t think about going there on your own.”

“If I find him first and he confesses, does that mean our deal is off?” she asked sweetly.

“Kit…” She hung up before he said anything more. Romeo was only a few buildings away. She needed to find Charlotte in the throng of students before he got in touch with Rebecca.

“Charlotte,” she yelled, spotting her blond ponytail whipping in the breeze. As usual, Francie was right beside her. She ran to catch them.

“Hi Kit,” Francie said and noticed Kit’s harried expression. “What’s the emergency?”

“Derek Kohler,” Kit gasped, trying to catch her breath. “Where does he live?”

Charlotte wrinkled her nose, confused by the request. “Derek?”

“Yes, Derek.” Kit grabbed her by the shoulders. “I need to get out of a deal I made. Where does Derek live?”

“Not in Westdale,” she replied. “Jackson mentioned that he’s renting an apartment in Brooklyn. He said once that Derek’s entire apartment would fit in our kitchen. He seemed pretty annoyed about it, but I remember telling him that some people really like living in Brooklyn.”

“You are so adorable, it hurts,” Kit said. She gave Charlotte’s cheek an affectionate pinch and took off sprinting. She didn’t realize just how badly she feared bringing Romeo to Greyabbey until she saw an opportunity to get out of it. It wasn’t that she didn’t like him enough. It was, in fact, the exact opposite and that scared her most of all.

She ran across town, all the way to her house where Betsy, her Corvette Stingray, sat in the driveway. She knew her fast car would come in handy here eventually. She jumped into the driver’s seat and sped off, ignoring Phyllis’s brief attempt to race alongside her in her electric scooter.

Thanks to Charlotte, Kit knew exactly where to find Jackson Kohler and it wasn’t in Brooklyn.

Chapter Ten

Kit pulled into the semi-circular driveway at Oak Lodge and cut the engine. When she saw the powder blue Mercedes parked under a cluster of trees, she knew that her instincts were correct. It was an older model, the kind of Mercedes that someone might drive if they lacked the money for an updated model yet still desired the prestige.

She didn’t bother to knock on the door. It wasn’t his house and she was sure that the real owners wouldn’t mind. She was about to catch a murderer, after all.

“Hello,” Kit called. “Anybody home?”

She heard rustling and then hurried footsteps on the floor above. She began to ascend the stairs. “I could really use your help,” Kit said loudly. “Brendan Williams has been arrested for murder and he’s making all sorts of insane accusations to get himself freed.”

Jackson Kohler appeared at the top of the stairs. “How did you know to find me here?”

Kit’s mind raced for a reasonable response. “Jake came by the house to see Rebecca. He mentioned seeing your car here. We figured you were getting the house ready for probate, or whatever it is lawyers do.” She gave him a helpless shrug, hoping to appeal to his ego.

“There’s no probate when someone dies intestate,” he replied, his expression unreadable.