You Can Run... (31 page)

“How strange?”

“That depends on who’s talking about him. I’ve heard dozens of people talk about Jeffrey Cavanaugh and no one has given the same description of him. Some say he has a few minor eccentricities. Others say he’s crazy. No one says he’s just a friendly, normal guy.”

“Well, that’s comforting,” Diana muttered.

“Isn’t it? Just after Jeffrey turned thirty, his father was murdered—one shot at close range to the head. It looked like a Mafia hit, but people speculated that maybe Jeffrey had gotten rid of his father. Jeffrey hated Morgan, and with Morgan gone, the business fell to Jeffrey. He made a success of it and later brought in Blake as chief operating officer. In the meantime, he married a socialite named Yvette DuPrés. She was beautiful and definitely crazy—no one quibbles about
her
mental state.

“The marriage was a complete mess from the beginning. She started having affairs almost immediately. By the third year, she seemed to be doing everything in her power to humiliate Jeffrey. After one particularly bad evening in San Francisco, she left a hotel dinner party with Jeffrey and a bunch of bigwigs he hoped to reel in. She went up to her hotel room and half an hour later took a dive from her eighth-floor window.”

“Lenore told me about Yvette’s death,” Diana said with a shudder. “She said the police didn’t believe she committed suicide.”

“That’s because of the necklace.” Tyler shook his
head. “You’d never believe the trouble that cursed necklace has caused Jeffrey. Even
he
doesn’t know all of it.”

“What’s so special about a necklace?”

“It’s a coincidence, but Yvette was fascinated by ancient Egypt—the way people lived, their beliefs, you name it. I can imagine how she would have loved to meet Simon. She even had Simon’s first book.”

Diana nearly gasped. “You’re kidding! Tyler, that’s just . . . just—”

“Creepy, in layman’s terms.”

“Exactly.”

“Nevertheless, it’s true. So, Yvette had a passion for Egyptian culture and she especially loved some myth about the Egyptian lotus. Lotus or lily? Does that sound familiar?”

For a moment Diana was speechless. He could have been spinning one of Willow’s fabulous bedtime stories, but he wasn’t. “Are you serious?” she finally asked. Tyler nodded. “Go look at the center pane of the rear bay window.”

“I already have,” he said, smiling but going back to the window anyway. He drew aside the draperies and tilted his head, then said, “Just as Penny described it.”

“You should see it when the sun shines through the glass. It’s beautiful. And Penny told you about it?”

“You bet she did. But I don’t remember the myth. You tell it.”

As Tyler stood, looking at the glass as if mesmerized, Diana said, “It’s known as the myth of the blue lotus, although depictions in temples show that they were really referring to a water lily. According to the myth, when the world began, dark waters of turmoil covered everything. Then the Primeval Water Lily surfaced from the waters. It opened its blue petals, and inside sat a child-god on the golden center of the flower. Light streamed from the child-god’s body and banished the darkness. He was considered the source of all life.”

Tyler turned and looked at her. “Did Simon write about the myth in his first book?”

“He wrote about it in one of them. It could have been the first one.”

“The one Yvette owned.” He let out a low whistle and said, “Well, I’ll be damned.”

“Okay, you’re damned, hopeless, a lost soul. Now get over here and tell me about Yvette’s necklace.”

“I’m glad you’re so unconcerned about the state of my soul.”

“I’m not at all worried about the state of your soul because you have one of the best souls I have ever encountered.”

“Oh, I’ll bet you say that to all the guys.” Tyler grinned, but Diana thought he looked moved.

Diana patted the seat beside her and Tyler returned to the couch, once more sitting close to her, this time throwing his arm around her shoulders. “Cretin that I am, I only knew the necklace was a blue and canary diamond concoction Jeffrey designed for Yvette because of some myth that obsessed her. I think someone told me it was a Chinese myth. Anyway, what interested the cops the most was that it cost a fortune and that Yvette
always
wore it but it wasn’t on her body after the fall. It also wasn’t in the hotel room.”

“What did the San Francisco police believe happened to it?”

“They thought someone had helped Yvette out that window and had kept the necklace.”

“I take it Jeffrey wasn’t with her when she went out the window.”

“That’s open to debate. Jeffrey, Yvette, Lenore, and Blake had gone to San Francisco to attend an anniversary party in the hotel ballroom for one of Cavanaugh and Went-worth’s biggest clients. At the party, Yvette made one of many public scenes, but this was probably the worst. She screamed that Jeffrey had killed his father, that he was a thief, a sexual deviant, you name it. Then she threw champagne in his face and stalked out of room.

“Everyone at the party said Jeffrey just stood there. He
didn’t answer her, he didn’t try to shut her up, he didn’t even wipe the champagne off his face. He didn’t show any emotion whatsoever. I guess Lenore ran up to him and tried to dry his face, but he brushed her away. Lenore left the ballroom looking upset, then people started trying to act like nothing had happened—as if that was possible. Finally Jeffrey dried off his own face, downed another glass of champagne, talked to a couple of people, or rather talked as much as he ever does, and after about half an hour, he left the party. Everyone thought his behavior was almost as bizarre as Yvette’s.”

“Lenore says Jeffrey’s odd behavior is the result of his father always tormenting him,” Diana said.

“I wouldn’t doubt it. I told you Morgan was a mean old cuss and he supposedly couldn’t stand his son because Jeffrey wasn’t at all like him.” Tyler smiled pityingly. “The ironic thing is that Jeffrey’s mother doesn’t care much for him either because she thinks he’s
exactly
like his father.”

“That would have to badly affect him, Tyler. He couldn’t win.”

“Well, don’t feel too sorry for him. We don’t know which parent was right.”

“Anyway, Jeffrey went to their hotel room after leaving the party. The police were certain that if he’d arrived before Yvette’s plunge out the window, Jeffrey had jerked the necklace off her before he pushed her, or the necklace caught on his hand during the struggle. But someone in the next room claimed they’d heard Yvette shouting at somebody about ten minutes before Jeffrey could have arrived, and a man in the hotel lobby said he saw Jeffrey at almost the exact time Yvette fell, or jumped, or was pushed. That’s where the matter ended. Again, no proof,” Tyler ended in disgust.

“Two deaths—one appearing to be a Mafia hit, the other a suicide—and both benefitting Jeffrey,” Diana said slowly. “That’s stretching coincidence a bit far.”

“I’ll say it is!” Tyler’s voice had risen. His distrust of
Jeffrey Cavanaugh and anger that no one could prove anything against him couldn’t have been more obvious. “So you see why I didn’t want Penny involved with him? He’d lived like a hermit after Yvette’s death, then he and some client went to see ‘Copper Penny’—that was her stage name—and suddenly he started dating her. You can probably imagine how the tabloids loved it.”

“You read the tabloids?” Diana asked teasingly, trying to lighten Tyler’s mood, which seemed to be teetering on the edge of fury.

He smiled for the first time in twenty minutes.

“Of course. I read them voraciously,” he said, tongue in cheek. “I’m much more interested in who’s just married for the sixth time than I am in Ahab chasing a white whale.”

“It sounds to me as if Jeffrey has become your white whale,” Diana said softly.

“I guess he has.” Tyler grew serious. “I knew a lot about him after the Yvette business. Then to find out Penny was involved with him threw me for a loop, as my grandpa used to say. I begged Penny to stop seeing Jeffrey. Instead she married him. Diana, I would rather she had kept stripping than be married to him. I was afraid for her.”

“No wonder. But you didn’t interfere. Did Jeffrey know about you?”

“No, he didn’t. Because of his suspected underworld associations inherited from his father, I couldn’t have him knowing about me. Penny kept assuring me Jeffrey was entirely honorable, but frankly, Penny could be incredibly naive. She knew how important anonymity was to me, though, and she kept me a secret. We talked on prepaid cell phones so calls couldn’t be traced. We met briefly in Central Park. Later, Penny would bring Willow to the park for me to see, and as she got older, we taught her to call me Badge so that if she ever mentioned me, Penny could say she meant the cops wearing badges that patrol the park.”

“When Willow kept saying ‘badge’ in the emergency
room, the doctor and I thought she was referring to the badges worn by police at the scene.”

“Even now she doesn’t know my real name. Penny said Willow could start calling me Tyler as soon as they were safe.”

“Safe from what? I still don’t know why Penny ran away.”

Someone rapped softly using the knocker on the large, wooden front door, and Diana jumped. “Oh God, who’s that?” she asked, grabbing Tyler’s arm.

“Well, most killers don’t knock to announce their arrival. It’s probably a cop.”

Diana huddled on the couch while Tyler strode to the door. He was at least six-foot-one with wide, muscular shoulders, a toned body, and an almost catlike grace—the kind that in an instant could turn into the strong, agile moves of a dangerous adversary. Diana realized how much safer she felt with Tyler there tonight. If he hadn’t stayed, she would have lain in her bed wide-awake and trembling all night, even if Simon had allowed her more than one tranquilizer.

Tyler opened the front door, and Diana crept to the entrance of the library. A patrolman said, “They’re finished searching the woods for tonight. Just thought I’d tell you they’ll be leaving now.”

“Find anything?” Tyler asked.

“Some kind of white robe. Big thing.”
Flowy,
Diana thought, remembering how Willow had described it. “It’s bagged as evidence and forensics will see what they can recover from it. Other than that, they didn’t find anything. They’re going to take another look around tomorrow in the daylight, though.”

“Good. And you’re going to keep twenty-four-hour surveillance on the house.”

“Well, we’ll do the best we can, but I don’t think we have the manpower for constant surveillance.”

“Do you mean that after what happened, you’re going to leave these people unprotected?”

“That’s not what I said.” The patrol officer sounded nettled. “I said we’re going to do the best we can. I know you’re from New York City and this isn’t New York, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have crime here—it’s not confined to the Van Etton house.” The man apparently took a deep breath. “Look, maybe you should take this up with the sheriff tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Tyler said easily. “I didn’t mean to jump down your throat. I just care a lot about these people.”

“I understand.” The patrol officer’s voice sounded more affable. “I’ll be leaving now, but we’ve got two guys in the car out front. Hope the rest of the night goes well.”

“I don’t see how it could get much worse,” Tyler said dryly, and the patrol officer laughed as Tyler shut the door. He turned and looked at Diana hovering in the door. “He said they found a white robe in the woods.”

“I heard. The one worn by Willow’s guardian angel, of course.”

Tyler’s gaze traveled over her, swathed in heavy blue fleece. “My, you do go in for the sexy nightwear, don’t you?”

“Clarice and I have traded robes. You should see the one I gave her on the first night she stayed here. It was a gift from my ex-mother-in-law meant to inspire unbridled passion in her son. I think Clarice took one look at it and was ready to run for what was left of her home.”

Tyler walked toward her and put his arm around her waist. “Well, she didn’t, and from what I’ve been able to see, she seems to fit right in with the Van Etton household.”

“Especially its master. Do you know Simon not only took her to church yesterday but also stayed for the service? I can’t remember the last time Simon entered a church.”

“Not for your wedding?”

“I was married in a judge’s office. No frills. I didn’t feel like I’d even gotten married.” She steered Tyler back to the couch and they both sat down, their bodies touching,
their faces inches apart. “Now tell me about Penny’s marriage.”

Tyler reached for his glass and emptied the remaining vodka. “Well, Penny seemed really happy the first year of the marriage. She immediately went on a self-improvement kick. She took lessons to lose her New York accent, which was fairly strong. She spent hours reading etiquette books and books about gourmet foods and fine wines. She seemed more eager to become a ‘lady’ than to run around buying expensive clothes and jewelry. She wanted Jeffrey to be proud of her. Of course, she was never going to be accepted by high society—not a former stripper—but she didn’t know it, thank goodness. That would have broken her heart because she thought Jeffrey was an integral part of that world.” Tyler rolled his eyes. “He wasn’t. Blake Wentworth was, but not Cavanaugh.”

Diana frowned. “Did that bother Jeffrey?”

“I don’t think so. He’s not a social creature, if you haven’t noticed. But Wentworth lowered his participation in that world nevertheless. I think he did it out of consideration for Jeffrey.”

“Also Lenore?”

“Probably. I don’t think she’s considered one of the social elite, either,” Tyler continued. “Anyway, Penny was thrilled when Willow—or Cornelia, as Jeffrey insisted she be named—was born. She doted on the baby and she was disappointed that Jeffrey didn’t. She said he loved Willow but he just wasn’t demonstrative. Still, things began to go downhill after that. Jeffrey spent more time away from the apartment. He’d work until ten at night and leave at seven in the morning. When he went on trips, he took Lenore and Blake but not Penny. I could tell she was unhappy. Then Jeffrey assigned Penny a bodyguard. She wasn’t supposed to go anywhere without this guy.”