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“What about it bothers you?” Adeline asked.
He turned patient blue eyes to her. “Growing up with Livia as a mother taught me many things about deceitful people, but she was a special case. She had an assortment of husbands she used to her advantage, worked with a criminal organization, and trafficked drugs and people.”
“People?”
“Don’t forget murder,” Jeremy added. She may have added Tess to her list of victims.
“Yes, that, as well. I often wonder how she ended up so evil,” Knox said. “Her half brother was a serial killer. Maybe that’s what turned her into a sociopath. Maybe it’s in her blood.”
“If she’s still alive, she’s definitely capable of evil,” Adeline said.
What hadn’t that woman done? Hearing Adeline’s skepticism, Jeremy subdued his rising irritation. Didn’t she see why he and Knox were so concerned that Livia still walked the earth?
“That’s putting it mildly. Her family history is only part of her character,” Knox said. “On top of murder and trafficking, you can add kidnapping. She kidnapped my sister Claudia’s mother and took Claudia from her real Russian family. As an adult Claudia hired a PI and is now reunited with them.”
“She fell in love with the PI,” Jeremy added.
“Yes, she did. Hawk Huntley. He’s a good man. I’m glad she found happiness after all she’s been through.”
“You’ve all been through a lot because of Livia,” Jeremy said.
Adeline looked thoughtfully at Jeremy. Would she finally buy into his reason for thinking Livia could have killed Tess? He wondered if asking her to investigate had been a mistake. But then he remembered her pregnancy and the secret feelings he’d had back then, and the feelings that had renewed when he first saw her come into his office. Desire. The mother of his child...
No matter how many times he told himself the real reason he’d asked her here was for her expertise, he couldn’t get past the secret feelings. Guilt stabbed as always whenever he thought of Adeline that way. He’d loved Tess.
“Your security company said someone entered the code around the time the burglar broke in,” Knox said.
That’s what Jeremy had figured. “Then we should talk to my ex-nanny, and maybe my general counsel, Oscar Biggs. He came to me and confessed he had an affair with Livia long before he also had an affair with Tess, and that he met with Tess the day of her accident. He said she wanted to get back together and he declined. She supposedly left upset because of that.”
“When did they meet?” Knox asked.
“Oscar said for a late lunch the day of her accident,” Adeline answered.
“Her accident happened later than that,” Jeremy said.
“Much later,” Knox added.
“Excuse me, Sheriff.”
Jeremy turned to see one of the deputies holding a small device in his palm. “We found three of these planted throughout the house. We’re searching for others.”
Knox took the object and held it up. “It’s a listening device.” He looked at Jeremy. “Whoever planted them wants to know what you’re doing.”
“With Tess’s accident?” Adeline asked, her voice full of disbelief.
“What other reason could there be?” Knox asked. “This has the earmark of Livia if I’ve ever seen one.”
Jeremy nodded, glad he at least had the sheriff on his side. “Have you or your siblings heard from her?”
Knox scoffed. “If I had, do you think any of us wouldn’t let the Feds know?”
Jeremy didn’t doubt they would, but he might ask anyway.
* * *
Late the next afternoon, Adeline walked with Jeremy down the sidewalk downtown. They were going to stop in Claudia’s boutique to ask her about Livia when they saw her leave and duck into an Italian restaurant. They followed.
Jeremy held the door for her and Adeline couldn’t help a tiny warm smile at his considerate gesture. Claudia went to the bar area and sat with a menu. Adeline admired her black lace, fit-and-flare dress with horizontal stripe detail breaking up the floral pattern.
Adeline stopped just behind Claudia, Jeremy to her other side. Claudia didn’t seem to notice them, too involved in the menu.
“The usual to go?” the bartender asked her.
“I think I’ll try something new this time.” She closed the menu and looked up at the bartender. “What do you recommend?”
“The chicken piccata and the herb-grilled salmon are my favorites. The salmon comes with broccoli and is a lighter option, which you seem to prefer.”
“Great. I’ll try the salmon, but I’d better get Hawk something else. How about the chicken for him?”
“You got it.” The bartender took the menu and poured her a glass of water. “Can I help you folks?” he asked Adeline and Jeremy.
“No, thanks, we’re here to see her.” Jeremy pointed to Claudia, who paused as she lifted the glass to look at him.
“Jeremy Kincaid?” Swiveling the bar stool, she smiled up at him and then caught sight of Adeline. “And a friend.”
He smiled. “Hello, Claudia.”
She put her hands on her thighs. “Knox told me you had an eventful night.”
“Someone broke in and tried to plant some bugs,” Jeremy said.
“That’s what Knox said. He also told me you might come talk to the rest of the Colton clan. I haven’t heard from Livia and I’m sorry to say that I’m very glad about that.”
“When is the last time you did hear from her?” Adeline asked.
“I’m sorry again, I didn’t get your name.” She tucked a few strands of her long, blond hair behind her ear.
“I’m being rude,” Jeremy said apologetically. “This is Adeline Winters. She’s a private investigator.”
“Ah.” Claudia frowned. “Did you hire her or do the two of you have a thing going?”
“I hired her.”
Why had she asked if they had a thing? Was their attraction that obvious? Or maybe they looked good together.
Claudia eyed Adeline and then Jeremy. “But possibly something going on?” She winked. “It’s been a while since Tess’s accident. We all would love to see you moving on. Such a tragedy. How are you and Jamie doing?”
“We’re doing quite well. Even better now that Adeline is here.”
Claudia sipped her water through a straw and then put down the glass. “Having her around is probably good for Jamie. And you. But why the need for a private investigator?”
“He thinks Tess was murdered and Livia might have been behind it,” Adeline said, hoping she didn’t sound too cynical. She caught Jeremy’s look and felt his offense. She didn’t mean to be offensive; she just thought Livia killing Tess was a little far-fetched. She needed proof. That’s why she’d become a PI. Her brain was hardwired that way. He was just going to have to adjust.
“Oh.” Claudia glanced at Adeline and then stared at Jeremy. “Why do you think Livia killed her?”
“She had relations with a man Tess saw before she met me and frequently made comments about how much she disliked Tess.”
“So you think she was jealous?” When Jeremy let his original statement answer for him, she went on. “That woman has haunted us all and we’ve thought her responsible for many bad deeds, not all of them attributable to her.”
“Which is why I need to check her out.”
“Why do you think I would know anything about her? I’m hoping she’s dead like the sheriff’s department has assumed.”
“She hasn’t contacted you? She still thinks of you as one of her own, most likely,” Jeremy said.
“She hasn’t contacted me. If she survived that accident, she’d be careful not to get caught,” Claudia said.
Adeline couldn’t agree more.
“Unless I see her body, I’m not making any assumptions,” Jeremy said.
“You’re right. Unless there is a body, we can’t be sure.” Claudia’s shoulders trembled. “The idea of that makes me shiver.”
Claudia had likely come a long way since reuniting with her biological family. Adeline saw the pretty ring on her left finger and surmised her life had blossomed in other ways, as well. Life without Livia had grown rather rosy for her. Adeline wished she could find a real family and have her very own happy ending.
“What if she did survive?” Claudia asked, looking back at Jeremy.
“Then I’d like to find her,” Jeremy said.
“And if she didn’t kill Tess?” Adeline had to ask.
“Then I’d still feel good about helping to bring her back to prison.”
Adeline wondered. He seemed hell-bent on proving Livia killed his wife, as though that would somehow heal the injustice of her death. Losing a loved one so abruptly couldn’t be easy, but she thought perhaps he dealt with other issues. Maybe he’d gone through the grieving process but still hadn’t gotten past Tess’s alcoholism.
“No one else has heard from her, either,” Claudia said. “Knox already asked everyone in the family. He said he was going to call and let you know. We’ll see if there’s any indication Livia still has deputies on her payroll, too.”
“Thanks.”
“And we’ll let you know if we do hear from her or find out she’s lurking somewhere.”
Hiding out. Jeremy had a powerful sense that’s exactly what she was doing. Laying low somewhere.
The bartender appeared from the kitchen carrying a bag. As he put it on the counter, Adeline smelled the food and her stomach growled.
Claudia paid for her order and then stood with the bag. “I’d stay and chat, but Hawk is waiting for me.”
“Good seeing you again.” Jeremy stepped back and out of her way.
“Nice meeting you,” Claudia said to Adeline. “We should get together sometime.” She held up the bag of food. “Maybe dinner?”
“We’d love that,” Adeline said, feeling Jeremy’s head jerk her way as though her ready and eager response had surprised him.
Maybe she’d even surprised herself. Meeting up with Claudia and Hawk seemed like a good idea, maybe because Claudia seemed so nice. Adeline liked real people like her. She sensed no pretense from the woman, only genuine friendliness.
When Claudia disappeared from view, she glanced at Jeremy. Why did they remain standing there? Claudia’s air had left them in the wake of her loveliness.
“Why don’t we stay for dinner?” Jeremy asked. They’d found a sitter for Jamie, who wouldn’t expect them until later.
“I haven’t had Italian in a long time. Sure.” She was starving anyway.
They approached the hostess, who led them to a cozy, white-linen-covered table nestled in a corner booth. This began to have a romantic feel. Adeline sat across from Jeremy and put her attention to the menu. The grilled salmon had smelled wonderful but she had a hunger for more traditional Italian fare tonight.
The waiter brought warm bread and Jeremy ordered a bottle of white wine that would go well with her chicken marsala.
“I think Jamie is improving with you in the house,” Jeremy said.
He’d ascertained that so soon? “Really? How so?”
“He’s having pancakes for the first time since Tess died. I tell him things about his mother so he grows up with a sense of who she was. She used to love pancakes.”
Adeline had made pancakes for breakfast this morning. She also loved them and felt odd that Tess also had. Even more, she felt odd that Jeremy had called Tess Jamie’s mother.
“He perked right up when he smelled them. Didn’t you notice how happy he was?”
Yes, she had. Sometimes she just stared at his adorable face. She wanted to permanently imprint the images in her brain.
“I thought he must be like that all the time.” She buried the spark of good feeling and the desire to remember Jamie’s cuteness. Memories like that would become painful if she couldn’t be with him as his real mother.
“No. He’s been quiet and unsocial. I’ve been thinking about taking him to therapy, but now I don’t think I need to anymore.”
He thought she was therapeutic? And did she really have that much of an effect on Jamie? More of those good feelings surged up. If Jamie responded so positively, he must sense—even subconsciously—that she was someone close. Or maybe the way she treated him gave him that message. He was her son and she loved him. He must feel that love.
Should she be alarmed? She neither wanted to lead him to believe she’d be around nor allow herself to become too accustomed to being with him. In the end, if she had to give him up again, she’d go through agony, more than she had when she’d given birth to him.
She caught him watching her and saw his awkward glance away. He’d made the comment but now must wish he hadn’t. Her having such a positive influence on his son suggested she might be a good addition to his recently reduced family. That presented a contemplation too serious for the near future.
The waiter delivered the wine and poured them each a glass. Adeline relaxed back against her chair and enjoyed a slow sip along with a break in conversation.
“Why haven’t you had any kids of your own?” he asked.
So much for avoiding this kind of talk. Had he recovered so quickly from his last observation? Why did he ask that? Putting her glass down, she said, “I...don’t really want kids.” That wasn’t entirely true.
“Really? Why not?”
She couldn’t say that giving up Jamie had been too painful to consider having another. She’d feel as though she were trying to replace him. Did they have to talk about such a sensitive topic?
“I want to focus on my career.”
“But you seem like such a natural with Jamie.”
“Well... I did give birth to him.”
That drew a smile from him and he didn’t comment further.
“Why haven’t you seen any other women?” she asked. She’d been curious of that for a while now. “It’s been a long time since Tess died.”
His smile vanished and he put his glass of wine down. He rested his hands on the table and looked at her as though thinking how best to respond. She doubted he did anything without doing that, without thinking things through. That’s probably how he’d become so successful.
“I guess I didn’t want to see any other women,” he said at last. “I loved Tess, and to have that taken away so abruptly, so unexpectedly, changes a person.”
She could certainly see that. She also felt a little disconcerted, being attracted to him and hearing him profess his love for his wife. Competing with the memory of another woman didn’t seem wise.
“Are you afraid to give love a second chance?” she asked.
“I’m not sure I’d call it fear. I don’t have any desire to feel like that again.”
“Love?”
“No, the pain of losing the love.”
She lowered her eyes, no longer able to meet his, and fingered her silverware. Could she say she’d been in love? She’d thought she had been, once. Then he had shown his true self and she couldn’t possibly have loved that person. She’d loved the man he’d presented to her, though, a kind, mild-tempered man.
In Jeremy’s case, she had some reservations that perhaps what he experienced might be magnified by the way he’d lost Tess, so suddenly and with a young child. Did he really love Tess that much? If so, she wanted no part in competing with that.
“I have to admit,” Jeremy went on, surprising Adeline, “I held back with Tess because I knew she was a recovering alcoholic and I worried if she’d truly conquered that. She attended AA meetings but that started to taper off. I worried mostly for Jamie’s sake. Now that she’s gone and I discovered she had lost that battle, I feel partly to blame but also angry with her for keeping that a secret and for not getting help. It makes me wonder if she ever really loved Jamie as much as I did.”
“I’m sure she did. Alcoholism is a disease. Maybe she wouldn’t have drunk if she could have helped it, especially with Jamie in her life. I don’t think she was irresponsible. She had a problem and, yes, she should have gotten help. Maybe she would have if the accident hadn’t robbed her of the chance.” She looked around the restaurant as the few memories of Tess came to her, smiling, sunny Tess. She faced Jeremy again. “She seemed so much stronger, like she could beat it.”
He nodded. “She was strong, up until she started drinking again. I should have seen the signs.”
“You can’t hold on to regret.” Was that what he was doing? He professed his love for Tess, but in the next breath had confessed he hadn’t trusted her. He’d even said he’d held back.
Adeline grew uncomfortable with the way she internally rationalized his thoughts in a way that might open a door for her to pursue him romantically. That could come with some ramifications. He seemed reluctant to love, period.
“Why haven’t you ever married?” he asked, startling her some. Why had he asked such a question?
“I’m only twenty-seven.”
“That’s marriage age. You’ve gone to college, you’re established in your career. Aren’t you ready yet?”
Was he asking for himself or in general? She found she hoped for the former. “I was in a serious relationship for a while. I met him in college. He told me he was going on to law school. After we graduated, we lived together. I got to work and he never went to law school. He also didn’t get a job—not any job.”
“You supported him?”
“Yes. He was looking for an easy way out. I don’t think he ever really wanted to work. I think he looked for a free ride, and I was it. I heard him talking to one of his friends who must have asked why he wasn’t working and he said he didn’t have to because his girlfriend made enough money. I asked him to leave the next day. He refused, so the next time he left to go out, I threw all his things outside, changed the locks and got a restraining order. He tried to beat the door in. He did break a window. Luckily the police arrived right after that, or he might have climbed in and attacked me. Scariest night of my life.”
Jeremy’s jaw had opened farther as he listened. “Did he abuse you?”
“No, never. He never lost his temper before that, either. And I never saw him again after that night. I heard a few months later that he was working as a waiter somewhere and living with his parents.”
“Everybody’s got to start somewhere.”
She laughed shortly at his sarcasm. “I sometimes shudder to think I almost married him.”
“He asked you?”
“All the time. But I didn’t trust his unemployment. I didn’t really mind making all the money. I actually felt proud, accomplished, empowered as a woman. I just didn’t like feeling used.”
Jeremy’s mouth had closed by now and he looked fondly at her, turning his wineglass in a circle. “Did you love him?”
“I think I did when we moved in together.”
“But then he showed his true colors?”
She liked that he was so intuitive. “Yes, I suppose so.”
“How long ago was that?”
“Gosh. Four years now.”
“And you tell me it’s been a long time since I lost Tess.” He chuckled softly, and then sipped his wine.
Their food arrived. Adeline started eating, all the while wondering how much her experience with her ex-boyfriend had tainted her appetite for love...or men. She looked across the table at Jeremy. She certainly had nothing to fear from him in the way of finances. With him, her apprehension in getting involved centered on Jamie and Tess. Even now a chill seized her when she thought of the day she’d have to leave. She’d lose her son all over again. She didn’t think she could survive that.
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