Deadly Magic (29 page)

“
There shouldn’t be anything wrong with it.” Belle screwed up her face. “It just tastes funny.”

Kyle took her fork and speared a noodle. Popping it into his mouth
, he said, “It tastes all right to me.”

“
Why don’t you throw it out Belle?” Grace asked, suddenly worried. “Call and have something delivered.”

Kyle stood up.
“I can go get you something, if you like.”

“
No.” Belle rubbed her stomach. “Actually, I’m not that hungry. I think I’m just going to go home.”

Grace turned around in her chair. “Maybe you should go to the doctor.”

Belle smiled from the door. “It’s just a little tummy ache. I’ll see you later tonight.”

Valerie watch
ed her walk out the door. “I like her outfit.”

“
Thank you. So do I.”

Kyle stood up and walk
ed to the sink carrying his lunch container. While he washed out his dish, Grace and Valerie talked about the upcoming weekend.

“Are you going out with Ethan tonight?” Valerie asked, standing up and walking to the sink.

“Yes, we’re planning on—”

“Hey, what’s this?” Valerie asked, bending down and picking up something off the floor. She held out her hand to Kyle, who was still standing at the sink.

Drying his hands on the towel next to the sink, he shrugged, as he took it from Valerie and walked back to the table. “It’s pretty.”

Grace look
ed at the golden pendant in his hand. “That’s Belle’s. It must have fallen off.”

Valerie reach
ed out and touched it, turning it over in Kyle’s hand. “It looks like the clasp is broken.”

Kyle turn
ed it back around. “No, it’s all right,” he said, fixing it to his tie.

Grace laugh
ed. “That’s too big to be a tie pin.”

He turn
ed his tie over. “My fingers are too large. I can’t close it.”

Standing up
, Grace walked over to where he was standing. Moving his hands out of the way, she closed the clasp. Turning the tie back around, she laid her hand against his chest. To her surprise, he reached out and ran his hands down her arms.

Suddenly warm
, she took a step back. “If you hurry, you might be able to catch her.”

“
She’s probably long gone now. I’ll hang on to it until tomorrow morning.” He stepped around her and gathered up the cards. “I’m going to go back to my desk. I thought of an idea for the mystery game and I want to test it out.”

“
Oh, what is it?”

He smil
ed. “I want it to be a surprise. Don’t worry, I’ll tell you when I have it worked out.”

They watch
ed him walk out of the room.

Valerie lean
ed over and whispered. “That sounded ominous.”

“
He’s been working hard on the game. I’m sure it’s completely innocent.”

“
I don’t think Belle’s sudden sickness is too innocent,” Valerie said conspiratorially.

Grace look
ed at Valerie wondering if they were thinking the same thing.

“
She seems to have put on a few pounds. I wonder if she’s pregnant. And if she is, who’s the father?”

Grace didn’t comment.

Valerie looked out the window. “It looks like there’s going to be another storm tonight and they’re predicting snow in the morning. I hope you don’t get snowed in and miss your flight, Sunday.”

“
Me either. Can you come with me tonight?”

“
You want me to go on your date with you?”

Grace shook her head.
“It’s not a date. It’s work. Ethan said he’s discovered some new information.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Grace open
ed Belle’s
closet. Belle had secreted away most of Grace’s clothes. She moved aside the dresses one by one until she came across her black cashmere sweater. Tearing off her jacket and shirt, she slipped the sweater over her head. She then dug through the clothes in Belle’s dresser until she came across a pair of black denim jeans. Next came the hunt for a pair of tennis shoes. She was just slipping them on her feet when her doorbell rang.

Quickly tying her hair into a ponytail at the base of her neck, Grace reach
ed for the front door.

Ethan
walked in.

She glanc
ed at the clock. “You’re early,” she said, as he reached out and hugged her.

“
I couldn’t wait to see you.” He looked past her head. “Is Belle here?”

“
No. I have no idea where she is.”

“
Good.”

“
Why do you say that?”

Ethan stepped back and looked into her eyes.
“I don’t think you should stay here with Belle anymore.”

“
Why?”

He plac
ed his briefcase on the dining room table. “I’ve discovered something important. I think Belle and Michael Talon killed Lily and Daniel. They’re after Straker’s millions.”

Grace shook her head.
“Straker didn’t have any millions until after his brother died. How could they have known Straker would inherit? He and Preston were estranged.”

Ethan
pulled out a dining room chair and sat down. “Because Lily knew. She had been secretly meeting with Straker’s brother. About seven months ago, she discovered that Preston was dying and sought him out, ostensibly to reunite the two brothers before Preston died. They had been corresponding for months before either of them died. She’s the only reason Preston Straker left anything to Franklin. Before she contacted him, he was going to leave everything to his nurse. Lily convinced him that Franklin was sorry for all that he had done. It was only after her contact that he changed the will leaving the majority of his estate to his brother.”

“
So, you think she told Belle?”

He nodd
ed. “I know she did. A paralegal from my office just told me that Lily and Belle were both present when Preston contacted him about changing his will. Belle knew this money was coming. Didn’t she keep saying to you not to worry? Your job was safe. She knew that Preston was dying and that Franklin was going to inherit a small fortune.”

“
That explains why she moved in on him so quickly after her godmother died,” Valerie said from the doorway.

Ethan spun around. “You scared me. What are you doing here?”

“Grace invited me.” Valerie shook her head. “I knew it. I told you Belle was up to no good.”

Grace shook her head.
“Belle doesn’t exactly strike me as that mercenary. Her father sells out shows worldwide. I’m sure she could have whatever she wanted. Why would she want Straker’s money?”

“
Independence? To get away from her father,” Valerie said.

“
Revenge too,” Ethan pointed out. “She may have blamed Lily for her mother’s death. If it weren’t for Lily twisting her ankle, she would have been on that beam that day, not Juliet. You factor in how Lily moved in on Ilya right after their mother’s death. I bet Belle has hated Lily for a while now.”

“Why wait all this time to kill her?” Grace asked. “It’s been ten years since her mother’s accident.”

“It may have been festering inside her for a while now. Let’s not forget, Lily has actually been away from the family for some time. Belle only had to put up with her every so often but then Lily and Ilya begin rekindling their friendship. I think she was worried that their affair had started back up and that’s why Belle killed her. That affair devastated her family. Her little brother ended up having to be put away because of it. It wasn’t until Franklin’s birthday bash that Belle realized her father and Lily had become romantically involved again. She probably saw Lily’s dragon pendant and underwear on the floor and realized that they had rekindled their affair.”

“
Rekindled?” Valerie snorted in derision. “Please, they probably never stopped having an affair.”

“
She must have blackmailed Tabitha into helping,” Ethan said.

“
And then killed her and Daniel to keep them from talking to me,” Grace said. “How does Michael fit into this?”

“
She’s using him,” Ethan leaned forward excitedly. “I called a couple of friends in Paris and I got hold of the police department there. I started asking questions about Lily’s stalker who apparently committed suicide. They told me that the young man didn’t die, instead he was transferred to hospital for evaluation.”

“
What was his name?”

“
They wouldn’t tell me. He was a juvenile, but” he raised his hand, “I found out the hospital he was taken to. They wouldn’t give me his name either, but I asked them if his name was Michael Talon.”

“
And?”

“
They stumbled around a bit, before repeating they couldn’t confirm or deny. They hesitated just enough to make me think I was right. He’s so in love with her, it would be easy for Belle to wrap him around her finger.”

“He was missing quite a lot during
Dragovich’s performance,” Valerie said.

“But
he was present when Lily fell from the scaffolding and Belle was standing right next to me when Lily died,” Grace pointed out. “That’s the problem. We still don’t know how Lily was killed or even how Daniel was killed and until we know, we can’t really say with any certainty who killed them.”

“It has to be Belle. No one else fits,” Ethan said.

Valerie sighed heavily. “What about Aleksis Dragovich? He could be our killer. He would have the same motive as Belle.”

Ethan
shrugged, “I’m sure he’s involved somehow, but until he shows his ugly face there’s nothing we can do about it.” He looked at his watch. “I’ve got to go.”

“
Go?” Grace asked in surprise. “You just got here.”

“
I know. I have an important client meeting. We’re going to court in the morning. My client’s panicking and wants to meet with me tonight.” He stood up. Leaning down, he kissed her. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Promise me you won’t stay here tonight with Belle.”

“
I’ll be fine,” she assured him.

Valerie spoke up.
“Why don’t you stay with me?”

Resolute, Grace shook her head.
“I’m not afraid of Belle. She’s not going to hurt me. It would look too suspicious if I suddenly died in my apartment with her just in the next room.”

They look
ed at her doubtfully.

“
I’ll be fine. I promise.”

Valerie admitt
ed defeat. Turning to Ethan, she asked, “You want to split a cab.”

He look
ed back at Grace, reluctantly he agreed, but not before urging her to get some protection.

Laughing
, she handed him his briefcase and pushed him out the door. She waved as he walked to the elevator.

Valerie start
ed out the door before turning around suddenly and sitting back down at the dining room table. “Grace, go back to Colorado. Please.”

“
I’m going to be fine, Val. Everything’s going to be all right,” she said with more confidence than she felt.

“
Promise me, Grace,” Valerie said, “promise me that you’ll be extra careful. If Ethan is right, you could be living with a murderer.”

“
I’ll be careful, Val.” She crossed her heart. “I promise. I’m just going to turn in early. If anything happens I’ll give you a call.”

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

“You should sue. You shouldn’t put up with a hostile working environment.”

“
Yes, I know, Mr. Hutchinson. You keep saying that,” Grace moved the phone to her other ear. “I just want to know more about your cousin, Kyle.”

“
We should set up a client consultation. It’s perfectly free. It won’t cost you anything. Now, I understand your boss recently came into some money.”

“
How did you hear that?”

“
Ma’am, everyone knows that.”

“
You’re not from around here are you?”

“
I’ve been licensed to practice in this great state for over five years.”

“
You sound like you’re from the south.”

“
South Carolina. Born and raised.”

“
What brought you to New York?”

“
I have family in these parts, but here I am yakking your head off. You’re probably bored hearing about me. Let’s go back to you and your substantial troubles. How much do you get paid?”

Grace reluctantly told him.

“Highway robbery. Tell me does Straker treat all his employees as badly as he treats you?”

“
Well, he treats all of us about the same.”

Felix cluck
ed his tongue. “How horrible. You shouldn’t let him get away with that. Why he’s endangering your life by just having you there. Elevators that spontaneously stab people in the back. Young women being thrown down the stairs. Santas that go crazy and attack young women. It sounds like a veritable death trap,” he said, making it sound like the greatest thing he had ever heard. “How do you all survive? Maybe I could meet with you and your coworkers all at once, before anyone else meets their unfortunate end.”

“
Uh. . . No. Let’s get back to Aleksis. When was the last time you spoke to him?”

There was silence on the other end and then a chuckle.
“I’m sorry ma’am, I don’t know any Alex, or what did you say?”

“
Aleksis.”

“
No. No. I can’t seem to recall any Aleksis,” he said, seriously maiming the name. “Is that right? Or did you say Alec or was it Alice?”

“
Uh huh. Tell you what, Mr. Hutchinson, you tell your cousin, that I want to meet both of you tomorrow morning in your office. I’ll give you that client consultation you’re dying to have,” she said, before hanging up the phone.

She jumped at the sound of the phone ringing. She lifted the phone to her ear.

He was laughing at her again. She was just about to hang up when she heard,
“You’re going to die tonight.”

She slam
med the phone down. Picking the phone up, she scrolled through the previous calls. She scrolled down until she found Ilya Dragovich’s number and pressed send.

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Dragovich leaned against the wall. “This is a waste of time.”

“
Humor me,” she pleaded.

Sighing heavily, he push
ed himself off the wall. He motioned to the ladder. “Go ahead.”

A sudden feeling of dread came over her. What if she was
wrong? “No. After you.”

He
chuckled. Shrugging, he climbed the ladder to the landing, with Grace following close behind. “I can’t tell if you’re really brave or really stupid.”

Grace couldn’t agree more.

When they finally reached the scaffolding, he walked to the end and leaned against the railing, his arms crossed. Completely at ease.

Grace felt slightly nauseous.

“Well? We’re here. What was so important that we couldn’t discuss this in my office—in the morning?”

“I don’t think I have 'till the morning.”

He looked at her strangely, but didn’t say anything.

“
Lily was murdered. Somehow, someone got up here and pushed her over the railing.”

He shook his head.
“I would have seen them.”

“
Could they have worn dark clothing?”

He laugh
ed. “No,” he said, pointing up. “There’s a light right above our head. If someone were up here with Lily, I would have seen them. I saw her jump.”

“
How? Did she climb over the railing?”

Dragovich reach
ed around and unlatched the railing, pushing it to the side. “This was open.” He pointed to his feet. “Lily was sitting here with her feet dangling off the edge.”

“
But—”

“
No one, but me and my staff knew she would be up here.”

“
More people knew than you think.”

“
Even if you are right, they wouldn’t know when or where she was going to appear. Very few people knew how she was going to appear on the stage that night and like I told you before, none of us have any reason to kill her.”

“
No, but what if our killer had help. Someone who could not only tell him where Lily would be, but how your illusion worked.”