Delaney's Shadow (9 page)
Authors: Ingrid Weaver
Tags: #mobi, #Romantic Suspense, #Paranormal Romance, #Fiction, #Shadow, #epub
Delaney immediately envisioned a tall, dark-haired man with broad shoulders and a go-to-hell attitude. Her pulse skipped. “A visitor?”
“He said his name’s Leo Throop.”
A flesh-and-blood visitor. “He’s my lawyer.”
“A lawyer? You’re kidding. He looks just like the algebra prof I had last year.” She gestured at her elbows. “His jacket has those things on the sleeves.”
“He cultivates the rumpled look. It makes some people underestimate him.”
“I guess that’s why Mrs. W. made him show her his ID. She wanted to be sure he’s who he said he is.”
“Leo must have loved that.”
“I couldn’t tell. I know Mrs. W. enjoyed it.” Phoebe took the pillowcase from Delaney’s hand. “I’ll finish this up for you.”
“Thanks.” She turned toward the back door.
“He’s on the front veranda.”
Delaney nodded and changed direction, walking across the terrace and around to the front yard. The veranda was considered a second sitting room during the summer. Leo was in one of the wicker chairs that were grouped to the left of the front entrance. He was a plump man, so it was a tight squeeze. A tweed sport coat with suede elbow patches was draped over the back of the chair and a bulging leather briefcase rested on the floor beside him. He used the chair arms to push himself to his feet as she climbed to the veranda. “Good morning, Delaney. I hope I haven’t caught you at an inconvenient time.”
“Hardly. I was hanging up the laundry.”
He regarded her over the tops of his glasses and widened his eyes in mock horror. “You?”
“I need to exercise them,” she said, waggling her fingers. “Consider it therapy. Clothespins work just as well as the rubber ball they gave me in rehab.”
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine, thanks. How was the flight?”
“Aside from the uncivilized earliness of the departure time, it was pleasant. I learned a great deal about outboard motors from my seat mate, who was a sales rep for your local factory. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I loathe boats.”
“They’re not my favorite mode of transport, either. Thanks for coming so quickly, Leo.”
“It was my pleasure. I was planning to drop in during the weekend to check up on you anyway. This way I can bill you for the trip and the hotel.”
It was an old joke. Leo had been a frequent visitor during her initial stay at the hospital and later during the months at the clinic, both as her friend and as her lawyer. They’d first met when he’d gone to work at the same firm as her father. She could have afforded to hire a more high-power attorney, yet there was none she trusted as much as Leo, especially when it came to dealing with her stepdaughter. Stanford’s lawyer was an old friend of the Graye family and had known Elizabeth all her life, so she couldn’t gamble on his loyalty. She took the chair beside Leo’s and waited until he’d seated himself again. “I heard about the welcome my grandmother gave you. I hope you didn’t take it personally.”
“I thought for a minute she might frisk me.”
“She’s not usually suspicious of people, but the way that process server got into the house yesterday upset her.”
“I take it there was some drama?”
“I can’t blame the messenger. He was only doing his job.”
Leo took off his glasses, polished them with the end of his tie, then set them back in place, his way of signaling the conversation was turning to business. “I want to assure you, Delaney, Elizabeth has no case.”
“As far as we know.”
“There is no evidence of any wrongdoing or negligence. I’ve studied the police reports as well as the transcripts of the official inquiry and found nothing that could support her claim of wrongful death.”
“There’s nothing that contradicts it, either.”
“That reasoning will get her nowhere.”
“The ‘innocent until proven guilty’ principle doesn’t apply to civil cases, does it?”
“Correct, it’s decided by a preponderance of evidence, but the result should be the same. You weren’t responsible for Stanford’s death. It had been snowing, the road was slick, the bend was sharp, and there were no guardrails. It was only a tragic accident.”
“Then why weren’t we going home when it happened, Leo?”
“Don’t dwell on it, Delaney.”
“I can’t help it. We left the restaurant in Bedford at nine. It’s a seven-minute drive from there to the estate. The police called in the crash at one a.m., and we were almost to the Hudson.”
“There could be dozens of innocent explanations for the detour.”
“Okay, name one.”
“You could have decided to drop in on friends.”
“Stanford wasn’t impulsive. He ran his life like he ran his business, always on a schedule. And if we had visited someone, why haven’t they come forward?”
“Perhaps it was a business acquaintance.”
“That’s stretching things, Leo. Where were we for four hours?”
“Getting coffee. Enjoying the scenery.”
“It was cold and dark.”
“There were plenty of holiday lights to admire.”
She looked at her hands as she asked the question that haunted her the most. “Why was I driving?”
“Stanford could have been sleepy,” Leo replied. “Or maybe he felt he’d had too much wine at dinner.”
“He loved that Jag. He didn’t want anyone else to drive it, even me.”
“There’s really no point speculating about this.”
“You can be sure that Elizabeth has. She might know something I don’t. It’s frustrating.”
“Many trauma victims never regain their memories of an accident. You could be better off not remembering.”
She dropped the back of her head against the chair. “The doctors said the same thing, but I don’t agree. Now it’s more important than ever that I do remember. You have to admit all the unanswered questions make the accident seem suspicious. If I knew why I was behind the wheel and why we were on that road, at least we’d have a chance of gathering some corroborating evidence to prove my innocence. That would take the steam out of Elizabeth’s lawsuit.”
Leo touched her knee. “Delaney, I don’t believe she expects to win. That’s not her primary motivation for taking you to court.”
“Then what is?”
“She wants a forum to air her grievances. She’ll use rumor and innuendo to humiliate you publicly and destroy your reputation.”
Leo’s bluntness was one of the things she liked about him. But he wasn’t saying anything she hadn’t already thought of herself. “She wants to punish me for Stanford’s death any way she can.”
“Yes. She also wants to punish you for stealing her father and for beguiling him into making you his sole heir.”
Beguiling. It was an old-fashioned word, yet Stanford had used it himself. He’d maintained that he’d fallen under her spell the first moment he’d seen her. “Elizabeth never believed that the money didn’t matter to me.”
“She doesn’t know you.”
“She didn’t want to. I loved Stanford, which should have given me some common ground with his daughter, but she never believed that, either. She had trouble accepting the fact that we were happy.”
“She made no secret of her opposition to your marriage. She was very vocal about it. I believe that’s one of the main reasons Stanford changed his will in your favor. He needed to demonstrate who was in control.”
“They were a lot alike. Neither of them would accept defeat; they were too proud. I don’t believe he meant to cut her out for good, though.” She sat forward. “Couldn’t we make some kind of settlement to transfer a percentage of the estate to her? I’ve got more than enough for five lifetimes.”
“I’d advise against it. Unless she drops her suit, it would appear as if you’re attempting to silence her. That would help fuel her allegations. In fact, it would be wise to consider returning to Bedford. That would strengthen your position by reinforcing your claim to the house. It’s been vacant for too long.”
“The security company does regular checks.”
“Yes, and the yard service is maintaining the grounds, but it can’t remain unoccupied indefinitely.”
The idea of going back to the place she’d shared with Stanford left her cold. She wasn’t ready for that. Not yet. “What other suggestions do you have?”
Leo undid the clasp on the front of his briefcase, withdrew a sheaf of papers, and held them out to her. “We should come out on the offensive. Attack her credibility.”
“What’s this?”
“We’re going to sue her for slander and harassment. There are several individuals at Grayecorp who have agreed to testify on your behalf.”
“Why would they do that?”
“They’re not entirely happy with Elizabeth’s vision for the company. What’s more, her recent behavior could be viewed as irrational. They’d like to see her out.”
Rather than taking the papers, Delaney held up her palms. “No. I can’t do that to her. Regardless of our personal issues, I happen to agree with her when it comes to Grayecorp. She’s good for the company.”
“Speaking as your attorney, I urge you to reconsider. In this instance, it’s impossible to ignore what you call your personal issues. Her public criticisms of you reflect on the company.”
“She’s just lost her father. I’m not going to be responsible for her losing her position, too. Thanks to Stanford’s will, it’s the only thing she has left.”
“She’s far from destitute. She has a sizable trust fund.”
“Yes, from her mother, but nothing from her father. Even I can see that’s not fair. I want to stop her but not destroy her.”
“Speaking as your friend now, I have to warn you that your sympathy for your stepdaughter is misplaced. You persist in seeing the good in people, Delaney. It’s an admirable quality, but in this case it could hurt you.”
“Leo—”
“Kindness isn’t always returned for kindness. Neither is love. You’ve already been hurt enough.”
“I appreciate your concern, but I still owe Stanford my loyalty. I won’t deliberately ruin his daughter.”
“You owe him nothing!”
The vehemence in Leo’s voice surprised her. “He was my husband,” she said.
He pursed his lips, as if debating whether or not to continue. “Forgive me, Delaney,” he said finally. “I realize it’s your decision. I only want what’s best for you.”
“I understand. You’re a good friend.”
His silence went on longer this time. “That’s what I’ve always endeavored to be.” He cleared his throat, then tapped the papers on end to line up the edges, placed them on the table, and closed his briefcase. “I’ll leave these here in case you change your mind. As distasteful as you might find it, taking the offensive is our best option.”
THE HOUSE HAD SETTLED IN FOR THE NIGHT. NO VOICES sounded through the walls; no pipes clanged. The last guest room toilet had been flushed more than an hour ago. All was silent, apart from the occasional whisper of rustling leaves in the maples and the monotonous croak of bullfrogs in the pond. The familiar chorus used to lull Delaney to sleep when she’d been a child. It wasn’t working tonight.
Shrugging on her robe, she padded through the darkness to her bedroom window and drew the curtain aside. Mosquitoes hummed as they bumped against the screen, another sound from her childhood. The view had changed, though. The glow from the trailer park that used to brighten the sky beyond the woods was gone. Only a single light twinkled through the trees now. She looked down on the moonlit yard, then at the oak that had held her swing, and her thoughts drifted to her mother.
She didn’t have many memories of Annalee Wainright, so what she did have were precious. Besides the rare occasions her mother had played outside or pushed her on the swing, Delaney remembered her mother’s voice as she’d read to her. Annalee had loved books and had seldom been without one. Her fingers had been long and delicate as she’d smoothed her hand over the pages. Because she’d spent so much time indoors, her skin had been pale, nearly translucent. It had been her mother’s face that Delaney had pictured whenever she’d listened to a story about a fairy princess.
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