Lucky Charm (21 page)

All Sharon could do now was throw herself into the search for her blackmailer…and see what happened between her and Richard when all was said and done.

 

D
EREK DROPPED
H
OLLY OFF
with his father for lunch. No sooner was she gone than he turned to Gabrielle. “What was in the note?” he asked. He'd been dying to know for the past half hour.

“A name.” She pulled the paper out of her bag. “Does the name Harry Winters mean anything to you?”

Derek narrowed his gaze. “That's the guy who lives near my uncle Edward. His only neighbor. If anyone in town is as much of a loner as my uncle, it would be Harry Winters.”

Gabrielle leaned back in her seat. “Any idea why Mary Perkins's former assistant thinks the name would be important to me?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. I'll tell you on the way.” He shifted the SUV into Drive.

“On the way where?”

“To pay Mr. Winters a visit. I think we're about to make the connection between who wants you out of town and why.”

Ten minutes later, Derek pulled onto the long road that led to his uncle's house. He'd visited Edward on his arrival back home, but he hadn't been here since. He had his reasons.

Gabrielle glanced out the car window at the trees lining the road. “Are those jujus?” she asked, incredulously staring at the items hanging from tree branches.

Derek nodded. “How the hell do you know about jujus?” He hadn't known until his most recent visit.

Apparently his uncle had decided to do whatever he could to ward off the curse and any other impending evil by learning about New Orleans voodoo. He'd decided to obtain jujus—objects made from something that had once been alive, tree bark among other things—as protection.

“You've obviously never read one of my books!” she said, laughing and accusing him at the same time.

His face flushed hot. “Guilty. I've always been curious, but I don't get a lot of time to read.”

She shook her head softly. “It's okay,” she told him. “I'm just busting your chops. But you can't conduct research on the paranormal and odd cultural beliefs without coming across at least one reference to jujus.”

They came to the end of the road where two lone houses came into view.

“Is that a
totem pole?
” She leaned forward in her seat.

He nodded and groaned. “You can get a better look up close. There are several of them. My uncle heard that they offered protection. He took it a little far,” Derek said wryly.

“You think?” Her sarcasm and amusement were clear.

He parked and turned her way. “I can't leave my SUV in plain view and not stop in and say hello to my uncle. If he makes you uncomfortable, you can wait here. I won't be long.” Derek started to get out of the vehicle.

“Wait!” Her eyes lit up unexpectedly. “I'd love to say hello to your uncle.”

“And get a look at his craziness firsthand?” He'd hoped to keep his ornery uncle and Gabrielle far apart. “He may be a recluse, but he isn't so isolated that gossip doesn't reach him. I'm sure he knows by now that you're writing about the curse. You can see how far he'll go to keep it from touching him. I doubt he's pleased you're stirring that pot.”

She unhooked her seat belt. “I really don't mind if he's a little gruff with me. I understand his point of view. But even your father softened enough toward me to take Holly so I could stay with you until things blow over. And we washed Fred together without incident. I'll be nice to Uncle Edward. Take me with you, please?” She clasped her hands together in mock begging.

“You don't know Uncle Edward,” he warned her.

She rolled her eyes. “I can handle him.” She'd already opened the car door and scrambled out.

Derek drew a deep breath and joined her.

They reached the front door and he rang the bell.

“Red dust,” she murmured, kneeling down to run her fingers over the dust at the entrance of the house.

“That I can't explain.”

“I can,” Gabrielle said. “New Orleans tradition holds that if you clean the front steps with red brick dust, it protects the entrance and keeps bad energy and negative people away.”

“Figures.” He rang the doorbell once more.

The door opened no more than half an inch. “Who's there?”

“It's your nephew, Derek.” He shot Gabrielle an “I told you so” look.

Edward opened the door the rest of the way. “You aren't alone.”

Derek shook his head. “No. Do you remember Gabrielle Donovan? I went to high school with her.”

“The one who's writing about the curse that's destroyed our family?”

Derek tipped his head toward her.

Gabrielle stepped forward. “Mr. Corwin, I'd love to talk to you if you'd let me in. I have nothing but the utmost respect for what you and your family have been through.”

“Nope. Not talking. Anything I say can and will be used against me.” He slammed the door closed.

“They don't call him a recluse for nothing.” With a shrug, Derek grabbed her hand and started back down the walk. He hadn't come to see his uncle, anyway.

“This trip has already revealed a lot,” Gabrielle said.

“Such as?” He couldn't imagine what she'd discovered.

They walked across her uncle's driveway and headed to the place next door.

“The jujus, the hermit lifestyle. I've been taking mental notes on what they looked like so I can do some research into exactly what evil your uncle hopes to ward off, how he thinks they'll work, things like that.” Gabrielle's voice sounded more animated with each word she spoke. “Since I'm planning to write about the effects of a curse on a real family, I can use everything I saw today firsthand.”

“I'd rather you didn't write about the insanity that runs in my family,” Derek muttered.

She yanked on his hand, pulling him to a stop.

Turning, he met her gaze.

“There is no insanity in your family.” Her eyes flashed with sincerity, which surprised him.

She didn't think his uncle was nuts?

“Look, I was a psychology major and I understand that people react to events in different ways. Your uncle retreated into himself. That's not unusual. People also look for ways to protect themselves. Cut him a break. I promise you I will.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I appreciate that.”

“I'm glad. What I write will be factual, not derogatory in any way.”

“I appreciate that, too.” Derek squeezed her hand tighter. “Ready to move on to Harry Winters?”

She nodded. “I hope he's more talkative than your uncle was.”

“He wouldn't have to say much in order to do that.”

Knocking on Harry Winters's door didn't elicit a response.

Gabrielle let out a sigh of frustration, but Derek knew Winters had to be home. He never went anywhere else.

“Let's go around back. There's a pond there. He might be outside,” Derek said, unwilling to give up.

They rounded the back of the house and started down the hill leading to a large pond. Sure enough, a man sat beneath a tree, staring out at the water beyond.

“He can't be any older than his midforties,” she said, obviously surprised.

She shoved her hands into her shorts pockets and followed Derek down the rocky path.

Derek drew a deep breath. He knew more about Harry Winters and his background than he'd told Gabrielle. But he wanted her to hear the truth from the man himself. Then Derek could help her put things together and figure out how to solve her problems.

“Mr. Winters?”

The man didn't stop staring out at the water. “Who wants to know?”

Gabrielle stepped forward, but Derek touched her arm to stop her. He wanted to be the one to introduce himself and ease into conversation.

“I'm Derek Corwin, your neighbor Edward's nephew.”

“Bully for you. What do you want with me?”

Gabrielle knelt beside to the man. “My name is Gabrielle Donovan. I'm with Derek, but I'm really the one who needs to talk to you,” she said softly.

“About what?” he asked in the same monotone voice he'd used since they'd arrived.

Gabrielle swallowed hard. “I've been having some problems since I arrived in town.”

“What's it to me?”

At least he was curious enough to ask, Gabrielle thought. “I'm an author and I'm writing a book about Derek and Edward Corwin's family history. The Corwin Curse, to be exact.”

Without warning, the placid man scrambled to his feet, his eyes wide with fear. “I don't want to hear any more.” He bolted for the house.

Gabrielle rose. but before she could take two steps toward him, she twisted her ankle. “Ouch.” She hobbled the rest of the way up the hill and was grateful to see Derek had managed to corner the man before he could lock himself inside his house.

Gabrielle joined them.

“Are you okay?” Derek asked.

She nodded. “I just twisted my ankle getting back up here. I'll be fine.”

Derek placed a hand on her back and together they faced the frightened man. “We don't want to hurt you,” he said.

“Or scare you.” She spoke quietly. “It's just that someone's making things really difficult for me. They obviously don't want me to write about the curse. I've had a note left telling me to leave town or else. Then someone keyed my car and broke into both the boarding house where I was staying and my apartment in Boston. I'm just hoping you can help me.”

Harry Winters wrapped his arms around his waist and leaned against the slatted wood of the house. “Why? What's it got to do with me?”

“I was hoping you could tell me that. You see, earlier today, someone handed me a sealed envelope, and inside it had your name written on a piece of paper.

“Who gave it to you?” Harry asked.

“I don't know. She said she was once Mayor Perkins's assistant.”

“So she can join the club.” He laughed wryly.

Gabrielle sucked in a surprised breath. “You were the mayor's assistant, too?”

He shook his head. “No, she's just had a long line of fired assistants before one of her granddaughters was old enough to work with her. That family carries power throughout the line, you know. Especially those witches named Mary. They continue the legacy throughout the generations. Make no mistake. One Mary is as evil as the next.”

It seemed a ridiculous notion to think any Perkins woman named Mary was a witch, just as it seemed silly to believe the Corwin men were cursed by them.

Gabrielle thought about the mayor's assistant and the obvious flaw in Harry Winters's reasoning. “Mayor Perkins's granddaughter's name is Elizabeth.”

He nodded. “
Mary
Elizabeth Perkins. She goes by her middle name so as not to be confused with her grandmother.”

Suddenly the note on the mayor's door made sense. It had been signed “M” and Gabrielle had thought Mary Perkins had signed it. But then the mayor had told Lauren that Elizabeth had left the note for her. Of course the sisters would use their given names with each other. And besides, Mary Perkins would probably have signed “Grandma” when leaving a note for her granddaughter.

But just because the women had a similar name didn't make Elizabeth evil. She wasn't going to argue with a man who'd been driven to living in isolation by his demons.

“Nobody knows what Mary Perkins is capable of better than me,” he continued. “I had the misfortune to run against her in one of her early mayoral campaigns.”

“What happened?” Gabrielle asked.

He settled his back against the house.

Sensing the man was caving in, Gabrielle joined him, ignoring the dull throb in her ankle. She'd deal with it later. Derek remained standing, more of a lookout than a participant.

“Campaign issues happened. I tried to run a clean campaign on the issues that should have been important to the community, but Mary Perkins didn't play by anyone's rules but her own. Everything came back to her status and power. Power she had no intention of losing.”

“I don't understand,” Gabrielle said.

“Obviously you
do
understand or you wouldn't be here. She went after me. And now she's going after you. Mary Perkins doesn't care about fairness. The only thing that's important is power and winning
at any cost.
”

G
ABRIELLE STARED AT THE MAN
in disbelief. “Mary Perkins wants me gone? She's behind everything?” She shouldn't be surprised and yet…“Tell me more.”

“She never fails to remind people of the family curse, but not in public. Not in her speeches. In private. When asking for donations. When she's trying to push her own agenda on town council. She achieves her goals by frightening people into submission. And as you've no doubt seen and heard, people need only look to the Corwin men as proof of her point.”

Gabrielle winced, not looking at Derek. “Go on.”

“I tried to bring her dirty dealings out in the open. There was a Fourth of July gathering in the center of town and we were each making a speech. All I did was say that votes must be earned, and curses were only in people's minds.” He cleared his throat, glancing out in a fog once more.

Gabrielle waited him out.

Finally, he continued. “My life went downhill after that. A picture surfaced of me and a prostitute. At first, it came to me alone with a note threatening to reveal it if I didn't drop out of the race. It didn't matter that I swore up and down it wasn't me, I couldn't prove it any more than I could prove Mary Perkins was behind it.
But I knew.
”

Gabrielle shivered because she knew, too. And now she knew who was behind Sharon's pictures reemerging. Mary Perkins had somehow gotten ahold of them. Sharon and Richard were off talking to her ex-boyfriend. If he hadn't sold them to Mary Perkins, she'd found another way to get her hands on them.

“So what did you do?” Gabrielle asked. Because she knew this man hadn't gone from being a mayoral candidate to a hermit over some photographs. There had to be more.

“I refused to give in to the blackmail, of course. I was young and brash and I believed in integrity. I thought I could beat her despite it all. I never got that far. Shortly afterward, my wife had a car accident. It looked like she lost control of her vehicle, even though it wasn't raining and the roads were in good shape.”

“You don't believe it was an accident, do you?” Gabrielle asked soberly.

From everything Gabrielle had heard so far, Mary Perkins wasn't just arrogant, she was evil. And that scared her. Not because Gabrielle believed in witches or curses, but because she feared what the woman was capable of if her power was threatened.

He shook his head. “The police
said
they didn't find anything and I had no choice but to believe them. Personally, I think someone sabotaged the car. At the time, though, I was too busy with my gravely injured wife to give much thought to the car. She recovered eventually, but was left with tremors and paralysis on one side. I stayed by her through the whole ordeal, but she never forgave me for not dropping out of the race and preventing the whole thing.”

Gabrielle shook her head sadly. “I'm sorry.”

He shrugged. “So am I, but it doesn't change anything.”

It did for Gabrielle. She wasn't stupid. She was petrified for Sharon and Richard, who were also in Mary Perkins's direct line of fire. And she was a little scared herself. She now knew who wanted her not just out of town, but away from the subject of the Corwin Curse.

Was she going to give in?

No way in hell.

Gabrielle was more determined than ever to beat Mary Perkins at her long-standing game.

 

G
ABRIELLE CALLED A MEETING
. Since Holly was already at Hank's place, Derek had asked his father to keep her busy for another hour or so. He also promised her that he'd take her out for a father-daughter dinner later on tonight. Gabrielle knew Derek felt guilty moving her out of his house and she understood why he'd want to hang out with her alone. As for Gabrielle, she'd spend the evening safe in Derek's house, with its locks and alarm system.

Sharon and Richard met up with them at Derek's place.

“It looks like we have a common enemy,” Richard said after they'd discussed the situation. He stood in the center of the family room, his suit and groomed appearance giving him an air of authority. A conservative air.

Gabrielle knew he loved Sharon deeply. Yet at the same time she could see how the renewed threat had changed their relationship. Sharon needed to find the strength that had carried her once before if she was going to get through this challenge. Sharon loved and wanted to marry Richard. She needed to have more faith in him and in herself.

Sharon shivered. “It's just hard to believe one woman can be so evil.”

Gabrielle nodded. “So addicted to power that she'd hurt people to keep it.” Gabrielle rose from the couch. “Well, it's time to bring this all out into the open. Do we all agree on that?”

“Depends on your intended method,” Derek said, leaning forward in his chair. “I don't want either you or Sharon putting yourself out there as a target.” His gaze bored into Gabrielle's.

Clearly that comment had been intended more for her than Sharon. Did he really think she'd let Mary Perkins hurt more people? “To start with, we should agree to stay the course. Nobody should change their plans at this stage,” Gabrielle said.

“Now, that I agree with,” Derek said. “I'm not suggesting anyone pull back or run scared.”

Richard nodded. “Certainly not.”

Sharon merely listened. She seemed preoccupied with more than just her blackmail situation. Gabrielle would have to have a long talk alone with her friend later.

“The thing is, I don't think staying the course is going to be enough to get the reaction we need from Mary. We need to step things up pretty quickly. Richard needs not to just continue his campaign but to be as vocal as possible about running on merit and not fear,” Gabrielle stressed. “Discuss the good mayor's family history with the curse and get people discussing it. Better yet, get people
questioning
it.”

This time she let her stare linger on Derek as she lay down the challenge, not just for everyone in the room, but for him and his most personal beliefs.

He raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

But she wasn't finished. “In the meantime, I plan to start writing my book. I'll interview as many people as possible and make my presence and my topic known.” And once everyone began gossiping about Gabrielle Donovan's book on the Corwin Curse and Mary Perkins's desperation to cling to the perception of it, Gabrielle had an even bigger plan.

One she wasn't ready to share with her friends. Especially not with Derek, whose scowl only seemed to grow larger with each word Gabrielle spoke.

“Why in the hell would you want to deliberately antagonize a woman who will go to any lengths to get her way?” Derek asked, furious.

“It seems obvious to me. The only way to prove what Mary Perkins is capable of is to lure her into getting caught. If we keep the pressure on her from both ends, she's going to get nervous and screw up.”

“Whether she screws up or she succeeds, someone is going to get hurt. That's her MO and I don't want it to be you.”

“Would you rather I sit back and do nothing?”

“Yes!”

“Hold on!” Sharon jumped up and stepped between them. “Fighting with one another is not going to get us anywhere.”

Richard nodded. “I agree. Let me see what I can find out about the guy who wanted to buy the photographs. Maybe he'll give us a legitimate connection to Mary Perkins, although I'm sure she's insulated herself. There are probably layers of people between Mary and those who do the actual dirty work.”

Derek inclined his head. “I think that's a good idea.”

Gabrielle clapped her hands together. “Okay, then, now that that's been decided—”

“You'll do nothing until we see what Richard turns up?”

She gritted her teeth and forced a smile at Derek. “Nothing except what it usually entails to write a book.”

Which she knew involved a lot more than sitting behind a keyboard and doing nothing. But what Derek didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

 

D
EREK DROVE
H
OLLY TO
T.G.I. Friday's for dinner. She picked at her chicken fingers and fries, something completely out of character for his daughter, who usually dug into her meals with gusto. Especially meals he had nothing to do with preparing.

“What's wrong?” Derek asked.

She glanced up at him with sad eyes. “I dunno.”

“Yes, you do. So out with it.”

She laid down the french fry she'd been playing with. “I don't understand why we had to leave Gabrielle home to eat alone.”

Derek sat back in his booth, surprised. “Am I such lousy company? I thought you'd want to spend some time alone together, since you've been sleeping at Grandpa's.” He'd thought Holly would be feeling left out and maybe even resentful of Gabrielle's sudden presence in his life.

He and his daughter had just started bonding when Gabrielle had returned, and now his former flame was monopolizing his time. He couldn't imagine that his daughter didn't have a problem with it.

“I just think it's rude, that's all.” Holly stared into her plate. “And I don't mind being at Grandpa's. Fred is there and it's not like I never see you. It's fine.”

“You miss hanging out with Gabrielle, too.”

She nodded.

He signaled to the waitress and she walked over to the table. “Can I help you?”

“Would you mind wrapping this up? We've decided to take it to go,” he said, winking at Holly.

Her eyes lit up at the idea.

“Can you add a Caesar salad with grilled chicken to the order?” he asked.

She nodded and strode off.

“Thanks,” Holly said, smiling.

He returned the grin, but inside his stomach was churning. Holly was turning Gabrielle into part of their family.

And not only was he allowing it, he was even starting to like it.

 

G
ABRIELLE HAD BEEN ABOUT
to pour a bowl of cereal and curl up on the couch to watch television when Derek and Holly arrived with dinner. She'd been pleasantly surprised, especially when she'd discovered that Holly had been the one wanting to include Gabrielle. She understood Derek's need to spend time alone with his daughter, so she'd happily agreed to do her own thing for dinner. It meant a lot to Gabrielle to realize that Holly didn't resent her for displacing her in Derek's house.

They'd enjoyed a relaxed meal while watching
The Devil Wears Prada,
Holly's choice and current favorite movie. Derek had an issue with the PG-13 rating, but since Marlene had sent the movie along with her daughter's clothes, he couldn't very well argue. Holly was bright for her age and Gabrielle thoroughly enjoyed her. In fact, she had so much fun with the father-daughter duo, she was downright nervous.

Nothing in life came with a guarantee, least of all Derek. And the thought of losing all this as quickly as she'd discovered it scared her beyond reason. Although she couldn't control the outcome, she darn well planned to do her best to sway things in her direction, beginning by
not
manipulating or pressuring Derek in any way.

He'd just walked Holly over to his father's house when his telephone rang. She hesitated a second, then decided, what the hell. She picked up the receiver. “Hello?”

“Um…I think I have the wrong number,” a female voice said. “Is this Derek Corwin's residence?”

“Yes, it is. I'm sorry. He stepped out for a minute. Can I take a message?” Gabrielle glanced around the family room and found a pen and paper beside the phone.

“Is Holly there?” the woman asked.

Realization dawned. She must be talking to Derek's ex-wife, Gabrielle thought, a wave of emotion she couldn't name washing over her. “Actually, she's with Derek,” Gabrielle said vaguely.

She wasn't sure what Marlene knew about the shift in living arrangements, and Gabrielle wasn't going to be the one to tell her.

“Who is this, anyway?” the other woman finally asked.

Gabrielle swallowed hard. “Um…”

The front door opened and Derek stepped inside.

“Here's Derek now,” Gabrielle said gratefully. “Hold on, please.”

She covered the mouthpiece and waved the phone toward Derek. “It's Holly's mother,” Gabrielle mouthed to him.

He winced and settled onto the couch beside her, taking the phone from her hand. “Hi, Marlene.” He glanced at his watch. “Is everything okay?”

He listened, then said, “Why? Because it's late for you to be calling.”

Gabrielle rose and started to leave the room to give him privacy, but he cleared his throat loudly. She turned and he waved her back.

With a shrug, she took a seat at the other end of the couch from him, curling one leg beneath her.