Read Sealed with a Kill Online
Authors: Lucy Lawrence
Sealed with a Kill (14 page)
“Or . . .” Brenna scooted up the wall to glance back out the window.
“Or?” Tenley prodded.
“One of us could chum up to Brian and see what he can tell us.”
Tenley suddenly turned pale and sweaty.
“Are you all right?” Brenna asked.
“Just a little stomach sick.” Tenley swallowed convulsively.
“That bad, eh?” Brenna asked. “Well, don’t worry. I wasn’t thinking you should be the one to approach him. He knows you; he doesn’t know me. I’ll be less suspicious.”
Tenley blew out a breath and nodded. “Sounds like a plan. I don’t think I can face Siobhan right now.”
“Let’s see what we get from Brian first,” Brenna said. “Then we can go after Siobhan.”
Brenna watched Tenley leave. She still looked a little pale, and Brenna was worried for her friend. This situation with her father was really stressing her out. Brenna wished she could help more, but until they had some idea of who could have shot Harvey, Tenley’s father would likely stay in the hot seat.
She needed more information on Lester and Morse, Inc., and there was only one person she knew who might have that information: Dom Cappicola.
He answered on the third ring. “Hey, gorgeous.”
“Hi, Dom,” Brenna said. She felt her face grow warm.
“Don’t tell me; let me guess,” he said. “You’ve decided you’re madly in love with me and you want to run away with me.”
“Uh . . . no. Besides, I hear you have a new ‘gorgeous’ in your life,” she said. Okay, she was prying. She knew it, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself.
Dom laughed. “Oh, no, there’s only one ‘gorgeous’ in my life. There is, however, a ‘beautiful.’”
“Really,” Brenna said. “Do tell.”
“No can do,” he said. “You aren’t by any chance jealous, are you?”
“Certainly not!” Brenna insisted. She winced as soon as the words escaped, knowing that she’d said it with entirely too much force.
Sure enough, Dom chuckled. “If you say so.”
“I do,” she said, but she could still hear the amusement in his voice.
“So, what can I do for you this fine morning?” he asked.
“I am wondering if you’ve ever heard of Lester and Morse, Inc.?”
“The electronics import company? If I remember right, my father tried to buy them a few years ago.”
“Really?”
“Yes, but they held him off.”
“So, it was more of a takeover type of thing?”
“When my father was in charge, everything was a takeover sort of thing.”
“Ah,” Brenna said. “Would you have any information on them?”
“Because . . .”
Brenna grabbed her hooded sweatshirt and stepped out onto her porch. She glanced at the smooth lake and admired the way the colorful trees were reflected on its glassy surface. How much should she tell Dom? Enough for him to gather information but not so much that it would cause him problems.
She sat on one of the padded chairs that faced the water and propped her feet up on the rail.
“I am just wondering if you know anything about their current financial situation,” she said.
“You want me to use my contacts to substantiate the rumors that Lester wanted out and Morse couldn’t afford to buy him out so Lester was looking to sell his half to a rival company that would essentially shut them down?”
“Is that true?” Brenna asked. “How do you know these things?”
“I’m good at what I do,” he said. “Besides, Lester approached me a few weeks ago. I turned him down, and last I heard he was planning on selling to a rival, who would close up Lester and Morse for good.”
“You are good,” Brenna said.
“Who’s good?” a voice asked.
Brenna dropped her feet and spun around to see Nate stepping up onto her porch.
“Oh, hi,” she said. “Be right with you.”
Nate nodded and leaned against the rail, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Don’t tell me; let me guess. It’s
him
,” Dom said.
him
,” Dom said.
“Correct.”
“So, are you two a thing yet?” he asked. “I figured my showing up with you the other night would motivate him to get off his butt.”
“Yeah, not that I’ve noticed,” she said.
“Does that mean I can ask you out and you’ll say yes?”
“I don’t know about that,” she said. “Sounds as if you’re busy.”
“You
are
jealous. Nice. You know I can always make time for you. All you have to do is say the word,” he said.
are
jealous. Nice. You know I can always make time for you. All you have to do is say the word,” he said.
Brenna was silent, unsure of how she felt about this turn of events.
“I’ll do some more digging and see what I come up with,” he said.
“Thank you,” Brenna said. “And if you come across the name Brian Steele, I’d be very interested to know what you find out.”
“On it,” he said. “See ya, gorgeous.”
Brenna felt Nate watching her and was chagrined that she couldn’t keep her face from turning red.
“Dom?” he asked.
“Yeah, he’s looking into something for me,” she said.
“The Lester murder,” Nate said.
“Not exactly,” she said.
“But . . .”
“He might have some information about their business for me,” she said. “I’m curious to know what their financial situation is.”
“Why not ask Mr. Morse?”
Brenna tried to imagine it. No, that conversation would not go well no matter how circumspect she was.
“I thought so,” Nate said. He took the seat beside her.
“You really need to stay out of this. Chief Barker will figure out who shot Lester.”
“But it doesn’t look good for Mr. Morse,” Brenna said.
“If he’s innocent, then he has nothing to fear,” Nate said.
“But Tenley is worried, and she’s asked for my help,” Brenna said. “How can I refuse?”
Nate sighed.
“Can I ask you something?” she asked. “What do you know about Siobhan?”
“Not much,” he said. “She’s young and cute and seems to be well educated. Why?”
“She knew Harvey Lester,” Brenna said. “She was seen at the Willow House with him the week before he died.”
Nate raised his eyebrows. “What does she say about that?”
“That they just met, that she didn’t really know him.”
“But you don’t believe her.”
“I don’t know,” she said. “It seems like quite a coincidence.”
“Morse Point is a small town,” Nate said. “It seems perfectly reasonable that she might have met him by chance.”
“Really?” Brenna asked. He sounded like he was defending Siobhan, which she found extremely annoying.
“I think it’s suspicious.”
“You think everything is suspicious, and yet you’re friends with a known mobster,” he said.
“He’s not a mobster,” Brenna protested. “He’s trying to turn the family business legitimate.”
“So he says. I don’t think you should be hanging around with him. It’s just asking for trouble.”
“Why are you being like this?” she asked.
“Like what?” he asked. He rolled up from his seat to stand and then began to pace.
“Argumentative—no, bossy.” She stood, too.
“Maybe it’s because you’re so stubborn.”
“I am not.”
“Are you going to keep nosing around this murder?” He stopped in front of her and planted his hands on his hips.
“Yes, my friend asked for my help, and I’m going to give it to her.”
“See? Stubborn,” he snapped. With that, he turned on his heel and stomped off the porch. Brenna watched him stride across the lawn, still muttering to himself.
“Huh.” She turned and stomped back into her cabin, slamming the door behind her so that it rattled on its hinges. She hoped he heard it.
Chapter 13
“How do you know he’s going to be at the Fife and Drum at eight?” Brenna asked.
“I called my dad’s secretary and had her call Brian and tell him to meet my father there.”
“And she did it?”
“Of course,” Tenley said. “I told her that I was calling on behalf of my father because he’s so busy.”
“You realize you’re going to be in the soup if Brian questions your father and he questions his secretary and she tells on you.”
“If my father goes to jail for a crime he didn’t commit, then it’s worse than the soup. The Morse family goose is cooked. This is just a little white lie.”
Brenna spun away from her closet. “Okay, how do I look?”
“Fabulous,” Tenley said. She looked over Brenna’s gray jersey Vanessa Bruno curve-hugging, asymmetrical dress and sighed. “You had such a fabulous wardrobe when you worked at the art gallery in Boston. Do you ever miss it?”
Brenna knelt down and straightened the lace on her black Burberry lace-up ankle boot. They were pretty and delicate, but the heel was higher than she was used to and she could feel her feet already beginning to protest.
“Honestly?” she asked. “No. I loved working with the artists and their work, but the snooty clients? Not so much. I like it here.”
Tenley gave her a fierce hug. “I’m so glad.”
Brenna saw the sheen of tears in Tenley’s eyes.
“Hey, are you all right?” she asked.
“I’m fine.” Tenley waved her hand. “Just a little overtired.”
“Well, let’s get this over with so you can try and get some shut-eye tonight,” Brenna said. “You need your rest.”
“Why? What makes you say that?” Tenley asked. Her eyes were wide, and she looked the teensiest bit paranoid.
“Because you have a business to run and you can’t do it if you’re falling asleep at the cash register,” Brenna said. “Now, come on, let’s focus.”
“Oh, yes, of course, you’re right,” she said. “Okay, let’s go over the plan in the car.”
Brenna locked her cabin door behind them as they made their way to her Jeep. She couldn’t help but notice that Tenley had been behaving oddly lately. They had to solve Lester’s murder, and soon. If Tenley got any jumpier, she was going to give herself a heart attack.
Brenna sat at the bar, sipping the Chardonnay Matt had poured for her and trying not to look out of place. Tenley had posted herself by the door to signal when she saw Brian arriving.
At ten minutes to eight, Tenley walked over to the bar and ordered a cranberry spritzer. This was her signal that Brian was just entering the room. Then she disappeared so that he wouldn’t see her.
Brenna tossed her hair over her shoulder and tried to look casual. The tall, dark-haired man she recognized as Brian sat down at the bar several stools from her, and she sighed. She had hoped he’d sit beside her to make chitchat easy, but no.
He was busy tapping on his smartphone and barely looked up from it to order a beer from Matt, so Brenna took the opportunity to study him. Matt delivered the beer and tried to engage him in conversation, but Brian merely grumbled and turned his back to him. Obviously, he was lacking in social skills, which could explain why he and Siobhan were such a good fit.
Matt came over to Brenna and rolled his eyes. “You look amazing. The man must be completely nearsighted.”
“Or just uninterested,” Brenna said. She took a hearty swallow from her wine. “Wish me luck. I’m going in.”
She slipped off of her stool, feeling as if everyone in the bar was watching her, which was ridiculous. Most of the people were on dates or watching the sports channel on the TV behind the bar.
She strode the three stools to where Brian sat, still tapping away at his phone, and sat on the vacant seat beside him. She crossed her legs where he could see them. Nothing. She tossed her hair. Nada. She leaned provocatively against the bar. Zip. She debated smacking the phone out of his hands but thought that might be construed as rude and not get her the information she was seeking.
“Come here often?” she asked.
“Huh?”
Brenna resisted the urge to sigh. Instead, she forced herself to smile and repeat, “Do you come here often?”
“No,” he said. He finally looked up, and she got her first real look at the hotshot young exec Tenley’s father had been trying to get her to date.
He was good-looking in a corporate way. The close-cropped short hair, the fitted suit, the small frameless glasses, the pasty skin from too much time spent in fluorescent lighting. Yeah, he had it going on in a buttoneddown sort of way.
Now that he was looking at her, Brenna turned up her smile and said, “I’m Lynn.” She figured it wasn’t really a lie if she gave him her middle name, and this way, if Siobhan had ever mentioned her name to him, he wouldn’t put it together.
“Brian,” he said.
“So, what do you do, Brian?” she asked.
He looked left and right, as if scouting the nearest exit. Brenna couldn’t blame him. If the conversation grew any more boring, she’d be looking to escape herself. It was five minutes past eight o’ clock. He was probably wondering where Mr. Morse was.
With a sigh, he answered, “I work for an electronics import company.”
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