The Secrets She Kept (16 page)

“Kind of.” He didn’t seem to notice that she was wearing yesterday’s clothes. Fortunately, he wasn’t the most observant kid in the world. Over the years, she and Landon had had very little marital strife, so their children weren’t trained to look for signs of trouble.

Her son yawned as he came over to give her a hug. The pressure of his body was reassuring, so reassuring it was difficult for Rocki not to hold him a few seconds longer. “What’s for breakfast?” he asked.

“Cereal?”

“You always make pancakes on Saturday.”

The complaint in his voice told her he wouldn’t be happy to settle for anything less. “You’re not tired of pancakes?”

“No. I love them.”

“Right. Then...pancakes it is.”

He flopped onto the couch and used the remote to turn on the TV while she took her phone into the kitchen. She managed to get all the ingredients out for buttermilk pancakes, but then she had to pause to fight her tears. Why was Landon doing this? She hadn’t gotten
that
angry last night, still couldn’t figure out how their argument had ignited. The way he was acting, she had every right to question his whereabouts, his actions and his motivations...

Her phone rang and she snatched it up to check the caller ID.

It wasn’t her husband; it was Maisey.

She stared at her sister’s image on that small screen, wondering if she could rein in her emotions long enough to have a conversation that didn’t include tears. But every time her thumb hovered over the accept button, the lump in her throat swelled and she knew she wouldn’t be able to talk without breaking down. So she let it go to voice mail.

He’ll be home soon
, she told herself.

* * *

“Why would your mother have this picture on her computer?”

Keith had no answer. Chief Underwood had brought his mother’s phone and her computer to Coldiron House, and they were both seated at the dining room table. She’d logged on to his mother’s laptop and had shown him exactly where she’d found the picture—in a file named “Tuesday.”

“Keith?” she prompted when he didn’t reply right away.

It felt odd looking at something like that for a lot of reasons, but especially with his grandfather, in the portrait behind him, peering over his shoulder. “I can’t even begin to guess,” he admitted. “What was on her phone?”

“Nothing like this. Just pictures of the family.”

“That’s good,” he said. “The fewer pictures she has like this, the better.”

“Isn’t one enough?”

He sighed as he remembered feeling that everything with Landon was going to be okay. That was just last night. “
More
than enough.”

“The fact that there weren’t any on her phone tells me she probably received this little ‘gift’ in an email rather than a text.”

Or she went to the trouble of saving it somewhere she thought it would be safe before deleting it from her phone.

But why would his sister’s husband be sending his mother a naked photo of himself in the first place?

“How well do you know Landon?” Harper asked.

“Not as well as I do Rocki. I’ve been on the West Coast since I left here. But she and I talk all the time, and I’ve always had the impression that her husband’s a decent guy.”

“How long have they been married?”

“They were high school sweethearts, and they’ve been a couple ever since. Went to college together and got married right after. They have three kids, one of whom is in college now.”

She put her hand on his arm in a gesture of comfort. “I’m sorry. I know this doesn’t look good.”

He frowned at the screen. Should he tell her what Pippa had told him? Why not? She’d find out, anyway. Now that she’d discovered this, she’d be asking about Landon—and if she asked Pippa directly, Pippa would probably repeat what she’d told him. His mother’s housekeeper hadn’t volunteered that information to the authorities, but she’d be unlikely to lie to them. “He came here and argued with my mother the day before she was found,” he said.

Harper dropped her hand. “How do you know?”

“Pippa saw him, heard the raised voices.”

Her lips parted in surprise. “When did you learn this?”

“A couple days ago.”

“And you weren’t going to tell me?”

“I thought it was irrelevant.”

“What were they fighting about?”

“She couldn’t tell. They stopped talking as soon as she came out of the kitchen to see what was going on. Then he stormed out. But I’ve asked Rocki why he was here. She says he tried to borrow money from Mom and the request wasn’t well received.” He left out the lie about Vegas. Landon was looking bad enough.

Harper seemed to be mulling over that tidbit. “Pippa didn’t mention Landon to
me
,” she said at length. “She said that nothing unusual occurred before your mother’s death.”

“Seeing a member of the family wouldn’t be ‘unusual.’”

“If that was the case, she wouldn’t have told you, either.”

“Everyone was saying it was suicide. Because of that, Pippa had no reason to believe that what she’d heard and seen might be connected to my mother’s death.”

Harper didn’t defend the suicide conclusion. Her expression was thoughtful as she continued to stare at the picture.

“What are you thinking?” he asked, but he was almost afraid to find out.

“You keep asking if I believe your mother’s death was a suicide.”

“And...?”

She tapped her fingernails on the table. “I’m less convinced of it now than I was at dinner. Are you sure they were arguing over money?”

He sighed. “I’m less convinced of it now than I was before.”

At the echo of her own words, her lips curved into a rueful smile.

“Why would she label this file ‘Tuesday’?” he asked, wondering if that small detail could clarify or illuminate anything.

Harper leaned back. “It’s innocuous—nothing that would attract attention if someone were to get on her computer. That’s my guess.”

That was his guess, too. Because there wasn’t one other picture or document in the same file.

“Or Tuesday held some special significance in their relationship,” Harper added. “Maybe that was the day of the week they first slept together—if they went that far.”

Keith winced at the image
that
presented, but his mind had jumped to the same conclusion. An affair. “I can’t imagine my mother would ever be interested in a man with so little money,” he said. “Landon had nothing to offer her.”

“I wouldn’t call that
nothing
.”

Keith couldn’t even laugh. He merely grunted to let her know how unappealing that comment was to him—connecting his mother to his brother-in-law as it did.

“Not only does that look like a pretty impressive...um...erection,” she said, “he’s significantly younger, and he’s attractive. Being able to catch his eye probably fed her vanity.”

If anything would tempt his mother to make such a terrible mistake, it would be her fear of getting old, her need to remain desirable. That had to be the reason Keith felt slightly nauseous. Considering the way his mother had behaved around men—the way she reveled in their attention—he could actually see something like this happening.

“She was in a relationship with Hugh before she died,” he said, but it was a feeble attempt to resist believing what he was seeing, and he wasn’t surprised when Harper immediately shot it down.

“Shocking though it may be, some women sleep with more than one man at a time. It wouldn’t be unheard of. With Hugh in Australia, they couldn’t see each other often.”

And when it came to the opposite sex, his mother had always had her pick. Old, young, it didn’t matter. They
all
loved her. Keith could see her dangling several guys at once, especially if she knew Hugh was married. She’d feel perfectly justified in pursuing other men. She could collect hearts as easily as other people collected seashells along a sandy beach.

But wouldn’t she draw the line at her
daughter’s husband
?

Keith gestured toward his mother’s computer. “Any other pictures of him on there?”

“None like that,” she said. “There are a few of him with his wife and kids. That’s it. My tech has scoured both devices.” She picked up his mother’s phone to show him the family shots.

Keith pored through the photos, grimacing when he saw one with Landon, Rocki and the kids posed in front of his mother’s ornate Christmas tree. According to the date, that was taken just a month ago at his mother’s party. There were other shots and short videos from the same night. In one picture, Keith saw Pippa carrying in a shrimp platter. In the longest video his mother had, which had obviously been taken by someone else, she presented each of the employees with his or her Christmas bonus. That included Nancy, who thanked his mother politely but didn’t seem too keen to accept the hug that went with it.

“Did my mom and Landon ever call each other?” he asked. “Text?”

“If so, she deleted their correspondence—or someone else did—before she died. The only texts that show up on her phone are to Rocki, and they’re what you’d expect them to be.”

“But you can still get any texts that’ve been deleted, right?”

“Yes. I’ll be able to see how often and how long they talked, even when they talked. And I’ll be able to read their texts. I’ve already prepared the subpoena for the cell phone company. I’ll submit it first thing tomorrow morning.”

“How soon will they respond?”

“It should take a day, maybe two.”

“That’s fast.”

“Hey, it’s the digital age.”

“Well, shit.” He scratched his head. He knew he was making his hair stand up, but he didn’t care. He didn’t like where this was going. “Are you positive he sent this picture to her?”

“It’s a selfie, Keith. How else would she get it?”

Rocki wasn’t likely to send it to her; that was for damn sure.

Keith nearly shoved the computer away. He couldn’t bear to look at that picture anymore. But then he noticed a detail that made him sit up. That tie! It was the same tie Landon had been wearing in the family picture in front of the tree. And now that Keith was over his initial shock and could focus on something besides the fact that a nude picture of his brother-in-law had been found in his mother’s possession, Keith could tell the photo had been taken in one of the bathrooms at Coldiron House. He recognized the bust behind Landon; it was in a guest suite, near the jetted tub.

So why, if Landon was staying in the house, would he send Josephine this picture?

Because they’d been flirting, and he wanted to take the next step, but Rocki was awake in the adjoining bedroom? Was he titillated by the thrill of sexting someone else right under his wife’s nose? His wife’s
mother
, for God’s sake?

“I can tell you when and where that picture was taken,” he said.

“I already know
when
it was taken,” Harper said. “December 26. At least that’s the date your mother saved the file on her computer.”

“No, it was taken on the thirteenth, the night she threw her big Christmas party.”

“How do you know?”

“Look at his tie.”

“It’s the same. I saw that. But maybe that’s his favorite, and he wears it often.”

“No. He doesn’t wear any tie often. I’m surprised he even owns one. Rocki probably bought it for the party. Anyway, he’s standing in a bathroom off one of the guest suites here at Coldiron House. He took that picture on December 13.”

“Hmm. Okay. I’ll talk to Pippa, see if she can tell me how they were acting toward each other that night.”

“She would’ve been working, very busy. I doubt she noticed. Besides...”

“What?”

“I’d rather keep this quiet if we can. The suspicion alone will destroy what’s left of my mother’s reputation. And news of this could really hurt my sister and her kids. I know it doesn’t seem likely right now, but...maybe there’s some explanation other than what we’re thinking.”

“Like...?”

“Landon was trying to send this to his wife, and accidentally texted it to the wrong person?”

“That would be embarrassing, wouldn’t it?” she said with a laugh.

“The worst possible outcome.”

“Not as bad as what we’re thinking. And it’s feasible, I suppose. Only I’d guess he meant to send it to someone besides his wife. Rocki was with him that night at the party. Why would he try to send her a naked picture of himself from the bathroom?”

Keith scrambled to come up with an explanation that would preserve Landon’s dignity. “Maybe it was a joke, a game. Stranger things have happened. But...until we know more, can we be careful with this information? Let me ask a few discreet questions to people I trust before you take this public?”

“People you trust? Who might that be?”

“Pippa, of course. And Nancy. She was at the party, too. Maybe she’ll have something to add.”

“Did you see her last night?”

He felt bad letting Harper know he’d gone to see another woman after dropping her off, but he’d already admitted his interest at dinner, so he told her the truth. “I did.”

“How’d it go?”

“Not too well.”

She chuckled softly.

“What?”

“It’s funny that she doesn’t realize how much you want her.”

“She’s not interested in what I have to offer.”

She gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Maybe she’ll move in your direction. Or—” she winked at him “—maybe you’ll move in hers.”

After he showed Harper to the door, he went in search of his keys. He was taking Nancy out for that lunch she’d agreed to. After last night, he wasn’t convinced she’d give him the time of day. But he figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask. She might be able to shed some light on how his mother and Landon were behaving at that party.

Even if she couldn’t, he wanted to see her.

15

NANCY WAS STARVING
when Keith knocked on her door. She had Saturdays off and had spent the morning cleaning, too intent on finishing her housework to take a break, even to eat. She was also afraid that if she stopped, she’d only start obsessing over last night—what she’d said and done and how Keith had responded. What on earth had possessed her to be so bold? She’d
never
been a tease, but she’d definitely been out to make Keith sit up and take notice.

And she’d achieved her goal. She’d felt so vindicated to see the desire in his eyes, that rapt look on his face. But she’d been just as affected as he was.

Anyway, he’d probably forgotten about her and her silly lingerie as soon as he drove off—went to Harper’s or somewhere else, while she tossed and turned all night, imagining his hands on her body.

“Have you come to talk business?” she asked, because she had no interest in doing anything else.

“No. I’ve come to take you to lunch. Do you have an hour or so?”

She glanced over her shoulder at the vacuum, which was still in the middle of the floor.

“Come on, Nancy. Cleaning can wait until you get back.”

He was right. She was almost done, anyway. But she hadn’t showered yet. “When?”

“How about now?”

“You couldn’t have called? I need time to have a shower and get changed.”

“I like you just the way you are.”

“Well, thanks for that, but there’ll be other people in the restaurant. Can’t we talk here?”

“We can if you’re willing to let me in.”

She remembered where that had led last night and didn’t dare take the same chance. “Never mind. I’m fine with going out.”

She expected him to chuckle at that, but he remained somber. “Thank you.”

She hurried to brush her hair into a ponytail and pull on a sweater, some jeans and a pair of boots. When she walked out, she found him wandering around her living room. “I’m ready.”

“Great. Let’s go.” He waited as she locked up. Then he gestured toward his mother’s Mercedes.

“You took your rental back?”

“Not yet. I should do that in the next few days. Didn’t see any point in letting a nicer car sit in the garage unused.”

“Makes sense.”

“Where should we go?” he asked.

“You like burgers. Why don’t we go to Billy’s?”

“What would
you
like?”

She preferred a salad. Buying that lingerie had renewed her motivation to lose those last twenty pounds—and to find someone who’d appreciate all her effort. “A salad at the Wild Rose Café sounds good to me.”

“Fine.” He opened the door for her and waited until she got in before walking around to the driver’s side.

She breathed deeply, taking in the scent of the expensive leather. She could also smell a hint of Josephine’s perfume, which made her a little uncomfortable. Fortunately, the heater came on as soon as Keith started the engine, quickly concealing that scent. But then
his
cologne reached her nostrils...

“What’s going on?” she asked as he backed out of her drive. He seemed so serious today.

He shrugged off the question. “We’re having lunch.”

“You said you wanted to talk to me. That suggests you have a purpose in mind.”

“We’ll get to it.”

“Where’s Maisey?”

“Haven’t talked to her today.”

“Maybe she’d like to join us. Should I call her?” She’d feel safer in a group, but he shot her a look that left little question as to his feelings on the matter. “You’d rather she didn’t come?”

“We’ll be fine on our own.”

They rode the four blocks to the café in silence.

“I’m sorry about last night,” she said as he parked. “I was out of line. I really can’t explain what got into me.”

“The part when you sent me home was the only part I didn’t like, so unless that’s what you’re apologizing for, forget it.”

He didn’t wait for her to respond. He got out and came around to her side. But this wasn’t a date—not to her—so she opened her own door.

He motioned for her to climb out. Then he shut the door and hit the button that would lock the car.

Although Rose’s had a brisk business in the summer, it was never very busy in the winter—except on weekends. Nancy was just regretting that she hadn’t insisted Keith wait until she could shower when her neighbor, Justin Cruz, who worked at Rose’s, said, “Hey, good-lookin’. Haven’t seen you in forever.”

“I was at your New Year’s party!”

“That was
weeks
ago,” he teased. “You should stop by the house more often.”

“I’ll do that.” She liked going there. Justin and his significant other really knew how to decorate and cook.

He nodded at Keith. “Two for lunch?”

Nancy answered since Keith was checking his phone. “Yes, please.”

Before Keith looked up, Justin waggled his eyebrows at her as if to say she’d found a “hot one,” and she gave him a slight shake of her head to let him know Keith was not a romantic possibility.

“Where’d you meet the guy who seated us?” Keith asked after Justin left them with menus and went to get their water.

“Justin? He and Tyler are partners. They live down the street from me.”

“Tyler who?”

“Broome, the owner’s son.”

“Oh! Right. I remember him. I never knew he was gay.”

“He had several girlfriends when we were growing up. He hadn’t come out then. Or he could be bi, I guess. I’ve never asked.”

“Then we’ll have to clarify
that
as soon as he gets back.”

When she glanced up, he flashed her a smile to indicate that he was joking.

“So why have you brought me here?” she asked once she was ready to set her menu aside.

He put his menu on top of hers. “Because we’re friends, remember?”

“Friends?”
She lowered her voice. “Not quite yet—I mean, if last night is anything to go by.”

“Friends with benefits if I have
my
choice. But you’re being stubborn.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re unbelievable! You were out with the chief of police only minutes before you propositioned
me
.”

“That was a business dinner.”

“Yeah, right. It looked like one,” she said with a laugh. “Anyway, the point is you have plenty of other options.”

“It’s not about options.”

“Then what
is
it about? Taking care of your, uh, needs while you’re on the island because you can’t go without for a few weeks? Or one last screw for old times’ sake?”

He scowled at her but didn’t answer. Leslie, their server, was approaching the table.

Keith ordered chicken potpie; she went with the Cobb salad.

“I need to talk to you about something,” he said once Leslie had moved away.

Nancy was surprised that he hadn’t picked up the conversation where they’d left it. “So this
isn’t
about friendship.”

“That’s a separate issue.”

Feeling both relieved and curious, she took a sip of water. “What do you want to discuss?”

“How well do you know Landon?”

He was wearing a blue sweater that molded to his broad shoulders. She found him so damn handsome—not that she cared to acknowledge that. “This is the second time you’ve brought up your brother-in-law since you’ve been back.”

“I realize that.”

“What’s going on?”

“You were at my mother’s Christmas party.”

“Yes...”

He put his coffee cup right side up and pushed it to the edge of the table. “Landon and Rocki were there, too.”

She slid her cup next to his. “They were. I’m the one who told you that.”

“I remember. Did you see Landon interact with my mother at all?”

The question was a simple one, but Nancy felt that a lot depended on her answer, and Keith was edging close to a memory she’d rather not speculate on. Something about what she’d seen that night had felt
off
, but what if she was wrong?

“I saw them interact...a little,” she hedged.

He waited for a server carrying a coffeepot to pour them each a cup. “Did that interaction seem...normal?” he asked as he added cream.

When she didn’t reply, he looked up. “No answer?”

“I’m thinking.”

“Yes or no will do. Don’t hold back. Just tell me.”

She opened a packet of sugar for her own coffee. “I’m not sure I
should
say anything. That’s why I haven’t spoken about it to anyone.”

“I’m going to share a few details with you that I hope you won’t tell anyone else.”

He was taking her into his confidence, once again involving her in his problems. She doubted letting him do that would be wise, but she was too curious to object. “Of course.”

“Chief Underwood found a naked picture of Landon on my mother’s computer.”

She’d just taken her first sip of coffee. At this, she coughed and then wiped her mouth. “What kind of naked picture?”

“What could be unclear about
naked
?”

“The intent behind it, I guess. Was it...pornographic or something else? I mean, a picture of Landon mooning his mother-in-law would be different from a picture of him...say...touching himself.”

He lowered his voice. “He took a selfie in front of a mirror while he had an erection—wearing nothing, I might add, except the tie he’d had on at the party. Does that clarify things?”

She grimaced. “I’m afraid it does.”

“I’m guessing he texted it to her that night, since the picture was taken in a bathroom at Coldiron House.”

The odd feeling Nancy had gotten at the Christmas party welled up again. “That’s...revolting.”

He sat back and studied her. “And yet you don’t sound surprised.”

“I was hoping I was wrong.”

“About...”

She took another sip of coffee because she needed an extra second to examine the memory. “I saw him...whisper to her. That’s all. A brief moment when he leaned close to her, bent his head and said...something.”

“You don’t know what?”

“No.”

“So...what makes you uneasy about that moment?”

Keith knew there had to be some hint that Landon wasn’t merely telling Josephine what he’d bought Rocki for Christmas, or Nancy wouldn’t have reservations. He watched as she put her coffee cup down.

“The way he touched her when he did it, the look on his face after. All of it. It...made me uncomfortable.”

“Did you get the feeling there was some
romantic
interest between them?”

As soon as Landon noticed she was observing them, he’d dropped his hand and straightened. “Honestly? Yes.”

When Keith propped his elbows on the table, rested his chin in his hands and began rubbing his temples, Nancy wished she could smooth his hair back or do something else to comfort him. She used to rub his back and neck when he was at his most troubled. He’d ended up resorting to drugs on some of those nights. But there’d been other instances when she’d been able to calm him.

So many people thought he’d been born with a silver spoon in his mouth and acted out in later years only because he was spoiled. They didn’t understand the abuse he’d suffered and how hard he’d tried to figure out some way to get along with his overpowering mother while still retaining a connection to the grandfather he’d adored. One had to know Josephine Lazarow to understand just how narcissistic and controlling she could be. That was why Nancy couldn’t hold any of his actions—including what he’d done to her—against him. She’d been close enough to see his pain.

Was that the reason she couldn’t get over him? Because she’d forgiven him even before he asked?

“I could be wrong,” she said. “It’s important to keep that in mind.”

He straightened his silverware. “You weren’t wrong.”

“We can’t be sure,” she insisted. “How much contact could they have had? It’s not like he’s ever
lived
on Fairham.”

“He brought his family to visit a few times each year.”

“Only once or twice—not often. If he was coming here every week or two, Pippa would know. And Rocki would probably suspect.”

“If my mother was expecting him, she could easily give Pippa the day off or the afternoon off or whatever. Pippa only works five days a week and those days are flexible. She wouldn’t know what went on in her absence. Or my mother could’ve met Landon elsewhere—someplace she considered more exciting, like New Orleans. She loved to travel, and New Orleans was one of her favorite destinations.”

This was sounding worse by the moment. “How close is New Orleans to Lafitte?”

“Less than an hour’s drive.”

“But your mother was seeing someone else before she died—someone from Australia.” Nancy toyed with the empty sugar packet next to her plate. “At least, that’s what I told myself after catching that odd...caress or whatever.”

“Hugh Pointer? He’s married, Nancy.”

She blinked at him. “Oh. Wow. You’re kidding. Did she know he had a wife?”

“Apparently she did.”

“I wouldn’t have expected her to be so tolerant.”

“That came as a surprise to me, too.”

“So, what now?”

The waitress arrived with their food. Keith held his tongue until she was gone. Then he said, “I’m beginning to wonder if Landon could’ve killed her.”

Nancy’s stomach knotted. Although she didn’t know Rocki well, she understood how deeply that would hurt her—and that it would negatively impact her kids, as well as Maisey and Keith. “That
can’t
be the case.”

“It
could
be. Which is why I’m feeling sick to my stomach.”

* * *

Rocki heard her husband’s truck in the drive. Fortunately, Zac had gone skateboarding and Chloe wasn’t due to return from her friend’s house until tomorrow. Rocki was home alone, and was so grateful for that. Coping with whatever was going on would be much more difficult if she had to suppress her emotions until she and Landon could speak privately.

Digging her fingernails into her palms, she stayed in the kitchen while waiting for him to come through the door. What would he say? Where had he gone? She’d called his parents’ house. They’d acted surprised that she didn’t know where he was and claimed they hadn’t seen him.