Their Seductress [The Hot Millionaires #1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (18 page)

“Not a lot to tell. Greg wanted me to fuck Ellie while he watched.” Nick shrugged. “Who was I to object?”

“You became more than just an employee, buddy,” Isaac said. “I happen to know that Ellie valued you as a special and trusted friend.”

“I like to think so. I’m the keeper of some of her most intimate secrets, and they’ll go with me to the grave.”

“Well,” Paige said, sliding onto Nick’s knee and wrapping her arms round his neck, “Ellie was pretty good at summing people up. She must be, otherwise how did she finish up with us three?”

Nick laughed. “There is that.” He dropped his head and kissed Paige, hard and deep. “She loved us all, just like I’m falling in love with you,” he said when he finally broke the kiss.

Paige offered him a seductive smile. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Stick around, babe. I ain’t even started yet.”

“Your turn, Isaac,” Paige said. “How did Ellie come to adopt you and Doug?”

“It’s not pretty.” He shot her a significant glance. “Sure you wanna know?”

“Of course we do.”

The doorbell sounded.

“Guess my story will have to wait,” Isaac said, looking pleased to be let off.

“I’ll get it,” Paige said, sliding off Nick’s lap and heading for the door, wondering what it was in Isaac’s past that made him look so uncharacteristically reserved. She had never seen her handsome alpha male anything other than one-hundred-percent self-assured. Well, he wasn’t off the hook. She would remember that he owed them an explanation, even if he tried to wangle out of it.

She returned moments later with Lieutenant Weir in tow. This time he had another detective with him, a burly black guy who he introduced as Detective Archer.

Once they were all seated, Isaac took charge, explaining that Melanie Crowther did indeed have an alibi.

“We need to know the woman’s name and the place where they met,” Weir said, after he’d heard Isaac out without interruption.

Paige noticed Detective Archer summing them all up—especially her—without trying to pretend otherwise. He was a young guy, well built, nice looking. Their gazes clashed, and something briefly passed between them. Paige wasn’t precisely sure what it was. It didn’t really matter anyway. She returned her attention to Isaac’s conversation with Weir.

“We’ll tell you that if you still think you need to know,” Isaac said. “There’s more yet.”

“I’m listening.”

And Detective Archer was taking notes. Unlike last time, this meeting was obviously on the record.

“I’d stake my reputation on Talbot’s story being true. So would the others.”

Paige and Nick dutifully nodded. “He had no reason to kill Ellie that we’ve been able to unearth,” Paige confirmed.

“Motives,” the lieutenant said with a martyred sigh. “The bane of my life.”

Nick laughed. “Kinda goes with the territory, I guess.”

“True. Problem is, despite what the moviemakers would have you believe, people are seldom motivated by anything as obvious as jealousy or ambition. You wouldn’t believe some of the justifications I’ve heard from murderers during the course of my not-so-illustrious career. Sometimes people have just looked at them the wrong way and that’s enough for them to lose their lives.” Weir shook his head. “Sorry, I interrupted you.”

“Talbot went to the restaurant alone, hoping to see a woman who always eats there,” Isaac said.

“Only that particular day she was in a hotel with Crowther,” Paige added, giggling.

Weir elevated his brows. “Busy lady.”

“We’re about to disprove your popular motive theory by telling you we’re pretty sure Ellie was killed by her stepdaughter,” Isaac said, almost casually.

When the lieutenant exchanged a loaded glance with Archer but didn’t say anything, Paige broke the silence. “You don’t seem very surprised,” she said.

“We had wondered about her, as it happens. The family are always the first suspects in cases like this. We just couldn’t find anyone with evidence of anything other than peace and love between the two women.”

Isaac chuckled. “Which immediately made you suspicious.”

“When something’s too good to be true, it almost always is.”

“Right.”

Isaac filled the lieutenant in on his chat with Mike.

“Well,” Weir said, scratching his head. “That does rather make her look guilty.”

“But how did she do it if she was in that restaurant?” Paige asked.

“The restaurant is literally across the street from Carter Promotions. You can be from one place to the other, three minutes tops. We know because we’ve tested it out.”

“Three minutes to leave the restaurant, go through the parking lot in the office building, make it up to the sixth floor and reach Ellie’s office?” Isaac’s expression was skeptical. “Seems tight, but if you say it can be done, I’ll take your word for it.”

Isaac ran one arm along the back of his chair, shifted his weight sideways, and leaned casually back as he waited for the lieutenant to say more. Paige couldn’t take her eyes off Isaac, drawn to him even more powerfully than when they were having sex. His rugged good looks, the way his eyes darkened when he was thinking or aroused, amused even, compelled her. Hell, what was it with her? She emphatically
did not
want to get emotionally involved with Isaac Drake.

“Lowell told us he took a call from a client during his lunch with his wife,” Weir said.

Isaac nodded. “He told me that, too. And I know he did because the two of us had a meeting with that client just yesterday, and the guy referred to their discussion.”

Archer referred to his notes. “Someone called Forster from out of town?”

“That’s him. He’s an up-and-coming pop star we’re trying to cultivate.”

“Good luck with that,” Weir said, shuddering.

“We got a warrant for Lowell’s cell-phone records. The call did take place, and it lasted for fifteen minutes.”

Isaac shrugged. “So?”

“We also got the CCTV footage from that restaurant. Lowell and his wife were arguing before the call came through. Several other diners remembered them because of that and remarked that they were loud enough to disturb them. Lowell took the call, and his wife went to the restroom almost immediately.” He paused, presumably for effect. “When she came back Lowell was just wrapping up his call. The CCTV confirms what time she left and when she came back, so there’s no disputing that.”

“She was in the john for fifteen minutes?” Nick grimaced. “That’s stretching it a bit, even for a woman.”

“That’s what interested us.” The lieutenant cleared his throat. “You see, the corridor that leads to the restrooms also leads to the back door of the restaurant. A door which is even closer to the Carter office building than the main one.”

“Ah!” Isaac and Paige spoke together. “So she could have done it like that.”

“Yeah, but we had no motive, nothing more than speculation to back up our theory—until now.”

“Is there a camera in that corridor to the restrooms?” Nick asked.

Weir shook his head. “That would be too much to hope for.”

“So,” Isaac said, “you now have a whole pile of circumstantial evidence. Motive, means, and opportunity but no actual witnesses.”

“Precisely.”

A gloomy silence settled over the room.

“Ellie’s body has been released,” Paige said slowly.

Weir nodded. “We know.”

“She made specific provisions for her funeral and wake in her will. The wake is to be held here, her body is to be—” Paige gulped against the need to cry and continued. “She’s to be cremated and her ashes scattered by the three of us off the dock.”

“What’s in your mind, babe?” Isaac asked softly.

“Well, the wake. It would be the most natural thing in the world for me to consult Lana about the arrangements.”

“No!” said Isaac and Nick together.

“Forget it,” Isaac said alone, scowling at her.

“You don’t know what I was going to say.”

“Yeah I do. You were going to suggest inviting Lana here and talking to her on your own, trying to get her to say something incriminating.”

“Not on my own. You two big bold protectors could hide in the camera room, just like you did when Melanie and Peter Talbot called round. I’ll be quite safe.”

“That might work,” Nick said.

“No it wouldn’t.” Isaac continued to glower at her.

“It worked with Melanie and Talbot.”

“Eliminating people who aren’t guilty is one thing. If Lana really did kill Ellie then she won’t hesitate to kill again if she thinks she’s been rumbled. It takes a minute to get from the control room to the house. She could do anything in that time.”

“Besides, it would be entrapment,” the lieutenant said. “A decent lawyer would ensure that nothing she said was admissible.”

“Oh!”

“Look,” the lieutenant said, standing up. “I appreciate your help, but leave it to us from now on. Now that we know who we’re definitely looking for, we’ll delve a bit deeper. We’ll start by revisiting some of the people from that restaurant. See if any of the women remember seeing Lana Lowell in the restroom. See if any of the kitchen staff, out the back having a nicotine fix, remember seeing her come out that way.” He shrugged, not looking too optimistic. “Cases have been broken on less.”

“Will you pull her in?” Nick asked.

“Probably not yet. I’ll speak to my superiors, but I suspect they’ll tell me to hold off until we have more to go on.”

“I thought you were under pressure to get a result,” Paige remarked.

“We are, but we won’t achieve that by warning our prime suspect that we’re on to her. She’ll lawyer up, play the part of the wronged, dutiful stepdaughter, and we’ll never get anywhere.”

“I see.”

Paige nodded to both men, and Nick showed them to the door, leaving Isaac and Paige alone. She was acutely aware of him watching her with unnatural stillness. The dark weight of his gaze, the intensity in his expression, unsettled her, compelling her to speak.

“What is it?” she asked softly.

“I think you know.”

Paige didn’t want to understand him and shook her head emphatically. “You’re upset about Lana.”

“I don’t give a shit about Lana. She’ll get what she deserves one way or another.”

“What do you mean?”

Before he could answer, Nick returned and the moment had passed.

“It’s all a bit of a mess, isn’t it?” he asked, topping up Paige’s wine and breaking out fresh beers for him and Isaac.

“I have a horrible feeling that Lana will get away with it,” Paige said, throwing her legs over the arm of the couch and settling moodily into its corner. “It’s so unfair!”

“We can’t do anything else,” Isaac said. “You heard the lieutenant. We have to let him do his work.”

Yeah, Paige had heard him, but that didn’t mean she had to like it.

“Detective Archer was kinda cute,” she said, just to annoy Isaac.

“Not my type.”

“Oh, I think he was mine. Did you see the size of his feet?”

Both men spluttered with laughter.

“Aren’t the two of us enough for you?”

“It’s been so long since I had you that I can’t remember.”

“Come on, sweetheart. You look beat.” Isaac smiled at Paige. “Time for an early night.”

“Oh goodie!”

“Not that sort of night, greedy. I thought we’d already established that your lovely body needs a break.”

“No, that was your idea, Mr. Bossy. I don’t recall agreeing.”

“Makes no difference.” He bent down and plucked her from the couch, straight into his arms. “Come on, we’ll tuck you in.”

“I’m only here until after the funeral. Why waste time?” Isaac flashed an infuriating grin, like he knew something about her plans that she didn’t. “What?” she demanded.

“Nothing.”

Paige mangled her lower lip between her teeth, determined that he wouldn’t have the last word. “If you don’t want to stay with me, I’m sure Nick does.”

“Sorry, love.” Nick winked at her as Isaac carried her up the stairs and he tagged along behind. “I agree with the boss here. You’re beat.”

“Bah men! Such bullies, all of you.”

“And you love us for it,” Isaac said, dropping her on her bed and placing a chaste kiss on the top of her head, treating her like she was a small child.

“Aren’t you going to undress me?” she asked, slanting him a flirtatious glance.

“Not a chance.” He chuckled. “You’re a big girl. You can undress yourself.”

“Scared you won’t be able to control yourself?”

“Got it in one.”

“’Night, babe,” Nick said from the doorway. “Sleep well.”

“Fat chance of that,” she said, throwing a pillow at the door as it closed behind them. “Talk about dictatorial.”

It was very quiet in the room without her two hunks dominating it, dishing out orders and making her dance to their tune.