White Lies (20 page)

Restless, she stood and went to the window to look out at the pool. “I think that my finding the body this time probably was a genuine coincidence. The killer didn’t have to worry about pointing suspicion elsewhere. Everyone knew Valerie was drinking heavily and using meds.”

“In other words, your finding the body was just plain bad luck.”

“Yes.”

“All right, I can go along with that reasoning. Still, if Valerie was killed, it’s damn interesting that the murderer chose to do it while you were here in town.”

“I know. I’ve been thinking about that a lot. Why kill her now?”

“Why kill her at all?”

She turned suddenly to face him. “Jake, you were right the other night when you said that someone should have gone looking for answers six months ago. It’s a little late, but I’m going to do it now.”

His eyes narrowed faintly. “I was afraid you were going to say that.”

“The problem is, I’m not sure how to go about it. I don’t have the cash to hire a private investigator, and even if I did, I doubt he’d get far in Stone Canyon.”

“That’s a given,” Jake said. “I can’t see the fine folks out at the Stone Canyon Country Club talking to a PI, especially if they think it might involve them in a murder investigation.”

“There’s a lot of money in this town and that means there’s a lot of dirty laundry. No one is going to want it aired.”

He looked thoughtful. “Maybe you should talk to Archer before you do anything rash.”

She shook her head. “He made it clear six months ago that he wants this whole thing to go away. I can’t blame him.”

“You’re serious about looking for answers, aren’t you?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“In that case, I’ll help you.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re with me now and I can’t talk you out of this project. Doesn’t leave me much choice.”

“You don’t have to do this.”

“Yeah,” he said. “I do.”

“I don’t know what to say.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. Got a feeling we’re going to be opening up a jar of scorpions here. We’ll probably both regret it.”

Clare waited. But Jake did not say anything else. Instead, he reached for the morning paper lying on the table. He opened it to read the headlines.

Clare cleared her throat. “Uh, got any idea where we should start?”

“Sure.” He turned to the business section. “First we find out who Brad was sleeping with last year when he was killed.”

The doorbell chimed just as Clare removed her panties and T-shirt from the dryer. Jake’s footsteps sounded in the hall. She went to the door of the laundry room and listened.

“Where’s Clare?” Archer’s growl rumbled down the hall.

“She’s doing her laundry,” Jake said. “Come on into the kitchen. I’ll make some coffee.”

Clare gave the men a minute or two and then followed them into the kitchen. Archer was at the kitchen table. Jake was spooning coffee into a machine.

“Good morning, Archer,” Clare said.

Archer scowled at the sight of her in the robe.

“You okay?” he demanded aggressively.

“I’m fine,” she said. “Did you want to speak to Jake or are you here to discuss your plans for the foundation?”

“I’m here to talk to you. What the hell are you doing running around in a robe at this hour?”

“I’m doing my laundry.” She waved the T-shirt. “I didn’t pack for an extended stay here in Stone Canyon. Ran out of fresh clothes yesterday. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go get dressed.” Turning on her heel, she headed for the door. “Maybe you’ll be in a better mood when I come back.”

“Don’t count on it,” Jake said in low tones as she walked past him.

She frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Jake acted as if he hadn’t heard her.

She spun back around to confront Archer. “Am I missing something here?”

Archer glowered. “We’ll talk when you’re decent.”

She glanced pointedly down at the white robe that enveloped her from neck to toes. “I am decent.”

“You should probably get dressed, Clare,” Jake said.

She did not like the undercurrents that were flowing between Jake and Archer, but it was clear that neither man was going to explain. Probably a guy thing, she thought.

Stifling a sigh of exasperation, she went down the hall to her bedroom.

It took her only a few minutes to put on the clean panties and bra, a T-shirt and one of two pairs of black trousers. Amazing how simple it was to get dressed when one’s wardrobe was so limited, she thought. Now that she had decided to stay on in Stone Canyon for a while, she really would have to go shopping.

Extending her stay in Stone Canyon brought up other issues, she reminded herself. She was not ready to discuss her conspiracy theories with anyone other than Elizabeth and Jake. She was going to need a good excuse for hanging around, one that would satisfy Archer and everyone else who might wonder why she was still in town.

Luckily, Archer had handed her a ready-made reason for spending a little more time in Stone Canyon.

She went back into the kitchen. The bristly atmosphere had not changed. What was going on here?

“Anything new on Valerie Shipley’s death?” she asked, for want of a better ice breaker.

Archer’s expression darkened further. “Owen says they expect the autopsy results Tuesday. But he’s convinced it was an accident or suicide.”

“Seeing me the other night upset her,” Clare said quietly.

“What happened wasn’t your fault,” Archer said forcefully. “Valerie was all messed up. It’s just too damn bad that Owen didn’t get her into rehab in time. He told me she refused to go and he was reluctant to push her too hard.”

Clare nodded.

“Jake says you’re going to stick around for a while,” Archer said.

She sat down at the table facing him. “That’s right.”

“Why?” Archer’s bushy brows snapped together, creating a prickly thicket above his assertive nose. “Last time we talked you made it clear you couldn’t wait to go back to San Francisco.”

“A Stone Canyon Police Department detective suggested I do otherwise,” she said mildly.

“I’ll deal with the cops.”

“I’ve also decided that I ought to give your foundation plans some serious consideration,” she said smoothly. “I might as well do that here. It’s not like I have a job waiting for me back in San Francisco.”

“Huh.” Archer should have looked triumphant but he didn’t. Instead he gave Jake a disapproving glance and then turned back to her. “Where are you planning to stay while you’re considering my offer?”

The question caught her flat-footed.Should have seen that one coming, she thought. The truth was, she hadn’t given the matter any thought at all. It took every ounce of willpower she possessed not to look at Jake.

“I’ll find a hotel,” she began.

Jake looked at Archer. “She’ll stay here with me.”

It was a statement of fact, not a suggestion or an invitation.

Archer and Clare both looked at him. Clare couldn’t think of anything to say. Evidently Archer was equally at a loss for words.

Jake punched the button to start the coffee.

Archer stalked out of the house a short time later. Jake accompanied him to the door and then returned to the kitchen.

“He was certainly in a foul mood,” Clare observed. “Does he get like that a lot?”

“Archer has a temper,” Jake said neutrally.

She slouched in her chair and jammed her hands into the pockets of her trousers. “I thought he’d be pleased that I’m hanging around to mull over his job offer. Maybe he changed his mind after I got questioned again by the police in a second mysterious death. That kind of thing is not good for the Glazebrook image.”

“That’s not why he’s pissed.”

“What other reason could there be?”

“He’s annoyed because you’re here.”

“Here?”

“With me.”

“What?”She got her mouth closed. “Why should he care if I’m staying with you?”

“You’re his daughter,” Jake said with exaggerated patience. “Fathers always have a problem with the men their daughters are sleeping with when said daughters are not married to the men in question.”

“You’re joking.”

Jake shook his head. “Don’t blame him. Some kind of primitive instinct. Deep in his gut he’s afraid that I’m taking advantage of you. Hell, I’d feel the same way if I had a daughter.”

“I’m thirty-two years old,” she yelped.

“And you were still trying to explain things to your mother yesterday, as I recall.”

“Yes, but she’s mymother. ”

“So? Archer is your father.”

“For heaven’s sake, he didn’t even know I existed until a few months ago.”

“Doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.”

Jake’s cool certainty gave her pause. “You seem to have this all figured out,” she said.

“I knew it was going to be a problem.”

Guilt assailed her. “Maybe I shouldn’t stay here. I don’t want to put you on the spot. You’re working for Archer, after all.”

“You’re staying.” He sat down at the kitchen table and took out a notebook. “There’s no point arguing about it. Archer will do whatever he thinks he has to do. I’ll deal with it when the time comes.”

She eyed the notebook. “What’s that for? Are you going to make notes about my conspiracy theories?”

He looked at the notebook. “I was thinking more in terms of a grocery shopping list. Now that I’ve got a guest in the house, I’m going to need more food.”

“You want to know who Brad was sleeping with?” Elizabeth leaned back in the clean-lined red leather office chair, clearly startled by the question. “Why?”

They had agreed to meet at Elizabeth’s office even though it was a Saturday afternoon and Glazebrook Interiors was technically closed for the weekend. There were a couple reasons for that decision. Clare knew that Elizabeth would not be comfortable discussing her relationship with Brad in front of Jake, which nixed Jake’s house as a meeting place. The second reason was that Clare had no desire to go back to the Glazebrook estate.

Elizabeth’s elegant business was located in a modern, upscale shopping arcade filled with high-end gift shops, exclusive furniture galleries and a variety of boutiques that featured one-of-a-kind accessories for the home.

“Because I’ve decided that I need to know more about what really happened when Brad was killed,” Clare said.

Alarm flashed across Elizabeth’s face. “I thought we agreed that it would be best if we both kept quiet about our conspiracy theories. No one wants to hear them, Clare. Not Mom and Dad, not the cops, no one.”

“Yes,” Clare said. “But things have changed. Trying to pretend that Brad really was killed by a burglar has been driving me nuts for months. Now, given what happened to Valerie Shipley, I can’t stand it any longer. I need to know what really happened the night Brad died.”

“I’m starting to think Mom is right. It’s probably best not to stir up that hornet’s nest.”

“We’ll be discreet,” Clare said.

There was a short pause.

“We?”Elizabeth said cautiously.

Clare stacked her heels on the little red leather hassock in front of the black leather and chrome chair in which she was sitting.

“Jake and I will be discreet,” she clarified.

Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “Jake thinks this is a good idea?”

“No. He thinks the idea sucks. But he realizes that he can’t talk me out of it so he’s doing the only other thing he feels he can do under the circumstances. He’s helping me.”

“Why?”

“He claims he’s doing it for his own sake. He was telling the truth, as far as it went.”

Elizabeth drummed her fingers against the polished surface of the desk. “He’s afraid that you’re going to stir up trouble. This way, at least, he’s got some control. The question, of course, is why does he feel it’s his job to be in charge of you?”

Clare almost laughed. “Nature of the beast, I think.”

Elizabeth blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

“Let’s just say that Jake’s the kind of guy who always likes to be in charge. But in this case he’s mypartner, whether he knows it or not. He is definitely not in control.”

“Where is he, anyway?”

“Grocery shopping.”

“Hmm. Odd thing for your average take-charge kind of guy to be doing, isn’t it?”

“Jake’s not average. In any way.”

Elizabeth sighed. “Clare, if you and Jake start asking questions, everyone is going to get upset all over again.”

“I’ll be careful.”

“Given the circumstances, that’s going to be a little tricky, isn’t it?”

“Hey, I’ve been in the charitable foundation business for the past few years. You think I don’t know how to be discreet? Half my work involved finesse and diplomacy.”

Elizabeth raised her brows. “What did the other half involve?”

“Detecting frauds and scam artists.”

“I know you’re good when it comes to picking out the cons, but we’re talking about a murder.”

“Maybe two murders, if I’m right about Valerie Shipley.”

“That just makes it twice as dangerous,” Elizabeth said. “The Stone Canyon police haven’t been able to turn up any leads in Brad’s death. What makes you think you can learn anything new after all this time?”

“I have to try, Liz. I can’t stand not knowing any longer. I want the truth.”

Elizabeth sat forward abruptly. “Is Dad aware of what you’re planning to do?”

“Jake’s going to break it to him gently when they play golf tomorrow morning.”

“There’s no gentle way to do it. Dad’s going to be furious. I’ve told you, he does not want anyone in the family to even mention the subject of Brad’s death.”

“I know,” Clare said.

“Why are you so determined to find out what was going on six months ago? It’s finished. Brad is dead, and speaking personally, I’m certainly not shedding any tears.”

“Neither am I. But I told you, I’ve got a feeling that Valerie’s death is linked to it.”

“So what? Let the authorities deal with it.”

“They’re going to conclude she drowned accidentally. You know they are.”

“I hate to sound cold-hearted about all this, but do either of us really care?” Elizabeth asked. “The woman tried to kill you. Twice. If we’re right, she was the one who sabotaged your engagement and your career. Frankly, I’m relieved that she’s gone, too.”