Drop Dead Gorgeous (25 page)

But she had loved him once before, and she was growing emotionally entangled at a terrifying rate.

She thought they were just beginning to share a feeling of commitment, a comfort in being together. Yes, sex was great. That was important. One of those things you didn’t allow yourself to realize just how much you missed while you were missing it until you had it again.

But her feeling for him was much more. Waking beside him, talking with him with their heads still on their pillows, watching his slow smile as he listened to her, or like this morning, waking and feeling warmth where he had been, and knowing that she would see him again soon. Scary. Damned scary.

Maybe she should pull back. Now. Create a distance between them so that they could start over again with
…

With the truth.

“Lori, what did you have in mind?” Sean asked.

She shook her head. “Anything. I’m open. Except—”

“What?” Brad asked.

“I was thinking about going to church.”

“Church!” Brendan exclaimed in dismay, then quickly tried to cover. “You always said that God didn’t consider us terrible sinners for missing church now and then. You—”

“It’s because of Ellie,” Jan interrupted, staring at Lori.

“But, Mom, do we have to go—”

“Well, she wants to go,” Sean said quietly.

“There goes half the day,” Brad muttered.

“
We’ll pray for good weather for the afternoon,” Jan said philosophically.

They went to church, returned to the hotel, and rented a little ski boat. Tina knew what she was doing; on his fifth try, Brendan made it to his feet and actually waterskied.

After they’d all taken a turn, they spent some time fishing, but threw back the few
bone fish they caught. They weren’t good eating, but they put up a hell of a fight, and Lori found herself ready to engage in fierce battle with the one fish that bit her line. At the very end Sean helped her, but she took her fish off the hook to throw back into the water.

Jan relented and allowed Tina to go parasailing with Brendan and Sean and Brad while she and Lori gathered up their things so that they could make their afternoon checkout time from the suite. She was just going through the rooms to make sure they hadn’t forgotten anything when she suddenly heard
J
an squeal out her name.

“Lori!”

“What?”

She rushed out to the parlor, where Jan, the consummate businesswoman, had been checking her messages.

Jan held the receiver tightly in her hand as she stared at Lori, absolutely ashen.

“Sue…
”

“Sue what?”

“She’s disappeared. One of the kids working for her called my house half a dozen times, worried because she didn’t come to work. Oh, God, Lori, what’s happening?”

1
7

“
S
he’s just not home,” Brad said firmly as they sat around a table having dinner at a seaside restaurant. The kids were off looking at the large aquarium in the center of the
restaurant, so he could speak freely. “You can’t go getting all panicky just because Sue’s not home.”

“Brad, she didn’t show up for work. She didn’t call in. Sue is reliable, dependable!”

Sean calmly folded his arms and leaned on the table to meet Jan’s eyes. “Ted has gone ahead and started calling more of her coworkers and friends. He intends to take a look in her house—despite the fact that she’s certainly not been missing for forty-eight hours. We just saw her Friday night! Late Friday night. And, Jan, didn’t you say that she was hinting that she was seeing someone?”

“Yes,” Jan agreed.

“Look, if she doesn’t show up soon, then we can panic,” Brad said.

“Don’t even think about not sleeping at my house!” Jan warned Brad.

“I’ll stay, don’t worry.” Brad glanced at Sean. His blue eyes were impassive. “I assume you’ll be with Lori?”

“Brad,” Lori protested. “I’m all right, I—”

“I’ll be with Lori.”

She could have argued the point, but she didn’t. She didn’t want to be alone.

“Let’s start home, can we?” Jan said. “I’m anxious.”

“Yeah, let’s go,” Brad said.

N
o matter where Andrew went lately, he seemed to be running into Muffy Fluffy.

He’d called her himself yesterday to make arrangements for Brad, but Sunday evening he’d
agreed to meet Jeff and Josh for drinks at Fat Tuesdays in the Grove, and he
wasn’t
looking forward to any business conversations beforehand. But he arrived first, ordered a beer, and was sitting at one of the tables looking down at Main Street when he heard a cheerful “Hi!”

He swung around, certain she couldn’t be there.

But she was.

“What a pleasant surprise, Andrew.”

“Muffy.”

“Can I join you?”

“Well, I’m waiting for friends.”

“I’ll leave when they come.”

“I don’t mean to be rude…
”

“It’s all right. I understand.”

“What are you doing down in this neck of the woods?”

“Oh, my boyfriend lives down here.”

“Boyfriend?”

She shrugged. “Sure. You know, business is business. I also have a social life.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” he said, smiling. Interesting woman. She really was pretty, and very voluptuous. Brad was going to be pleased, even if Andrew still felt uncomfortable as hell.

Muffy smiled suddenly. “You’re looking ill, Andrew. Don’t. I appreciate you telling me about your friend. Sounds like maybe he
does need just one final kick…
and then he’ll settle down. I’ll make the wife comfortable, I promise. This is the kind of thing I really like, getting to feel as if I’m helping someone.” She was dead serious, entirely sincere.

Andrew swallowed his
beer and nodded.
“Thanks.”

Muffy grinned suddenly. “Does she know that you know? That you found me?”

Andrew shook his head. “No. Don’t mention it, huh?”

“Not on your life. Are you kind of getting out of the business yourself, Andrew?”

She didn’t mean it that way, but he felt more like a pimp than ever. He smiled at her, leaning forward. “Yeah, Muffy. I’m going to try to take a few chances and make some of the films I really want to make. Just as soon as we wrap up
Debbie and the Devils
, I’m going to turn my talents toward something I want to do more.”

“You’ll be a great loss to the industry,” Muffy told him sincerely.

“Yeah, sure.”

“You’re one of the good ones, Andrew. Handsome, smart, honest. We’ll miss you, but I’m happy for you, happy you’ll be doing what you want.”

“Thanks, Muff.
”

She winked at him. “I’ll let you know how things go with your friend.”

“Do that.”
She grinned and stood, and he suddenly felt a deeper affection for her. “You’re a good kid, Muffy.”

“Thanks. You, too, Andrew.”

With a cheerful swish of derriere she left his table. He was still watching her depart when he heard Jeff’s voice, “Now, that’s a
…
handful of woman, Andrew.”

“Whoa, cousin!” Josh chimed in, grinning and climbing over a chair backward to lean on its back and face Andrew. “There’s a wicked figure for you.”

“Your latest?” Jeff asked him.

“No, just a friend,” Andrew said.

“Or employee?” Jeff asked.

“She’s been known to work a stage or two,” Andrew said.

“Ahh
…
” Josh teased, then he smiled. “Muffy Fluffy.”

“You know her?” Andrew asked.

“Hey, don’t you remember? She was working for you way back in the days when we needed money and you needed cheap labor, and we still looked pretty good in the buff,” Josh said.

“Yeah, I remember.”

“Actually, I don’t
want
to remember,” Josh groaned.
“You on for golf Tuesday after
noon?” Josh asked him.

“Tuesday afternoon
…
” Andrew mused, swallowing his beer. “Yeah, I can manage a round. About three-thirty, four?”

“That will be good. We’ll get Brad, and have a foursome,” Jeff said.

“Then we can run over with him to Jan’s after, and jump in the pool and Jacuzzi,” Josh added. “Oh, Lord!” he said, raising his voice. “The riffraff are here!” He was joking, and lifted a hand to slap Ricky’s as he and Ted appeared, both off duty, in jeans and knit shirts.

“Speaking of riffraff,” Ted said, shaking his head as he, too, pulled up a chair.

“
How’d you know we’d be here?” Andrew asked.

“Didn’t. We just stumbled on you,” Ricky told him. “Who was the blonde, Andrew?”

Andrew groaned. “Old friend.”

“Good friend,” Jeff Olin teased. “Damned good friend.”

“Do I want to meet her?” Ricky asked.

“Every man wants to meet Muffy,” Josh said. “But she’s gone now, so what are you two doing out on the streets?”

“I came for booze, lots of it,” Ted said.

“Oh, yeah? What’s up?” Jeff asked, hiking a brow.

“Sue is missing,” Ted said, suddenly serious.

“Missing!” Josh exclaimed.

Ted shrugged. “Her employees are all shook up because she hasn’t come into work yesterday or today. You know we need forty-eight hours for a r
egulation missing
persons report, but since it’s Sue
…
” He shrugged. “One of her neighbors keeps a key so we went in. It looks like Sue just decided to take off. According to the neighbor, the big handbag she uses most of the time is gone, and so is her little overnight bag. So it looks as if she planned it.”

“So?” Andrew inquired carefully.

“Well, her car is in the driveway.”

“That’s not so weird,” Jeff said. “She must have gone off with a friend.”

“Yeah, well, that’s possible.”

“Then
…
” Andrew prodded. “What is it?”

“Her cat was there. Dead on the kitchen floor.”

“Maybe she forgot to feed it,” Josh suggested. “Or leave it water. Animals dehydrate so easily—”

“And sometimes they bite those poisonous frogs—” Jeff said.

“Toads,” Andrew remarked distractedly. “I still don’t understand why you look so worried, Ted. It’s not like Sue, but maybe she did just take off on a lark. Maybe she got sick of being responsible—the small-business owner. If her pur
se and overnight bag are gone…
”

“Yeah, it should look like she went off on her own free will. But Andrew, the cat didn’t just die,” Ricky said.

“No?”

“It’s neck was broken,” Ted explained.

Andrew felt a shiver go right down his spine.

H
e cruised the streets.

He liked to do it, just driving around at first, by Lori’s house, then
…

By the Kelly house.

The good old Kellys.

He could see inside. It was night, but the drapes hadn’t yet been closed to the living room of the fine old Spanish mansion. Good old Mom Kelly was a great housekeeper, always had been, in line with the last generation’s Donna Reed or June Cleaver. Pretty woman, she never aged. Her hair was always just so. She had kept a slim figure. He saw her now, walking away from the television, taking a seat on the couch. Talking with someone in another chair. Old Gramps?

He smiled
.
Who knew?

He warned himself that he had to be very careful. He was an organized killer. There were
things
that even stupid police felt they knew. Like the fact that killers liked to return to the scene of the crime.

Well, he was going to cruise by Sue’s house anyway. Not that it was actually the
scene
of any crime.

It was actually damned funny. Sue's stuff gone with Sue, and a dead cat in the house.

They just didn’t know what to think.

But they would. And soon.

Smiling to himself
,
he drove by Sue’s house.

And then Lori’s.

Sean was still there. But he wouldn’t be forever. He’d be so surprised. So damned surprised. If he ever knew, of course. Now that would be a challenge. Lori dead, Sean about to fry for it, and him as free as a bird. To start over somewhere else. Everyone would understand, of course, when he chose to leave the area
…

S
ean woke up feeling like a million bucks. He shouldn’t have felt so good. He should have had creaks all over. Instead he felt like a teenager again, starting off on the sofa, slipping up to Lori’s room, waking himself with an internal alarm around four to slip back down to the sofa. He wondered if Brendan knew exactly what was going on, but the boy seemed to like him, and he liked Brendan—Lori had done a great job with the kid—and the subterfuge was definitely worth it.

He’d gotten in a few hours of sleep on the sofa, from around four to six, but was still the first one up. He rose, made his way into Lori’s kitchen, and put the coffee on. In his jeans, barefoot, bare-chested, he stepped out on the lawn and picked up Lori’s paper. The main headline was about the shake-up in the stock market, which had occurred on Friday.

Flipping the paper over, though, he frowned to see his name in big black print.

“Acclaimed Author Sean Black Returns to the Scene of the Crime—And Another Woman Dies.
”

He felt instantly sick. A shot of hot adrenaline ripped through him, and he gritted his teeth as if he were powerless, turning into some monster through the force of his anger.

He quickly scanned the article. It rehashed everything that happened when Mandy died—the situation at the rock pit, his arrest, his incarceration, his trial—and the fact that no one else had ever been charged with the crime. The article went on to state that another member of the group that had been at the rock pit that day had recently died under terrible circumstances— and now a third member of that same group was apparently missing. And he was back in town after a very long absence. Coincidence?

“Sean?”

He swung around, startled to see that Lori had come outside. He hadn’t heard her.

“What’s the matter?”

“Here.”

He handed it to her. She glanced down, and
went pale. “Let’s not show it to Brendan.”

“Why. He’s not going to hear about it?” Sean demanded, hands on his hips.

“Look, I know you’re upset—”

“Yeah, I’m upset!” he said, dragging his fingers through his hair. “And you shouldn’t be a part of this—”

“Sean. I was at the rock pit, remember?”

“You were at the rock pit, yeah. But in a way, this doesn’t concern you, and I don’t want you dragged into it. Lori, I’ve got to find out whoever the hell is doing this, what happened to Ellie—”

“The police will find out—”

“Oh, yeah, right.”

“They’re qualified—”

“And I’m more qualified than you might imagine. Jesus, I’m beginning to think that someone close to us is doing this. It’s just too
…
First Ellie, now Sue—”

“Everyone keeps saying that Sue just went away for the weekend.”

“Maybe. But I’ve got to find out—”

He heard the phone ringing. Disgusted, irritated with himself for letting the article upset him so much, he shook his head impatiently. “Will you answer the phone, please.”

“It can wait—”