Suspicion (28 page)

  "That’s not what I meant."

  His eyes narrowed. "Then what do you mean, Kate?"

  "Someone I can’t name saw your picture in The Washingtonian this morning. That same person told me you were at the Europa Hotel on June 16 of this year, but not under the circumstances you just described."

  "What circumstances might we be talking about?"

  "You and Maddy Mays had just come out of the penthouse elevator. And I must say, for someone who claims not to know her, the two of you were apparently pretty chummy. You had your arm wrapped around her shoulders and you kissed her goodbye."

  As Douglas’s complexion turned gray, Kate felt a lump form in her throat. She had come here desperately hoping that LuAnn had made a mistake, that it hadn’t been Douglas she had seen at the Europa, but someone who only looked like him.

  Judging from Douglas’s reaction, LuAnn hadn’t been mistaken at all.

  "What were you doing there, Douglas? And why did you lie about knowing Maddy Mays?"

  "Because it’s no one’s business."

  "Wrong, Douglas. It’s very much my business. You see, there is a very strong possibility that Maddy Mays was involved in Gina Lamont’s murder. And Lilly’s." Briefly, she told him about her visit to the Europa a few days ago. "That visit," she continued, "is probably the reason I was attacked the other night."

  Douglas’s eyes grew wide with shock. "My God, Kate, are you saying that I’m involved in those two murders, as well?"

  "No, that’s not what I’m saying. But I want to know why you lied to me."

  "What’s with all the questions anyway?" he asked, brushing a stack of phone messages aside with an angry sweep of his hand. "I thought you were no longer working on that case."

  "I’m not," she lied, averting her eyes. "I found out about your visit to Maddy Mays by accident. Naturally, I got curious."

  "My knowing Maddy has nothing to do with Gina’s or

  Lilly’s murders." There was a new strain in his voice, as if he already knew he had lost the battle.

  "Then tell me why you lied to me. If you don’t, I’ll have to find out myself, even if I have to spend every waking hour searching for the answer."

  She waited for him to say something, to fly into a rage, or to give her an explanation that would make her breathe a sigh of relief. But he remained silent, his eyes focused on the wall behind her.

  Kate leaned forward. "What is it, Douglas? What’s going on between you and Maddy Mays?"

  Bringing his gaze back, he stared at her for the longest time, his expression a mixture of anger and despair. Then, unexpectedly, he dropped his head in his hands. "Oh, Kate."

  She had never seen him like this, frightened and defeated. Although sorrow was not an emotion one usually felt for a man like Douglas Fairchild, that’s exactly what she felt now. "Talk to me, Douglas," she said gently.

  At last, he looked up and ran his hands down his face. "If anyone else had stumbled upon the information, I could have lied and gotten away with it. There aren’t too many people in this town I can’t bluff once I set my mind to it." He gave a short, brittle laugh. "But it had to be you, Kate, the brightest and most stubborn attorney I’ve ever hired." He shook his head. "Who would have thought that the qualities I admired so much in you would be my downfall."

  "My God, Douglas. What have you done?"

  He clasped his hands and rested them on his desk. He didn’t look at her as he spoke. "Maddy and her husband were my neighbors before they moved to Middleton. After Henry’s death, I lost track of her. Then, about a year ago, I was at the Europa having a drink with an old friend when I ran into Maddy. After my friend left, she bought me a drink and we talked about old times. A few minutes later, she suggested we continue our conversation in more comfortable surroundings-her penthouse."

  "Did you go?"

  He shook his head. "Not then."

  Kate stiffened, unable to believe what Douglas was trying to tell her. "Are you saying that you eventually had an affair with that woman? You cheated on Rose?"

  "I didn’t mean to," he said in a defeated voice. "But one afternoon last June, Maddy called me here at the office. She said she had a legal problem she needed help with. I half knew she was making an excuse to see me, but…" He shrugged. "I went anyway." He ran his fingers through his hair and held them there. "I don’t know what came over me that day. Maybe I was just curious. I knew about her past, her reputation, the men she had known. I guess it all went to my head."

  "You mean…you were attracted to her not in spite of what she was, but because of it?"

  He nodded. "Something like that. I can’t explain it. To you, or to myself. But it was just that one time," he added earnestly. "Nothing like that had ever happened before. Or since. And I never saw Maddy again after that day." His eyes were bright with tears. "You must believe me, Kate. I love Rose with all my heart."

  Kate fell back in her chair. "Oh, Douglas."

  "I know. It was a despicable thing to do. If I could take that day back, I would, but…"

  "Does Rose know?"

  He shook his head. "No. I almost told her once, but I couldn’t do it. I was afraid of what it would do to her, to our marriage."

  Kate knew his fears were justified. Rose adored her

  husband. After twenty-two years of marriage, she was as much in love with Douglas now as she had been the day she had married him. She would be devastated if she knew he had betrayed her.

  "’Please, Kate, don’t tell her."

  Kate looked at the man in front of her. She felt angry and disappointed. But she wasn’t the one whose life would be destroyed by the truth. Rose was.

  "I won’t," she murmured.

  "Thank you."

  After a minute of awkward silence, Kate stood up and left.

  It was six o’clock by the time Kate got home. She went to her answering machine to see if Mitch had called, but the single red dot was still. There were no messages.

  Still shaken from her conversation with Douglas, she poured herself a glass of chilled Chardonnay and walked over to the bay window. She wished Mitch was here. She had become accustomed to his presence, his calm reasoning, the way he made her smile.

  When the phone rang, she ran to it, spilling her wine in her haste. "Mitch?"

  "No, Kate, this is Russell Blackstone. We’re taking LuAnn to surgery."

  Kate’s glass almost slipped from her hand. "Why? What’s wrong with her?"

  "She has a ruptured spleen and started hemorrhaging."

  "Oh, God."

  "Don’t panic, Kate. She’s a strong woman, and her surgeon is one of the best in his field. I’ll be assisting and I promise I’ll call you the moment I-"

  "Never mind that," Kate interrupted. "I’m coming to the hospital."

  In the waiting room, where she had been pacing for over an hour, Kate watched the double doors that led to the operating room in the hope that Dr. Blackstone would walk through them, the bearer of good news. From time to time, she took another sip of the bitter coffee she kept buying from a nearby vending machine.

  This was all her fault. If she hadn’t bribed LuAnn into confiding in her, the woman wouldn’t be fighting for her life right now.

  What if she didn’t make it? Kate thought as she glanced at the wall clock for the hundredth time. How would she explain LuAnn’s death to her daughter and to her little grandson?

  Just before 8:00 p.m., Russell Blackstone, his surgical greens splattered with blood, walked through the swinging doors, saw Kate and hurried toward her.

  "We stopped the bleeding," he said, pulling down his mask. "And she’s resting comfortably."

  "Is she going to be all right?"

  "It’s too early to say. She lost a lot of blood, but the operation was a success. Now we have to wait. The next twenty-four hours will be crucial."

  "When can I see her?"

  "Tomorrow." As she started to protest. Dr. Blackstone wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gently led her toward the elevators. "LuAnn needs her sleep. And so do you. You look exhausted."

  It took Kate all her willpower not to cry on the way home. She was sick of this case. Everything that could possibly go wrong with it had. Her daughter had turned against her, innocent people were being hurt, and the guilty continued to remain free.

  The phone was ringing when she walked into her house.

  Praying that nothing had happened to LuAnn in that short period of time, she picked it up. "Hello?"

  "Hi. gorgeous," Mitch said in a playful tone. "Have you eaten yet?"

  "I’m not hungry."

  "Oh, come on. Aren’t you the least bit curious about how I made out in Myrtle Beach?"

  "Mitch, could we talk about that in the morning?"

  The cheerfulness went out of Mitch’s voice. "What’s wrong?"

  "Nothing- "

  "Don’t give me that. You sound upset. I can’t believe I didn’t pick it up right away. You haven’t been attacked again, have you?"

  "No."

  "Then what is it?"

  "I can’t talk about it."

  "Put the coffee on," he said in a tone that left no room for discussion. "I’m on my way."

  Mitch made the trip from Adams Morgan to Cleveland Park in record-breaking time. He brought the Ford to a stop in a squeal of rubber and sprinted to the house.

  He didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until Kate opened the front door. She was pale and her eyes were red and tearful, but other than that, she was fine.

  "Kate, what’s wrong?" He gripped her shoulders and held her steady.

  When she looked up, her eyes filled with fresh tears. "Someone I care about was badly beaten up last night. And I’m responsible."

  Mitch’s pressure on her shoulders increased. "Why are you responsible? Who was hurt?" A cold fear gripped him. "Not Alison?"

  "No. It’s…the woman who told me about Maddy Mays. Someone broke into her apartment last night and nearly killed her. She’s in the hospital. She was doing fine until a couple of hours ago. Then Dr. Blackstone called to-"

  "How did Russell get involved?"

  "I called him. He came to the house to take a look at her. That’s when he told me he had to put her in the hospital."

  "And now she’s worse?"

  Kate slowly walked back into the living room, Mitch

  behind her. "She started hemorrhaging and had to be rushed to surgery."

  "I’ll take you there-"

  She shook her head. "No, it’s all right. I just got back from the hospital. The surgery is over, but I won’t be able to see her until tomorrow."

  "What’s the prognosis’?"

  "Guarded, for the moment. We’ll have to wait until morning to know more." She looked up. "Oh, Mitch, I’m so worried about her."

  "You’re talking about LuAnn Chester, aren’t you?" he asked. "She’s the one who told you about Maddy."

  Kate hesitated, then realizing there wasn’t much point in keeping LuAnn’s identity a secret anymore, especially from Mitch, she nodded. "How did you guess?"

  "Who else but a hooker would know so much about Maddy?"

  Kate wiped away a tear with the back of her hand. "It’s all my fault, Mitch. If I hadn’t convinced her to talk to me, she wouldn’t be in this mess right now."

  "The choice was still hers, Kate. You didn’t hold a gun to her head."

  "No." Her voice had a dry, bitter edge to it. "I just waved a thousand dollars in her face."

  This time, the tears came fast and furious. Mitch gathered her in his arms and drew her close. He knew all about guilt, how deeply it could sink its teeth into one’s heart. "It’s all right, baby. Let it out."

  With a sob that went straight to his heart, she gripped his shoulders and buried her face in his chest. He held her as she wept, aware that the tears weren’t for LuAnn only. They were the result of two weeks of nerve-racking tension, of worry and of fear. He had no idea how she had

  lasted this long without breaking, but he was glad she had waited until now. Until he could be with her.

  After a few minutes, the sobs began to subside. With more tenderness than he thought himself capable of, he took her chin between two fingers and lifted it gently. "Feeling better?"

  A dry sob caught in her throat and she nodded.

  "Good." Smiling, he wiped away a tear with his thumb, then, impulsively, he bent down and kissed her.

  Her lips were moist and salty. And to his surprise, they parted instantly as if in anticipation of more than a chaste kiss.

  Every instinct told him to pull away. He wanted her so badly, he could have taken her right here, right now, and that wouldn’t be fair. She was too distraught and much too vulnerable for him to offer anything more than comfort.

  But when her fingers dug into his shoulders, pulling him back to her, all thoughts of fair play vanished, replaced by something much more primal. And much more fierce.

  He kissed her again, and this time, Kate responded with a passion that was dangerously out of control. Her body, which she had trained to feel nothing for the past year, seemed to shift into overdrive. She knew what she was doing was wrong, and she knew there would be hell to pay later. But for tonight, just tonight, she didn’t want to think about consequences.

  Impatient for the feel of his skin, she pushed aside his open ski jacket. With trembling fingers, she unbuttoned his shirt and slid one hand through the opening. His chest was hard, broad and somehow, familiar to the touch, as if she had known all along what it would feel like.

  . "Oh, Kate."

  The desire she heard in his voice, along with the wild thumping of his heart beneath her fingers, made her hungry for more. A little astounded at her boldness, she opened the shirt wider and pressed her mouth where her hand had been.