The Opium Room (14 page)

They both did more picking at their entrees than eating. When they were on their way out, Fox ran into a male acquaintance.

“Hey, Buster, meet my girlfriend, Lea,” Fox said after he shook the man’s hand.

Lea offered her hand. “Pleasure.” She noticed Fox staring at her face extra hard.

“Haven’t seen you on the green lately,” the man said to Fox.

“Yeah, been pretty busy,” Fox said. He looked at Lea with a furrowed brow. Looked back at the man. “I’ll have to make it a point to come out again soon. Well, we better head on out. Nice seeing you, Buster.”

When they got outside, Fox stopped underneath the burgundy awning of the brick building. “Lea… uh… you were a bit heavy handed on the eye makeup tonight.”

Yeah, she’d worn the mascara Karrigan had bought for her, and maybe she’d put on too much. She was just trying to look better than average. And if he’d looked at her for longer than a second all night, it wouldn’t have taken him so long to notice. She couldn’t speak. Her lip quivered. Before she could get her emotions under control, the tears started flowing.

“Hey,” Fox wrapped his arms around her, “don’t cry.”

“Just… take me home, Fox.” Lea dabbed at her eyes with the side of her finger.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

—Fox

At Lea’s hotel, Fox held Lea’s hand while they took the elevator up. She hadn’t said a word since they’d left Monte’s. And he couldn’t say he blamed her. He regretted making that comment about her makeup. He didn’t know how else to get the point across that he liked her better natural. It seemed like the more time they spent together, the more she was morphing into someone he didn’t recognize.

That and this thing with Roman. His past had caught up to him in a jiffy, and it couldn’t simmer on the back burner. If he was going to live and love anyone in his life, the hauntings of his past had to be exorcised.

Lea backed up to her door. Didn’t invite him in.

Fox put his hand on her face, leaned in. He kissed her tight, cold lips.

“Please, Lea, don’t be mad.”

“I’m not mad,” she said softly.

“When can I see you again?”

“I’m leaving early in the morning. Maybe even before daybreak. So I guess this is it for a while.”

“Can you please call me and let me know you made it home safely tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I can do that.” She was still looking down.

“I want you to know your being here this week has been incredible. Made me see that I need to make some real changes in my life, so I can share my life. Lea, I want to share it with you.”

A black tear fell from her eye, but she wiped it away as fast as it came out. Her mascara smeared below her eyes. “Thanks for dinner,” Lea said, turned and went inside, leaving him standing there.

Fox ignored Janine as she bid him good–bye from the front desk. How did this night go so wrong? All he wanted tonight was Lea in his arms at his home. Now he would be sleeping alone. Or maybe not at all.

It was time to pay a visit to the mansion.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

—Lea

Lea opened the closet inside her hotel room and pulled her sweater off the hanger. She threw it on top of the clothes already packed in her suitcase. It was three a.m. and she was contemplating getting on the road right then. How could she sleep after her date with Fox last night? She was so confused. Felt like Alice in Wonderland here—an out of place misfit. It was like this whirlwind romance had all been a dream, and when the sun rose back in Augusta, she just assume be in her own familiar bed.

Lea knew that Fox had his mother on his mind last night. It was evident by the faraway look in his eyes. But still, she thought that since it was their last night together, he’d have been more attentive. She felt stupid for expecting anything, really. She’d had no other dates with him to compare it to.

He crushed what little sense of self–confidence that had trickled back when he made that comment about Lea’s mascara. When she looked in the mirror back at the hotel, she saw what he meant. She had stroked on so many layers her “row” of lashes had clumped into three really huge ones. Note to

Lea: Overkill. That’s what you get when you apply too much expensive cosmetics. But Fox says he likes simple, so that’s what she was staying true to from now on. She finally got it.

But it might be too little too late.

Fox talked like he was certain about how he felt about her, but her jealousy and trust issues could prove a huge roadblock. He had so many connections in Atlanta. Lea assumed that if they tried to maintain a long distance relationship, she could lose her mind wondering what/who he was doing. Can a ladies’ man like him really change overnight?

With luggage in hand, Lea grabbed her keys and opened the door. Took one look back at the room. Her purse was there on the bed. She heard Fox’s voice in her head reminding her not to forget it exactly like he had a few days ago. She’d gotten used to depending on him always being there. Now she feared she’d gotten to close too fast.

—Fox

Fox normally avoided the place where his mother took her last breath at all costs. The Kemp mansion had too many ghosts. He’d only returned a handful of times since he went off to college at eighteen.

He took the long driveway along eighty acres of private, gated land. It seemed to go on for an eternity. A cleared, open space, yet it felt so claustrophobic. So dark.

Pulling into the long, circular driveway in front of the mansion he turned off the engine, looked up at the arched, brick entranceway.

His heart raced as he rang the doorbell. After a minute, a man with silver hair opened the door.

“Foxworth, my boy,” Frederic said, embracing him. “Come in, come in. It’s been so long.”

Frederic had been the Kemp butler since Fox was a young boy, before the twins were born. He was a kind man. Would do anything for Fox.

“Hey. How’ve you been Fred?”

“Good, good. Old leg still giving me a fit.”

Fred had always walked with a limp, but now it was much more pronounced. He was at least seventy by now. Arthritis had likely set in to complicate the matter.

“Where’s Britta?” Britta was the plump, black lady who’d cared and cooked for all the Kemp kids. Roman had kept her on, even after he’d stop coming around. She and Fred were now simply caretakers for the structure. Roman would rather hold on to the family mansion and waste money on the upkeep than sell it and let someone else live on his land.

“Oh, Britta, she’s not well,” Frederic said. “She’s in the hospital. Cancer.”

“Oh, no. I hate to hear it.” Fox walked through the foyer into the open family room. “Please send her my best.”

“Certainly.” Fred walked behind Fox as he thumbed through a bookshelf.

“Have you married Foxworth? Children?”

“Not yet. But I’m likely headed in the right direction. Keep your fingers crossed, will ya’?”

“Indeed.”

Fox spun around, facing Frederic. “Would you mind terribly if I take my time in here?”

“No, stay as long as you wish. This is your home after all.”

“No, Fred. This is Roman’s house. Not mine.”

Fred nodded, crossed his hands in front of him. “I’ll be around if you need me.” Fred turned, limped off.

Frederic and Ms. Britta were fine people, who’d practically raised Fox and his siblings. Not crooked in any sense like Roman. Then again, Roman had not been the one who’d hired them. It was Frances, Fox’s saintly mother. Roman had simply kept them on after Frances passed.

Once Fred was out of sight, Fox repositioned a book on the shelf, placed it face down. The bookshelf slowly turned, the sound as creepy as the house he stood in. In years past, Fox had not dared pass through the secret entranceway to where the Kemp family archives were kept. Roman had spent plenty of time in there when he was a kid, and it was explicitly enforced that no child shall ever enter under any circumstances.
Not a child anymore, Father.

Record after record, Fox mulled over paperwork until he was nearly cross eyed. Then he found it. A file, which was labeled
Project Ninety–five
to deter any curious eyes. Inside it contained information on Frances’s passing.

Fox thumbed through the death certificate and coroner’s report. Then his hand brushed across some yellowed newspaper clippings. One read: Businessman acquitted due to discrepancy in the prosecution’s evidence. No eyewitness to substantiate the allegations. The next one: Witnesses who testified for the defense claimed that Kemp was a man of great character, who lived an honest and peaceful life.
Baloney.

Fox shuffled through the articles. Some folded, some ripped, all damning. Another article: Mr. Kemp accused of killing Frances shortly after she’d asked for a divorce; Testimony revealed today says that Mrs. Kemp conducted an affair with gardener; Defense argues that Mr. Kemp contested divorce proceedings and was fearful that he would lose everything.

So, now it all made sense. Roman had a motive to kill Fox’s mother. His mother who was a cheater.

“Why’d you do it, Mom?” Fox said aloud as his fingertips trembled around the clippings.

He ran a hand through his hair. Couldn’t believe his mom had it in her to cheat. To lie.

Fox loved her still. She’d always been a kind, hands–on mother. He wouldn’t allow this information to taint her beloved memory.

Fox held that file out. It was going with him. Before he left, he decided to skim through and see if he could find any clues to link Roman to her murder. If a jury didn’t convict him, maybe he was innocent. Then his own voice rang through his mind.
Money can manipulate the way the ink dries on the paper.

There had to be more.

After browsing a few more files, Fox came across a photo of a redhead. A voluptuous, familiar looking redhead. The picture was faded. Fox recognized the vinyl seat she was sitting on belonging to Roman’s 1970s Cadillac. She was in Roman’s car. No big surprise. Roman had probably slept around with hundreds of women. He put the photo with the files he was keeping, and walked out of the secret room. He waited for the slow–moving, creaking wood shelf to close then made his way to the foyer.

“I’m leaving, Frederic.”

Frederic limped from around a corner. “So, soon?”

“Yes, but I’ll check in with you again soon. You take care, Fred.”

“You too, Foxworth, my boy. You too.”

Frederic had a knowing glint in his eye. Fox wondered if he should have been asking him questions. He’d likely return sooner than later.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

—Lea

Lea folded one leg beneath her and sat at her mother’s kitchen table. She took a sip of the coffee her mother had made her. As always, her mother had put in the amount of cream and sugar just the way Lea liked it. Her mother sat across from her at the table.

“Thanks for the coffee, Mom,” Lea said. “It’s perfect, as usual.”

“Oh, you’re welcome, hon. It’s the least I can do after you worked on my computer for two hours.”

“It’s still running system checks. We won’t know if it’s really fixed until that’s through.”

“Oh, that’s fine honey. It doesn’t have to get fixed tonight.” Lea’s mother had the patience of a saint. She was a retired librarian who’d worked back in the card catalog days. Keeping up with ever–changing technology was proving quite cumbersome for her…especially when she ran into problems.

The sun beamed in through the kitchen bay window. Birds chirped just outside. Lea stared out across the acres of barren land. Land that, five years ago, would have been lush with vegetables and fruit. Now the area of growth had been reduced to one square acre that her mother managed alone.

“What’s going on Lea? You’re awfully quiet.”

“Just thinking about Fox.”

Her mother’s eyes lit up. “Tell me about him.”

“He’s a great guy, but he’s from a world much different from mine. He owns his own hotel.”

“Wow, what a catch.”

“Yeah, he’s handsome, Mom.” A pause. “Real sweet.”

“Why the hesitation in your voice, then? I can sense something’s wrong.”

“It’s moving fast. He already wants me to move to Atlanta. But I haven’t even been to his house yet. I haven’t met his father, who spends much of his time in the hotel. And Fox… he’s so busy. Has a lot of women clients. Oh, and did I mention how handsome he is?”

“I get it,” her mother said. “You’re afraid you can’t trust him.”

“I shouldn’t be so jealous, but after what happened, it’s a hard thing to shake.”

“With a name like Fox, I can imagine….”

“His whole name is Foxworth Kemp, but people call him Fox for short.”

Mrs. Engle’s lighthearted expression fell from her face. “Kemp?” she asked as if she was afraid to hear the answer.

“Yeah, why?”

“Is he related to Roman Kemp?”

“That’s his father.”

Alarm crept into Ms. Engle’s eyes. “Oh, Lea. You need to stay away from them. Far, far away.”

“Why?”

“Roman Kemp was the man behind the tile corporation that daddy invested his life savings in.”

“Mom, you’re kidding.”

“I wish I was, hon.”

Lea didn’t know what to say. How could she say anything in defense of the family that had ruined her dad. Caused him to die of a broken heart.

“Mom, you know I’d never want to hurt you, but I’m in too deep to just drop Fox. He’s not like his father, I swear.”

“Good thing your father isn’t here to hear me saying this…” She lowered the tone of her voice as if he were listening. “The past is the past. Daddy’s gone, and I won’t stand in the way of your happiness. Follow your heart.”

“Thank you, Mom. Once you meet him, all of your reservations will go out the window.”

Mrs. Engle’s eyes beaded with tears. “I just don’t want to see you hurt again.”

Lea pushed her chair back and walked around the table. She put her arms around her mom’s shoulders and leaned down embracing her. “You’ll see. Trust me.”

Lea’s cell phone vibrated in her jeans pocket.

She pulled it out. A text from Kate.
Call me stat.

“I’ll be right back,” Lea said, and walked down into the sunken den.