VEILED MIRROR (6 page)

“Our moms had something in common then.” He had paused, not sure if he should ask. “It sounds like you were close.”

“Yeah, we were. She died before we got to that snotty ‘you can’t tell me anything’ age.” Beth had cast a wry glance at him. “It sounds like your mom had a cure for that, though.”

Jason had laughed. “Yeah, but she had to dose me with it regularly.”

Jason pushed the memory of that conversation away as he changed lanes to pass a semi. His mother would have liked Beth. Now they’d never have a chance to meet.

He should have thought of that before he’d called it quits. So what if it was long distance? So what if his hours sucked? Maybe he should have taken a chance. Maybe he should have let Beth decide if she could handle it. But for what? So he could have had the comfort of her worrying over him in the hospital? Was he really that selfish?

Jason swallowed past the tightness in his throat. It didn’t matter. Beth was dead. There was no point wondering now if they could have made a go of it.

Maria hung up the
phone. “
Señor
Blackforth is coming. He is on his way.”

Beth hated the way her pulse picked up.
Jason is coming?
The guy had dumped her. He wasn’t interested. She told her heart to stop fluttering. Whatever foolish feelings she might still have for Jason Blackforth had to be buried. He was coming to comfort
Ellie
. Ellie, the grieving widow of his best friend.

E
llie.” Jason walked into the foyer along with a hot rush of humid air, dropped his bag, and enveloped Beth gingerly in a hug. “Are you okay? Shouldn’t you be in the hospital?”

How many times in those first few weeks after he’d dumped her had she revisited what it felt like to have his arms around her? Remembered his lips on hers in a kiss that curled her toes? Remembered where that kiss had led? How many times had she ruthlessly suppressed those memories? But the peck he dropped on her cheek was nothing like that.

“I’m fine. It looks worse than it is.”

“I hope so.” He paused, then he turned and hugged Maria. “How are you holding up?”

Maria hugged him back. “Not so bad.”

He turned back to Beth. “I’m so sorry about Chris. About both of them.” His hand lingered on her shoulder.

She stepped away. It almost hurt to be touched like that when she wanted it to be so different. “Thank you. I know this is hard for you, too. You knew Chris longer than I did.”
That’s an understatement.
She refused to look at Maria, who stood by with watchful eyes.

Jason nodded. “Chris didn’t get close to a lot of people, but when he let you in, you were in all the way. It’s not easy to lose a friend like that. I think you’re probably the only person who understands. You and Maria.”

Beth grimaced and looked away. This was too hard, faking grief for someone she’d barely known, to people who were really grieving. She’d liked Chris, but she hadn’t had time to know him well. Jason’s words made her all too aware of what she might have had with her brother-in-law, given time. But she did understand how Jason felt. Ellie had been her best friend, and her grief for her sister was real enough.

“I’m sorry. You probably don’t want to talk about it. It’s too soon. Especially now, with your sister …”

“No, it’s okay.” If he needed to talk, she wanted to give him that. “I have to face it. But maybe you’d like to get settled first?”

“
Sí.
I will show you to your room.” Maria picked up Jason’s bag, but he took it from her hand, then followed her down the hallway.

Beth took refuge in the library. She felt safe in this room. It was solid and permanent and warm, and filled with books that offered adventure and escape. Growing up, her schooling had been spotty, but she’d always been able to take refuge in the stacks of the local library, wherever their dad had dragged them. It had been the one thing she could always count on, besides Ellie.

She sat down at the chess board. It was a beautiful antique set with an inlaid wood table and brass and silver figures. The silver king was lying on his side. She set it upright again. Chris and Ellie must have been in the middle of a game. He’d taught her sister how to play shortly after they’d met and she’d surprised him with her intuitive grasp of the strategy. Beth didn’t know a rook from a bishop. She looked at the scattered pieces and wondered who had been winning. From the large number of silver men beside the board, she guessed brass was.

“Black will mate in three unless you sacrifice your queen.”

Beth startled. Jason had come in without her noticing. “My queen?”

“Black’s rook will take your pawn, threatening your king. You’ll have to move him, but that will put him under black’s knight if you move here, or his bishop if you move there,” he said pointing. “But if you move your queen here, the rook will take her, giving you a chance to move your bishop into position to take the—no, wait. Even if you sacrifice the queen it’s still mate in five.”

She had no idea what he was talking about. “Of course.”

He looked at her, eyes narrowed. “
You
were black, weren’t you? Chris said you were good.”

She just smiled and tipped the silver king on his side again, understanding now why he’d been that way.

“Would you like to play?” he asked. “Not that I’d stand a chance, if you can beat Chris.”

Beth shook her head. She’d give herself away with the first move. “No. I … I don’t have the concentration for it right now.”

Jason nodded and went to stand before the dark fireplace.

The light was fading as the evening storm clouds rolled in. She ought to get up and turn on the lamps, but she stayed where she was, listening to the thunder rumbling in the distance.

An awkward uncertainty filled her, spilling out and blanketing the room with silence. What could she say that wouldn’t give her away? She had to think like Ellie. This was her house. She was the hostess here. “Would you like a drink?” Then she bit her tongue. That was the same thing she’d said just before they’d made love.

Apparently Jason didn’t remember. His expression was completely neutral as he looked over at her. She gestured to the decanter on the shelf. “Or maybe you’d like a beer?”

“Beer would be good.”

She stood up but Jason said, “I’ll get it,” and disappeared out the door.

Beth paced around the room. She couldn’t do this. There were a million things she wanted to ask to Jason, but she could voice none of them.
Why did you really break it off? Why did you make love to me when you knew you were going to dump me?
But those weren’t things that Ellie would say.

He was gone longer than she expected. He was probably talking to Maria. What was she saying to him?
Maybe she changed her mind. Maybe she’s telling him I’m a fraud. Maybe he’s calling the sheriff.
Beth remembered how forcefully Jason had talked about the con-artists who had scammed his mom. How could she make him understand that she was doing this for Ellie? He’d never believe this was what her sister wanted.

Jason returned with Ollie following, a slight smile on his face. He handed her a glass of milk. “Maria told me. Congratulations.”

She took the glass and set it down without drinking.

“Yes. Well, thanks.” She forced a smile.

“I know it’s hard to be happy about it now, but when the baby gets here you’ll be glad.” He rolled his eyes. “At least that’s what I hear.”

“Do you spend lots of time talking about babies?” Beth gave him an amused look from under her lifted brows.

“No. But with three women in my office I hear things.” He shrugged.

This was a side of Jason she hadn’t suspected. She nodded and said, “Yeah, yeah. So which do you think is better, cloth or disposable diapers?”

Jason grinned at the ribbing and sipped his beer. “Maria said dinner would be ready in an hour. Pot roast and mashed potatoes. It smells great, too.”

Beth nodded “Comfort food.” Ollie jumped up on the couch in Chris’s spot.

“Down,” she said giving him the hand signal. “You know you’re not allowed on the couch.”

Ollie just looked up at her.

She snapped her fingers and repeated the signal. The black and white dog sulkily clambered off the couch.

“Good boy, Ollie.” Beth patted him on the side. He leaned against her and wagged his tail.

“So Beth’s got you doing that too, now.”

A zing of trepidation pricked her. “What?”

“Using hand signals. You didn’t used to do that. Of course, Ollie never obeyed you either. For that matter, he only listened to Chris when he wanted to.”

Another mistake
. Ellie could get a horse to turn somersaults for her but she’d never really understood dogs. “Oh. Well, I guess none of us are quite ourselves these days.”

Jason stared at Ellie,
sitting on the sofa in the fading light with Ollie at her feet, then glanced away. Even covered with scratches and bruises, even with her hair cut short, the resemblance to Beth was unnerving. He looked back again, searching for the differences he knew must be there.

“It means a lot that you came all the way out here, but …”

“Why am I here?”

“I didn’t mean it like that. But I don’t even know yet when the service will be.”

She looked so small sitting with her feet tucked up underneath her.
Just like Beth
. She was trying so hard to be strong, even with her double loss, even though she was all alone now. He didn’t want her to feel alone. “I can help you with stuff like that. I want to. And even though I’m not Chris’s lawyer, I thought I might help you navigate the ins and outs of the trust. If nothing else, you can have me fill out paperwork, or run interference for you with the insurance companies.”

She tucked a short curl behind the pink shell of her ear. The memory flashed through his mind of pulling Beth onto his lap and running his tongue around that delicate curve, kissing that finely arched neck.

“Thanks. That would be a help.”

He came back to the present with a jolt.
This isn’t Beth. This is Ellie. My best friend’s wife. Widow. Pregnant widow.

She looked at him with a new, more avid expression.

“What?”

“Actually, there is something you could help me with.”

“Name it.”

“I want you to help me find Chris’s killer.”

“Beth said something about murder in her message. What happened?”

He listened as Ellie outlined the circumstances of Chris’s death, surprised she could talk about it so calmly. It had to be some form of denial.

“What does the sheriff say? Was there an autopsy?”

“I don’t care what the sheriff says, or the medical examiner,” she answered forcefully. “Chris was murdered! And I think someone tried to kill me and my sister too.”

Jason took a long pull on his beer.
So the sheriff and the medical examiner think it’s an accident.
He glanced at her leaning forward where she sat on the sofa, looking at him with the same intensity he’d seen in Beth. Ellie had been through a hell of a lot. More than anyone should have to go through. And she was pregnant. He’d heard that could mess with a woman’s mind.

But she wasn’t stupid and she did know Chris as well as anyone. He didn’t like to think that Chris could be careless enough to fall down a mineshaft on his own property either. That didn’t make it murder, but it
was
kind of weird that she’d had a deadly accident only days after Chris’s death.

They were probably just that: two horrible, unfortunate accidents. But what could it hurt to humor her for a few days? Homicide wasn’t his area of expertise. He investigated fraud and white collar crime, not murder. But then Ellie thought he was an estate lawyer, anyway. She wouldn’t be expecting a professional. Maybe if he went through the motions, asked a few questions, she’d come to accept the tragic truth.
Maybe I will too.

Jason nodded. “I’ll look into it for you. But the facts are the facts. We may not like what we find. Can you deal with that?”

Ellie nodded. “Thank you!”

“So where do you
think we should start?” Beth asked as she dropped a big spoonful of mashed potatoes onto her plate. She and Jason were eating informally in the kitchen. Maria had refused their invitation to join them and had left to go home to her own family. Beth was trying not to think about the fact that they’d be alone together in the house tonight.

“Maybe it’s an occupational hazard, but since I deal all the time with people’s money, I think that’s where we should begin. Let’s look at the trust and follow the money.”

“That’s what—” She coughed.
That’s what Ellie said
. “That’s what I thought too.” She reached for the gravy.

“Who would benefit from Chris’s death?”

Beth froze with the ladle in her hand.
Ellie
. “Only me—and the baby.”

“But isn’t there some clause about direct descendants? What if you weren’t pregnant, or,” he looked away, then back at her, “or if you had died in the accident? Who gets the money then?”

She put the ladle carefully back in the gravy boat. “Chris’s cousin, Palmer, would get it all, minus a modest widow’s annuity if I weren’t pregnant.” She felt as if someone had just turned on the light. “I’d only just found out I was pregnant the day Chris died. The day he was killed,” she corrected herself. “No one but me and Chris knew. And Maria.”

An avid look filled Jason’s chocolate brown eyes as he grinned. Beth wished it was her he was smiling at and not Ellie.

“That’s where we’ll start then,” he said, slicing into his pot roast.

She wished it could be that easy, that finding Chris’s killer could be quick, that she could go back to being herself. Maybe then she and Jason could …
No.
She wasn’t going to think that way.
He didn’t want a relationship four months ago, just a roll in the hay. It wouldn’t be any different now.
She mourned the loss of their friendship, but she didn’t think that was possible now. She remembered how disgusted Jason was by liars and con men. He’d hate her when he found out she’d lied to him. She might as well wish that Chris and Ellie were still alive. Jason would never forgive her deception.

She forced her thoughts back to their conversation. “Palmer wouldn’t do something like that. He’s going off somewhere to be a missionary.”

Jason smiled grimly. “It wouldn’t be the first time a preacher was found with his fingers in the till.”