Текст книги "Family Secrets"
Автор книги: Kate Kane
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Текущая страница: 11 (всего у книги 13 страниц)
Chapter 18
Confession
When they returned to Lane’s house, the Parker kids were all in the kitchen gathering things for lunch. Jamie looked at the clock; it was just before noon.
“Good thing you made it home on time, Mom. We wouldn’t want to have to ground you before your birthday.”
“Oh, believe me, I was worried about that,” Lane replied and they all laughed. “I’m going to put my purse in the bedroom, and then we all need to sit down and talk.”
Lane walked toward the bedroom. When he was sure she was out of earshot, Ben looked at the kids. Better to get it out now, and let Jess blow up before the party.
“I heard from someone today that your Mom invited him to her surprise birthday party.”
Jess looked at Jamie. She lifted her left eyebrow. “Good work boysenberry,” she said, without a trace of sarcasm. Ben was worried.
For as long as Jamie could remember, Jess had called him either Jam, short for Jamison unless she felt like calling him jelly, preserves, boysenberry, strawberry or any other fruit from which jam could be made … the list goes on and on. For the most part, it didn’t bother him. Although there was one time she’d gone too far in front of the football team, but that’s a story for another time.
“I told you she’d find the email if I left my laptop some place it didn’t belong.”
Ben looked at each of the Parker kids. “All right, clue me in here, I expected you to blow.”
Jess laughed. “It’s a long con, Ben. The surprise is next year when she turns 50. Since we did a surprise party this year she won’t be expecting it next year.”
Ben shook his head. These kids were devious long-term planners who knew how to keep a secret. He’d had no idea.
Lane came into the kitchen as lunch was being “served.” It was a veritable smorgasbord. The Kids had stopped at Popeye’s and brought home chicken and Ben and Lane had stopped by the grocery store and brought home sandwich meats, coleslaw and potato salad.
They held hands and Lane said grace. “Lord, we thank-you for the food you have placed before us, and for the safety of our family and friends. In Jesus’ name we pray.”
“So, how was the flight, Jess,” Lane asked.
“Good, you know the worst part is getting up so early to get here at a decent time.”
“Boys, how was your father?”
“He’s fine.” Jake responded.
Jess made a face.
“Nanna Evie sends her love.” Jamie added.
“Okay, with that out of the way, there are some things I need to talk with you about. First let me say everything’s over now and I’m fine.” Lane made eye contact with each of them before continuing.
Jess narrowed her eyes. If everything’s over now that means something had been wrong. And, no one had bothered to contact her and let her know there was any kind of trouble.
“Last Saturday night, when I was at the movie, I discovered a dead body in the theater.”
Jess looked from Lane to Ben. “I talked to you Sunday. Both of you and neither one of you said a word!”
“Yes, well, there was nothing you could have done about any of it anyway. The dead man was the man who caused the accident that resulted in my father dying, and so, the police considered me a suspect.”
Jess looked at Ben. “Where were you when all of this was going on?” She demanded. Jake and Jamie were nodding.
“Ben went to Italy with his mother, remember? And that doesn’t matter.”
“I took an earlier flight. I wasn’t supposed to be back until late Sunday, but I came home a day early.”
“Then, on Tuesday, Detective McGuire found the murder weapon under my bed when he was looking for his sunglasses.”
“Under your bed? Mom What the heck? How did the murder weapon get there?” Jake’s voice seemed to get louder with each word.
“I want to know why the detective was looking for his sunglasses under your bed. How could his sunglasses get there? Aren’t you dating Ben?” Jamie glared at his mother as if two-timing Ben was a greater sin than murder.
Jess was silently shaking her head and glaring at Ben. She’d left him in charge and clearly, he’d fallen down on the job.
Ben held up his hands. “Chill, guys. Your mother got one of her headaches on Monday and Mickey, who’s a friend of mine by the way, brought her home and stayed with her until I got here.”
“Yes, well when Mick was looking for his sunglasses which were under the bed, he also pulled out the murder weapon and then he told me to call Ben and he took me to the Leawood police station for questioning.”
“Where I went immediately went and got your mother.”
The boys were both smiling at Ben, Jess still glared.
“Then on Wednesday, Al suggested I take a few days off. And that afternoon, someone set my car on fire in the parking lot at work.”
“A fire, in the BMW?” Jess growled. Now all three Parker kids were glaring at Ben as though the fire was somehow his fault.
“After the fire, I got her to come stay at my house until it was all over.”
“Yes, he did. And, on Thursday, I met his uncles. Uncle Sal had represented the man I found in the theater, for the car accident. But, it was Uncle Vinnie who told me that the dead man’s father had put 1.5 million dollars in a trust for me when I was four.”
“1.5 million dollars,” Jess said.
“WOW,” Jake said.
“You’re a millionaire,” Jamie asked.
“Yes, well, actually that’s something else I wanted to talk with you about and I’ll get to it soon.” Lane took a drink.
“Then yesterday, I went to my office to pick up the package Nanna Evie sent for my birthday.” She tilted her head. “I wonder why she didn’t just have you guys bring it back with you. Anyway, that’s when the murderer and his co-conspirator held me in my office and threatened to kill me.”
Jamie who was the only one of the Parker kids still living at home looked at his mother. “I can’t leave you alone for a second, can I? The last time I was gone you got involved in that kidnapping, and now a dead body, a hostage situation, and murder threats. There’s no way I’m going to be able to go half way across the country to West Point next year.”
Jake shook his head. “I’ll move back in when you go. She can’t be left alone.”
Jess agreed. “Seriously, one of us has to be with you at all times from now on.” She glared at Ben. “It’s completely obvious that someone isn’t living up to expectations.”
Lane chose to ignore their outbursts. They were hearing all of this for the first time, and in retrospect, it had been a harrowing week. But, she was an adult, and their mother, and they weren’t the boss of her. Telling that to them right now probably wasn’t the wisest choice. She’d remind them later.
“Ben and Detective McGuire came into the office guns drawn and rescued me. The two men were arrested, and Ben and I went to make formal statements this morning. You see, everything’s all right now.” She took a breath. “So that brings me back to the money. It’s grown to over ten million dollars now. There are a lot of things I could do with it, but the murderer killed his father, at least we think it was his father, because his wife has mental health issues and needs to be in a full time treatment facility. So I’m thinking that I want to take at least a portion of the money and set up a foundation that can pay her medical bills.”
Ben wasn’t surprised, but then he’d ridden the roller coaster with her all week and understood how she’d arrived at this conclusion. While her kids knew her to be the most generous soul they knew, they still struggled with what she said.
Jake shook his head. “Some guy kills someone, then tries to frame you for the murder, then threatens to kill you and you want to pay the medical bills for his wife?”
“Well, you see, the money originally came from the man who would have been the murderer’s grandfather. I don’t need the money and it should help someone. I’m going to talk to Uncle Vinnie and Mrs. Edwards about it Monday.”
She looked at her kids. “Now, all three of you go get unpacked and showered or changed or whatever.”
After the Kids left the room, Ben looked at her. “Well, I think they took that rather well.” Then they both laughed.
“I’m not sure what was worse, the look on Jamie’s face when he thought I was two-timing you, the look on Jess’s face the whole time as she glared at you, or the thought of Jake moving back home permanently so he can protect me.” She kissed Ben. “Are you going to stay, or do you need to go home before we go to church tonight?”
“I’ve got a couple of things I need to do. I’ll pick you up at four-thirty, okay?”
Lane walked Ben to his SUV and kissed him good-bye. She wondered how she should dress for the surprise party. But, she decided it was something she’d worry about later. Right now, she really needed a nap.
Chapter 19
A favor between friends
Jess knocked on her mother’s door at four o’clock to make sure she was up.
Lane got up and showered. She pulled on a salmon colored sundress made of jersey. It was supposed to be a maxi dress, but it hit Lane about mid-calf. She put on a matching pair of three-inch heeled sandals, and opened the closet to get a pashmina. The dress didn’t have little spaghetti straps, but was still sleeveless and the pashmina might come in handy in the air conditioning or just to hide the bruise that was on her left upper arm. She put her hair in a fishbone braid, put on a little makeup, and walked into the kitchen just as Ben opened the door into the house.
Jamie, Jess, and Jake were all in dressy shorts. The boys both wore boat shoes, Jess had on wedge-heeled sandals. Ben wore his standard khaki slacks with a polo shirt and Gucci loafers without socks.
While Ben’s Lincoln Navigator was roomy enough for the five of them, Jake suggested he drive separately. His thought was that he and his siblings might want to leave the party early. Both Jess and Jamie piled into his extended cab Silverado.
She looked at Ben. “So much for never leaving me alone again.”
Ben opened her door. “I could call them back if you want.”
As she got in she laughed. “No, please don’t.”
Saturday was family night and after church, as was their habit, they began making plans. They always went out to eat, and as the talk went to, shall we dine at Bellini’s or not, she wondered how they were going to get her back to Ben’s after dinner. It was Jess who spoke up saying she was only back for a few days, and she wanted, no she needed Jack Stack. She should have known Jess would want barbeque. It was early, only six o’clock but Ben had called ahead in the hope of shortening the wait.
By six-thirty, they were up to their elbows in cheesy corn, pork ribs, beef ribs, and onion rings. It was delicious. After dinner, Jake suggested they go back to Ben’s for a swim.
Ben watched as the Parkers danced along in the mutual deception. Lane knew about the party but wouldn’t spoil the surprise the kids had planned. And, the kids knew she knew all about it because they had carefully and covertly made sure she found out. He shook his head. So much work, both “sides” waiting for the other to blink first.
They’d gotten Ben to foot the bill for valet parking so that no cars would be in his drive. The cars had been parked at a school parking lot a couple of blocks away. He’d picked up the cake, appetizers, and other refreshments when he’d left Lane earlier in the day. Jess had recruited Lane’s assistant, Meg to let people into Ben’s house and keep everyone quiet as they walked in. Ben excused himself at the restaurant and called Meg with an ETA. Jake, Jess and Jamie drove ahead, parked in the driveway, and waited for Ben and Lane. Ben opened the garage door, and escorted Lane into the house so she could be surprised when the people all popped out.
Jess might be the professional actress, but if Mick hadn’t told him Lane knew about the party, Ben wouldn’t have had any idea that she was anything but surprised. Ben got a glass of wine and handed it to Lane. She handed her purse and wrap to Jess who put them in Ben’s room.
Jess slipped next to Ben while Lane was talking with Meg and whispered, “So, Ben, who’s the blonde?”
“That’s Meg Kelly. I thought you arranged this. Haven’t you ever met her?”
“Of course I arranged it. No, I’ve never met her. I’ve never been at Mom’s office during the day. I guess she isn’t what I expected.”
Jess overheard Meg ask Lane about the ordeal that occurred in her office the day before. Meg seemed to know a lot more about what went on with her mother than she did and frankly, it pissed her off.
“Did Kyle have his gun pointed at you the whole time?”
“Not the whole time. There was a time when he started waiving it around at Craig.”
“Still, weren’t you scared?”
Lane noticed Jess standing just feet away, and wanted to put a stop to the topic of discussion with Meg. “Really, it was no worse than some union negotiations I’ve been involved in. Meg, I’d like you to meet my daughter.” Lane motioned for Jess to step closer.
“Meg, this is my daughter Jess. Jess, this is Meg Kelly. I know you two have spoken on the phone, but I think this is the first time you’ve met.”
Jess and Meg said hello to each other. Lane excused herself and began to mingle. As Lane worked her way around the room, Jess and Meg were engaged in a conversation of sorts.
“You put together a great party. How is school going? I can’t imagine living in L.A.” Meg asked.
“School’s good.” Jess maneuvered Meg toward her brother Jamie. “Have you met my brother Jamie?”
“Meg, this is Jamie. Jamie, this is Mom’s assistant Meg Kelly.”
Jess left Meg in Jamie’s care. She had spotted Jake across the room and made her way to him.
“Jake, see that girl talking to Jamie?” Jake nodded. “She’s Mom’s assistant, Meg, and she’s all up in our business. Go take care of that.”
Lane saw Al and Babs Edwards and she made her way toward them.
“Al, Babs, thank-you so much for coming. Babs, I’ll give your office a call on Monday, I’ve thought of a use for the trust.”
They wished her a happy birthday and Lane was on to the next group. All eleven members of her book club were there, and she moved from group to group, accepting birthday wishes and exchanging pleasantries.
Jake thought, “Go take care of that, typical Jess, issuing orders.” What was he supposed to do, threaten her? He looked at Meg. She was five feet six inches tall, not as thin as Jess, but not fat. In fact, as he looked at her, he’d say she was just about perfect. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, a nice figure. He walked over to where she stood talking to Jamie.
“Hi. I’m Jake Parker. You’re Mom’s assistant, Meg, right?” He looked at her nearly empty glass. “Can I get you a refill?”
Meg nodded. “Sure.” She walked with him to the kitchen where the bar was set up.
“What are you drinking?”
“It’s just Diet Coke. I’m driving.”
“You’re here alone?”
“Here and almost everywhere.” God, had she really said that aloud? What was she thinking? Why had her whole filtering system had taken a vacation? Meg was 24 years old. She had a two-year-old daughter. The guy she’d dated through college had started to show violent tendencies. She left him and never even told him he was pregnant. She moved back in with her parents who helped take care of Abigail. Even so, she didn’t go out much. She looked up at Jake. He was six feet four inches tall, with a muscular build, blonde hair, and blue eyes. He looked great in his shorts, polo shirt, and boat shoes. And, he did look a little like one of the Hemsworth brothers, tall, blue eyes, muscular and steamy, but that was no reason for her to take leave of her senses.
“Let’s go out to the patio. Looks like it’s less crowded outside.” He held the patio door open and ushered her out.
Lane was talking with Pat Elliott, a friend from book club. It was the first time the book club members had met Ben. Pat was a widow with two daughters, and she was teasing Lane about fixing her up with someone.
The women were laughing when Lane noticed Ben was talking with Mick. Lane excused herself and slowly made her way to the corner where the two men stood.
“Hi, Mick. It’s so nice that you could come.”
Mick smiled at Lane. He couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she looked in the clingy jersey dress. He also couldn’t miss the fact that the second she joined them Ben had put his arm around her waist. He wanted to say, “Okay, already, I get it, she’s yours. Hands and eyes off.” Well, hands off that was difficult, but doable. Eyes off was completely something else. Lane wasn’t the kind of woman who demanded attention, yet it seemed he couldn’t help giving it to her.
“It was thoughtful of you to invite me.”
Lane laughed. “When I invited you, I was still a suspect and I thought it would be easier for you to keep an eye on me. Speaking of suspects, I’d like to talk with Kyle Paulson. I want to help with the medical expenses for his wife. Do I need to get permission from someone?”
To say that Mick was surprised might have been an understatement. He’d spent a lot of time with Lane during the past week. His opinion of her from the first meeting to now hadn’t exactly changed, more like it had grown. He had a better feeling for the complete woman. She was beautiful, that was obvious from the start. She was intelligent, she’d proven yesterday how capable she was, and now she was clearly compassionate and caring.
“Yeah, since you’re a witness against him, you should talk to his lawyer. Maybe Ben could approach him for you.”
“Who is it? Has he got a public defender?”
Mick nodded and gave him a name.
Ben looked at Lane who was looking up at him. “Oh, no. I can tell by the look on your face you want me to defend him. That’s just not going to happen. For at least three reasons. He tried to frame you for murder, he threatened you, and the kids, and he held you at gunpoint. And we can talk about it privately later.”
Mick laughed. “Counselor, I have a feeling your winning streak may be coming to an end.”
~~~
Jake and Meg sat down at a table on the patio.
“You just finished your MBA at KU, right? I think I heard you’d accepted a job, but I don’t remember where.”
“It was an MS in Civil Engineering. I’m going to work for Burke & Jones. They do engineering, consulting, and construction worldwide. They made the offer, I accepted and now we’re just waiting for the security clearance to come through. I’m planning to move out of the house as soon as I start the job.” Why had he told her that? What did she care where he was living? Why did he want her to know that he’d have his own place soon?
“Yeah, I get that. I moved back in with my parents a couple of years ago. They have a tendency to treat me as if I’m still in high school. You know, where are you going, when will you be back.”
Jake laughed. It was hard moving from his apartment in Lawrence back into the house with Jamie and his Mom, but he knew it was temporary.
“Mom’s pretty cool. She doesn’t nag about curfew or sleeping in, but it is weird going from making all of your own decisions to being treated like a kid again. You’ve been working for Mom since she got the job, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, three years now. It’s my first office job. My degree is in Marketing, and I’d been working at Dillard’s before I went to work for your Mom.”
“You’ve got a kid, right?”
And there it was. Meg loved Abbey more than life itself; however, a two year old was a turn off for most guys. Meg shook her head. What was she thinking? First, she’d just met Jake; second, he was her boss’s son, third who said he was interested in her to begin with?
“Yes, I have a daughter. Her name’s Abigail and she’s two.”
“My brother and I just got back from Omaha. Our cousin up there has a two year old. He’s a terror, but he’s kinda cute though.” Jake smiled.
God, he has dimples. And she was lost in the blue eyes and dimples. Did he say something else?
Jake tapped Meg’s hand. “Are you okay?”
“Hmm? Oh. Yeah. I was just thinking.”
Jamie came outside. “Hey, you guys need to come in here. Ben’s uncles are here. Did you know they were identical twins?”
Ben’s uncles Sal and Vinnie had come into the party and had taken Ben and Lane aside. Vinnie handed Lane a small box.
“We wanted to get a little something for you, our little Angel of the Valley.”
“You didn’t have to get me anything,” Lane said as she took the box and opened it. Then, she just looked from one tall white haired Italian man to the other. “What is this?” She dangled the Mercedes key fob she found in the box.
Sal and Vinnie smiled. “It’s just a little token of our affection. Come outside and see.” She and Ben went to the driveway. In the drive was a Pearl Beige Mercedes SL65 AMG convertible. She’d seen one in the show room. It was a quarter million dollar car, it was sitting in the drive way and she held the key.
“I can’t accept this,” she said as she held the key out toward them.
“Tell her, Nipote. It’s bad luck to refuse a birthday gift.”
Ben took a breath. “Well, they’re right. It’s an Italian thing, you can’t refuse it.” He looked at Lane and back to his uncles. Lane wouldn’t cause a scene in front of all of the guests who had now come into the driveway and were oooing and ahhing at the car. He leaned close to her and whispered in her ear, “Kiss the uncles and then let’s take a spin around the block in their gift.”
Ben helped Lane into the driver’s seat and closed the door. He walked to the passenger door. Pausing to whisper in Jess’s ear, “Will you play hostess until we’re back?”
“We’ll be right back, everyone. We’re just going to take a spin around the block,” Ben said to the crowd as he got into the car with Lane.
Lane started the car and backed out of the drive.
Jess stepped up to the uncles and introduced herself. “Ciao. So, you’re Ben’s uncles. I’m Jess Parker.”
“Allow us to introduce ourselves. I am Salvatore Luciano. This is my brother Vincenzo.”
“Let me do you a favor.” Jess smiled. “If you want her to keep the gift, I suggest you leave. She can’t give it back if there’s no one to give it to.”
Sal looked at Vinnie. “La ragazza ha un punto.” Yes, uncle Sal, Jess thought, I do have a point.
Vinnie smiled “Così intelligente per una così giovane.” Jess smiled at the uncles. How nice that uncle Vinnie thought she was smart.
Since leaving for college a little over a year ago, Jess had learned Italian using Rosetta Stone and she understood every word the Luciano brothers spoke.
“You’d better hurry, they were only going around the block.” She ushered them to their car and smiled. A favor accepted is a favor owed.
