Текст книги "Family Secrets"
Автор книги: Kate Kane
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Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 13 страниц)
Chapter 14
Trust me
Friday morning began much as Thursday had. Ben was up before dawn feeling less than rested. On the one hand, he could get used to waking up with this woman in his arms and on the other hand, it would be better if she were naked and he wasn’t frustrated. He dressed for his run, kissed Lane on the cheek, and headed out the door.
As he ran, he thought about how he was going to convince Lane and the Parker Kids to stay with him until the killer was safely behind bars. Moreover, he wondered how, once he had them all under his roof, he would convince Lane to stay in his bed. He laughed. They weren’t even having sex and he was trying to figure out how to break things to her kids.
He’d had “the sex talk” with both Jake and Jamie years ago. Jake had approached him three years ago shortly after he’d moved to Kansas. It was Jake, who had told Ben the truth about Phillip Parker. Lane had wanted all three kids to have a relationship with their father, but the three of them each had handled their father’s sexual orientation and his departure from the family differently. Jake hadn’t felt he could have a talk about girls and sexual urges with a gay man and he had talked with Ben. How Jake had made it through high school and his first three years of college still a virgin was beyond Ben. Jake was a good-looking guy, he’d been an athlete in high school. In Ben’s experience, girls were attracted to jocks. From the discussion, Ben gathered that Jake had dated but actually had been too afraid to seal the deal. Ben had talked about urges, how easy it was to confuse lust with love. He’d told Jake that, ‘stop means stop’, ‘no means no, not maybe’, ‘sometimes maybe means no’ and most importantly, never have sex with a woman who was too impaired to say no or stop, and above all, never, never, never have unprotected sex because there are rules. Much to his own surprise, he’d repeated Fr. O’Connor’s speech about men wanting to marry virgins. It was a year or so later when he sat Jamie down and a similar conversation had taken place.
However, there was a difference between talking to the Parker boys about their sex lives and talking to them about him and their mother. Then there was Jess. Jess was 5’ 4” of intense. She’d called him after Memorial Day and told him in clear concise terms what she would do to him if he ever hurt her mother. She knew where he worked and where he lived. She’d reminded him that she knew the codes to his garage and alarm systems. There would be no place where he could be safe. Then she said that when he least expected it, she would castrate him. That’s exactly what she’d said; castrate him. The only down side for her she had said was that she’d have to find someone else to act as her defense attorney.
Ben remembered the first time Jess had called him for help. It was about six months after she’d come to Kansas. There was a guy that she’d gone out with who didn’t want to let her go. She’d gone out with the guy only a couple of times and quickly decided he wasn’t anyone she wanted in her life. He would wait near their house and follow her to school. He’d wait outside school and follow her home. He’d sit down the block and just stare at the house. Either he wasn’t good at hiding or he wasn’t trying to hide. The first day she let it go, but the second day when she saw his car waiting in the neighborhood, she’d called Ben. He’d told her he’d take care of it.
He’d called the scrawny kid whose name was Nate. He had invited the kid to have lunch at Bellini’s. The whole city believes Bellini’s is a mob hang out and Ben wasn’t above using that to his advantage. He met the kid in the parking lot and was greeted at the door by Enzo who addressed Ben as Mr. Bellini before escorting them to the Board Room. Nate was about five feet seven inches tall, and might have weighed in at 130 lbs. Ben was six feet four inches tall and weighed 210. His size alone was intimidating to the kid. After they sat, Ben explained that Jess was a close friend and he’d take it personally if anything happened to make Jess upset. Just to be sure that Nate got the full idea, Ben made sure his father had come by the table. Ben had stood and kissed his father on both cheeks being sure the kid knew that this was owner of Bellini’s and that Ben called him Papa. There were no threats. It was all accomplished by intimidation, but Nate never bothered Jess again. Shortly afterward, Ben had talked with Lane about enrolling Jess in self-defense classes.
He laughed, if Jess castrated him, he’d have only himself to blame, first because he’d done something stupid enough to hurt her mother and second because it had been his idea to be sure she had the ability to do it.
He returned home, swam, showered, and dressed. Lane still slept. He stood watching her for a few minutes. She looked so safe, so peaceful, so, well, right sleeping in his bed. Ben bent and kissed her forehead and left for the office.
Lane slept in a little late even for her. It was 9:15 a.m. when she awoke to the buzzing of her iPhone.
“Hello?”
“Lane? It’s Meg. How are you?”
Lane sat up in bed and smiled. “I’m fine, Meg. How are you?”
“Good, I’m good. I called your house first and didn’t get an answer. I was a little worried that tall, dark and handsome had arrested you. But then I remembered tall, dark and oh my God and knew that he would never let that happen.”
Lane laughed. “No, Mick hasn’t arrested me. And, you’re right, even if he does, Ben will never let anything happen to me. So, what’s going on?”
“A package was delivered here from Evelyn.”
Evelyn Parker was Lane’s friend and ex-mother-in-law who was still living in Omaha.
“It’s probably for your birthday. You know that she likes to send packages to the office so she can be sure there’s someone to receive them. I could bring it by your house after work if you want.”
“No, that’s okay. I’ll drop by the office later today and pick it up. Meg, I have some things to do today, so I might not be there until after five o’clock. Would you lock it in my office?”
Lane called Babs Edwards’ office and was pleasantly surprised to find that she could see Babs at eleven o’clock.
Lane got up, showered, and dressed in jeans, a sleeveless cotton blouse, and sandals. She called Ben to let him know that she was able to get in to see Babs.
Babs’ office was less than ten minutes from Ben’s house and Lane was there in plenty of time. She was prepared to sit and wait. After she’d given the receptionist her name, she took out her iPhone and opened her e-reader app. She hadn’t even read three pages when Babs approached her. Babs who was in her mid-fifties was five feet nothing in her bare feet, so she had a tendency to wear very high heels. Today she was wearing a vivid red suit and platform pumps that had 5” heels. She was still almost half a foot shorter than Lane.
When they were in Babs’ office, Lane hugged her and offered best wishes on her marriage.
“Al told me about the trouble you’re having. What can I do to help?” Babs couldn’t imagine what advice she could possibly offer, but she liked Lane and would do whatever she could.
Lane smiled. It was such an unbelievable situation. She reached into her Brahmin bag and got Uncle Vinnie’s card. As she handed it to Babs, she explained.
“When I was four years old, my father and I were in a car accident. The accident was caused when a drunk teenager crossed the centerline and hit us. I was uninjured, but my father died a few months later as a result of his injuries.”
“Lane, I am so sorry. That must have been difficult.”
“Thank-you. It was made more difficult because my mother who had ovarian cancer died just weeks after my father died. I was raised by my mother’s younger sister.”
Babs looked at the card Lane had handed to her. She still didn’t know why Lane was in her office or why Lane had given her Vincenzo Luciano’s card. She reached out and took Lane’s hand.
Lane gave a half smile. “I learned yesterday that the young driver came from a very wealthy family. His father put 1.5 million dollars in trust for me. Vincenzo Luciano has been administering that trust all this time. Apparently, it’s grown substantially. I’m here because I want to discuss the trust. I’m not sure what to do with it. Mr. Luciano suggested that I talk with my own advisor before I make any decisions.”
“I see. Let me call Mr. Luciano’s office and have the details sent to me.”
Babs stood and walked to her desk. She dialed the number on the card, gave her name, and her client’s name to the person on the other end of the line. Seconds later Mr. Luciano was on the line.
“Mr. Luciano, My name is Barbara Burns. I represent Lane Parker.”
“Yes, I’d appreciate that,” she said before she gave her fax number.
“Yes, what can you tell me about the specifics of the trust?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact Mrs. Parker is in my office.” She put the call on hold and looked at Lane.
“Mr. Luciano has suggested we meet him at Bellini’s for a late lunch meeting. Are you free at one o’clock?”
Lane nodded.
“Yes, Mr. Luciano, we’ll be happy to meet you there at one.” Babs disconnected the call.
Lane looked across the desk.
“Babs, Vinnie is my boyfriend’s uncle.” She paused. That was the first time she’d called Ben her boyfriend. It was odd, was she too old to have a boyfriend? Maybe, but she wasn’t old enough to use the term gentleman friend and it was too soon to call him her significant other even though that was really what he was.
“The entire situation is … complicated, I guess. The man I found dead was the teenaged driver who killed my father. Ben and I had lunch yesterday with his uncle who told us about the trust. I understand that my aunt knew about the trust, but refused it. Apparently, Mr. Gardino had them hold the money in trust anyway and Mr. Luciano was supposed to find me when I became of age. He knew me as Angelique Valle – but my Aunt had begun calling me Lane. Even though he said he did try, it was impossible. So it was quite by accident that it all came out at lunch yesterday.”
There was a rap at the door and Bab’s assistant brought in the fax from Mr. Luciano’s office.
“Let me look all of this over. Perhaps we can meet in an hour at Bellini’s. That would give us half an hour to talk before we meet with Mr. Luciano.”
Lane smiled. She’d felt a little under dressed during her meeting yesterday with the Luciano brothers. The uncles were wearing Gucci shoes and Brioni suits which retail in the thousands. She thought she’d like to go home and put on a suit of her own before the meeting even if it would take at least ten of her suits to equal the price of the one Uncle Vinnie had worn yesterday. Still, she’d feel better.
Ben had been extremely anxious to get her out of her house, and she had to admit that he had a point. She called him from the parking lot of Babs’ office.
“Red, how did the meeting with Babs go?”
“Uncle Vinnie faxed some paperwork to her and asked if we’d meet him at Papa’s at one o’clock for a late lunch. I’m going home – my home – to change. I felt a little under dressed with those two old men yesterday.”
“Lane, I don’t want to sound like an old woman, but I really would feel better if you aren’t alone at your house until this is resolved. I can’t get away right now. I’ll send Tanner to meet you. Please don’t go in until he gets there.”
She couldn’t decide whether to be angry, but then again, she had called Ben and she’d done it because she knew he had a point about it being dangerous to be alone at her house. She agreed to wait for Tanner knowing that it meant Tanner would go in first, gun drawn to clear the house before he let her in and that he’d wait while she changed. On the one hand, it seemed like overkill, on the other it was a small price to pay for her safety.
Safety. Suddenly it dawned on her that the kids would be back tomorrow. If it wasn’t safe for her to live in her house right now, how was she going to keep the kids safe? She’d talk to Ben. Maybe they could get the police to add an extra patrol or something.
She drove to her house and was surprised to find Tanner’s SUV already parked in her driveway. Tanner was outside the vehicle walking around the house. Securing the perimeter is the way it would read in a novel. She sat in her Escalade until Tanner motioned for her to get out. He had her enter the garage code and he preceded her into the house just the way she’d imagined it. He cleared the house, room by room even checking the basement, before he let her go further than the garage.
“Go ahead and change. I’ll wait in the hall.”
Lane went into her bedroom and quickly selected not a suit, but a dress. It was a tailored, linen, sleeveless sheath in black and cream. She dressed quickly with nude hose, and black and cream shoes. She quickly transferred some things into a black and cream striped Brahmin bag and then grabbed up her discarded jeans, blouse, and sandals and put them into a duffle bag as she walked into the hall.
“Hope I didn’t keep you too long. Are you supposed to follow me to Bellini’s or am I on my own now?”
Tanner laughed. “You’re on your own, but you might want to give the man a call. He worries.”
Sometimes it was easy to forget Ben was 12 years younger because he had always acted as if he was the older brother, father, uncle. She laughed a bit. It made her think about her little cousin Hannah. When Hannah was about three, she was trying to process how Lane really fit into the family and one day she told Marta “I have a sister.” When Marta asked who she said, “Lane and I have an aunt.” When Marta again asked who, again little Hannah replied, “Lane and I have a cousin.” Again, the answer was “Lane.” But, when she followed with “and I have two Mamas.” Taken aback Marta asked who, “You, and Lane.” Little Hannah had replied. Apparently, Lane was whichever female relative that little Hannah needed. Maybe Ben was whatever man Lane needed. She shook her head. Ben was her friend, her boyfriend. He wasn’t her brother, father, uncle, or even her husband, yet. Where the heck had that come from?
She sat in her SUV and called Ben. Her cell was connected to the stereo system via blue tooth, so she felt safe to drive.
The phone had barely rung when he picked up. “Red, Tanner says everything’s fine at the house.”
Lane smiled. Of course Tanner would have called Ben while she was changing. “I’m on my way to Papa’s. I have a couple of errands to run this afternoon, and then I need to stop by my office. Evie sent a package for me and I need to pick it up. Any idea what time you’ll finish up today? I was thinking we could meet for dinner some place.”
Lane knew Ben had a trial starting Monday and since she’d taken up so much time this week, she suspected he might be working late doing prep for it.
“I should break free by six-thirty. I could meet you at seven o’clock. How does the Bristol sound?”
“Sounds like you’ve got yourself a date, Counselor.”
Ben laughed. “Of course I do, it is date night after all.” Since they’d met, he’d spent Saturday night with her and with the kids, after they’d moved. But, Friday had been Ben’s date night. He’d just wasted three years spending it with the wrong women. Now, he spent the night with Lane. The unspoken rule was that it was their night alone. Saturday was family night, but on Friday, he got her to himself.
Lane parked and opened the door. She stepped out of the SUV completely oblivious to the stares she received. She was over six feet tall in her heels and there was the impression that she was completely color coordinated from the tips of her cream and black shoes to her purse, her dress, and her SUV, which was cream, colored with black pin stripes. She’d left her hair down and it hung loosely around her shoulders. She approached the double carved wooden doors and thought nothing of the man who stepped forward to open one of them for her. It was twelve-fifteen so she hadn’t expected to see Babs waiting near the bar.
She leaned close to the bartender. “Enzo, we’re meeting Uncle Vinnie. Has he come in yet?” The bartender shook his head. A tall, distinguished looking, man with salt and pepper hair approached her. He placed his hands on her upper arms and pulled her into an embrace and kissed each of her cheeks. “Bambina. It is good to see you.”
Lane motioned to Babs. “Papa, this is my friend Mrs. Edwards. Babs, this is Dante Bellini.”
Mr. Bellini took Babs’ hand and kissed her knuckles. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Edwards.” He took Lane’s hand and tucked it in the crook of his arm as he escorted the women toward the Board Room.
Lane whispered to him, “We’re meeting Uncle Vinnie, and we were hoping to have some time to talk before he arrives.”
“Don’t worry, Bambina. The Board Room isn’t crowded today and I’ll seat you in the corner.”
Much to Lane’s surprise, there was no one in the Board Room. She and Babs were seated in the corner and glasses of water were quickly placed before them. A waiter took drink orders. Both ordered iced tea. When the waiter returned with warm bread, he poured olive oil on a plate, and added herbs.
Babs explained the finer details of trusts so that Lane could now decide what to do. She could take distributions from the trust, dissolve it completely, keep it as is, or convert all or a portion into a charitable trust.
It was still a lot to take in. Lane remembered Ben said that some people would be happy to find they had ten million dollars. Yes, she supposed some people would be, but this was going to take a lot of thought. A man, now deceased, set up the trust, to do what, ease his conscience about the damage his son had done to her family. Uncle Vinnie had said Aunt Marta called it blood money. Lane didn’t need the money. Her parents had provided well for her. Her father was in life insurance sales and her parents had set up their own trust for her; when she turned twenty-five, control of the trust had passed to her. She hadn’t needed the money for her support. There was a sizable life insurance policy that supported her and Aunt Marta and dependent social security benefits that paid for college. And, the money in the trust established by her parents had just sat there.
Lane made the introductions between Vinnie and Babs. They ordered lunch and chatted. Lane explained that she still hadn’t made any decisions and that she planned to discuss it with her children over the weekend.
The three of them chatted as they enjoyed linguine. Why had Uncle Vinnie asked for this lunch meeting? It was true that he’d brought a folder with him containing additional documents to those he’d faxed. But, he could have messengered those to Babs’ office. Lane tried to discern why Uncle Vinnie had asked for a lunch meeting judging from the conversation there was absolutely no reason for it. Lane rubbed her temples. A throbbing had just begun behind her right eye. She would be so glad when the weather changed both figuratively and literally, because she was sure it would signal the end of her headaches.
Just before two o’clock, Babs said she had a meeting and needed to leave. For the second day in a row, Lane found herself sitting at a table in Bellini’s alone with one of the secretive Luciano twins.
Vinnie told Lane how lovely she looked. He asked about her plans for the rest of the afternoon. He suggested they return to Gardner automotive. Perhaps that explained his reason for wanting to meet her for lunch. What the heck was this old man up to? Luckily, Lane’s phone rang. She excused herself and stepped away from the table. She knew from the ring tone who it was.
“Ben?”
“Hey Red, how was lunch?”
“I’m still sort of at lunch. Babs left half an hour or so ago, but I’m still here with Uncle Vinnie.”
“I tried to warn you about my uncles yesterday. They’ll charm the sox off you if you aren’t careful. At least Vinnie won’t try to steal you away from me. He’s married.”
Lane laughed. “There’s no need to be jealous. You’re the only tall good looking Italian lawyer I’m interested in.”
“You have no idea how happy that makes me. Listen, it looks like I’m going to finish up here much earlier than I thought. There’s something I want to talk about and I was hoping I could pick you up at your office around five-thirty.”
“Okay, that fits with my package pickup plan.” She wanted to talk with him too. She needed to figure out a way to keep the kids safe.
