"
Syd
Webberjust
called. He said you barged into his chief of security's office and started throwing accusations at
Massino
."
"I didn't barge in. Joe invited me in. We talked."
"About what?"
"Jonathan Bowman's disappearance, at first."
"You had no business doing that. Didn't I tell you that your role was only to coordinate between the Miami PD and this department? Did you hear me say anything about going to
Cross banged his desk with his fist. "
Dammit
, Nick! I told you a year ago to leave Webber alone. You defied a direct order."
"The two incidents are connected."
"Bowman's disappearance and my father's murder.
I found a connection in a background check Quinn sent me. Magdalena Montoya, the woman who claims to be Bowman's mistress, has a brother, En
rique
, who moved to
"Enrique was a celebrity impersonator. He performed at the
Cross was beginning to calm down.
"The
That's Webber's casino."
"Precisely.
Then, in 1991, Enrique killed his lover, Steve
Marquant
, and no one ever saw him again."
"I didn't. Quinn did. He asked the investigating detective in
"You can stay on the case, but on one condition. Until you have absolute proof that Webber is personally and directly connected to your father's murder, or Bowman's disappearance, you stay away from him. I won't have you use this department to settle an old score. Is that understood?"
Nick nodded.
Cross waved him out. "All right, you can go. But keep me informed, you hear? Of everything!" he shouted as Nick left the room.
Twenty-Three.
Mawr
house with Phoebe later that afternoon. She had shampooed her long, blond hair, letting it fall loose around her shoulders, and had changed into a black corduroy jumpsuit. She had even gone to the trouble of putting on a little makeup.
"How's my girl?" She smiled as she scooped up Phoebe from the floor.
Phoebe patted her stomach. "I'm full.
Mommy.
Don't give me any dinner, okay?"
"She made me my favorite macaroni. And then she gave me these." She held a small plastic bag filled with colorful, foil-wrapped chocolates.
"They're called
gianduias
."
Phoebe threw her head back and laughed. "No.
Just when I want Italian chocolates."
"I see."
in
the candy jar. You probably had enough for one day."
'"
kay
." Phoebe ran up the stairs, dragging her
backpack behind her.
"I don't know how to thank you,"
"I can tell. You look wonderful."
"Are you kidding? My mother practically cried when I told her I had to take her home. She agreed to let her go only after I swore to bring her back soon." She watched
"No." She took two small bottles of Perrier from the refrigerator. "I'm so sorry about the way I behaved earlier. Nick must think I'm a total bitch."
"Nick understands. He's a ... great guy actually."
"Oh?" A light smile touched
"Great, huh?"
"You know what I mean. He's a good person."
Kelly took a long gulp of her Perrier. "Please don't make any more of
that
than what it is. He had made an early appointment with Jack
Templeton and I was still in my nightshirt, so--"
Robolo
. Since when do you open your door in your
pj's
?"
"Will you stop it? The man practically dragged me out of bed."
"Both, as a matter of fact."
Before
"Oh, Kelly!"
"Nick took both notes with him and will have them tested, but the chances we'll find anything useful are slim."
hadn't
asked you to find Jonathan--"
Kelly put up a hand, palm out. "Don't. We have no proof the notes are connected to Jonathan's disappearance." She took another sip of mineral water. "But that second note worries me, Victoria. It implied that others besides
myself
could be in danger."
"Like who?"
"Like people I care for.
You, Phoebe, my mother."
"Phoebe?"
She's just a little girl. She hasn't done anything to--"
"Nothing will happen to her," Kelly said hastily. "We're going to make sure of that."
"I think you should move in with your aunt and uncle. I know you don't want to disrupt Phoebe's routine, but you can make up a reason. Tell her it's a game, or a special time for your aunt and uncle and you want to be there with them. I'm sure Ward and Cecily will be more than happy to play along."
Deep concern was etched all over
"Make it work,
Kelly leaned back against her chair. "Unfortunately, my mother wouldn't cooperate."
"God, no.
I took the coward's way out and asked Ronny to invite her to
"Oh, no."
"It's a good thing Ronny is a better liar than I am or she would have seen right through him."
"It's already done. Besides being a good liar, my wonderful brother is also a quick thinker. When Ma turned him down, he called my Uncle Gino in
happens
that it's the slow season in the wine country right now and he was looking for an excuse to come to
"No. Uncle Gino is long overdue for a visit. She said so herself not too long ago. She'll never suspect a thing. And she'll be totally safe with Uncle Gino there twenty-four hours a day."
"What other question?"
"Who will take care of you?"
Kelly walked into the laundry room where
Kelly nodded just as Phoebe bounded back into the room. "Mommy, can I watch a video?"
"A short one.
After that we'll go to Aunt Cecily's house."
'"
kay
."
As Phoebe disappeared again, Kelly rubbed
"I'm still in shock over the thought that Jonathan tried to borrow that kind of money." Her voice took on that bitter edge that was becoming familiar. "I suppose Magdalena Montoya is proving to be more expensive than we realized."
"What about Ward?" Kelly asked. "Is everything all right between you two?"
Kelly was relieved. She wouldn't have felt right sending
She gave her friend a hug. "I'm glad everything's all right. Now, if you don't mind, I'll leave you to your packing. My masterpiece is waiting for me at home."
They walked toward the door, arms around each other. "I take it you mean your bathroom wall,"
"Let me put it this way, I'm seriously considering calling a real artist to finish the job."
"Why don't you ask Nick to come over and help you? He looks like a man with hidden talents."
"First my brother accuses me of having the
hots
for Nick, and now you start with your innuendoes."
"Do you?"
"Do I what?"
"Have the
hots
for Nick
Mcbride
."
"Oh, for God's sake."
Then, because she didn't know how to answer that question without sounding totally like a phony, she kissed
It was almost seven o'clock when Nick was finally able to walk out of the Roundhouse. Acting on a hunch, he turned right on
As he drove, the image of Kelly standing naked in her bedroom kept replaying in his mind. He had felt like a damn fool afterward, a Peeping Tom. It was a wonder she had been so cool about the intrusion.
Not angry, just shocked and then amused. That was the part that made him feel so stupid.
And guilty, like a little kid getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
He wondered if he was falling for her. Or if this constant vision of Kelly was just a case of healthy lust. It had been so long since he was in love he probably wouldn't recognize the signs if they hit him in the face. Looking back at his relationship with his ex-wife, Nina, he wasn't sure he had truly loved her. They had met in high school, two teenagers with raging hormones and a passion for adventure. They had married right after graduation, much to his father's displeasure.
Sex--great sex--had been the only reason their marriage had survived those fifteen tempestuous years.
Then one evening Nick had come home from work and found the house empty, Nina's things gone.
On the kitchen table, propped against the salt and pepper shakers, was a note informing him she had left for
There had been other women in Nick's life since then, attractive, intelligent women whose company he had enjoyed. But none had been able to stir in him the kind of passion he felt was essential to a lasting relationship. These days when one of his friends tried to fix him up with "the perfect woman," Nick just laughed and told him to introduce Miss. Perfect to someone else. He had just turned the corner into
Street
then
stopped when he realized she wasn't alone.
Holding her elbow and acting as though he owned her was
Syd
Webber.
Nick brought the Taurus to a stop and watched them step into a stretch limo the size of a football field.
When the car pulled away.
Nick let his foot off the brake and followed them without hesitation.
Twenty-Four.
A few minutes later, the limo stopped in front of an unassuming restaurant on
Cursing the absence of valet parking.
Nick circled the block a few times until he found a space to squeeze into. By the time he walked into the restaurant, the place was packed. Kelly and her companion were comfortably settled at a candlelit table, a bottle of champagne in a silver bucket next to them.
Nick looked around him. The restaurant may have looked unassuming from the outside, but inside it was a study in quiet elegance and comfort.
A far cry from the little Irish pub where Nick had planned on taking Kelly.
"Do you have a reservation, sir?" A slender, attractive woman with Asian features smiled at him.
"No." He gestured toward the crowded bar. "I'll just have a drink."
"Very well."
He positioned himself near the window so he could have a clear view of the dining room, and ordered a Samuel Adams.
Kelly looked sensational. A sleeveless dress in a deep burgundy shade skimmed her slender figure, accentuating her round breasts. She had pulled her hair back in an elegant twist, leaving a few wisps to frame her face. Except for a pair of pearl earrings and a watch, she wore no jewelry. The effect was simple and stunning. Judging from the way Webber kept leaning across the table, Kelly's mesmerizing beauty wasn't lost on him either.
What the hell was Webber telling her that was so damn amusing? Nick wondered as he heard Kelly laugh. Didn't she realize she was making a fool of herself? That all that
jerk
wanted from her was information?
And what about you, old chum.
Nick asked silently. What do you want from her? And what the hell are you doing here, spying on them and acting like a voyeur?
Common sense told him to leave. Forget the woman, forget Webber and get out of here before you make a fool of yourself.
But Nick seldom took his own advice. His eyes on Webber's back, he drained his beer and ordered another.
Kelly sipped her champagne and smiled as
Syd
talked about his early days as a bouncer in a
She had been at home, putting away her paint supplies when
Syd
had showed up at her door, a bouquet of red roses in his hand and a big grin on his handsome face. Behind him, a stretch limo stood waiting.
"I took a chance you'd be free and hungry," he had told her, handing her the flowers.
Her first impulse had been to turn down both the roses and the invitation. Now that she and Nick had joined forces in their search for Jonathan, going out with a man the detective not only despised but suspected of having killed his father made her feel disloyal.
On the other hand, spending an evening with
Syd
in relaxed surroundings would give her an insight into the man and his business she wouldn't have otherwise. That thought and the possibility that she could learn something vital about Jonathan had finally changed her mind.
So far she had no regrets.
Syd
Webber had turned out to be a wonderful dinner companion. He was entertaining, attentive and the perfect gentleman.
"I just can't imagine you as a bouncer," she commented when he told her about his humble beginnings.
He laughed. "It was a job. Lucky for me I wasn't very good at it. When the manager realized I had an affinity for numbers and could do bookkeeping, he moved me into the administrative office. That's how I met
Alister
Graham."
Kelly already knew about Graham and how he had taken the rather wild, impetuous youth, tamed him and then taught him everything he knew about the casino business. Graham's instincts about
Syd
Web-
her
had been right on the money. Eighteen years after landing in
Syd
had turned his boss's casino into one of the most profitable on the
As a reward, Graham had made him half owner of the establishment, and when he died he'd left everything he owned to his
protege
.
"Do you miss
"To tell you the truth, most of the time I'm too busy to realize I'm not in Vegas."
Syd
reached for the bottle of
Veuve
Clicquot
and refilled their flutes. "Have you ever been there?"
"Once, when I was visiting my uncle in
"What did you think?"
"Honestly?" She leaned forward and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper.
"I hated it and couldn't wait to get out of there."
He laughed. "Thank God not too many people feel the way you do, or we'd all go bankrupt."
Now seemed like a good time to ask about another facet of his life--his controversial friendship with the infamous Tony
Marquese
.
"Yes, I know Tony,"
Syd
said when she brought up the name. "And I treat him the way I treat all my high rollers. I give him unlimited bar and restaurant privileges along with a penthouse suite. I even send his girlfriends gifts. What else am I supposed to do? The man spends more money in my casino in a year than all my other high rollers put together. Don't you think he has the right to expect the star treatment?"
"Some people say you've been closer to him than you should be."
"They don't know what they're talking about. When I arrived in
Marquese
, that we were buddies. Soon the rumors turned into speculations and before I knew it, I was one of Tony's boys. That's bull." He tapped his chest with his fist. "I'm my own man. I belong to no one."
His voice had risen only slightly but she could hear the anger in it.
Either she had been overly influenced by Nick and Cecily and totally misjudged the man, or he was one hell of an actor.
Unsure of what to say next, she started to take another sip of champagne. Her hand stopped in midair.
Standing at the bar, watching
her,
was Nick
Mcbride
.
"Something wrong?"
Syd
asked. He started to turn around but she stopped him. "No, please. I'll handle this."
She made her way around the tables to the crowded bar, stopping a few inches from Nick. "Just what do you think you're doing?" she asked in a furious whisper.
Instead of looking embarrassed.
Nick took a nonchalant sip of beer.
"Keeping an eye on you.
As I recall, you have a habit of getting yourself into situations you can't get out of."
"This is not one of those times. Nick. You're ruining everything.
Please leave."
"What am I ruining?
A romantic
teteatete
?"
"Just leave, okay?"
Nick put his glass down. "Don't you see what he's doing?"
"No, why don't you tell me?"
He waved his hand. "
This fancy restaurant
, the expensive bubbly, the jokes you seem to find so amusing, are just his way of pumping you for information."
"Gee, thanks. Nick. And here I thought he was enjoying my company."