Neighbors and More (High Rise Series) (8 page)

She rubbed her fingers against the towel she’d laid over the
bench. “It’s nothing. I only bit my cheek. Dante, I hope there will be no wrong
verdict in Steve’s case.”

“Stop torturing yourself.” Dante cupped her face and tilted
it to capture her gaze. “Don’t forget you’re my client.” He gave her a smug
smile that didn’t reassure her. “I won’t let them make mistakes.”

“But it can happen. Right?”

“Alexa, you said it yourself. Steve took your pills to
alleviate his stress, felt drowsy, and slipped under water. It makes sense.”

“Do you really believe that’s what happened?” She had a bad
feeling about the whole drowning. A damn bad feeling.

“Forget Steve. Forget Ladd. We’re here to enjoy the day.” He
lowered his head, covering her lips with his mouth, robbing her thoughts away.

The hell with Steve.

Oh God no
. She shouldn’t wish bad things again. She
shouldn’t…shouldn’t…

Dante tasted deliciously good.

The boat’s gentle swing and Dante’s expert lips lulled her
into relaxation.
Give me more. Give me more
. His lips, tongue, and hands
listened to her order, playing a topsy-turvy dance on the flesh exposed by her
skimpy bikini.

Stop. He’s your lawyer
. As if she cared right now.
One night of passion with Dante would restore her joy in life for months. Alexa
hooked her arms around his neck and pulled him down over her, delighting in
their foreplay. She curled her fingers in the hair at his nape and nuzzled the
lobe of his ear.

Without taking his hands off her, Dante eased away. Darkened
with desire, his blue eyes scanned the horizon. Alexa smiled, pleased their
thoughts seemed so attuned.

“What’s the verdict? Are we safe and private, here?”

“Safe yes, but not private enough. My radar shows a boat
heading straight toward us.” He stood and grabbed the nautical binoculars
sitting next to his board. “I’ll be damned. It’s the Coast Guard’s boat.”

“What’s so surprising about it? It’s good to know they survey
the waters. For safety, you know.”

“Yes, of course. But our friendly detective is with them.”

“What now? Can’t he leave us in peace for a few hours?”

Sure enough the Coast Guard cutter headed straight towards
them, slowed, and stopped parallel to the
Little Sicily
.

“Hi there,” one of the officers said. “Detective Bob Ladd
needs to talk to you. Come alongside,” he ordered.

Dante threw a rope from his boat to the coast guard and
caught the one the man threw him. They both pulled at the same time, getting
the two boats as close as possible.

Ladd jumped into the
Little Sicily
. “You can go.
They’ll bring me back.”

“How did you know where to find us?” Dante asked.

“It’s my job to know everything,” Ladd said with an
important smile.

“You mean Julia called you?” Alexa asked sweetly.

“Huh? How did you know?”

“It’s my hobby to watch people.”

Ladd frowned. “She was in her car and saw you turn into the
marina.”

“Really?” Interesting lie. Julia was certainly not in her
car while entertaining Tom.

The detective ignored her and addressed Dante. “I checked
with Tom who said you took your boat out.” He settled on the bench across from
Alexa. “I… uh… I…” He shifted on the bench, and his eyes crossed as his gaze
darted to her breasts. “I mean…”

With his button down shirt and his long dark pants that started
to tent in his lap, he made her feel naked. Dirty old man.

 For a second, she enjoyed seeing him lose his composure.
Detective or not, he was just a man with lascivious thoughts, like so many
she’d met.

 She suppressed a sarcastic smile. “Why don’t I cover up and
let you collect your thoughts.”

“Sure.”

She went down to the cabin, slipped on a halter and a pair
of shorts, and emerged up on the deck. Ladd wiped his sweaty forehead.

“So, you were saying?” She sat in her previous place.

“I received the results from the lab. Steve Bairey’s drowning
was caused by the mixture of Valium and alcohol, and the high temperature of
the hot tub.” Dante’s gaze met hers and he nodded. So far so good.

“But the only fingerprints found on the Valium bottle were
yours.”

“Hey.” She jerked forward. Was he accusing her by any chance?

“There is more. There was no trace of Valium in the carafe
of Amaretto.” Alexa released the breath she’d been holding. “But the glass
Steve drank from contained traces of Valium.”

“No way.” A lump grew in Alexa’s throat preventing her from
saying more. There must be a logical explanation. He couldn’t be accusing her.
Could he?

Ladd rubbed his chin. “There’s no doubt about it in the
coroner’s mind, and in mine, that we’re dealing with a crime. My job is to find
who did it and why. Care to explain how your Valium pills ended up in Steve’s
glass?”

Darn, he was accusing her. She needed a logical explanation
fast.

Her brain froze. No explanation and not even a simple
thought.

Dante blinked once to signify she should let him handle the
situation. He was her lawyer and she trusted him so much. “I assume you’re
going to put that question to many other people.”

 “I’m going to, but so far the evidence we have points at ....”
The detective hesitated while glancing at Alexa, who stared at her folded
hands, unfolded them, and scratched the red polish on one of her nails.

“Mr. Ladd, we both know it doesn’t mean anything,” Dante
retorted, his gaze never wavering from Alexa. “Any one about to commit a crime
would wear latex gloves and make sure he doesn’t leave fingerprints.” He wished
he could take her into his arms to ease the blow caused by the detective’s
accusation.

“I’m going to interview every person who may have a reason
or a motive. Let’s look at your motive, Mrs. Partson. Steve has been harassing you.
You didn’t want to report him to the police to avoid gossip. Drugging him was
an easy way to get rid of Bairey. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“No, you’re wrong.” Raising her head, Alexa straightened her
shoulders. Her frown relaxed, and she studied the detective with speculative
eyes as if he were the one on trial. He returned her look with more suspicion. “The
glass he drank from was intended for me.”

“This is what you want us to believe, Mrs. Partson.”

“I told you everything I know,” she added. “Since I was so
candidly honest, I’m surprised you suspect me. With your experience, you should
realize it’s completely out of character for me to plot such a crazy thing.”

Pleased to see that she had recovered from her initial shock,
Dante nodded his approval. Whatever her internal turmoil, she had controlled
herself in front of the detective.

Ladd arched a brow. “You’d be surprised how many
out-of-character things people do when pushed to their limits.”

“But think about it. Why would I do something so stupid? He
came to tell me he was leaving for Atlanta. He was going far anyway.”

Dante stifled a proud smile, knowing she was seething
inwardly and yet facing up to her problems.

“So you said.” Detective Ladd didn’t seem convinced. “I’ll
have to check Bairey’s decision to go to Atlanta, with his wife and his
roommate. Cantari, can we go back to the marina? Meanwhile, Mrs. Partson, why
don’t you tell me again everything you know about Steve Bairey?”

****

Forty-five minutes later, they walked into their building’s
lobby. The detective signed the guest registry book at the front desk. “You go
ahead. I’ll stop and talk to Bairey’s roommate.”

“Speak of the devil. Here’s Carter Morton saving you the
trouble of looking for him.” Dante tilted his chin toward the plain man exiting
the elevator with a newspaper in hand. Everything was average about Carter. His
height, build, coloring, thinning brown hair, the squinting eyes hidden behind
gold-rimmed glasses, the thin lips pressed in a serious line—even his beige
pants and white shirt.

“How can he remain so pale, when it’s 90
^o
out,
and the sun is so bright?” Alexa whispered.

“This man is an enigma. Have you ever seen him smile?”

“No. I don’t know how Steve managed to live and work with
him for two years.”

Ladd went straight to the newcomer. “Mr. Morton, I’m
Detective Bob Ladd. I have questions to ask you.”

“Shoot,” Carter said. Not a line in his face shifted.

“You were Steve Bairey’s business partner?”

“Yes.”

“Where’s your office?”

“In Broward.”

“Steve shared your apartment?”

“He rented a bedroom and its bathroom. I asked him not to bring
girlfriends to my place.” His gaze rested on Alexa.

“Hey,” Alexa snapped. “Don’t look at me like that. I was never
Steve’s girlfriend.”

Not a muscle moved in Carter’s face as he kept staring at
her.

Poor Alexa. She crumpled the edge of her sexy halter-top.
Now was not the time to argue with Carter, whether he was loyal to Steve or
acting out of sheer selfishness to distract any suspicion away from him.

“When are you moving your office to Atlanta, Mr. Morton?” Ladd
asked.

Carter slowly turned his head toward the detective. “Why
would I move my office to Atlanta?”

Ladd’s gaze shifted to Alexa and came back to Carter.
“Weren’t you moving to Atlanta with your partner?”

“No one was moving anywhere. Not me and not Steve. Why would
we move a successful business?” Carter shrugged. “Where did you get that fable
of Atlanta?”

“But Steve told me…” Alexa started. Her voice faded, and her
eyes widened in stunned disbelief as two pairs of eyes glared at her.

Carter’s denial sounded so convincing, and Ladd certainly
looked convinced that she’d lied.

“Easy to throw it on Steve, now that you got rid of him.”
With a brusque move, Carter opened the newspaper’s front page, displaying a few
pictures that lashed disgust in Dante’s gut—a shot of Steve, another of the
Blue Waves building, a third of Steve between Julia and Alexa. “You’ve brought
shame and trouble upon our building with your antics and lies,” Carter
continued with a scathing look.

“Who’s been talking to the press? Who’s been spreading
lies?” Dante roared.

Carter shrugged. “Anyone here could have told them the juicy
gossip about the former Mrs. Partson and her lover.”

Dante raised a fist. Before he could punch Carter, the
detective snatched his arm in his beefy hands. “Mr. Cantari, don’t complicate
things. You wouldn’t want more gossip in the newspapers.”

A deathly pale Alexa stared at the newspaper. Her lips
parted, but she didn’t utter a sound.

If the detective hadn’t stopped him, Dante would have
smashed Carter to the ground and hammered his head with blows to teach him
never to dirty Alexa’s good name again. He dredged up a deep breath to calm
himself. No, it wouldn’t help to have his name in the tabloids, with a picture of
him punching a man
. Nonna
would have a heart attack. He promised himself
to control his temper.

“Mr. Morton, I have more questions to ask you. Let’s sit in
here for a moment.” The detective pointed to the library door. “And you two,
wait for me in the lobby. I’m not finished with you yet,” he added, his tone
sharp, his gaze decisive.

 “Take your time, we’ll be here.” Dante spat the words,
before leading Alexa toward the luxurious lobby where antique tables, plush
sofas, and gilded mirrors lent an aura of elegance to the modern lobby with
marble floor and high ceilings. He sat next to her on the love seat at the
farthest corner, out of earshot.

“Dante, this is crazy.” She rubbed her throat with frantic
strokes. “Why is Carter lying?”

Dante scratched his forehead pensively. A stack of
newspapers sat on the reception desk. He went to grab one. Alexa leaned to read
with him. “Oh God, did you see this?” She pointed to the line mentioning that
Steve Bairey had shared a drink at his fiancée’s condo just before drowning. “Disgusting.
They labeled me as his fiancée. Now, it’s going to be all over town.”

Exactly the type of scandal Dante would rather have avoided.
He flexed his fingers and cracked his knuckles. “Someone told them that Steve
was in your apartment for a drink, but there’s no mention in the paper of his
moving to Atlanta. Are you sure you understood Steve right?”

She jerked back, her hands fisting in her lap. “Of course, I
did.”

“Couldn’t Steve have meant he was just taking a trip to
Atlanta?”

“He said he was moving. I heard it loud and clear. Don’t
tell me you, too, believe Carter now?”

“I’m just trying to make sense of all that. Why would Carter
so blatantly lie?”

“He hates me.”

“Why?” The sorrow in her confused eyes tightened his gut.
There should be a rational reason, some lead he’d missed so far.

“He’d invited me out two years ago. I refused. I was still in
shock after my divorce. He tried later, to no avail. I couldn’t get myself to
trust any man. He tried to kiss me and I got upset. He didn’t insist, but he’s
avoided me ever since.”

“Does he have a girlfriend now?”

“I don’t think so. He dated Dianna for a year, then she
dumped him for Greg.”

Dante couldn’t suppress a scoff. “This building is like a
dating agency. Who else is dating whom?” He sobered at Alexa’s pained look.
“Sorry, Alexa.” How could he forget for even a second that this was no fun time
for her?

Locked behind closed doors with the detective, Carter had
personal reasons to denigrate her. Twice a rejected suitor, he certainly didn’t
keep her high on his list of good friends. Would Ladd believe him?  

Definitely
. Dante took one look at Ladd when he
strode toward them. Yes, the detective had defected from their camp to the
enemy.

“Mrs. Partson, let’s go to your apartment. We need to talk.”