Old Flames Never Die (Valentine Mystery) (23 page)

“Yes. And it's about time too. They're
all leeches. The heir apparent is worthless and as dumb as a doorknob. The
ex-wife, oh my God. She has no legal standing and yet she lives to get her
diamond-covered grubby hands on Worthington money. And the Senator, he keeps
giving some line about a long lost son—”

“Brad!” Tess interrupted. Jack's
biological connection to the Worthington family wasn't common news. As much as
she loved Kate, Tess knew that she wouldn't be able to sit on a story about the
Senator's illegitimate son.
            He blinked. “What?”

“Did you know that Daniel is related to
the Worthingtons?”

Brad turned and looked at Daniel. “You
don't look crazy.”

Tess braced for Daniel’s reaction. He
studied Brad, and then he let out a gut-deep laugh. “That's the nicest thing
said to me today.”

Tess studied her diverse group of
friends and realized that while her first instinct would have been to keep to
herself, she was glad they were there. Even Brad, who was a jerk, but could
always be counted on to add new insight or at least humor to a situation.

Tess awoke with a screaming pain in her
shoulder and dull thud in her head. It took a moment to orient herself and
remember the events of the previous day. That's when the heartache returned.
She ignored the pain in her body long enough to pull the covers over her head.
There was no place she had to be and nowhere she wanted to go. If it weren't
for the knock on the door, and the hope that leapt into her heart, she would
have stayed there all day.

When she peered through the peephole of
the door, her heart fell. She opened the door. “Daniel.”

The look on his face confirmed her
suspicion that she looked dreadful. But he smiled. “Hi, Brat.”

“Hey.” She opened the door and let him
in.

“I was on my way to Danforth's funeral,
but I thought I'd stop by and let you know what I've learned. I brought you
some coffee. You look like you could use it.”

“What time is it?” Tess asked.

“A little after ten.”

Tess didn't usually sleep so late, but
she also wasn't usually recovering from a car accident and heartbreak. “Can you
hold on for a minute?”

“Sure.”

She left Daniel near the door as she
went into the bathroom to splash water on her face, brush her teeth and wrangle
her hair into a scrunchie. When she returned, Daniel was sitting at her table.

“Now I recognize you,” he said, holding
the coffee he'd brought out to her.

She gave him a smirk, but took the
coffee and sat in a chair opposite him. “So what did you find out?”

“I talked with Theresa Cromwell this
morning. She confirms that she and Danforth were talking about a more permanent
relationship, but she didn't think he'd filed divorce papers.”

“Permanent relationship? Are those her
words or yours?” She took a sip of coffee hoping the caffeine would remove the
fog in her brain.

“Hers. Actually, I think she and
Danforth were probably perfect for each other. She's aloof and awkward, until
you get her talking about the horses.”

“What did she say about the horses?”

“Only that they both wanted to breed a
great racehorse.”

“What about the money needed to buy
horses?”

“She didn't know about the mining in Bucks
County. But she did say he was optimistic about getting the money.”

“Did you ask about the pregnancy?”

He nodded. “She says Danforth never said
anything about it. And she's not sure he would have. 'He was very private',”
Daniel mimicked her voice. “I have Sam talking to Liv's acquaintances to see if
they know anything about a baby.”

“It still wouldn't prove she was a
murderer.” Tess sat back in her chair and rubbed her hands over her face. It
didn't matter if Liv was a home wrecker, cheater and liar, her alibi proved she
wasn't Danforth's murderer.

“But maybe it would show Jack that she's
not worthy of his loyalty,” Daniel offered.

Tess shook her head. “You can't tell him
I told you about the baby or Danforth's inability to have a child.”

“I won't tell him anything. But odds are
he'll be at Liv's today when I question her and I'm not going to screen my
words just to protect his feelings.”

She nodded. Jack had accused her of
using information he'd given her against Liv. She'd been offended at the time, but
in the end, that was exactly what she was doing.

“If there is any way I can keep your
involvement out, I will,” Daniel said.

“Thanks.”

“When I'm done, I'll stop by to check on
you again. You should get some more rest because you look terrible.”

“Thanks, again.”

“Then we can talk about your trip to New
York.”

~~~~

Jack hadn't wanted to go to Charles
Danforth's funeral or the reception following it. Not because it would be
improper given his past association with Liv or that it would give the police
and gossips more fuel for the fire. It was because he'd experienced enough
funerals to last a lifetime. He attended his first funeral when he was twelve
years old and watched as his father's casket was lowered into the ground. Two
years ago he buried his mother. As he thought about her, he realized it had
been a while since he'd visited her grave. If there was ever a time he needed
the wisdom and support of his mother, it was now. He had no doubt that his
mother would love Tess and would likely scold him for losing her. Christ, what
had he been thinking to give her an ultimatum? His anger and pride had once
again cost him the only woman he'd ever wanted to give his life to. He'd
promised himself he wouldn't push her, so what did he do? He gave her a shove.
Even though he knew she wouldn't respond to it. He'd gambled and lost.

It was why he'd nearly gone to see her
when he left Liv's hotel room. It was ironic how Liv spent much of the night
telling him to return to Tess since Tess seemed to think Liv had ulterior motives.
He'd gone so far as to drive to Tess' hotel. But he didn't trust himself to
keep his feelings in check. Or maybe he couldn't bring himself to beg.

Then, on the way to the funeral, he
nearly stopped at Starbucks to get her favorite skinny, no-whip mocha. He could
show up as usual and pretend he hadn't pressured her. But he couldn't get past
the fact that she hadn't made any move to stop him from leaving or to contact
him. That must be her answer.

So instead, he stood alone, in the
corner of the Danforth's living room watching as the final guests paid their
respects and left. Whose idea was it that the grieving had to throw a party
after burying a loved one? He remembered his mother putting on a brave face as
friends came to their home after his father died. He too had people at his
home, serving them canapés as they brought him lasagna to help him through his
difficult time after his mother died.

Liv and the stepson seemed to be faring
better than he had. Kevin's wife was the only one having difficulty, but that
was the result of way too much alcohol. As Liv thanked the last of her guests,
Jack noticed an unmarked police car through the window. He'd seen Daniel at the
funeral, but he hadn't expected him to show up at the reception. He shook his
head, wondering if Daniel had any sense of decorum.

Daniel exited the car and headed up the
front steps. Jack met him at the door. “Have a little respect, Daniel. Today is
not a good day.”

Daniel's look was even more contemptuous
than usual. No doubt he'd talked to Tess. “I waited until the guests left. And
besides, I'm sure the grieving widow would like us to solve this case as soon
as possible.”

Jack wanted to physically stop Daniel as
he made his way inside. Instead, he followed him into the living room.

“This is a private —” Daniel started to
say.

“No, that's okay Detective,” Liv said. “I
trust Jack. He's a family friend.”

Daniel gave Jack an accusatory glance
and then proceeded with his interview.

“You should probably contact your
lawyer,” Jack suggested to her.

She waved the idea away. “No. Let's just
get this over with so I can move on.”

“I appreciate your time, Mrs. Danforth,”
Daniel said. “I know this is a difficult day, but the sooner we solve this
case, the sooner you can move on.”

“Yes.” She took a seat on the couch, not
offering one to Daniel. Not caring, Daniel took a seat in a chair. Kevin headed
to the bar clearly hoping to find the same escape as his wife who was snoring
on the love seat. Jack decided to stay standing.

“We just have a few things to ask about.
We got a report that Mr. Danforth was bothered by something back in March.”

“March? Why would that be relevant?” Liv
asked.

“I don't know. That's why I'm asking.”
Jack could see that Daniel was being nonchalant, but he knew Daniel had a
purpose and a destination for his questions. “Maybe the reason he was upset
then is why he's dead now.”

She gave a disinterested sigh. “His
father died in January. Maybe he was still upset about that.”

“Anything else?”

“That isn't cause enough to be upset?”

“I'm just asking.”

“I mentioned to you already that he and
Mr. Wilson had a falling out.”

Jack figured Daniel already investigated
the land deal and for some reason had ruled it out as a motive. He wondered why
and he wanted to know what Daniel knew that made whatever happened in March
relevant.

“But that was more recent, wasn't it?”

Liv gave Daniel a hard, scathing look. “I
lost our baby in March. Perhaps that bothered him.”

“You were pregnant?” Daniel asked. There
was something about Daniel's tone and slight gleam in his eye that caught
Jack's attention. Had Daniel known about the baby? He knew he'd made an offhand
comment about it to Tess. Had she told him? But why? She'd berated him for
suggesting she'd betray his confidence. It didn't make sense.

“Yes.”

“Was Charles the father?”

“Now wait a damn minute,” Jack said,
moving towards Daniel. “That's out of line.”

Daniel turned toward him with those same
dark, accusing eyes while his voice remained calm, dismissing. “Let me remind
you, Mr. Valentine, that you're here as a courtesy to Mrs. Danforth. I would be
well within my right to have her and her stepson and daughter-in-law to come to
the station to do this interview.”

Jack didn't step back, but said nothing
further. Daniel turned back to Liv. “The baby? Was it Charles’?”

“Of course it was,” she spat.

“You have admitted to affairs in the
past.”

“And I told you that I haven't had one
for over a year.”

“Was your husband happy about the baby?”

Jack heard the drop of ice cubes on the
hardwood floor and looked to see Kevin picking up several pieces of ice that
had scattered. He threw the ice back in the bucket and downed the glass of
amber liquid he'd poured.

“To be honest Detective, I don't think
my husband cared much one way or the other.”

“But you just said that he may have been
upset in March over the loss of the baby.”

“Is this line of questioning really
necessary?” Jack asked surprised by Daniel's doggedness.

“I know this is sensitive information,
but in a case like this we need to look at everything.”

“And losing a baby could be a cause for
murder?” Jack asked.

“I don't know if I don't investigate,”
Daniel said in a clipped voice. “Was Mr. Danforth upset or not about the baby?”

She shrugged, but Jack could see worry
in her eyes. “I don't know.  I'm sure I'm not the only person to tell you that
Charles wasn't a person prone to sharing his feelings.”

“What about you?” Daniel said
acknowledging Kevin's presence in the room. “Was your dad upset about losing
the baby?”

Kevin downed another glass of potent
liquid. “Just like Liv said, he was pretty much indifferent to everything and
everyone.”

“And you were in New York at the time of
your father's murder?” Daniel asked.

New York?
Jack thought.

“I was in the mountains. On a retreat.”

“Retreat. Right. We've been unable to
verify that. Is there anyone who saw you there? Gas receipts? Anything?”

“The purpose of a retreat is to not be
bothered by people,” Kevin said calmly. “You don't think I killed my father. I
wasn't even here.”
            “I don't think anything. It’s a routine question. What about your
wife?”

Everyone turned to his wife, passed out
on the couch. Kevin laughed. “She couldn't kill anyone. She doesn't have the
coordination.”

Jack considered telling Kevin not to say
anything without a lawyer, but he found himself not caring anymore. How did he
get so enmeshed in this situation? He considered leaving, but he'd brought Liv
over from the hotel and was her ride back.