Fear Familiar Bundle (146 page)

"Sure." She motioned him back to the kitchen, knowing that Daniel would be ready to have a fit. He couldn't protect her as easily in the kitchen, but she didn't need protection from André. "I want you to tell me the whole story."

As soon as they were seated, André leaned forward. "Your mother's crime was in loving you and Cal too much. She was going to tell him that she'd inherited some cash. Take the pressure off him. I told her it was not a good idea. I warned her that men who paid for such things were not honorable." He shook his head. "She said it was nothing. Cal had no concerns with small games and parties, so the men were paying for nothing. And that was true. Cal never worried about the private games."

"What happened to the money, André?"

"Mora picked it up."

Sarah reached across the table and took his hand. "Someone is trying to kill me and maybe Mom. She got ten thousand. There was more. A lot more. Maybe five hundred thousand."

André's face registered scorn. "Or so they said. I saw your mother take it out of the bar well. There was ten thousand. No more."

"Could anyone else have taken the rest of it?"

André's expression shifted to shock. "All of these years, and I never considered it." He nodded. "Yes, the money was there for several hours while the restaurant was closed. Someone could have gotten to it before her."

"Joshua Jenkins, maybe?"

André shook his head. "No. He did not arrive on the coast until months later. After Betty Jean was killed and Cal started putting the pressure on the organized gamblers to pack up and leave. Sarah, I know you think Joshua Jenkins ruined your life, but I do not believe he was a crook."

"I'm not so certain of that, André? Do you know who else might be involved?"

He shook his head. "No. I have no idea. I keep in touch with Mora. She was always kind to me. She and your father both. I have been worried about her and I called…" He smiled. "Today, in fact. But the connection was bad. The phone was picked up, but no one answered. I wanted to tell her that Jean-Claude had been asking about her, too. I thought it was strange that he didn't ask his father, or you. That young man has been such a bitter disappointment to Vincent. It is sad."

Sarah felt a chill trace down her spine. "Yes, it is."

"The past is a tangle, Sarah. Forgive the mistakes of those who love you. Mora was young and foolish, but she was not bad." André's smile was even sadder. "I was in love with her. Maybe Vincent was, too. She was so much in love with your father that she never even suspected my feelings for her. Even now, she doesn't understand the reason I call and talk to her each week is because I care for her. She thinks it is because I am so fond of you."

"Tell her, André." Sarah squeezed his arm. "Tell her before any more time is lost."

"W
E'RE IN A TON
of trouble now," Sarah said as she peered behind her bedroom curtain to check the street below the shop. After André's visit, she and Daniel had talked for two hours. They had no suspects and no plan for resolving the mess they were in. The only good news of the evening was Familiar's return from one of his unexplained jaunts. As glad as she was to see the cat, she was ready to throttle him. He constantly circled her legs, meowing and biting her shins. Then he'd run to the steps as if he wanted her to follow him down the stairs. To the kitchen, no doubt. For some food. No matter how bad things were, Familiar always had a healthy appetite.

"Let's go, buddy." Daniel scooped the cat into his arms when he saw Sarah give him a murderous look. "Sarah's not in the mood to play kitty games."

"Meow!" Familiar leapt from his arms and ran down the stairs, stopping only long enough to make certain Daniel was following.

"Give him some milk and some of the broiled snapper," Sarah called after them, feeling a little guilty that she had ignored Familiar's appetite. The cat wasn't starving, though, and she was watching the street for the first signs that the FBI or the bad guys might show up and begin blasting at them.

Daniel didn't have time to give Familiar anything. As soon as he snapped the kitchen light on, Familiar had jumped on the pedal that opened the refrigerator door. He was rummaging around in the interior, his black tail whipping back and forth as he inspected foil-covered dishes and plastic bags.

"Your adopted mom is not going to like that sight," Daniel said. "If her career as a caterer weren't already ruined, the sight of you in her refrigerator would put her out of business."

"Meow!" Familiar tossed a plastic bag of chicken out onto the floor.

"Hey." Daniel started to make a grab for the cat, but a bowl of something very heavy hit his toe.

"Hey, cat!"

"What is it?" Sarah heard the commotion and started down the stairs to check it out. She arrived just in time to see Familiar throwing two bags of flour out onto the floor with complete abandon. He was like a child having a terrible temper tantrum.

"Familiar!" She hurried toward him with the intention of pulling him out of the refrigerator. Daniel was too busy trying to catch the numerous bags and containers Familiar was tossing out.

"Hey, you!" She grabbed him just as he sank his claws into a bag of meat. When she tugged him out, the cat dragged the meat with him.

"Pork chops?" Sarah tried to grab the bag, but Familiar darted away, hauling the two-pound plastic sack with him. "Instead of snapper, you want raw pork chops?" She couldn't believe it.

Daniel put the last container back in the refrigerator and turned to watch Familiar scamper across the room with his booty.

"Looks like he wants pork chops," he said. Something about the situation did seem odd.

When he saw that neither Sarah nor Daniel was going to take the meat away, Familiar dropped it on the floor, made a few growling noises at it, and then lay on his side.

"What in the hell?" Daniel watched him with amazement.

Opening his eyes, Familiar stared at them. After a full minute, he returned to the sack of meat, made growling noises and then rolled onto his back, his legs straight in the air.

"Roll over and play dead," Daniel said. He looked at Sarah.

Understanding dawned on them simultaneously. "Pork chops!" They spoke in unison and Familiar sat up and began the dignified process of licking his fur.

"Lucinda Watts!" Sarah was beside herself. "We forgot all about her, and it was her baby sister who was killed. She would have a motive for all of this. She was at every party, too. And that dinner party, in her own home!"

"She had a reason to want to destroy your father, and she was making her contacts with organized crime even then." Daniel paced the kitchen.

"She told me that dinner party I catered was very important to her. Very important. She said it could mean that she'd retire in style." Sarah searched her memory but drew a blank until it struck her. "How did a striptease artist get enough money to set herself up in Washington?"

"Her marriages— "

"Or five hundred thousand dollars. That would do it."

Daniel slapped his forehead. "I can't believe it. Right under our noses."

"How can we find out?"

Daniel opened the phone book, dialed a number, then thought better and replaced the receiver. "I can't do this over the phone. I have to go in person." He drew his car keys out of his pocket.

"Who?" Sarah couldn't think of a soul, except her mother, who would voluntarily help them.

"Joshua Jenkins. It's the perfect opportunity to see if he's in this, too. We can set him up with what we know, see his reaction."

"Right now?" Sarah thought of the black night and the many people who might be watching her and Daniel. She didn't want him to leave. Mora was hiding with some old friends in Arkansas, and she wanted to make certain that Daniel was safe, too.

"It's perfect. He won't be expecting me."

"Familiar and I are coming, too. He might try to kill you if he feels threatened."

"No." Daniel shook his head. "Mora is supposed to call in half an hour, and if you don't answer, she'll die of worry. Stay here, but remember the phone lines aren't secure. I'll be back."

"Okay." Sarah didn't like it, but there was nothing she could do. "Go on before it gets any later, and hurry back." She swallowed the sudden spurt of fear that threatened to choke her. To hide her distress, she rushed into his arms and kissed him.

"Don't let anyone inside," Daniel cautioned her. "No one. Not even Santa Claus."

She nodded, unable to talk. When he furtively hurried out the front door, she locked every lock after him. Picking a wary Familiar up in her arms, she ran up the stairs and into her bedroom, locking that door, too. It wouldn't take Daniel all that long to run the errand. Everything was going to be fine, now that they knew where to look.

She'd just settled onto the bed with a book in one hand and the remote control for the television in another when she heard someone at the front door.

Fear tightened every muscle to the point that she felt paralyzed. Then she heard the familiar rap on the door. Two longs, two shorts, three shorts. She ran down the stairs in her socks, her face bursting with a smile.

"Uncle Vince!" She threw the door open and he captured her in his arms.

"I've been so worried about you since Lucinda's event. I've spoken with her, and she's no longer angry with you,
chérie.
"

Sarah tugged him inside, cast a quick look up and down the street, and then locked the door.

"Hoarding gold here in the shop?" Vincent asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No. I wish it were that simple." Sarah grabbed Vincent's hand. "Come in. I have a lot of things to tell you."

"Excellent. We haven't had much chance to talk lately and I've been concerned about you. By the way, Jean-Claude said he spoke with you."

Sarah sensed something in Vincent's tone. "Is something wrong with Jean-Claude?"

Vincent smiled, but it was an expression of sadness. "He is a disappointment,
chérie.
The two of you…"

"I'm sorry, I just don't feel that way about Jean-Claude." Sarah felt a pang for her uncle's dreams.

"He thought he could save you by marriage. You know he went to Idlewild to protect you. He told me about sitting on the porch and spraying your…friend with pepper." Vincent laughed, but it was harsh. "He thought you were in danger. That you would be hurt in my home. He is a foolish boy who has grown to be a foolish man."

"He thought Daniel was going to hurt me." She shook her head. "I'm sorry that happened."

Vincent patted her shoulder. "I brought a bottle of the very finest French wine for us to share," Vincent said, producing it from the pocket of his coat.

"Wonderful." Sarah led the way into the kitchen and deftly uncorked the bottle, all the while talking about her trip to Biloxi.

"I thought I saw Daniel leaving. Where has he gone?"

"He's running an errand." Sarah handed her uncle a glass of wine and took a sip of her own. "Uncle Vince, do you know anything about Lucinda Watts and how she became so wealthy?" If anyone knew, Vincent Minton would. She should have thought of him before Daniel left for Joshua Jenkins's house.

"Over the years I've advised Lucinda on some real estate." He smiled. "She's made good investments. In fact, she'd hoped to become a limited partner in one of my businesses. I've always admired Lucinda for her business acumen." His smile was brittle. "She has more…sense than Jean-Claude will ever have."

Sensing her uncle's disappointment in his son, Sarah sipped her wine again. "Delicious." She licked her bottom lip. "Did you know Lucinda's baby sister was murdered years ago?"

"Betty Jean." Vincent swirled the wine in his glass. "That was a long time ago. Lucinda had changed her name by then. She and Betty Jean were…determined to make a new life for themselves. Lucinda made it, Betty Jean did not."

"You knew them both?"

"As did your father. It was hard to work the coast and not know those two. They were at every party, dancing, drinking, bringing good luck to the gamblers. Those were the days when there was money to be made."

"And Lucinda did whatever she had to do to get a start."

Vincent picked up the bottle and refilled Sarah's glass. "She was shrewd and she worked hard. I admire that."

"Is she still ruthless? Ruthless enough to…kill?" Sarah couldn't help the shiver that passed through her at the memory of Cody Pruett and Graham Estis. She drank the dark red wine that made her feel so warm. Two murders that she knew of in the last month. In the past, how many others were there? Was her own father's death a murder at Lucinda's hand?

"Why do you ask?"

"I think Lucinda may have stolen some money…."

Vincent smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "She did. Many times. From husbands, from politicians who were glad to exchange large sums of cash for photos and negatives. From anyone she could."

Sarah felt sure victory. She started to rise, but she found her legs unsteady. Surprised, she glanced at the wine. She'd only had a glass and a half. She'd downed it quite fast, but not fast enough to make her drunk.

"She suckered many men." His smile was cold. "But never me. Never."

She heard Vincent's words and stared at him, her errant legs forgotten as she saw his eyes. "You?" The word was slurred.

"Yes. Lucinda is rather disturbed with me at this moment, but the little scene that you so obligingly created at her dinner party gave me the perfect opportunity to cut her out of my partnership. In fact, your cooking has presented a number of opportunities for me to…eliminate would-be partners."

"My…food…" Sarah realized it was pointless for her to try to talk. She knocked the wineglass off the table in one awkward gesture. Futilely, she looked at the clock. It was only an hour since Daniel had left. He'd never get back in time.

She swept the condiments off the table in front of her, but her arms and legs refused to do what she commanded. In the midst of the crash, Familiar leapt from the floor and knocked the portable telephone off the base. He slapped it several times until it skittered under the table, where he followed it.