Deadly Secrets (25 page)

“Interrogating you.”

Stella’s eyes flashed. “Oh, you are, are you? Well, in that case, I’ve got terms.”

Kelly smiled. He liked Stella. She had plenty of spunk and he suspected it’d take a lot to throw her off kilter. “I’m listening,” he said.

“Okay, I say we head on over to the Longhorn for a couple of hours and do a bit of dancing. Your cop friends won’t want me around while they’re going through my underwear and since you seem to have been appointed my official babysitter, you might as well keep me occupied.”

Kelly laughed. “You’ve got a deal,” he said. “On two conditions.”

“What’s that?”

“I call Gus and tell him where to find us and you answer enough of my questions to convince me that I’m not entertaining a killer.”

“You’re on,” she said. “Ask away.”

“Okay, first question. Where were you the night Anna was murdered?”

Stella smiled. “Let’s see. That was Saturday night, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Well, I guess I could say I was home with Andrew.”

Kelly lifted his eyebrow. “Yep, you could say that but would it be the truth?”

Her eyes flashed and a smile played at her lips. “No, it wouldn’t but I want your promise if I tell you where I spent the night, it won’t go any further than this room.”

Kelly shook his head. “I can’t do that, Stella. The police are investigating a murder and now Andrew’s relationship with Anna has been established, it’s important you verify your whereabouts the night she was murdered.”

She looked at him for a long minute then shrugged. “I spent the night with Senator Stegman. I’m sure you can understand why I don’t want you passing that along to the cops.”

Kelly kept his face expressionless. “Well, since you’re obviously not implicated in the murder, I’m sure the police would respect your desire to keep your whereabouts private. I know for a fact Gus would.”

Stella laughed and shook her head. “There’s no such thing as a confidential statement when it involves a state senator. Your friend, Gus, might be just as pure as you seem to think he is but he’s not working in a vacuum. The minute I put Mark’s name down on a piece of paper, somebody’s going to see dollar signs and you can bet your sweet ass, some lucky reporter’s going to buy himself a scoop.”

Kelly chewed on his lip. Stella had a point. He’d seen it happen too many times to be naive. Mark Stegman had come in two years ago on a landslide ticket that stood for integrity, decency and family responsibility. A front-page scoop about Mr.-Family-Values being shacked up with a married woman would sell a bunch of newsprint.

“I’ll tell you what I’ll do,” he said. “I’ll tell Gus and I’ll try and get his word that as long as nothing comes up that seriously implicates you in the murder, he’ll verify your alibi himself and vouch for your whereabouts without making an official report on the alibi itself. Will that suit you?”

“I guess it’ll have to. Now, what’s your next question?”

“Actually, you’ve already answered it. I was going to ask if you could verify Andrew’s whereabouts but considering where you spent the night, you can’t very well do that, can you?”

“No, I can’t. As far as I know, he followed his normal routine—golf in the afternoon, dinner somewhere with one of his cronies, then home to his office to spend a few hours playing with his toys. He’s a computer buff and that’s how he spends most Saturday nights, unless of course, we have a dinner engagement…which obviously we didn’t.”

Kelly grinned. “That’s it for the questions. Are you ready to go dancing?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” she said and reached for her bag. “Let’s go.”

“I need to give Gus a call, then we can be on our way.”

“Okay. I’ll get the car and meet you out front.”

“Where are you?” Gus answered on the first ring.

“Out at the channel with Stella. You told me to keep her occupied.”

“Yeah, did but there’s been a change in plans. We’ve found a ransom note. I’d like to have Stella at home in case Andrew tries to get in touch.”

“So you were right about the kidnapping?”

“Possibly.”

The hesitation in Gus’ voice let Kelly know that Gus had reservations.

“What’re you going to do now?”

“The note gives us a credible reason to go through Andrew’s office. We’re heading over there now. Meantime, I’d appreciate it if you and Stella would head over to the house in case Andrew attempts to phone.”

“Sure thing. Stella’s got her cell, but we’ll go back to the house and wait. Will you be on your cell?”

“Yes. I’ll get back to you if anything comes up.” “Okay. Good luck.” “Thanks. And don’t worry about Krystal. We’ll do everything we can.” “I know.” Kelly hung up the phone.

“I’m afraid I’ve got bad news,” Kelly said when he climbed into the Jag.

Stella braked and turned to face him. “What bad news?”

“Gus found a ransom note. Krystal’s been kidnapped.”

“I don’t believe it. Why?”

“The usual reason. Money.”

“And Andrew’s gone to pay the kidnapper?”

“It looks that way.”

Stella frowned and shook her head. “That doesn’t sound like Andrew. If he got a ransom note, the first thing he’d do would be call the cops and demand they do their duty.”

“Maybe the kidnapper convinced Andrew he’d kill Krystal if the money wasn’t paid.”

Stella kept her eyes fastened on Kelly’s for a long moment. “Which would mean Andrew would have control of the business and all the money,” she finally said.

“Are you saying Andrew would deliberately allow his niece to be murdered?”

“What do you think?”

“I don’t know, Stella. But if you’re right, it’s more important than ever that you and I get back to the house. Gus is on his way over to Andrew’s office to see what he can find there. Meanwhile, he’d like you to stay close to the telephone. If Andrew calls you and he’s playing some kind of game with Krystal’s kidnapper, maybe you can reason with him.”

“He’s not in the habit of listening to anything I have to say. But of course, I’ll give it a try. I’m not overly fond of Krystal but I don’t want anything to happen to her.”

“That’s my girl.” Kelly squeezed her arm. “Now let’s get back to the house and hope that Andrew calls.”

“Okay but why don’t you drive? I’m feeling kind of shaky right now.”

“Sure thing,” Kelly said, climbing out of the car and waiting until Stella had settled into the passenger seat before sliding behind the wheel.

At the Holiday Inn, Kelly pulled up in front of the lobby and ran upstairs for his bag.

“No messages,” he said, back in the car. “Do you need to make any stops?”

She shook her head and they drove the rest of the way in silence.

Chapter Seventeen

“Should I put the car inside?” Kelly asked when he pulled into Stella’s driveway.

“Please,” she replied, reaching into the glove box and pushing the door opener.

Kelly garaged the Jag, got out of the car opened Stella’s door and grabbed his bag out of the back seat. “That the way we go?” he pointed at a lighted doorway.

She nodded. “It’s open.”

Kelly pushed the door open and stood aside for Stella to enter.

She led him into a cozy sitting room furnished with plush leather chairs and a brass fitted bar. “Make yourself comfortable while I check with Maria.” She dropped her bag on a table and left the room.

Kelly sank into one of the chairs and clasped his hands behind his head. Thoughts of Krystal and the brief time they’d spent together flooded his mind. He’d been making an effort not to wonder what might be happening to her but here, in the house where she’d grown up, it was impossible to push those thoughts aside.

“No calls.” Stella entered the room and walked over to the bar. “What would you like to drink?”

“Coffee—if it’s not too much trouble.”

“One coffee coming right up.” She flashed him a bright smile. “I think I’ll have something stronger, though.”

Kelly listened to the clink of bottle on glass and the sound of coffee making. After she handed him a steaming mug, he watched her curl up in a chair.

“Well!” She fixed her eyes on his. “Where do we go from here?”

“I want to ask you something and I’m trying to word it so you won’t be offended but frankly it’s a little difficult considering the subject matter.”

Stella tilted her head and gave him a cocky grin. “Why don’t you just go ahead and spit it out? That’s usually the best way.”

Kelly returned her grin. “Okay! What would you say if I suggested Andrew might be setting this whole kidnapping thing up so he can kill Krystal and blame it on a kidnapper?”

“But Andrew was here at home when Krystal was supposedly kidnapped. I can vouch for that myself.”

“That doesn’t mean he couldn’t have an accomplice.”

Stella shook her head. “I can’t see it. If Andrew was going to commit a murder, he sure as hell wouldn’t risk being blackmailed for the rest of his life.”

“With everything he has at stake, he might take some risks he wouldn’t normally consider. Besides, there are ways he could’ve arranged the kidnapping without making himself vulnerable. After all, if Anna had told Krystal about her affair with Andrew, there’s no telling what Krystal might’ve done. Could Andrew take the chance they’d talked?”

Stella frowned. “That’s true but why would Anna tell a secret that would probably drive Krystal out of her life for good?”

“I think Anna must have changed a lot over the years she spent at Indian Creek. From what I knew of her, she’d have hated the idea of Krystal trusting Andrew and allowing him to continue running the business. I think she might’ve been willing to sacrifice her own relationship with Krystal if she thought that by speaking out she could get her out of Andrew’s clutches.”

“You could be right. I didn’t know Anna but given the same circumstances, that’s probably what I’d have done.”

“Okay. Now what about Krystal. Do you think she’d have kicked Andrew out of the business if Anna had told her the truth?”

“You’re damn right she would’ve. She’s got her father so high up on a pedestal that she’d probably kill Andrew if she found out he was responsible for Clayton’s death.” Suddenly Stella stopped. “Kelly, what if Krystal’s the one who killed Anna and now she’s fixing to kill Andrew?”

“No!” Kelly shook his head. “She’s one of the first people Gus eliminated. She was home with her roommate the entire night.”

“Maybe the roommate lied?”

“Penny? Not a chance! She’s a Chinese girl—an exchange student with a limited command of English—and she’s so terrified of the police she’d spill everything she knew in the first ten minutes of an interrogation.”

“Didn’t you say she was nearly killed in that fire?”

Kelly frowned. “It almost sounds like you want to believe Krystal’s guilty.”