Deadly Magic (23 page)

“But it gives him a perfect alibi. He was on stage when it happened. Do you know how hard it would be to convince a jury that he committed the murder in front of some of the city’s leading citizens? His defense attorney would bring them in one by one to testify that they saw him standing on the stage when she died. The prosecutor would have to prove there was some type of conspiracy.”

“But why would either of his kids help him?” Grace asked playing devil’s advocate.

Ethan shrugged. “They might have had their own reasons for hating her.”

“Or . . .” Valerie said slowly. “They may have not had a choice.”

Ethan looked at her curiously. “What do you mean?”

“
Remember that hypnotism act he put on? He had Allen completely under his control.”

Grace s
miled. “It almost makes me wish Ilya had come to work for us.”

Ignoring her, Valerie
continued. “What if he brainwashed his kids? What if he had them under his control?”

Grace shook her head. “Eh. I don’t think so. From what Lily and Belle were saying in his dressing room, it didn’t sound like he had any control over Aleksis. Frankly, I don’t think he has much control over Belle, either. I just don’t think Lily was killed over some lover’s quarrel.”

Ethan smiled gently at Valerie. “It was a good thought, though.”

Valerie shrugged her shoulders. “I still think it’s Belle.
I mean, why is she hanging around?”

Ethan
ran his hand over his face, covering a yawn. “Maybe she is in love with Franklin.”

Grace
looked at him in pity. “No. No way.”

“
It’s possible. He is handsome for an older guy. Right? Weirder things have happened.”

“
He’s got a point, Grace. Straker has managed to have five women fall in love with him. I even . . .”

“What?” Grace asked when she didn’t continue.

Valerie shrugged. “He can be charming when he wants to be.”

“Since when?” Grace asked.

Her friend stifled a yawn. “You’ve never spent any time with him alone. I have. He’s different, one on one. He’s very nice. Sweet even.” She looked off to the side. “It’s just upsetting. Belle’s taking advantage of him. He just lost Lily. I mean, she may have been a horrible wife, but he did love her. Now here’s Belle wiggling her way in, when he’s at his lowest. I just don’t understand how she could move in so fast.”

Grace smiled. “
Straker’s never alone for long. You know that.”

Valerie stifled another yawn.

Ethan stood up. “There’s a cafeteria here, isn’t there? Let’s go get some coffee. My treat.”

They all walk
ed to a small cafeteria in the hospital, still discussing the various motives of their suspects.

“
What would you like to drink?” Ethan asked when they reached the cafeteria counter.

Grace
looked at the menu for a second before asking him to order a cup of hot chocolate for her.

“
Val?”

Valerie sank down into the nearest chair
and laid her head on her arms. “Coffee, please.”

Grace sat down across from her friend, as
Ethan walked to the counter. Emotionally exhausted, they sat in silence until Ethan came back carrying their drinks on a tray.

“
A hot chocolate for you,” he said, placing a cup in front of Grace and another in front of Valerie, “and coffee for you.”

“
Thanks.” Grace cautiously took a sip. Pleasantly surprised she took another sip. “I agree with Valerie. I don’t think Belle is marrying Straker for love. I don’t know why she is marrying Straker, but I’m pretty sure it isn’t for love.”

“
I married for love, look at how well that turned out,” Valerie took a sip and grimaced. “Next, I would like to marry for money.”

Grace laugh
ed. “You had your chance with Straker when he was rolling in the money.”

Valerie made a face.
“He’s never been that rich.”

Ethan
took a sip of his drink before placing it on the table and pushing it away. “You could have been a Mrs. Straker and you turned him down?”

“
Yes, I did and I don’t want to talk about it.”

Grace fill
ed him in “It was a couple of months before he met Lily. He said he was madly in love with her. He followed her around. Telling her how she was his right hand. How much he depended on her.”

Valerie push
ed her drink aside. “Yeah, that didn’t last long.”

“
So, what happened?” Ethan asked.

Happily
, Grace continued with her story. “Broke his heart in two.”

“
I was still married. At the time, happily married.”

Grace roll
ed her eyes.

“
Well, I wasn’t completely unhappy. Not enough to break my vows. This was before I discovered my ex wanted to change careers.”

“
What did he want to do?” Ethan asked.

“
He went from a mild mannered delivery driver to a getaway driver overnight,” Valerie said in disgust.

“
Lost your chance to be a lady of leisure,” Grace said.

Valerie snorted. “
Franklin has never been rich. I keep the books, remember? That viper daughter of his treats the company account as her personal piggy bank. Franklin Straker has been bled dry. I always hold my breath when checking the accounts on Friday afternoon, wondering if we’re still going to be in business Monday. Now, I don’t have to bother.”

Closing his eyes, Ethan rubbed a hand over his face. Softly shaking his head, he looked at Grace. “What happens when Straker finally shuts down the company? Do you two have anything else lined up?”

Grace shook her head. “According to Belle, we’ll all be able to keep our jobs.”

Valerie snort
ed. “Trust me. There’s not enough money for us all to stay on. She’s lying to you, or Straker’s lying to her.”

Ethan’s eyes lit up.
“You two could work at my firm. I remember one of the partners saying something about hiring a few new secretaries or paralegals. Have you ever done any paralegal work?”

They shook their head
s.

“You’d have to get
a certificate, but I think we could work something out until then.”

“
I should be okay. Straker has enough to keep the toy store open for a while. He’ll still need a personal secretary,” Valerie said smiling. “But I think that would be a wonderful idea for Grace. You two could see each other all the time then and you’d still be close to the toy store. We could still have lunch together.”

Ethan leaned in closer. “She’s right. It’s a great idea. I’d like to be able to see you more often.”

Giving a small laugh, Grace shook her head. “No. I have one rule. Stay away from office relationships. What if something went wrong?”

Ethan smiled at her. “Nothing will go wrong. I promise.

“I’ll be fine,” Grace said, with more confidence than she felt at the moment. “Besides, I’m not giving up on Straker just yet. We just need a miracle. If we could find the money Daniel took, then we could stay in business.”

“His girlfriend
ran off with it,” Valerie said. “It’s long gone now.”

“Not necessarily. If the cops are right and
Tabitha is dead, then whoever killed her may have the money. That may be what all of this is about. Maybe the killer was after the money Daniel had stolen.”

“But why kill Lily?” Valerie asked.

Grace shrugged. “Daniel and Lily were supposedly close. She introduced Tabitha to him, to get back at Louisa, maybe she knew something she shouldn’t and had to be killed to keep her quiet. If we could find out when Daniel took the money and how, maybe that would help us figure this all out.” She looked over at Ethan and smiled. “Do you have plans for this weekend?”

He smiled back, before leaning forward. “No. What would you like to do?”

“I’d like your help in searching our office building.”

Ethan dropped his head and laughed. “Oh, I just remembered I’ve
got this . . . thing to go to.”

“Too late. I know
you’re free,” she teased.

“What do you hope to find, Grace?”
Valerie asked.

Grace shrugged. “I don’t know, but I definitely want to check out the attic. Maybe look at the books. Can you come too, Val?”

Valerie looked from Ethan to Grace. Sighing, she said, “Sure. Count me in. You’re going to need Straker’s okay, you know?”

Grace nodded. Taking out her
phone, she called Straker’s office phone, intent on leaving a message. Hopefully, he would check his messages sometime this weekend. She glanced at her watch, surprised, when he answered the phone. She assumed he’d still be with Belle in the ER. Recovering from her surprise, she outlined what she wanted to do. He agreed with the understanding that he would join them in their search.

Dropping her phone back into her purse, she smiled. “It’s all set, but he wants to do the search Monday night.”

“Okay, it’s probably best that he tags along. It avoids any legal entanglements.” Ethan raised his arm and laid it behind her shoulders. “So, where’s your puppy?”

With a half-smile,
Grace looked at him curiously. “I don’t have a puppy. My apartment won’t let me have pets.”

She caught
Valerie’s smile as she raised her cup to her lips before grimacing and placing it back on the table again.

“
You know,” Ethan said, “that big Labrador that’s been following you around lately.”

Sudden realization dawn
ed on her. “Kyle is not a Labrador.”

“
No,” Valerie quickly agreed. “I was thinking German Shepard. You know this is the first time since Daniel died that he hasn’t been hovering around somewhere.”

“
That’s not true.”

“
Yes, it is. He’s always around now. I thought it was because of Belle, but I’m not quite so sure anymore.”

Ethan
looked around the cafeteria. “Where is he anyway?”

“
I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since he ran off to get lunch.” She reached into her purse and pulled out her phone. No messages. Suddenly worried, she started to call his cell phone when her phone rang.

Belle was on the
other end, asking if she could drive her home.

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Grace handed Belle a glass of water and her pills. “You should have stayed at the hospital,” she scolded.

“
I hate hospitals,” Belle complained. She scowled at the pills Grace thrust into her hand. “There was no reason for me to stay.”

“
That’s not what the doctor said.” She pointed to the pills and the water. “She wants you to take your medicine.”

“
Oh, what does she know? I can’t stay at the hospital. I have to prepare for my engagement party.”

“You are in no shape to go to a party tomorrow night. Why don’t you cancel
it? You can have a party next Saturday.”

“Next Saturday is Christmas Eve. No one’s going to want to come and you’re heading to Hawaii.”
Belle stubbornly shook her head. “No. It has to be this weekend. I want you to be there Grace.”

Grace sighed. “How about Sunday? We’ll get
someone from the office to decorate. We’ll have a combination Christmas and engagement party Sunday night.”

“Sunday?
” she asked doubtfully. “At the office?”

“If you insist on having it this weekend at least it’ll give you an extra day to rest. We’ll bring food in—”

“I don’t know. I was really looking forward to having it tomorrow night. I’m much better now that I’m home. Besides you and Abry are here to take care of me,” she said sweetly, picking up the bunny and cuddling it next to her chest. She tilted her head, considering. “You know, actually, it’s not a bad idea having it at the office. Franklin would probably prefer having it there. We have to have a Christmas Party anyway.” Decided, she nodded her head. “Okay. Sunday it is. I’ll call Franklin tomorrow. Who usually handles the decorations for the office?”

“We take turns.
Straker will assign someone to take care of it.”

Belle smiled. “
You’re right, Sunday will be perfect.”

“
Wonderful,” Grace said sarcastically. “Take your medicine.”

Belle sigh
ed heavily before swallowing the pills and taking a gulp of water.

Satisfi
ed, Grace turned to the closet. Picking up a quilt, she laid it over Belle’s legs and tucked the ends under the bed.

Belle kick
ed out her legs. “I can’t move.”

“
Good,” Grace said under her breath.