Old Flames Never Die (Valentine Mystery) (25 page)

“I don't want anything.” She turned her
head away, but left her hands in his. She wanted to shake them off, but
couldn't quite bring herself to do it.

“I know you think the worst of me. Not
only did I hurt you, but you think that I betrayed you. If I can't win you
back, I need to at least convince you that I didn't betray our love. I did go
to see Liv the other night, but I didn't sleep with her. I didn't even think
about it.” Turbulence jostled the plane, nearly pitching Jack on his butt. “Christ,
I think I'm going to be sick.”

“Is that from the flight or from having
to grovel?”

He lifted his head and mustered a grin. “Which
will earn me more points?”

“Neither, if you puke on my pumps.”

Another round of turbulence sent Jack
back to his seat. He let out a curse and lowered his head between his knees.

“Here's the thing,” his muffled voice
said. “If I live a hundred years, I won't be able to make up for the pain I
caused you, but I'm going to try.”

How was she supposed to guard her heart
against a man who was begging for another chance with his head between his knees
because he was terrified of flying?

“I know you're thinking, 'why bother?
Love sucks. I took a chance and he broke my heart'. But I promise you, Tess, I
won't ever hurt you again.” He lifted his head and she considered pretending
she wasn't listening to him. But he looked so pathetic and his eyes shone with
such love and regret, she found her love for him escaping from the prison she'd
tried to lock it in.

Still, while her heart betrayed her, her
mind stayed firm. How many times in the last week had they been right where
they are now? Trying to make up? Trying to make things work? But for how long?
When would their views clash again? Despite their efforts to stay together,
they couldn't seem to make it work.

“We've been in this position several
times now. How will today be different from every other time?”

He gave her a pained look. “I don't
know. All I can promise is that I'll try. I'll never give up on us.”

It was another answer that had her heart
melting, but she fought against it. She turned, looking out the window to think
and sort out whether or not she needed to cut her losses or let her heart guide
her one more time.

Jack knew he was losing the battle. The
threat of being sick or having a panic attack made it difficult to keep trying.
So he let her brood as he focused on surviving the flight.

When the plane landed, his anxiety about
the flight dissipated, but the fear of losing Tess only grew. She barely
glanced at him as she rose and went to stand by the door until the pilot opened
it.

“I arranged a car for you,” Jack said
once the plane's door was open. A black Town Car pulled up to the plane.

The driver stepped out. “Ms. Madison?”

She nodded and the driver opened the
door. Jack's heart sank. He knew it had been too much to hope for more, but
he'd hoped anyway. He had to let her go. He didn't want to. Instinct had him
wanting to go to her, pressure her to let him continue to try. But that's what
got him in this position in the first place. It was a true catch-22. But for
once he determined he'd go against instinct, which meant he had to let her go.
He'd hire another car to take him to Penn Station and catch a train back to
Washington, D.C. The plane would stay and return her home tomorrow.

As he slipped his hand into his pocket
to pull out his phone and call for a car, he told himself that letting her go
now didn't mean all hope was lost. He told her what he needed her to know and
now he'd give her time to reconsider.

He watched as Tess started to get into
the car, but stopped. “Do you know the purpose of my trip?”

“You're here to verify or debunk Liv's
alibi. And to mend your heart.” He hadn't liked the plan that Daniel had
explained to him the night before. Not so much the part of about checking out
Liv's story, but instead the part about Tess getting over heartbreak.

“And you're alright with that?”

“Tess, I've never once asked you to stop
your investigation.”

She gave him an annoyed look that said,
here
we go again
. “But you don't think she's involved.”

“I don't know,” he said. The truth was
he still had difficulty thinking that Liv killed her husband. He knew Liv could
be dishonest and unfaithful, but he believed that with him, she was more
herself and not the persona she was always putting out into the world. But when
Daniel had told him about Liv's baby and he considered all the attempts Liv
made to rekindle things with him, despite his repeated rebuffs, he had to
consider that the persona was who she really was. He didn't warrant any more
honesty or loyalty than anyone else in her life. His loyalty only went so far,
he decided.

She gave him a curt nod. “We've got
several places to visit.”

It took him a moment to realize she was
inviting him to go with her. He tried not to jump for joy or pull her into his
arms. Containing his relief, he slid into the car beside her.

The car sped along Interstate 278 to
Manhattan and then south to the Upper West Side. While she'd invited him along,
she still wouldn't look at him or talk to him. Instead she went over her notes.

“Tess?”

“Hmm?”

“You believe me, don't you? That I
wasn't with Liv?”

She looked up at him, her amber eyes
piercing his soul. “Yes.”

He let out a breath he hadn't realized
he was holding. And yet, he had to be sure. Her demeanor was so different. “It's
important to me that you know I never betrayed you.”

“I know you didn't sleep with her. I can
see the truth in your eyes,” she said. “But there is more than one kind of
betrayal, isn't there?”

Her words were like a stab to the heart.
He knew she was referring to his support of Liv. That she'd felt he'd chosen to
believe Liv over her. He hadn't realized it at the time. Before it had been a
difference of opinion. But now, he could see how she'd feel betrayed. “I'm
sorry. It wasn't my intention to dismiss your feelings. I was wrong not to give
you more credit.”

She nodded then turned back to her work.
Any gains Jack thought he made were quickly gone.

~~~~

Their first stop was at the day spa
where Liv had spent most of the day when Charles was murdered. The high-end
spa's entrance was decorated in a Mediterranean theme with mustard-gold colored
walls and lush burgundy velvet curtains.

Jack stood back as Tess approached the
front desk. She looked back at him, and he nodded. She wondered if he was
giving her space to do her job or if he didn't want to be a part of
investigating Liv.

“Can I help you?” the woman behind the
desk asked. She had blond hair that Tess suspected wasn't her natural color and
a white lab coat. She wondered why a spa would need lab coats and then
considered that maybe it was a marketing gimmick.

“Yes, I was wondering if you could let
me know if this woman was here last weekend.” Tess held out Liv's picture,

“Oh, I'm not allowed to give information
about our clients.”

“All I need to know is if she was here.
I'm just here to validate her alibi.”

“Liv needs an alibi?”

“So you know Liv Danforth?”

“I'd like to help you, but…spa rules.”

Tess inwardly scoffed. How often had
this girl talked to her girlfriends about clients? The shoes? The affairs? Her
friends probably knew every detail of the spa's clients' private lives.

“Who can help me?” Tess asked.

“Constance. She's the manager.”

“Is she available?”

“Let me check.” The woman turned and
entered a side room.

Tess took the time to scan the spa. Her
visual tour ended on Jack who stood and came to stand next to her. 

“You wanted to see me?” a woman's voice
said. “I'm Constance Brockwood, the manager.”

“Yes, I'm here to confirm that Liv
Danforth was here last Saturday.”

“I'm sorry, but I can't discuss anything
about our clients.”

Tess felt Jack move as he leaned in
conspiratorially towards the woman and smiled. “Liv is our sister. It would
really help us and Liv out if we could verify she was here.”

Tess frowned at Jack's intrusion. The
woman took a long, appreciative perusal of Jack. Tess could see the woman
melting under Jack's dimple. It was obscene the things he could get with that
dimple.

“I didn't know Liv had a brother. Or a
sister,” she added as if she just noticed Tess.

“Liv and I haven't ever been close,”
Tess said. “And she and Jack have sort of an on-again-off again.”

“She's a black sheep, but she's our
sister,” Jack added. “What can you do? When a sister needs you—”

“Is she in trouble?”

“No,” Tess said. “But it would help if
we knew she was here.”

“Her husband was murdered,” Jack said. “You
know how the police think.”

“The spouse is always the first suspect.
We did get a call from the police,” Constance said. “Well, I guess we could
just verify her appointment.”

Jack turned on the smile wattage even
more. “We'd appreciate that.”

“Last week's book is in the office. I'll
be right back,” Constance said excusing herself.

“Power to the dimple,” Tess murmured to
Jack.

“What can I say? Some people like my
charm.”

“Hmmm.”

“Yes, she had an all-day appointment,”
Constance said as she joined them at the front desk. “She logged in at noon and
was here until four.”
            “Four?” Tess asked. “What did she have done?”

“She had a massage and a sauna. Facial,
manicure, pedicure, waxing—”

“We get the picture. Is there any way we
can talk to the people who worked on her?” Tess asked.

“I thought you just wanted to verify she
was here?”

“We do. But an appointment doesn't mean
she was here,” Tess said.

“We just want to be sure she was here
the whole time. Liv used to sneak out of the house when we were kids,” Jack
added, with his signature smile.

Constance regarded him a long minute. “Okay.
But I don't want you to disturb them while they're working. I'll list their
names and break times.”

“Perfect,” Jack said. He reached out his
hand and Tess thought the woman was going to melt to the floor when he took her
hand in his. “Thank you very much, Constance.”

Tess rolled her eyes.

Two hours later they left the spa with
no new information. Yes, Liv had been there. No she didn't seem preoccupied,
nervous or upset. No one had called her and she hadn't called anyone.

“Well, that was a bust,” Jack said as
they walked up the busy New York street.

“At least Constance got something out of
it,” Tess said.

Jack grinned.

“After the spa, Liv went to
Bergdorf Goodman and then Harry Winston's.”

“That explains
the expensive timepiece she's been sporting,” Jack said.

In Bergdorf's
they weren't able to find the cashier who helped them, but a manager did verify
the receipt was genuine. At Harry Winston's the clerk remembered Liv from
previous visits.

“Sounds like Liv
was a regular there,” Jack said.

“I wonder if
that is how she planned to walk away from the marriage with more than the
clothes on her back.”

Jack gave her a
quizzical look. “She had a prenup and it doesn't look like his death was going
to give her much more. But jewelry, like real estate and art, holds its value.”

He nodded. “She'd
think up something like that.”

They watched
their hired car as it pulled up to the curb. “But spending your husband's money
isn't a crime. And her alibi checks out.”

“But, you still
think it’s fishy,” Jack asked.

“Yes. But the
evidence says otherwise. It's not like there aren't other more viable suspects.”

“Like who?”

Their driver
opened the door and Tess slid in first. She wondered how much she should tell
Jack. Her instinct was to say nothing. But Daniel had helped arrange this trip.
Helped Jack arrange to be with her. Did that mean Jack was part of the
investigation now? Then she remembered spilling the beans about Liv's baby to
Daniel and decided maybe she owed Jack some information in return.

“The partner.
And the son.”

“The partner? On
that land deal?”

Tess nodded. “Turns
out that land is sitting on a gold mine…well, not gold, but an industrial
mineral worth millions and only Charles owns the rights to it.”