Share No Secrets (18 page)

Kit had dark brown hair that an incredibly expensive haircut gave a casually tousled look. She wore Capri pants, sandals, a T-shirt, and only a slash of pale lip gloss and a bit of mascara. Without the dark lipstick, the blush, and the eyeliner she applied to her hazel eyes when she was at the restaurant, she appeared at least five years younger. Usually Kit had a wide, lovely smile, but not today.

“I’m wondering just what the hell is going on in this town,” Kit said, picking up a lamp. “It’s beginning to feel like we’re in an episode of
The Twilight Zone.”

“It always has. Don’t forget, Point Pleasant is supposed to be suffering under an old Indian curse.”

“Now you sound like my mother.”

“I’m beginning to think her belief in the supernatural has been undeservedly dismissed.” Adrienne shoved the last cushion onto the couch and stood back, hands on hips. “Here we are making light of the situation when Julianna has been
murdered.
What’s wrong with us?”

“Shock.” Kit set down the lamp on a table and came to Adrienne, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. “Back when we were teenagers, I thought I was ordinary, you were special, and Julianna was bigger than life. She was so beautiful, so energetic, so joyful that she seemed … I don’t know …
eternal.
That sounds stupid, but even when she was having trouble with drugs, I knew she’d come through it. And she never forgot us. Even at the height of her career, I don’t think I ever went more than a month without talking to her.”

“I know,” Adrienne said sadly. “Her attention meant so much to me when Trey and I were in Las Vegas. I was miserable and worried about money, especially after I had Skye and I was still trying to get my master’s degree, I wrote to Juli, but I couldn’t afford to make a lot of long-distance calls. She understood without my having to explain. She’d call me and talk forever. Her phone bills must have been huge. But I always felt better after I’d talked to her. Well, when I talked to you, too. It’s just that Julianna—”

“Had a more exciting life than I did. We could both live it vicariously.”

By now, Adrienne’s eyes had filled with tears. “I’m going to miss her so much.”

“Me, too. Nothing will ever be the same for us.”

“Or Lottie.” Adrienne sighed. “How’s Gail taking it?”

Kit dropped her arm from Adrienne’s shoulders and shrugged. “She’s the same old Gail. A cipher. You’d never guess her sister had just been killed. Yesterday she came in for the evening shift as if nothing had happened. I told her to take the night off. She said that wouldn’t be necessary. Can you believe it? But I insisted she go home. I was so angry that she was unfazed by her sister’s death, I just felt like slapping her.”

“No wonder. Certainly she felt
something.
Julianna was her only sister.”

“Of whom she was wildly jealous. She has none of Juli’s beauty, her charm, her ambition. Gail is okay looking, pleasant when she feels like it, and efficient. That’s it. I tried to befriend her for Julianna’s sake—I even gave her a job—but I can’t make myself like her. I believe she’s one of the coldest people I’ve ever met.”

Adrienne began shoving the heavy coffee table back into place. “Gail was devastated when her father deserted the family. She was also ashamed of their poverty. Juli didn’t give a damn.”

Kit pushed on the other end of the coffee table. “I love the slab of glass on this thing, but it weighs a ton,” she gasped. “What does Lucas have to say about all of this?”

“The break-ins, Claude’s death, or Julianna’s murder?”

“Any of it.”

“I don’t think he knows much about Julianna yet. Her body is still at the medical examiner’s office in Charleston. They’ll determine the cause of death. Same with Claude.”

“Claude? He burned to death.”

“There was something else wrong with him. Lucas wasn’t specific, but he doesn’t think his death was an accident.”

“Another murder?” Kit exclaimed. “Jeez, I never gave that a thought.” She sat down hard on a hassock. “Do we have some kind of maniac running around town?”

“Apparently.”

“My God.”

They both stiffened when the doorbell rang. Their gazes met as they stood perfectly still, frozen with anxiety. Then a man yelled, “Adrienne? I mean, Mrs. Reynolds? It’s Rod from Rod’s Lock and Key. Sheriff told me to come myself instead of sendin’ one of my employees ‘cause you know me. I’m here to install your new locks and your security system.”

Adrienne let out her breath and went to the door. She opened it a crack and looked out at Rod, whom she’d known since childhood. He grinned and she smiled back. “Rod, it’s good to see you.”

“You, too, Mrs. Reynolds.”

“Rod, when did I become Mrs. Reynolds to you?” She swung the door open. “We went all through school together.”

Rod’s oversized teeth shone in his lean, weathered face that spoke of all the time he toiled outdoors when he wasn’t laboring at his business. His father had owned a small farm and worked Rod shamefully hard when he was young. After he inherited the place, Rod continued to handle it by himself, refusing to make his young sons near-slaves as he had been. “Well, Adrienne, aren’t you lookin’ pretty these days?”

“Yes, I think the bandage on my forehead does wonders for me.” She smiled. “The same for dark circles under my eyes from no sleep.”

“It’d take more than a bandage and dark circles to ruin that face, although I’m awful sorry about what you’ve been through. Lord Almighty, I heard you found Julianna Brent’s body.” Adrienne nodded, hoping he wouldn’t ask for any details. “And then you got mugged and now your house’s been broke into.” He shook his head dolefully, deep creases forming between his heavy, sun-bleached eyebrows. “Sure glad you were at your sister’s, although I heard her place got broke into, as well. And the Hamiltons with that fine alarm system I put in. The most expensive one we’ve got. I don’t get it.”

“The alarm system wasn’t turned on, Rod.”

He looked relieved and annoyed at the same time. “Well, I’m glad there wasn’t nothing wrong with the system, but confound it, why pay a fortune for a fancy system like that and then not turn it on?”

“It was an oversight. When Philip and Vicky got home from a party, they found Skye and me and our dog as unexpected houseguests and I’d just come from the hospital after getting bashed on the head.” She tried to smile lightly. “Everyone was a little off center last night. I’m fairly certain that was the first time the alarm had been left off.”

“Phew. That makes me feel a whole lot better,” Rod said. “Wouldn’t want to think I’ve been chargin’ a lot of money for an alarm system that’s not what it’s cracked up to be.”

“Aren’t you even going to speak to me, Lightning Rod?”

Rod turned to face Kit and broke into an even bigger grin, showing more teeth. Adrienne was certain the man must have more teeth than the standard thirty-two. “Kit Kirkwood, no one’s called me Lightnin’ Rod for nearly twenty years!”

Skye had come into the room. “Hello. Why do they call you Lightning Rod?”

Rod’s eyes lit up. He’d always loved to tell this story. “When I was three years old, I took off running in a field during a storm. My mother spotted me just as a big lightning bolt hit the ground about five feet from me. She fainted.”

Skye gasped. “No wonder! Were you hurt?”

“Not a bit. They said I thought it was funny. I didn’t think it was so funny, though, when I was thirteen and ridin’ my bike home to beat a storm and lightning hit a telephone pole that crashed right down in front of me. Wires were flyin’ everywhere, thrashing around like snakes and throwing out some pretty mean sparks.”

“My goodness, you’re a walking disaster,” Skye said in an awed tone.

“Skye!” Adrienne burst out.

Rod laughed. “That’s okay, Adrienne. She’s right. Close calls with lightnin’ are my claim to fame. But God seems to be lookin’ over me, honey.” He looked at Adrienne and Kit. “Well now, isn’t this a pleasure? Of course, the circumstances are bad, but I get to see two of the prettiest girls in my graduating class. Don’t tell the wife, but I had crushes on both of you.”

“You had crushes on at least
twenty
girls,” Kit said dryly. “But you ended up with the right one. I always thought Carrie was sweet
and
pretty. Just terribly shy.”

“She’s not nearly so shy now. And she’s gotten even prettier with age. She’s a fine mother, too.”

At that moment, Brandon wandered in and immediately approached Rod’s offered hand. “Dogs always know when a person’s partial to them,” Rod declared. “My two boys each got a dog. Brown and White.”

“What are their names?” Skye asked.

“Brown and White.” Rod seemed puzzled by her question since he thought he’d already given their names. “And what’s this big fella’s name? Blackie?”

“Brandon,” Skye said promptly.

Rod looked slightly bemused. “Well, Brandon’s a fine name. Fancy, but … fancy.” He glanced at Skye. ‘Think Brandon would like to help me change the locks?”

“I bet he’d love it! And can I watch, too? I never saw a lock get changed.”

“I don’t want you and Brandon to be in Rod’s way,” Adrienne said.

Rod shook his head, the cowlick in his thick, sun-streaked hair waving as if it had a life of its own. “Kids are never a bother to me, Adrienne. Just a pure pleasure. I’d have a dozen of them if the wife hadn’t told me in no uncertain terms there’d be no more than four. Number three’s on the way—be here in a couple of months. I’ll have to get that one a dog, too.” He looked at Skye. “Maybe you can help us pick out a name for it, something fancy like Brandon.”

“What did you have in mind, Mr….”

“Just Rod, honey. I was thinkin’ of gettin’ a beagle and calling him Flop Ear.”

“Flop Ear!” Skye burst out in horror before she remembered her manners. “Well, Flop Ear’s nice, but maybe we can think of some names you’d like even better while you work on the locks.”

Adrienne looked at Kit. “Seems it’s time for us to take a break. Want some iced tea or coffee? You look pale.”

“I need coffee. Strong.”

“Rod?”

“Coffee would be great. I don’t know what my two assistants here drink.”

“I’ll see that they’re both taken care of,” Adrienne said. “Don’t work them too hard.”

Rod immediately began chattering to Skye and the noise followed Adrienne and Kit to the kitchen. “Do you suppose he really had crushes on us?” Kit murmured. Adrienne whispered back, “I think he did, but back then, we were all too afraid to get near him for fear of immediately being struck down by lightning.”

They struggled to suppress laughter until they got into the kitchen and closed the door. There they collapsed, giggling like girls Skye’s age over something really not all that funny, although the laughter was a good release from the tension and dark thoughts that had gripped them earlier.

A minute after Adrienne had pulled two tissues from her pocket and they each wiped away tears of laughter, she said, “You can have coffee but I don’t own one of those fancy bean grinders like you have. I can’t give you the quality you’re used to.”

“Frankly, I never go to all that trouble for myself. Anything is fine.”

While the coffee brewed, Kit ran her hands through her thick dark hair, tucked it behind her ears, then pulled it forward again. Fiddling with her hair was a sure sign of nerves with Kit “Do you know who Julianna was involved with? Who she could have been with at la Belle?’ she asked abruptly.

“No. But Skye thinks it was your stepfather.”

Kit gaped.
“Skye
thinks it was
Gavin?
Why?”

Adrienne took down two mugs from the cabinet “She goes to Vicky’s parties for Philip to keep Rachel company because Rachel hates them. Anyway, the two of them have noticed that when both Gavin and Juli are present, Gavin constantly touches Julianna.”

“Gavin constantly touches
all
young women,” Kit said in disgust “Did Skye have anything else to go on?”

“Just that Gavin would have keys to la Belle, making easy access for secret assignations.” Adrienne poured coffee into the mugs and set one in front of Kit. “I’m only telling you this because I
don’t
think Julianna was involved with Gavin. I thought she just put up with him out of consideration for Ellen. But your mother is bound to hear the rumor and she might believe it.”

“You bet she’ll believe it.” Kit sighed. “Honestly, how she could have stayed with that jerk all these years given his affairs is beyond me. I know she was crazy about him when she married him, but she doesn’t love him anymore. She told me she stayed with him when she first found out he was a philanderer because I needed a father after mine jumped ship.” Kit scoffed. “Gavin was
never
like a father to me. Or to Jamie. Then he let Jamie die—”

Kit broke off. She had adored her adopted little brother who had drowned one night last summer at la Belle. Finally, she said, “I think Jamie’s death sent Mother over the edge. As for Gavin, he can’t leave her if he wants to end up with a penny of her money, and she won’t let him go voluntarily with a nice settlement. He’s too greedy and too much of a weakling to just walk away empty-handed. So, her retribution for Jamie is to hang on to Gavin and make his life miserable. And she does. Sometimes I could almost feel sorry for Gavin.” Kit paused. “Almost.”

“If Lucas is focusing on Gavin as a suspect, he hasn’t said anything to me.” Adrienne took a sip of her coffee. “Of course he wouldn’t. No one could ever accuse Lucas Flynn of having loose lips. I do know he’s worried about Lottie, though. Before he left here this morning, he told me they still haven’t found her. She might not even know Julianna is dead.”

“She does.”

Adrienne looked at Kit in surprise. “You’ve seen her?”

“Last night at the restaurant.” Kit had brought her purse into the kitchen with her and fished inside for a pack of cigarettes and her gold, engraved lighter. Adrienne tapped her fingers on the kitchen table impatiently while Kit lighted her cigarette and drew on it, slowly blowing out smoke. Finally Adrienne said, “Well, are you going to tell me about Lottie or not?”

“If you’re going to take that tone with me, I won’t tell you anything at all.”