The Killing Game(47)

“Yes, ma’am. The one she was mmm-mmm-mmm-ing with,” Grace clarified.

“Davinia was having an affair? Do you remember with whom? His name? The boy?”

She drew back and eyed her up and down. “What do you want him for?” she asked suspiciously.

“I’m trying to identify a . . . body . . . a male who died when he was about eighteen. He would be thirty now.”

“He died?”

“Yes. He could maybe be Davinia’s lover?” she tried.

“Go ask the blond bitch. She’s a cheater. You shouldn’t cheat. Never, never.”

“If you mean Davinia, she died in the automobile accident with Nathan.”

“She cheated. Everybody knew it.”

“Did Nathan know it?”

“Oh sure.”

“Do you remember who she cheated with?”

“That boy,” she said, as if September were the densest person on record.

They were stuck in a loop. “Who is that boy?” September asked a trifle wearily. “Tommy?”

“No, he grew up and got fat. Big blubbery blubberhead. That’s what my grandson says.”

“Your grandson, Caleb?”

“Caleb . . . no. Not him. The other one.”

“What’s the name of your other grandson?”

She reared back and her face grew red. She suddenly shrieked, “He’s dead! He died from those drugs! Don’t talk to me about him!”

And with that she reached back and yanked a cord attached to the wall. Realizing she was calling for help, September scooted for the door. She didn’t want to be there when the cavalry arrived. “Thank you, Grace,” she murmured, letting herself out.

“Bitch,” Grace snapped as the door closed behind September.

As she slipped into the hallway, she could hear muffled howl after howl coming from Grace’s room. September heard brisk footsteps heading her way. She prepared herself to meet with the administrator, but two young aides paid no attention to her as they headed at a leisurely pace to Grace’s room.





Chapter Twelve



Andi pushed through the front door of Wren Development and made her way to the elevator, her head full of unresolved issues. Telling herself she needed to confront Mimi Quade and her unborn child was one thing, doing it quite another. She’d picked up the phone half a dozen times only to put it back down. She’d even thought about calling Luke, but though she’d told him about Greg’s affair during one of their conversations, she’d brushed over the details and didn’t want to go into them any further now.

Instead, she’d decided to talk to Carter about the situation. Like Greg, Carter firmly believed Mimi was faking it, but Andi wasn’t so sure.

Her phone rang when she was in the elevator and she was surprised to see the call was from Trini. She answered and said quickly, “I’m in the elevator, so if I lose you, call me back.”

“Are you at work?”

“Yeah, I’m coming in a little late today.”

“Well, I won’t keep you, but I just wanted to say, things are better.”

Andi heard the lightness in her voice. “Oh?”

“With Bobby. I was really bummed. I just didn’t want to talk about it. All these years, y’know? Of being the dumper, instead of the dumpee . . . Well, it really sucks to be on the other end.”

“It sure does.” Andi smiled.

“But we’re seeing each other again, so maybe, maybe, fingers crossed, I can finally have you meet him this weekend.”

“Good. Yeah. Let’s do that,” Andi said with a little more enthusiasm than she really felt. She and Trini had drifted apart some, and she wanted their relationship back on track, but to do that she thought they might need to see each alone.

“Okay, listen, I gotta go. But I’ll call you, okay?”

“Sure. Sure. Just glad to know you’re all right.”

“Oh, of course I am.”

“Well, don’t confront the Carrera brothers. That’s all I’m saying. They’re dangerous.”

“Okay . . . noted,” she said, sounding slightly abashed. “I’d had a little more to drink than I should have, and I’m not a drinker.”

“I know you’re not. That’s what worried me.”

“I probably said some things I shouldn’t have, but Carrera didn’t pay much attention to me anyway, as far as I can remember.”

“What were you doing at Lacey’s anyway?”

“Oh . . . I don’t know. I just was missing Bobby and I . . . well, it doesn’t matter now. We’re back together and everything they say about makeup sex is true.” She laughed. “So I’ll call you, and we’ll get together. Now go to work. Make some more Wren dough.”

“Aye aye.”

The conversation buoyed Andi’s spirits and she was in a better frame of mind when she walked into Carter’s office. He was standing by the window, looking over the wetlands behind the building, talking on his cell. Seeing Andi, he wrapped up with, “I’ll call you back,” then clicked off. “You look well,” he observed.

“I just talked to Trini and I hadn’t spoken to her for a while. My friend from college,” she clarified, in case he’d forgotten.