Paranoid(35)

Reva swirled the ruby wine in her glass. “The police always look at the family first. And I think they were having money problems. When I saw her at the dog groomer’s, Vi was kind of pissed. And she mentioned that Leonard wanted to buy the store from his parents but they were at some kind of impasse. She didn’t seem all that crazy about the idea, but then, who knows?” She shrugged her shoulders. “But I bet Leonard is suspect numero uno.”

Mercedes clicked off her phone and stood, circumventing the coffee table to stand with the rest of the group in front of the fireplace. “Reva’s right. The cops always suspect the husband, or if the husband is killed, then the wife, or maybe a whacked-out kid, whoever’s in line to inherit. Wait ’til they check the will.”

“They didn’t have kids,” Lila said. Then, eyeing Mercedes, she asked, “When was the last time you saw her?”

Mercedes lifted a shoulder. “Last week. I tracked her down at the furniture store.”

Nate lifted his chin. “Tracked her down?”

“I was trying to get an interview with her, for the series. Since she was one of the witnesses at the trial, and she was on the scene when Luke was killed, I thought it would be interesting to see what she had to say now.”

“Let me guess,” Reva said. “She shut you down.”

Mercedes’s stony expression acknowledged nothing. “She didn’t want to talk about it. The damnedest thing, you know,” she said, her gaze moving back to Rachel. “No one wants to be interviewed.”

“I wonder why?” Reva tossed out. “Geez, did you stalk her?”

Mercedes opened her mouth, then closed it. “I just needed a little information. It’s my job.”

“So we’ve heard.” Nate took another drink.

“And just so you know, the next article is coming out next week.” Mercedes was staring straight at Rachel. “The Tuesday edition.”

“Listen, could we please all get back to work?” Lila said. “All this talk about Vi isn’t going to bring her back.”

Billy Dee made his way to the table, and Reva followed.

Mercedes stepped closer to Rachel. “I’ve been trying to reach you. I’ve texted and called and all I’ve gotten is radio silence.”

“Because I don’t want to talk about it.” Rachel was going to add lamely that she’d been busy, but Mercedes didn’t give her time.

“I just want to ask some questions about Luke’s murder. For my series.”

“Yeah, Mercedes, I get it! We all do,” Rachel said, a little louder than she’d anticipated, and Brit’s eyebrows shot up. Lila’s head swiveled in her direction.

“You didn’t call me back.”

“I know that too,” Rachel said, the room seeming to shrink a bit.

“Why?”

God, why would Mercedes corner her with everyone else around? Even Lila and Billy Dee in the dining room had turned to look at the small group near the couch. “Nothing to say.”

Mercedes wasn’t buying it. “Oh, come on. You were accused—”

“Look,” Rachel said sharply, cutting her off. “I don’t want to talk about what happened to Luke. Okay?”

Mercedes asked, “Can I quote you on that?”

“No!”

“Jesus, Mercedes, give it a rest, would ya?” Nate said. “Have a little respect. This isn’t the time or place.”

“There is no time or place with Rachel,” Mercedes pointed out, bristling.

Lila touched Mercedes’s arm. “Come on, Mercy, let it go for now. It’s a tough day for those of us close to Luke anyway, and now, with what happened to Violet, everyone’s . . . they’re just not themselves. You and Rachel can figure this out another time.”

Mercedes’s eyes flashed. “I’ve got tomorrow open. Or Sunday before noon. Work for you?” she asked Rachel, putting her on the spot.

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t you?”

“I keep a calendar at home.”

Mercedes glared at her. “You have a calendar on your phone or iPad or whatever. You’re a techie.”

Rachel stood her ground. “I am and I do, but I can’t give you an answer right now.”

Mercy wasn’t about to give up. “Then—”

“For the love of God, didn’t you hear Lila?” Nate threw up a hand, his drink sloshing over the rim of his glass. He didn’t care, just glared, flush faced, at Mercedes. “Violet’s been killed, damn it. So stop. Just stop!”

“Stay out of it,” Mercedes warned.

“Let’s all take a breath.” Lila stepped between them. “Sort it out later. We’ve got work to do.” Then she noticed her son was still loading up and lingering at the buffet. “Isn’t that enough?” she asked.

Lucas looked up, caught her eye, and mumbled a quick, “Yeah,” before heading back upstairs.

When Rachel looked back at Mercedes, the petite woman was still eyeing her intently. Back in high school, Mercedes Jennings had been one of the rare girls who hadn’t fallen for Luke Hollander, a girl who had called him out for being a phony. Now, she finally said, “Okay, Lila and Nate are right. This isn’t the time and we do have work to do. I’ll call you and we’ll set it up.”