The Wife Who Knew Too Much(56)
“Go on.”
“At a minimum, you need daily personal security, a complete overhaul of on-site security here at Windswept, and an investigative capability aimed at neutralizing threats before they arise.”
Kovacs proceeded to outline a series of measures, including the installation of multiple security cameras on Windswept’s grounds, a twenty-four-seven security team including live-in bodyguards, guards to accompany us whenever we left the house, and investigators who could dig up dirt on Connor’s adversaries. When Kovacs said it would cost thousands of dollars a week on an ongoing basis, Connor didn’t bat an eye. He agreed to everything.
If Kovacs became a regular presence in my life, I’d live in constant fear of the moment he remembered me. I protested based on the expense and the intrusion, but Connor wouldn’t hear it.
“Let me handle this, okay, babe? You’re new to this lifestyle. You’re just not in a position to make an assessment of our security needs the way I am.”
They agreed that Kovacs would implement a large-scale security program at Windswept as quickly as possible. In the meantime, it would be best if I didn’t leave the grounds, not even to walk on the beach.
“Is that really necessary?”
“It’s a public beach. Anybody could be out there, and I can’t protect you until we’re on site,” Kovacs said.
“Please, Tabby. For my peace of mind,” Connor said.
“If you really think so.”
“I do. And now I’ve got to get into the city. Steve, I’d appreciate it if you could forward the contract and put your team in place as soon as possible.”
“Absolutely, sir.”
They left, and I sat on the window seat with my chin in my hand, looking out at the bright, blustery day. Down on the beach, whitecaps crested jauntily as gulls swooped across the sky, but I was a prisoner here because some stranger had taken my picture. Surely, an overreaction. Right? If Nina had committed suicide, Connor should have nothing to worry about. There wouldn’t be evidence proving him guilty if he wasn’t, so there shouldn’t be a way to pin her death on him. Unless there was evidence. Unless he was behind it.
If I let myself doubt him even for a minute, I’d go down a rabbit hole and never get out. Connor stood to gain hundreds of millions of dollars from Nina’s death. It would be so easy to believe he was guilty, but then I’d have no one, and nothing. I had to have faith. Yes, there was a lot of money at stake, but that didn’t make him guilty. You could say I had that same motive, and I was innocent.
You could say I had the same motive. That train of thought continued, bringing me to an uncomfortable truth. I was as good a suspect for Nina’s murder as Connor was. Better, actually. Connor had access to Nina’s money while she was alive. I didn’t. I was struggling to make ends meet, with a baby on the way. The only way I could get my hands on Nina’s money would be through her husband, and for that, she had to die. Not only did I have the most compelling motive, I had the opportunity to kill her. I was at Windswept the night she died. Kovacs knew that. He just hadn’t recognized me yet. All it would take was that lightbulb going off in his head, and I could find myself accused of Nina’s murder.
I ought to tell Connor the truth, tonight. The whole truth. Or else Kovacs could end up telling him first.
As if conjured by my thoughts, Kovacs strolled out onto the terrace and down the steps to the beach. He was talking on his phone, heading west, away from Windswept. He walked down the beach until he became a tiny dot and disappeared. I picked up the binoculars that sat on the windowsill to see him better. Almost immediately, he turned around and headed back, taking up position on the stretch of beach in front of Windswept. Putting up the collar of his jacket against the wind, he checked his watch as if he was waiting for something.
A few minutes later, Juliet emerged from the house and walked down to meet him. It didn’t appear to be a chance encounter. There was no look of surprise, not even any greeting. They spoke several minutes, intently. At one point, Kovacs turned and gestured toward the house. Juliet looked up and nodded. The feeling that they were talking about me was so strong that the back of my neck prickled. After a few more minutes, Juliet went back into the house, and Kovacs strode off toward the brick path that led past the garage and up to the front gate. I crossed my fingers that walking on the path where Derek had attacked him wouldn’t jog his memory. To me, it evoked memories uncomfortable enough that I’d avoided it since my return, just as I’d avoided visiting the swimming pool where Nina had drowned. To me, they were haunted places.
I heard a noise behind me and turned with a start. But it was just Gloria, coming to dust the room.
“Good morning, Mrs. Ford,” she said, nodding unsmilingly, her black hair and dark eyes making her seem even more somber.
“Good morning, Gloria.”
“Okay if I tidy up in here now?”
“Sure thing. Go right ahead.”
She made her way around the room on soft-soled shoes, flicking a feather duster, straightening the knickknacks. Juliet had referred to Gloria as a fixture at Windswept. The term was apt—she moved so soundlessly that, at times, she seemed to blend in with the furniture. More than once, I’d turned a corner in the immense house and been startled to stumble across Gloria going about her work. I wondered if Nina had insisted on that level of discretion, if she’d been the type who hated to see or hear her staff. Personally, I found Gloria’s silence disconcerting. She could be watching me, and I would never know.