Читать книгу Killing Her Softly - Beverly Barton - Страница 13

He could hear her footsteps coming closer and closer. Any minute now she would open the door to his room and come inside, just as she always did whenever he had displeased her. He tried so hard to be good, to make her happy, but it seemed that he couldn’t do anything right. Everything he said and did was wrong. Even the way he looked angered her.

“You’re much too handsome,” she had told him repeatedly, from as far back as he could remember. “You’re going to break a lot of hearts if I don’t stop you.”

“I won’t. I promise I won’t.”

“You’ve always been a liar. If I don’t punish you for your sins, God will. You’ll burn in hell if I can’t beat the evil out of you.”

Sitting in the middle of his bedroom floor, he trembled as he watched the doorknob turn. He had locked the door once, but when she’d removed the hinges and taken the door off the frame, she had been wild with anger. His punishment had been severe. She’d broken his arm that time. And when he’d hidden in the closet, she’d whipped him so severely that he still bore the scars on his buttocks.

The door opened. His heart beat like crazy, thumping so loudly that it deafened him to the sound of her voice. He couldn’t understand what she was saying as she stood there hovering over him, a stern look on her face. He knew she was screaming, outraged by what he’d done.

He dared a quick glance up at her, his gaze focused not on her face, but on the erect index finger she pointed directly at him. Whenever she scolded him, she used her index finger to emphasize her point. God, how he hated that judgmental finger.

Suddenly, she stopped ranting. He held his breath, knowing what would come next. She lifted her hand and brought it down across his face, slapping him so hard that he reeled backward. He lay there, feeling completely helpless as she pointed her finger at him again and continued berating him. Cuddling into a small protective ball, he lay there waiting for the next blow. He didn’t have long to wait. She removed the thick leather belt from around her waist, folded it in two and then snapped it. He cried out with fear.

He hated that belt, the instrument of his torment. She wore it with every pair of jeans she owned. A brown leather belt with a wide brass buckle.

She kept talking, but still he couldn’t hear her, only the drone of her agitated voice. But he knew what she was telling him to do. With trembling hands, he slid his pajama bottoms down his hips and trembling legs, then kicked them off. He dared another glance up at her. She smiled at him.

Oh, God, help me. Don’t let her beat me again.

She motioned for him to roll over, which he did. The first blow to his backside stung something awful. Those first few blows were always the worst. After about a dozen strikes over his flesh, the pain was so bad that it began to become a part of him.

Tears welled up in his eyes.

Begging and pleading wouldn’t do any good. He’d tried that over and over again.

I love you, Mommy. I want to obey you. I’ll try harder. I promise I’ll be good.

She hit him repeatedly, so many times that he finally lost count. The pain surged through him as blood oozed from the stripes covering his bare buttocks.

“It’s my duty to punish you, to save you from yourself and your evil ways.”

Tears trickled down his cheeks.

“You know I’m doing this for your own good, don’t you?” When he couldn’t manage a reply, she reached down, grabbed him and shook him. “You’ve been a very bad boy, Quinn.”

The scream inside him ripped him apart.

His eyelids flew open as he shot straight up in bed. It wasn’t real. Not anymore. It was a nightmare. That’s all. He’d been asleep, taking a nap, and as so often happened, his subconscious forced him to relive those horrific days from his childhood. With his heart thundering and sweat glistening on his skin, he took several deep breaths.

That same nightmare or one very similar plagued him relentlessly. No matter what he did, he couldn’t escape. No matter how many miles or years he’d put between the two of them, she would never release him completely. She’d be a part of him until the day he died.

But she can’t hurt you, he told himself. She can never hurt you again.

Griffin Powell didn’t go into the office on the weekends, and unless he was personally working on a case, he didn’t do anything work-related on Saturday and Sunday. After all, a man had to make time for a social life. He’d spent most of the afternoon working out in the gym he had designed to fit into the basement of his Knoxville home. Keeping physically fit was one of his top priorities. After wiping the perspiration from his face, he hung the small white towel around his neck and headed for the shower, but before he reached the bathroom adjacent to the exercise room, Sanders appeared at the foot of the stairs.

Sanders had been Griffin’s assistant for a number of years, ever since he’d been at Griffin’s side on his personal journey to hell and back. They shared a comradery only those who’ve depended upon each other to stay alive truly understood.

“Sorry to bother you, sir, but I’ve taken two phone calls that were made to your private number.”

Griffin cocked an inquisitive eyebrow.

“One was from Quinn Cortez. He wants you to investigate a murder case. It seems he discovered his lover’s dead body last night and as of right now, he is a person of interest to the Memphis police department.”

“Quinn Cortez, huh? The Quinn Cortez.” Griffin’s lips lifted with amused interest. “I’ll call him after I take a shower.”

“There was a second telephone call.”

“Someone more interesting than Quinn Cortez?”

“This person’s call makes Mr. Cortez’s call even more interesting.”

“And this person is?

“Annabelle Vanderley.”

“Annabelle? Why didn’t you put her through to me immediately?”

Griffin recalled the one and only time he’d met the lady. And she was a lady, down to the very marrow in her bones. Born and bred to Mississippi royalty, the descendant of two wealthy, prestigious families—the Vanderleys and the Austins. They’d been introduced by a mutual friend at a charity function in Chattanooga three years ago and he’d found Ms. Vanderley vastly intriguing. He’d made subtle overtures, which she’d ignored. He was unaccustomed to being rejected, so out of curiosity, he had asked their mutual friend for details of Annabelle’s personal life. Once he’d been told she had a crippled fiancé to whom she was devoted, he hadn’t ask anything else. Encroaching on another man’s territory wasn’t Griffin’s style.

“I wasn’t aware you knew the lady,” Sanders said, his face expressionless.

“We met briefly several years ago.”

“And she made a favorable impression.”

Griffin nodded. “What did Annabelle want?”

“She also wants to hire you to investigate a murder case. It seems her cousin was murdered in Memphis last night and—”

“Damn! Annabelle’s cousin and Quinn Cortez’s lover are one in the same, right?”

Sanders nodded his slick bald head. His keen brown eyes studied Griffin. “What do you intend to do? You’ll have to turn one of them down. Mr. Cortez’s call did come in first, if that helps you decide what to do.”

“It doesn’t.”

“You have met Ms. Vanderley, so perhaps—”

“Telephone each of them, on my behalf. Naturally, don’t mention anything about one of them to the other. And arrange for a suite for me at the Peabody. If we can get the suite set up today, I’ll fly to Memphis this evening and meet with Ms. Vanderley and Mr. Cortez tonight. Let’s say around eight o’clock.”

“You plan to speak with both of them at the same meeting?”

“It’ll save time.”

“Yes, sir.”

When Sanders turned and headed up the stairs, Griffin called to him, “See what kind of background check we can come up with on both of them by tonight.”

Sanders didn’t reply verbally, but Griffin knew he’d heard him. They had worked side by side for so many years that they were practically psychically linked. When a man saved another man’s life, it bonded them in a way nothing else could.

Vanderley Inc. kept an executive apartment in Memphis since a great deal of their business was conducted in this city. Heading up the Vanderley family’s numerous philanthropic organizations, Annabelle came to Memphis several times a year, the last time less than three months ago. At that time, it had been over a year since she’d seen Lulu and nearly six months since they’d spoken over the phone. Only at her insistence had Lulu agreed to meet her for dinner that evening. As usual, they wound up in an argument. And as usual, it was about the same things—money, Uncle Louis and Wythe.

Annabelle snapped open her overnight bag that she had placed on the suitcase rack at the foot of her bed. She had no idea how long she’d be in Memphis, how many days or perhaps even weeks it would take the police to find Lulu’s killer and formally charge him with her murder. If she needed more clothes, she’d send home for them. Or she’d just buy something off the rack at a department store. Whenever she stayed in any of the apartments Vanderley Inc. maintained in various cities, one of the first things she did was unpack and put everything in its place. Being neat was simply a part of who she was. She despised clutter.

After taking her toiletries into the bathroom, she arranged them carefully on the vanity and inadvertently caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She stared at her reflection for a moment. When they were children, she and Lulu had been close, despite Lulu being nearly seven years younger. Family and friends had thought it sweet that Annabelle had been like a big sister to her young cousin. More than one person had mentioned how much the girls resembled each other, both blue-eyed blondes with strong Vanderley features. But that had been before Lulu reached puberty and blossomed into a model-thin, bosomy, leggy version of her mother, who’d been Uncle Louis’s third wife and twenty-five years his junior.

Annabelle glanced away from the mirror and returned to the bedroom. No one would have noticed anything more than a vague resemblance between the cousins in the past fifteen years. Lulu had been considered the family beauty; Annabelle had been thought of as the brains. It wasn’t that she envied her cousin—quite the contrary—but there had been times when she’d wondered what it would be like not to feel the heavy weight of family responsibilities she bore on her shoulders. Lulu had been irresponsible and frivolous, but Annabelle knew only too well that her cousin’s life had been far from perfect.

Just as she zipped her overnight bag closed, the telephone rang. Rounding the bed, she lifted the receiver from the base on the bedside table. “Hello.”

“Ms. Vanderley.”

“Yes.” She didn’t recognize the man’s voice.

“This is Sanders, Mr. Powell’s assistant. I’m calling on his behalf.”

“Yes, Mr. Sanders—”

“Just Sanders, ma’am.”

“What’s your message from Mr. Powell?”

“He’ll be in Memphis tonight and would like to meet with you at the Peabody at eight. Shall I let him know to expect you?”

“Yes, of course. And please, tell Mr. Powell thank you.”

“For what, ma’am?”

Slightly flustered by the man’s comment, Annabelle said, “Uh…hmm…well, I assumed that if he’s coming to Memphis, he plans to work for me.”

“Possibly, but I couldn’t say for certain.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Good day, Ms. Vanderley.”

The dial tone droned in her ear. She replaced the receiver. Odd man, she thought. Such strange comments. But surely if Griffin Powell was coming to Memphis this evening, he intended to take her case. Why else would he make the trip?

She remembered meeting Mr. Powell several years ago at a charity function in Chattanooga. More than likely anyone who ever met the man, never forgot him. Like Quinn Cortez, Griffin Powell possessed enormous animal magnetism, albeit a more subtle charisma. If she hadn’t been engaged and totally devoted to her fiancé when she met Mr. Powell, she might have accepted his overtures, but at that time Chris had still been the center of her universe.

Suddenly, her mind was filled with images of three different men. Chris, her first love, who would always be a part of her. She liked to remember the way they had been before the accident, the two of them young and in love and looking forward to a lifetime together. But more and more lately, thoughts of Chris during the last few years of his life haunted her. Helpless. Melancholy. Begging her to make a new life for herself and yet clinging to her at the same time. And now memories of Chris became overlaid by images of two men she barely knew—men who, each in his own way—had made a strong impression on her. Big, blond Griffin Powell. A reserved, secretive man who reminded her of the old saying about still waters running deep. And then there was Quinn Cortez—dark and dangerous.

Annabelle shivered. Had Quinn Cortez killed Lulu? Had the man who had come to her rescue this morning murdered her cousin last night?

If the police had any proof whatsoever that he had killed Lulu, they would have arrested him. Right? Of course they would have. He’d been Lulu’s lover, the person who discovered her body, so naturally he headed their list of possible suspects.

Stop thinking about Quinn Cortez. If he’s an innocent man, then he is of no interest to you. Your only concern must be making sure Lulu’s murderer is caught and punished.

Uncle Louis was counting on her. He trusted her to do what he was physically and emotionally unable to do. Staying the course until the family could achieve closure on this matter could well be the only thing that would keep her uncle alive. After all, he’d said more than once that Lulu was his only reason for living. Not Wythe. Never Wythe. No father could be proud of a son like Wythe. Spineless, bloodsucking leech. That’s what Uncle Louis had once called him.

The telephone rang again. Annabelle sighed. Now who? Please God, don’t let it be a phone call from home about Uncle Louis.

Her hand trembled slightly as she picked up the receiver. “Hello.”

“Annabelle, darling girl, it’s Aunt Perdita. I just spoke to Hiram and he told me what happened and where I could get in touch with you.”

“Oh, Aunt Perdita, I’m sorry I didn’t try to contact you, but—”

“No apologies necessary. I understand. What I want to know is if you need me to come to Memphis tonight. If you do, I can skip this damn wedding and try to catch a flight out right away.”

“Wedding?”

“Joyce and Whit Morris’s daughter, Cynthia. You’d forgotten, hadn’t you, dear? No mind. It’s a tediously dull affair. But since I was once engaged to Whit’s brother, that makes me practically Cynthia’s aunt and—”

“No, please, don’t miss the wedding.”

“I’ll be there no later than tomorrow night. I’ll book reservations right away for the first flight from Louisville to Memphis, hopefully in the morning.”

“There’s really no need for you to come. I’m perfectly fine.”

“Really, dear? Are you sure?”

Her aunt Perdita knew her better than anyone, perhaps because she had shared confidences with her mother’s younger sister, had told her things she’d never told another living soul. Aunt Perdita was the only other person who knew that she’d been unfaithful to Chris, that she’d had two brief affairs during their eight-and-a-half-year engagement.

“I’m numb right now, Aunt Perdita,” Annabelle admitted. “I’m just going through the motions. Hopefully, the police will find Lulu’s killer very soon and I can return home, at least until the trial starts.”

“Do they have any idea who killed her or why?”

“Not really.”

“No suspects.”

“No.” Not unless she counted Quinn Cortez and for some unfathomable reason, Annabelle didn’t want to think of him as a suspect.

“If you’re sure you’re all right—”

“I am.”

“Then I’ll phone you in the morning. And if you need me, I’ll come running. I know how alone you are.”

Annabelle said good-bye, then headed for the kitchen, which was kept fully stocked. She hadn’t eaten a bite since the cup of coffee and cheese Danish she’d had before leaving home early this morning. As if on cue, her stomach growled when she opened the refrigerator.

She removed an apple and a bottle of Perrier. For dinner tonight, she’d either order in or make reservations at a nearby restaurant for six o’clock. She had an eight o’clock appointment at the Peabody with Griffin Powell and didn’t want to be late. She suspected the man appreciated punctuality. Something they had in common.

After settling onto the living room sofa, she turned on the television to the history channel, then opened the bottled water and took a sip.

I know how alone you are. Her aunt’s words reverberated in her mind.

As Annabelle munched on the Granny Smith apple, she told herself that Aunt Perdita was wrong. She wasn’t alone or lonely. She had servants who lived in at the home she’d inherited from her parents. She had a secretary, a personal assistant and dozens of friends. Her social calendar was full. And if she wanted to date, she could have her pick of eligible men.

Her solitary life was by choice. She enjoyed her freedom. And she wasn’t interested in getting married just for the sake of marrying. If she couldn’t love someone as much as she’d loved Chris, she had no intention of settling for anything less.

The moment Kendall Wells entered her house, she smelled the delicious aroma of food. Smiling to herself, she tossed aside her jacket and briefcase, then undid the top two buttons on her silk blouse. Quinn Cortez was in her kitchen. That meant he was cooking. Remembering their brief affair, she sighed when she recalled that not only was the man extremely talented in the bedroom, but he was also a master in the kitchen. If he hadn’t decided there was more money in being a lawyer, Quinn could have been a chef.

Kendall paused and sucked in a deep breath as she watched Quinn. Wearing a large white apron—one of hers—around his waist, he stood over the stove, stirring some kind of sauce in an stainless-steel pan with one hand and sipping on a glass of red wine that he held in the other hand. What a man! Exotically alluring with his rich bronze skin, his wavy black hair and eyes so dark and fathomless that looking into them was like being sucked into a sensual black hole. Once a woman dived in, she would be forever lost.

“Welcome home.” He offered her one of his cream-your-panties smiles. God, the man was lethal, even in small doses.

Scratch that thought, she told herself. Considering the fact that Quinn was a suspect in a murder case, she didn’t want to associate the word lethal with him, not even in her thoughts.

Think about something other than how much you’d like to drag the man off into your bedroom and keep him there all weekend. And for goodness sake, don’t even consider the possibility that he might be a murderer. You know Quinn better than that.

Or at least she thought she did.

“Something sure smells good,” she said.

“Nothing fancy. I found some things in the freezer and in the pantry. So how does stuffed pork chops, asparagus with hollandaise sauce, twice baked potatoes and a pear salad sound to you?”

“You found the makings for all that in my kitchen?”

He nodded. “Take off your shoes, sit down and let me pour you a glass of wine. You look tired. What’s kept you so busy on a Saturday?”

Kendall stepped out of her shoes, then sat on the sofa in the great room and waited for Quinn to bring her the wine before she said anything. “Sit down here with me.” She patted the sofa cushions.

With his own wineglass refilled and in hand, he sat beside her. “Your working on a Saturday has something to do with me, doesn’t it?”

“I have a bad feeling about this case,” she told him. “Sergeant George is an ambitious young man. If he could pin this murder wrap on you, arrest you and the DA could win a conviction, it could make both his career and the DA’s. The media would have a field day if one of the most famous criminal lawyers in the country was arrested for Lulu Vanderley’s murder.”

After taking a couple of sips of wine, Quinn set his glass on a coaster atop the coffee table, then reached over and circled the back of Kendall’s neck with his big hand. As he caressed tenderly, she sighed. His touch was like magic—erotic magic.

“If the worst happens and I’m arrested, you’ll make a name for yourself by getting me acquitted.”

“Do you have that much faith in me?”

He took her glass from her hand and put the crystal flute to her lips. She took a sip, all the while keeping her gaze riveted to his. His black eyes were mesmerizing. God damn it, she thought she was over him, that she’d dealt with any leftover romantic feelings she had for him. Undoubtedly, she’d been wrong. Right this minute, she wanted Quinn as much as ever. Maybe more.

“I have all the faith in the world in you, honey.” He set her glass down on a second coaster, alongside his. “Besides, I’m innocent. I did not kill Lulu.”

“I believe you,” she told him, her heart beating erratically as he inched his fingers up her neck and into her hair. When he cupped the back of her head and pulled her toward him, she gasped, knowing full well that when he kissed her, she’d give in completely.

“Kendall, I don’t want you to think I’m trying to take advantage of you…” He waited, not kissing her, only staring deeply into her eyes. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want you, but”—he heaved a deep sigh—“we both know that mixing business with pleasure is a stupid move.”

Kendall shoved him away and jumped to her feet. Standing over him, breathless with sexual frustration, she cursed under her breath. “Damn you, Quinn.”

“Honey, I’m sorry if—”

“I thought I could handle this—being your lawyer, having you staying here with me. But it appears that I’m not as immune to you as I thought I was. It seems that once Quinn Cortez is in your system, it’s not so easy to get rid of him.”

Quinn stood, but made no attempt to touch her. “I’m getting a place of my own, just in case I’m stuck in Memphis for more than a few days. The gang’s coming in tomorrow. I’ll be out of your hair then. Once this thing is over…”

He grinned and that killer smile was her undoing. Killer smile? Lethal? Stop using that type of terminology when you think about Quinn. What was wrong with her? She’d always known Quinn’s sex appeal was lethal, that he possessed a killer smile. Those words had never bothered her before now. But that was before Quinn became a murder suspect. Before the thought had crossed her mind that he might have actually killed Lulu Vanderley.

“Kendall, honey, are you all right?”

“Huh?” Had her doubts translated into a facial expression that concerned him? God, she hoped not.

“I didn’t mean to—”

“No!” She shook her head to dislodge such idiotic thoughts. “No, this isn’t your fault. I’ve probably been sending out mixed signals. So let’s forget all this nonsense and go back to safe ground. We’re friends and nothing more for the duration. We’re not saying no to each other, just not now. Not yet.”

“Agreed,” Quinn said, then nodded toward the kitchen. “Dinner is ready and it would be a shame to let it go to waste. What say we eat, then you can go with me to the Peabody to meet with Griffin Powell. I have an eight o’clock appointment with him tonight.”

“Griffin Powell? You’re hiring Griffin Powell?”

Quinn headed for the kitchen. “Refill the wineglasses, while I put dinner on the table. Eating in here in the breakfast room is okay with me if it is with you.”

“You contacted Griffin Powell and plan to hire him to do what—investigate Lulu Vanderley’s murder?” Kendall followed him into the kitchen area.

“I don’t intend to take any chances, in case the police don’t cover all the bases. We both know that they could concentrate all their efforts on finding evidence against me. I want a private investigator who’s on my payroll, somebody who’ll be working to find the real killer, to prove me innocent.”

“Damn it, Quinn, I’m your lawyer. You shouldn’t be doing anything without running it by me first.”

“I’m taking you with me to meet with Powell tonight. That’s running it by you, isn’t it?”

“And if I disagree with you?”

“About Powell?”

“About anything?”

“Honey, you’re a very good lawyer. I trust you. But we both know that I’m the best damn criminal lawyer there is. As much as I trust your judgment, I trust my own more.”

“Then maybe you’d better defend yourself if you wind up going to trial.”

Quinn zeroed in on her, his gaze freezing her to the spot. She held her breath as he came toward her, grasped her by the shoulders and held her tightly in place.

“Don’t do this. You’re pissed at me because…well, because you’re all hot and bothered, because you want me, because we want each other, but we agreed jumping into bed together might not be a good idea.”

She glared at him.

“I need you, Kendall. Together, we’ll make an unbeatable team.”

Clenching her teeth, she grunted, admitting to herself that he was right. “Okay, this situation with Lulu’s murder could wind up meaning your life is on the line, so I’m not going to argue with you. Besides, I should have known we’d have to play this game by your rules.”

He smiled. “It’s the only way I play.”