The Perfect Murder by Kat Martin

SIXTEEN

Kenzie parked her Subaru compact SUV in front of the school auditorium and turned off the engine. She had phoned the nurse’s office and told them there was a family emergency. Not the details, just enough to get them to release him early.

She spotted Griff crossing the newly mown grass and could have sworn he’d grown an inch taller since that morning. He cracked the car door and slid into the passenger seat, raked a hand through his thick, reddish-brown hair, making it stand on end.

“What’s going on, Mom?” He was wearing his favorite pair of ripped jeans, a Dallas Cowboys T-shirt, and a pair of red high-tops. She wanted to reach over and hug him.

“We need to talk but not in the car.” She started the engine and drove two blocks to a quiet little park sprinkled with shady live oaks. The clouds had rolled off toward the east and though it was still breezy, patches of sunlight peeked through the overcast that remained.

She reached for Griff’s hand as they walked toward a small pond where mallard pairs swam and occasionally waddled up on shore. She led him to one of the benches facing the water and both of them sat down.

“You’re scaring me, Mom.”

She reached down and brushed back a lock of Griff’s hair. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I don’t know how to say this. It’s not something I ever thought I’d have to do.”

“What is it, Mom?”

“It’s your dad, Griff. He was killed. I’m really sorry.” She leaned over and pulled him into a hug, but Griff drew away, his eyes huge and uncertain.

“Dad’s dead?”

She nodded. “I’m so sorry.”

“Wh-what happened?”

“Someone shot him, Griff. It happened Saturday night. The housekeeper found him this morning.”

Griff’s amber eyes filled. “He can’t be dead. We were going to spend this weekend together. He promised to take me to the movies.”

Kenzie’s heart twisted. Lee rarely had time for Griff. Though Griff seldom complained, Kenzie knew he yearned for his father’s attention. Kenzie figured Lee’s sudden interest in his son was probably just a way to strengthen his custody case.

“I’m know, honey. It’s a shock for all of us.”

Griff cried for a while and she held him. Then he pulled away and just sat quietly beside her. Kenzie didn’t rush him. There was more he needed to know, but now wasn’t the time.

Eventually, they walked back to the car and she drove home. Kenzie had phoned Gran earlier to tell her about Lee. She wasn’t surprised when the smell of cinnamon and apples greeted them at the town house door. Gran’s solution to every problem, no matter how large or small, was a slice of warm homemade apple pie.

Griff ran to her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and started crying. Gran gave him a fierce, comforting hug, then led him up the stairs to his bedroom.

Kenzie breathed a grateful sigh once they were out of sight. Her grandmother was a miracle. She always knew exactly what to do in any situation. Her son was in good hands.

As she started for the kitchen, the doorbell rang. Praying it wasn’t more trouble, she checked the peephole and was surprised to see Reese standing on the porch, amazingly handsome in the pinstriped suit he’d been wearing that morning.

A mixture of emotions swept through her. Gratitude for the risk he had taken to help her, sexual awareness as her mind replayed the night they had spent together, something deeper she couldn’t explain. Her hand went to her diaphragm as she drew in a steadying breath and opened the door.

She managed to smile. “I’m surprised to see you. I know how busy you are. Come on in.”

“How’s Griff?” Reese glanced around in search of him. “Have you talked to him yet?”

She nodded. “He’s taking it hard. He didn’t know his father well enough to know the kind of man he really was and I’m not going to destroy his illusions.”

“Where is he?”

“Upstairs in his room. Gran’s with him. Would you like a glass of iced tea or something?”

He nodded. “Iced tea sounds good. I know the timing’s rotten, but we need to talk.”

“I know.” They headed for the kitchen and Reese sat down at the round white pedestal table while she went to the refrigerator and took out a pitcher of tea. Even in his expensive suit, he didn’t look the least bit out of place in her compact kitchen.

Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.

Kenzie set two tall, frosty glasses on the table and took a seat across from him. Since she had no idea what to say, she took a sip of tea.

Reese’s beautiful blue eyes settled on her face. “I need to know about the gun,” he said softly.

Kenzie wasn’t surprised. Reese had risked himself to help her, but in return he wanted answers. And he wouldn’t settle for anything but the truth.

“As odd as it sounds, Lee had my revolver in his house. I bought it for self-defense after I graduated from college and got my first job. The neighborhood I was living in wasn’t that great. My dad had always had firearms, so he taught me to shoot it.”

“Are your parents still alive?”

“My dad died a few years back. Mom remarried and moved to Arizona. I don’t see her very often... We never really got along. I’m more like my grandmother.” She was rattling. Being with Reese in a situation other than business was new and unnerving.

“So how did Lee get the gun?”

Old memories crowded in and her mouth went dry. She took a sip of tea. “It was during the divorce. He was furious at me for leaving him. He had always been...difficult. After I left him, he would constantly accuse me of being a bad mother. He must have remembered I had the gun. One day he came over and demanded I give it to him. He said it was too dangerous with a child in the house.”

“So you just handed it over?”

She glanced away. She wasn’t ready to talk about the past. She had just begun to know Reese on a personal level. She wasn’t sure what he would think of her if he knew the truth.

“Griff was going to be home any minute. It wasn’t worth an argument.”

Reese leaned back in his chair. “So Lee had the gun. That means whoever killed him must have known it was in the house when they went inside.”

“Or maybe whoever it was didn’t plan to kill him. Maybe they got into an argument or something. The killer saw the gun, picked it up, and fired.”

“It’s possible. You know where Lee kept it?”

She thought of how paranoid Lee could be. He had probably kept it somewhere he could get to it quickly. Maybe that was even the reason he had taken it away from her in the first place. He’d wanted it for his own protection and it was easier than getting one for himself.

“I could make a guess, but I don’t know for sure.”

Reese was watching her closely. She wondered if he noticed her hesitation. There was a lot he didn’t know, a lot she didn’t want to tell him. He thought so highly of her. She wondered if that would change if he knew the truth.

“Make a guess,” he said, his eyes on her face. There was something in them, a hint of distrust that hadn’t been there before. It made her ache inside.

“Lee had enemies. Or at least believed he did. He had clients who’d lost money in one of his many schemes, husbands of women he’d been involved with. At times he was paranoid. He might have wanted the gun because he thought someone was after him. If that was the case, he would have kept it somewhere he could get to it easily.”

“He was killed in his bedroom, so maybe it was in his nightstand.”

“Maybe.”

“What about Griff? You said Lee was worried about having a gun around the boy.”

“Griff was rarely there. Lee could have put the gun in his safe while Griff was visiting.” She raked a hand through her hair, shoving it back from her face. “I really don’t know.”

Reese stood up, drew her out of her chair and into his arms. “It’s okay. There’s no way you can know what your ex-husband was doing that night. I’ve spoken to Nathan Temple. He’s a criminal attorney, one of the best in the city. He’s expecting us in his office first thing tomorrow morning.”

Kenzie shook her head. “Reese, no. It’s too much. You don’t have to take on my troubles. You’ve already done more than enough.”

“I’m going to help you, Kenzie. You might as well resign yourself.”

He was taking control. It was his way of handling a situation. She wanted to ask him why he would go to so much trouble. But she knew him, knew how protective he could be. This was Reese, the man she was already half in love with.

Standing together in the kitchen, Kenzie leaned into him, rested her head on his shoulder. “This isn’t what you signed on for when you took me to bed.”

Reese tipped her face up and softly kissed her. “Don’t worry. The paybacks I have in mind will make up for all the trouble.”

The corners of her mouth tipped into a smile at the humor in his voice. It was the best she had felt all day. The sound of a door opening and footfalls on the stairs ended the conversation.

Kenzie stepped away as Gran and Griff walked into the kitchen. Griff’s eyes were red and swollen, his face puffy.

“I’m sorry about your dad, Griff,” Reese said.

Fresh tears welled. “Me, too.”

Gran mustered a credible smile. “I know just the thing we need to cheer us up. Anyone ready for a piece of hot apple pie?”

Kenzie felt a rush of gratitude. “Sounds perfect,” she said.

But catching Reese’s worried expression, thinking of Lee’s murder and the accusations against her, she knew perfect was exactly the wrong word.

Reese was just about to leave for work the next morning, when Detective Heath Ford showed up at his apartment.

“Thanks for seeing me,” Ford said as he stepped out of the private elevator into the high-ceilinged entry. “This is an unofficial visit. I came to talk to you off the record. It’ll only take a few minutes.”

“I was just heading out,” Reese said, not inviting him farther into the room. “What is it?”

“We both know you didn’t spend Saturday night with Kenzie Haines.”

Reese lounged back against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. “That right? How do you know?”

“Because you never left your apartment that night. I checked with the guard in the lobby. He said you were home all weekend. No visitors.”

Reese shrugged. “You just came up in my private elevator. Maybe I slipped out without him seeing me. Better if no one knows I’m dating an employee.”

“I guess it’s possible. In that case, maybe I should add you to our suspect list. You’re dating Haines’s ex-wife, which gives you access to her pistol, and you have no confirmed alibi.”

“You’re reaching, Detective.”

“Maybe. What was your relationship with Lee Haines?”

“I didn’t have one.”

“But you do have one with his ex-wife.”

“That’s right.”

“How far would you go to protect her?”

Reese’s jaw tightened. “She didn’t kill Haines, Detective.”

Ford reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. He looked tired, as if he’d been putting a lot of overtime into the case. Reese hoped he was. He trusted the detective to eventually find the truth.

“I came here to tell you ballistics confirmed Kenzie’s revolver was the murder weapon. I thought you should also know there was no forced entry the night of the murder. Do you know if Kenzie has a key to her husband’s home?”

“I doubt it. They’re divorced.”

“They share custody of her son. Or they did before he wound up dead. Why don’t you ask her?”

“I don’t need to ask her. I know she didn’t kill her ex-husband.”

“I want to talk to her again, Reese. You can bring her down to the station sometime today, or I can have her picked up. I can hold her up to forty-eight hours without filing charges.”

After a year in detention, Reese knew exactly what the police could do. “Fine. We’ll be there as soon as I can make the arrangements. Nathan Temple is her attorney. He’ll be with her when she comes in.”

“She might want to think about cooperating instead of lawyering up. Just makes her look guilty.”

“Bullshit. She needs someone to stand up for her. That’s what Temple is paid to do.”

“Be careful, Reese. You’ve already stuck your neck way out for this woman. You don’t want this coming back to bite you on the ass.”

“You finished?”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

As soon as Ford was gone, Reese called Nate Temple. The attorney agreed to meet him and Kenzie at police headquarters. Then he phoned Kenzie at the office.

“I need you to clear my schedule for the next couple of hours. And clear your own. We’re meeting Nathan Temple at police headquarters. I’m on my way to pick you up.”

Since the protesters were still in front of the building, Reggie Porter was waiting in a black SUV limo downstairs. With everything else that was happening, not driving his own car had begun to seem like a minor imposition.

“All right,” Kenzie said, but Reese heard the sound of distress she made as she hung up the phone.