The Perfect Murder by Kat Martin
TWENTY-ONE
There was a shift in the mood at the office when Reese walked in the next morning a few minutes later than usual after so little sleep last night. Stepping out of the executive-floor elevator, he couldn’t stop a faint smile as he thought of Kenzie.
They were good together in bed, their sexual appetites, likes, and dislikes pretty much the same. It was one more reason they seemed to fit.
“Good morning, Louise.” He paused next to her desk. “You remember Kenzie won’t be in today. She’s going to her ex-husband’s funeral.”
“I know. I feel sorry for Griff. Kenzie told me he’s taking it pretty hard.” The older, gray-haired woman was an asset to the company. She was reliable, did her job well, and never complained.
“I guess they weren’t very close,” he said. “But your dad’s your dad. You only get one.”
“I don’t know about that,” Louise disagreed. “My dad ran out on us when I was a baby. The man who adopted me? He’s the best father I ever could have wanted.”
Reese’s gaze held hers for several seconds. Was there a message in those words? Reese thought of Griff. He was a great kid. A son any man would be proud of.
“I’ll be attending the funeral myself,” Reese said. “You’ll have to cover for both of us.”
“No problem. Anything special you need me to do?”
“Not that I can think of at the moment. I’ll let you know before I leave.” He continued walking, catching sideways glances from several employees as he strode toward his office door. The tabloid article, he thought, cursing the bastards who had written it and the insinuations it made.
Turning around, he walked back to Louise’s desk. “If anyone wants to know, the answer is yes. I’m seeing Kenzie on a social basis. It’s not a secret. We’re both adults, both single. She isn’t quitting her job and I don’t expect her to. Anyone who has something to say about it can say it directly to me.”
Louise’s eyes went saucer-round. She blinked, then she smiled. “It’s about time you two got together.”
Some of the anger drained out of him. At least one person was on their side. “Thanks, Louise. I know Kenzie will appreciate your support.”
Louise just nodded and Reese continued walking. Now that it was out in the open, somehow he felt better. He wasn’t sure Kenzie would feel the same.
Sitting behind his desk, he took a look at his schedule, then picked up the phone. His first call went to Tabby.
“Morning, chief,” she said. “Let me guess. You need info on a Louisiana state senator named Daniel Haines, brother of the late Lee Haines.”
“That’s right. How did you know?”
“Chase called me last night.”
That was his brother the detective. Always one step ahead. “You got anything yet?”
“Only the stuff at the top. So far it looks like Daniel Haines is the real deal. A solid citizen. One of the good guys. Of course, that could just be an illusion created by his staff. I’m just getting started. I’ll keep you in the loop.”
“Thanks, Tab.” It was still early. He worked all morning, through the lunch hour, then went down to the parking garage, where Reggie picked him up for the ride to the Sparkman-Hillcrest cemetery in north Dallas, the place Lee Haines’s funeral service was being held.
He timed it to come in late, sit in a pew in the back of the chapel. Lee had been a big investor in the real estate market. He knew a lot of people in Dallas and many of them were there.
Reese scanned the room for Kenzie. She was sitting between her grandmother and Griff in the front pew of the chapel. Arthur Haines sat in the front pew on the other side of the aisle. Reese recognized Arthur’s handsome blond son, Daniel, and Daniel’s matching-bookend pretty blonde wife from photos he’d found on the internet that morning. A dark-haired woman dressed in black sat to Arthur’s left, occasionally lifting her veil to dab tears from her eyes.
The service went longer than he’d expected, or maybe it just felt that way to him. Afterward the crowd adjourned to attend the graveside service to follow.
Reese didn’t plan to go. He just wanted Griff and Kenzie to know he was there for them if they needed him. He waited on the chapel steps for them to appear, started toward them when the woman in black stopped in front of Kenzie, blocking her way.
“What are you doing here?” the woman demanded. “After what you did, you have no right to be here.”
“I’m sorry,” Kenzie said. “Do I know you?”
“I’m Lee’s fiancée, Delia Parr. Believe me, I know who you are. The police came to see me. They told me about the gun that killed Lee—your gun. You murdered him! You were afraid he’d get custody of his son, so you killed him!”
“Mom, what does she mean?”
Kenzie’s arm went protectively around Griff’s shoulders. “She’s just upset.” Kenzie turned and started leading her son away. Reese stepped in front of the woman so she couldn’t follow and his eyes met Kenzie’s for an instant.
“Go on,” he said. “I’ll take care of this.”
Kenzie gave him a look of such gratitude his chest went tight. She turned and continued walking, leading Griff and her grandmother on down the steps.
“Get out of my way.” Delia tried to brush past him, but Reese stood firm.
“Kenzie had nothing to do with Lee’s murder. The police are investigating. They’ll find the man who killed him. You need to let them do their job.”
“Reese is right, Delia.” Arthur Haines’s voice rang from beside him. “This is not the time or place for wild accusations.” He was as tall as Reese, silver-haired, with an appearance of dignified propriety, an illusion that had worked well for him over the years.
But Arthur Haines was a shrewd and cunning businessman with few moral ethics. He would do whatever it took to make money.
After his partner, William Graves, had died and Bill’s son, Troy, had inherited half the company, Reese had begun to hear rumors that the business was in trouble. He frowned as a thought occurred, jotting a mental note to see if Black Sand Oil and Gas had made any attempts to purchase the Poseidon platform. Was it possible they had some connection to the problems with the rig?
Delia walked away in a huff, her snug black dress shifting back and forth over a round behind she was clearly proud of. Arthur remained, his gaze following Kenzie and his grandson across the wide expanse of manicured lawn.
“So it’s true,” Arthur said, his attention returning to Reese. “You and my ex-daughter-in-law are involved? Delia mentioned she saw your photos on the front page of the newspaper at the grocery store. I didn’t believe it at the time.”
“We’re both single. We’re seeing each other—not that it’s any of your business.”
“Tsk-tsk, my friend. It’s not exactly appropriate to be dating one of your employees. Not in your position.”
It was true. He should have stayed away from Kenzie. For six months, he’d done his best, then, like a wrecking ball swinging out of control, he couldn’t ignore his feelings any longer. He wasn’t sorry. Kenzie was worth the risk. “I’m willing to take my chances.”
Arthur just smiled.
Reese continued on down the steps, crossing the lawn beneath a cloudy sky that signaled rain, deciding he would go to the graveside service after all. He’d stay at the back of the crowd, but if anyone gave Kenzie trouble, he would be there for her.
From now on, that was the way it was going to be.
It was early evening, a light rain beginning to fall. It was still hot in mid-September, the evenings warm and muggy.
Arthur sat in his favorite leather chair in front of the TV in his study, a plate of chicken casserole unfinished on the coffee table. His housekeeper had left for the day. Betty would be back in the morning to tidy things up and fix his meals, more reliable than his dead ex-wife ever had been.
And unlike Judith, who had constantly poked her nose into his business, Betty knew her place, which meant he rarely saw her. If she’d been thirty years younger and willing to service him once in a while, she would have been perfect. On another day, Arthur might have smiled at his own humor.
But today he had buried his youngest son. He didn’t have much to smile about.
A noise reached him from somewhere in the house. A jolt of fear hit him as he recognized the sound of breaking glass. Arthur shot to his feet as two men walked into the study, one big and wide, a pleasant face if not for the scowl digging lines into his forehead. The other man was short but muscular, with curly black hair and dark eyes a little too close together.
“What are you doing in my house? Get out this instant!”
“Put your shoes back on, Mr. Haines,” the bigger man said calmly. “You’re going for a ride.”
“A ride? What are you talking about?”
“Mr. DeMarco wants to see you. You need to come with us.”
When Arthur started to shake his head, the short guy with the attitude reached beneath his windbreaker and pulled out a heavy black pistol. “You’re going—with or without your shoes.”
Trying to hide his fear, Arthur sat back down and did as he was told. “You can put the gun away. You’ve made your point.”
Their car sat out front, an innocuous four-door brown sedan. The big guy got in behind the wheel and the short guy got in back with Arthur. He would have preferred the other way around.
“It’s almost three hours to Shreveport,” the big man said, looking back over his shoulder. “Maybe you can catch a nap.”
Arthur said nothing. Sleeping was the last thing on his mind. He owed Sawyer DeMarco several million dollars. At the moment he had no way to pay him.
Still, after the first two uncomfortable hours, he began to nod off, his head slumping down on his chest. The last thing he remembered was the short man calling the big man Nolan. The next thing he knew, pain shot through him as the short guy with the curly black hair elbowed him in the ribs.
“We’re here,” the short guy said. Nolan opened the rear car door and Arthur and the short man got out. They were parked beneath a green-striped awning in front of a separate entrance into the Pot-of-Gold Resort Casino, the flagship of DeMarco’s gambling domain.
In Louisiana, gaming was allowed only on riverboats, which were permanently docked on the water, in this case the muddy Red River that slugged through Shreveport heading south.
“Get going,” the man with the black hair said, shoving him forward, enjoying it. “Boss doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”
Nolan pushed the button on the elevator and it began its ascent to DeMarco’s penthouse apartment on the top floor of the club. Arthur wished he had remembered to grab his suit coat as he’d walked out the door. He looked wrinkled and tired after the long drive from Dallas. He hated being at a disadvantage.
DeMarco was waiting when the doors slid open and he stepped into the black-and-white marble entry beneath a huge crystal chandelier. Everything in the penthouse was overdone. Gold and scarlet, white gilded furniture, imitation Greek statues. It reeked of DeMarco’s lower-class beginnings, Arthur thought.
“You want a drink?” The words rasped out in DeMarco’s smoker’s voice. He took a sip of the expensive scotch he favored, making the ice clink in his glass. He was several inches shorter than Arthur, built like a linebacker, with broad shoulders and a thick barrel chest. He had dark brown hair that always needed trimming, black eyes, and a bad complexion. Sawyer DeMarco was not a handsome man.
“Club soda,” Arthur said. Getting drunk was not an option.
“Take care of it, Eddie.” The black-haired guy headed for the built-in bar, his lips pressed together. Clearly, he didn’t like menial tasks.
Eddie returned and handed him the heavy crystal glass. Arthur took a sip, concentrating so his hand wouldn’t shake.
“Leave us,” DeMarco said, abruptly sending his two henchmen away. He turned back to Arthur. “I hear you’re having some problems.” DeMarco sipped his scotch.
Arthur said nothing. DeMarco was behind his son’s murder. He knew it, had received DeMarco’s message loud and clear. And the man wouldn’t hesitate to kill again.
“You don’t have the money to pay me back, right?”
“Not at this time, but I assure you—”
“Oh, you’re going to pay me. We both know that. Unfortunately, you owe me interest as well as principal.”
Arthur said nothing, the gruff voice grating on his nerves.
Both still standing, DeMarco wandered casually closer. “Here’s the thing. With all the competition from the Indian casinos that have opened in Oklahoma, business is down. We need to expand. We want to locate on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain and also in the northeast region of Louisiana.”
DeMarco took another sip of scotch. “Your son, Daniel, is one of the most influential legislators in Louisiana. Daniel Haines comes out in favor of our proposals, we’ll get the approvals we need.”
“I’ll pay you back,” Arthur said. “I just need a little more time. I’ll pay what I owe plus interest.”
“Oh, I know you will.” He patted Arthur on the shoulder hard enough to spill club soda over the rim of his glass. “And I’m going to help you. I’m going to get you that oil rig you’ve been trying to steal.”
A ripple of fear moved down Arthur’s spine. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“The Poseidon. You don’t think I know what you’ve been up to? When I want something, Arthur, I go after it. I get it by whatever means necessary. I need your son’s support and you need that drilling platform. So I’m going to get it for you.”
Arthur opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
DeMarco just smiled. “I’m going to do what you failed to accomplish. I’m going to force Garrett Resources to pull out of the deal. You’re going to buy the rig and get your company back on track so you can pay me the money you owe and move your business forward. In return, you’re going to get Daniel to do exactly what I ask.”
Arthur’s heart was thudding, his mind spinning, fighting to stay in control.
“Daniel’s support is the interest payment you owe. I’ll even throw in the photos of you and the hooker who tied you up and beat your bare ass with a whip. Does that seem fair?”
His face flushed. He ran his tongue over his dry lips. “It seems fair.”
“Good, because if you don’t convince Daniel to support our proposals, I’m going to have to find a way to convince him myself. Since you’ve already lost one son, I don’t imagine you want to lose another. Or anyone else in your family.”
Arthur felt a wave of nausea as he stared into DeMarco’s cold black eyes. Then the door opened and Nolan and Eddie walked back into the room.
“Get him out of here,” DeMarco said.
In that instant, Arthur was actually glad to see them.
