Bouquet of Lies Part 34

"Anyway, I didn't have any money to fight. And I thought, naively of course, that if we stayed married there was always a chance that we might get back together."

"Why would you want to get back together after he threw you out like that?"

"Love, and you girls. And I blamed Harriet. I knew she influenced him. What she said went." Crystal took a breath. "So I hung on. And I believed Harper when he said that a time might come when he would let me see my kids. I clung to that hope. But as time went on, it became clear that nothing was going to change."

Crystal stared at Lacey and Lacey could see that life had taken a toll. Her mother was only thirty-nine. She was pretty, but aged and tired-looking. Life had not worked out for her. And maybe, because of how she'd been treated, she had a good reason to turn to drugs. Lots of people did.

No! Lacey squashed the soft thought. Her mother should have fought for her kids. No matter what the outcome, she should have fought.

A question crept into Lacey's mind. A confusing question. She asked, "Why didn't Father divorce you? Why this lie that you were dead?"

"I was dead to him."

"I know. To him. I get that. Very poetic. But you weren't dead. And why not just show up at the house and say here I am? What could he do then?"

"I guess I didn't have the nerve."

"At least you're being honest about that."

"I'm being honest about all of it!"

Lacey felt Dan's hands on her shoulders. He'd gotten up. He was steadying her the way he did the night her father was murdered. It helped. She touched his hand.

"I was young," Crystal said. "I held out hope for a long time. I thought, if I just went along, something good might happen. I didn't know he told you I was dead. I just knew there'd be consequences for standing up to the Bouquets. I didn't know what those consequences were. I didn't know . . . I didn't know. I didn't know what to do."

Tears fell, but Lacey's heart had hardened. She felt no sympathy.

"And then . . . and then I got this idea. I knew a way into the house and I decided I would see you secretly. I snuck in during the middle of the night, as often as I could. And I watched the two of you sleeping."

Lacey felt her heart hammer.

"I left little presents sometimes. Things I hoped would go unnoticed by Harper and Edward and Harriet. Or maybe I hoped they would notice and then they'd realize how much I loved you girls and I'd get to come back."

"Hope springs eternal," Dan said softly.

Don't feel sorry for her, Lacey thought. "You have no idea what that did to Darla," she told her mother.

Crystal looked at Lacey and sighed.

"How'd you get in?" Uncle D asked. "You said you knew a way. I a.s.sume you didn't have a key."

Crystal shrugged. "No, I didn't have a key. There's a secret way in."

"No, there isn't," Lacey said. "I would know."

"Not unless you stumbled upon it or someone told you. Edward showed me when . . . when he'd been drinking and I was trying to be friends."

Lacey frowned.

"There's this door, like a cellar door in the back yard out near the fence. It's camouflaged. Edward wanted us to go in it."

"Did you?" Lacey asked.

"Not then. I was afraid to. But after I decided I needed to see you one way or the other." She shrugged. "I tried it. There's a tunnel. It leads to a set of stairs and a door in a closet in one of the bedrooms that isn't used in the north part of the house."

"It wasn't locked?"

"Yeah, it was locked. I broke in. It doesn't affect the alarm."

"Interesting." Uncle D nodded.

Lacey might have thought it interesting, too, except she was all wrapped up in her parents' history.

"So there's a secret pa.s.sage," Lacey said. "I really don't care. You still haven't answered my question. Why didn't Father divorce you? I just don't get it."

Crystal put a fingernail to her mouth. Everyone gave her time to answer. She sighed. "It's because of something I knew. Because I would have talked. Because it would get into the divorce action and become part of the written record. Because family business was family business and Harriet was the way she was and she ran the show. Because even though Harriet had born a daughter and loved her completely. Even though she hated her son because he was just a bad seed. When her son killed her daughter, she still protected him."

No one spoke. It was like her words hung in the air.

Finally Lacey broke the silence. "Debbie."

Uncle D leaned forward in the chair. "Edward killed his baby sister? How do you know this?"

"Because Harper told me on our wedding night. It was like an addendum to the marriage vows. 'And to prove to you I love you, that we'll be bonded for life, here's the family secret.'" She paused. "When Edward was nine he suffocated Deborah. That baby's bones are buried somewhere in that house."

Thirty-three.

DAN FELT A mixture of emotion he'd never experienced before.

He wouldn't say he felt sorry for Lacey's mother exactly. She made some bad choices and hadn't fought for her kids. But then, he knew, life wasn't a dress rehearsal. You got one shot at every situation and she'd been up against a powerful family. Money often trumped fair play. What chance was there if she'd fought? None. The best she could do was sneak stealthy visits in the middle of the night.

As he drove to his house, Lacey followed in the Spyder, and his thoughts turned to her.

It was late. Three-thirty in the morning. The conversation with Crystal had been a long one. When they'd finished, his uncle had put her in protective custody. She'd protested, but not with much vigor. In fact, she seemed resigned. His uncle didn't want anyone getting wind that Crystal was still alive. He never corrected what had been printed in the press.

Dan glanced in the mirror to make sure Lacey was still behind him and saw that she was. He wondered what Crystal's story had done to her. If he was feeling wistful, odd, peculiar, then what was Lacey feeling? Would she put on that humor-shield of hers and act like she could handle anything? It seemed to be her first reaction to any challenge. He loved that she was strong and brave and always tried to make the best of things. Still, he hoped she was more introspective this time. She'd been cheated out of a mother. Emotionally starved all her life. And now she'd been given the news that her sister was actually her half-sister and her aunt. It was crazy. A lot to deal with. Plus, there was Randy. He was dangerous. Humor was a good thing. But not the only thing.

He frowned. His uncle obviously didn't have enough evidence to arrest Randy or he would have done it. Sometimes cases were like that. The cops knew who the bad guy was. They knew who they needed to put behind bars. But they couldn't because there wasn't enough proof.

Dan pulled into the driveway and Lacey parked behind him. She got out of the Spyder carrying a little overnight bag. They walked in the house together.

"Well, that was a fun evening." She put the bag on the coffee table. "Who would have known my family was even more screwed up than I thought? On the bright side, and believe it or not, there is a bright side. Darla has her mother." Her voice lowered. "Yeah. Darla has her mother."

"What about you?" Dan stepped closer.

"Me?"

"She's your mother too."

"Like I need a mother."

"Don't you?"

"No. I needed answers. And I got some of them tonight."

"Because you're the strong one."

"You've got that right."

He could try to make her see that she needed more than answers. That she was wiser than that. He also knew emotions had to play out in their own time.

He felt his heart would burst. There in the soft living room light, Lacey stood before him. Vulnerable in her need to be strong. Beautiful. Protector of her sister. Survivor of hard knocks. He loved her. He did. He wanted her. He wanted her to lean on him. Tap his strength and his need to protect and serve. He smiled. Protect and serve. Motto of the LAPD. But he didn't mean it that way. He didn't want to serve her. He wanted to love her and be able to say it out loud.

"What's that funny look on your face?" Lacey gave him a coy smile. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I don't know. What are you thinking?"

"That you promised me some monkey business." She stepped closer.

"I never promised."

Her mouth formed an exaggerated pout. "Still got us on a schedule?"

"I'm not thinking about schedules right now."

She brightened. "Well, then?"

"Well then, what?"

"What is this?"

"Not monkey business."

"What then?"

"I love you."

She froze.

"I mean it," he continued. "Even if you don't say it back. Even if you don't love me, I love you. I think you're the most wonderful person on the planet. You care and you fight and you try to make the best of everything. But those are reasons and reasons don't have a lot to do with it. I love you. That's how I feel. I can't help it and I don't want to help it. I love you so much it sometimes drives me crazy. You've made me feel again. Things that hurt, sure. Things I haven't told you yet. But mostly you make me feel wonderful. I catch myself singing in the shower, and I don't sing. I love you and I want you to know it. And I'm afraid to say this, but I want you in my life, forever if that's possible."

He prayed she wouldn't make a joke.

She opened her mouth to say something, but then she didn't. And he saw her lips tremble just before she turned her back to him.

Love? He loved her? That word got thrown around so much . . . Did she love him? She felt his arms go around her and pull her to him, her back against his chest. One of his hands pressed her abdomen as the fingertips of his other hand brushed her jaw line and moved down her throat.

"Oh," she gasped and her eyes closed. Love? Was this love? Could it be?

He swept her hair aside and his lips found the small s.p.a.ce behind her ear and he kissed her there before his kisses traveled slowly down her neck.

This was Dan. Dan touching her, loving her. Her mind swirled, her body all mush. She stroked his arm and breathed.

He turned her to face him and took her in his arms. He placed his mouth on hers and her arms went around him. This was their deepest kiss yet. Their most pa.s.sionate. She tasted him and the taste was delicious. They took a breath.

"This isn't monkey business," he whispered.

He put his lips on her again and she responded. With arms wrapped tightly around each other, they moved toward the bedroom, their mouths pressing and loving and hungry. Their energies united as their bodies soon would, and all thinking vanished into oblivion.

Thirty-four.

LACEY STARED UP at the ceiling. She heard Dan's rhythmic breathing and knew he was asleep, even as they held hands.

Lovemaking with him had been beyond her expectations. Her skin still bathed in sweat, she loved his scent on her. Neither one of them took a shower afterward.

Daylight was on its way and she pushed thoughts of Dan out of her head. She couldn't indulge in that right now. Darla and Randy would be back in a few hours and she was their target. She hadn't shown the photo Jake had sent to anyone. Nor had she handed over the list she'd found in Randy's apartment. It was still stuffed in her bag. The unexpected appearance of Crystal had caused her to put the evidence she'd gathered on the back burner.

She needed a plan to get her sister back. A plan to expose Randy. She didn't know if the note was enough to get him arrested and she didn't want him just arrested. Even if the charges stuck, she wanted Darla to know the truth about the man she married. If he was arrested and Darla still believed in him, then Darla would hate her forever. Forever! They would never have a good relationship again.

Another thing. If the note wasn't enough to keep Randy locked up, what happened when he was released? a.r.s.enic in her coffee? Cyanide in her tea? Were people still able to get their hands on cyanide? Maybe she should buy a new fireplace poker and wait in the library for Randy.

Okay. This wasn't a joke. The sun was already erasing the gray from the room. She had to decide what she was going to do and she had to decide fast. She looked at Dan and swallowed. Whatever she decided, she wouldn't involve him. He might try to stop her. Actually, the more a plan of action formed in her mind, she knew he would try to stop her. Her plan was iffy and it depended on getting through to Darla.

She kissed Dan softly on the cheek. So softly he didn't stir. She took his hand, put an arm around him and snuggled close. She felt him respond to her touch with a touch of his own and murmur something she didn't quite catch.

She closed her eyes, satisfied that she knew what she had to do about Randy, and finally drifted off to sleep.

Lacey and Dan sat at the kitchen table, eating breakfast together, although Lacey wasn't hungry. Nervous energy fed her system. She managed to down three bites of cereal.

"That's quite an appet.i.te you've got there, Lace. Something on your mind?"

"Don't think so. I'm pretty mindless after last night." She grinned at him. "Where'd you learn all those tricks?"

"Tricks? That's what you call what happened between us?"

"You know what I mean." She glanced at the clock, calculating when she should go.