CHAPTER TWENTY

"Richard" is in his mid-forties, and ruggedly handsome with salt and pepper hair, chiseled features and a fit build. He has gray eyes that I must admit set my own heart a-flutter. Judging by the color—or rather absence thereof—on Cecilia's face, I suspect he has the same effect on her. I have a feeling this is the mystery man she's been dating. I don't feel proud of myself for this thought, but I can't say I blame her.

He smiles up at her. "I thought I'd save you the drive." His eyes move to me. "Who's this?"

"This?" Cecilia looks at me and stammers. "This, uh… this… Richard, you should have called!"

"I'm Mary Wilcox," I say. "I'm the children's new governess."

"Former—" Cecilia begins.

Then the door to the dining room opens, and she clams up. The kids are carrying lunch boxes and separate bags with fruit and boiled eggs. A breakfast for the road. I realize it's late, and the children need to head to school.

"I'm Detective Richard Holloway," Richard says, giving me a dashing smile.

He turns to the kids, and his smile fades. When I look at the children, I see naked hate on all three of their faces. Even Samuel glares at him like he wouldn't mind watching him eaten alive by wolves.

I should escort the children out of the house and get them to school, but with a detective in the house, I have a chance to air all of my suspicions. He may be dating Cecilia, but I'm sure he'll do his job if it's discovered that she's the killer. And if it can be proven that she's not the killer, all the better.

So, I take advantage of Cecilia's chagrin and say, "Oh, do join us in the dining room, Detective. I'll have Paolo make you some fresh coffee."

"The children…" Cecilia begins weakly.

"That's very kind of you," Richard says, not hearing Cecilia. "I would love some coffee."

"No," Isabella says firmly.

We all flinch in shock at that. All the adults, anyway. Samuel and Elijah don't seem surprised at all.

"Get the fuck out of my house," Isabella says.

"Isabella!" I cry, more shocked than angry.

"This asshole's been fucking Mom since before Dad died," she says, tears streaming down her face. "I don't want him anywhere near Dad's house. They want to play hide the pathetic little porker, they can do it somewhere else."

I'm genuinely too stunned to reply. This level of vulgarity would be shocking coming from a grown woman. Coming from a young girl who's barely reached her teen years, it's just… what the hell is happening?

"You have a foul mouth, little girl," Richard says.

My eyes move to his, and a chill runs through me. There's a flatness to his expression that mirrors the calm contempt in his voice. It's not the humiliation of a man whose poor behavior has been exposed, nor is it the anger of a man whose been insulted by a bratty child. It's the look of a predator assessing prey and deciding if it wishes to strike now or wait a while yet.

Elijah sees it too because he steps protectively in front of Isabella and says, "Go ahead and drink your coffee, Richard. Mom's made her choice, and nothing we do is going to change it."

It's not exactly soothing speech, but it gives both Richard and Isabella a way out of this conflict even if it does so by throwing his mother under the bus. Unfortunately, it also gives Cecilia a way to get him out of the house. "Richard, this isn't really a good time—"

"Oh, I insist," I interrupt.

I glare at Isabella and Elijah, even though it makes my heart break. I'll apologize to them later and explain everything, but for now, I need the police officer to remain in the house so I can talk to him.

"The children should learn that rudeness toward guests will not be tolerated for any reason."

Isabella gives me a look of betrayal that crushes me. Elijah, however, seems to understand what I'm doing, or at least have some idea of it. He leans down and whispers to Isabella, and her lips stop trembling. She nods and glares at Richard instead of me.

Cecilia gives a shrill laugh and says, "Mary, you're not in charge here, I am, so how about—"

The door opens, and Cecilia turns away and puts her hands on top of her head. Javier steps inside and says apologetically. "Ma'am, I apologize for intruding, but are the children ready? School starts in…" He notices Richard and reddens. "Oh. Detective Holloway. I apologize. I didn't see your car."

"I parked it on the side," he says. "Why buy a truck if you can't park it in dirt every now and then?"

Javier smiles weakly at the joke and turns to Cecilia. "Are the children staying h—"

"Nope," Isabella says, brushing past Elijah. "Let's go, Sammy. We'll leave Shrimpy over here to get caught in Mommy's net."

She lifts her middle finger and jabs it toward Richard, holding the gesture until Elijah catches up to her and pushes her arm down. Once more, I notice the flatness in Richard's expression. Javier glances nervously at me, and I shake my head. He gives Richard another strained smile, then closes the door behind the children.

Richard turns to us with a badly forced smile. "Well, that was fun. Shall we go drink some coffee?"

"Richard, this is really not a good time."

Richard seems to notice for the first time that Cecilia is unhappy he's here. He frowns, and the look is petulant enough that it destroys his attractiveness.

I'm no longer so sure about Detective Holloway, but he is a police officer, after all. Besides, if I am to be banished from this house today, this might be my last chance to talk to someone before Cecilia has a chance to cover up any involvement she might have.

So, once more, I intervene. "Nonsense! The children are gone. At least let your guest enjoy a cup of coffee. The children really shouldn't see you bow to such horribly rude behavior."

"Yeah, I agree with that," Richard interjects. "I've told you before that—"

Cecilia's eyes snap toward him, and he clams up. I notice the look they share, though, and my doubts increase. Perhaps I am too quick to assume his badge will override his attraction.

His Shrimpy.

I push the vulgar thought away and say, "Come along then. I'll tell Paolo to start coffee."

"Sure!" Cecilia says, throwing her hands in the air. "Why not? After all, what does it matter what I think?"

"They're going to have to get used to me," Richard says. "Or, they'll have to—"

Another look from Cecilia silences him.

I wait for them to take their seats in the dining room, then head to the kitchen. "Paolo? We have a guest. Would you mind…"

The kitchen is empty. I sigh in exasperation. That man has a particular talent for avoiding uncomfortable situations. Hopefully, I can learn that gift someday.

I poke my head into the dining room and say, "It appears our elusive chef has fled. I'll make the coffee for you."

"Extra vodka in mine, please," Cecilia says drily.

"Ooh, I'll take some too!" Richard adds.

"I was joking, Richard," she snaps.

For an instant, he looks at her with the same coldness that he regards Isabella earlier. I feel a chill and decide I need to get to know our Detective a little better before confiding in him.

I make the coffee and hear them speaking in low voices, clearly taking advantage of my absence. That's not surprising. I didn't expect them to discuss their personal lives in front of me.

I finish the coffee but pause at the door and put my ear against it. As a child, I would often spy on my parents this way. I feel absurdly foolish doing it now, but I want a sense of what Richard is like when not controlling himself in front of strangers.

What I learn is very telling.

"You can't ask me to do that. They're my children."

"They're his children."

"They're my children too."

"Yeah, but be honest. They would rather it was you in the ground, not Johnathan."

I stiffen at that. A little coffee spills over and burns my hands, and I bite my lip to keep from crying out from the pain. I wait for Cecilia to fly off the handle at him and kick him out of her house, but instead, I hear her sigh and say, "Yeah, you got that right. Elijah's halfway to thinking I killed him."

"Has he asked about me?"

I flinch again, but this time, I don't notice the pain from the spilled coffee. Why would he ask that? Why would that thought follow Cecilia's?

"I mean, I'm the one who was investigating the death. Does he think I did something?"

I relax slightly. If he's the officer in charge of investigating Johnathan's death, then maybe it makes sense that he would worry Elijah would be angry at him.

Still…

"He thinks I did something. I don't know if he suspects you."

"Cecilia, if he thinks you murdered Johnathan, you need to get him out of the house. It's too risky to keep him here. Isabella hates me, and if she gets wind that Elijah thinks you're a killer, she's going to start looking for a reason to implicate me. We can't risk that."

"They're my kids."

"I can give you more kids. It'll be like we talked about. We can have the family we always wanted."

"I want my children, Richard. They're my family."

"Well, I can't be with you if the kids are here just waiting for an excuse to point the finger at both of us. No, I… God, I didn't mean that . I just… I'm tired of living a lie. Aren't you?"

She laughs drily. "It's a little late to change that."

"You know what I mean. Hey, what's taking the coffee so long?"

I open the door and walk into the room with a plastic smile on my face. "I apologize for the wait! Here's the coffee."

I set one cup in front of Richard and the other in front of Cecilia. Cecilia actually smiles at me and thanks me. I would think that she's putting on an act, but her eyes are elsewhere. She's forgotten entirely about the fight we had earlier, at least for the moment.

Richard smiles, too, but he seems irritated that I'm here. I think he saw my invitation as a chance to talk to Cecilia alone, but now he realizes that I'm not just going to disappear into the ether.

"Should we talk in your room?" he asks Cecilia.

Cecilia gives him a dry stare, clearly assuming he wants to do something other than talk. That doesn't seem to stop her, though. "Sure. Why not? I'm sure it'll be more fun than this."

"I didn't mean…" Richard catches himself and looks at me. He smiles and says, "Sorry to abandon you so soon, Miss Wilcox. Thank you for the coffee."

"Oh, not at all," I say, flipping my hand dismissively. "I understand you have private things to discuss. I'll finish my coffee, then get started on some chores." I look at Cecilia. "Don't worry. I'll leave enough to keep the children occupied when they return."

She gives me another absent smile, then leads Richard from the room. I wait until I hear the door to her bedroom close.

Then I get up and rush to Johnathan's study.