She whirled away from them and walked through the gaping foyer, hips swaying, leaving Risa and Trent to show themselves in to the mansion.
And quite a mansion it was.
Cream marble stretched across the floor where it met intricate woodwork. Two stories up, a crystal chandelier dripped clear, sparkling light. Spotless white carpet swept up the grand staircase. The scent of lemon cleaner tinged the air.
Risa followed Trent and the retreating red silk flourish of Farrentina Hamilton through the archway and into an adjoining room. This room was cozier than the foyer. Beautiful Persian rugs covered the floors. Classic artwork hung on the walls. But the straight-backed chairs looked stiff and formal and not like bare-legged, silk-robed Farrentina at all.
“Is Mr. Hamilton home?” Risa asked.
“He travels.”
“A lot?”
She shrugged a shoulder.
“You must miss him.”
Farrentina looked at Risa as if she’d lost her mind. “Absence can be good for a marriage.”
“You must get lonely sometimes, though.”
Farrentina crossed the room to a wet bar and brandished a bottle of Stolichnaya Vodka. “Drink?”
Trent shook his head. “No, thank you.”
Her eyes narrowed on Risa. “You?”
Risa had guided her mother to bed too many times after a bout with the bottle to risk developing a taste for alcohol. Not that she’d drink in this situation anyway. Better to stay sharp. “No, thanks.”
Farrentina screwed up her mouth in a disdainful expression, reached for a tumbler, and glugged vodka into it. “Well, if I’m going to wade through tedious questions all over again, I’m going to have a drink in my hand.”
After filling the glass nearly to the brim with straight booze, Farrentina crossed to a chair and sank into it. “You two going to sit or just stand there?”
Trent selected a chair facing the entrance of the room. Risa took a chair closer to Farrentina.
Eyeing them both, Farrentina raised her glass to her lips and took several unflinching gulps. Her hand trembled slightly as she drank.
Nervousness? Or coming off a bender? Hard to say.
“Do you enjoy living alone?”
“You want to know about my relationship with Ed, right? If I’m not as alone as I seem?” Farrentina smiled. “If I’ve seen him? If I know where he might be? If I know whether or not he has his little wife with him? Am I on the right track?”
Neither Risa nor Trent answered.
“Well, I don’t know where he is. And I assume the whiny little bitch is with him, from what the police have told me.”
“You don’t like Nikki?” Risa asked.
“Why should I?”
“Have you ever met my sister?”
“What is this? Big sister coming to that little twit’s defense? What a joke.”
“Why is that a joke?”
“Because you don’t care about her.”
“Is that the way it was in your family?”
“Yes.”
“Your siblings didn’t care about you?”
“I didn’t care about them. Besides, Ed said you only started giving a shit about your sister when she married him.”
Risa tried her best to keep her expression neutral. She hoped Nikki didn’t feel that way, but she suspected her little sister did. “When did Ed tell you this?”
“What does it matter?”
“Have you seen him since he escaped?”
“I said I haven’t, didn’t I?”
“I don’t think you answered the question.”
“Then no, I haven’t.”
“Then when did he tell you about Nikki and me?”
“Sometime when I visited. I don’t remember.”
“You visited him a lot, according to the visitor’s log.”
“I suppose. He wanted me there all the time. Couldn’t get enough of me. But I’m kind of used to that with men.”
Farrentina shifted forward in her chair. Her robe gaped open just enough to give Trent a clear view of one naked breast.
“Did you smuggle pornography to Ed in prison?” Risa asked.
Farrentina glanced from Trent to Risa and back again. “Is that a crime?”
“Not something the FBI would be concerned about,” Trent said.
“Then what of it?”
“Did you buy him favors with the guards? More time outside his cell? Extra television privileges?”
“What do you care?”
Risa watched Farrentina’s blood red nails clutching the glass. While she was shameless about using sex to try to manipulate men, she seemed to not have a clue how to deal with Risa.
“Who did you pay off?” Risa asked.
“Why should I tell you that?”
“Because someone helped Dryden escape, and if you can’t give us names of people who were helping him, Trent might have to investigate you.”
“Every time you assume…” Farrentina forced a laugh. “You can’t prove I did anything.”
“We’ll see what I can prove after you’re thoroughly investigated,” Trent said.
Farrentina let out a put-upon sigh. She adjusted her robe, covering herself. “God, you’re a stick in the damn mud.”
“Names, Mrs. Hamilton,” Trent said.
“I don’t remember their names.”
Trent held out a slip of paper. From where Risa was sitting, she could make out a list of names. “Which ones?”
Farrentina skimmed the list. “Caldwell, Franklin and Bollinger.”
“Only those three?”
“They were expensive enough. Wingate has me on an allowance, for God’s sake.”
Risa never believed Gordy would help Dryden. He hated the killer through and through. But she was still relieved to know she was right.
“You and that Detective Cassidy should have shared information. He seemed to know every move I made in the last year and who I made them with.”
Risa glanced at Trent.
Trent wiped the flash of surprise from his face and narrowed his eyes on Farrentina. “Cassidy knew all about this?”
“That’s what I said.”
“Where did he get his information?”
“I didn’t tell him. And I doubt the guards I paid were broadcasting it either.” Farrentina tried to pull off a casual shrug, but the gesture was tight and self-conscious. “The only other person who knew was Ed.”
Trent angled his head to the side. “Did Dryden ever mention Detective Cassidy to you?”
“Why would Ed know the local cops? It’s not like he’s from around here.” Farrentina’s gaze landed on Risa. “Of course, Ed could have told your sister.”
“Nikki isn’t involved in this.” But even as the words left Risa’s lips, she realized how ridiculous they were.
“Maybe your sister helped him escape. The good little wife and all that.”
Risa wanted to say Nikki would never do that. She wanted to say Nikki wasn’t anything like Farrentina. But of course, she couldn’t.
And that gave her an idea. “You care about Ed,” Risa said.
“Give the shrink a prize.”
“You love him.”
“Love is a strong word.”
“But it’s true, isn’t it?”
“Listen, I didn’t help him escape. But he didn’t belong in that place. It was all his first wife’s fault, you know. She drove him to do the things he did. It’s not fair. Ed shouldn’t have to pay his entire life for the grief she caused him.”
Risa gave her an understanding nod. Farrentina had bought all of Dryden’s rationalizations. Just as Nikki had.
“How did you feel when Dryden married Nikki instead of you?” Risa asked.
Farrentina took a long sip of vodka.
Then another.