″Of course Dad′s coming home,″ I said, looking around at them with a puzzled smile. ″It′s my birthday. My mom′s bringing the cake.″
The officers had shuffled their feet and looked down at the ground, saying nothing. Then my aunt Myra had arrived. Her face was crumpled. Behind her was another police car. This one had my father inside it. He was in the backseat, and his face was buried in his hands. It took me a moment to realize that my father was crying. I′d never seen him cry before.
Then my aunt Myra and my father pulled me into the living room. They gathered around me and wrapped me in their arms. I remember feeling confused and thinking that it felt like we were making a football huddle.
That′s when they told me that my mother had been killed. I remember that I′d dropped my plastic sword-in that moment, it felt like the world was spinning. And as it spun, someone shoved a real blade through the middle of my heart. This one was made of steel.
The painful details would come later-my mother had walked in on an armed robbery at the bakery. The young punk had panicked; the gun had gone off; my mother was dead.
Looking at Shaina now, I knew that at that moment there could be no bromide, no words of comfort. For her the future would bring only a hard, unyielding sorrow.
Shaina had just suffered a wound that would never fully close. It would be in her heart forever. Perhaps someday her sorrow would be hidden beneath the surface of her everyday existence.
But it would always be there, as cold and deep as a grave.
Chapter 16
Avoid the Winter′s Frost
If you are worried about aging eyes, steer clear of frosted eye shadows. Even a hint of frost emphasizes the wrinkles and creases above your eyes. A neutral, matte eye shadow is your best beauty choice.
– From The Little Book of Beauty Secrets by Mimi Morgan
I shook off the bleak thoughts about the loss of my mother and focused my attention on Shaina. Her face was tiny and pale, a porcelain doll′s head lost in the middle of the hospital bedding. And terribly alone.
″Here′s my uncle Belmont′s phone number.″ Shaina wrote a number on a piece of paper I′d handed her. ″The doctor told me that he and my aunt are flying back from the West Coast right now. They should be here in a couple of hours.″
When I promised to get in touch with them, she peered into my face. ″What have the police told you so far?″
″They′ll talk to you when you′re up to it,″ I said.
I didn′t want to compromise anything the police were doing by saying too much to Shaina yet. Better for Luke to tell her what was going on. Any information she got from me risked influencing what she told the investigators about the attack.
Closing her eyes, Shaina leaned back against the pillows. ″His face was young,″ she said. ″And… this is going to sound weird, but he looked kind of scared. That doesn′t make sense, does it? I didn′t think he′d shoot her. I never even saw a gun. Why did he do it, Kate? There has to be a reason.″
″These animals have their own reasons for killing,″ I said. ″The reasons don′t make sense to us. They′re just thugs.″
″I′m an orphan now,″ she said, as if testing out the sound of the unfamiliar word.
In a whisper she continued, ″Orphan. That word sounds strange, doesn′t it? When you′re an orphan it seems like you should be a kid. Like Little Orphan Annie.″
″It′s a horrible thing to lose your parents no matter what age you are,″ I replied.
Shaina was staring past me. Then her neck arched back, and her gaze angled away at a guarded slant.
I turned around to see what she was looking away from.
A man charged into the room at a full-bore tilt. ″My dear, how are you feeling?″ he said. ″Oh, my girl, I was thinking of you the entire drive up from Florida.″
″Gavin.″ Shaina said the name in a flat-sounding voice. ″Kate, this is my stepfather.″
With a jolt, I recognized Gavin. He was the man I′d just seen outside in the parking garage. There was no mistaking the Trump-do and gaga-musky men′s fragrance.
Jana′s widower was Mr. Musk-and-Blow. Who, when last seen by me, had been playing hide-the-hand down the décolleté of the chesty blonde in his Corvette.
Chapter 17
Give Your Face an Instant Lift
To brighten your face, run a light concealer or white eyeliner from the top of your nose to your eyebrow, and along the arch of your brow. You′ll find it gives your look an instant lift.
– From The Little Book of Beauty Secrets by Mimi Morgan
Without thinking, I stepped between Gavin and Shaina, blocking her stepfather′′s progress.
″What? Who are you?″ Gavin said to me, taking a step back.
There was no glimmer of recognition in his eyes. Obviously he′d been too wrapped up with Miss Skanky Blonde to notice me standing right next to his Corvette.
″I′m not up to seeing anyone right now,″ Shaina said to me.
Looking directly at her stepfather, she continued, ″Please, Kate-can you make him go away?″
″Let′s go outside for a moment,″ I said to Gavin, hustling him out the door.
Once we were in the hallway, I closed the door to Shaina′s room behind us.
″What′s wrong with her?″ Gavin sounded bewildered. ″I drove here all the way from Florida to see her.″
″Well, I′m sorry, but she said she′s not up to seeing you right now. And anyway-don′t you have someone waiting for you outside?″
Gavin shot me a guarded look. ″What do you mean?″ he demanded.
″I think you know what I′m talking about.″
″It′s not your business,″ he sputtered. ″Like I said before, who the hell are you?″
″I′m a friend of Jana′s. Your wife, remember? I saw you in your car out in the parking garage just a little while ago with that blonde. Isn′t it inappropriate for you to bring your girlfriend with you to the hospital, right after your wife is killed?″
Gavin dug into his pocket and extracted his car keys, as if preparing to make a getaway. But it turned out he was just getting warmed up.
″I don′t know what you think you saw,″ he said, his chest puffing up. ″My assistant, Can-dice, drove up here with me from Miami. She′s doing some work for me this week. That′s all.″
″Candice? You mean Candy, don′t you? Admirer of the naked videos you sent her? I have sources who told me all about them, Gavin. Or is it Guido? Didn′t you change your name?″
″What the-How dare you?″
Gavin swayed dangerously close. Even though it was before noon, I could smell whiskey on his breath.
A doctor passed by and scanned our tense body language with a curious expression.
As soon as the man was out of earshot, Gavin grabbed hold of my forearm. He wasn′t a huge man, but his grip was painful.
″Who the hell do you think you are?″ he said, lowering his voice to a growl. ″You′re interfering with my family′s private business. You better back off, lady. I need to talk to my daughter.″
″Shaina′s your stepdaughter, remember? And right now she doesn′t want to talk to you.″
″That′s enough. I′m having you thrown out.″
″That′d be great. In fact, why don′t you call the police, Gavin? You make out with a girlfriend at the hospital the day your wife is murdered? I′m sure they′ll be interested to hear about that.″
″The police will be quite interested, in fact.″
Luke was standing next to me in the hallway. I hadn′t heard him approach. Neither had Gavin, apparently, from the startled look he gave the detective.