“I think the queen bee is ready to retire to her chambers,” I said.
He took the horse back to her stall, but the break in concentration didn’t distract him from my split lip.
“Swear to me that is not the result of domestic violence,” he said, staring down at me.
I rolled my eyes. “First: I broke up with Landry two days ago. So just who beat me up? My imaginary friend? I was home alone last night. Second: Frankly, I’m offended you think I would let some jerk do this to me. And I’m offended on Landry’s behalf.”
“I didn’t say you would let him get away with it,” he said. “Is there a corpse in your house we need to dispose of?”
The words were barely out of his mouth before his eyes filled with tears. “Oh, my God, I can’t believe I just said that.”
Poor Sean. Unlike myself, he had chosen to stay floating along on the cushy cloud of the sheltered Palm Beach lifestyle. The sensitivity hadn’t been ground out of him working drug deals and homicides, living day and night among the cruelties of a baser existence.
He looked away toward the door to the lounge. “I keep expecting her to walk out that door and complain about something. I wish she would.”
“I know. I wish yesterday never happened.”
“Never in my life did I ever think I would know someone who got murdered,” he said.
“What about me?”
“You’re too mean to die.” He turned and gave me an uncharacteristically stern look. “You’d better be. You’re the bratty little sister I never had. I’d never forgive you.”
“I’ll do my best,” I said, thinking that a year before I might not have said the same thing. Sean was thinking that too.
“I didn’t save you from the gutter so you could check out on me,” he said.
“I have no intention of checking out.”
He reached out a hand to not quite touch my fat lip. “That looks awful. Don’t you know how to use concealer? And a little Preparation H would take the swelling down. You could create the illusion of symmetry with a neutral lip liner.”
“Are you a closet transvestite now?”
“Honey, there isn’t a closet I haven’t already come out of,” he said. “I haven’t spent a small fortune on personal trainers and diet gurus to cover this physique with women’s wear. Let’s drink our coffee.”
We went out of the barn to sit on the bench by the arena. Sean stared into the middle distance, where a couple of news vans were parked on the road.
“Have they tried to talk to you?” I asked.
“I’ve declined all interviews. I couldn’t possibly be so tacky as to comment on the murder of someone I know. Of course, that doesn’t stop them from standing out there with their cameras.
“‘Look!”“ he squealed, pretending excitement. ”“That’s the barn where the victim shoveled horseshit! That’s the grass she walked on!”“
“It’s news,” I said. “Like it or not. People get engrossed in these stories in part to make them realize how lucky they are. Their lives might be shitty, but at least no one has murdered them. Yet.”
Sean took a long drink of his coffee and was silent for a moment. When he spoke again, he said, “You’re going to get in the middle of this, aren’t you?”
“What? The media?”
“The investigation.”
“Of course. What else would I do?”
“What else would you do? Nothing else,” he said. “What else could you do? Leave it to Landry.”
It was my turn to say nothing.
“Why did you break up with him?” he asked.
“God, that sounds so high school. What was there to break up? We didn’t have a relationship. We had sex.”
“He wanted something more?”
I turned and looked at him, annoyed he had made the assumption that I was the one who backed away, even though I was.
“Well, I knew you wouldn’t be the one pressing for commitment,” he said.
“I did him a favor. I can hardly stand myself twenty-four/seven; I wouldn’t wish me on anyone else.”
Sean didn’t comment. I was glad.
“What happens next?” he asked.
“They’ll do the autopsy today, continue interviewing people who knew her, people who saw her Saturday night.
“Did you ever see Irina out on the town?” I asked.
“Once in a while. At Players. Once or twice at Galipette.”
“Having dinner or in the bar?”
“Dinner.”
“Was she on a date?”
“With girlfriends.”
“Pricey dinner for hired help.”
Sean shrugged. “Irina made a decent living. What could she have had for expenses? She lived here rent-free.”
“She has a closet full of Worth Avenue,” I said.
He looked a little shocked. “I didn’t pay her well enough to shop on Worth Avenue.”
Worth Avenue was the Rodeo Drive, the Fifth Avenue, of Palm Beach. The hunting ground of old-money matrons and young trophy wives alike. Lunch on Worth Avenue could cost a day’s pay for the average groom.
“Irina had a life we didn’t know anything about, Sean. She hung out with the polo crowd, the high rollers. And she did some kind of work for a Russian mobster named Alexi Kulak.”
He looked at me, astounded. “A Russian mobster? This is in-sane!
“Do you know Jim Brody?”
“The sports agent? Not really. I’ve seen him at the polo matches, of course.”
“Irina was at his birthday party Saturday night. As far as I’ve found out, that’s the last she was seen by anyone other than her killer. From the photos I saw, she was the life of the party.”
“You can’t think someone from that crowd…” His words trailed off at the look I gave him. “Who was there?”
“Brody, Paul Kenner,” I said. “Polo players, of course. Juan Barbaro.”
“Oh, my God, he’s gorgeous.”
I held my breath for a moment, trying to decide if I should say the next words in my mouth or choke them back.
“Bennett Walker.”
Sean’s face went carefully blank as he watched me. “Oh, El…”
“You had to know he was around, Sean. You have a box at the polo stadium. You have to have seen him. Your social circles overlap.”
“Of course I’ve seen him,” he admitted. “I just… didn’t want you to.”
“Too late for that. I saw him at Players last night.”
“Oh, Jesus… Did he see you?”
“Yes. I was on my way out. He was on his way in.” I didn’t tell him the son of a bitch hadn’t even recognized me. “I was my usual charming self: snide, sarcastic, accusatory, and threatening.”
“And he was…?”
I shrugged. “Not happy to see me.”
There was so much to say, he didn’t say anything. Sean had been there through all of it-my relationship with Bennett, the engagement. He had watched me fall in love and be in love. He had been my only support when Bennett came to me asking for an alibi and my happy fairy tale turned into a nightmare. Sean was the only person on earth who knew the whole truth of that story.
“Sean, he was there the night Irina went missing. I saw photos of Irina sitting between him and Jim Brody. They looked very chummy.”
“Elena, you’re not saying Bennett killed her?”
“He has to be considered a suspect.”
“Why would he kill Irina?”
“Why did he rape and beat Maria Nevin?” I asked.
“That was twenty years ago.”
“What’s your point?” I said, annoyed. “He beat and raped a woman then, why not now? The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.”
“He was what? Twenty-four? Twenty-five?” Sean asked. “He’s a grown man. He’s married. He has responsibilities.”
“Ted Bundy was a Young Republican. What’s that got to do with anything? He has a history of violent behavior toward women; he was seen with the victim the night she went missing.”
“Maybe he has an alibi.”
“Of course he has an alibi,” I snapped. “Bennett always has an alibi. He’s the Alibi Man. There’s always someone willing to lie for a rich man. Juan Barbaro claims they left the party drunk, went to Bennett’s house, and passed out. And I imagine the dog ate his homework too.”