“He and Marcus looked alike. Surgery made it possible for Gus to appear identical. It was like falling in love with Marcus all over again.” Lillian’s smile didn’t match the emptiness in her eyes. “Gustaf loved me, you know, but Theo wanted the new Marcus to continue his relationship with Gislinde. I hear you met her?”
“Uh-huh.” This was sounding a little creepy.
“Gustaf didn’t really love her or he would have moved to Amsterdam ages ago.”
“Surely Gislinde figured out the truth about Dad?”
“Probably, but she’s pathetically weak. From what I heard, she couldn’t face the fact that Marcus was gone, so she bought into the illusion, as Theo knew she would.”
So, Dad hadn’t gone underground. He really had died from botulism. Or had she just been given a load of bull?
“Why would Gustaf pose as Dad all that time?”
“To look for the money and find out whom Marcus’s clients were. Theo had hoped those clients would contact the new Marcus who would then refer them back to Theo. Gustaf would have received a percentage of any new business generated.”
Casey didn’t know what to believe. Mother could spin truths with the same finesse that spiders did with webs. “Did Gustaf find the clients?”
“A few, but most of them would have been in the old address book you found.”
The guy couldn’t have searched the house that thoroughly, Casey thought. She’d easily found the grocery receipt with Simone’s name. Maybe Gustaf had wanted the lifestyle more than the finder’s fee.
“Unfortunately, Marcus was a bit of a technological dinosaur,” Lillian remarked. “He wouldn’t keep an electronic address book and only had a few key names in his phone.”
As Mother stepped closer, Casey inhaled the scent of lavender and moved away. “Even in the best of circumstances and with the best of intentions, Mother, your credibility is lousy.”
“I swear, I’m being completely honest with you.”
Revulsion sliced through Casey, as if there was nothing worse than complete honesty coming from this woman. “If Gustaf had surgery just to acquire Dad’s clients, why was he given an appendectomy scar?” Mother’s perplexed expression was gratifying. For once, Casey knew something she didn’t. “I had someone check at the morgue.”
“For Gislinde’s sake, I suppose. As long as she convinced herself he was the real Marcus then she’d be open to discussing his secrets and plans with the fake one.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Casey, I swear I’m telling the truth.”
“Then why does Theo’s story contradict yours?”
Lillian adjusted her purse strap. “Theo wants you to believe Marcus was the victim so you’ll stay involved enough to lead him to the money. Financial problems have made him desperate and, like Darcy, he’s decided that Marcus hid it someplace only you could find.”
“You sound like a jilted lover out for revenge.”
“Not jilted, by any means. Trouble is, once you’ve had Theo, it’s hard to get rid of him, don’t you think?”
Casey frowned. “That’s a bit presumptuous, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but I’d like to know how close you two have become.”
As if it was any of her business. “Why didn’t you tell Theo that Darcy was living at our house?”
“He doesn’t need to know everything.”
“God, you’re not any more honest with your employers than you are with the rest of the world, are you?”
“No man ever deserved my honesty.”
“Then I suppose Detective Lalonde doesn’t know you work for Theo too?”
Lillian strolled past the fireplace. “Lalonde knows more than he’ll tell you. Pay attention to what he’s doing, Casey. The man’s no fool.”
Who the hell was she to reprimand anyone? “Dad would be alive if he hadn’t been mixed up with you and Ziegler.”
“Have you forgotten the bleak periods your father went through?”
Casey remembered that he’d always seemed so preoccupied, too busy for fun.
“The sad truth is that Marcus was a mediocre architect,” Lillian said. “His business suffered and so did his confidence, but Theo helped change all that.”
Casey’s jaw was so tight she couldn’t speak. Dad should have told her.
“The import/export business made your father happier than he’d been in a long time. Marcus was willing to take more risks, and risk was what he was all about. Marcus loved life when it was critical. We both did, which was another reason for starting his own company.”
“Dad wasn’t like you.” Even as she said it, Casey wasn’t so sure anymore.
“I understand why you think so. Marcus gave you a stable life, gave up the dangerous sports, the parties, all for you.” Lillian moved closer to her. “Your father married me, accepting my past and my values. He grew to understand that my affairs were no reflection on him.”
“Oh, come on.”
Lillian gave an exasperated sigh. “Rhonda’s still fueling your hatred, isn’t she? She’s been at it since you were a little girl. By the time I realized what she’d done, it was too late. I know she told you about my indiscretions before Marcus ended our marriage.”
“I witnessed them, remember? Coming home from school and you were still in bed with some jerk.”
Lillian lowered her head. “I knew you were angry long before Marcus kicked me out.” Her voice wavered. “That’s why you never said goodbye, isn’t it?”
What was the use in discussing this? “If you don’t get Darcy out of Rhonda’s house and her life real fast, I’ll have him charged with assaulting me, the security guard, and my friend, Lou, before this day is over, understand?”
Lillian seemed to be appraising her. “You’ve turned into a tough and resourceful young woman. I’m pleased, but I’m also terribly afraid for you. If you follow through with your threat, Darcy will unleash Armageddon.”
“Don’t you get it? It’s already begun. When I see Theo—”
“Stay away from Theo,” she interrupted. “He’s mine.”
“Excuse me?”
“Theo’s no good for you. He belongs to me.”
What on god’s earth was going on? “I thought you were mad at him.”
“One can be angry and still maintain a relationship, dear.”
“In other words, I’d better not interfere with your conquests, is that it?” Casey waited for an answer but none came. “Theo said it was over between you, that you’d found someone else. Maybe you didn’t get the memo.”
“You haven’t known Theo nearly long enough to understand that he doesn’t mean half of what he says. So, let me tell you this once more, stay away from him.”
Casey marched out of the bedroom.
She was halfway across the courtyard when Mother called out, “We had some good times, didn’t we? When you were little?”
God, the woman was nuts. Casey walked faster while unwanted memories of good times sprinted through her brain. Periods of harmony during vacations and at Christmas: kisses, hugs, bedtime stories. Memories carved so deeply in her mind that she couldn’t pry them free without losing part of herself.
Casey was opening her car door when Mother emerged from the house. She scribbled something on the back of a business card and then handed it to her. “In case you need me.”
What was she supposed to need her for? More in-your-face lessons on Holland dysfunction? Casey read, “Holland Personnel, Specialists in All Clerical Needs: Lillian Holland, President.” On the back was the number and address she’d seen in Dad’s notebook.
“If you’re telling the truth about Osterman, you can have his body,” Casey said.
“Thank you.”
Casey followed Mother’s car out of the driveway and down Marine Drive. The more she thought about it, the more she wondered if anything Mother had said was true. She’d seemed bent on discrediting Rhonda. Maybe Rhonda was right: Mother did want to cause trouble, and her possessiveness over Theo and Osterman was definitely bizarre.