She pushed to her feet and paced back and forth. She couldn’t imagine having drinks with her parents while all of this weighed on her. If only there was an excuse that would appease her mom.
Her mom was who she needed to focus on. Whatever her father had done, right or wrong, Jack and Cora had been good parents. They’d given her amazing opportunities, and never once had she doubted how much she was loved and cherished. Yes, her mother could be clingy at times and she’d never told Paige the truth about her birth. Regardless, Paige had been loved. Not everyone experienced that security.
“Any advice on how to come to terms with having a sister who’s a killer?” she asked.
“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” he said. “You can trust me to get to the bottom of this.”
“I am trusting you. I showed you the pictures.” She flung a hand toward the worktable and the horrible discovery that turned her heart and her identity inside out.
“Have you run across anything else about the woman or found more notes from her to your dad?”
She shook her head. “Thankfully, no. You know what I was doing on Wednesday night instead of killing my friend? I was here conducting incognito searches for the woman in the picture. I couldn’t tell the police that. My parents can only speculate that I was home.”
“You were home, that’s the point. Your parents have enough clout the police can’t ignore their alibi for you.”
He’d already said it wasn’t enough and her frustration mounted. Her friend was dead and the police didn’t have another suspect. How would she clear her name without destroying the people she loved most?
“The worst part? I’m not thinking about Melissa. I can’t stop wondering how I fit into this family now. Is there someone out there who misses me?” She pressed a hand to her belly. “I feel horrible that these questions are even in my head. My parents gave me a great life, unless I don’t fit here anymore.”
“Your parents haven’t turned on you, Paige. Your dad hired me. He brought in the best legal counsel in the country. Seems like your parents still want you right here with them.”
That gentle, soothing voice again. Good grief, she wished she didn’t need that calming effect so badly. “You’re right. Which brings me right back around to being ashamed and selfish. Is it so wrong to want an explanation? I wanted an explanation before Melissa wound up dead. After seeing myself on that surveillance tape, I think I deserve to hear the whole story.”
“Answers are my job,” he said. “Time and again, I’ve seen answers dredge up ugly stuff and drag people under like a riptide. You have to be ready.”
“I do hear what you’re saying.” She lifted her hair off her neck, let it fall again. She was ready, good or bad. “I just want to understand.”
“Do you always keep the photos and receipts that raised all the questions here in the office?” he asked.
“Usually, yes.” She watched him assess the room. “I have electronic backups and the doors and windows are tied into the security system.”
“I’d feel better if you stored the original items elsewhere,” he said. “Would you like me to hold them for you?”
The idea of releasing the originals made her shiver, no matter how upsetting they were. “I have a safe in my bedroom.” She gathered the evidence of her father’s lies, her family secrets, into a small stack. It seemed impossible that these few items could turn her world upside down.
“The safe is smart. Now, how can I help you get through this evening?” he asked gently.
She sighed. “I’ll manage. Mom taught me well how to pretend life is normal.” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes, she gave him her most congenial smile. “Carter, would you like to pretend you aren’t a bodyguard and have drinks with my parents as a family friend?”
He gave her a wary look. “That’s a little frightening.”
She curtsied, a sarcastic gesture. “Polish and poise courtesy of a year in the daunting crucible known as cotillion.” At one time she might’ve been proud of that accomplishment. Tonight, the skills might serve her, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was a fraud.
Carter had cooperated, shifting away from his role as an investigator during the unavoidable meeting with her parents. He’d taken a few minutes to update Jenna and now he had to rely on her to make quick progress.
His mind kept churning over Paige’s unexpected findings and suspicions, considering new angles and possibilities as he watched the family dynamics. It seemed likely that Paige had been a product of an affair and subsequently adopted by Jack and Cora. Keeping an adoption secret wasn’t unusual, but it often resulted in distress and distrust.
He just didn’t see how those secrets tied into the chef’s murder. Not yet anyway. They were just getting started and he had to be patient. With himself, his client and the investigation as a whole.
He’d hoped that coming over might give him a chance to speak privately with Jack, but so far, no luck. Paige and her father were both doing their best to keep Cora’s mind on lighter topics. The conversation revolved around Christmas traditions and although Carter was able to participate with fond memories from his own childhood, he could practically hear the clock ticking on the case.
“Do you remember the first time we took Paige snow skiing?” Cora asked her husband as Paige passed out thick wedges of cherry pie.
“Of course,” Jack replied. “She was a natural.”
Paige, in her role as doting daughter, added a few fun stories to the mix. If he didn’t know better, it would’ve been a normal social moment.
In his pocket his phone hummed twice, but he ignored it until he could check it privately. The person reaching out could only be Jenna and if it was something truly urgent she would buzz him nonstop until he picked up. So it wasn’t until he was back in the privacy of the guest room at Paige’s house that he finally read through her messages.
Jenna had found the name of the woman in the photograph, Yvette Salter. A match to the Y.S. initials on the back of the photo. She’d been employed at the financial firm for just over a year and the dates lined up with what Paige had learned from Gloria.
The next message listed Yvette’s date of birth, her social security number, and a date of death about twelve years ago.
Would knowing his mistress was dead make it easier or more difficult to get answers out of Jack?
Another message was a notice that Paige’s case file had been updated on the agency cloud service. When he clicked the link, he found a medical record for Cora Alden Coker.
There was no hospital record for Cora near the time of Paige’s birth. He supposed, with the Coker’s resources, a birth could’ve been handled privately and off the record with ease nearly thirty years ago. It just struck him as unlikely. Especially when he kept reading. A few months prior to the birth date listed for Paige, Cora had been hospitalized after a suicide attempt. She should’ve been about four months pregnant, but there was no note in the medical record.
This was his job, and Paige had asked him to unravel the mystery of her birth, but it felt terribly invasive.
If this had been a standard case, he’d be focused on the murder scene and his client’s ties to the victim, but Paige didn’t have any motive. She wore her heart on her sleeve and she was clearly more invested in the questions surrounding her father than anything else. If she’d wanted to derail the retirement party, there were plenty of legal ways to do it. The woman had given him no indication she was capable of taking a life.