“What is it, Mom?”
“It’s your dad, Griff. He was killed. I’m really sorry.” She leaned over and pulled him into a hug, but Griff drew away, his eyes huge and uncertain.
“Dad’s dead?”
She nodded. “I’m so sorry.”
“Wh-what happened?”
“Someone shot him, Griff. It happened Saturday night. The housekeeper found him this morning.”
Griff’s amber eyes filled. “He can’t be dead. We were going to spend this weekend together. He promised to take me to the movies.”
Kenzie’s heart twisted. Lee rarely had time for Griff. Though Griff seldom complained, Kenzie knew he yearned for his father’s attention. Kenzie figured Lee’s sudden interest in his son was probably just a way to strengthen his custody case.
“I’m know, honey. It’s a shock for all of us.”
Griff cried for a while and she held him. Then he pulled away and just sat quietly beside her. Kenzie didn’t rush him. There was more he needed to know, but now wasn’t the time.
Eventually, they walked back to the car and she drove home. Kenzie had phoned Gran earlier to tell her about Lee. She wasn’t surprised when the smell of cinnamon and apples greeted them at the town house door. Gran’s solution to every problem, no matter how large or small, was a slice of warm homemade apple pie.
Griff ran to her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and started crying. Gran gave him a fierce, comforting hug, then led him up the stairs to his bedroom.
Kenzie breathed a grateful sigh once they were out of sight. Her grandmother was a miracle. She always knew exactly what to do in any situation. Her son was in good hands.
As she started for the kitchen, the doorbell rang. Praying it wasn’t more trouble, she checked the peephole and was surprised to see Reese standing on the porch, amazingly handsome in the pinstriped suit he’d been wearing that morning.
A mixture of emotions swept through her. Gratitude for the risk he had taken to help her, sexual awareness as her mind replayed the night they had spent together, something deeper she couldn’t explain. Her hand went to her diaphragm as she drew in a steadying breath and opened the door.
She managed to smile. “I’m surprised to see you. I know how busy you are. Come on in.”
“How’s Griff?” Reese glanced around in search of him. “Have you talked to him yet?”
She nodded. “He’s taking it hard. He didn’t know his father well enough to know the kind of man he really was and I’m not going to destroy his illusions.”
“Where is he?”
“Upstairs in his room. Gran’s with him. Would you like a glass of iced tea or something?”
He nodded. “Iced tea sounds good. I know the timing’s rotten, but we need to talk.”
“I know.” They headed for the kitchen and Reese sat down at the round white pedestal table while she went to the refrigerator and took out a pitcher of tea. Even in his expensive suit, he didn’t look the least bit out of place in her compact kitchen.
Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.
Kenzie set two tall, frosty glasses on the table and took a seat across from him. Since she had no idea what to say, she took a sip of tea.
Reese’s beautiful blue eyes settled on her face. “I need to know about the gun,” he said softly.
Kenzie wasn’t surprised. Reese had risked himself to help her, but in return he wanted answers. And he wouldn’t settle for anything but the truth.
“As odd as it sounds, Lee had my revolver in his house. I bought it for self-defense after I graduated from college and got my first job. The neighborhood I was living in wasn’t that great. My dad had always had firearms, so he taught me to shoot it.”
“Are your parents still alive?”
“My dad died a few years back. Mom remarried and moved to Arizona. I don’t see her very often... We never really got along. I’m more like my grandmother.” She was rattling. Being with Reese in a situation other than business was new and unnerving.
“So how did Lee get the gun?”
Old memories crowded in and her mouth went dry. She took a sip of tea. “It was during the divorce. He was furious at me for leaving him. He had always been...difficult. After I left him, he would constantly accuse me of being a bad mother. He must have remembered I had the gun. One day he came over and demanded I give it to him. He said it was too dangerous with a child in the house.”
“So you just handed it over?”
She glanced away. She wasn’t ready to talk about the past. She had just begun to know Reese on a personal level. She wasn’t sure what he would think of her if he knew the truth.
“Griff was going to be home any minute. It wasn’t worth an argument.”
Reese leaned back in his chair. “So Lee had the gun. That means whoever killed him must have known it was in the house when they went inside.”
“Or maybe whoever it was didn’t plan to kill him. Maybe they got into an argument or something. The killer saw the gun, picked it up, and fired.”
“It’s possible. You know where Lee kept it?”
She thought of how paranoid Lee could be. He had probably kept it somewhere he could get to it quickly. Maybe that was even the reason he had taken it away from her in the first place. He’d wanted it for his own protection and it was easier than getting one for himself.
“I could make a guess, but I don’t know for sure.”
Reese was watching her closely. She wondered if he noticed her hesitation. There was a lot he didn’t know, a lot she didn’t want to tell him. He thought so highly of her. She wondered if that would change if he knew the truth.
“Make a guess,” he said, his eyes on her face. There was something in them, a hint of distrust that hadn’t been there before. It made her ache inside.
“Lee had enemies. Or at least believed he did. He had clients who’d lost money in one of his many schemes, husbands of women he’d been involved with. At times he was paranoid. He might have wanted the gun because he thought someone was after him. If that was the case, he would have kept it somewhere he could get to it easily.”
“He was killed in his bedroom, so maybe it was in his nightstand.”
“Maybe.”
“What about Griff? You said Lee was worried about having a gun around the boy.”
“Griff was rarely there. Lee could have put the gun in his safe while Griff was visiting.” She raked a hand through her hair, shoving it back from her face. “I really don’t know.”