Part 12 (1/2)

Her gaze stayed fixed on the gla.s.s in front of her. ”I don't know what you want me to say.”

He sucked in his breath and tried to control his anger. Was she going out of her way to upset him? He was on her side. Didn't she know that?

With a gargantuan effort, he stifled his frustration and tried again, his tone as even as he could manage.

”I'm on your side. I'm trying to help you. Don't you see that?”

Her cobalt eyes stripped him of any pretense. ”Are you? Are you really? Or is it because you don't even think a crime's been committed that you feel at liberty to b.u.t.ter me up?” Her voice turned sarcastic and her eyes regained their fire.

”What about my stepfather, Detective? The glorious, heroic, leader of the people? Where does he fit into all of this? I know you boys stick together. It's never been any different, but if I didn't do it, who did?”

Riley didn't flinch. ”I'm reserving my opinion on Darryl. He's a selfish p.r.i.c.k, but until I know for sure a crime's been committed, what do you want me to do?”

”I want you to take my word for it. I want you to believe me when I tell you my mother's missing. I want you to say, 'okay, we'll go and arrest him,' when I tell you my stepfather's responsible.”

Tears glittered in the cobalt depths of her eyes. Riley shook his head and looked away.

s.h.i.+t. If there was one thing he couldn't deal with, it was tears. They sucked him in every time. He couldn't afford to lose his edge. She, of all people, should know how things worked. He drew in a deep breath and prayed for patience-and for her understanding.

”You know it's not possible,” he said. ”If I had even one sc.r.a.p of evidence there had been a crime, I'd be the first person to make an arrest.”

Her expression remained angry, mutinous. Frustration arced through him.

”Look at it from my point of view. On one hand, I have Darryl Watson's estranged stepdaughter claiming he's committed some dastardly act upon her mother. Everyone in town knows the girl left on bad terms with him and there are others who remember her as a troublemaker.

”On the other hand, I have one of Watervale's most upstanding citizens telling me his wife has gone away on a holiday. I've seen glossy tour brochures strewn over his coffee table. The travel agency confirms the booking.”

He ignored the voice in his head that reminded him there was no record that she boarded the s.h.i.+p and forged on.

”I've spoken to the lawyer who confirms the woman changed her will, leaving everything to her daughter.”

His eyes drilled into hers for long, hard seconds. ”No crime in that. People do it all the time, especially if they're planning to travel for an extended period of time. You're the only one who insists she wasn't going away.”

And the housekeeper. He thrust aside the stab of guilt the unwelcome thought caused.

Kate's gaze remained defiant. ”You think you're so clever. What about this scenario, hotshot? Mom had nothing to leave. Her estate was worthless. Nothing more than a small collection of jewelry and a few items that had sentimental value only. She owned nothing of any real value. Certainly nothing worth murdering her over. She changed her will as an act of defiance, to shove it up Darryl's a.s.s, if you like. Things hadn't been so good between them. It was one way she could thumb her nose at him.”

Riley drilled her with his eyes. ”She told you this?”

”Yes. She emailed me about it not long before she made the appointment. She told me what she intended to do.”

Anger narrowed his eyes. ”And you're only now sharing this with me? Why didn't you say anything earlier, when I first asked you about the will?”

She shrugged and looked away. ”You seemed h.e.l.l-bent and determined to pin my mother's disappearance on me. When you asked me about the will, I didn't know you'd already seen it. I knew what conclusion you'd draw when you discovered I was the sole beneficiary.” She glared at him. ”And you did.”

Riley tugged at the short whorls of his hair and gritted his teeth. He drew in a breath and did his best to remain calm.

”Okay, so now we know the terms of the will had nothing to do with it. Whether Darryl was included or not and whether he knew about it before your mother's disappearance are moot. A worthless estate is a worthless estate, no matter how you look at it. No wonder he barely reacted when I read it.”

Kate's lips twisted into a sneer. ”He probably left it there on purpose, to throw you off track. It proved the will gave him zero financial motivation to get rid of her.”

Riley nodded. Kate's observation made sense and it also explained Darryl's reaction, or lack thereof, to Riley's discovery.

His shoulders slumped on a sigh. He was going around in circles. Round and round and round and getting nowhere.

Lifting his beer, he took a sip and then set the gla.s.s back down on the table. ”Okay, let's concentrate on what we do know: Rosemary wrote Darryl out of her will; their relations.h.i.+p had deteriorated to the point she didn't want to leave him anything; and we know that what she had didn't amount to much. At this stage, we don't know the reasons for the marriage breakdown.” He c.o.c.ked an eyebrow. ”At least, I don't think we do?”

Kate shook head. ”Mom never gave me any specifics-just that things between her and Darryl were tense. They'd had their ups and downs over the years. It was only when she told me she was leaving Darryl out of her will that I realized things had gotten a little more serious.”

Riley nodded. ”Their housekeeper told me much the same thing.”

Kate's face softened. ”You spoke to Mrs Fitzgerald?”

”Not about the will, but she did say your mother felt indebted to Darryl-for marrying her with the disability, for taking care of her, paying her medical bills. I can see how it could happen.”

”I bet he took every opportunity to remind her, too,” Kate shot back, anger re-igniting in her eyes.

Riley shrugged. ”Maybe he did. Maybe your mother got tired of being made to feel like such a burden. Maybe they argued once too often and she decided to write him out of her will. Who knows? It doesn't turn him into a murderer.”

Kate opened her mouth, her eyes shooting fire. He silenced her with a look.

”I'm not condoning his actions, but marriage breakdown is not a crime and divorce is a h.e.l.l of a lot safer way to get out of a marriage than murder. I just don't buy your theory.

”Besides, under your mother's new will, Darryl wasn't set to inherit anything and even if he didn't know she'd changed it, a criminal can't benefit from their own crime. If, as you insist, Darryl has murdered your mother and he was convicted of her murder, he'd get nothing, regardless of the contents of her will. Your stepfather was a police officer for more than thirty years. There's no way he wouldn't know that.” He held her angry stare. ”Another reason why your arguments won't hold up. No motive.”

Kate's chin jutted out at an obstinate angle.

”You're a.s.suming he thought he was going to get caught,” she fired back. ”As you've so rightly pointed out, he's a long-serving police officer. He knows better than anyone how to get away with it. That's probably the reason why he came up with such a ridiculous story. He knew everyone would think he was way too smart to say she was off sailing around the world when she hated water, unless it was true. And you've fallen for it, Detective. Hook, line and sinker.”

Riley ground his teeth until his jaw ached.

”Kate, you're not listening to me. Where's his motive? He had nothing to gain from her death. In fact, the only one with something to gain was you.”

”You're wrong.”

She spoke so quietly, he thought he'd imagined it.

”I'm sorry?”

Her chest expanded on a long breath of air. She lifted her head and the pain in her gaze branded itself on his heart.

”I said, you're wrong.”

CHAPTER 12.

Kate thumped the lumpy motel pillow and turned over in the bed for the hundredth time. The illuminated numbers on the clock told her it was after two. About six minutes since she'd last looked.