wasn’t quite a laugh. “But who said, ‘I can resist anything but temptation’?”
“Everyone?”
This time he did laugh. “Look, I’ll put a note here in your file that you’re the only person authorized to handle transactions with this account. Will that settle you?”
“I guess so. I feel awful about this, you know. Eli didn’t actually do anything.”
“Better safe than sorry, Lucie. I’ve seen more people feuding over money than you can shake a stick at. You have no idea the stuff we’ve got here in folks’ safe-deposit boxes because relatives couldn’t come to an agreement over something. Hell, we even got an urn with someone’s ashes in the vault.”
“You’re joking.”
“No, ma’am. Whoever locks up for the night wishes him sweet dreams. Been doin’ that for going on sixteen years. We’ve gotten kind of attached to him.”
“I hope that never happens to us. Feuding, I mean.”
“Then talk to your brother. Get it out in the open.”
“I couldn’t. He’s already mad at me because I wouldn’t loan him money for his mortgage payment.”
“You want my opinion, honey?” I was going to get it, even if I didn’t. “I’ve known you and Eli and Mia since you were born. Your pa wasn’t always a straight shooter and it pains me to say that, but your mother was as rare and precious as a hothouse flower. She had more integrity in her little finger than most folks got in their whole body. If she were alive today, she’d be telling you to be square and honest with your brother.”
The lump in my throat made it hard to talk. “I know. Thanks, Seth.”
“You’re welcome.” He paused and I thought he was going to say good-bye or something else in parting. “By the way, any word on that body you found on your land?”
I sat up straight. He knew as well as I did it was too soon to know anything official. This was fishing to see what I’d tell him.
“Nope. Nothing.”
“Well, I sure hope…” He left the sentence unfinished.
I waited as though I expected him to tell me what he sure hoped, which was that Leland had nothing to do with it.
“Thanks for the advice, Seth. I appreciate it.”
“You all right, darlin’?”
“Don’t you worry about me. I can handle this.”
“Of course you can.” He backed off. “Look, Lucie, I want you to know that I’m in your corner whatever happens. If you ever need to talk or you have any questions, all you need to do is pick up the phone. I owe that to you children and the memory of your mother.”
He hung up and I wondered why he hadn’t mentioned anything about what he owed to the memory of my father.
Bobby returned to the villa at the end of the day while I was in my office filling out the endless tax forms we sent the government so they’d grant us the privilege of selling wine. Frankie showed up in the doorway and told me he was waiting in the tasting room.
She kept her voice low. “I have a feeling they’re done. The other cruisers and that crime scene van just left.”
“It only took them one day?”
“Guess so. Maybe you can ask him.”
“Don’t worry. I will.”
Bobby’s shirt was soaked with perspiration and his hair was plastered to his head like he’d gone swimming.
“Can I get you something to drink?” I asked. “We’ve got bottled water and a few sodas in a cooler. They’re still cold.”
“Thanks, but I got my own cooler in the car.” He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, revealing a triangle of white skin at his hairline that contrasted with the rest of his sunburned face.
“I came by to let you know that we’re finished,” he said. “The crime scene tape will stay up for a few more days and we’re coming back to clear out the underbrush that’s nearby in case we missed something there.”
“You’ve removed the remains?” I asked. “Completely?”
He nodded.
“Did you find anything else besides the skull and that bone Bruja dug up?”
His smile was weary. “Sorry. I can’t say.”
“Well, could you identify him from just the skull, if that’s all you got?”
“That’s Junie’s department.”
“You’re not going to tell me anything.”
“Right now there’s nothing to tell.”
I sighed and gave up. “You and Kit are coming this weekend for our twentieth?”
His face cracked into a small smile. “We’re counting on it.”
“I knew I’d get you to answer at least one question,” I said.
“You always were like a dog with a bone,” he said. “As long as I’ve known you.”
“You could have picked a different analogy than dogs and bones. Or answered a different question.”
He grinned. “I kind of liked that one. Be seeing you.” He had his hand on the doorknob when he paused and turned around.
“I will tell you this. It seems like we’re talking about only one person out there.”
After he left I made so many mistakes on the tax report that I finally threw down my pencil and went outside on the terrace. Frankie found me there, staring at the fields and vines. She handed me a glass of wine that I hadn’t asked for. Perfectly chilled Riesling.
“Where’d you get this?”
“I went over to the barrel room. Want to talk about it? Might make you feel better.”
I drank some wine as she sat down in one of the wicker chairs and pulled it closer.
“I know I should be focusing on the tornado damage, but I just keep thinking about that skull. Wondering who he is and how he got there. Bobby thinks the odds are good whoever killed him had ties to the farm.” I paused. “Even Eli wondered if Leland might be involved somehow.”
“And you don’t think he was?” Her voice was gentle, but there was a hint of reproach that I shouldn’t kid myself.
I chose my words with care. “My father was a complicated man who didn’t always show good judgment. He made lousy business decisions and he gambled. And he had his share of affairs, though through everything he loved my mother. Sometimes I think he didn’t believe he was worthy of her and that’s why he had the affairs.”
“I wish I’d known your mother,” Frankie said.
I raised an eyebrow. “You don’t wish you’d known Leland, huh?”
“I didn’t say that—”
“Never mind. I’m just giving you a hard time.” I sipped my wine and touched the chilled glass to my cheek. It felt good. “It probably seems odd that I’m defending my father, but I know he’s no murderer. He didn’t kill that man and then cover it up for the rest of his life. It would have consumed him if he did.”
Frankie put two fingers across her lips like she was thinking as her eyes roved over my face. I thought I saw pity in them.
“You don’t believe me?” I asked. “You think I can’t be objective.”
“Of course I believe you,” she said. “Maybe the best thing is to put this out of your mind until they identify the body. Then take it from there.” She stood up. “Let me get that bottle of wine.”
Plato said that wine fills the heart with courage. Frankie refilled my glass and poured a glass for herself.
My heart was not filled with courage as I drank. Instead it was filled with foreboding and a sickening feeling of apprehension. Until yesterday I thought all my family’s sins and secrets lay buried in our graveyard.
What if I was wrong?
