Murder Under Cover

was counting? It’s not like I was making it a little kids’ competition between us. Neener, neener, I’ve seen more dead bodies than you have! It wasn’t like that, I swear.

I was just disappointed that instead of soldiering up and answering a few critical questions, she’d pulled the girlie-girl card and used Austin as a shield.

So yeah, I guess I was a little pissed off. But like I said, I’d get over it. No worries.

Derek parked the Bentley in front of my parents’ house. “Shake that off,” he said calmly.

I looked down at my shirt, then brushed my jeans. “Shake what off?”

“The chip you’re carrying on your shoulder. It won’t do you any good to walk into your parents’ house carrying all that anger.”

I shrugged. “I’m okay.”

“No, you’re not.” He cupped and turned my chin until we were eye-to-eye. “You’re upset. I don’t blame you, but I know your lovely mother. She’ll pick up on that vibe in two seconds flat and proceed to harangue you until you’ve willingly revealed every naughty thing you’ve ever done in your life.”

I didn’t want to let go of this warm and righteous anger bubbling inside me, and I definitely didn’t want to smile. But hearing Derek utter the word naughty tossed my best intentions right over the edge.

“All right,” I said, and sighed. Why couldn’t I have a poker face like normal people? It wasn’t fair. Every little emotion I experienced showed up as clear as day on my face.

Derek waited patiently until I was no longer twitching in irritation.

“All right, I’m good. See?” I flashed him a supersize grin.

“That’s my happy girl,” he said drily. “Your mother will never guess it’s not real.”

“I’m counting on that.”

He climbed out of the car and jogged around to meet me. “I promise you can yell at Robin later.”

“I’m holding you to that.”

“Hello, sweeties!” Mom cried a minute later when we announced ourselves through the front door screen.

I walked into the family home I grew up in and felt myself turning into an eight-year-old. All I wanted was lots of hugs and love from my mom and dad. They complied, then acted properly overjoyed when I begged for an invitation to join them for lunch.

“Wonderful!” Mom said. “Austin and Robin will be here, too. And I left a message for Gabriel, but I haven’t heard back.”

“He hasn’t missed a meal so far,” Dad said jovially.

“It’ll be good to see him,” Derek said, and sounded like he meant it.

Then Dad lured Derek away with an offer to taste his latest barrel experiment, a melding of cabernet franc, merlot and petit verdot that he was downright giddy over.

Mom led the way to the kitchen to put the finishing touches on lunch. But as soon as we entered the sunny room, she turned and patted my cheek. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

Damn, she was good. What would be the point of having a poker face anyway? Mom would always be able to see past it.

As if I were Pavlov’s dog, I started talking the minute Mom gave me that look. “Nothing’s wrong. Oh, well, except I just had a silly little run-in with Austin. But seriously, it’s no big deal. In fact, they should be here any minute and I’m as happy as pie about it.”

“So you’ve already stopped off at Austin’s?”

“Yes, Derek wanted to ask Robin a few questions about that guy she was dating recently.”

“The one she found murdered in her bed.”

I grimaced. “That’s the one.”

“What about him?” She whipped an apron out of a drawer and wrapped it around her waist. As we talked, she grabbed two pot holders, opened the oven door, and removed a huge casserole dish of lasagna. I didn’t want to give Mom too much information about big guys knocking down my door and dying in my house, because she would worry about me. But she turned and looked at me with those clear blue eyes and I couldn’t seem to stop myself.

“There are more questions than answers. Someone’s still out there causing trouble, and we need Robin to fill in some blanks.”

“So let me guess what happened,” Mom said. “Austin became the ferocious knight in shining armor, protecting his lady fair, Robin, from your impertinent questions.”

I chuckled. “Impertinent? You’ve been watching reruns of Pride and Prejudice again, haven’t you?”

“Busted.” She let out a trill of laughter. “I can’t get enough of that Colin Firth.”

I followed her into the dining room, where she’d already set out serving dishes filled with potato salad, Japanese cole slaw, marinated green beans, and a green salad, along with flatware, plates, and napkins on the wide Mission-style table we’d used forever. I placed a trivet in the middle of the table and Mom settled the lasagna on top of it.

“I blame you for Austin’s behavior,” I said, nudging her as we returned to the kitchen.

“Me?”

“Yes. Your enchantment spell has turned them both upside down and inside out. Robin’s perfectly happy with her head stuck in the sand, and Austin’s gone into total protective mode. It’s freakish.”

Mom made a tsking sound as she pulled a bowl of fresh corn-and-blueberry pasta salad from the refrigerator. “I’d love to take credit for that, sweetie, but honestly. Enchantment spells?” She rolled her eyes at me. “You know it’s all a bunch of hooey, right?”

“Hooey?” My eyes goggled. “Mom, are you feeling okay?”

She laughed again. “Oh, sweetie, you’re so gullible.”

“Moi?” I said, my voice squeaking in outrage. “Come on, Mom. Hooey is your raison d’etre.”

She bopped me with a pot holder. “Silly. Help me get the rest of the food on the table.”

It was a beautiful day, so we filled up our plates and took them outside on the terrace. Dad had made lemonade, and there was plenty of wine and beer. Gabriel showed up a bit late with apologies, then eagerly filled his plate with Mom’s food. He’d recovered from his injuries and looked amazingly healthy and handsomer than ever, if that was possible. I secretly wondered how long it would be until he grew tired of the quiet life in rural Sonoma County.

Despite Austin glowering at me occasionally, I was happy to be here for so many reasons, but especially because there was so much food. I didn’t remember starving myself lately, but I was scarfing down food like I hadn’t had a meal in weeks.

Mom insisted on clearing the dishes by herself, so the rest of us pretended to relax on the terrace, enjoying the sunshine and the views.

It was Dad who finally got the ball rolling. “Don’t you kids have some things to talk about?”

“Yes, we do,” I said.

Dad nodded and pushed himself out of his chair. “I’ll go help Becky in the kitchen.”

Robin met my gaze. “Do we?”

Austin scowled again.

“What is up with you two?” I said irately. “We just have a few questions. It’s no big deal.”

Robin swallowed a sip of wine. “Right.”

“You don’t have to do this,” Austin said when she reached out and clutched his hand.

“Austin, enough,” I said. “She does have to talk about it and she knows it.” I turned to Robin. “What is wrong with you?”

She straightened her back and said in a quiet voice, “I just don’t want to think about Alex anymore. I was hoping I could use this time away from the city to try to put the entire ugly experience behind me. I need to do that if I ever want to be whole again.”

I grabbed her free hand. “Please believe me: I want you to be whole, too. I want that for you more than anything in the world.”

Stiffly, she nodded her gratitude.