“Of course you wouldn’t.” Chelsea’s tone was mocking. “Why wouldn’t I trust you? Just because Regina sent me a video of you kissing her?”
“Chelly, you know that I love you and only you,” Trent said. “Regina set me up. She was incensed when I wouldn’t change her C to an A.”
“You didn’t seem to be fighting her off too hard in the recording.”
“I was in an awkward position.” Trent’s voice was pleading. “With her parents being friends of ours, I was trying to let her down lightly.”
“How?” Chelsea sneered. “By shoving your tongue down her throat?”
“No!” Trent yelped. “As I explained before, I had just told her I wasn’t interested and she was still getting a C when she threw herself into my arms. She must have set up her cell phone beforehand to record us. And she edited out the part where I shoved her away.”
“What I still don’t understand is why, despite your moral preening, you didn’t take any legal measures when she stole your wallet and used your identity to open all those credit cards.”
“I didn’t want to get dragged into a messy court case.”
“Right.” Chelsea’s heels tapped across the hardwood floor and Dani heard liquid pouring into a glass. “We were lucky that her parents wrote us a check for what she charged.”
“They seemed as confused as we were as to why she just didn’t use her own cards.” Trent sighed. “The Bournes said between what they gave her and her trust, she had nearly unlimited funds. To this day they claim the whole thing was a mix-up.”
“When that all happened, I told Honoria to get that girl into therapy.”
“Seriously?” Trent snorted. “Like either Ashton or his wife would admit there was something wrong with their perfect daughter.”
Dani waited, but when it was obvious the discussion about Regina was over, she knocked on the door, entered, and said, “I hope you and your guests enjoyed dinner. There are leftovers for tomorrow night.”
“It was delicious.” Trent smiled from where he sat behind his massive, black-lacquered desk. “Maureen and Scott couldn’t stop talking about the food. Thank you for extending dinner to four.”
“Yes.” Chelsea’s smile was tight. “It’s a good thing that they live a couple of states away or we’d have to worry about them stealing you.”
“No worries. I can always fit in a couple of more clients,” Dani said brightly, not adding that they currently were her only personal chef customers. “But original ones have priority.” Dani pulled her phone from her pants pocket and held it out. “Are you ready to settle the bill?”
“Here you go.” Trent reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, flipped it open, and handed over his American Express.
“I see you got your new card,” Dani commented as she processed the transaction and returned his credit card.
Although she doubted Trent would talk about Regina in front of her, Dani hoped maybe he’d slip.
“Yes.” Trent slipped his AmEx back into its proper slot. “Thank goodness.”
“I was thinking about how scary identity theft can be,” Dani said, walking toward the door.
“You don’t know the half of it.” Chelsea tapped a perfectly manicured red nail on her brandy snifter. “Right, dear?”
Trent nodded.
Dani wished the couple good night and headed out to her van. As she backed out of their driveway, she thought about all she’d heard at the Karneses’. At this rate, it would be harder to figure out who didn’t want Regina dead than who did.
Chapter 15
A cold front had come through while Dani was inside cooking for the Karneses, and the van’s wipers were having a hard time keeping up with the rain hammering against the windshield. She turned on the radio before scooting forward to the edge of the driver’s seat, trying to see out of the waterlogged glass.
Punching the button for the NOAA weather station, she mentally crossed her fingers. The past few years, Central and Southern Illinois had been devastated by several tornadoes. Because of that, everyone, including Dani, was a lot more concerned about the possibility of a twister touching down than they had been in the past. And this was exactly the conditions that could produce a supercell. The cool, dry air from the storm front meeting up with the hot, humid environment that they’d suffered through all day was a recipe for creating a funnel cloud. And despite Dani’s fondness for testing out new recipes, this wasn’t one she wanted to sample.
There were no watches or warnings on the radio for the Normalton area, and Dani had relaxed a bit when a loud clap of thunder accompanied by a blindingly bright bolt of lightning sent a shiver down her spine.
Taking a deep breath, she willed her racing heart to slow down, then inched the bulky van through the open gateway that separated the secluded cul-de-sac from the rest of the development. Although there were a few cars parked along the curb here and there, the dark streets were empty of traffic. Not exactly a surprise at ten fifteen on a weeknight.
Tomorrow was a workday for most folks who lived in this upper-middle-class neighborhood and they were probably on their couches watching the news or getting ready for bed, rather than out driving around. Especially with the storm blowing through the region.
Dani gripped the steering wheel and drove slowly through the residential area. The pavement was slick, and as she stared out her windshield, she could see raindrops creating needlelike streaks in the light of the streetlamps.
Visibility was poor, and the last thing she needed was to be involved in an accident. She couldn’t afford for her insurance to skyrocket or, worse yet, have her name pop up on any police reports. Dollars to doughnuts, Detective Mikeloff would seize any opportunity to drag her into the station and attempt to make her look like a habitual offender.
Between the dangerous weather and her thoughts of the even more dangerous detective, Dani’s pulse was pounding as she
