had blinked a couple times, and once they’d gone off completely for a full minute, which kicked the computers into emergency-power mode. When Nell asked what was going on, Vida had just put her finger to her lips and smiled.
Now Vida returned from one of her little excursions and slid her chair right up to Nell’s. She smelled of rubbing alcohol.
“What’s going on?” Nell asked. “I’m nervous as a cat.”
Vida smiled and ran her hand through Nell’s hair the way their mother used to do. “So pretty. So dark and fine.”
“Vi-”
“Shhh. I want you to get your purse and go home, sweetie. Right now.”
Nell drew back in surprise. “Go home? Now?”
Vida nodded. “Things are getting out of hand. I don’t want you around here for the last act.”
Nell felt a surge of concern for her sister. “What’s going to happen?”
“Nothing too bad. I told you there were revenue agents watching the office. There’s more coming to close us down this evening.”
Nell blinked in disbelief. “Close us down?”
“Yep. Padlock the building.”
Nell shook her head like a child hearing that her parents’ home was about to be repossessed. “But…are you saying it’s over? Everything?”
Vida smiled again. “I wouldn’t say that. You know I always keep a card or two up my sleeve. But the easy part’s over with. You need to get home, throw some clothes in an overnight bag-nothing too big-then go down to the bank and take out your money.”
Nell’s anxiety escalated into outright fear. “All of it?”
“You’ve got most of the liquid part in your brokerage accounts, right? With UBS?”
“Yes, just like you told me.”
“The government may have frozen those accounts, but I doubt it. They wouldn’t want to tip their hand. They’d freeze Kyle and Warren’s money first, not ours. Your real money’s in the house in Texas anyway, and they can’t take that from you. That’s where you should go. Withdraw about eight thousand in cash and light out in your car. Tell the girls at the bank you’re buying a used car and the seller wants cash. If things get dicey here, I’ll call your cell phone. If that happens, stop in Baton Rouge and get on a plane to Cancun. I don’t care what it costs, just haul tail. South of the border, you hear me?”
Nell nodded, but she was close to crying. “What about Dr. Shields?”
“He’s going to be fine, baby. Don’t you worry about Warren. Kyle’s on his way over there now to take out the stuff he planted.”
“You promise?”
“Honey, I scared the bejesus out of Kyle. That stuff is probably already in a Dumpster somewhere.”
Nell wiped away her tears, but more followed.
“I tell you, though,” Vida said thoughtfully, “there may be trouble in paradise.”
“What do you mean?”
“Kyle thinks Laurel and Warren are having marital problems. You think maybe you could be part of the reason for that?”
“Oh my God, no,” Nell protested, wishing it were true. “No way.”
Warren stood rigid in the foyer, his left hand clutching Laurel’s wrist, his right hand holding his gun. The doorbell rang again, for the sixth time. Kyle had obviously seen the cars in the driveway and did not intend to go away. Laurel wondered why Warren didn’t simply answer the door.
Then she saw why.
There was a scratching sound in the lock, and the bolt turned with a decisive snick. He backed her against the wall, so that they would be behind the door if it opened. The lock in the doorknob turned next. Then the door opened about twelve inches. Kyle stuck his head through the crack and looked toward the stairs.
The barrel of Warren’s gun touched his temple. “Come on in, partner,” Warren said softly. “Nice and easy.”
Auster stepped inside with his hands up and his eyes wide. If he hadn’t stuck his head in first, Laurel might not have recognized him. The noted clotheshorse was wearing garments that looked as if they’d been bought at the Salvation Army store downtown. And he
“What the hell are you wearing?” Warren asked.
“This is my new look,” Kyle said, but the fear in his voice killed his attempt at levity.
Warren studied him for a few seconds, then said, “It’s a disguise, isn’t it?”
Auster nodded, his face downcast.
“You decided you wanted that quickie after all?”
“Hell no,” Auster replied, slowly lowering his hands. “That’s not why I’m here. I knew that was a joke.”
“You’ve got a key to our house, though, huh?”
“You gave it to me. Don’t you remember? I fed your dog when y’all went to the Bahamas that time.”
Warren thought about this. “You gave that key back.”
“Well, I had a copy made. In case I lost the original. You know I’m always losing my keys. I didn’t want your kids’ dog to starve because I can’t keep up with anything.”
Warren looked at Laurel. “He’s a compulsive liar. Did you know that? I’ve seen him lie to patients, drug reps, other doctors, anybody-even when he doesn’t have to. It’s like an addiction or something.”
Kyle wasn’t listening. His full attention was on the pistol. “Warren, man…what’s with the gun?”
“I want truthful answers. This helps.”
Auster looked at him long and hard. “No offense, buddy, but have you lost your mind? There’s no need for this kind of theatrics. We’re all friends here, right?”
“I lost my mind the day I went to work for you,” Warren said in a somber voice. “Only I didn’t know it.”
“Come on, partner. What kind of talk is that?”
“Straight talk.”
Auster held up his hands as though he knew where Warren was headed. “Look, I don’t need a Boy Scout lecture, okay? I’m a lost cause. Anyway, I thought you gave up all that Dudley Do-Right stuff last year. Huh?”
Laurel had no idea what Kyle was talking about, but Warren certainly seemed to. He looked as though Auster’s words had wounded him deeply. She glanced up the staircase to make sure the children hadn’t come to the rail to listen. Warren had warned them to stay in the media room, but they were so rattled, there was no telling what they might do. “Could we move this to another room?” she asked. “I don’t want the kids hearing this stuff.”
Warren grabbed Kyle’s wrist and dragged him down to the great room. Kyle was three inches taller than Warren, but Warren was in peak physical condition. Auster had spent the last twenty years going soft. They stood between the fireplace and the Roche-Bobois sectional like two boxers who might close at any moment. Laurel leaned against the sofa back and glanced over it at her computer, terrified that the Merlin’s Magic program might have cracked her password while they were upstairs. The Sony was still clicking away, but Warren seemed to have forgotten it.
“First you push me to bend the rules,” Warren said. “Then to break them. Then-”
“Whoa there, Dr. Welby,” said Kyle. “Sure I tried to get you more focused on the bottom line. But when you told me to back off, I did. It was you who came to me that last time, remember? Out of the blue. ‘I need to make more money, Kyle.’ That’s what you said. And do you remember what you said after that?”
Warren had turned to stare out the tall windows. There were two rows of them, one atop the other, and through them Laurel saw the pale, virginal green of early spring in the budding leaves. A hundred yards from the house, Christy trotted toward the line of trees that marked the creek’s ravine, her orange coat giving her the appearance of a well-fed fox. Only the darkening sky kept the picture from being perfect. It seemed that Mrs. Elfman’s augury of rain might be proved accurate after all.
“You said, ‘I don’t care how you do it,’ ” Kyle continued. “ ‘Just don’t tell me about it.’ ”
Warren scowled at him. “I didn’t mean for you to-”
