dim room. They reflected the fire burning in the fireplace,
making them appear accusatory.
Angus resettled in his chair and hunched his shoulders
defensively. "It seemed the best way to handle things."
"I fail to see how."
"Your grandmother planned to leave town with you as
soon as everything was tidied up. She made no secret of it.
So I decided to have Celina's body cremated, thinking that
Merle might want to take the, uh, remains with her."
"You decided? By what right, Angus? Under whose authority?
Why was it left to you to decide what would happen
to Celina's body?"
His brows beetled with displeasure. "You think I had her
body cremated to destroy evidence, is that it?"
"I don't know!" she exclaimed, rising from the love seat.
She moved to the window and stared out at the empty
paddocks. Lights shone through the doors of various stables,
where horses were being groomed, fed, and exercised. She
had thoroughly researched Minton Enterprises. Angus had
millions invested in this facility. Was he reticent because he
had so much to lose if she won an indictment, or because he
was guilty, or both?
Eventually, she turned to face the men. "You've got to
admit, in retrospect, that it seems an odd thing for you to
have done."
"I only wanted to relieve Merle Graham of that responsibility.
I felt I should because her daughter had been killed
on my property. Merle was out of her mind with grief and
had you to take care of. If what I did seems suspicious now,
that's just too damn bad, young lady. I'd make the same
decision if I had to do it again today."
"I'm sure Grandma Graham appreciated what you did. It
was an unselfish thing to do."
Shrewdly, Angus looked at her and said, "But you wish
you could believe it was entirely unselfish."
She looked him straight in the eye. "Yes, I do."
"I respect your honesty."
For a moment there was no sound in the room other
man the friendly, crackling noise of burning firewood. Alex
broke the awkward silence. "I wonder why Grandma didn't
take the remains."
' 'I wondered about that myself when I offered them to her.
I think it was because she couldn't face the fact that Celina
was dead. An urn of ashes was tangible proof of something
she couldn't accept."
Knowing how obsessed her grandmother had been with
Celina's life, his explanation was feasible. Besides, unless
Merle came out of her coma and Alex posed the question to
her, she had no alternative but to accept as truth what Angus
told her.
He was absently massaging his big toe through his sock.
"I couldn't see storing her ashes in a mausoleum. I never
could stand vaults and tombs. Goddamn spooky things. The
very thought of them gives me the creeps. Went to New
Orleans once. All those cement graves sitting on top of the
ground . . . ugh."
He shook his head in repugnance. "I'm not afraid of dying,
but when I go, I want to become part of the living again.
Dust to dust. That's the natural cycle.
"So it seemed fitting to buy a cemetery plot and have
Celina's ashes buried in the soil she grew up on. Guess you
figure I'm a crazy old man, Alex, but that's how I felt about
it then, and that's how I feel about it now. I didn't tell anybody
because I was embarrassed. It was so sentimental, you see."
"Why not just scatter the ashes somewhere?"
He pulled on his earlobe as he pondered the question. "I
thought about it, but I reckoned you might turn up one day
and want to see where your mama was laid."
Alex felt her spirit slump, along with her posture. Lowering
her head, she studied the toes of her suede boots, which were
still damp from walking through the sleet. "I guess you think
I'm a ghoul for wanting to open her grave. Reede did."
Angus made a dismissive gesture. "Reede's trigger-happy
when it comes to forming opinions. Sometimes he's wrong."
She drew a shaky breath. "This time he is. Believe me,
it wasn't an easy thing to even consider, much less ask for.
I just thought that an extensive forensic investigation might
shed some light ..."
Her voice trailed off. She lacked the will and conviction
to continue. Yesterday she had thought that an exhumation
might provide the physical evidence she needed. As it had
turned out, she was no closer to learning the truth, and all
she had to show for her efforts was the traumatic upheaval
she'd put herself and everyone else through.
Angus's explanation sounded so damned plausible and
guileless. Paying all the funeral expenses, making all the
arrangements, had been an act of charity to alleviate her
grandmother's grim responsibility and financial burden.
Alex earnestly wanted to believe that. As Celina's daughter,
it made her feel good inside. As a prosecutor, however,