“The dog or the safe word?”
“The dog. I want her to bite your ass again.”
Emmett arrives about twenty minutes before our eight o’clock meeting with Vickers. Natalie and I are fresh out of the shower, where she was true to her word—no sex. That’s okay. I’ll let her make it up to me later. She hasn’t yet dried her hair, and she looks fresh-faced and young as we meet with my attorney and close friend.
“What happened to Rogers anyway?” I ask him over coffee.
“You don’t already know?” Emmett asks, surprised. As always, he’s decked out in one of the custom bespoke suits he has made on twice-a-year trips to London’s Savile Row.
“I suffer from a staggering lack of curiosity where he’s concerned.”
“He was stabbed in his office. No sign of forced entry, and whoever killed him made him suffer first. His left ear was cut off, his right pinky finger—”
When I see Natalie go pale, I hold up a hand to stop Emmett.
“Sorry. I figured you guys had read about it by now.”
“We can’t possibly be the only ones with motive,” Natalie says.
“You aren’t. The stories coming out of Lincoln tell a tale of a life gone totally off the rails. He was big into gambling and owed money all over the place.”
“So we basically handed him the golden egg when Natalie appeared with me at the Globes.”
“That’s my speculation. And I believe it’s possible that someone knew he’d come into the money and was looking for their share when he was killed. Our guy is working that angle right now—who did Rogers owe that would be interested in his big payday?”
I glance at Natalie. “You see why we love Emmett so much?”
“I can definitely see.”
Emmett smiles at her. “Just doing my job and protecting my friends. This whole thing is bullshit.”
The doorbell rings, and I go to admit Vickers. He takes a long look around at my house, which makes me wish I’d had this meeting at the office instead. This’ll give him a story to tell in his retirement, the time he suspected the movie star of murder. If only he could’ve proved it, the case would’ve made his career.
As I have that thought, I begin to understand Vickers’s motivation. Pinning Rogers’s murder on me—or Natalie—would make him a star. Yeah, that’s gonna happen over my dead body.
I bring him into the kitchen, offer him a chair and a cup of coffee, which he declines.
“Nice place you got here.”
“I like it.” When I sit next to Natalie, she takes hold of my hand under the table. And just that simply, I feel calmer, more prepared to keep my cool no matter what buttons Vickers decides to push. “This is my wife, Natalie.”
“Pleased to meet you.”
She smiles and nods but doesn’t return the sentiment. That’s my girl.
“And my attorney, Emmett Burke.”
“What can we do for you?” Emmett asks.
“Do I have your permission to record this conversation?”
Emmett nods. “Go ahead. We have nothing to hide.”
Vickers places a handheld recorder on the table and lists the parties present as well as the date and location. “As you know, we’re looking into the murder of David Rogers. Mrs. Godfrey, could you please tell me about your association with him?”
She looks at me for reassurance. I wish I could spare her from having to talk about things she’d rather forget.
“I met him during Oren Stone’s trial. He was acquainted with the detective who took me in after my parents… I was estranged from my family and…” She takes a deep breath. “David offered to help me establish a new identity.”
“Was that his idea or yours?”
“It was his suggestion, but I was very anxious to leave the past behind. He didn’t have to talk me into it.”
“How exactly did he go about establishing your new identity?”
“I’m not sure of the exact steps he took. I was seventeen and looking for a fresh start after two nightmarish years. When he produced a new birth certificate, passport, Social Security card, a credit card, bank accounts, I didn’t ask questions.”
“Do you know if he actually changed your name or if he created a new identity?”
“He created a new identity because I didn’t want some clerk in an office to be able to tie the two names to each other. That was very important to me.”
“How much did you pay him for these items?”
“Five thousand dollars.”
“And where did you get the money?”
“After Stone was charged with attacking me, some of his rivals and enemies came together to raise funds to support me during the trial. I used the money to pay for living expenses and tutors so I could finish high school from home. I paid for clothes and other expenses. I used part of it to pay David, and the rest went toward half of my college tuition.”
“How did you pay for the other half?”