Dad turned back to me. “Are you in trouble, Lily?” he asked, his eyes dripping with disappointment.
I laughed at the irony of the fact that his pregnant girlfriend was mere feet away and he had the gall to ask me if I was in trouble. “No, Dad. But I think you are.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, and I could tell his patience was waning.
I took a step toward him and pointed back to Cole. “Like I said, this is Cole Drepeau. He’s the nephew of a friend of yours. Ben Spencer. You remember Ben, don’t you, Dad? The guy you cheated on your SATs with, then probably murdered to keep him from telling anyone else? Or maybe you know David Bishop? We met him the other day. He’s got a nice house out by the lake. I think you might even remember it.”
All color drained from my father’s face and his mouth fell slightly open. He stared at me like he didn’t even know me, and maybe he didn’t. Maybe all the time he’d spent ignoring me in favor of building his career as this big-time surgeon had caused him not to know me at all.
“James?” Jenny asked from midway up the stairs as my father continued to stand there in stunned silence.
“Go to the bedroom,” he finally said to her.
“But—”
“I said go upstairs, Jenny!” my father roared as color flooded back into his face.
She gasped and rushed up the steps, clawing at the railing to help her along the way. Dad then turned back to me and said, “Why don’t you come in, Lily?”
Cole stepped closer to me. It was a protective move, and it let my dad know that he was watching my back. My father’s flinty glare settled on him.
“This is a family matter,” he said to Cole.
“Yes, Dad,” I said. “It is, but it’s not just our family matter, is it? Or did you miss the part where I explained that Cole is Ben’s nephew? You either talk to both of us, or we go to the FBI this afternoon.”
Dad paused to work his jaw a little. “FBI, Lily? Kind of dramatic, don’t you think?”
“There’s no drama about it,” I told him. “Not after your mother worked to shut down the investigation into Ben Spencer’s murder.” Dad seemed taken aback again. “Oh, yeah,” I said, anger continuing to fuel my words. “We know about that, too.”
“Fine,” he said. “Then both of you come in, and we’ll talk.”
We followed as my father led us to his study at the back of the large house. I couldn’t help but notice that Jenny had already started redecorating. She was so obvious, too—any room that had a feminine touch to it, she was having the color and furnishings redone, as if that alone could wipe the memory of my mother from my father’s mind.
Finally, we were seated in front of his large, elegantly carved wooden desk, but instead of sitting, my dad moved over to the bar and poured himself a scotch.
“I didn’t kill Ben Spencer, Lily,” he said with his back turned to me. “His girlfriend did.”
“We don’t believe that’s true,” I said. “We think it was either you or David Bishop.”
Dad took a sip of his scotch and turned to face me. “It wasn’t either of us. David Bishop was already settled in at the lake house by the time Ben was murdered.”
“And what about you, Dad? Where were you at the time that Ben was murdered?”
“I was back at the dance,” he said. “I’d just let Amber know that Ben was breaking up with her.”
I shook my head. I didn’t think I could ever believe anything he told me again. “Ben told you he was breaking up with her?”
Dad came over and sank down into the chair at his desk. “He did.”
I sat there staring at him moodily, bouncing my knee. “I’m not buying it,” I told him.
Dad sighed and something about his expression softened. “Spence was my best friend,” he said. Looking at Cole he repeated, “My best friend. We came from completely separate worlds—my family had money, his had nothing—but we each had parents who were abusive, both verbally and physically, and that was enough to bond us like brothers.
“Spence never cared about my money, and I appreciated that I was able to just be me around him. I didn’t have to put on airs with him, or pay his way. He never even let me buy him a meal. He always had to pay his fair share. He was a great guy.