Griff muttered a curse as he hurried to Carmen’s side and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Some protector he was.
He hadn’t even noticed the man lurking in the shadows.
“Good morning, Ronnie,” Carmen said.
“I was hoping I could catch you before you went inside,” Ronnie said, ignoring Griff as if he wasn’t standing directly in front of him.
“Do you need something?” Carmen asked.
The pale eyes darted toward the house before returning to Carmen.
“I thought you might walk with me to the lake.”
Griff felt Carmen stiffen in surprise. “Now?”
He gave a jerky nod. “I have something I think you should know.”
She didn’t hesitate. “Okay.”
“Carmen,” Griff growled. Even if she wasn’t being harassed by a mysterious stalker, he wouldn’t let her waltz off with this man.
Not only had it been years since she’d known him, but he had a furtive quality about him that Griff didn’t like.
“This won’t take long,” Ronnie promised, continuing to act as if Griff was invisible.
“Fine.” Griff tugged Carmen tight against his side. “I’m coming with you.”
No doubt sensing the sudden tension that sizzled in the air, Carmen swiveled her head, glancing from one man to the other.
“I don’t think you were introduced yesterday,” she at last said. “Ronnie, this is Griff Archer. Griff, this is Ronald Hyde.”
Ronnie didn’t hold out his hand. Neither did Griff.
Mutual dislike at first glance.
“What I have to say is private,” Ronnie said, his gaze returning to Carmen, although the challenge in his voice was directed at Griff.
Griff answered. “She isn’t going anywhere without me.”
Ronnie flattened his lips, once again glancing toward the house.
“I suppose I don’t blame you,” he muttered. “It’s true there are vipers in the garden of evil.”
Griff narrowed his eyes. “Are you talking about the Jacobses?”
The man hesitated. Carmen reached out to lightly touch his arm, as if worried that he might change his mind about offering whatever information he’d planned to share with her.
“You can trust Griff.”
The narrow face tightened before Ronnie was hiding his disappointment. He’d clearly hoped he could spend some time alone with Carmen. Then, with a stiff nod, he turned to lead them around the corner and between the house and the six-car garage.
In silence they passed through the side garden, circling around the pool at the back of the house. And then stepped onto the flagstone pathway that led to the lake that shimmered in the distance.
Ronnie dropped back to walk at Carmen’s side, seemingly convinced that they were out of earshot.
“After your father shot—” Ronnie snapped his lips together, his face staining with color.
Griff felt Carmen jerk, but her expression remained encouraging.
“Go ahead, Ronnie,” she urged.
“After you left Louisville with your grandparents,” he corrected himself. “And the new Jacobses moved in, my mother decided I should live with my aunt.”
Griff sent the younger man a startled glance. That seemed extreme.
“Why?” he demanded.
Ronnie’s gaze remained locked on Carmen. “I didn’t know at the time,” he said. “It wasn’t until she was diagnosed with cancer that she revealed the truth.”
Carmen looked genuinely sympathetic. Griff could tell that she’d been fond of the family housekeeper.
“What did she say?” she asked.
Ronnie shoved his hands into the pockets of his light jacket, his hair disheveled by the winter breeze.
“First, can you tell me what you remember of that night?”
Griff ’s brows snapped together. “What the hell?”
Carmen reached out to grab his hand, giving his fingers a warning squeeze.
“Nothing more than being woken by the first gunshot,” she answered, her voice carefully bland. “I was walking toward the kitchen when the second shot sent me scurrying to the closet where I hid until the cops found me.” Her head tilted to the side as she studied the man walking next to them. “Why are you asking?”
“That night my mother had been at choir practice,” Ronnie said. “She’d just pulled into the driveway when she heard the gunshot. She ran into the kitchen and found your parents already dead. She looked for you and when you weren’t in your bedroom she was terrified you’d been kidnapped.”
“Oh.” Carmen looked startled. “I never thought about that.”
“When you were found in the closet it became obvious that it was a murder-suicide,” Ronnie continued, sending Carmen a small grimace. “I’m sorry.”
Griff ’s temper snapped. Had the jerk lured Carmen into this conversation just so he could poke at her ancient wounds?
“Do you have a point?” he snapped.
“Griff,” Carmen chided.
“Yes, I have a point.” Ronnie glanced toward Griff, his eyes glittering pale and cold in the bright sunlight, and then the gaze swiveled back to Carmen. “My mother told me that after she’d discovered what your father had done, she assumed it was because he thought your mother had been unfaithful.”
Carmen’s breath hissed between her teeth. “Are you saying my mother had an affair?”
“No.” Ronnie held up a slender hand. “But everyone knew that your father was very possessive of his young and beautiful wife. Even I overheard him yelling at a deliveryman who he thought was staring too long at your mother.”
Carmen’s chin jutted to a stubborn angle. “That doesn’t mean she was unfaithful.”
“It was the only reason my mother could conceive your father would do such a thing, but she changed her mind,” Ronnie hastily assured Carmen, no doubt sensing she was about to bring an end to the painful conversation.
Griff wished she would. He didn’t trust this man.
Of course, right now, he didn’t trust anyone.
“Why?” Carmen demanded.
“After Lawrence moved into the house my mother realized that the Jacobses’ family business had been near bankruptcy for years,” Ronnie said. “She also discovered that your uncle had been badgering your father to sell everything.” There was a dramatic pause as Ronnie came to a sudden halt. “She overheard Lawrence saying that he regretted pushing your father over the edge, but that his death had rescued the family from catastrophe.”
Carmen lifted her hand to her lips, her face paling at Ronnie’s sudden claim.
“You’re not implying that my uncle—”
“No,” Ronnie hastily interrupted. “My mother didn’t say that Lawrence pulled the trigger, but she did believe your uncle deliberately harassed your father, driving him to the point of suicide.”
Carmen stepped closer to Griff, as if unconsciously seeking his support. He wrapped his arm around her waist and tucked her tight against his side.
“Why?” she asked. “So he could inherit the company? It was already bankrupt.”
Ronnie stepped closer and lowered his voice. As if one of the ducks who were floating on the nearby lake might be eavesdropping.
“At first my mother wasn’t sure, but she’d suspected that the new Jacobses didn’t have the same morals as your parents,” Ronnie confessed. “Which was why she sent me away in the first place.”
Griff’s opinion of Ronnie’s mother went up several notches. Obviously, she was determined to protect her son from the influences of Lawrence, as well as the Jacobs brothers, Matthew and Baylor.
Smart woman.
“And later?” Carmen asked.
“Later she was cleaning your uncle’s private study and she knocked off a stack of papers,” Ronnie told them, a tight smile curving his lips. “When she placed them on the desk she realized that they were from a life insurance policy.”
Carmen frowned. “Most people have life insurance.”
Ronnie leaned forward, anticipation shimmering in his cold, blue eyes.
“This was in your father’s name,” he said, his voice a mere whisper. “And had you listed as the beneficiary.”
Griff sucked in a sharp breath. Not at the man’s theatrical style. Ronnie Hyde was clearly a drama queen.
Nope, it was his own stupidity that took his breath away.
Why the hell hadn’t he considered a life insurance policy when he’d discovered the influx of cash into Lawrence’s bank account?