Jeff grimaced. “Very funny, Dad. She’s not going to run off with another man. Even if she finds one who is—what did you say? ‘Honest and forthright.’ Cassie is fine with the way things are and so am I.”
He paused. “Yes, I’m meeting Leo’s little man again tonight. This time, it’ll be in secret. Cassie will not meet him. When we get back, I’m going to write a report on Goodwin’s stupidity for bringing her here. No, I do not sound like an overprotective father! It’s just that Cassie needs to be looked after, and I’m going to do it. When Goodwin gets back I plan to tell him a few things.”
He listened. “Okay, give Elsbeth a hundred kisses from me and tell her I miss her. I’ll see you both on Monday.”
Jeff shut the phone and looked at the woods across the road. Cassie was waiting for him inside. In spite of what he’d told his father, he was more worried than he’d let on about the way she’d been behaving. Protecting Althea Fairmont had been a priority in his life for years now, but it had fallen apart recently. He’d been stunned that Cassie had become involved in it, and even more shocked when she’d told him nothing about hearing gunshots and seeing the famous woman lying on the terrace.
The Cassie Jeff had known for so long would have run to him and told him everything. So what was happening to change her? Was it, as his father said, Skylar? But from the beginning, Jeff had planned that when the time came, he’d tell Cassie that it was over between him and Skylar. He hadn’t planned to tell her that it had all been a made-up job, but he’d often thought that there would be a nice, sympathetic scene between him and Cassie, and she would, of course, call off this idiot scheme of hers to move out of his house. But everything had taken too long, and the time for Cassie to leave was approaching too fast.
On top of his other problems, Cassie said she was planning to move into Althea’s house. He hadn’t yet figured out how to forbid her to do that, all while, of course, seeming to not forbid her to do anything. But Cassie was fascinated with Althea’s very interesting life—even though she knew only half of it—so any attempts Jeff made at telling her she shouldn’t live in Althea’s huge house were met with blank looks.
And then there was Goodwin. Jeff hadn’t figured out how to tell Cassie to get away from him without sounding as though he were jealous. Which, of course, he wasn’t. How could he be jealous of a kid like that? On the other hand, Jeff planned to tell him that from now on, when he mowed the lawn, he was to wear his shirt.
Inside the café, Cassie watched Jeff talk on his cell phone, then after he hung up, he stared at the trees as though he might get some answers from them. It made her feel good that he seemed to be upset about her. She was still smarting at all the things he’d called her. “Trustworthy.” How disgusting!
The waitress handed her a couple of menus. “You and your boyfriend know what you wanta eat?” she asked, pencil poised above the pad.
Cassie wasn’t tempted to say that Jeff wasn’t her boyfriend. “Iced tea for both of us,” she said. “No sugar, no lemon.” She glanced at the menu, and it struck her that she knew everything about Jeff’s eating habits. “Crab cakes for him, with coleslaw, no beans. I’ll have the fish of the day with the yellow squash.”
“How about a margarita?” came Skylar’s voice from behind the waitress, and Cassie wanted to groan.
“We only have beer.”
“Then bring us four of them.” Skylar looked at Cassie. “Or are you too young to drink?”
The waitress didn’t look up from her pad as she said, “Right, I’ll have to check her ID, but not yours.” When she turned away, she smiled at Cassie, who had to suppress a giggle.
“So where have you two been all day?” Cassie asked as Skylar slid into the seat on the opposite side of the booth.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Not really,” Cassie said.
“Brent and I were out,” Skylar said. “Doing things. Together. What did you do? Did you see Jeff?”
“All day,” Cassie said sweetly. “Every minute.”
“But I thought he was going to be busy.”
“He was.” Cassie tried to put as much suggestion into her tone as possible. She looked around Skylar’s head out the window and saw that Jeff and Brent were outside in the parking lot and seemed to be deep in conversation. If she kept up this cattiness, she’d never find out anything from Skylar. Besides, when it came to cattiness, Skylar was sure to win. “So, have you chosen your dress yet?” she asked Skylar.
“Dress?”
“Your wedding dress.”
The waitress put four glasses and four beers on the table, then left. “Do you know something I don’t?”
“I’m sure Jeff told you that I gave notice. I’m leaving.”
Skylar took a drink of her beer from the bottle. “Oh, yeah, of course he told me. We don’t have secrets from each other.” She picked up the menu and looked at it. “Tell me again when you’re leaving.”
“On Monday he’s all yours. He’ll need a babysitter right away, so maybe that’ll help things move faster. I know Jeff has been…” Cassie waved her hand, as though searching for the right word. “Slow to make decisions lately.”
“Yeah. Rocks move faster than Jeff. What’s good to eat in a place like this?”
“Seafood,” Cassie said, then lowered her voice. “So tell me, what kind of lover is he?”
Skylar’s head came up. “Who?”
“Jeff, of course. Who else would I mean?”
Skylar put down the menu and narrowed her eyes at Cassie. “What are you up to? Why all these girly questions?”
Cassie smiled. “I just thought that now that I won’t be employed by Jeff any longer, we might be friends. The truth is that I was hoping to lead up to asking you to give me some advice about clothes, that sort of thing.”
Skylar looked at Cassie’s wrinkled shirt, which was now buttoned to just below her collarbone. “You could use some advice. But you’re around that Fairmont dame all day, so what do you want me to help you with?”
Cassie had to think for a moment. Of course she didn’t want any help with clothes from Skylar. Only if she planned to take up pole dancing for a second career would she ask Skylar for help, but she did want to find out the truth about her and Jeff. She needed to get Skylar back on course. “The truth is that I thought maybe you could help me win Brent.”
Skylar sat upright against the wooden bench. “So now it’s Brent that you want?”
“I think so. He’s been very nice to me. He took some photos of me….” Cassie did her best to blush and insinuate that the photos were something that they weren’t.
“You know, don’t you, that Brent doesn’t have a dime?” Skylar said coldly.
For a second, Cassie looked at Skylar in disbelief. She had Jeff, yet she’d been flirting with Brent for a whole day. And now she was acting like Cassie was stepping onto her territory with Brent. Cassie wanted to tell the woman that she couldn’t have both men. “I can’t say that I ever gave his income a thought. He has a good job working for Althea.”
“Cutting the lawn?” Skylar said with a sneer. “Is that all you want from a man? Somebody’s gardener? If that’s true, honey, you need more work than just some new clothes. Besides, how can you afford good clothes? I don’t shop at Wal-Mart.”
Cassie had to work to keep the smile on her face. “I know that you’re a woman of the world.”
“And what is that crack supposed to mean?”
“Nothing bad,” Cassie said. “I just meant that you’ve traveled and seen things and met people.”
Skylar was quiet for a moment as she looked at Cassie. “So what exactly is it that you want?”
“I just want some tips on winning a man, that’s all. After all, you’ve won a catch like Jeff, so you must be an expert.”
Smiling, Skylar took a deep drink of her beer. “He is good, isn’t he?”
“So how did you win him? I mean, all the women at the country club have been after him for the la
st year, but they got nowhere. What’s your secret?”
“Just, you know, natural attraction.” Skylar wouldn’t meet Cassie’s eyes.
“So when did he first tell you that he loved you?”
“After the first night,” Skylar said quickly.
“After the first night you made love?”
“Right. Not that it’s any of your business. Why this third degree, anyway?”
“This is what girlfriends do,” Cassie said, smiling broadly. “Anyway, I’ll have to make out a list for you about all that Elsbeth needs—her foods, her schoolwork. Everything. And then there’s Thomas. He takes quite a bit of care because of his heart. You have to watch him because he’ll cheat on his diet, so you’ll catch him eating fried chicken. I’ll get that list to you as soon as I can. I’m sure you’re anxious to see it so you can start taking care of things.”
Skylar looked at Cassie as though she’d lost her mind. “I don’t change diapers.”
Cassie laughed. “I can assure you that Elsbeth was potty trained years ago. But she is only five, so she needs a lot of attention. In the winter she has school, but in the summer she has quite a few lessons during the week. She has ballet and swimming and riding. She loves horses, and Jeff is thinking about getting her one. You’d hardly ever have to clean the stables, though.”
Skylar was staring at Cassie in horror as the plates of food were placed on the table. The waitress looked at Skylar and said, “You decided what you want?”
“Freedom,” Skylar muttered and looked back at the menu.
The waitress turned and left, and the next minute, Jeff and Brent came into the café. Brent was smiling; Jeff was frowning.
“Come and have your food while it’s hot,” Cassie said to Jeff. He took the seat beside her and quietly began to eat.
“What pictures did you take?” Skylar asked Brent as soon as he’d sat down beside her and given his order to the hovering waitress.
“Funny you should ask,” Brent said as he got up. “I ran them off last night and I have a set of prints in the car. I’ll go get them.”
“How’s Elsbeth?” Cassie asked Jeff after Brent left.
“Great,” Jeff said. “And Dad will get the info to the right people.”
“What information?” Skylar asked.
“Nothing,” Cassie said, and for the first time she felt that she was part of the in-group, not the one who was on the outside. “Your dad okay?”
“Everyone is fine,” Jeff snapped, still looking down at his plate. “Life is just great.”
“What’s your problem?” Skylar asked, taking a drink of her beer.
“Where did you and Goodwin go?” Jeff asked, ignoring her question.
“Just walking,” Skylar said, then said nothing else.
Brent returned with an envelope and tossed it toward Cassie as he took his seat beside Skylar.
She was a bit leery of what she was about to see, so she took the photos out slowly. But her eyes widened when she saw them. They were excellent. Even if they were of her, she knew they were very good.
The light from the outside, streaming through the conservatory windows, put an ethereal shine on one side of her face, while the one toward the camera was in deep shadow. The contrast was arresting.
The dress Cassie had on was magnificent, true, but it was the expression she was wearing that made the photos so good. It was as though every thought that was in Cassie’s mind could be seen on her face. In the first pictures, she was a lovely young woman who was thrilled to be in such a beautiful dress, but after Brent told her to become the character who’d worn the dress, Cassie’s face changed. She was an innocent young woman who was about to be executed, and she was begging for her life.
“Scary,” Skylar said, tossing the photos onto the table, but she seemed to look at Cassie differently.
“Houston,” Brent said, “you should be a model. I can see terror in your eyes, real fear. Looking at these, you’d think an axe was hanging over your head.”
Cassie was pleased by his compliments, but Jeff said nothing. She turned to him. “What do you think?”
“You look great,” he said, holding up one where she was on her knees and looking up into the light. Jeff looked at Brent. “So when did you take these? And what did you say to Althea to get her to let you use her dress for these pictures?”
“Well,” Brent said, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Cassie, “we didn’t really ask. In fact, I think we are guilty of…What were our crimes?”
“Trespassing,” Cassie said. “And stealing. Or maybe not stealing, since we didn’t take the dress out of her house, but I’m sure that what we did was illegal.”
“Not to mention what we did in the closet,” Brent said.
At that Cassie started to laugh and Brent joined her. In the next second, they were telling the story of what happened the day he took the photos and how they’d had to hide in the closet, smashed together, while Althea was in the bedroom.
“I don’t know what would have happened if we’d been caught,” Cassie said, laughing. “I don’t know if Althea would have forgiven us or called the police.”
“She would have called someone, but not the police,” Jeff said, looking at Brent like he wanted to strangle him. “I really don’t think your job includes pilfering your employer’s possessions.”
“Oh, come on, Jeff, lighten up,” Skylar said, much to Cassie’s surprise. “It sounds like fun. Does that old woman have anything in her attic that a real person could wear?”
“Wonderful things,” Cassie said and launched into telling Skylar about the glorious items in Althea’s attic.
They laughed about what Althea would say if she saw the photos and knew her dress had been used without her permission.
“She’ll come around,” Brent said. “Let me handle Althea.”
At that, Skylar and Cassie made hissing noises so loud that Brent put his arms up as though to protect himself. “Help me!” he said to Jeff.
But Jeff wasn’t laughing. He stood up. “I think we should go.”
“Why?” Skylar asked. “It’s all of what? Eight o’clock?”
“Cassie’s used to going to bed early,” Jeff said, “and I think we should think of her.”
She looked up at him in consternation, but when he held out his hand to her, she couldn’t resist. At the car he opened the door for her, then got in beside her. She couldn’t help that her heart was pounding hard as she thought, This is it. He’s going to say something. After all this time, Jeff is going to at last say something.
But he didn’t. He didn’t say a word on the short drive to the cabin, and when they got back, he opened the screen door and let her go in before him. “Look,” he said, “I have some things I need to do, so I’d appreciate it if you’d stay here where you’ll be safe.”
“Sure,” Cassie said cautiously, “but, Jeff…” She hesitated. “I think it’s time you and I talked.”
“Yeah,” he said impatiently and looked at his watch. “I know you’ve been acting oddly ever since we got here, but your explanation is going to have to wait. I really do have something I have to do right now.”
“Me acting oddly?” she said. “You’re the one who’s been strange. Everything I’ve said, you’ve—”
“We’re going to have to have this discussion some other time,” he said. “Right now I have to meet someone.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “And I don’t want you to do anything stupid like you did today. You understand me?”
So many emotions went through Cassie that she couldn’t think clearly. They all jumbled about in her head, so tangled that she couldn’t say anything. Maybe what she’d done today was stupid, but the result had been great, hadn’t it? It’s possible that through her a murderer would be caught.
“I’ve got to go,” he said, then he put his hands on her upper arms and gave her a kiss on the forehead as though she were twelve. “We’ll talk when I get back. I promise.”
With that, he wal
ked into the night, silently disappearing into the trees, leaving Cassie standing on the porch of the cabin. “Don’t do me any favors,” she mumbled. “‘We’ll talk when I get back,’” she said mockingly. And what did he plan to tell her? That what she’d done that day had been dangerous and foolhardy? Or was he going to tell her that she was too trustworthy to do something like that?
She slapped at a mosquito on her neck and turned back to the cabin. Right now, Brent and Skylar were probably laughing together. Maybe they’d even gone to a bar and were drinking and dancing. Cassie was sure that wherever Skylar was, she was having a good time.
“She’s practically engaged to Jeff, but she doesn’t let him keep her from having fun,” Cassie said under her breath.
Inside the cabin, it seemed lonelier and emptier than she could have imagined. She glanced at the ancient TV and thought of turning it on, but didn’t want to. “Alone on a Saturday night,” she said. “Story of my life.”
She looked out the kitchen window and wondered when the others would be back. Probably not before morning. As for Jeff—
If someone had asked her a month ago if Jeff was a “mysterious” person, she would have laughed—he had a regular job, a home, and a family—but in the last weeks, it seemed that everything she knew about him was false.
When she turned toward the river, she saw a light on a boat that was slowly pulling into a dock. Were they night fishing? she wondered.
Suddenly, it hit her that whoever was in that boat was the person Jeff was meeting—and Cassie wanted to know who it was.
She ran out of the cabin, being careful to close the door silently, then ran in front of the four cabins between her and the boat. She slipped behind a tree and watched as the boat pulled into a dock. It was dark and the light from the nearest cabin was far away, but she’d recognize Jeff’s silhouette anywhere. He went onto the dock, tied the motorboat onto a cleat, then stepped back as a man got out.