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“I might have mentioned Winston’s trip to Ireland last week. I swear Tara looked completely baffled. As if she didn’t know what I was talking about.” Livia shrugged. “Then suddenly she was falling over herself to reassure me that of course Winston had been visiting his grandparents and she knew all about the overseas trip.”
“Maybe she legitimately forgot,” Bryce suggested. “I’ve only met the woman a couple of times, but she seemed like the sort of person who was more interested in herself and not so much in other people. Not very nurse-like.”
“I agree, but while Winston might be able to lie to everyone else about his whereabouts, he would want his father’s nurse to know his exact location in case she needed to get ahold of him in a hurry. And he probably warned her not to say anything if she was asked.”
Bryce didn’t look convinced by her convoluted logic. “That’s a lot of assumptions, Livia.”
“True, but I have another one. I think Tara and Winston are sleeping together.”
Bryce took a second to process Livia’s accusations. At last she shook her head.
“I don’t really know Winston. He went to private school when he was younger and he spent his summers in Ireland, but I don’t doubt that he’s like most rich men who are convinced that they have the God-given right to do whatever they want to do to whoever they want. He could be dangerous, Livia.”
Livia agreed with her friend. Winston Durand had the polished sophistication of most rich people, but there was something hard and ruthless just beneath the surface.
“I’m more and more convinced he had something to do with hiring Larry Sutton. Along with my uncle.” Abruptly recalling what she’d overheard the day before, Livia shared Adrian’s conversation with the mysterious banker. “He has to be covering his payments to Sutton, right?”
“It’s possible,” Bryce slowly agreed. “But I can’t do anything about it until I have probable cause to get a warrant and look at the accounts.”
“But what if the bank gets rid of the evidence?”
“You agreed to let me do the investigating,” Bryce reminded Livia in stern tones. “You’ve already alerted Winston that you suspect him. He’ll be on his guard now.”
“I only asked a few questions.”
“Let me handle this. It’s what I do, remember?”
Livia released a shaky sigh as a restless urge to march back to the Willows and scream at the top of her lungs surged through her.
“I have to do something. I feel like I’m drowning in secrets,” she rasped, glad she hadn’t mentioned the fact that she’d been locked in the empty chauffeur apartment. Bryce was worried enough. “I need answers.”
Sensing her frustration, Bryce reached to lay a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll get them, I promise. I have a few new leads on tracking down Sutton. I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.”
Livia parted her lips to demand her friend tell her immediately when she caught sight of a man crossing toward them with a determined stride.
He was taller than most of the crowd who were drifting back to the park as they lost interest in the tedious job of setting up the firework display. But it wasn’t his height that made women stop in their tracks to watch him pass by.
“Dear Lord, is that Finn?” she breathed. She was firmly off men, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate his fiercely carved features that were framed by his dark, glossy hair and the muscled perfection of his body.
Bryce stiffened as she glanced over her shoulder. “Yes.”
“Damn. He’s more gorgeous than I remember.” Glancing back at Bryce, she realized her friend was wearing casual shorts and a cotton shirt that was tied at the waist to reveal her firm stomach. It was the outfit of a woman intending to enjoy her evening. Livia waved her hands to send her friend toward the delicious sheriff. “You’re right. We’ll talk tomorrow. Go get him, girl.”
Bryce sent her a stern frown. “I want your promise not to do anything foolish.”
“You have it, as long as you promise to be outrageously foolish with that delicious snack.”
Bryce flushed, but she didn’t hesitate to turn and scurry toward Finn. Livia watched her friend with a wry smile.
Her own life was a mess, but she was happy that Bryce had a second chance at happiness. Everyone deserved that.
And maybe someday, she would have her own second chance.
Until then … she trusted no one.
CHAPTER 14
The Willows
