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He stared back at me. "I don't know anything about Kim's life. I haven't seen her since before you were born."
"You didn't know she's living in San Francisco? It's just a coincidence that you took a guest lecturer job very close to her?"
"Yes. What is going on? Why are you asking me about your mother?"
"Because we think she might have been involved in the robbery at your brother's estate," Kade answered. "That robbery happened while Kim was a student at NYU. The thieves were never caught. They got away with a lot, including murder. A security guard was killed."
"Yes, I know," Ian said.
"Did you know that that guard was my father?" Kade asked.
Ian straightened, shifting his feet, his gaze darting around the room as if he was looking for an escape hatch. Finally, it came back to us. "I'm sorry about your father, but I don't know why you've both come to talk to me after all this time. I don't know anything about the robbery except that my brother was the victim." Ian turned to me, his mouth no longer smiling. "And your mother was definitely not a victim. She did exactly what she wanted."
I stared back at him, hearing anger and pain in his voice. "She hurt you, didn't she? You had a relationship with my mother. Admit it." I could see by the flinch in his shoulders that I was right.
"I don't have to tell you anything," Ian said.
"But you should," I urged. "Look, someone is trying to kill my mother, and it has become clear that it's tied to her past. I'm desperately trying to unravel that past. I believe my mother might have been connected to what happened at your brother's house. Please, just tell me what was between you."
He drew in a breath as he wrestled with my request. "I can't say I'm surprised she's in trouble, because she was nothing but trouble."
"So, you did have a relationship?"
"One that she started. She came to my office after class. Then she tracked me down at my apartment. It was completely inappropriate, but she was beautiful and sexy, and I couldn't say no. It was a wild, torrid affair," he said, his gaze somewhat distant now, as if he'd gotten lost in the past.
"What happened?" I asked.
"It ended as fast and as abruptly as it began."
"Did it end before the robbery or after?" Kade asked.
"The two events were not connected," Ian said, then paused, frowning. "Were they connected?"
"Did Kim ever ask you anything about your brother, about his collection of jewelry and art, about his party?" Kade asked.
I watched in fascination as Kade's questions seemed to start a whole new train of thought in Ian's head.
"She did ask me about my brother," Ian admitted. "I didn't think much about it. He was a self-made billionaire. Everyone asked about him. She wanted me to take her to the party that night, but I said no. There would be other people from the university there. She said she was dying to see his estate." He cleared his throat. "I wanted to make her happy, so I took her to his house the week before the party, so she could see it."
I started at that piece of information. "You took her to the house?"
"Yes."
"What did you do there?" Kade asked.
"We just walked around."
"Was she ever alone?" Kade pressed.
"Maybe for a short time, but not for long."
"Why do you think she wanted to go to the house?" I asked, directing my question to Kade.
He met my gaze. "Maybe to get inside information on the layout, the security system." He turned to Ian. "Did you have access to the security system?"
"I had my own code to get in. My brother didn't care if I used his house when he wasn't there, mostly because I never did. I didn't love going there. I wasn’t impressed by his wealth or by him. We were very different people. He only cared about money. He valued himself by how many dollar signs he had after his name." Ian paused. "After I took Kim to the house, I realized that her passion wasn't really for music. She barely looked at the violin my brother had purchased from Solomon Hasher."
"Really?" I asked. "That seems strange. Solomon is a renowned violinist."
