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Kelly went white, then red, and she swallowed. “I-I...” Her voice trailed off, and she looked panicked.
“Is Eric your baby’s father?” Carly heard her own words from a far-off place. This couldn’t be happening. Any second Kelly would laugh at her question, and they’d all be friends again.
Kelly pressed her lips together before she gave a shaky nod. “I never wanted you to know, but maybe it’s best. I never intended to hurt you.”
Carly’s ears roared and she felt faint. She barely noticed Lucas taking her upper arm and leading her to the sofa. Heplucked Noah from her hands and pushed her head between her legs. “Breathe.”
She wasn’t sure she could breathe past the pain in her chest. Her marriage had been totally over, and she hadn’t even been aware of it.
***
Something about Kelly had been bugging Lucas through the entire visit.
While Carly recovered from the unwelcome realization that her husband had been unfaithful, Lucas juggled the baby while he tried to figure out what was bothering him. He mentally ticked off what he saw in the condo. Small but comfortable. New furniture, the kitchen looked remodeled, and the carpet smelled like it had just come from the factory too. Through the open door beside the sixty-inch television, he could see into the master bedroom. The carpet in there matched the carpet out here, and the bed and bedding looked freshly purchased too. And through the glass door to the small patio on the other side of the TV, he saw new outdoor furniture. All the items had to have cost a fortune.
Kelly was on maternity leave and didn’t plan to go back. Where had she gotten the money for all the renovations? While she’d get maternity pay for part of the time, it wasn’t enough for her to live on once she quit. Yet she hadn’t seemed overly concerned about finances.
Carly lifted her head, and her ashen face had begun to regain its color. He touched the top of her dark hair. “You okay?”
She nodded and reached for the baby. “I need to feed him.”
Kelly stood awkwardly by the dining table with her baby in her arms. “You can use my bedroom. There’s a comfortable rocker in there.”
Carly usually covered herself with a thin blanket and stayed put, but she rose and went into the other room. Lucas thought she needed some time alone to gather her composure. Kelly’s face didn’t have much more color than Carly’s, but Lucas didn’t feel sorry for her. However, he did want to know where she’d gotten the money. He waited to speak until Carly took the baby into the bedroom with her and closed the door behind them.
Kelly’s baby was cute, though not as cute as Noah. That little mite was beginning to work his way into Lucas’s heart. He took a couple of steps closer to Kelly and gestured around the space. “Looks like you’ve been doing some remodeling. New carpet, new kitchen.” As he continued to name the new items he saw, her cheeks flushed and she looked away from his stare, which was more confirmation to him that something didn’t pass the sniff test.
“A little bit.”
“You have a sudden windfall?”
She seemed scared and pressed her lips against the baby’s hair. “That’s none of your business.”
“True enough, but something about all this doesn’t feel right. Let’s talk a minute about what’s going on.” He didn’t want to tell her about the egg, but maybe dangling some intrigue would make something slip. “We suspect there are valuables with the items left by Mary Tucker’s mother. You were seeing Eric. Did he mention finding anything of value?”
She licked her lips and shook her head, but her gaze didn’t meet his. She was lying.
“I think he did, Kelly. Maybe he even found it and gave it to you to help with baby expenses. He knew you were expecting, didn’t he?”
“He was mad about it. They said—” Her face went white and she shut her mouth.
“Who said what?”
“Nothing. It doesn’t matter.”
The door opened, and Carly returned with Noah. His blue eyes were drowsy.
“I’m going to get to the bottom of this,” Lucas said to Kelly. “It would go easier for you if you told the truth.”
She looked away and said nothing, but he could sniff out her fear and guilt. There was a lot Eric’s partner wasn’t saying. Kelly was in a position to explain most of what had been going on with him in the last few months before his death, and Lucas intended to get it out of her.
He gestured to the furniture. “All this cost money. So does staying home with your baby. Where did that money come from? You might as well tell me. Your bank records will reveal the truth.”
Tears flooded her green eyes. “He gave Eric money to let them have a look at the things Carly inherited from her great-grandmother.”
“Who is ‘he’?” he demanded.
Her lips quivered and she swallowed, then shook her head. “I don’t know.”
