“Other than a few days in the hospital, it didn’t cost her anything. She’s far from the first young girl to get alcohol poisoning.”
“It wasn’t just the alcohol.”
“True.” Rory sighs. “I wonder what it was.”
“There’s one way to find out.”
She shakes her head. “If he wouldn’t tell us then, he’s sure not going to tell us now.”
“I’m not talking about Lamone,” I say. “I’m talking about Diana’s hospital records.”
Rory’s eyebrows fly upward. “Callie, you’re the legal scholar. You know hospital records are confidential.”
“Of course I know that,” I snap without meaning to. “But there are ways.”
“Oh my God…”
“It’s just a thought, Ror.”
“I know. It’s the thought of a desperate person. I get it.” She takes a drink of her soda. “Why the hell is he back?”
“We could have destroyed him then,” I say, “just as he could have destroyed us.”
“So the only reason he’d come back…”
“Is if he knew we couldn’t get to him,” I finish for her. “Which means…”
“He got hold of the evidence?” Rory’s knuckles go white around her glass. “How could he have? It’s in a safe place.”
“Is it? When’s the last time you checked?”
Rory bites her lip. “I haven’t. I hate going there.”
“Me too, but I don’t think we have a choice.”
She sighs. “Yeah. We don’t. Tonight?”
“I guess. In the meantime, we need to bring Jordan and Carmen in on this.”
“Do we? I know we said we would, but you and I are the ones who…”
She doesn’t finish, and I don’t blame her. She doesn’t like to even think the words, let alone say them. I get it. I’m the same way.
And for the first time, I actually consider bringing Donny in on this. Maybe Rory’s right. He could wave his magic wand of money and make this go away. But I’ve never depended on anyone other than myself to get out of scrapes, and I’m not going to start now.
“I can’t take a day off to drive to Denver,” I say.
“We shouldn’t have to, if everything’s still in place.”
“I suppose not. Why the hell is he here?” I say more loudly than I mean to.
“Why is who here?”
I jerk at the voice that comes from behind me.
Rory’s eyes widen. “Carmen,” she says.
Carmen Murphy, red-haired like all the Murphys and beautiful to boot, holds a cup of coffee. “Can I join you guys?”
I can’t help myself. I look around. We were talking about Jordan and Carmen mere minutes ago, deciding to leave them out of this, and then Carmen shows up. Is the universe trying to tell us something?
“Sure,” I say. I’m sick of talking about Pat Lamone anyway. I give Rory a side-eye, hoping she’ll know it means to stay silent on Lamone.
Until—
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you guys,” Carmen says. “Pat Lamone is back in town.”
Chapter Nine
Donny
Lambert revels me with tales of his latest conquests from a strip club in Denver while we wait for Debbie to bring our lunch. When she finally does—service at Lorenzo’s isn’t great, especially for a new place—he dives right in.
The man’s determined to make me sweat.
I twirl my spaghetti on my fork, forcing each bite into my mouth. I normally love any kind of Italian food, but the sauce is like battery acid today. It’s eating away at my mouth and throat. I swallow, each time more difficult.
Seriously, I want to puke.
I swallow my last mouthful, chase it with the rest of my water, and glare at him. “Enough, already. What the fuck do you want, Lambert?”
“Sure you don’t want a drink? A real one?”
“I told you I don’t drink during working hours,” I grit out.
“Fine, fine.” He dabs his red cloth napkin to his lips. “I came across your sister a week or so ago in Denver.”
“Oh?” I sure don’t like where this is going.
“She’s a pretty little thing.”
“No.” My voice is strong. Direct.
“You don’t even know what I’m going to ask.”
“I’m not pimping my sister out for a favor, John. Not in this lifetime or any other. You can go to the police if you want. I’ll lose my license, my career, possibly my freedom. I’ll do it gladly if my sister’s at stake.”
“Christ, Don.”
“Make no mistake, though. I’ll take you down with me. So you’d best tread carefully here.”
“For God’s sake,” Lambert says, “Diana’s not even on my radar.”
“Then why’d you bring her up?” My nerves are on edge, my body tensed.
“I want a new house, Steel. I want her to design it.”
I raise an eyebrow. I’m not buying. Not even slightly. “She’s an intern, John. An intern. They’ll never let her design on her own.”
“That’s what I want. A Diana Steel original. You can make that happen.”
“John, I can get you the best architect in Colorado, okay? As much as I love my sister, she’s not it.”
“I want the Steel name behind my new house,” he says. “It’ll increase the resell value a hundredfold.”
“There is no Steel name in architecture yet,” I tell him adamantly. “Dee’s good, sure, but she’s brand-new. Fresh out of school.”
He looks down at his empty plate. “That’s what I want, Don.”
I eye him, trying to figure out his angle. Whatever it is, I hate it. “And you’re telling me this is to increase resell value, not because you want to bed my sister.”
“She’s way too young for me.”
“You can say that again.” Lambert’s in his forties and Dee is twenty-five. “Something doesn’t jibe with this, Lambert.”
He raises his head and meets my gaze. “Don’t read something into this that’s not there, Steel. This is what I want. A home designed by your sister.”
“You don’t want me to build it for you? Buy it for you?”
“Are you offering?”
“I’m offering you the world on a platter, John, which is why I don’t understand your request.”
“Maybe I want to get her started on the right foot. In the world of architecture. Take my request for what it is. There’s no hidden meaning.”
I resist an eye roll. I’m still not buying, not for a minute.
“Something else,” I say. “What about a design by Dee once she’s up and running her own firm? Or when she’s established?”
“Nope. I want it now.”
“How about a new house, then? Not designed by Dee but to your specs, and I foot the bill?”
“It’s tempting, but I’ve thought a lot about this. This is what I want.”