Heart of Gold - B.J. Daniels Page 0,41
that I’ve given her any reason. Greg likes my work. Apparently he saw some of it and sent a headhunter after me because he wanted me to work for him at his new design company. He and Amanda had been an item before that, so she knew all about it and apparently resented it.”
He waited, sensing there was more.
With a sigh, Charlie said, “I overheard a phone conversation one night when I was working late. She’s cheating on him and now she knows that I know about it. I think she’s afraid I’m going to tell him.”
Shep saw her hesitate. “What else?”
She groaned. “It’s all so silly. After she warned me not to tell Greg about what I’d overheard, I received a package at work.”
“A package?”
“It had a dead mouse in it. Amanda swore she didn’t send it, but when I said I didn’t want the police involved, something Greg wanted to do, Amanda jumped in and agreed with me. She also agreed that whatever message someone wanted sent, that I’d received it. Then she called Maintenance and got rid of the package.”
“Maybe the police could have gotten prints off the package.”
“What was the point? I know who sent it.”
Shep gave that a moment’s thought. “If so, then I guess it wouldn’t be that out of character for this woman to doctor your dessert. But why would she do that?”
“Spite. Jealousy. Meanness. Pick one or all three. Amanda wasn’t getting enough attention during lunch, had drunk too much and had started saying stupid things. She’s just really insecure and needs a lot of reassurance. Or maybe with the wedding coming up so quickly, she’s panicking.” Charlie shrugged. “Anyway, Greg stepped away from the table to talk to a possible client. I got up to go to the ladies’ room to get away from Amanda and when I came back she was gone. But she apparently ordered mousse for Greg and me and told him to make sure I tried it.”
“So she had opportunity.”
Charlie nodded. “I have no idea how long she was at the table alone. Earlier, Amanda was furious that Greg had been complimenting me on the presentation I did for our client. The lunch was supposed to be a celebration of how well it went.”
“Congratulations,” Shep said, smiling at her as he adjusted the cool cloth on her forehead. “I keep wondering about her motive. You haven’t done anything to make her think—”
“Make her think I was after her fiancé? I can’t believe you just asked me that.”
“Sorry.”
They both fell silent for a few moments. Charlie had closed her eyes again. He wondered if she’d fallen asleep and was about to get up and leave the room when she asked, “Did you find Kat?”
He watched her take a deep breath before letting it out slowly.
“She hates me, right? Blames me? Not that she shouldn’t.”
“Lindy died because someone killed her. If anyone shares blame, it’s Kat. I have no doubt that she knew her daughter was torturing you. She and your father weren’t there for you or Lindy. There are a lot of factors that play into what happened that night. The only one truly to blame is the killer.”
She smiled at him as she opened her eyes, then cupped his stubbled jaw. “I’ve always known you were a nice guy. It’s why I dumped you after boot camp. I didn’t want to drag you down with me.”
He chuckled. “So that was your thinking?”
She removed her hand. “Maybe I didn’t want to steal your heart so I ended it before I could.”
He laughed. “Sorry, you were too late. You already stole my heart.”
She looked at him as if trying to see if he was serious and apparently decided he wasn’t. “So back to Kat...”
“I don’t think she’s behind this. She’s married, has another daughter—”
“Another daughter?”
He saw the instant fear in her eyes. “She looks nothing like Lindy or her mother. Dark brown hair with blue streaks. Her name’s Cara.”
Charlie nodded mutely. “I think I’m going to be sick again.”
Shep helped her up and followed her into the bathroom to hold her hair back as she upchucked.
Once he had her back in bed, she said, “If not Kat, then who?”
He shook his head. “But don’t worry, I haven’t given up.” He rose from the edge of the bed. “Try to get some sleep. You should feel better in the morning.”
“Shep?” she called before he could reach the door. “Thank you.”
He nodded and stepped out, closing the door behind him. All