Killer’s contempt for single mothers, he would have viewed all of them as tainted and unworthy, hence the crimson kiss of death.”
In spite of himself, Reid warmed to the topic. “You were the innocent offspring. The first Child of Twilight.”
She nodded. “The white blossom not only represented my virtue, but it was also meant as a warning not to follow in my mother’s sullied footsteps.”
They shared a moment and then both glanced quickly away. The memory of what they’d created and what they’d lost was as fleeting and bittersweet as the end of a long, hot summer.
“No one knew about the baby,” he said softly.
Her gaze darted back to him. “Of course, someone knew. Someone always knows. Secrets rarely stay hidden.”
“It never needed to be a secret. Not as far as I was concerned. But...” He closed his eyes briefly. “Water under the bridge. This murder has nothing to do with what happened to us. To you.”
“If you believed that, you wouldn’t be here.”
“Arden—”
“I know why you’re here, Reid. I know you. You won’t come right out and say it, but you’ve been dancing around the obvious ever since you got here. Despite what you said earlier, this does involve Orson Lee Finch. The way I see it, there can only be two explanations for why a magnolia blossom was left at that murder scene. Either Finch really is innocent or we’re dealing with someone who has been influenced by him. A copycat or a conduit. Maybe even someone with whom he’s shared his secrets.”
Reid stared at her in astonishment. “You got all that out of what I just told you? That’s quite a leap, Arden.”
“Is it? Can you honestly say the thought never crossed your mind?”
“You’re forgetting one extremely important detail. No red magnolia petal found on the body. No crimson kiss of death placed on the lips. This isn’t the work of a copycat and I seriously doubt that a dormant serial killer has suddenly been reawakened after all these years. A jury of Finch’s peers found him guilty and none of his appeals has ever gone anywhere. This has to be something else.”
Arden refused to back down. “Then I repeat, why are you here?”
He ran fingers through his hair as he tried to formulate the best answer. “Damned if I know at the moment.”
She regarded him with another frown. “Just consider the possibility that you and I were right about Orson Lee Finch’s innocence. The monster who killed all those women, including my mother, has remained free and well disguised all these years. Maybe I’m the reason he’s suddenly reawakened. Maybe the white magnolia blossom left at the crime scene was meant as another warning.”
“It’s way too early to head down that road,” Reid said. “If anything, we may be dealing with a killer who wants to throw the police off his scent.”
“So you don’t think my coming home has anything to do with this?”
“You just got in today. The murder occurred sometime last night or early this morning.”
“A coincidence, then.”
“What else could it be?”
She sighed in frustration. “I don’t understand you, Reid Sutton. You berate me when I don’t show the proper reaction to your revelation about the magnolia blossom, and now you go out of your way to try and convince me—and yourself—that it has nothing to do with me. You came all the way over here just to tell me about a coincidence.”
“I’m just trying to be sensible,” Reid said.
“You were never any good at that.”
“Maybe not, but someone needs to put on the brakes before we get too carried away.”
“Now who’s being pedestrian?” She brushed back her hair with a careless shrug. “Something’s not right about all this. Something’s not adding up. Why do I get the feeling you’re still holding out on me?”
Reid glanced away. The proximity of the crime scene to his place niggled. Another coincidence, surely, but ever since he’d heard about the murder, he hadn’t been able to shake a dark premonition. For days he’d had the feeling that his house was being watched. He’d caught sight of someone lurking in the shadows across the street. One night he’d heard the knob at the back door rattle.
The incidents had started at about the time Dave Brody had been released from prison. The ex-con had stopped by the office as soon as he’d hit town, strutting like a peacock with his smirks and leers and ominous tattoos. He blamed his incarceration on Sutton & Associates, claiming the attorneys that had represented him pro bono—in particular, Reid’s father, Boone Sutton—had suppressed a witness that could have corroborated Brody’s alibi.
Why he hadn’t gone straight to the source of his resentment, Reid didn’t know. He hadn’t even been out of law school when Brody had been sent up, had only worked peripherally on the appeals. Yet he was apparently the attorney Dave Brody had decided to target for the simple reason that Reid was now the most vulnerable. Without the money and prestige of the firm backing him, he was the easiest to get to. Knock out the son in order to get to the father. But Brody would find out the hard way that Boone Sutton didn’t cave so easily, even when family was involved.
Reid hadn’t reported the incidents because police involvement would only provoke a guy like Brody. It wasn’t the first time and it wouldn’t be the last time an irate client had harassed him. Best just to ignore the creep, but still the location of that murder scene bothered him.
“Look, to be honest, I don’t know what any of this means,” Reid said. “I just knew that I wanted you to hear about that magnolia blossom from me.”
He expected another argument; instead, she nodded. “Okay. Thank you. I mean it. I haven’t been gracious about any of this. You caught me off guard. That’s my only excuse.”
“I understand.”
“I’m not usually like this. It’s just...” She seemed at a loss. “You and I have a complicated history.”
“To put it mildly,” he agreed.
She drew a breath. “Fourteen years is a long time and yet here we are, back where it all started.”
He smiled. “History repeating.”
“God, I hope not.”
“I’ll try not to take that personally.”
“You know what I mean. Everything was so intense back then. So life and death. I don’t think I could take all that drama these days.”
“That’s why we have booze. Adulthood has its perks.”
“I don’t want to numb myself,” Arden said with a reproving glance. “But a little peace and quiet would be nice.”
“You’ll have that in spades here,” he said as his gaze traveled back into the foyer. “Are you sure I can’t help you with those bags?”
“I can manage.”
He lingered for a moment longer, letting his senses drink her up as memories flowed. Man, they’d had some good times together. He hadn’t realized until that moment how much he’d missed her. Arden Mayfair wasn’t just his ex-girlfriend. She’d been his best friend, his soul mate, and a true and enthusiastic partner in crime. He hadn’t had anyone like her in his life since she’d left town. Oh, he had plenty of friends, some with benefits, some without. He never lacked for companionship, but there was no one like Arden. Maybe there never would be.
“I guess I’ll say good-night then.” He wondered if she noticed the hint of regret in his voice.
“Reid?” She crossed the room quickly and stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. She was like quicksilver in his arms,