Page 80 of Everyone’s a Liar

Livia grimaced. It sounded worse when her friend said it like that. “I guess so.”

“No eyewitnesses or video surveillance?”

“The cop who I talked to promised he would check around tomorrow, but it sounded like he was already dismissing it as a group of teenagers taking random potshots.” Livia grabbed her wine and took a deep drink. “I’m pretty sure that any search for the perp or perps is going to be pretty low on their to-do list.”

Bryce nibbled on her chips, her gaze never wavering from Livia’s face. “You think you know who did it?” she abruptly asked.

“My guess would be that Larry Sutton pulled the trigger at the request of either Adrian or Winston.” Livia shrugged. “Maybe both.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m getting too close.”

“Too close to what?”

“That’s the question, isn’t it?” Livia muttered. “I thought it all started a couple of months ago. The day a man calling himself Jacob Pearson strolled into my office and started flirting. But that’s wrong. Something happened in the past that started all this and now it’s snowballing.”

Bryce settled back in her cushion. “I’m listening.”

Pouring them both a fresh glass of wine, Livia told her friend about her conversation with Remy earlier in the day and his implication that the Benoits were looking for a wealthy son-in-law to bail them out of financial ruin. And then her determination to discover if things had gotten bad enough to sell off the family jewels. She hadn’t bothered to mention that she’d been locked in the apartment or shoved into the pool. She could share that information later. For now she didn’t want her friend to get bogged down in worry for her.

A wasted effort, of course.

Bryce listened in silence, one of the traits that made her such a great cop. She had the ability to absorb all the information before making any judgments. But once Livia reached the part of the story where she’d gone in search of who was living in the house listed on the deed, she couldn’t hold back her outrage.

“Wait.” She carefully set her wineglass on the table before leaning toward Livia with a frown of disbelief. “You went to Slidell to investigate a mysterious house on your own?”

“I wasn’t investigating,” Livia protested. “Not really. I just thought I would drive past and check out the place.”

Bryce made a sound of frustration. “You snuck into your uncle’s private office and broke into his safe to discover a deed that just happened to be conveniently hidden inside it. Did it ever occur to you that it could be a trap?”

Livia was instantly on the defensive. Her friend had a point. It could very well have been a way to lure her to that particular location. But she truly didn’t think so.

“My uncle’s not that clever,” she muttered.

“Livia.”

“Okay, I should have been more careful,” she conceded, anxious to move on. “Do you want to know what I found out?”

Bryce continued to glare at Livia before at last heaving a resigned sigh. “You know I do.”

Repeating her conversation with Flora, Livia shared everything she’d learned, along with a precise description of the house.

“And your old nanny was living there?” Bryce demanded in surprise.

“Yes.”

“The Benoits must have a hell of a retirement plan.”

Livia snorted. “I can guarantee you that my family has never paid a penny more than absolutely necessary. At least to anyone unfortunate enough to work for them.”

“It’s weird.” Bryce furrowed her brow. “I could understand giving her a house to stay in if she was still caring for you.”

“I couldn’t.” Livia recalled the cramped ranch home she’d lived in until she turned eighteen. “They certainly weren’t so generous to my foster family.”

“Interesting. So what did she do that was so special?” Bryce leaned back, as if silently sorting through the various possibilities.

“I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure it out. My best guess is that Stella Gates knew something that one or more of the Benoits didn’t want shared with the world.” Livia drained the last of her wine. “Or with another Benoit,” she added. “I don’t doubt for one second they all have sins they’re willing to pay to keep hidden.”