“What did you say?”
“That he’s a complete narcissist. He can’t understand why other people are ‘given’ so much when he’s the smartest, most talented, most lovable, et cetera, person on the planet.” Tate waved his hand. “Anyway, the good thing is that we’re fairly sure that Haines doesn’t know Lori is only fifteen.”
“If he tries to marry her he’ll find out—which is what I assume his intention is. No doubt he plans to do whatever he can to get access to Kit’s wealth.”
“Yes,” Tate said. “That’s what we all fear. Rowan will be here with a couple of agents this evening. They’re coming in on one of Kit’s family’s jets.”
“Ah,” Casey said. “How in the world did he figure all this out?”
“Olivia said she thinks it started when she was at the food tables and mentioned she was allergic to almonds. Lori said she was too. Haines was right beside them. Between that and the physical resemblance…” Tate shrugged. “He’s always been clever at figuring out things about people.”
“I’m the one who first told him about Olivia’s allergy.”
“I guess it began there, but I was also with Haines when we overheard Olivia and Kit arguing.” He told Casey what had happened. “Estelle called someone from the old maternity home where Olivia had the baby. The records were sealed, but it looks like Haines hired the sleazy PI he used against Nina in the divorce. Somebody was paid off to snoop into the records.” Tate’s mouth tightened. “I’m to blame for this. Whenever I saw Haines and Lori together, I laughed about it. I was so glad he wasn’t pestering you or Nina or Emmie that I left that poor kid alone to fight him.”
Casey put her hand over his. “I did the same thing.” She looked at him. “We have to fix this. You, me, Nina. We have to do everything we can to protect that girl.”
“I agree.” Tate was driving toward the huge lake beside Summer Hill. He turned off the road that looped around the lake into the driveway of a large, modern house, all glass and natural wood. Tate pulled a key out of his pocket, opened the door, and they went inside.
The interior had been professionally decorated in furniture with clean lines, and every item had been chosen to stylishly coordinate. There was nothing personal about the house.
“Wow,” Casey said. “This place must cost him some money.”
“Six thousand, two hundred, and twenty-three dollars a month,” Tate said. “Plus utilities.”
“Do you p
ay for it?”
“Of course. A lake house for the summer was a bribe to keep him off Nina’s back. But he lied to me about where the house was. If I’d known it was near Tattwell, I would have said no.”
“I think we should stop beating ourselves up over this. Any idea what we need to look for?”
“None,” Tate said. “We can start going through drawers, but I warn you that Haines doesn’t leave personal things around. He doesn’t like for people to know about him.”
Casey opened a glass-doored cabinet in the all-white kitchen and removed a wineglass. “This is mine, a gift from my mother. I asked him about it and he said he left it on the table and that you had probably taken it.” She opened a door that led into the garage.
“Anything?”
“Just that there’s no leaky rowboat in there.” She watched Tate open drawers in a cabinet by the dining table. How had he and his sister spent all those years dealing with a man who piled lie on top of lie? Big lies were almost understandable, but not the ones about wineglasses and boats that didn’t exist.
Poor Lori, she thought as she started searching with renewed vigor. There were a few cooking implements in the kitchen drawers but nothing else. Not one piece of paper. No old grocery lists, no receipts of any kind, no bills waiting to be paid.
After an hour, they’d looked everywhere. Tate had held Casey up so she could search the top of the bedroom closet. They’d even looked for a concealed panel that led into an attic space. But there was nothing.
The two of them flopped down on the couch, side by side, and stared out the windows at the pretty lake. They had found nothing that hinted at where Haines had taken young Lori.
“If this were a movie,” Tate said, “there’d be a matchbook with a hotel name on it.”
“Or a pad by the telephone with an imprint of an address. I’ve always wondered who writes so hard that they mark the page underneath.”
“Don’t look at me. I’m just cast as a shirtless guy who throws women across his shoulder.”
“But you do it so well.” She laughed at his expression. “I saw the video of you with the peacock. You were very funny.”
“I wish some producers thought so.”
“Look on the bright side. If you showed what a versatile actor you are, your ex-brother-in-law would hate you even more.”