Neighbors and More (High Rise Series) (10 page)

Dante nodded. She was right. “You know him well.”

“Better than anyone.” She sipped her beer and glanced again
at the party on the beach.

The music had stopped, and the ceremony had probably
started.

“What about Carter? Maybe he had a fight with Steve,” Dante
suggested.

“Maybe. I would put him on top of the list because I never
trusted him and he did all but accuse me of Steve’s death.”

“I will check his background and Steve’s. And their
company.”

“How?”

“Don’t worry. The attorneys in my firm are experts at
researching a case.” He scratched his nape while she frowned. “How about
Julia?”

“Julia?” Alexa exhaled. “Hmm. Until this morning, I thought
she was in love with Steve. She didn’t wait long to celebrate her new widowhood
with Tom.”

“Could she have caused that widowhood?”

“To inherit? I don’t know if they have a sizable fortune.” Alexa
shot him a hopeful glance.

Client confidentiality prevented him from divulging what he
already knew. Dante averted his eyes. “I don’t think so.” Julia had approached
him a few months ago to represent her and get a big alimony out of Steve. Preferring
not to deal with neighbors, he’d referred her to another firm as he had done
previously when Greg had needed a good attorney.

“Judging by the size and the quality of the ring he’s
supposed to have bought for me, I don’t think Steve is that wealthy.”

“
Cara mia
, you are the most exquisite gem.” Dante
brought her ringless fingers to his lips.

“Thank you.” She spun her head, glanced right and left, and
shrugged. “It’s good to live on the twenty-first floor. The only neighbor who
could ogle us is here with me.”

“In that case, let’s take advantage of our open air
privacy.” He chuckled and pulled her out of her chair on to his lap. Her delicate
flowery perfume intoxicated his senses more efficiently than a bottle of Scotch.
He gave her a searing kiss, wishing he could smother her anxiety. She laced her
fingers around his neck and opened her mouth to his tongue and his passion. As
she responded to his kisses, she seemed to relax.

Soon, she sobered, eased back, and sighed. “We have to
continue our brainstorming. Please, Dante. You said you want to be my lawyer.
Help me. Don’t distract me.”

“All right. Tell me anything you know about our neighbors.
Start with Julia.” Alexa wriggled to move off his lap. He tightened his arms
around her to restrain her. “Stay. Just talk.”

“Is that how you interview your female clients?”

“Only you.” In his arms, she should be able to unwind even
while talking about prospective enemies.

“Is that so?” She smiled and snuggled against his chest. “To
answer your question, Julia comes from poor background, the oldest of four
siblings. The father abandoned the family. The mother held different jobs and
had a succession of lovers while Julia practically raised her brother and two sisters.
She met Steve while waitressing in a bar near the university where he studied.”

“Interesting.” He chuckled and gave her a light kiss on the
lips. “I was sure you’d know our dear neighbors’ dirty secrets.” Alexa, as a
long time resident of the Blue Waves, could help their research better than any
detective.

“You bet. I lived here since I was ten. Since Mom moved to New
York, and Dad sold the big house on the Intracoastal.” Her lips stretched into
a bitter line, and her gaze drifted to the ocean and her memories. “Dad thought
I’d be safer in this apartment when he stayed late at work. After we married,
Greg decided to settle in my apartment. I’ve never left it. Now, it’s becoming
a den of trouble.”

Poor Alexa, growing without a mother, she hadn’t been a
happy child, and married to her autocratic selfish husband she’d been a very
unhappy wife. “Why did your mother leave?”

Her face instantly closed.

He regretted his question. “I’m sorry I shouldn’t have
asked.”

“It’s okay. Maybe it’s time to get this off my chest, and
move on.” She held his gaze. “For years, Dad claimed she abandoned us. I was
devastated. I couldn’t believe she’d leave me behind, and not even try to see
me for years. God, I resented her so much. Later, I heard she died of cancer. I
was fifteen.” Alexa’s voice became a murmur, as if the words couldn’t pass her
lips. “Dad refused to let me go to her funeral,” she added in a sniffle.

Dante pressed his lips against her temple.
Damn her
father
.

“At the time of my wedding, I heard gossip that she ran away
with a friend because she couldn’t cope with her husband anymore. Some even
whispered that she came back to the building at some point. But Dad never let
me see her. I don’t know if it’s true.”

“Did you ask Greg?”

She nodded. “He’d never betray his best friend. He scolded
me for doubting my father. But... You see, Dad was not a demonstrative guy. He
never hugged or kissed me, no matter how hard I excelled in school and sports,
no matter how hard I tried to make him proud of me. So now I wonder if my
mother reached the same point I reached a few days ago. That urge to go away because
there was no other alternative.”

Dante understood her feelings and cursed both her father and
husband. “It’s possible. And it’s also probable that she’d tried to take you
with her, or see you, and he didn’t let her.” He hoped he could soothe her, but
no words would ever erase the hurt of growing up without a mother.

Wanting to distract her from her pain, he changed the
subject. “Now tell me more about Julia.”

“Julia?” Alexa had that dazed look as if she were still far
away.

“Yes, we were talking about Julia before I asked the wrong
questions.”

Alexa sighed and nodded. “Julia told everyone that it was
love at first sight with Steve. They got married a month later when she found out
she was pregnant. Their daughter Katy is now twelve. Once, Julia confided that Steve’s
parents offered her money to get an abortion and stay away from their son. But
she insisted she loved him and would never get rid of their baby. You see, Steve
was a god-sent boyfriend for her. He took her away from her lousy family, lousy
house, and lousy life. I give her credit that after she married well, she sent
her brother and sisters to college.”

“So Julia doesn’t have any personal fortune. Only what came
to her from Steve. She’s not working. Their divorce would have left her in a
pitiful financial situation.”

“Okay.” Alexa snapped her fingers. “We have her motive for
wanting to kill Steve. Does it make sense? Julia preferred to be the rich widow
rather than the poor ex-wife. With Steve dead, she’d receive the substantial
life insurance he bought years ago. Does it make sense?”

“Perfect theory. “ He smiled, pleased that Alexa had put
aside the difficult memories. “And of course, Julia would try to throw it on
you because she hates you for taking Steve away from her.”

Alexa spun her head. “I didn’t—”

“Don’t get offended. We’re just speculating.”

“On the other hand, we caught her with Tom.”

“But we’re not sure Tom would want to marry her. It’s one
thing to date a woman and a much more serious one to ask her to marry him.” Dante
bit his tongue the second he said his last sentence. He’d just shot himself in
the foot.

A shadow passed over Alexa’s eyes. She inched away from the
cocoon of his chest. “Yes. Of course,” she muttered and slipped off his lap to
stand.

Dante immediately grabbed her hand. “We are talking about
Julia, Steve, and Tom. Not about us, Alexa.”

“I understand.” Her voice remained steady. She settled in
her chair and cast him a confused look. “Steve asked me to marry him.”

Damn it
. “I’m sure he did it for the wrong reasons.”
A hiss escaped Dante. What a sucker that Steve was. “We both know the man didn’t
love you.”

“Whatever. Are we done with Julia?”

“Pretty much. Unless you remember more juicy details.”

“You should have typed or recorded what I said.”

“I have an excellent memory. I will type everything later
on. Besides, you were so comfortable on my lap a moment ago,” he added with a
mischievous grin. “There was no way on Earth I would have moved and dislodged you.”

“Hmm. We can’t converse seriously and flirt. And now we
really need to discuss.” She laced her fingers and assumed a prim attitude that
made him smile.

“Okay, you said you don’t trust Carter. Why? Just because he
tried to kiss you?”

“It’s the way he looks at me. His eyes are icy blue, so cold,
unreadable, yet calculating and chilling. You haven’t noticed?”

“He doesn’t look you in the eyes for long. Is that what you
mean?”

“Yes. Maybe. He looks at me, then lowers his eyelids, and
gives me a sideways glance. As if he’s warning or threatening.” Alexa’s
shoulders rose in a shudder. She reached for her can of beer and sipped.

“I can’t stand the guy too, but I’ll pay closer attention to
his eyes the next time I see him.”

“Who’s next on your list?”

“Dianna. What do you know about her?”

“Not much.” Alexa scoffed. “We’re not exactly best friends.
You probably know as much about her as I do.”

 Dante chuckled. “We’ll compare notes. Why don’t you start?”

“Dianna came from Brazil ten years ago. She’s a nurse and
works part-time at Broward Hospital, two days a week. We use the same beauty
salon and our bills go on Greg’s credit card. If you can make her hair stylist or
her manicurist talk, you’ll probably learn a lot. We don’t use the same
technicians though,” she added with a pout while curling a long silky strand
around her fingers.

“Did you know she was a model in Rio?”

Alexa jerked back. “No kidding? How did you find out that
detail?”

Dante smiled. “She told me when… when we went out once.”

Damn
. He should think first before talking. On the
other hand, it was better to be honest with Alexa if he planned on any serious
relationship with her. Was he? He frowned, surprised by the new direction of
his thoughts.

Where had the confirmed bachelor who hated commitment gone? He
hadn’t been himself since that trip to Sicily. Things had worsened upon his
return to Florida. The need to protect his
nonna
, and now Alexa, had
challenged his previous devil-may-care attitude.

Alexa stabbed her finger into his chest. “You dated Dianna?
When?”

Her words hinted of jealousy. He suppressed a grin. “Never
dated her, sweetheart. Last year, before you and I got involved, she said she
wanted to see my boat and asked me to take her for a ride. We never went out
again. She was already dating Greg.”

“Did you—” Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

He understood her meaning. “Alexa, let’s not ask indiscreet
questions about our pasts. We need to focus on the present.”

Staring at the ocean, she shifted in her chair and pulled
her legs under her. The wedding party had left the beach. The gentle hum of the
breeze lulled them with peace, but nothing was peaceful in their building.

The doorbell interrupted the silence. Alexa spun her head
toward him, eyes widening. “Reception didn’t call. It must be someone from the
building. Greg most probably. Or maybe the detective if he’s still around.”

“Do you want me to see who it is?” He stood, waiting for her
permission to answer her door.

“No, I’m going.” She resolutely walked inside.

A moment later, he heard feminine voices and strained to
recognize the foreign accent, while remaining out of sight on the balcony. No
kidding. Had they attracted Dianna Oliveira by gossiping about her?

Why was she here?

“Dante, come here please,” Alexa called. “Dianna wants to
talk to us.”

He sauntered into the living room, his curiosity piqued.
“Hello, Dianna.” Her heady perfume wafted around as she twirled toward him.

“Dante, I’m scared.” The sultry Brazilian beauty grabbed his
hand. The quivering of her lips attested to her fear.

Dante freed his hand and motioned her to the sofa. “Have a
seat and tell us why. Can I get you a drink?”

“Just water, please.”

Dianna dropped onto the edge of the sofa. Alexa sat not far
from her. As they both crossed their legs, Dante’s eyes almost crossed. His
gaze shifted from one sculptural pair of legs to the other. From one tempting beauty
with black hair and dark chocolate eyes to the other with golden brown hair and
green eyes. He mentally shook himself into sanity. The Blue Waves building
boasted many gorgeous females, and Greg knew how to choose his women.

Dante went to the kitchen and filled three glasses with cold
water and ice. He added a wedge of lemon on the side of each glass.

“What scared you, Dianna?” he asked as he carried a tray
with the glasses to the living room and set it on the glass cocktail table.

“I am afraid of Greg.”

“Greg? Why is that?” Alexa leaned forward, her eyes
narrowed. “You recently said he planned to buy a penthouse in preparation for
your wedding.”

“I exaggerated because I was fed up with Greg continuously
playing the doting ex-husband on you.” Dianna lowered her head. “He mentioned
once that a penthouse would be a good investment and he missed the view he had
from your condo. I think… I think Greg killed Steve.”

“What?” Alexa echoed Dante’s surprised shout. He motioned to
her to calm down and spun to focus his attention on Dianna.

“Why would you throw out such a grave accusation?”

“Because I made a mistake by telling him what Steve asked me
to do as a favor.”

“A favor?” Dante urged. She wasn’t making much sense.

“Two weeks ago Steve asked me to talk to you, Alexa, and
plead his cause. He wanted to marry you. And to be honest, I wanted you married
and out of the way, so that Greg would stop knocking on your door every other
day. I realized that as long as you were without a husband, Greg would not
marry me. So I promised Steve I would talk to you.” She paused and bit the skin
at the side of her nail. “I thought that mentioning it to Greg would make him
understand that you were off limits to him. But Greg got mad and threatened to
throw me out if I said one word to you. I kept my mouth shut.”