Jan Burke - Bloodlines

O’Connor said nothing.

“Yeah,” Dan said, “worries me, too. Hell of a night. Why don’t you take me to see Warren Ducane?”

D AN NORTON GAVE SOME HURRIED INSTRUCTIONS TO MATT ARDEN AS they passed the barricade. O’Connor waited at the Nash. Much to Norton’s disgust, O’Connor had insisted they take his car.

He watched his mirror, until Norton said, “I’m not having you tailed, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“Good. I’ll get us there a little faster, then.”

“Why are you being so mysterious?” Norton groused.

“You’ll be happy about that later.”

“Don’t tell me we’re going to some dame’s place, because I’ve been waking women up all night on account of this guy. The six ex-girlfriends all lost sleep when I came around looking for him.”

“Are you trying to convince me that you minded that? Warren’s only twenty, and I don’t think he’s dated an ugly girl yet.”

Norton laughed. “They were lookers.”

“To be fair, he’s better-looking than five or six of you or me.”

“You wouldn’t look half bad if you didn’t have a habit of finishing every barroom brawl Corrigan starts.”

“I wish I could have ended the fight he was just in.”

Norton sighed. “Me too.”

O’Connor drove up into the hills. When he turned onto a winding private road, Norton said, “Jesus Christ. He’s up at Auburn’s Stand?”

“Last I saw him. And he seemed to be there for the weekend.”

“Last you saw him?”

“I was invited to join the fun this weekend. One of our mutual friends is moving to Paris. Auburn gave him a send-off.”

“Oh, ho! Moving up in the world, are you?”

O’Connor shrugged. “Doubt that accounts for it.”

“Auburn Sheffield,” Dan mused. “Told his old man to go to hell, and built a bigger fortune than any of the rest of the Sheffield clan.”

“Yes. That’s how the place got its name. Auburn took a stand.”

“Quite a bit older than you or Warren, isn’t he?”

“Yes, but Auburn’s friends are a real mix. Some older, some younger, some straight-laced, some rebels. I admire him for that.”

“You consider him a friend?”

O’Connor nodded. “A good man, Auburn.”

“Any reason we shouldn’t have come here in my car?”

“As I say, he’s a friend who invited me to share in his hospitality. I won’t return that kindness by bringing five squad cars-”

“Me? In a squad car? Are you-”

“-led by a flashy T-Bird up the road to his home.”

Dan eyed him narrowly, then suddenly grinned. “But you didn’t call him from Katy Ducane’s house, either, or give him a warning.”

“You’re my friend, too. I wasn’t going to give Warren a chance to slip away. Besides, it might prove to be a little embarrassing for all concerned.”

“What the hell is going on up here, anyway?”

“Just a house party, but one or two of the married men have been friendly with women who don’t look much like their wives.”

“Conn-it’s a homicide investigation. You think I give a damn about some guy putting his noodle into someone else’s soup? You’ve got to be-”

“One of the married guys is the chief of police.”

“Shit,” Dan said. “Stop the car.”

O’Connor obeyed, then said, “Maybe you’d like to hear my plan.”

“Shit,” Dan said again, holding his head in his hands.

“It’ll be my Nash at the gate, not your T-Bird. You stay in the car, I’ll see if Warren is still here, and if so, I’ll try to get him to leave with me. That way, if I’m wrong about where he is, you haven’t ruffled any feathers.”

Norton agreed to it, then said, “Thanks.”

The guard at the gate of Auburn’s Stand stayed in his shelter, opening the gate with the press of a button, and waving O’Connor in without looking closely at his passenger, or objecting to guests arriving at one in the morning.

“Party’s still going on,” O’Connor said. “Although it looks as if it has thinned out a bit.”

“Thinned out?” Norton asked in disbelief, seeing the wide, sweeping concrete drive crowded with cars.

“Oh sure,” O’Connor said, nudging the Nash into a narrow space in a gravel overflow parking area. “If we had come here last night, we would have parked outside the gate.”

“When did you leave last night?”

“Not long after midnight, which was a lucky thing, I suppose. I was home and sober by the time the hospital called me this morning.”

“Warren was still here at midnight?”

“Yes. Tried to talk me into staying.” He glanced up at the house. The mansion’s lights were on, although the windows of some of the upper rooms were dark.

“Wait here,” O’Connor said. “I’ll bring him out to you.”

“No argument from me,” Norton said, recognizing the chief’s Cadillac two cars away. “But I want to be the one to break it to him, Conn. I have to be able to see his reaction. You understand that, don’t you?”

“Sure.”

O’Connor borrowed Norton’s umbrella and walked uphill toward the house. When the wind threatened to turn the umbrella inside out, he closed it. He was soaked by the time he reached the front door.

Auburn’s butler welcomed him. Conscious of the muck on his shoes, at first O’Connor declined to come in, but seeing the man would stand there letting the heat out of the place until he crossed the threshold, he stepped just inside the door. He asked for Auburn. “I need to speak with him privately, please.”

The butler nodded.

Conn could hear men’s and women’s voices, soft music and laughter, coming from another room. The click and clatter of billiard balls on a pool table.

Within a few moments, Auburn appeared. He was in his late forties, neatly dressed in a sweater and slacks, and, O’Connor was relieved to see, wide awake and sober.

“Conn? Glad you could rejoin us!”

“I’m afraid I’m here on an errand you might not like, Auburn. Is Warren Ducane here?”

“Yes, in fact we’re playing billiards. Is anything wrong?”

“Forgive me, Auburn, but I think it would be best if I talked to Warren himself. Could you ask him to speak with me for a moment-without making anyone else curious about it?”

Auburn looked concerned, but said, “Certainly.”

As he began to walk away, O’Connor asked, “Has Warren been here all weekend?”

Auburn turned to him in surprise, but said, “Yes.”

“You’re certain?”

“Absolutely. Conn, is he in trouble?”

“Not if he’s been here the whole time.”

“He has, since Friday afternoon. I sent my car to pick him up from his home, and he has remained the entire weekend. I give you my word. And if my word won’t do, I’m sure the chief’s will.”

“Yours will do better than the chief’s.”

Auburn laughed.

“Don’t let Warren know I asked, Auburn.”

His brows drew together.

“I’m not trying to make trouble,” O’Connor said. “Not for you, and not for Warren.”

After a moment he said, “All right, Conn, I won’t tell him you asked.”

He came back a few minutes later, Warren in tow. Warren looked wary, but curious.

“Conn? What is it?”

“Warren, I’m sorry to bother you, but I need to ask you to come with me for a moment. I’ve got someone with me who needs to talk to you.”

When he hesitated, Conn said, “It will be all right.”

Auburn had apparently asked his butler to bring Warren’s coat to him, because he came to the foyer carrying it, and assisted Warren in putting it on.

“I-should I get my other things?”

“If necessary, you can come back for them,” Auburn said. “Or I can have them brought to you.”