Kathie DeNosky - The Kincaids - Southern Seduction

“Really?”

She nodded. “Why do you think I keep that large carton of vanilla ice cream in the freezer?”

“Okay, I’ll give it a try. We’ll have ice cream to celebrate,” he said, laughing. He kissed her forehead. “Then I’ll run an extra couple of miles tomorrow morning just to work it off.”

Ten minutes later as they turned the corner onto the street where the Kincaid home was located, Daniel slowed the car to a stop and swore under his breath at the sight a couple of blocks ahead. “What the hell’s going on?”

Lily gasped. “Are all those vans and cars parked in front of my mother’s house?”

“It looks that way,” he said, deciding to drive on past the media circus. “Why don’t you call to see what’s up before we try to get past them to your apartment.”

“I’m almost afraid to.” When she took her cell phone from her purse, he noticed that her hands were shaking. “I’m not sure I want to know.”

He could understand her apprehension. Although he hadn’t been with her when the family had been notified of her father’s death, Daniel had seen the news-footage reporting from in front of the Kincaid mansion. He imagined it had to have been something like the scene up ahead of them.

“The line is busy. I’ll try RJ’s number,” she said as they sped past the reporters and cameramen from all the area television stations. “RJ, what on earth is going on at Momma’s?” she asked when her brother answered.

Daniel had a gut feeling that whatever was going on, it wasn’t going to be good news.

“Oh, my God! You can’t be serious.”

One glance at Lily and Daniel steered the car over to the curb. Her peaches-and-cream complexion had bleached to a ghostly white and her eyes were bright with tears.

Looking over at him, she nodded. “Yes, I’m with Daniel. We moved most of my things to the mansion this afternoon.” She paused. “Yes, of course. I’m sure I’ll be fine at the Beauchamp house tonight. Do you think the media will be gone by morning?” She paused for her brother’s answer, then added, “I promise I’ll wait for you to call tomorrow before I try to go back to the carriage house.”

“What’s happened?” Daniel asked when she ended the call.

“The police just released a report stating that my father’s death has been ruled a … homicide,” she said, the single word catching on a sob. “RJ strongly suggested that I stay at the Beauchamp house tonight if I want to avoid being accosted by the media when I try to get back home.”

“You could stay at my place,” Daniel offered.

“I’d rather not,” she said, shaking her head. “It wasn’t a secret that we were seeing each other before Christmas and I’m not entirely certain some photographer trying to get a story won’t be lurking in the shadows.”

What she said made sense. They had been featured on the society page of the newspaper more times than he cared to count during their three-month affair, and with the breaking news that Reginald Kincaid had been murdered, there was a very real possibility that his condo would be on the media’s radar as well.

“I’m staying with you,” Daniel said, steering the car back onto the street. “I don’t want you being alone until things quiet down.”

“I’ll b-be okay,” she said through chattering teeth that had nothing to do with the mild winter temperature. “I don’t w-want—”

“This isn’t negotiable,” he said firmly. “If you’re concerned about the sleeping arrangements, don’t be. I understand that things between us moved a bit fast when we first started seeing each other. We haven’t been intimate for several weeks and you’re not ready to make love with me again. I get that. But there are five guest bedrooms in that house and I’m sure I can find a comfortable place to sleep.”

When she fell silent, he took that as a yes, and after a quick detour to his condo for a change of clothes, Daniel drove them back to the Battery and, parking at the rear entrance of the house, used Lily’s key to let them in the back door. He didn’t want to use the front entrance for obvious reasons. It wasn’t common knowledge that Lily had inherited the mansion, but he wasn’t going to take any chances that a stray member of the paparazzi had recognized his car when they drove past her mother’s place and followed them.

As soon as he had the door secured behind them and the alarm system turned on, Daniel took Lily into his arms. “I’m so sorry all this is happening, sweetheart. If I could make it all go away, I would.”

“I can’t believe someone … murdered my father,” she said, wrapping her arms around his waist as if he was a lifeline. “Who would do that? Why would they do that?”

“I don’t know.” He held her close. “But I’m sure the authorities will find whoever it is and bring them to justice.”

“I hope so,” she said, trembling against him. “RJ said that after the police interview the security team at TKG and get preliminary results from the autopsy, they’re going to interview each member of the family. Does that mean we’re all under suspicion?”

Daniel didn’t want to tell her that was most likely the case. She’d had enough upset and he wasn’t going to cause her more by confirming her assumption.

Thinking quickly, he shook his head. “It’s probably just a matter of investigative procedure. There might be something that you or one of your siblings could tell the detectives that would give them a lead to follow or a clue who the killer might be.”

“I suppose you’re right,” she said, sounding emotionally spent.

“One of those boxes we brought over contained towels, didn’t it?” he asked. When she nodded, he guided her toward the back stairs, leading from the kitchen to the second floor. “Let’s go upstairs and get you into a warm bath. Maybe it will relieve some of the tension and help you sleep.”

While Lily took a nice soaking bath in one of the two master bathrooms, Daniel took a quick shower in the other. As he toweled himself dry, he wondered who could have killed Reginald Kincaid and why.

It was a fact of life that men in high corporate positions weren’t without their share of enemies. Whether it was a disgruntled employee, a business rival or a radical member of a special interest group, there was always someone who didn’t agree with the way a CEO conducted business and the decisions he had to make for the welfare of the company. But who would have taken their grievance to the extreme and resorted to murder?

Pulling on a pair of boxer briefs, Daniel walked into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the king-size bed as he waited for Lily to finish her bath. He didn’t like that she was having to relive the loss of her father. She had just started to adjust to losing the man and now the uncertainty of what had happened, and why, was starting all over again.

But he liked even less that there was an unknown murderer on the loose and there was no way of knowing if he intended to target another member of the Kincaid family.

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