Hush Hush by Laura Lippman Read Free Book Online Page A

woman. Was it her money? Her relationship with Tyner? Or the fact of what she had done? The story had been legendary around the boathouse. But Tess hadn’t thought about it for years. A child’s death was different now, less abstract to her.
    Melisandre kept her attention fixed on Tess. “Are you worried that I—or, more likely, my heirs—will sue you if someone hurts me?”
    “It’s not unprecedented,” Tess said. “I cover the bases. For you, for myself. Besides, you seem to like legalities and penalties. I understand you wanted me to sign a nondisclosure clause, which is redundant given that you hired me via Tyner. He’s your lawyer. I work for him.”
    “I like to have all the bases covered.”
    Their frosty antichemistry seemed to make Tyner nervous. He jumped in.
    “As you can see, Missy”—Tess caught the nickname, shot Tyner a look—“Tess has done a thorough job assessing your new home. It is not without risks. I know you’ve closed already. But I’m not sure this is the best place for you. A gated community would have been better.”
    “I would never live in such a place. Besides, this is the best of the four-bedrooms I saw. And while my ex-husband may have abandoned the city, I’m still committed to it.”
    “Do you really need that much space?” Tess asked. “It’s a gorgeous apartment, but it’s huge for one person.”
    “I told you, it’s my hope that the girls will be spending a lot of time with me there, although Stephen and I have no formal agreement. He’s a little nervous about that kind of change.”
    Tess’s restraint was hard-won, but she managed not to blurt out: “Hello? You killed one of his kids!” Yet Melisandre seemed to know what she was thinking. She had that way of looking deeply into someone’s eyes, but it didn’t promote the confiding feeling that Sandy’s gaze did. Melisandre’s look was probing, challenging. It put Tess in the mind of someone—or some thing —in a sci-fi movie, scanning her for weaknesses.
    “I think Stephen knows I would never harm Alanna or Ruby. I left them in his care because I convinced myself it was in their best interests. And for ten years, I told myself that lie, every day. In Cape Town, my mother and I became close again, and when she died last year, I realized I had to try, if possible, to have a relationship with my daughters. That’s a profound change. The woman I used to be, the woman to whom Stephen was married, didn’t even like her mother that much. He doesn’t understand why I’ve come back and it unsettles him.”
    “Do you think he finds it unsettling that you chose to buy an apartment in one of his buildings?”
    “I told you—it’s the only one that meets all my criteria.”
    Tess let an awkward silence build. She knew this wouldn’t bother Sandy at all. Sandy was great at silences, expert at using them. Nor did Melisandre seem discomfited by the absence of conversation. It was Tyner who blundered in, like a host at a dinner party that was dying a slow, awkward death.
    “Do we need to talk about the notes? The ones you’ve been getting at the hotel?”
    “Threatening notes?” This was Sandy. Tess tried to look as if she knew what was going on, but this was the first she had heard of something concrete. Tyner had told her this security overview wasprimarily to assure Melisandre’s ex that the girls would be safe. Did the ex know about the notes?
    “Not exactly,” Melisandre said. “More like taunting ones. The theme, if you could call it that, is that someone is onto me, knows all about me. I didn’t even bother to bring them.”
    “Any idea who might be writing them?”
    Melisandre shook her head. “Only that it’s someone who knows me, at least a little. Or is very good at research. A few odd facts jump out—my boarding school nickname, Missy, which only a few truly close friends use.”
    Yes , Tess thought. Tyner being one of them.
    “That was never in the press,” Melisandre said. “But