Killer Look by Linda Fairstein Read Free Book Online

suspicions.
    â€œNo, there’s a younger brother, too. My uncle Hersh—well, Hal—who runs the business end of things for my dad.”
    â€œIs he a Savage or a Savitsky?” I asked.
    â€œMy father stayed Savitsky till the business started to take off. Then he got rid of my mother, and after that, his name. Hal wanted to take the ride with him, so they became the Savage brothers. It was such an embarrassment to my mother and to me.”
    â€œHow about wife number one?”
    â€œShe died. Early on. That’s when I found out I had an older brother, Reed.”
    I gave up my iPad for a paper napkin. This one called for a diagram of the family tree.
    â€œHe wasn’t part of my life until the last few years,” Lily said. “Born Reed Savitsky, but he goes by Reed Savage. He’s forty-one now, four years older than I am. When his mom died, he went to London to live with my father and his third bride. Little Lord Savage, to the manner born.”
    â€œWhat does he do now?”
    â€œHe’s in charge of the international part of my father’s operation.”
    â€œDo you have any part of the business interest in the company?”
    â€œHow I wish I did. It’s really the reason I went to graduate school. I thought I could get beyond the estrangement from my father by showing him how much I wanted to play a role in his life.”
    â€œSounds like a great idea.”
    â€œWorked my ass off in B-school after college, but got the double-whammy from my uncle and half-brother.”
    â€œHow so?”
    â€œThey planted the seed in my father’s mind that I was only after a share of his fortune.”
    The waitress put bowls in front of each of us and I waited while Lily blew on the steaming-hot soup.
    â€œI mean, there was a bit of truth in that, Alex. I would have loved to have worked my way into the business empire—worked for it, not just enjoyed a sense of entitlement—but I wanted a father out of this whole thing, too. He was adored by everyone around him, according to the social columns I read day in and day out. I wanted a taste of that.”
    I understood that part completely. I couldn’t imagine life without the love and support of parents I adored and respected.
    â€œSo your uncle Hal and Reed are pretty tight with each other?”
    â€œBest I can tell.”
    â€œHave you spoken with either of them since your—since yesterday’s news?”
    â€œYes,” Lily said, nodding at me. “I had dinner with Hal last night. He’s always had a soft spot for me, for my kids.”
    â€œAnd Reed?”
    â€œHe was flying in from Heathrow. Chartered a plane when he got the news yesterday afternoon. I’m supposed to meet with both of them shortly,” Lily said. “That’s why it was so urgent that I see you.”
    â€œSo your relationship with your father,” I said. “It’s obviously complicated and we’ll get to all that if it’s necessary—if I can be helpful here. Recently, was there contact?”
    â€œYes, things had been getting much better between us lately.”
    â€œWhy do you think that’s so?”
    â€œIt’s a combination of factors, I guess. My husband, who’s a prince of a guy, went to see my dad without telling me. He thinks he’s the one who talked Wolf into getting to know hisgrandchildren—as well as me—and having them as a sort of a living legacy for him. My view? I think it helped that David makes a really good living. I’m sure my father checked out his background and financials, and was beginning to understand that we aren’t gold diggers. Maybe it’s a little bit of both.”
    I wondered whether Lily knew if she was in her father’s will, and what the effect of suicide would be on all the sharks circling the body.
    â€œIt helped, of course,” she said as we both took a few swallows of the soup, “that