Liar's Moon by Heather Graham Read Free Book Online Page A

brows, glancing Jamie’s way, then looking back at Tracy. “Oh, years ago,” he replied idly. “We met at a party.” His steady gaze remained on her. “We really didn’t know one another very long; her grandfather whisked her off to Europe shortly after we met.”
    “Wow. You’ve led an exciting life, Tracy!” Jamie said.
    “Umm. Wonderful,” Tracy managed to say, unable to tear her gaze from Leif’s. He looked tired, she thought. He was leaning back, almost looking comfortable and casual in his chair, but the tiny lines about his eyes were evident in the sunlight, as if he hadn’t slept well.
    “What’s he really like, Tracy?”
    “What?” she murmured, disconcerted, drawing her eyes from Leif to look at Jamie at last.
    “Arthur Kingsley—billionaire. They say he owns half of the U.S. interests around the whole world.”
    “I—uh—guess he does.”
    Leif was still staring at Tracy. “He’s a very powerful man,” he told Jamie. “Accustomed to buying anything he wants.”
    “What are they estimating you at these days, Mr. Johnston?” Tracy asked acidly. “A rather high figure, last I heard. And if you did nothing more than whistle Dixie through an entire album, it would still sell in the millions, so I really don’t think you have a right to judge Arthur.”
    “Arthur? You call him Arthur?” Jamie asked.
    I don’t call him anything, Tracy almost answered. But she didn’t want Leif to know that she had spent the last five years carefully severing the yoke that Arthur Kingsley had attempted to tie around her neck. She called him occasionally and she spent each Christmas with her family—but other than that, she kept carefully away.
    “More importantly, Tracy, what are you calling yourself?” Leif asked her.
    “Kuger,” she told him.
    “You are not using that name,” Leif responded instantly.
    “Why do I feel like I never know what’s going on here?” Jamie complained.
    “How do you know that I’m not using my name?” Tracy demanded of Leif.
    “Guys—” Jamie tried.
    “Because I’ve had detectives looking for you for the last year, too. I got as far as a remote town in northern Scotland, and then no one could get any further.”
    “I like my privacy,” Tracy said.
    “So much so that your mother didn’t even know where you were?”
    “What business is it of yours?”
    “Guys—listen—everything is getting cold. We’ve got eggs Benedict, steak and eggs, French toast—I mean, this is some fluffy French toast we’ve got going here—”
    “Dammit, Tracy, what do I have to do to get through to you! You were waltzing around a balcony forty floors up to get to your brother, so you know that I’m telling the truth—”
    “All right! You’re telling the truth about my father, but what has that got to do with anything else? It’s none of your business where I went, or what I did, or what I do, or—”
    “It is my business, Tracy. You want to make me your number one murder suspect, and you don’t want to admit that you’re on the outs with your own family. Tracy! You have to accept that someone in your immediate family might very well be the conspirator!”
    “Oh, God,” Jamie groaned, sinking back into his chair. “I’m not hungry anymore.”
    Tracy looked over at Jamie and was instantly sorry. “Jamie,” she murmured. “I—”
    He shook his head. “I’m a big kid, Tracy.” He stared at Leif then. “So what are we going to do?”
    Leif stood up and walked over to the balcony, staring out at the beautiful spring day and Central Park, stretching out across the street. He shrugged. “I’ve got a few irons in the fire,” he said softly. “It’s just going to be a difficult thing to prove, because everyone involved could have easily come up with the money. I was telling Tracy last night that I thought a memorial service might be a good idea. Get everyone together and see where the discussions flowed.”
    “Get everyone together—where? Your house in