"Excuse me, folks," Mackensie said pleasantly. "I saw the car out front."
Chapter Nineteen
Cam's first reactionwas pure annoyance. Something was happening here, something monumental, and he didn't want any interruptions.
"We're not open for business, Mackensie." He kept his grip on Anna's arms firm and turned his back to the man he considered no more than a paper-pushing pest.
"Didn't think you were." With his voice still mild and friendly, Mackensie wandered in. In his line of work he rarely received a warm welcome. "Door was unlocked. Well, this is going to be quite a place." He was a Harry Homemaker at heart, and the sight of all those spanking-new power tools stirred the juices. "Got yourself some top-grade equipment here."
"You want a boat, come back tomorrow and we'll talk."
"I get seasick," Mackensie confessed with a quick grimace. "Can't even stand on a dock without getting queasy."
"That's tough. Go away."
"But I sure do admire the looks of boats. Can't say I ever gave much thought to what went into building them.
That's some band saw over there. Must've set you back some."
This time Cam did turn, the fury in his eyes as dangerous as a cocked gun. "It's my business how I spend my money."
Baffled by the exchange, Anna laid a hand on Cam's arm. She wasn't surprised that he was being rude—she'd seen him be rude before—but the snap and hiss of his anger over what appeared to be no more than a nuisance puzzled her.
If this is the way he intends to treat potential clients, she thought, he might as well close the doors now. Before she could think of the proper calming words, Cam shook her off. "What the hell do you want now?"
"Just a couple of questions." He nodded politely to Anna. "Ma'am. Larry Mackensie, claim investigator for True Life Insurance."
In the dark, Anna automatically accepted the hand he held out. "Mr. Mackensie. I'm Anna Spinelli." Mackensie did a quick flip through his mental file. It took only a moment for him to tag her as Seth DeLauter's caseworker. As she had come on the scene after the death of the insured, he'd had no need to contact her, but she was in his records. And the cozy little scene he'd walked in on told him she was pretty tight with at least one of the Quinns. He wasn't sure if or how that little bit of information would apply, but he would just make a note of it.
"Pleased to meet you."
"If you two have business to discuss," Anna began, "I'll just wait outside."
"I don't have anything to discuss with him, now or later. Go file your report, Mackensie. We're done."
"Just about. I figured you'd like to know I'll be heading back to the home office. Got a lot of mixed results on my interviews, Mr. Quinn. Not much of what you'd call hard facts, though." He glanced toward the band saw again, wished fleetingly he could afford one like it. "There's the letter that was found in your father's car—that goes to state of mind. Single-car accident, driver a physically fit man, no traces of alcohol or drugs." He lifted his shoulders. "Then there's the fact that the insured increased his policy and added a beneficiary shortly before the accident. The company looks hard at that kind of thing."
"You go ahead and look." Cam's voice had lowered, like the warning growl of an attack dog. "But not here. Not in my place."
"Just letting you know how things stand. Starting a new business," Mackensie said conversationally,
"takes a good chunk of capital. You been planning this for long?" Cam sprang quickly, had Mackensie by the lapels and up on the toes of his shiny, lace-up shoes. "You son of a bitch."
"Cam, stop it!" The order was quick and sharp, and Anna punctuated it by stepping forward and shoving a hand on each man's chest. She thought it was like moving between a wolf and a bull, but she held her ground. "Mr. Mackensie, I think you'd better go now."
"On my way." His voice was steady enough, despite the cold sweat that had pooled at the base of his neck and was even now dripping down his spine. "It's just details, Mr. Quinn. The company pays me to gather the details."
But it didn't pay him, he reminded himself as he walked outside where he could gulp in air, to be beaten to a pulp by a furious beneficiary.
"Bastard, f**king bastard." Cam desperately wanted to hit something, anything, but there was too much empty air. "Does he really think my father plowed into a telephone pole so I could start building boats? I should have decked him. Goddamn it. First they say he did it because he couldn't face the scandal, now it's because he wanted us to have a pile of money. The hell with their dead money. They didn't know him. They don't know any of us."
Anna let him rant, let him prowl around the building looking for something to damage. Her heart was frozen in her chest. Suicide was suspected, she thought numbly. An investigation was in place. And Cam had known, must have known all along.
"That was a claim investigator from the company who holds your father's life insurance policy?"
"That was a f**king moron." Cam whirled, more oaths stinging his tongue. Then he saw her face—set and entirely too cool. "It's nothing. Just a hassle. Let's get out of here."
"It's suspected that your father committed suicide."
"He didn't kill himself."
She held up a hand. She had to keep the hurt buried for now and lead with the practical. "You've spoken with Mackensie before. And I assume you—your lawyer at any rate—has been in contact with the insurance company about this matter for some time."
"Phillip's handling it."
"You knew, but you didn't tell me."
"It has nothing to do with you."
No, she realized, it wasn't possible to keep all the hurt buried. "I see." That was personal, she reminded herself. She would deal with that later. "And as to how it affects Seth?" Fury sprang up again, clawed at his throat. "He doesn't know anything about it."
"If you actually believe that, you're deluding yourself. Gossip runs thick in small towns, close communities. And young boys hear a great deal."
It was the caseworker now, Cam thought with rising resentment. She might as well be carrying her briefcase and wearing one of her dumpy suits. "Gossip's all it is. It doesn't matter."
Chapter Nineteen
Cam's first reactionwas pure annoyance. Something was happening here, something monumental, and he didn't want any interruptions.
"We're not open for business, Mackensie." He kept his grip on Anna's arms firm and turned his back to the man he considered no more than a paper-pushing pest.
"Didn't think you were." With his voice still mild and friendly, Mackensie wandered in. In his line of work he rarely received a warm welcome. "Door was unlocked. Well, this is going to be quite a place." He was a Harry Homemaker at heart, and the sight of all those spanking-new power tools stirred the juices. "Got yourself some top-grade equipment here."
"You want a boat, come back tomorrow and we'll talk."
"I get seasick," Mackensie confessed with a quick grimace. "Can't even stand on a dock without getting queasy."
"That's tough. Go away."
"But I sure do admire the looks of boats. Can't say I ever gave much thought to what went into building them.
That's some band saw over there. Must've set you back some."
This time Cam did turn, the fury in his eyes as dangerous as a cocked gun. "It's my business how I spend my money."
Baffled by the exchange, Anna laid a hand on Cam's arm. She wasn't surprised that he was being rude—she'd seen him be rude before—but the snap and hiss of his anger over what appeared to be no more than a nuisance puzzled her.
If this is the way he intends to treat potential clients, she thought, he might as well close the doors now. Before she could think of the proper calming words, Cam shook her off. "What the hell do you want now?"
"Just a couple of questions." He nodded politely to Anna. "Ma'am. Larry Mackensie, claim investigator for True Life Insurance."
In the dark, Anna automatically accepted the hand he held out. "Mr. Mackensie. I'm Anna Spinelli." Mackensie did a quick flip through his mental file. It took only a moment for him to tag her as Seth DeLauter's caseworker. As she had come on the scene after the death of the insured, he'd had no need to contact her, but she was in his records. And the cozy little scene he'd walked in on told him she was pretty tight with at least one of the Quinns. He wasn't sure if or how that little bit of information would apply, but he would just make a note of it.
"Pleased to meet you."
"If you two have business to discuss," Anna began, "I'll just wait outside."
"I don't have anything to discuss with him, now or later. Go file your report, Mackensie. We're done."
"Just about. I figured you'd like to know I'll be heading back to the home office. Got a lot of mixed results on my interviews, Mr. Quinn. Not much of what you'd call hard facts, though." He glanced toward the band saw again, wished fleetingly he could afford one like it. "There's the letter that was found in your father's car—that goes to state of mind. Single-car accident, driver a physically fit man, no traces of alcohol or drugs." He lifted his shoulders. "Then there's the fact that the insured increased his policy and added a beneficiary shortly before the accident. The company looks hard at that kind of thing."
"You go ahead and look." Cam's voice had lowered, like the warning growl of an attack dog. "But not here. Not in my place."
"Just letting you know how things stand. Starting a new business," Mackensie said conversationally,
"takes a good chunk of capital. You been planning this for long?" Cam sprang quickly, had Mackensie by the lapels and up on the toes of his shiny, lace-up shoes. "You son of a bitch."
"Cam, stop it!" The order was quick and sharp, and Anna punctuated it by stepping forward and shoving a hand on each man's chest. She thought it was like moving between a wolf and a bull, but she held her ground. "Mr. Mackensie, I think you'd better go now."
"On my way." His voice was steady enough, despite the cold sweat that had pooled at the base of his neck and was even now dripping down his spine. "It's just details, Mr. Quinn. The company pays me to gather the details."
But it didn't pay him, he reminded himself as he walked outside where he could gulp in air, to be beaten to a pulp by a furious beneficiary.
"Bastard, f**king bastard." Cam desperately wanted to hit something, anything, but there was too much empty air. "Does he really think my father plowed into a telephone pole so I could start building boats? I should have decked him. Goddamn it. First they say he did it because he couldn't face the scandal, now it's because he wanted us to have a pile of money. The hell with their dead money. They didn't know him. They don't know any of us."
Anna let him rant, let him prowl around the building looking for something to damage. Her heart was frozen in her chest. Suicide was suspected, she thought numbly. An investigation was in place. And Cam had known, must have known all along.
"That was a claim investigator from the company who holds your father's life insurance policy?"
"That was a f**king moron." Cam whirled, more oaths stinging his tongue. Then he saw her face—set and entirely too cool. "It's nothing. Just a hassle. Let's get out of here."
"It's suspected that your father committed suicide."
"He didn't kill himself."
She held up a hand. She had to keep the hurt buried for now and lead with the practical. "You've spoken with Mackensie before. And I assume you—your lawyer at any rate—has been in contact with the insurance company about this matter for some time."
"Phillip's handling it."
"You knew, but you didn't tell me."
"It has nothing to do with you."
No, she realized, it wasn't possible to keep all the hurt buried. "I see." That was personal, she reminded herself. She would deal with that later. "And as to how it affects Seth?" Fury sprang up again, clawed at his throat. "He doesn't know anything about it."
"If you actually believe that, you're deluding yourself. Gossip runs thick in small towns, close communities. And young boys hear a great deal."
It was the caseworker now, Cam thought with rising resentment. She might as well be carrying her briefcase and wearing one of her dumpy suits. "Gossip's all it is. It doesn't matter."
