Suzanna's Surrender

They'd also found a typed copy of each woman's weekly schedule, along with handwritten comments that left no doubt as to the fact that Livingston had followed and observed each one of them. There was a well – ordered inventory of the rooms he had searched and the items he'd felt valuable enough to steal.

They had waited an hour for his return, then uneasy about leaving the women alone, had phoned in the information to Koogar. While the police staked out the rented house on Bar Island, Holt and his companions returned to The Towers.

It was only a matter of waiting now. That was something he had learned to do well in his years on the force. But now it wasn't a job, and every moment grated.

“Oh, my dear, dear boy.” Coco flew at him the moment he stepped into the house. He caught her by her sturdy hips as she covered his face with kisses.

“Hey,” was all he could manage as she wept against his shoulder. Her hair, he noted, was no longer gleaming black but fire – engine red. “What'd you do to your hair?”

“Oh, it was time for a change.” She drew back to blow her nose into her hankie, then fell into his arms again. Helpless, he patted her back and looked at the grinning men around him for assistance.

“It looks okay,” he assured her, wondering if that was what she was weeping about. “Really.”

“You like it?” She pulled back again, fluffing at it. “I thought I needed a bit of dash, and red's so cheerful.” She buried her face in the soggy hankie. “I'm so happy,” she sobbed. “So very happy. I had hoped, you see. And the tea leaves indicated that it would all work out, but I couldn't help but worry. She's had such a dreadful time, and her sweet little babies, too. Now everything's going to be all right. I'd thought it might be Trent, but he and C.C. were so perfect. Then Sloan and Amanda. Then almost before I could blink, our dear Max and Lilah. Is it any wonder I'm overwhelmed?”

“I guess not.”

“To think, all those years ago when you'd bring lobsters to the back door. And that time you changed a tire for me and were too proud to even let me thank you. And now, now, you're going to marry my baby.”

“Congratulations.” Trent grinned and slapped Holt on the back while Max dug out a fresh handkerchief for Coco.

“Welcome to the family.” Sloan offered a hand. “I guess you know what you're getting into.”

Holt studied the weeping Coco. “I'm getting the picture.”

“Stop all that caterwauling.” Colleen clumped down the stairs. “I could hear you wailing all the way up in my room. For heaven's sake, take that mess into the kitchen.” She gestured with her cane. “Pour some tea into her until she pulls herself together. Out, all of you,” she added. “I want to talk to this boy here.”

Like rats deserting a sinking ship, Holt thought as they left him alone. Gesturing for him to follow, Colleen strode into the parlor.

“So, you think you're going to marry my grand – niece.” “No. I am going to marry her.”

She sniffed. Damned if she didn't like the boy. “I'll tell you this, if you don't do better by her than that scum she had before, you'll answer to me.” She settled into a chair. “What are your prospects?”

“My what?”

“Your prospects,” she said impatiently. “Don't think you're going to latch on to my money when you latch on to her.”

His eyes narrowed, pleasing her. “You can take your money and –”

“Very good,” she said with an approving nod. “How do you intend to keep her?”

“She doesn't need to be kept.” He whirled around the room. “And she doesn't need you or anyone else poking into her business. She's managed just fine on her own, better than tine. She came out of hell and managed to put her life together, take care of the kids and start a business. The only thing that's going to change is that she's going to stop working herself into the ground, and the kids'll have someone who wants to be their father. Maybe I won't be able to give her diamonds and take her to fancy dinner parties, but I'll make her happy.”

Colleen tapped her fingers on the head of her cane. “You'll do. If your grandfather was anything like you, it's no wonder my mother loved him. So...” She started to rise, then saw the portrait over the mantel. Where her father's stern face had been was her mother's lovely one. “What's that doing there?”

Holt dipped his hands into his pockets. “It seemed to me that was where it belonged. That's where my grandfather would have wanted it.”

Colleen eased herself back into the chair. “Thank you.” Her voice was strained, but her eyes remained fierce. “Now go away. I want to be alone.”

He left her, amazed that he was growing fond of her. Though he didn't look forward to another scene, he started toward the kitchen to ask Coco where he could find Suzanna.

But he found her himself, following the music that drifted down the hall. She was sitting at a piano, playing some rich, haunting melody he didn't recognize. Though the music was sad, there was a smile on her lips and one in her eyes. When she looked up, her fingers stilled, but the smile remained.