Blood Always Tells, Hilary Davidson [good book club books .txt] 📗

her breath while the phone rang.

“Who is this?” demanded the voice that answered. It was clipped and vaguely British and completely artificial. It was a sound that Dominique loathed long before Gary had entered her life. It echoed loudly through the designer showrooms. STOP. Turn around. Trin’s perennially bored visage was seared into her memory.

“Hello, Trin. This is Dominique Monaghan. We’ve met before.” Her voice was hesitant.

There was silence on the other side of the call.

“Um, this is Trinity Cowan, right?”

“Cowan?” The outrage carried over the line loud and clear. “I’d rather stick pins in my eyes than be called that. It’s Lytton-Jones. Cowan is so very common.”

“Right. Sorry about that. Look—”

“So it’s true, then?” Trin asked.

“What’s true?” Dominique was completely baffled.

“That Gary’s dead.”

Dominique shuddered. “Where did you hear that?”

“The police called tonight. Costa, what was the name?” A man’s voice answered in the background, but Dominique couldn’t hear him clearly. “A Detective Lee called. He said Gary had crashed his car at the country house. He’s supposed to be dead. That’s why you’re calling me from his phone, isn’t it?”

“That didn’t happen. Gary is just fine.”

“Are you sure?” Trin sounded chagrined. “I was so hoping it was true. I never go to the country house at this time of year, but I thought I’d see his body.”

Dominique swallowed her disgust. “Whoever called you is lying. Where are you now?”

“I don’t know. On a highway somewhere. Costa, where—”

“Listen to me. You’re in danger.”

“What do you mean?”

At that moment, Dominique realized she couldn’t come out with the precise truth. Crazy as it sounded, she couldn’t do that to Gary. For all she knew, anything she said could end up in court later. So she improvised. “There’s something strange going on. Gary is just fine. I think someone’s trying to lure you out to the country house. Turn around.”

She half-expected the woman to laugh at her words, which sounded ridiculously vague to her own ears, but Trinity’s voice got serious. “I’ve been expecting this.”

“You have?”

“Everyone is jealous of me. Jealous of my family.” She murmured something Dominique didn’t catch, then raised her voice again. “You’re one of Gary’s little creatures, aren’t you?”

Gary had mentioned Trin’s cocaine habit on many occasions, and Dominique had encountered plenty of people in the fashion business who indulged that particular diet. She’d seen the drug encourage delusions of grandiosity and paranoia, but mostly it made people incredibly boring to listen to. Trin had the first two traits down pat, but this conversation was anything but dull.

“I’m his friend.”

“You’re a tramp. For all I know, you’re conspiring against me.”

“I’m trying to save your life, you idiot.”

“I’m the last one, you know. The last of my family,” Trin said. “My brothers were murdered. Oh, it was all handled quite cleverly, to make the series of tragic events look like accidents. Misfortunes. Misadventures. The world doesn’t believe it, but I know the truth.” She didn’t sound sad; her voice was almost triumphant. “I suppose I should thank you,” Trin added. “But since I detest Gary so much, that sentiment extends to his little creatures, too. I hope you rot in hell together.”

Chapter 16

The wind kicked up and Dominique sank to the ground, clutching the phone after Trin hung up on her. Leaves swirled in the air. At least, that’s what she hoped they were; there could have been some bats mixed in, for all she knew. She was sure there was something terrible waiting in the darkness for her. Let it come, she thought. I don’t care anymore.

The phone rang and she considered crunching it under her heel, just so she wouldn’t have to hear Trin’s voice again. But when she looked at the screen, her heart rose in her chest.

“Dominique?” said a voice in her ear.

“Desmond? Is that really you?”

“You just screamed so loud at my voice mailbox that I couldn’t resist calling you back.” Desmond’s deep voice was warm, but a little on edge. Her uncharacteristic outburst had alarmed him. “You want to tell me what that was all about?”

“I’m in trouble, Des. I don’t know what to do.”

“Someone hurt you?” His tone was sharp. Desmond had always been an overprotective older brother. Dominique held a lot back from him, things that would’ve upset him, but she always knew she had him in her corner, no matter what.

“No, it’s not that. It’s just… I’m so lost right now.”

“Take a deep breath, baby girl. Start from the top for me.”

“Okay. You remember Gary? The guy I was dating?”

“Sure, I remember him.” Desmond’s voice oozed disapproval.

“What does that mean?”

“Sarcastic, smug, looks like a model for Wonder Bread. He’s married but couldn’t get out of it for whatever reason. I thought you broke up with him months ago.”

“I did. Except that I decided to teach him a lesson by blackmailing him.”

“You did what?”

“I made plans to spend this weekend away with Gary at his country house. I was going to tape him saying some things he shouldn’t be talking about. But we got kidnapped instead. Only it’s not really a kidnapping, because the guy who did it is actually working for Gary, and he’s going to kill Gary’s wife.”

Telling Desmond what she’d done made her feel like a naughty child again, but she had to come clean. There was a deafening silence on the other end.

“You there, Des?”

“Is this some kind of early April Fool’s? You know it’s the end of November, right?”

“Please listen to me. This is real. I honestly thought we were being kidnapped. I even memorized the license plate of the van. FAF-7, uh, something. I forget the rest. I had no idea what was really going on.”

“Baby girl, you’ve been involved in some crazy things, but I don’t even know where to start with this.”

Dominique could picture her brother’s expression. It would be stern right now, his brow furrowed in worry. He had a strong moral code he lived by, and nothing she’d done in the past twenty-four hours would survive his scrutiny. Hell,