desperate to find someone to act as my watchdog before he has to give up the duty.â
âThatâs not how it is, Annie.â
âThat is how it is. It occurred to me last night that Daddy introduced me to all three men Iâve been engaged to.â
Tess bent her head and stared down at her lap.
âIâm the same age she was when she died, do you realize that? Maybe if I understoodââ Her throat closed and she looked away.
âOkay.â Tess glanced up, wariness in her eyes. âYou are like Lydia in a lot of ways. But youâre different, too. Youâre your own person. Understanding your mother isnât necessarily the key to understanding yourself.â
âBut it might be. I need the truth. Why was my mother traveling to New York? I know she wasnât doing charity work.â
Tess stared at her a minute then said, âLydia was bored. At first she did go for the charity, then she resigned her position, but we didnât know that for a while. Judging by the little your father was able to learn after the accident, we think she mightâve been trying to set things up so that she could move there.â
âYou mean leave Daddy.â
âYes.â
âAnd me.â
âI canât answer that. Nobody can. Your father did some investigating and found out sheâd invested most of her inheritance she hadnât already squandered in some sort of business venture that never played out.â
Sadness swam through Annie. âWhen I think about herâ¦she seemed withdrawn and tired a lot of the time. And not only that last year. I didnât dwell on it much then. But looking back now that Iâm older, I canât help wondering if she was depressed because she hated her life here.â
âLydia did see a doctor for depression. She had trouble sleeping. But knowing her, Iâm not sure she wouldâve been any happier doing anything else, anywhere else.â
Annie didnât want to believe that. She wanted to believe that her family was wrong about her mother, that they simply had not understood her. âThe man in the carâ¦you didnât tell me his name.â
Tess closed her eyes briefly. Said, âMilfordâs going to kill me.â Sighed. âHis name was Fred or Frankâ¦Reno. Something like that. Your father had him checked out afterward. He was just some flashy, loud-mouthed loser who owned a club or two in the city. I canât imagine what Lydia was doing getting mixed up with someone like him, but we found out heâs the person she invested the money with.â
âYou said âwasâ. Did he die, too?â
âNo, he survived. With little more than a few scratches, actually. It was his car, by the way. Your mother was driving and he was in the passenger seat. We donât know why.â
âDid Daddy confront him?â
âNo. What good would it do? It wouldnât bring Lydia back. And, honestly, I think he was afraid of finding out something about her he didnât want to know.â Tess leaned in across the table. âWhatever youâre thinking, Annie, let it drop. You might not want to know, either.â Blinking, Tess scanned the café and said, âWhatâs taking our waitress so long?â
Noting her auntâs escalating nervousness, Annie said, âThereâs something else, isnât there?â
After a long stretch of silence, Tess blinked at her, released a long breath and said, âItâs only speculation, but after talking with several witnesses to the accident, the authorities thought Lydia mightâve driven off the bridge on purpose.â
CHAPTER 2
Six months later
December, New York City
Unwrapping his meatball sandwich, Joe Brady stepped out of the deli and crossed to the curb. A bite on the run was his usual routine these days. In that respect, driving a cab for a living was not so different than being a cop.
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