“What made Jones & Jones think there was a cabal connection here in Stone Canyon?” she asked.
“Shortly before he turned up dead, an informant got a message to an agent telling him that the new cabal had some kind of operation in play here,” Jake said. “The informant did not know who was involved but he indicated that the individual was moving in expensive social circles.”
“Why was my family dragged into this business?” Myra asked.
“I think I can guess how that happened,” Clare said. She went back to the counter and took two more mugs out of the cupboard. “When Jones & Jones realized there was a family of socially well-connected members of the Society living here in town, it contacted Archer to see if he would cooperate. Right?”
Elizabeth, Myra and Clare looked at Archer.
“That’s pretty much how it went down,” Archer admitted. “I was assured that no one in my family would be involved in the investigation or put in harm’s way. All I had to do was provide camouflage for Jake.”
Jake leaned back against the counter. “After Archer gave his consent, I got a call from Jones & Jones.”
“Why you in particular?” Clare asked.
“Given that one of my covers is a business consulting firm, I was the logical choice.” He paused a beat. “That and the fact that I’m a hunter.”
Elizabeth blinked. “Really? I’ve never met a hunter before.”
Myra sighed. “And to think that I introduced you to everyone at the country club as a respectable consultant.”
“How is your investigation connected to Brad?” Elizabeth asked quickly.
“It wasn’t,” Jake said. “At least not at the beginning. Jones & Jones did take a look at the murder because the victim was a member of the Society who was married to another member. But as I said, it concluded that McAllister was not linked to the conspiracy. They dismissed his death as a routine police matter.”
“I have to admit that I encouraged that view,” Archer added.
“Because you thought I killed Brad,” Clare said. She felt a rush of warmth and wonder. “You were trying to protect me. You shut down an entire police investigation as well as a J&J inquiry just to keep me from becoming a serious murder suspect.”
Archer spread his hands. “That’s what fathers are for.”
Jake noticed that Myra had gone rigid in her chair. An odd expression crossed her face.
“I was also convinced that it wasn’t J&J business,” Archer said to Clare. “If you were the one who killed McAllister it was because you were afraid he was an ongoing threat to Elizabeth, not because of some cabal conspiracy. By then I’d finally begun to realize that McAllister was not what he seemed and that he was dangerous. Figured he had it coming for what he did to Elizabeth.”
Clare glowed. “Thanks, Dad.”
She turned away, grabbed a napkin and dabbed at her eyes.
Archer grinned with delight.
Elizabeth stared at Archer, incredulous. “You never said anything about Brad being dangerous, Dad.”
“I was just trying to make it all go away,” Archer explained. “The cops were happy with the interrupted burglary scenario. But if it had come out that there was a strong motive for killing McAllister, things could have gotten real sticky for both you and Clare. I didn’t want them looking at either of you too hard.”
“Oh, Lord,” Myra said faintly. She put a hand to her breast. “I was so sure—” She broke off abruptly.
They all looked at her.
“You were so sure of what, Mom?” Elizabeth prompted.
She turned to Archer. “I thought you were the one who shot Brad. Heaven knows he deserved it after what he did to our Elizabeth. I have to admit that I considered killing him myself.”
Jake watched the shocked expressions take hold on every face except Archer’s. His grin just got bigger.
“See, that’s what I love about your mother,” he said to Elizabeth. “She’s a lady on the surface and a tiger underneath.”
“So that’s why you discouraged me from talking about my marriage to anyone outside the family,” Elizabeth said. Wonder and admiration lit her face. “You were afraid that Dad was the killer. You were trying to protect him.”
Myra sighed. “Like Archer, I was trying to downplay anything the police might view as a potential motive for murder. But there was another reason why I didn’t want you to talk about what Brad did to you.”
“Two words, I’ll bet,” Clare said. “Valerie Shipley.”
“Yes,” Myra said.
“What?” Elizabeth stared at her, openmouthed. “You never said anything about Valerie to me, Mom.”
“It was obvious that after Brad was killed she became dangerously obsessed.” Myra looked at Clare. “I thought that you were safe as long as you stayed in San Francisco.”
“Out of her sight, you mean,” Clare said.
“Precisely,” Myra said. “Valerie didn’t show any signs of wanting to follow you and do you harm. Owen promised to let me know immediately if he thought she was about to do anything like that. But he assured me that she was in such a disorganized state from all the drinking and the pills that she could not possibly put together a coherent plan that involved getting on an airplane and staging a murder.”
Clare winced. “Good to know.”
“But Elizabeth was here in Stone Canyon,” Myra continued. “She seemed so much more vulnerable.”
Clare looked at Elizabeth. “Because she was right under Valerie’s nose. I understand.”
Myra shook her head. “I was afraid that if she talked too much about how bad things had been with Brad, Valerie would hear the gossip and start to wonder if Elizabeth was the one who killed him.”
Elizabeth smiled slowly. “You were trying to protect all three of us, weren’t you, Mom?”
“The only thing I could think of to do was to encourage Owen to put Valerie into rehab,” Myra said. “He agreed that she needed to go. We were working on that when Clare showed up the other night.”
Archer grimaced. “Hell. That’s why you and Owen seemed so close lately.”
Myra frowned. “What on earth are you talking about?”
“Forget it,” Archer said gruffly. “Just a slight misunderstanding on my part.”
Myra shook her head, baffled now. “Did you really think that Owen and I were—? Oh, for pity’s sake, Archer.”