Luke studied a photo of Webb and Alexa speaking to the president at a recent fund-raiser. “Whose idea was it to invite Webb’s fiancee along on the drive to Dunsley?”
“Alexa insisted on coming with us. She felt that she should be with the senator while he dealt with th oss of his only child. She was right. The press loved her at the funeral.”
Luke raised his brows. “The candidate’s loyal, supportive fiancee standing by his side while he grieve he tragic death of a deeply troubled daughter.”
“Perception is everything in politics, just like it is in real life,” Hoyt said dryly.
Luke saw Irene go very still.
“Are you saying that Alexa Douglass isn’t genuinely loyal or supportive?” she asked.
Hoyt seemed startled. “Hell, no. Just the opposite. There’s nothing Alexa Douglass wants more in the world than for Webb to make a run for the Oval Office. Got a feeling she’s already selecting her First Lady wardrobe and making plans to put Emily into one of those fashionable Washington academies where the presidents and diplomats send their kids.”
“Emily?” Irene prompted.
“Her daughter,” Hoyt explained. “Alexa is a widow.”
Irene glanced at the photo on the wall. “Alexa is several years younger than Ryland.”
“She’s thirty-three, to be exact.” Hoyt snorted softly. “But no one seems to care about a little thing lik twenty-year age difference as long as it’s the woman who is the younger one do they?”
“Is it a love match?” Irene asked.
“It’s a political match,” Hoyt said evenly. “Webb needs a wife if he’s going to make it to the Whit ouse. The voters aren’t likely to go for an unmarried president, now are they?”
“Hadn’t thought about it,” Irene admitted. “But now that you mention it, I can certainly see that havin spouse would be a huge asset to any politician running for president.”
“Alexa is perfect for him. Good family, good schools, no scandals. She’s smart and articulate. I ddition, her husband left her a very wealthy woman. Also …” Hoyt trailed off.
“Also what?” Luke prompted.
“For years Webb’s father has been after Ryland to remarry and provide a male heir.
It’s not exactly a secret that, before he dies, Victor Webb wants a grandson to carry on the family name and legacy. Just between you and me, Alexa was given an intensive physical exam to make certain that she was in excellent reproductive health before the engagement was announced. Also, there’s a prenuptial agreement that states she will make every effort to get pregnant within a year of the marriage.”
“Talk about pressure,” Irene said. “I don’t envy Alexa one bit.” She paused to glance at one of th hotos featuring Douglass. “Alexa is the same age as Pamela was. How did those two get along?”
“At first Pamela treated Alexa the way she did the other women Webb had over the years,” Hoyt said. “Which is to say she ignored her. But when Webb announced the engagement, Pamela started takin er damn seriously, I can tell you that.”
“What do you mean?” Irene asked.
“Pamela suddenly decided she didn’t like Alexa very much. There was gossip that she confronted he n the ladies’ room at a fund-raiser a few weeks ago. No one knows what they argued about, but the assumption was that Pamela made it clear she didn’t want Alexa marrying her father.”
“I wonder if Pamela was jealous of her,” Irene said. She walked slowly along one wall, studying the photos. “She was about to lose a great deal. Alexa was set to take over the role that she had played i er father’s political life for years. Once married, Alexa will become Webb’s hostess and closest adviser. She’ll assume the power and social position that Pamela used to enjoy.”
Hoyt gave her a pained look. “Who knows what Pamela was thinking? I sure as hell never figured her out.”
* * *
Ten minutes later Luke got back into the SUV beside Irene. “Well?” he asked, inserting the key into
p. the ignition. “I don’t know what to think,” she said. “But it occurs to me that if Pamela and Alex ere feuding, we now have a solid suspect. Alexa appears to be a rather ambitious woman.”
“Think she might have gotten rid of Pamela because she believed that Pamela was going to make things difficult for her? Maybe even convince Webb to call off the marriage?”
“It’s a possibility,” Irene said, studying Hoyt’s apartment complex through the windshield.
Luke eased the vehicle away from the curb. “Why burn down the house, though?
The arson looks like the work of someone who was trying to get rid of evidence.”
“Yes,” Irene said. “It does, doesn’t it? But what sort of evidence requires torching a house?”
He thought about it for a moment. “The kind that the killer was not able to find but which he suspected was inside the house.”
“Something small, maybe.”
“Or something very well hidden.”
“You know,” she said softly, “I don’t think we can trust Hoyt Egan.”
“I’m with you. He was talking way too fast for a guy who didn’t want to talk to us at all.”
“We need to learn more about him. I can do some research on the Internet.”
Luke turned thoughtful. “I know someone who maybe able to get us some deep background on Ega lot quicker than you or I can working the Internet.”
“Who?” she asked.
“Guy I knew in the Marines, Ken Tanaka. He’s a private investigator now. He does mostly corporate work but he’ll do me a favor.”
She thought about that for a while. “Do you have a lot of friends who went through what you went through?”
“Not a lot. A few.”
“Do you talk to them about it?”
“Not much.”
“Because they know and you know and that’s enough,” she said.
“Yes.”
Thirty-Three
Luke showed up on the front step of Cabin Number Five at five-thirty that evening.
When Irene opened the door she saw that he was not alone. He had a shaving kit, a small duffel bag and his computer with him.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but this looks like you’re expecting more than dinner this evening,” she said, trying for light-hearted banter.
His expression barely flickered, but she thought she could hear a steel door slamming closed somewhere. So much for the lighthearted banter.