The Man Next Door

She gazed into his brown eyes just a trifle too long. But at least now she had the sense to keep her mouth shut. She left his house without saying another word.

THE FOLLOWING EVENING, Kim stared disgustedly at the contents of her dressing room. When you were a widow of only a few months, how did you dress for adate that wasn’t a date? She wondered if any of the etiquette books covered this particular situation.

There’d been a time when she had actually accumulated etiquette manuals with naive enthusiasm. She’d been newly wed, overawed that she’d married into the wealthy Bennett clan. She’d wanted so much to make Stan proud of her—to make the whole family proud. That was before she’d really come to know Sophie or the rest of the Bennetts. Her etiquette books had been gathering dust for quite some time now.

But it was seven-forty-five, and Kim still hadn’t decided what she was going to wear for this evening’s ordeal. She stood in the dressing room—all mirrors and strategic lighting designed to soften any reflection—and sorted through the gowns hanging against one wall. There were so many of them, in silk, tulle, velvet, brocade. All that entertaining in the past had required an extensive wardrobe. But these days Kim had given up entertaining—or being entertained. If she was showing up at the family enclave tonight, it was strictly as a stockholder in Bennett Industries. She’d do what was required, nothing more—on the arm of Michael Turner of course.

Kim rejected one dress after another. Too elegant, too fussy, too frivolous. Part of her heartily regretted that she’d ever gone over to Michael’s house. The other part was grateful that he’d accepted her invitation. She scorned herself for being a coward, but she wasn’t up to facing the Bennetts on her own. Not tonight, anyway.

Seven-fifty-two. She had all the clothes in the world and couldn’t decide what to wear. At last Kim pulled a black dress from its hanger. She slipped into it and observed herself in the overabundance of mirrors. A low scooped neckline and slinky fit in satin and lace—widow’s weeds with a vengeance. But it was too late to try anything else. Feeling out of sorts, Kim slid on a pearl bracelet, brushed her hair one more time and picked up her black pumps. She carried them with her as she started down the thickly carpeted stairs. But shouldn’t she be wearing perfume?

She retraced her steps and examined the selection on top of her dressing table. Here was every fragrance a woman could desire, yet once again she couldn’t choose. She knew that whichever bottle she opened, it would remind her of Stan. Suddenly the very thought of perfume seemed too cloying, too oppressive. The scent of fresh soap and water would have to do. Besides, it wasn’t as if she was trying to attract Michael Turner. This wasn’t really a date.

She’d reminded herself of that a dozen times already. She reminded herself again as she went downstairs and moved through rooms that seemed silent and empty. It wasn’t a date. She’d merely asked her nextdoor neighbor for a favor. He’d obliged. And that was that.

The doorbell rang. Suddenly flustered for reasons she couldn’t explain, Kim peered at herself in the hallway mirror. She was no more reassured than she’d been upstairs, facing those myriad reflections of herself. This mirror told the same story: her expression was severe and unsmiling. It didn’t go with the damn dress.

Too late now. The words echoed through her mind as she went to open the door. Michael stood on her porch just as she’d expected, but she wasn’t prepared for how good he looked. He wore casual gray trousers and a linen jacket that was well tailored but ever so slightly rumpled. His dark hair curled over his forehead, slightly damp as if he’d just taken a shower. He gazed thoughtfully at Kim.

“I should have gone for the tux,” he said.

She felt unaccountably warm with his gaze on her, but at last she managed a shrug. “Trust me, you look fine. I’m the only one who’ll be this dressed up tonight. This fancy. Don’t ask me why I’m doing it.”

He continued to observe her and she saw the subtle appreciation in his eyes. “Maybe you want the Bennetts to sit up and take notice.”

“They’ll take notice, all right,” she said. “And when they do—watch out.”

“Don’t let them get to you,” he murmured. “Because you look. fine.”

Now Kim felt the color heating her cheeks. It had been a very long while since a man had gazed at her in just this way. She didn’t know how to react. Whatever she’d learned from her once—precious etiquette books seemed to have flown right out of her head. All she could do was stare back at Michael, that unfamiliar warmth suffusing her skin.

Belatedly she remembered that she was still holding her pumps. She bent to slip one of them on and then realized that might seem consciously provocative. Quickly she stuffed her feet into both shoes.

“They pinch,” she said. “I hate wearing them for very long.”

“It’s one of the things I’ve always wondered.” He smiled slightly. “Why do women wear uncomfortable shoes?”

“Because we have no sense at all. Well…I’m ready,” she added unnecessarily. “Shall we go?”

He escorted her down the walk. Even though he’d only come from next door, he’d driven over and parked behind her car—a considerate gesture. Perhaps this didn’t officially count as a date, but Michael was observing the courtesies. Although his midnight—blue Jeep was a rugged vehicle, it looked freshly washed and waxed. He opened the door for her, waiting until she’d settled into the passenger seat before going to his own side. A few moments later he’d backed out of the drive and they were on their way down the street.

Kim searched for conversation and found none. It was Michael who spoke, glancing at her with that quiet amusement of his.

“I hope you have directions for me. Where are we headed?”

She felt foolish, apparently not an uncommon reaction when she was around Michael Turner. “To the Bennett family stronghold. my mother-in-law’s very exclusive spread. Where else?”

CHAPTER FOUR (#ulink_b0e43436-6bba-5154-9447-b80e1668b82d)

MICHAEL FOLLOWED the instructions Kim gave him: left on Vernon, right on Solano, head toward the foothills. He had to admit he was curious. In spite of his dealings with Sophie Bennett, he’d never been to her spread. Apparently Sophie was careful that way—never let the hired help get too close. She was in for a surprise tonight.

As he drove, Michael glanced at Kim now and then. She sat staring ahead, only her profile revealed to him. It was an intriguing profile, all feminine strength. There was nothing weak about Kim. Take now, for instance. She was obviously tense, obviously not looking forward to this little family get—together of Sophie’s. But she wasn’t talking about it. She was just sitting there, staring boldly ahead, her face beautiful yet unsmiling. That dress she wore conveyed boldness, too. Hell, it conveyed more than that. It showed that Kim Bennett was womanly and desirable, regardless of the “don’t mess with me” attitude.

Michael reminded himself to watch the road. Maybe Kim Bennett was wearing a sexy dress, but that didn’t stop her from being a murder suspect. He was on the job tonight. He couldn’t forget that.

They traveled in silence, and at last they turned along a secluded, winding street where the houses were hidden behind foliage and high walls. This neighborhood was even more exclusive than Kim’s. The people who lived here had gone beyond flaunting their wealth; they craved privacy more than anything else.

Sophie Bennett’s two—story brick house, although large, was carefully unpretentious—no embellishments, no turrets or towers added for effect. Maybe that was supposed to be tasteful, but to Michael the place looked bland and impersonal, like a hotel. He parked on the drive behind a Rolls and a Jag, but he didn’t get out right away. Kim didn’t, either. She just went on sitting there, hands clenched tightly in her lap.

“Nice wheels,” he said after a moment. “The Bennetts can’t be all that bad.”

She glanced over at him almost as if she’d forgotten his presence. “The Bennetts,” she said with a hint of disdain. “They’re nothing I can’t handle. It’s just that sometimes I’d rather not have to handle them. I can think of better things to do with my time.”

“Such as?”

She didn’t answer. “Well, we’re here, so we might as well get on with it.” She reached for the door handle, but Michael didn’t want to go inside just yet. He couldn’t explain why. He just knew he liked being alone here with Kim.

“If you could do anything you wanted right now, what would it be?” he asked.

She looked exasperated. “Mr. Turner—Michael, that is. You’re choosing a very strange time to play twenty questions—”

ld;What would it be?” he asked again.

She slumped back against the seat. “This is ridiculous,” she said, but she no longer made any move to leave the Jeep. After a silence, she spoke, her voice extra soft as if she was talking only to herself. “Perhaps I’d go for a hike in the mountains. And perhaps I’d just keep walking. For hours…”

He thought it over, choosing his next words carefully. “Did you do a lot of hiking when you lived in Pinetop?”

The effect was immediate. Kim twisted in her seat to face him. “How did you know—”

“Your mother-in-law isn’t exactly closemouthed. Seems she finds you a fascinating subject.” That was the truth. But Michael saw the way Kim tensed, the distrust in her expression.

“Sophie always has liked to bad—mouth me, especially to her friends. You never did make it clear. Are you her friend?”

Again he considered his words. And again he told the truth. “No. I’m not.”

That did nothing to ease the doubt in Kim’s expression. And Michael knew he’d deliberately made her skeptical of him. It hadn’t been the professional thing to do—but that was the problem; he didn’t feel professional when it came to Kim Bennett. He just felt impatient with his job. Deception, secretiveness—those weren’t his style. He would’ve disliked being an undercover cop, and he’d always been smart enough to admit it. So why the hell was he working undercover now? Lovely, haunted Kim Bennett made him ask that question.

“As a matter of fact,” she said, an edge to her voice, “I did hike a lot when I was growing up. Most of the time by myself, but sometimes. sometimes my dad managed a day off and we went together. Sophie couldn’t have told you that. She’d never want to admit I have rosy childhood memories. It would make me seem too. normal.”

Kim had one thing right—her mother-in-law would probably never say anything favorable about her. Michael reviewed everything Sophie had told him about Kim and everything he’d been able to learn through his own investigation. Kim’s parents had owned their own small diner in Pinetop, Arizona, but for years they’d struggled on the verge of bankruptcy. It had been difficult for them to keep employees, and Kim herself had worked in the restaurant all through her teenage years. Michael was willing to wager that neither Kim nor her father had been able to take off many days for leisurely hikes.

“How many of them do you have?” he asked. “Rosy childhood memories, that is.”

Kim turned away so that once more all he could see was her unyielding profile. “Enough,” she said tersely. “I have enough of them.”

He wondered about that. He’d been doing a lot of wondering since meeting Kim yesterday. Having a case file on her was one thing. But actually sitting here next to her, sensing the vulnerability underneath her caustic demeanor, that was something else entirely.

He reminded himself that maybe she wasn’t vulnerable at all. Maybe she was coldhearted, cold—blooded, and she’d actually killed her own husband. She certainly had motive: as a widow, she had become a very wealthy woman indeed.