Natalie suddenly felt as if the ground beneath her feet had turned to quicksand.
Chapter 3
Her fathers voice became a buzzing sound in the background as she grappled with the information hed just carelessly flung out at her. Coming on the heels of Candaces murder, learning that Matt Schaffer was now living back in Vegas was almost too much for her to process. Or bear.
But she had to, Natalie told herself fiercely. What choice did she have? There was no one around to run interference for her, no one to try to smooth out the choppy waters so she could navigate them without going under and drowning.
All that was on her shoulders. But then, shed more or less been on her own for the last eight years.
Natalie raised her chin proudly. Okay, shed deal with Matt being here in Vegas. Deal with having to see him.
But despite the way things had ended between them, she knew Matt Schaffer would never kill anyone. If he had the ring in his possession, then hed gotten a hold of it while Candace was still alive. Shed make book on it.
You also thought hed never leave you, remember? Called that one wrong, didnt you? her annoying little voice taunted.
Still, just because the man didnt have the guts to commit and lacked the backbone to tell her so face-to-face didnt mean he would kill someone over a ring no matter how valuable it was. He wasnt a killer or a thief, if she discounted his stealing her heart.
Matt wouldnt kill Candace, she told her father firmly.
Her father looked like a cornered man desperately fighting to survive. He vacillated, not sure of anything anymore.
Maybe not, but someone in his family would. Everyone knew that the Schaffers had underworld ties, connections to people who did things that could not bear scrutiny. He grasped her hand as if that would make her understand better. I owe them, Natalie. I owe them. Harold struggled to keep his voice from cracking. The Schaffers know people. And those people, he insisted, have killed for pocket change.
She glared at him. Then why would you have knowingly gotten mixed up with them? she demanded.
It made no sense to her. There were lending institutions. Yes, money was hard to come by, but Harold Rothchild was a reputable businessman with a great deal of collateral. Going to a loan shark, if that was indeed what hed done, was like agreeing to play Russian roulette with not one but half the chambers loaded with bullets.
Because He began to explain, then stopped abruptly. Oh, it doesnt matter why. I did, and now Candace is dead and the rings gone.
Her father seemed to have forgotten one very important element in this horrible tale. So typical of him, she thought.
Your nephews are fine, thanks for asking, she told him sarcastically. Shed
checked on the boys on her way over here. Shed stopped by the nannys sisters home and asked Amelia to tell her in her own words what shed seen. She had to wait until the young woman stopped throwing up. The details were sketchy, the nannys reaction honest. Shed asked the young woman to watch the boys until she got back to her.
The boys. Harold stared at her for a moment, a lost look in his eyes. And then he seemed to come to. Where are they?
I left them with their nanny. She rattled off the address. It was far off the beaten path of both the casinos and the better residential areas, but it was still a decentenough neighborhood, thanks to a renovation effort on the part of the city.
Ill send a car for them, Harold said, thinking out loud.
Good idea.
She didnt mean that to sound as caustic as it did. But she was on edge. The toughest part of her day was still ahead of her. She was going to have to go and interface with the one man she didnt want to ever see again.
Some days it just didnt pay to get up out of bed, Natalie thought wearily.
About to say goodbye, something in her fathers expression stopped her. She knew it would drive her crazy for the rest of the day if she didnt ask. Is there something else? she wanted to know. You look like you want to tell me something.
No. Denial was always his first choice, but then Harold thought better of it just as his daughter began to leave. There was a note.
Natalie turned around. What was he talking about? And why hadnt he said anything when shed first come in? A note?
He nodded his head. I didnt understand what it meant until you told me that Candace was dead. He sounded breathless as he said, Were all in danger. The curse is real.
Natalie looked at her father as if hed lost his mind. It took considerable effort to remain patient. Youre talking in riddles, Dad. Start at the beginning. What note?
Rather than continue trying to explain, Harold took a folded piece of paper out of the pocket of his robe and handed it to her. She noticed that his hand shook a little.
This was in the mailbox this morning. Clive found it when he went to put in the outgoing mail.
Using her handkerchief, Natalie took the note from him and carefully unfolded it. She didnt want to get any more fingerprints on it than there already were.