Don't Say a Word - Barbara Freethy [22]
Alex had known his mother wasn't close to her parents, but he'd always thought it was because she was ashamed of their blue-collar roots. Her father had been a plumber, her mother a waitress. Apparently there had been more to the story.
Kate drew in a deep breath, a frown on her face now, as if she were sorry she'd said so much. "I just want you to leave the past alone, Alex."
"It's funny that you would say that. You're the one who is throwing a Spotlight on Dad's work every chance you get. You hated his job, and you probably hated him, too, yet here you are acting like the tragic widow, and it's been twenty-five years and two marriages since you were with him."
"I'm not acting like a widow. That's what I am. You'll never understand the relationship I had with your father or how I felt about his work," she said hotly. "But I know what it was, and I have every right to make sure his photographs continue to be recognized. Fm even negotiating a possible book contract."
"Really." He studied her thoughtfully, not liking the way she avoided his gaze. "Why? Do you need the money?" Her home was beautifully decorated, her clothes expensive and well made. She didn't look like she was short of cash, but he had no idea where she stood with her personal finances. Her last two husbands had not been rich, but very comfortable. And if he knew his mother, she'd gotten her fair share in the divorces.
"Fm surprised you would ask, Alex. You've never shown any interest in my personal well-being."
"That's not an answer. But it's your business." He got to his feet. "Where do you have the negatives?"
"They're in a box in the hall closet. I want them back, though, Alex. I may need them for the book."
"Fine."
"Wait. Don't go like this," she said, holding up her hand in a plea for him to stay. "I don't want to fight with you."
"We've never done anything else," he said with a shrug.
"Because you've always seen your father as the hero and me as the villain. That's not the way it was."
"Mother, it's over. It was over a lifetime ago. I’ve moved on."
She shook her head. "If you've truly moved on, leave the negatives here."
"I can't do that."
She gave him a searching look. "Why do you care about that photo?"
He debated for a second, not wanting to confide in his mother, but he had to give her some explanation, so he said, "I want to know more about that girl."
"After all these years? Why now? Has something happened?"
"No, nothing has happened," he lied, preferring not to get into the subject of Julia. "I’ve always wondered whether that photo was cropped, if something important was left out of it when it was published in the magazine."
Her eyes narrowed. "Why on earth would you wonder that?"
"Fm curious, and I have some time before my next assignment."
"I don't believe you, Alex." Her eyes turned reflective. "You know something you're not telling me. Your father knew something about that picture, too. He was so upset when it was published. The night before he died, he stopped by here to give me a check, and I could see that he was afraid of something." She took a breath. "I’ve never said this to you, Alex, but Fm not sure that car crash was really an accident."
Her words hit him like a punch to the gut. He had to force some air into his chest so he could breathe. "What? What are you saying?"
She gazed straight into his eyes and said, "I think someone deliberately ran your father's car off that road."
His mother's words were still ringing through Alex's mind when he entered his apartment an hour later. His father's car hadn't been deliberately run off the road. The car crash was an accident. It had been raining. The roads were slick. The other car was simply going too fast when it sideswiped his father's car. His father