Don't Say a Word - Barbara Freethy [95]
"Do you mind if I take a look through Mom's papers?" Julia asked her father. "It's a long shot, but maybe there's something in there."
"Of course," he said. "I have nothing to hide. I don't think your mother did, either. She adored you. You were her baby."
Liz was relieved to hear her father tell Julia that. Someone needed to shake up her sister, remind her of the way life used to be.
"I know she loved me," Julia said, a troubled expression in her eyes. "But some things don't add up. I just want to make them add up."
"I don't want your curiosity to lead you into more danger," Gino said. "You should stay here. I thought Michael was protecting you, but Liz tells me that you've split up."
"Yes. It just wasn't working out. I know you liked him very much. But I feel sure it was the right decision for both of us."
Gino nodded. "It's your life to live, Julia, but Michael is a good man. Your mother loved him."
"I know she did, but I… I didn't. Not enough to marry him. That wouldn't have been fair."
Gino sent Alex a speculative look. Her father was probably wondering the same thing she was, Liz thought, if Julia's feelings about Michael had changed with the introduction of Alex into her life.
"I don't want to stay here," Julia added. "I don't want to put you in danger."
"But you don't mind putting this man in danger? It's not appropriate that you're staying with him." His voice took on a sharp edge. For all his kindness, their father was traditional in his views toward men and women sleeping together before marriage.
"Alex's apartment was broken into yesterday, too," Julia said.
"Are you serious?" Liz asked, stunned.
Julia nodded. "Yes, I think I was followed there."
Liz gazed into her sister's eyes and saw regret, but Julia obviously wasn't sorry enough. "So they could be outside right now," she said, "waiting to do the same thing to this apartment. How could you come here and put Dad in danger?"
"We weren't followed," Alex interrupted. "I'm sure of it. We took separate cars. We changed over to a friend's car in a crowded parking lot before we came here."
Liz sniffed, determined not to let on that she was at all impressed by their cloak-and-dagger maneuvering.
"I also told the police everything," Julia said. "They're going to be watching this apartment, too,! just in case."
"You need to stop asking questions," Liz said. "Then we'll all be safe again."
"We won't be safe until we find what they're looking for." Julia turned back to Gino. "Are the papers] in the second bedroom?"
"Yes. The room is in chaos. I'm sorry. I haven't had the energy to clean it up. I'll let you get to it, then.” He meandered down the hall to the kitchen, probably to refill his glass, Liz thought. When he was gone, she turned on Julia, her anger and resentment coming to the fore. "Dad is drinking himself to death, Julia. Don't you even care?"
Julia took a step back in defense. "Of course I care, but I'm a little busy at the moment."
"Too busy for your own father? That's great."
"Liz, please."
"Please what? He's been drinking orange juice and vodka since he got up. He hasn't been to work. He hasn't gotten dressed in days. Did you even notice?"
"Well, you're here," Julia retorted. "Why don't you stop him, Liz? As far as I can tell, you're doing nothing. In fact, that's pretty much all you've been doing the last few months."
Liz didn't like the way Julia had turned the tables on her. "What are you talking about?"
"You keep waiting for everyone else to do something. You want me to stop looking for my past. You want Dad to stop drinking. You want me to intervene in that. What about you? What do you want? Ever since Mom got sick, you've been drifting along, whining about how everyone else is disappointing you. Are you going to finish college or just work at the cafe for the rest of your life? Don't you have any dreams of your own?"
"I- I don't know." Liz felt overwhelmed by the hard-hitting questions. A flood of tears pressed against her eyes, and she forced herself