The President's Daughter - Mariah Stewart [49]
“She said that you and her sister, Blythe, were best friends. That you might have known who Blythe’s friends were, who she dated, while she lived in Washington.”
“I never visited Blythe in Washington.” Jude raised a hand to her forehead, as if confused. “What is the purpose of this?”
“I’m sorry, I suppose I wasn’t very clear.” Simon gave her his gentlest smile, hoping to put her at ease, though fearing he was already too late. “I’m writing a biography of the late President. In doing some research, I’ve come across some old White House social records. I thought it might be interesting to include in my book something about some of the people who were frequent guests at the White House during the Hayward administration. Blythe Pierce’s name occurred frequently. I thought I’d find out a little about her, along with some others, as little anecdotes for the book.”
“Oh. . . .” Still leery, still flustered, Jude appeared to be trying to decide on her best course of action.
“Look, I’ve upset you. I sure didn’t mean to. I know that you and Blythe were friends, so I can understand how someone showing up on your doorstep asking about her so long after her death could be upsetting. Would another time be more convenient?”
“No, no. . . .”
“Because if you’d rather I came back, that would be fine. I just had a few questions I wanted to ask about her.”
“Ask them now. I’ll see if I can answer them,” Jude responded at length, not moving from her place at the door.
“I was wondering what you knew about her relationship with Miles Kendall.”
“I think I may have met him once. I understand he had a thing for Blythe.”
“Where did you meet him?”
“What?”
“You said you never visited Blythe in Washington, but that you’d met Kendall once.” Simon shoved his hands in his pants pockets and tried not to look threatening. He wished he’d brought his little tape recorder with him. “I was just curious where you met him.”
“I . . . don’t remember.” Jude averted her eyes.
“You’ve met so many important people in your life that you don’t recall where you met a White House Chief of Staff who was in love with your best friend?”
“I don’t think I want to talk to you after all, Mr. . . .” She waved an impatient hand. “Blythe has been dead for almost thirty years. Let’s permit her to rest in peace, shall we?”
“Do you suppose that the victim of an unsolved murder can ever rest in peace, Mrs. McDermott?”
“I suppose hit-and-run constitutes murder,” she countered.
“It does when the victim was run over twice by the same vehicle.”
“Who told you that?” Her eyes bore into him.
Jude’s focus on Simon had been so complete that she’d neglected to notice that Dina was heading up the walk with the dog until they were a mere ten feet away. Simon sensed the sudden alarm—the panic—in Jude’s eyes and turned.
“Hey, you did come back.” Dina smiled up at him, clearly pleased. “I thought that was you at the park. I looked for you after we finished with the photos, but you’d gone. Then I wasn’t sure that you’d been there at all.”
“You appeared to be busy with all your admirers. I didn’t want to be in your way.” The buzzing was back. It filled his head and clouded his vision.
“You wouldn’t have been in the way.” Dina turned to her mother. “Mom, shame on you, holding court on the front porch. What will the neighbors say?”
The gentle beauty of her face took his breath away. He tried really hard to come up with something clever to say but could not.
Jude, too, appeared to have been struck dumb.
“What’s up, you two?” Dina’s eyes narrowed. “Mom, is something wrong?”
“No, no, sweetheart. I was just chatting with Mr. . . .”
“Keller. Simon Keller.” He reached a hand to Dina instinctively, grasped her smaller hand with his own.
“I’m Dina McDermott.”
Of Blythe Pierce, Miles Kendall had said, she could light up a room just by walking into it. The same could be said of the young woman who stood before Simon at that moment.
She dazzled the eye. It was as simple as that.
“It’s good to put a name with the face.” Dina unhooked the leash from the dog’s collar, and the dog immediately