Killing Kelly Read online

  She shook her head. He looked back toward the shattered glass of her back door. “I think we need a new room, huh?” he said.

  “I…Mel! Mel is hurt, Doug.”

  “I know. Let’s go to him. Help is coming, though. Can’t you hear the boats?”

  Suddenly she could hear sirens on the water.

  He put his arm around her. “Kelly, I should have known! The calls between Logan and Avery. Avery’s mysterious past. There had to have been something. Logan had been paying Matt’s adoptive mother and paying in cash. And then there were the other calls, made to Dana Sumter’s station and her house—from a pay phone on the same street as Marc Logan’s glorious new sound studios. I should have known. I could have…I could have lost you.”

  She still didn’t understand. She was shaking in the balmy night, her knees suddenly weak. She wanted to just let him hold her, tell her that this was really over now and that she would be safe from now on. With him. But then she remembered.

  She swallowed hard. “Mel…” she murmured.

  “Right.”

  They turned and hurried for the man, who was prone and bleeding, half in, half out of the shattered glass entry. Kelly came quickly to her knees. Doug was already at Mel’s side. “Looks like the blood is from his temple, not a bullet wound. Logan must have given him a really hard hit with the butt of the gun. His pulse is weak but steady.”

  “Oh, Mel!” Kelly murmured.

  To her amazement, Mel’s eyes fluttered up. “Kel…”

  “I’m all right. It was Logan. He’s out in the sand.”

  Something of a smile touched Mel’s lips. “I take it all back, Kelly.”

  “What’s that, Mel?”

  “You’re…high maintenance. I definitely deserve fifteen percent.” And with that, his eyes closed again.

  There were men running around on the beach—deputies, med techs. “Over here!” O’Casey cried.

  A moment later, she was leaning against him, and they both watched as Mel was tended to, then lifted, ready to be taken to a hospital. Only then did Kelly turn at last and collapse into O’Casey’s arms.

  Light and Revelation

  EPILOGUE

  There was conjecture, there was truth, there was admission—all to be put together. And when it broke, it was sure to be the scandal of the decade.

  It wasn’t that night, with the madness and confusion, that anything began to come clear. That night, there was worrying about Mel, med techs crawling all over, the emergency launches, the deputies and the questions.

  It wasn’t until several days later, when dozens of papers and programs broke with the story, that Kelly really began to comprehend it all herself.

  But the basis of the matter was this; nothing had been coincidence—except for the death of the poor woman in Ohio. She had died on her own, and it was doubtful that anyone would ever know if it had been an accident or suicide.

  Thirty years before her death, Dana Sumter had indulged in an affair with an up-and-coming businessman named Marc Logan. She had known that theirs was not the forever-after kind of affair, and she had used her age to milk him for a tremendous sum of money. Rather than using an unexpected pregnancy as a means to receive more at the time, she had given the child up for adoption, not telling Logan the truth for years.

  Logan had taken the adoption out on the parents, seeing that they met a fiery end upon the California beach. He had befriended his biological son, without betraying the truth. But by associating with his past lover, he had become embroiled again—until the sharpness of her tongue once again turned him away. And worse. It sparked a calculated fury within him that set him on a course of determined murder, starting with the woman who had created such irrational hate in him.

  The publicity, Mel told her ecstatically from his hospital bed, had made her one of the most sought-after personalities in the country. Joe Penny had called, saying that, of course, she could be written back into the script.

  Kelly was with Doug, secluded in the house on Miami Beach, when Mel called her, eager to give her another offer. It was evening. They had taken Sam for a walk along the beach, arm in arm, just watching the sunrise. The odd thing, of course, was that they had done rather little talking since it had all broken. They just spent the time together.

  On the phone, she first chided Mel for working from his hospital bed. He sighed. “It’s what I do, Kelly. Hey, I love to wheel and deal. But this is it, my last call for the night. I…I have a visitor. My ex-wife is coming.”

  “Oh, no, Mel! She doesn’t want to give you paperwork or talk about legal action while you’re in the hospital!” Kelly protested.

  He was silent for a minute. “No…she’s just coming to see me. She was upset when she saw the news, when she knew that I’d been hurt.”

  Kelly smiled slowly. “Mel! You think you might get back together?”

  Doug, lying on the sofa reading the paper, looked at her, arching a brow. She smiled with a shrug as Mel said, “Who knows. But she is coming to see me. Anyway, as to another offer—”

  “I’ve taken an offer,” she said.

  “What?” Mel demanded.

  Doug jerked around and stared at her.

  She smiled again. “A very handsome and articulate fellow named Afton Clark was approached by a cable station…You’ll get the paperwork and the contracts, Mel. We’re going to host a show together. Tentatively it will be called Miami Magic. What do you think?”

  “I think you should let me handle the business.”

  “I’m staying here, Mel.”

  “California is still the place to be.”

  “Not for me.”

  “Hey! Does Ally know about this?” he demanded.

  “Do you care, Mel? You’ve never really liked her.”

  She could hear his soft sigh. “She was the one smart enough to find a dance coach who was an ex-cop,” he admitted.

  “I’m glad you’re getting along. Since you’re working from your bed, anyway, you can call Ally for me and the two of you can whine about me together. It will be great. But get some rest, dammit! And see your ex-wife. We’ll talk later. I love you.”

  She hung up, smiling at Doug, who was still staring at her in astonishment.

  “Why don’t I know anything about this?” he demanded. “And Afton didn’t mention anything to me!”

  “You were out with Sam when he called,” she said. “I haven’t actually agreed yet, but…”

  He rose, walked to the chair where she was sitting and hunkered down before her. “You want to stay here?”

  “For now.”

  “Why?”

  “Because your life is here,” she said softly.

  “But that’s not fair.”

  She stretched, reflective. “Well, I was thinking maybe you’d like to make this bodyguard arrangement more…permanent.”

  He lowered his eyes, then looked up and smiled. “Kelly, I’m a dance teacher about to start doing investigations on the side. Am I what you really want? Am I enough? You could probably have anything in the world that you want right now. Every talk show in the nation is eager to get you on. You could have anything.”

  “Including you?” she asked.

  “I would have curled up and died if I lost you,” he said.

  “You don’t have to lose me, ever. You know that, O’Casey, right?”

  He stared at her. “Does that mean you know full well just how much I love you?” he asked after a moment.

  “It means that I hoped!” she whispered.

  “Does that mean a Hollywood wedding?” he said.

  “Are you asking me to marry you?” she asked.

  “I am basically down on my knees…” He shifted, going fully down, taking her hands. “Yes, I’m asking.”

  “O’Casey,” she murmured. “Kelly O’Casey. I like it. Has a nice ring.”

  He leaned forward and kissed her. The lock of their lips deepened. Breathless, she broke away.

  “You’re sure?” he whisper
ed.

  She nodded. “You are everything I want,” she told him.

  He smiled, rose and lifted her up into his arms.

  “In the mood for everything?” he asked.

  “Oh, yes!”

  He walked into the bedroom with her. And it was only later that she fully realized she had just gotten everything. And for a lifetime.

  Turn the page for a special preview of THE ISLAND,

  Heather Graham’s next exciting romantic suspense novel,

  available in hardcover in March 2006 only from MIRA Books.

  1

  It was a skull.

  That much Beth Anderson knew after two seconds of dusting off bits of dirt and grass and fallen palm debris.

  “Well?” Amber demanded.

  “What is it?” Kimberly asked, standing right behind Amber, anxiously trying to look over her shoulder.

  Beth glanced up briefly at her fourteen-year-old niece and her niece’s best friend. Until just seconds ago, the two had been talking a mile a minute, as they always did.

  But now their continual chatter had come to a dead stop.

  Kimberly had been the one to stub her toe on the unknown object.

  Amber had been the one to look, then demand that her aunt come over.

  “Well?” Kim prodded. “Dig it up, Beth.”

  “Um…I don’t think I should,” Beth said, biting her lower lip.

  It wasn’t just a skull. She couldn’t see it clearly, there was so much dirt and debris, but despite the fact that it was half hidden by tangled grasses and the sandy ground, she could see more than bone.

  There was still hair, Beth thought, her stomach churning.

  And even tissue.

  She didn’t want the girls seeing what they had discovered any more closely.

  Beth felt as if the blood in her veins had suddenly turned to ice. She didn’t touch the skull; she carefully laid a palm frond over it, so she would recognize the spot when she returned to it. She wasn’t about to dig anything up with the girls here.

  She dusted her hands and stood quickly, determined that they had to get back to her brother, who was busy setting up their campsite. They were going to have to radio the police, since cell phones didn’t seem to work out here.

  A feeling of deep unease was beginning to ooze along her spine as vague recollections of a haunting news story flashed into her mind: Molly and Ted Monoco, expert sailors, had seemed to vanish into thin air.

  The last place they’d actually been seen was Calliope Key, right where they were now.

  “Let’s go get Ben,” she suggested, trying not to sound as upset as she felt.

  “It’s a skull, isn’t it?” Amber demanded.

  Beth inhaled and exhaled. Slowly.

  The human mind was amazing. Moments ago she had been delighted by the very remoteness of the island, pleased that there weren’t any refreshment stands, automobiles or modern appliances of any kind.

  But now…

  “Might be,” Beth admitted, and she forced a grin, lifting her hands. “And might not be,” she lied. “Your dad isn’t going to be happy about this, Amber, when he’s been planning this vacation for so long, but—”

  She broke off. She hadn’t heard the sound of footsteps or even the rustle of foliage, but as she spoke, a man appeared.

  He had emerged from an overgrown trail through one of the thick hummocks of pines and palms that grew so profusely on the island.

  It was that elemental landscape that brought real boat people here, the lack of all the things that came with the real world.

  So why did his arrival feel so threatening?

  Trying to be rational with herself, she decided that he looked just right for the type of person who should be here. He had sandy hair and was deeply tanned. No, not just tanned but bronzed, with the kind of dyed-in-deep coloring that true boat people frequently seemed to acquire. He was in good shape, but not heavily muscled. He was in well-worn denim cutoffs, and his feet were clad in deck shoes, no socks. His feet were as bronze as his body, so he must have spent plenty of time barefoot.

  Like a guy who belonged on a boat, cruising the out islands. One who knew what he was doing. One who would camp where there were no amenities.

  He also wore shades.

  Anyone would, she told herself. She had on sunglasses, as did the girls. So why did his seem suspicious, dark and secretive?

  She needed to be reasonable, she told herself. She was only feeling this sudden wariness because she had just found a skull and instinctive panic was setting in. It was odd how the psyche worked. Any other time, if she had run into someone else on the island, she would have been friendly.

  But she had just found a skull, and it had reminded her of the unknown fate of Ted and Molly Monoco, who had been here, and then…

  Sailed into the sunset?

  An old friend had reported them missing when they hadn’t radioed in, as they usually did.

  And she had just found a skull at their last known location.

  So she froze, just staring at the man.

  ISBN 1-55254-413-3

  KILLING KELLY

  Copyright © 2005 by Heather Graham Pozzessere.

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, MIRA Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  MIRA and the Star Colophon are trademarks used under license and registered in Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, United States Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.

  www.MIRABooks.com

  About the Author

  Heather grew up in Dade County, Florida, and attended the University of South Florida at Tampa, majoring in theater arts and touring Europe and parts of Asia and Africa as part of her studies. After college, she acted in dinner theaters, modeled, waitressed, and tended bar. After the birth of her third child, she was determined to devote her efforts to her writing: her dream. She sold her first book in 1982.

  Today, this author's success is reflected not just by reader response and the over 20 million copies of her books in print, but in many other ways. In addition to being a New York Times bestselling author, Heather has received numerous awards for her novels, including over 20 trade awards from magazines such as Romantic Times and Affaire de Coeur, bestseller awards from B. Dalton, Waldenbooks, and BookRak, and several Reviewers' Choice and People's Choice awards.

  Heather has appeared on Entertainment Tonight, Romantically Speaking, a TV talk show that aired nationwide on the Romance Classics cable channel, and CBS Sunday News. She has been quoted in People and USA Today, been profiled in The Nation, and featured in Good Housekeeping. Her books have been selections for the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild. She has been published across the world in more than 15 languages and has published over 70 titles, including anthologies and short stories.

  Somehow, this prolific author manages to juggle it all—family, career, and marriage—while reaching a level of success to which few can aspire.

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