“I’m aware of that. I’m not stupid, just old. It doesn’t change the fact that it’s gobbledygook,” Lorelei said. Her eyes tracked to Emma. “Emma. Goodness, you look terrible.”
Emma darted a look at Gabriel. His expression flickered with brief embarrassment, which she took to mean he’d thought the same thing, just hadn’t said it out loud. “It’s been kind of a terrible week,” Emma said.
“Gabriel’s been keeping me apprised,” Lorelei said. Her lips pursed. “I’ve made it clear that I don’t think it’s a good idea for either one of you to be spending time together right now, but you’re grown adults and I can’t control you. Now, I assume you didn’t come over to admire my garden, Emma Palmer.” Emma thought she detected a hint of a warning in those words.
“She wants to talk about Dad,” Gabriel said. Lorelei’s brows rose.
“Seems like you’ve been very interested in my son lately,” she said.
Emma shifted uncomfortably. “Kenneth was right. My dad was involved in some really bad stuff. And I’ve been wondering if it had something to do with why my parents were killed.”
Lorelei sighed. “If I’m going to talk about this, I’m not doing it craning my neck. Get us a couple of chairs, Gabriel,” she commanded. Gabriel ducked his head and emerged a few minutes later with two light kitchen chairs, which he positioned on the back deck so they could face each other. Emma sat at the edge of her seat, not wanting to look like she was settling in.
“Your grandfather, he was a stern man, but fair,” Lorelei said, looking off into the distance. “Hard, but not cruel.”
“I don’t really have fond memories of my grandfather,” Emma said. “I don’t think he knew what to do with three granddaughters. He gave us presents. Pink, frilly things he thought girls must like.” His wife had died young—when her father was a child. Her grandfather had raised her father on his own. Their relationship had always seemed more like that of an employer and employee, or maybe a senior officer and one of his men, than a father and son.
“I don’t think that every child needs one father and one mother to come out right, but they do need love. And your grandfather, whatever his skills, had no idea how to show that,” Lorelei said. “In any case, I don’t have to tell you who your father was.”
Emma nodded mutely, and Lorelei hmm-ed.
“Kenneth and your father were in school together. Them and Rick Hadley, and that other young man—your lawyer.”
“Christopher Best,” Emma supplied.
“Now, he couldn’t draw a stick figure to save his life, but anyone could see he was the smartest out of the four of them. Kenneth was the clown of the group.”
“Wait, the group?” Gabriel asked, surprise in his voice. “They were all friends?”
“Back then, sure,” Lorelei said. “But then the other three left for college, and Kenneth didn’t have the grades for it. When they came home, he expected things to go back to the way they were, but the others had moved on. He’s always resented that. I think that’s why Randolph offered him the job in the first place. He felt bad for the way things had fallen apart. And that’s why it stung Kenneth so much. It wasn’t just that his boss fired him, it was that his friends turned on him. Randolph fired him. Rick wouldn’t listen to him. And, of course, Christopher caused all that trouble for him.”
Emma’s stomach twisted. “Chris?”
“Oh, he sent those letters, full of ‘desist’ this and ‘severe penalties’ that. Convinced Kenneth the best thing to do was to shut up and move on,” Lorelei said. “Then the things he said about Gabriel.”
“He was doing his job, Nana,” Gabriel told her, looking uncomfortable. To Emma he said, “He and my lawyer had some sit-downs. He never suggested I did anything, but he was pretty skeptical about our relationship.”
“He didn’t tell me about that,” Emma said, lacing her words with as much apology as she could muster.
“You say you’re wondering if what Kenneth found got your parents killed,” Lorelei said. She gave Emma a shrewd look. “But you know perfectly well I don’t know anything that could tell you about your father’s business. You want to know about Kenneth. Whether he might have done it.”
Emma swallowed. “You said he came back while you were in the hospital. That means he was in town right around then, right?”