Blood Always Tells
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In loving memory of my grandmother,
MAUDE ELIZABETH DALLAS,
for teaching me that if you’re going to sin, sin big
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Every time I finish writing a book and start on the acknowledgments, I’m reminded of how many amazing people I know. First, I owe a giant thank-you to my editor, Paul Stevens, for trusting me to write a stand-alone novel, especially since my pitch for the book consisted entirely of the words, “I want to write a stand-alone novel.” Paul’s talent, wisdom, and dedication are exceptional. The entire Tor/Forge team is incredible, and I want to thank Aisha Cloud, Patty Garcia, Edward Allen, Seth Lerner, and Miriam Weinberg for always going above and beyond. Many thanks to my Canadian distributor, Raincoast Books (especially Dan Wagstaff and Jamie Broadhurst) and its partner Ampersand, Inc. (especially Vanessa Di Gregorio) for their work on my behalf. I’m also grateful to Judith Weber and the entire staff of the Sobel Weber agency.
There are many booksellers and librarians who’ve supported my work, and I’m grateful to all of them. Some who deserve special recognition: Scott Montgomery (BookPeople); Lisa Casper (The Tattered Cover); Ben McNally (Ben McNally Books); Jean Utley (Book ’Em); Barbara Peters (The Poisoned Pen); Maryelizabeth Hart (Mysterious Galaxy); Gary Shulze and Pat Frovarp (Once Upon a Crime); Lesa Holstine; Richard Katz and David Biemann (Mystery One); McKenna Jordan, John Kwiatkowski, and Sally Woods (Murder by the Book); Otto Penzler (Mysterious Bookshop); Guy Dubois (Maison Anglaise); Suzy Takacs (The Book Cellar); Nancy Frater (BookLore); Marian Misters and J. D. Singh (Sleuth of Baker Street); Walter Sinclair and Jill Sanagan (Dead Write Books); Dan Ellis (Armchair Books); Gary Baumbach (Woodstock Public Library); Dennis and Joan Jackal (Jessica’s Book Nook); Don Ross (Manticore Books); Roy Skuce (Green Heron Books); Janine Werby (Merrifield Book Shop); John Cheyne (Book Express); Catalina Novoa (The Bookshelf); and Shonna Froebel (Barrie Public Library).
I’m especially grateful to the wonderful people I know in the crime-fiction community. It’s too massive a list to include here, but it includes Megan Abbott, Jedidiah Ayres, Carole Barrowman, Judy Bobalik, Ken Bruen, Margaret Cannon, Kristin Centorcelli, Joe Clifford, Reed Farrel Coleman, David Cranmer, Laura K. Curtis, Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, Barna Donovan, Neliza Drew, Linda Fairstein, Kim Fay, Jacques Filippi, Margery Flax, Jen Forbus, Cullen Gallagher, Meg Gardiner, Allison Glasgow, Ian Hamilton, Chris F. Holm, Katrina Niidas Holm, Janet Hutchings, Jon and Ruth Jordan, Patricia King, Swapna Krishna, Ed Kurtz, Jenn Lawrence, Benoît Lelièvre, Laura Lippman, Jeremy Lynch, Susan Elia MacNeal, Catherine Maiorisi, Margaret McLean, Bobby McCue, Terrie Moran, Dan O’Shea, Sabrina Ogden, Chantelle Aimee Osman, Brad Parks, Keith Rawson, Todd Robinson, Janet Rudolph, Kathleen Ryan, Jackie Sherbow, Robin Spano, Josh Stallings, Steve Steinbock, Dennis Tafoya, Clare Toohey, Lisa Unger, Steve Weddle, Sarah Weinman, Chuck Wendig, Holly West, and Elizabeth A. White.
Heartfelt thanks, for a variety of reasons, to Christopher Jackson, Bethanne Patrick, Joan Chin, Pia Lindstrom, Katia Hetter, Mark Medley, Sarah Murdoch, Susan Shapiro, Jacqueline Kirk, and the very much missed Greg Quill.
Friends who deserve a special thank-you: Trish Snyder, Stephanie Craig, Ilana Rubel, David Hayes, Kathleen Dore, Shelley Ambrose, Darya Arden, Ghen Laraya Long, Helen Lovekin, Leslie Elman, Jessica DuLong, Ellen Neuborne, Jenna Schnuer, and Beth Russell Connelly.
Since taking up crime (writing), I’ve joined Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Crime Writers of Canada, and International Thriller Writers. Also, my longtime friends at the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the Society of American Travel Writers have been incredibly supportive of my criminal ways. My thanks to all.
I’m grateful, as always, to my amazing parents, John and Sheila Davidson, for being so supportive from day one. (That goes double for my mom, my first reader on this book and all others.) I’m grateful to my aunts Irene McIntosh and Amy D. Cane for their tireless support. Huge thanks to my wonderful husband, Dan, for always being there for me — no matter how many pages I ask him to read.
Finally, I’d like to thank readers everywhere. What I do wouldn’t be possible without you. Who’d think that someone with an imagination as dark as mine would be surrounded by amazing people?
CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Part One: Dominique
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Part Two: Desmond
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Part Three: Polly
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Novels by Hilary Davidson
About the Author
Copyright
PART ONE
DOMINIQUE
1
It didn’t take Dominique Monaghan long to realize she wasn’t cut out for the life of a criminal. She’d knocked back her conscience in the small hours of Friday morning with a couple of pink pills, and the results were worse than a hangover. This is never going to work, she told herself, mentally running down a checklist of all the reasons her plans would fail. At the top was the essential unreliability of Gary Cowan. He’d been as hard to grasp as quicksand back when they were together, and she had no reason to believe that anything had altered his character in the three months since she’d left him. It wouldn’t be out of character for Gary to bail on their plans at the last minute. He wouldn’t even think twice. In spite of the countless blows to the head the man had suffered in his line of work, he was an unparalleled genius when it came to excuses. Lies rolled off his tongue with the soft sweetness of a lullaby.
He won’t show, Dominique told herself. Something will come up and he’ll bolt. He’ll figure out I haven’t forgiven him. He’ll smell a rat. Those thoughts soothed her. For all her maneuvering and plotting over the past month, since Gary had stepped up his attempts to win her back, she wasn’t sure she could go through with her scheme. Better if he didn’t show up and it all fell through, she reasoned. No harm, no foul, and Gary would never be the wiser. It didn’t matter if he never found out just how much she loathed him.
She had a mild panic attack when Gary buzzed up from the lobby. “Hey, babe, I’m downstairs.” His raspy voice was almost sweet. “I can’t wait to see you.”
“Sure,” she said, feeling as awkward as she sounded, cutting the connection before Gary could say another word. She hovered in her foyer, tugging tendrils of hair this way and that, and double-checking that there was no lipstick on her teeth. Her face was a perfect oval, with wide-set brown eyes, smooth skin the color of powdered cocoa, high cheekbones, and a full mouth. She was broad-shouldered and statuesque, the kind of girl who’d been told by strangers as a teenager that she should be a model. That dream had brought her from Chicago to New York at eighteen, only to be dismissed by bookers for the big agencies, who told her she was too athletic and too old, and mid-level agencies, who informed her apologetically that they already had a black girl. She’d found a small agency to take her on and she’d worked steadily for a few years, but that career was over by the time she was twenty-seven. In the three years since, she’d worked—with far greater success—as a stylist on photo shoots. She didn’t need to look perfect anymore, but the internal pressure never lifted.
Vanity of vanities; all is vanity. For a moment, Dominique could have sworn her Nana was in her apartment with her. She shook off that sensation, pulled on her coat, and picked up her weekend bag. It was time.
When Dominique’s wobbly legs finally got her downstairs,
some of Gary’s sweetness had already worn thin. He’d parked himself in the lone, threadbare chair in what passed for a lobby in her new building. His head was tipped back and his eyes were closed. His long legs were extended as if he were deliberately trying to trip anyone who happened by.
“You took so long I needed a nap,” he murmured, not opening his eyes. His complexion had faded over the past few weeks, leaving him a shade of yellow that suggested jaundice over St. Tropez tan. His sandy hair was shaggy, as if he couldn’t be bothered to get it cut. There were purple bags protruding under his eyes. Gary had sported plenty of shiners in his time, but this looked brutal to her. Even though she didn’t want to, Dominique felt the spindliest thread of sympathy tugging at her heart. Then she mentally kicked herself. Remember how he treated you. Remember what he did.
“If I wanted to string you along, I would’ve told you to drive up to your country house alone and wait for me,” she said.
He laughed, his face cracking in a broad smile. “I know you want to rake me over hot coals.” Gary opened his eyes. They were a startling shade of bottle green that made her shiver when they slid her way. Today was no exception. “I missed you, babe,” he said, scrutinizing her face. “You have no idea how much.”
He stood and reached for her hand, pressing his lips to it. When Dominique didn’t shy away, he leaned in for a kiss, but she snapped her head to the side so that his mouth slid off, like a foolish baseball player who couldn’t even make first base.
“You should try that line on your wife sometime,” Dominique said. “See if flattery really does get you everywhere.”
“She’s got a heart of stone. Nothing ever worked with her, and I stopped trying a long time ago. But with you…” Gary tucked one lock of her hair behind her ear. “Maybe I just need to up my game.”
Even the gentlest touch of his fingers antagonized her. The last thing she wanted was her carefully straightened hair messed up by a man she hoped to kick in the head before the day was done. She gave him a smile and turned her face to look out the window, hoping to bury just how fleeting and insincere that expression was.
“Aren’t you going to kiss me?” he asked.
“Why would I want to?”
“You’re still mad at me.” Gary’s voice was light, teasing. He knew he was stating the obvious, and it was clear he thought the whole situation was just hilarious. “I can tell.”
She glanced at him, wondering how a man who bore more than a passing resemblance to Bradley Cooper could be so pathetic. He was thirty-seven, but he still looked like the golden boy he used to be, back when he was on the U.S. Olympic boxing team, going for gold. Not that Gary ever did anything for his country, or for anyone else. He was a striver; she’d always known that. It was his strength and his weakness, and it was what she was going to use to break him.
“You’re not still mad about moving out of the condo, are you?” Gary asked.
“‘Moving out.’ There’s a euphemism for you.”
“What would you call it?” Gary’s dark eyes were all innocence.
“Is there a synonym for being tossed into the street?”
Gary sighed. “That wasn’t my fault. Trin forced that to happen. I had no choice.” His smile faded and he rearranged his face to look serious. “I know that sounds pathetic. I know you hate me, and you have every reason to. But, I promise, I’m going to make everything up to you. All of it, babe. You’ll see.”
Trin was Gary’s wife, an anorexic heiress whose sole occupation was, as far as Dominique could tell, showing up at New York Fashion Week every February and September to be photographed in outfits showcasing her flat ass and chicken legs. The rest of the time, the wife was alternately counting her family’s massive pile of money and cutting endless lines of cocaine.
“I like this place, actually. It’s a nicer building than the condo was.”
“Really?” Gary pretended to look around. “No doorman. No concierge desk. I’m going to hazard a guess there’s no pool or sauna or fitness club, either. What’s to like?”
“The company’s better.” Dominique let her words sink in for a moment while Gary’s brow furrowed. “Come on, let’s get into your car before I change my mind.”
Gary had parked farther east on Twenty-ninth Street, since the building’s amenities didn’t include a driveway, either. His car was a five-year-old Mercedes-Benz in a shade of muted green that Gary referred to as “the color of money.” It had been a wedding gift from his father-in-law, and it was starting to show its age. That was Gary to a T, Dominique thought. Wealth and precious things surrounded him, yet there was something shabby about Gary, as if he were the poor relation who gathered the hand-me-downs. It didn’t make him any less attractive to her. The well-worn jeans, dark blue shirt, and battered brown leather jacket all suited him just fine. It was the fake Rolex watch on his left wrist that bothered her. When she’d met him, he’d had the real thing. It had disappeared around the time he’d sold his condo. The sad truth about Gary, Dominique realized, was that it would never occur to him to buy a nice watch without a designer name attached. He had to have the best of everything, but if he couldn’t secure that, he’d settle for a hopeless fraud. At his core, that was what was wrong with the man.
Gary took Dominique’s bag and stashed it in the trunk, then opened the passenger door for her. When he got into the car, he said, “Trin thinks she’s running the show right now, but that’s going to change.” Gary touched Dominique’s face. “I know you don’t believe me, but it’s true.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Just watch and wait. I know you think I’ve been hit in the head too many times to think straight. But things are going to be different.” He turned his head so that he was staring at Park Avenue South, and his husky voice dipped lower. There was an unfamiliar intensity in it. “I’m going to make them different.”
“Sure you will.” Dominique didn’t mean to sound flippant. It wasn’t so much that she’d heard the words before. She just didn’t care anymore.
Gary inclined his head so that his eyes settled on Dominique again. There was a furtiveness in them, as if he’d forgotten she was in the car for a nanosecond, until her voice reminded him. “You still haven’t kissed me, you know.”
She gave him a look that was all cool innocence. “I don’t suppose you’ve filed for divorce yet?”
Gary winced. “You need to trust me, babe. Give me time.”
Time, sure. That was all he needed. She’d heard that song on repeat the two years they were together. It was one thing when the only obstacle was Trin. Dominique could deal with that. But she’d been genuinely stunned and dismayed when Gary suddenly decided to sell his condo, coldly informing her she’d have to find her own place for a while. That had stung, but mostly because the blow had landed without warning. Still, she could’ve handled that, if Gary had been honest with her. At the time, he told her he was desperate for cash and had no choice but to sell the place. He’d also mumbled something about lying low and not seeing each other for a few weeks. It was only later that she’d found out the real reason for Gary’s change of heart: he was two-timing her with a featherweight blonde who looked like she’d been molded for a high school cheering squad. That was the last straw. It still made Dominique burn when images of Gary and his Lolita floated through her mind. She wasn’t sure how long she could hide that fact from him, so she said, “I’m going to nap on the drive up.”
“Would it bother you if I put music on?” Gary asked.
“No, that’s fine.” She closed her eyes and curled her body away from him. But when the first song came on, she flinched. It was Rihanna singing, “We found love in a hopeless place.” That was what had been playing when Dominique first met Gary. Of course, it had been the song of that summer, and there were probably tens of thousands of couples who first caught sight of each other while that melody swirled in the background. Still, it scorched her memory and fanned her fury.
They didn’t talk on the drive, even though Dominique was only pretending to sleep. Gary followed the narrow thread of the highway up to Ulster County in the Hudson Valley. The playlist was cleverly designed to toy with her emotions. Or was he trying to show how well he knew her? That was what she suspected when Laura Izibor’s “Don’t Stay” came on. “We break up and make up, and everything would be brand new.…”