Free Death Storms the Shore (A Kate Kennedy Mystery Book 4) by Noreen Wald Page A

oceanfront mansion in South Beach; it would have put Hugh Hefner’s to shame.”
    Had Lucy visited the Playboy mansion too? Kate decided she didn’t need to know.
    “Early on and totally smitten, I figured Walt lived way above his income. Yes, he had a high salary, but his lifestyle and his toys, including a yacht with gold faucets in the head, seemed far too grand, even for a television icon.” Lucy paused and drained her drink. She held up her glass, seeming surprised to discover it was empty.
    “Another?” Kate felt like a pusher.
    “Make it one for the road,” Lucy sang, then laughed as if she had Jay Leno’s wit.
    On her way to the bar, Kate cut to the chase. “Where did Weatherwise get all that money?”
    “If I could have answered that question, I’d have prosecuted the bastard. He broke my heart, Kate.”
    A woman scorned. Worse, a federal prosecutor scorned.
    Kate thought of Rosie O’Grady dating Albert Anastasia. Of Marlene’s penchant for bad boys. Was she the only woman in Ocean Vista who’d slept on the right side of the law?
    “I gave it my best,” Lucy said. “Tried to get Walt for income tax evasion, for hiding assets—probably from illegal trading, maybe using another name—then transferring the cash into a foreign account, but I could never locate the source of the money or gather enough proof to indict the son of a bitch.”
    “Strange that both you and Walt wound up at Ocean Vista.” And what about Bob Seeley? Kate felt sure Walt’s threat to Bob last night and his demand for money had been connected to all this. Could Bob have been a partner in Weatherwise’s crooked deals? Had fussy old Bob been a money launderer?
    “Not strange at all. Walt had a new lady in his life. He convinced the network that he could report the weather from its Fort Lauderdale studio, and he moved from Miami to be near his lover.”
    “How do you know all this?”
    The phone rang. Damn. Lee Parker, she presumed. Kate had to take the call.
    “Hi,” she said, motioning to Lucy to stay seated.
    “Kate, it’s Mary Frances. This is the first chance I’ve had since the hurricane to sneak a phone call. How are my dolls? Were they in harm’s way? Any water damage? Are Jackie and Marilyn okay?”
    “Yes, they’re all fine. Marlene and I are doing okay too.”
    “Well, thank God. I haven’t been able to sleep. I’ve been so worried about my girls. And, er, about you and Marlene, and, of course, Joe.”
    “All is well here at Ocean Vista. Look, I can’t talk, Mary Frances. I have company.”
    “I’m coming home, Kate. I’ve made a decision regarding my virginity.”
    A loud banging at the front door made Lucy drop her drink. She jumped up and started toward the hall. The clock chimed.
    “Pro or con, Mary Frances?” Kate asked.
    Lucy opened the door.
    Rosie O’Grady ran in, screaming, “Kate, come quick. There’s a dead body bleeding all over the backseat of my Lincoln Continental.

Fifteen

      
    The man lay facedown in a pool of blood, a knife stuck in his neck. Kate, kneeling on the front passenger seat, didn’t want to touch or move the body. She had no need to see his face. She’d know him anywhere. Why hadn’t Rosie recognized Detective Parker?
    “Call the police,” Kate yelled to no one, to everyone. She couldn’t pull her eyes away from the dead man.
    “And an ambulance,” Lucy said, suddenly sober.
    “Right,” Kate agreed, though she felt certain it was too late to help Lee Parker.
    “Whaddaya think?” Rosie said. “I watch Law & Order. I knocked on Marlene’s door first and asked her to call the cops; then I took the elevator up to get you, Kate.”
    “So much blood. You wouldn’t think there’d be so much blood.” Lucy, trying to peer over Kate’s shoulder, sounded like Lady Macbeth. She must have performed well in the courtroom.
    Of course there would be a lot of blood. The killer had sliced the jugular. Parker’s head listed to the left, as if his neck had been