Then I thought of the real problem. What if they pulled us out of the car and found the gun on Marty? That would not go over well here in Palm Beach.

I looked at Marty and saw the same concerns on his face.

We both stared at the car as it came toward us at a steady pace like a shark moving methodically through the water. Neither of us could find the will to move.

Marty was about to say something when I held up my hand to keep him quiet. I needed to think.

Then, as the car was almost on top of us, I noticed it was a bright red. Not the blue and white of a Palm Beach police car. And it was a Cadillac. A big one. As the car passed us, I could see the tiny white head that barely reached over the dash, and I realized it was a local, someone who probably always drove slowly after dark.

The elderly woman never even looked in our direction.

I let out a long breath and grabbed my purse from the backseat, and we slipped out of the car.

Chapter 30

We made it up the driveway to the front door without making a sound. For some reason, when we stood in front of the door I found myself out of breath. I pressed the doorbell and could hear the chimes inside the house. Chimes I’d picked out and had installed to replace the stupid ding-dong sound that was attached to the doorbell when we got married. I looked around, making sure no one was watching us. Marty tapped his foot as he stood next to me.

It was a typical humid Florida night, and the breeze off the Atlantic felt like heaven. The excitement of facing Brennan built inside me. I turned to Marty, and in a low voice I said, “I can’t wait to see the look on Brennan’s face.”

Then the door opened, and Brennan didn’t disappoint me. He was utterly shocked and couldn’t hide it. Dressed in a polo shirt and golf slacks, he looked good. Almost like a model. His hair was perfect, and he had a few lines on his face, like a man who spent much of his time outdoors. For a change, he was speechless, and his blue eyes were wide with surprise. He looked from me to Marty slowly, then settled back on me. This was exactly what I wanted. He was shaken.

After a long silence, Brennan said, “Christy, what are you doing here at this hour? I thought we were speaking only through our attorneys.”

I took a moment to gather myself, looking Brennan straight in the eyes as I said, “I need to say something. Not in court, where I can be censored.”

“I’m listening,” he said slowly, still looking back and forth between me and Marty.

Somehow with just those two words he managed to be condescending.

“Do you realize what a pretentious, pompous ass you are? Is it intentional?”