The Kincaids: Southern Seduction. Kathie DeNosky

of clothes, Daniel drove them back to the Battery and, parking at the rear entrance of the house, used Lily’s key to let them in the back door. He didn’t want to use the front entrance for obvious reasons. It wasn’t common knowledge that Lily had inherited the mansion, but he wasn’t going to take any chances that a stray member of the paparazzi had recognized his car when they drove past her mother’s place and followed them.

      As soon as he had the door secured behind them and the alarm system turned on, Daniel took Lily into his arms. “I’m so sorry all this is happening, sweetheart. If I could make it all go away, I would.”

      “I can’t believe someone … murdered my father,” she said, wrapping her arms around his waist as if he was a lifeline. “Who would do that? Why would they do that?”

      “I don’t know.” He held her close. “But I’m sure the authorities will find whoever it is and bring them to justice.”

      “I hope so,” she said, trembling against him. “RJ said that after the police interview the security team at TKG and get preliminary results from the autopsy, they’re going to interview each member of the family. Does that mean we’re all under suspicion?”

      Daniel didn’t want to tell her that was most likely the case. She’d had enough upset and he wasn’t going to cause her more by confirming her assumption.

      Thinking quickly, he shook his head. “It’s probably just a matter of investigative procedure. There might be something that you or one of your siblings could tell the detectives that would give them a lead to follow or a clue who the killer might be.”

      “I suppose you’re right,” she said, sounding emotionally spent.

      “One of those boxes we brought over contained towels, didn’t it?” he asked. When she nodded, he guided her toward the back stairs, leading from the kitchen to the second floor. “Let’s go upstairs and get you into a warm bath. Maybe it will relieve some of the tension and help you sleep.”

      While Lily took a nice soaking bath in one of the two master bathrooms, Daniel took a quick shower in the other. As he toweled himself dry, he wondered who could have killed Reginald Kincaid and why.

      It was a fact of life that men in high corporate positions weren’t without their share of enemies. Whether it was a disgruntled employee, a business rival or a radical member of a special interest group, there was always someone who didn’t agree with the way a CEO conducted business and the decisions he had to make for the welfare of the company. But who would have taken their grievance to the extreme and resorted to murder?

      Pulling on a pair of boxer briefs, Daniel walked into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the king-size bed as he waited for Lily to finish her bath. He didn’t like that she was having to relive the loss of her father. She had just started to adjust to losing the man and now the uncertainty of what had happened, and why, was starting all over again.

      But he liked even less that there was an unknown murderer on the loose and there was no way of knowing if he intended to target another member of the Kincaid family.