Page 67 of End Game

“Yes, ma’am.”

Jillian smiled. “Thank you, sweetheart. I’m sure it will only be for a little while.”

With Ash on the case, Kayla tended to agree.

She glanced at her mother’s barely touched plate. “Aren’t you going to eat your salmon?”

“I’ll take it home and eat it tonight. Seems I’ve ruined my appetite by making a mid-morning stop at Percolator.”

“Currant scone?”

“Guilty.”

They shared a smile.

“Do you have pearl studs?” Kayla blurted out.

“Of course.” Jillian frowned. “Why do you ask?”

“Have you seen them lately?”

“What a bizarre question. Do you need to borrow them?”

“Please answer the question, Mama. It’s important.”

“I wore them two nights ago.” She tilted her head to the side, assessing. “Why? Does this have anything to do with the murder investigation?”

A large hand constricted around her chest. “Why would you think that?”

“I know you, daughter. The location of my jewelry would be the furthest thing from your mind, under normal circumstances.”

“Forget I asked. Ash wouldn’t be happy if he learned I’d been sleuthing.”

Amusement fluttered across Jillian’s features. “It’s not like you to customize your actions to please a man.”

“I’m not being careful for him. It’s the case I’m worried about. I don’t want to screw up anything.”

“It’s best that you not form too deep an attachment to the agent.”

“Not that I am, but why the warning?”

She waited for her mother to explain, but the boardroom-savvy woman merely stared back with calm authority.

“Speaking of the agent,” Kayla said, suppressing the automatic, teenage-style revolt bubbling in her stomach, “are you in agreement with Sybil and Elsie? About the method with which I should keep tabs on the FBI’s investigation?”

Jillian folded her linen napkin and placed it on the table. “No, I’m not.”

“You were unusually quiet at lunch the other day.”

“As I said, I know my daughter.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means,” she said with quiet emphasis, “I raised you to use your mind to develop solutions to a problem. Not boudoir tricks.”

Kayla’s heart hammered in her chest. “But?”

“To my regret, I failed to teach you one important lesson.” Jillian reached across the table to cup her cheek. “How to protect your heart.”

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