The Villa

Tyler.
    He blanched. Actually felt the blood fall away from his face. "Forget it."
    "Chicken." Sophia's amused expression faded as she spotted the two figures walking toward them. "The police are here. Claremont and Maguire. It can't be good news."
     
    Deliberate, Sophia thought as she sat in Tyler's living room. The four-wheel had been tampered with, as deliberately as the wine had been. Part of her had known it, but having it confirmed now with cold, hard facts brought a fresh chill to her skin.
    "Yes, I use that vehicle often. Primarily I drive my car to and from the city, but it's a two-seater. The three of us were spending the day in San Francisco, shopping for my mother's wedding. We needed the bigger car."
    "Who knew of your plans?" Maguire asked her.
    "A number of people, I suppose. Family. We were meeting Judge Moore, so her family."
    "Did you make appointments?"
    "Not really. I stopped by to see Lincoln Moore before I met the others for lunch. The rest of the day was loose."
    "And the last place you stopped, for any length of time?" Claremont asked.
    "We had dinner. Moose's at Washington Square. The car was parked about ninety minutes. From around seven to eight-thirty or so. We left for home from there."
    "Any idea, Ms. Giambelli, who would want to cause you harm?"
    "Yes." She met Claremont's gaze levelly. "Jeremy DeMorney. He's involved in the product tampering, in the embezzlement, in every problem my family's had this year. I believe he's responsible for it, that he planned it and used my cousin and whatever, whoever else came to hand. And as I've told him so personally, he's unlikely to be happy with me just now."
    "Mr. DeMorney's been questioned."
    "And I'm sure he had plenty of answers. He's responsible."
    "You saw the ad he sent Sophia." Frustrated, Tyler pushed to his feet. "It was a threat, and he made good on it."
    "We can't prove DeMorney sent the ad." Maguire watched Ty prowl the room. Big hands, she noted. DeMorney must have crumbled like plaster under them. "We've confirmed he was in New York when the package was mailed from San Francisco."
    "He had it sent, then. Find a way to prove it," Tyler shot back. "That's your job."
    "I believe he killed my father." Sophia kept her voice calm. "I believe his hatred of my father is at the core of everything that's happened. He may tell himself, in some skewed way, that it's business. But it's personal."
    "Basing that on the alleged affair between Avano and the former Mrs. DeMorney, it's a long time to wait for payback."
    "No, it's not." Maddy spoke up. "Not if you want to do it right, pull everyone in on it."
    Claremont took the interruption in stride, gave Maddy a quiet, go-ahead look.
    "If he goes after Sophia's father right after the divorce, then everybody knows he's whacked out over it." She'd spent some time analyzing it, running theories. "Like if I want to get Theo for something, I sit back, wait, figure out how to hit him best. Then when I do, he's not expecting it and doesn't even know why he's getting it." She nodded. "It's scientific, and lots more satisfying."
    "The kid's a genius," Ty commented.
     
    " 'A dish best served cold'," Claremont mused on the drive back to the city. "It fits DeMorney's profile. He's cool, sophisticated, erudite. He's got money, position, impeccable taste. I can see that type waiting, planning things out, tugging strings. But I can't get his type risking losing that position over a cracked marriage. How would you handle it if your man cheated on you?"
    "Oh, I'd kick his ass, then scalp him in the divorce and do everything in my power to make the rest of his life a living hell, including sticking pins in the throat and balls of a doll made in his image. But then, I'm not sophisticated and erudite."
    "And people wonder why I'm not married." Claremont flipped open his notebook. "Let's go talk to Kristin Drake again."
    // was infuriating to have the police come to your place of business. People would be talking, speculating, snickering. There was nothing Kris hated more than people gossiping behind her back. And as she saw it, the blame of it was squarely on Sophia's shoulders.
    "If you want my opinion, the problems Giambelli's been facing this year were brought on because Sophia's more interested in promoting her own agenda than in the company or the people who work for it."
    "And that agenda is?" Claremont asked.
    "Sophia is her own agenda."
    "And her self-interest, as you see it, has resulted in no less than four