Gone by Mallory Kane Page A

of them boded good news.
    The detective showed his first glint of emotion. For a split second, Joe saw a hint of vague discomfort pass across his expression. “I spoke with your mother the other day.”
    “I’m aware of that,” Joe said, still politely neutral.
    “Mr. Powers, I can assure you, this won’t take long.”
    Joe sighed. It was obvious that if he didn’t let Detective Delancey in, the two of them could stand there all day, being eternally polite and quietly obstinate. He stepped back just far enough to allow the detective to ease past him into the foyer.
    As they crossed into the living room, Marcie came through the dining room door. “Hello,” she said to the visitor as she wiped her hands on a dish towel. She glanced nervously at Joe.
    “Marcie, this is Detective Delancey.” Before Joe could go any further, Delancey spoke up.
    “Mrs. Powers,” he said, nodding. “I just have a matter to discuss with your husband. It shouldn’t take long.” His voice was polite but dismissive.
    A frown wrinkled Marcie’s brow as she looked at the detective, then at Joe. She paused, as if making up her mind about something. “Would you like some coffee?” she said sweetly.
    “No, ma’am. I’ve had too much today already.”
    “Joe? Coffee?”
    “I’ll wait,” Joe said. “We should be done here in a few minutes.”
    Marcie’s frown deepened. “Don’t forget—”
    He waved a hand. “Don’t worry. But if necessary, you go ahead and handle it.”
    She opened her mouth, then closed it again. After a second, she nodded. “I’ll be upstairs then.” She turned on her heel and left. He heard her footsteps on the stairs.
    Joe turned to Delancey and gestured vaguely toward the sofa.
    Delancey propped on the edge of the cushion, his elbows on his knees. “I won’t take up much of your time, Mr. Powers, but I wanted to follow up with you on the matter I mentioned to your mother.”
    “Yes?” Joe didn’t plan to give the detective anything. He wondered if Delancey had been dispatched by the family to issue the official Delancey welcome to the bastard son. If that’s what he was doing here, Joe wanted no part of it. He didn’t care if the gesture was genuine or for show.
    “I assume she told you what I told her.”
    When Joe didn’t react to the question, Delancey went on. “My partner came upon the copy of your birth certificate while doing a warrant search of Senator Darby Sills’s personal financial records in his home, office and safety deposit box. I have no idea why Sills had the copy. You’ve probably seen in the news that he had been blackmailing a couple of people for several years. My best guess is that he’d either tried or planned to try to blackmail my—Con Delancey, regarding your birth.”
    Joe nodded. That was what he’d figured, too. He glanced at his watch, then sent a quick glance toward the stairs. It was almost nine o’clock. Howard was going to call soon, and he didn’t want Delancey here when that phone call came in. “I’m aware of everything you told my mother, Detective. Was there some specific reason you wanted to speak with me about it?”
    “May I ask when you first knew that Con Delancey was your father?”
    “I suppose you may,” Joe countered as he decided it was time for the detective to leave. He stood. “I found out that your grandfather was my father when my mother came to see me at my office after she talked to you.”
    Delancey stood, too. “You hadn’t known before that?”
    Joe shook his head. “If you’ll excuse me, Detective, my wife and I are expecting an important phone call, so—”
    Ethan Delancey gave Joe a hard look, then walked around him through the foyer and opened the front door. “Mr. Powers, I know about your child, as well. I’m really sorry about your loss.”
    Grimacing, Joe spoke through gritted teeth. “Thank you,” he said, taking hold of the inside knob of the front door, thereby feeling as though he were taking control