Page 85 of One Vote for Murder
I cleared my throat. “Is business good?”
She grimaced. “Not really. There’s always a slump after the holidays.”
I smiled. “I suppose that makes sense. The credit card bills from Christmas are coming due now. Time to pay the piper.”
She perked up, finally showing interest. “I wish Daddy would let me have a credit card.”
“Yeah?”
She nodded. “There are things I’d like to buy, but I don’t necessarily want to have to ask him for them, you know? If I had a credit card, I could just buy them myself.”
“Your paycheck doesn’t cover that sort of thing?”
“Oh, Daddy doesn’t pay me to work here.”
I lifted my brows in surprise. “No?”
Her face tensed. “Well, I live at home, and I don’t have to pay rent. Plus, Daddy buys all my food. I… I shouldn’t complain. Daddy says I have it pretty darn good.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond. It seemed like Quinn could probably pay Ivy a little something extra. Just so she’d feel more independent. But maybe that was exactly the opposite of what he wanted.
“Do you mind if I ask why you need to talk to my father?” she asked.
“I don’t mind.” I leaned one hip against the counter, studying her. I wasn’t opposed to her knowing my reason for coming by. She might even be helpful. She probably knew exactly how her father had felt about Kyle. “I’m sure you’ve heard the sad news about Kyle Segrott?”
“Yes,” she said softly, and her lower lip quivered. “That was such a shock.”
“Did you know Kyle well?”
“What?” Her cheeks flushed pink.
“Were you friends?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I didn’t know him well.”
“Your father seemed to think you were close to Kyle. The last time I saw you and your dad, he was very upset with Kyle.”
She blanched. “Oh, goodness. Daddy got it in his head Kyle was hitting on me. He… he thought we were sneaking around together.”
“But you weren’t?”
She shook her head. “Nope.”
“Do you know why your father thought you were?” I asked.
“No.” She turned away slightly as if avoiding my gaze.
I studied her stiff body language and clenched jaw. She was definitely hiding something from me. “You know, it’s okay if you were seeing Kyle. I wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way to tell your father.”
She flicked her surprised gaze to me. “No?”
“Well, you’re not a child. You’re eighteen years old. Nothing illegal about dating.”
Looking skeptical, she faced me. “How do I know you wouldn’t tell my father?”
“Because I said I wouldn’t?”
She seemed to relax a little. “I see.”
