The Third Sin by Elsa Klensch

Author:Elsa Klensch
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781466815544
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

Chapter 19

FRIDAY, 8:30 P.M.

Blair Bruckheimer’s kitchen

Blair dropped the slices of bacon into the half-full pot of cold water, put on the cover, and turned up the heat to let it boil. A few minutes of simmering would remove the strong salt taste and some of the smoky flavor, making it just right for the coq au vin she planned for tomorrow’s dinner.

The dish was a favorite of Jorge’s and Blair often cooked it for him and Elenora when they came to New York. She liked to see them and to catch up on family gossip; Harold usually wanted to learn why they had really come to visit.

Even so, they met as friends, as people who shared similar interests, and were genuinely glad to see one another. They rarely talked about Wade and when they did, neither Jorge nor Harold would say anything derogatory about him. Still, Blair had the impression that Jorge wished Wade were as easy to deal with as Harold.

Over the years she had grown fond of Elenora, whom Blair found to be a sensible woman. Blair was surprised the first time she heard Elenora criticize the much-loved Esperanza—the only Dias ever to say a bad word about the dead woman. Elenora said Esperanza was not the angel her parents made her out to be. In Elenora’s eyes, Blair learned, Esperanza was a calculating woman who had used their love to protect her while she scooped up family heirlooms that should have gone to Jorge as the eldest son.

Blair had become used to the constant presence of Esperanza in their lives—the portrait of her that dominated Wade’s living room, the magnificent treasures she had brought to her marriage, the Braganza. The stories told about Esperanza were already legendary and seemed to grow in power each year. Blair had recently read that women who worshipped at the chapel her father had built in Esperanza’s memory had begun to claim that she had worked miracles, healing their pain and solving their problems with lovers and husbands. Elenora had been a pleasant counter to the worship of Esperanza.

Would Wade’s death put an end to the endless discussion of his mother, Blair wondered. One thing she was sure of: if Bella continued to live in Wade’s apartment, she would remove the portrait of Esperanza from above the mantelpiece.

The intercom buzzed and the doorman announced that Mr. Sacco was there to see her. Blair shook her head. She and Giorgio had little to say to each other. Both she and Harold disliked him for the way he spoiled Kirsten.

“Let me speak to him,” she said, then waited to hear his voice with its slight but pleasing Italian accent.

“Hi,” she said. “Kirsten isn’t here. She’s at work. Call her on her cell.”

He laughed easily. “I know our daughter’s schedule as well as you do, Blair. It’s you I want to see.”

“Why?” She was wary. Cooking relaxed her and she disliked being disturbed while she was making a special dish.

“I’ve got something to give you, something I know you’ll be glad to get.

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