“Sure thing, Mr. Talbot.” Brian left to carry out his instructions.
Gable returned to the den to find that Walter and Stuart had rejoined the group. “Well, that was a short game.”
Walter raised his hand as if wanting to be recognized. “My fault. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get any of those little balls to go into the pockets.” He grinned at Stuart. “Lucky for me we weren’t playing for money.”
Stuart’s reply said it all. “Next time we will be.” The sly grin spread across his face. “Did I ever tell you that I worked my way through college by hustling suckers at pool?”
Gable unobtrusively removed Fred’s glass from the bar and replaced it with a cup of black coffee. When he looked up, he saw that Lexi had spotted what he thought was an unnoticed action.
****
Ralph handed Gable a plastic bag. “I secured the boat on the beach so it won’t wash away or be damaged. This is what I found in it.” He took off his rain slicker and shook away the water before hanging it on a hook on the garage wall, then took off his muddy outer boots. The security guard shook his head. “A little boat like that…it’s a wonder he actually made it here in this storm. The jerk probably doesn’t know how lucky he is. By all rights he should be at the bottom of the ocean.”
Gable allowed a soft chuckle. “I’m sure the deputies who braved the churning waters to pick him up will let him know.”
“Is that all you need tonight, Mr. Talbot?”
“Yes, thanks.”
Ralph headed for the security room. Gable took the plastic bag and went to his office. Everyone else had retired to their respective bedrooms almost an hour ago. Dolly had finished in the kitchen and she and Hank had gone to their cottage. Gable was, at last, alone. It had been a long and exhausting day complicated by the arrival of Lexi Caldwell and the intrusion of Tom Jackson. Now he finally had some time to himself, time to revamp his personal agenda that seemed on the brink of deteriorating.
He turned on his computer and accessed a program he had written, entered his password to gain access to his files, then entered a second password that protected one very special file. If there was one thing Gable Talbot knew and knew well, it was how to protect his computer information. After all, he had started an internet company from scratch and sold it five years ago for one billion dollars. Several internet companies had sold for more money since then, but at the time it was an impressive amount. That certainly didn’t put him anywhere near the Forbes list of the richest people in the world, but a billion dollars was a very tidy sum—money that allowed him to pursue the one thing that had been an obsession for many years. And now the end was close enough that he could almost taste it. Most of the players were in position, ready to be manipulated along his pre-determined path.
So why was he being assaulted with sudden doubts? A foolish question. He knew the answer. Lexi Caldwell and her research. She represented an unknown factor in the middle of his carefully orchestrated drama. But was she truly a problem or just a minor inconvenience that he could circumvent? He wished he knew the answer to that. He also wished he knew why he couldn’t get her off his mind and permanently out of his thoughts. And most of those thoughts about her were far removed from his carefully planned agenda. They were very personal, some of them even erotic in nature.
The way she looked, the way she sounded. It touched him on a very primal level. And that brief moment when he had steadied her after a loud crack of thunder caused her to jump…well, he could still smell the fragrance of her perfume and feel the texture of her skin as he held her. If he hadn’t managed to turn loose of her when he did, he didn’t know what he would have ended up doing.
But he sure knew what he wanted to do.
He shook his head as he forced his thoughts back to the work at hand. He had too much to do and had spent too much time working out the details of his plan to be detoured from his goal by the presence of a desirable woman…a very desirable woman. There was too much at stake. He turned his attention to the information showing on the computer screen. Who knows. When all of this is over maybe I’ll actually build that luxury resort. The more I see of the plans, the more I like the idea.
****
Lexi poured herself another cup of coffee as she stared out the window at the fog cloaking the island in a gray shroud. The rain storm had moved on during the night, but she hadn’t been prepared for the fog that greeted her when she looked out her bedroom window that morning. Her mind drifted to last night and the subtle way Gable had handled Fred’s drink.
It hadn’t been Gable who poured Fred a drink. He had gotten it himself. If Fred had a drinking problem, why would Gable have hired him to do a project of this magnitude? Then Fred’s words about if it comes off as planned jumped into her mind.
Was it possible that the entire luxury resort plan was a sham? That would explain why Gable said he was having second thoughts about having given her permission to do her research there. Maybe he was afraid she would find out that the project didn’t really exist. Did he have outside investors who were putting their money into…into nothing? Then another thought struck her. If it was a sham, then why would he have agreed to her being there in the first place? What was he up to? Yes, indeed. Her host was becoming more interesting than her research assignment. The memory of his arms around her for that brief moment filtered through her consciousness and set her pulse to racing.
Yes…much more interesting than her research assignment.
“Do you want anything else before I clear the breakfast dishes from the dining room, Miss Caldwell?”
“No thank you, Dolly. I’ll bring my coffee cup to the kitchen when I finish.”
Her original plan had been to explore the island as soon as the rain stopped. But now she wasn’t so sure. There wouldn’t be much to see in the thick fog and even though the rain had stopped, it was still way too muddy. Gable would be tied up most of the day with his business associates who were scheduled to leave the next morning.
She took a sip of her coffee. Her spirit lifted a bit as she considered the other things she wanted to tackle such as inspecting the inside of the Victorian mansion to see where Winthrop and Evelyn Hollingsworth stayed while on the island. The fog wouldn’t stop her from standing in the room where the party was held that night in order to get a feel for the atmosphere. Would Gable allow her to wander through the mansion alone or would he insist that someone be with her? She didn’t want to abuse his hospitality or ruffle any feathers, but she preferred to look around on her own without someone hanging over her shoulder or intruding into her thoughts.
She carried her coffee cup into the kitchen, set it on the counter, then stepped out onto the terrace adjacent to the deck. The fog made it look cold, but the temperature was warmer than she had anticipated. When she saw Gable at lunch she could ask about touring the mansion. A noise from the kitchen caught her attention. She turned and saw Dolly standing at the door.
“Can I help you with something, Miss Caldwell?”
“I was wondering about the possibility of taking a walk even though I won’t be able to see much.” A hint of a sheepish grin tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I can use the exercise. After a day of traveling, then another day of being cooped up in the house because of the rain, I really need to do something active.”
“Well…make sure you don’t stray far from the immediate area of the house. I believe Mr. Talbot plans to eventually gravel the main walking paths, but for now they’ll be terribly muddy. It…uh…might be better if you waited for a bit.”
“Perhaps you’re right. Thanks for the suggestion.” Lexi glanced around the yard, at least as much of it as she could see through the fog. “This probably makes it difficult for your husband to get any work done, what with all the mud.”
“Hank is working inside the carriage house behind the mansion. He uses it as a workshop.”
The actuality and subsequent possibility hit Lexi with a surge of excitement akin to the light bulb o
f recognition being switched on. She cocked her head and leveled a questioning look at Dolly. “The mansion is unlocked? I’d love to see the interior.”
A hint of concern covered Dolly’s face. “I don’t know. I think you’d best talk to Mr. Talbot about that. I know that architect fellow has been through it many times, but I don’t know if Mr. Talbot wants people just wandering around in there.”
Lexi offered a reassuring smile. “Of course. I’ll talk to Gable about it at lunch.” She headed toward her room in the back wing of the house. Was Dolly being helpful or purposely trying to put her off? She wasn’t sure what to think. Every minute, things made less and less sense and her curiosity became more and more. Her curiosity about the island. Her curiosity about what really happened thirty years ago.
And especially her curiosity about Gable Talbot.
“Anything I can do for you, Miss Caldwell?”
Brian Cookson’s voice startled her out of her thoughts. Where had he come from? She quickly glanced around, but didn’t see anyone else. A lump of anxiety jittered in the pit of her stomach and an uneasy sensation settled over her. Something about him set her nerves on edge. If only she could figure out why.
“No, thank you. I was just going to my room to get some work done.”
“Of course. If you need anything, just ask.”
She watched as he went to the security office. His words and manner might have been polite, but his eyes were cold…and hard. A little shiver confirmed her thoughts about him as she returned to her room. Hopefully Gable would allow her to tour the inside of the mansion that afternoon. And in the meantime, now that the storm had moved on, she could safely get online without worries about the lightning. She turned on her computer. She had several hours before lunch and many things she wanted to check.
She accessed numerous members-only research websites, newspaper and university archives to gather additional information about the history of the Hollingsworth family and Skull Island. She dug deeper into both reliable news stories and tabloid type gossip about the disappearances. The main focus of all the news articles was the fact that Winthrop and Evelyn Hollingsworth had vanished without a trace. There were veiled mentions of the possibility of business rivalries being behind it and even one suggestion that gambling debts caused Winthrop and Evelyn to stage their own disappearances in order to escape the gambling czar’s enforcers. That one didn’t make much sense to her because Winthrop had more than enough money to pay any gambling debts, assuming he really had them. On a lesser note, and one followed more enthusiastically by the tabloid press, was the lurid speculation of an affair between Evelyn and Jack Stinson with Jack having turned to murder when he couldn’t have the woman he loved.
Lexi tried to do research on Jack Stinson, but only came up with two items other than him working for Winthrop Hollingsworth. The first one mentioned that he had been divorced for three years with his ex-wife and son having moved to California. Follow-up showed that they dropped from sight when Jack’s name became linked to the disappearances. The second item dealt with Jack’s twin brother, Robert Stinson, a world famous illusionist who performed under the name of Santorini The Great. He refused to give an interview to the press and would only say his brother was innocent of any wrong doing. Follow-up on Robert Stinson showed that he retired a couple of years ago and a few months later, there was a report of his death in an automobile accident in Spain. Both items led to a dead end.
Her thoughts returned to Gable Talbot, thoughts that were interrupted by someone knocking on her door. She quickly closed the file of notes she had been reviewing. A moment of anxiety assailed her senses when she opened the door and found herself face to face with Brian Cookson. She quickly glanced down the hallway hoping to see someone else in the area, but the guest wing appeared to be deserted.
Except for herself and the security guard.
She stood her ground, not giving him access to her room. “Is there something I can do for you, Brian?”
“Mr. Talbot wanted me to let you know lunch would be served in the main dining room in twenty minutes.”
“Oh,” she nervously shifted her weight from one foot to the other, “he isn’t working through lunch as he did yesterday?”
“Apparently not, Miss Caldwell. Can I escort you to the dining room?”
“Thank you, but that won’t be necessary. I have a couple of things to finish up first that should take just about twenty minutes, then I’ll be there.” She watched as Brian went back to the main portion of the house. She returned her attention to her work area and made a notation on a scrap of paper—check out B.C. After lunch she would see what kind of information she could find on Brian Cookson. It was probably only her imagination. After all, she had not observed him doing anything suspicious. And surely Gable would have run a background check before hiring him for a security position, especially if he was to be chief of security after the resort opened. But nothing she thought, no excuse she came up with, negated her feelings. The man set her nerves on edge. He radiated a sense of danger. It was only a feeling, but a very strong one that she couldn’t explain.
Or perhaps a psychic warning of some sort?
And then there was that other feeling she couldn’t explain, either. The one that said Gable Talbot was a man hiding a huge, dark secret.
Another knock at her door startled her out of her thoughts. A slight tremor of anxiety taunted her. Brian again?
Lexi called out toward the closed door. “One moment, please.”
She quickly shut down her computer, then locked it and her papers inside her suitcase. It wouldn’t stop anyone from going through her things, but it would require breaking the lock on her suitcase to do it. After taking a calming breath, she opened the door and found herself staring up at Gable’s mesmerizing green eyes and handsomely chiseled features. The calming breath totally vanished. Her pulse raced and her mouth went dry. She tried, but couldn’t force out any words.
Chapter Four
Gable’s smooth voice sent a tingle of excitement through Lexi’s body. “I wanted to make sure you were going to join us for lunch.”
“Uh…” She desperately fought to regain her composure. “Yes.” What was there about this man that set her heart pounding and knocked her senses sideways? She had been around handsome men often enough for it not to have an untoward impact on her ability to function. But suddenly she felt like a tongue-tied school girl rather than a mature woman in control of her life. “Brian said lunch was in twenty minutes, so I decided to finish up a couple of things before going to the dining room.”
“Brian?”
“Yes…when he came to escort me to the dining room as you asked him to.” She glimpsed a moment of hesitation flash across his features and just as quickly disappear, almost as if he wasn’t sure he had heard her correctly. It lasted only an instant, but it left her a little unnerved.
“Are you ready?” He flashed an incredibly sexy smile. “I’ll walk you over.”
As with dinner the previous night, lunch consisted of Lexi, Gable, and his three business associates. From what Lexi could gather of the conversation, they had basically concluded their business discussions and would only be taking care of a couple of loose ends following lunch. The boat would pick up the three men that afternoon and transport them back to the mainland rather than in the morning as originally scheduled.
Following lunch, Dolly entered the dining room to collect the dishes. While Lexi still had Gable’s attention, she voiced what had been on her mind. “Would it be okay with you if I took a tour of the mansion this afternoon? The rain has stopped, but it’s still too foggy for me to do much exploring around the island and it would probably be a waste of time to try to take any pictures until I can actually see what I’m photographing. And, of course, there’s all that mud. I feel a need to get out and do something rather than sitting at my computer.” A hint of a sheepish grin tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I really do need to move around and get some exercise.”
>
“You’re certainly welcome to use the swimming pool. I find swimming to be a great exercise.”
Was he purposely putting her off? Trying to switch her attention to something else? Or was it nothing more than a logical suggestion? She forced her thoughts into a more practical pattern. She had to curtail the way her imagination kept running wild. “Unfortunately, I didn’t think to bring a swim suit. Since the resort hadn’t been built yet, it never occurred to me that there would be a pool available, let alone an indoor one.”
Then he allayed her concerns and at the same time made it clear that her suspicions were unfounded. “You can look around inside the mansion this afternoon if you’d like. Or if you can wait until tomorrow when I’m free, I’ll be glad to show you around.”
She offered what she hoped would be a neutral smile that did not carry even a hint of what she thought. “Would it be okay if I did both? Maybe take a cursory look this afternoon, snap some pictures, get my list of questions together, then you can give me an in depth tour tomorrow and answer my questions?”
He captured a moment of eye contact with her as if trying to peer into her mind and know what she really thought. “No problem.”
Gable turned toward Dolly as she placed the dirty dishes on a tray. “Would you tell Hank to let Lexi into the mansion so she can look around?”
“Certainly, Mr. Talbot.” Lexi noticed the quick narrowing of Dolly’s eyes, the only hint of any negative thought passing through the older woman’s mind.
Fred Turnbull’s voice cut into the conversation. “I have something here that will probably be helpful to the lovely lady.” He smiled at Lexi as he took a sheet of paper from a file folder, his smile seeming to once again be more of a leer. “I made extra copies of my sketch of the floor plan in case we needed them. It seemed more practical for general discussion than to wrestle with those large blueprints.” He handed the sketch to her.
“Thank you, Fred.” Lexi glanced at the drawing. “This will be very helpful.”
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