Deja Vu

by Samantha Gentry

  Chapter Six

  Lexi stood on the dock watching Gable as he took the line thrown from the sheriff’s boat. A moment later, three men and a woman disembarked, all wearing sheriff’s department jackets with appropriate credentials hanging around their necks.

  Gable shook hands with the man obviously in charge. “Bud, it’s good to see you. Wish it was under better circumstances.” He indicated Lexi. “This is Lexi…Alexandra Caldwell, the unfortunate person who happened to be walking next to the ravine when the mudslide happened. Lexi, this is Deputy Sheriff Bud Lansing.”

  “Miss Caldwell, nice to meet you.” They shook hands. “We’ll need a statement from you, exactly what happened and in the order that it happened.”

  “Of course, deputy. I’ve been going over it in my mind and think I’ve sorted out all the pieces.”

  Bud introduced the rest of his team consisting of another deputy and two crime scene investigators, each carrying a work kit. “Now, how far are we from the scene?”

  “Less than half a mile using the existing road and path. I brought the large electric cart with me. Should be adequate to transport your team and equipment. Are you ready?”

  Gable drove everyone to the site of the mudslide. Only Brian Cookson had remained at the ravine, as instructed. He greeted Gable. “Hank and Dolly went back to their cottage. Hank was covered in mud.” He glanced down at his own muddy uniform.

  Bud took out his notepad and pen. “You were the first one on the scene, Brian?”

  “Yes, I heard Miss Caldwell calling for help and rushed over here to see what was wrong and found her in the ravine, stuck in the mud. Hank and Dolly arrived a moment later. Hank sent Dolly to the house to find Mr. Talbot, then we started digging the mud away from Miss Caldwell. We had just freed her legs when Mr. Talbot arrived.”

  “Okay. Go ahead and get cleaned up. We can finish this later.”

  “Thanks, Bud. I’ll hurry back as soon as I can. I’ll have Ralph stay in the security monitoring room to cover the start of my shift.”

  Lexi watched as Brian walked away. No way would her screams have carried back to Gable’s house, let alone to anyone inside the house. So, what had Brian been doing in the area of the ravine? He was in uniform, but apparently a couple of hours away from the start of his shift. What had he been doing that wouldn’t allow him time to change before going to work? Hank and Dolly’s cottage was very close. Could Brian have been on his way either to or from there? But why? What would have been so important that he needed the privacy of their cottage rather than talking to them at the house at lunch time?

  She warily approached the edge of the ravine and looked down inside. One intact skeleton, the scattered bones of another, plus the skull. Pieces of clothing. She pulled her camera from her pocket.

  The female crime scene investigator called out to Lexi. “I’m sorry, Ms. Caldwell. You can’t take any pictures. Until we figure out exactly what we have here, this is considered a crime scene.”

  “Of course. I apologize. Is it okay if I take pictures of the area as long as I don’t take pictures of the ravine?”

  The woman glanced toward Bud Lansing who had been listening to their conversation. He gave a slight nod of his head and she returned her attention to Lexi. “That will be all right.”

  Lexi walked away from the ravine. Gable could probably procure copies of the official photographs which would be better pictures than what she could take. She needed to inform J.D. Prescott of what had happened. He would expect photos of the area. One of his concerns was knowing exactly where construction and landscaping would take place. Having the side of a ravine collapse and two skeletons fall out would most likely come under that heading. She took several pictures of the general area, noting in her mind where existing buildings were located in relation to the local scenery. But was there really any reason for her to send him copies of her photos showing the skeletons? As things stood right now, no one knew she had taken pictures before Gable drove her back to the house to clean up.

  Hunger pangs rumbled in Lexi’s stomach. Juice and coffee for breakfast, no lunch, and enough adrenaline pumped into her veins to keep her on edge for a week. Not exactly a well balanced diet.

  “Well…I guess someone has to say it...”

  Lexi looked up at the sound of Bud’s voice in time to see Deputy Lansing level a serious look in Gable’s direction.

  “These bodies have probably been here for thirty years. It looks like we might have found the missing Winthrop and Evelyn Hollingsworth.”

  Gable stared at the bones in the bottom of the ravine. “After all these years…”

  “We’ll transport everything back to the lab, then start the procedure to officially identify them.”

  “Of course. Keep me apprised of what you find. I’m sure I’ll be needing some kind of answers for the media when this gets out.”

  “Sure thing, Gable.”

  Lexi and Gable watched as the crime scene investigators went through the meticulous process of documenting the scene with photographs, collecting everything, tagging it and sealing it in containers. Brian returned and Deputy Lansing pulled him aside to finish taking his statement.

  And all the while Lexi kept a cautious eye on Hank and Dolly. Hank remained his usual taciturn self, but Dolly still seemed very frightened, almost on the edge of emotional collapse. The discovery of skeletons would certainly be unnerving, but it wasn’t Dolly who had been caught in the mud slide. So why would she be so obviously distraught? Strange. Very strange, indeed.

  ****

  As soon as the team from the Sheriff’s office left, Hank and Dolly returned to their cottage. A very frightened Dolly stared at her husband. “What are we going to do? This isn’t at all what we’d been led to believe.”

  “Hush up, woman! Get yourself under control. Ain’t much we can do but keep our mouths shut. Maybe them skeletons are part of some old Indian burial ground like Mr. Talbot said.”

  “You know that’s not true. Weren’t Indian trinkets with those bones. The bits of clothing were costumes like the party that night. You and I both know those bones belong to Jack Stinson and Evelyn Hollingsworth. When they discover that’s not Winthrop Hollingsworth, you can be sure there’s going to be a whole new round of questions for us. We need to find out what he wants us to say. This makes everything different. It’s not what he told us. Jack and Evelyn didn’t run off together.”

  “Yeah, we’re gonna need some instructions all right.”

  “I’m scared, Hank. I think you should call him now.”

  “You’re right.” He grabbed his cell phone and dialed an unlisted phone number. After four rings, the call was answered.

  “This better be very important for you to call me.”

  Hank nervously cleared his throat. “Yes, sir. It is. All the rain…the storm…well, the side of a ravine gave way. That researcher lady, the one I told you about who’s working for that writer…well, she got trapped in the mud…and…”

  An irritated reply assaulted Hank’s ears. “Get the hell to the point!”

  “They found two skeletons.” Only silence greeted Hank’s statement. “You still there? What do you want us to do?”

  “You don’t know anything. You’re as shocked as everyone else. As far as what happened thirty years ago, tell the same story you told then.”

  “But you told us Jack and Evelyn had run off together and you needed to go into hiding because you knew everyone would suspect you of foul play. And now there’s them two skeletons…I mean…uh…what happened?”

  “I’m as surprised by all of this as you are. Must be that Jack killed her then killed himself. A murder suicide rather than them running off together. Now you really need to keep me out of this. If anyone knew for sure I was still alive, they’d be hunting me down to try and blame me for this. You make sure you communicate with me on a daily basis from now on so I’ll know exactly what’s happening.”

  With that, Winthrop Hollingsworth disconnected fr
om the call.

  ****

  Following dinner Gable escorted Lexi to the den and poured them each an after-dinner drink. Lexi felt at a bit of a loss, uncertain about how to handle things. She wanted to get back to her room and study the photographs she had taken. Regardless of what Gable had said, she agreed with Deputy Lansing. The bones were the first step in solving the thirty-year-old disappearances. But were they really Evelyn and Winthrop Hollingsworth? As long as Jack Stinson remained part of the equation, nothing could be taken for granted until the lab officially identified the skeletons. And today’s forensic science provided many more avenues of identification than the dental charts that would have been the only means of accomplishing it thirty years ago.

  But she could not deny that she also wanted to spend time alone with Gable. And her reasons were two-fold. First was the undeniable attraction between them, apparently on his side as well as hers. She had never experienced such a strong attraction to a man before, one she definitely wanted to explore. Then there was the mystery of Gable Talbot himself and his true identity. She again toyed with the notion that he might be part of the Hollingsworth family, a possibility she intended to dig into and research until she had some answers.

  However, for right now, she liked the idea of him taking care of her. The concern he demonstrated for her safety felt much more personal than someone simply making sure she hadn’t been injured. The feeling settled over her like a warm security blanket.

  Gable brushed his fingertips across her cheek while making eye contact. “Are you sure you’re okay? No latent injuries making themselves known?”

  “I wish you’d stop asking me that. I’m fine. The anticipated aches are setting in, but I’m sure they’ll be gone in a couple of days.” A moment of contemplation interrupted her words, a thought she didn’t want to acknowledge even though her words escaped into the open. “Just in time for me to return home to finish my assignment for J.D. Prescott.” She broke the eye contact and tried to shake away a truth she didn’t want to deal with while attempting to lighten the mood. “Although I must admit my research has been far more fascinating than I thought it would be.” And the most fascinating part of all…Gable Talbot.

  “I’m afraid those aches will definitely cramp your style in the morning and they’ll probably be accompanied by plenty of bruises, too. There isn’t anything I can do about the bruises, but I have a viable treatment to help ward off those aches.” He stood, took her hand, and pulled her from the chair. “Let’s get into the hot tub.”

  He led her down a long hall and a minute later they stood at the double door entrance into a wing he had not originally included as part of the tour. “This is my private area, including my secluded deck and hot tub.” It had all happened so naturally. He told himself he couldn’t get involved with her, especially not when he was so close to putting his full plan into action. Besides, he didn’t really know that much about her which in itself wasn’t that big a deal, but with everything else going on it could be a crucial element. And the discovery of the skeletons had certainly accelerated the time table and put much more at risk. Yes, all things he knew for a fact.

  And, right or wrong, knowledge he chose to ignore.

  Something completely unexpected had happened to him when he heard about the mud slide. And then when he saw her, so frightened and so vulnerable, he couldn’t put his growing emotional involvement aside as easily as he had previously been able to. Somehow he needed to work out all the angles so everything would fall into place. Another couple of days and the last element would be at the ready and he could make his second big announcement regarding his plans for Skull Island.

  But for tonight…

  “Uh…Gable…I didn’t bring a swimsuit. It never occurred to me that you would have an indoor pool or a hot tub I could use.” A chuckle, part amused and part nervous tension, escaped her throat. “Of course, it never occurred to me that I would end up at the bottom of a ravine covered in mud while being attacked by skeletons.”

  He opened the door so they could go inside, then shoved the door closed with his foot as he pulled her into his arms. “I’m sure we can find some sort of solution to this swimsuit problem.”

  Before she could respond to his purposely suggestive comment, he captured her mouth with a passion filled kiss that left no confusion about his intentions. And to his joy, she responded to his unasked question with a silent answer that said she wanted him as much as he wanted her. Their previous kisses had bordered on the hot and heavy, kisses that spoke of desire and passion. Tonight would be about physical desires with the logic of right or wrong relegated to tomorrow’s concerns.

  Gable reluctantly broke the kiss. Two warring factions tore at him. He wanted her more than he had ever wanted any other woman—a desire that exceeded mere sex, a reality that left him slightly confused and very uneasy. But he had a much larger agenda on the verge of coming to fruition, an obsession that had been the driving force in his life dictating everything he had done since the age of fifteen. His plan had to come first, but couldn’t he work out some way of having both? Of making love to this incredible woman even though he was deceiving her? And worse yet, knowing he had to continue with that deception until…

  He cradled her head against his shoulder as he twined his fingers in her hair. After taking a calming breath, he forced out the words he knew sounded woefully inadequate. “I don’t want to play games. In fact, I don’t like all those coy little games that some women find so fascinating. I much prefer honesty.”

  A twinge of guilt stabbed at his consciousness. Yes, he preferred honesty, but he certainly wasn’t practicing it at the moment. “I have other things going on in my life right now that are still very unsettled. For the time being I’m not in a position to make any promises. I want to make love to you, but it needs to be something you want, too. And for right now, it needs to be on a no-strings-attached basis. I know that sounds shallow and arrogant even though that’s not the type of person I am. But until…well, that’s all I can say at this time. If you want me to leave you alone just say so and I’ll respect your wishes.”

  Gable had touched a place in her soul. Even though Lexi didn’t know the truth about him or his real identity, she believed his words. He had told her the truth, or at least as much of it as he felt he could. Her earlier decision to not get physically involved with him until she knew who he really was suddenly seemed unimportant. She wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up into his eyes, recognizing both the concern and caution she found there. “I don’t like playing all those little games, either. I’ve never understood why so many women think they need to have the man talk them into doing something they already wanted to do. It’s almost as if they feel they’re doing something wrong if they admit they have the hots for someone, but if he coerces her into going along then that somehow absolves her of any responsibility and she can claim a clear conscience.”

  A smile turned the corners of his mouth, part relief, part teasing…and all desire. “Does that mean you’re ready to hit the hot tub even though you don’t have a swimsuit? And after that…”

  “How about reversing that order? The hot tub after…”

  The moment his mouth found hers, all the suppressed desires exploded inside her. What a freeing sensation to have everything so above board, at least as far as sex was concerned. But a hint of a troubling cloud continued to linger in the back of her mind. She still had no idea who he really was.

  Lexi shoved the concern aside. The secrets, the mysterious happenings, the skeletons…all of it would have to wait. Tonight she had new priorities and the top one was to thoroughly explore the passion that had been bubbling and sizzling between them.

  She welcomed his tongue into the dark recesses of her mouth. The meshing of tastes and textures. Her heart raced as the excitement coursed through her veins. Even if it turned out to be nothing more than an incredible interlude, a transitory fling for the duration of her stay on the island, she knew in the very dep
ths of her soul that making love with him would be something to cherish for the rest of her life. Gable Talbot would live in her memory.

  Pieces of clothing fell away. They settled into the softness of his king size bed. The very air crackled and sizzled with sexual energy. Lexi’s pulse raced and her heart pounded, only this time from excitement rather than fear. She ran her foot along the edge of his calf. A sensual moan escaped her throat when his hand closed over her bare breast. His touch was gentle while at the same time highly stimulating. All thoughts ceased when he drew her puckered nipple into his mouth. Only feelings remained…sensual ripples telling her she wanted much more. She melted into his touch when he inserted a finger between her feminine folds, stroking her into a state of high arousal quicker than anyone else ever had. The spiraling ascent toward orgasm surged through her body.

  She wrapped her hand around his girth, marveling at how hard he felt. The awareness caused her fingers to tingle, pushing her over the edge. The ultimate thrill claimed her body, her cry of release muffled when he again captured her mouth with a heated kiss. The delicious taste, the torrid sensations…she wanted more. She also wanted to please him, to give him the pleasure he had given her.

  As if able to gauge her needs and desires as long time lovers would, he reached for a condom in the nightstand drawer. She managed a few breathless words. “Let me do that for you.” Taking the condom from him, she sensually rolled it on his rigid shaft.

  Gable’s chest heaved with his labored breathing. Everything about her excited his senses. Her eager responsiveness, the flushed excitement that covered her face as the orgasmic waves claimed her. He nudged his knee between her legs, then settled his body over hers. Slowly delving to the depths of her tunnel, he penetrated the moist heat of her body until he had fully embedded his length. Her muscles closed around him, encasing his shaft in a tight cocoon. He had never been inside a woman who fit him so perfectly or felt so good. Would he be able to keep control long enough to give her another orgasm before he succumbed to the ultimate climax?