She gazed steadily through the windshield as the narrow lane that led to Candle Lake Manor unwound in front of the rental car. The scene should have been picture-postcard pretty. The tall trees that arched so gracefully above the drive should have looked like something out of an impressionist landscape. Instead, they seemed to loom ominously, cutting off the light and the safety of the outside world.
Through the trunks of the trees, she caught glimpses of the dark lake. She thought of all the times she had gotten out of bed late at night and stood at her barred window looking out at the cold waters. Some nights she wondered if some evil being lurked beneath the surface casting spells over the Manor. There were times when no other explanation seemed to make sense of her miserable situation. On other nights she had imagined what it would be like to swim out into the middle of Candle Lake and let herself sink down into its depths. The ultimate escape.
The important thing to remember today was that she was not going back alone, she thought. Ethan was with her. There was nothing to fear except fear itself, blah, blah, blah.
Yeah, sure.
She had been trying to hold back the old memories ever since she had made up her mind to do this. But now she could no longer dam the flood. The images from her nightmares slammed through her.
. . . The small room that had been both her prison and her refuge at night . . . Dr. McAlistair’s hushed, shadowy office . . . The chandelier-hung dining room filled with unnaturally subdued patients all eating bland, tasteless food . . . The medical examination room where the hulks had taken their victims on the bad nights . . .
“You okay?” Ethan asked roughly.
She jerked at the sound of his voice and immediately tried to conceal her start by reaching for her tote. She had brought the chartreuse one today. The fierce, edgy color gave her courage.
“Yes, I’m fine.” She opened the big bag and rummaged around for a tissue. Her fingers brushed against the heavy brass doorknob key chain. The feel of it calmed her a little. She started to breathe the way her instructor had taught her. Finding the power source, centering herself.
This time things would be different, she assured herself. She was no longer helpless. She was not alone.
“You sure you want to do this?” Ethan asked without taking his eyes off the curving drive. “I can take you back to the inn. You can stay there while I talk to Harper.”
“No. I’m going with you.”
Ethan said nothing, but he took one hand off the wheel and reached across the small space that separated them. He covered her fingers with his own and squeezed once, gently.
Some of the acid-strong tension eating away at her insides was diluted. She did a little more power breathing.
Ethan drove around one last curve, and the Manor came into view.
The three-story brick mansion squatted like a giant toad at the edge of the lake. Prison bars that masqueraded as a handsome, wrought-iron garden fence enclosed the grounds. The scene was just as she remembered it in her dreams.
But there was something different about it.
She gave a soft, muffled cry of surprise.
“What?” Ethan asked.
“It looks smaller than I remembered,” she whispered.
Ethan smiled for the first time since they had left Whispering Springs that morning. It was not much of a smile, just a faint curve at the corner of his mouth, but it was real.
“I think that’s a good sign,” he said.
He was right, she thought. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so terrible, after all.
A guard dressed in the familiar dove gray uniform of Candle Lake Manor security came out of the tiny guardhouse at the gate. He gave Zoe a cursory glance, not recognizing her.
“I’m Dr. Truax and this is my assistant.” Ethan flashed a business card. “We’re here to see Dr. Harper. He’s expecting us.”
“Yes, sir. You can park in the visitors’ section on the right.”
The guard went back into the guardhouse and pressed a button. The heavy iron gates swung slowly open.
Zoe was impressed. “That went easily, just as you predicted.”
“This place is designed to keep people from leaving, not to stop them from entering.”
Ethan parked in one of the half dozen slots allocated to visitors and turned off the engine. He looked at Zoe.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yes.” She unlatched her seatbelt with sudden resolve and opened the door. “Let’s do it.”
Ethan climbed out from behind the wheel and dropped the keys into his pocket.
She stole another quick look at him as they walked together toward the entrance. This morning when he had dressed for the confrontation with Harper, he had shown her a whole new side of himself, the side that had once run a large, successful business. It was something of a revelation.
Today he looked sleek and intimidating in an elegantly tailored steel gray jacket and trousers. The charcoal gray shirt and silver-and-black silk tie added a not-so-subtle punch of quiet authority. Not that Ethan required any additional sartorial touches to give him that air, she mused. It came naturally to him, even when he was dressed in jeans. But today he looked like a man who could move comfortably in the corridors of power.
No wonder the guard at the gate hadn’t questioned the phony business card.
They went up the stone steps and through the thick glass doors. Once inside the formal lobby, some of her fragile assurance slipped. She felt her heart rate kick back up into high gear.
The male receptionist greeted them politely. Zoe remembered him from the old days, but he looked at her with no sign of recognition. Probably because she was not wearing one of the shapeless hospital gowns, she figured. It only went to show how much clothes mattered.
Ethan did his trick with the business card, but the receptionist was not as easy a mark as the guard at the front gate.
“I’ll let Dr. Harper know you’re here, sir.” The receptionist reached for the phone.
“That’s all right,” Ethan said. “We know the way.”
“To the left,” Zoe said.
She did not pause, but moved immediately down the hall in the direction of the executive offices, taking charge now that they were on her old turf, just as she and Ethan had planned. Out of nowhere, a rush of adrenaline hit her, filling her with energy and self-confidence. She could do this.
“Lead on,” Ethan urged. He fell into step beside her.
“Just a minute, Dr. Truax, please.” The receptionist scrambled to his feet, alarmed. “You’ll need an escort.”
But Zoe and Ethan were already turning the corner.
“Slick,” Zoe commented.
“Yeah, the fake doctor thing always works well in situations like this. Makes ’em hesitate a couple of minutes before they summon the goon squad.”
“And a couple of minutes is all you need.”
“Usually.” He looked around. “You know, on the surface, this place looks pretty classy.”
“Appearances are deceiving. The first floor is all for show. The patient rooms are on the second and third floors. In fairness, I think Candle Lake Manor may at one time have been a respectable institution.”
“But that would have been years ago, before Harper took over.”
“Yes.” She came to a halt in front of the paneled door of the executive suite and took another deep breath. “This is it.”
“Gotta keep moving fast here.” Ethan opened the door and ushered her inside. “The receptionist will be frantically trying to get through to Harper to tell him we’re on the way.”
“Right.” She walked ahead of him into the paneled confines of the outer office.
Fenella Leeds, seated at her desk, was talking into the phone. There was disapproval and alarm gathering on her too-perfect face.
“. . . Dr. Harper does not have any appointments scheduled for today.” Fenella broke off at the sight of Zoe and Ethan bearing down on her. Her gaze brushed briefly across Zoe without much int
erest and came to rest on Ethan. “Call Richards in Security. Tell him—”
“Forget it,” Ethan said. He was already pushing open the door of the inner office. “Harper won’t want to be interrupted.”
“You can’t go in there.” Fenella was on her feet now. Apparently realizing she could not physically stop Ethan, she turned back to Zoe who was right behind him. Belated recognition widened her eyes. “You.”
“Hi, Fenella. It’s been a while. Still screwing the guy in accounting?”
Fury blazed in Fenella’s eyes. “How dare you?”
“It was no secret,” Zoe assured her. “When I was here, all the patients knew how the two of you used to get it on down at the boathouse.”
“You stupid little bitch,” Fenella breathed. “You don’t know what you’re getting into.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
She might have hung around to continue the exchange, but Ethan’s hand closed over her arm. He hauled her through the doorway.
“Try to stay focused, honey,” he said into her ear.
He closed the door firmly behind them and took a split second to lock it before he turned to face Ian Harper.
Harper was on his feet, scowling furiously at Ethan. “I don’t know who you are, but I warn you that Security will be here at any moment.”
“And when they arrive, you will tell them to go away,” Ethan said easily. He steered Zoe into one of the two chairs and took the other one himself. “Two words, Harper. Leon Grady.”
“Who the hell are you?” But Harper was staring at Zoe now visibly shaken. “You’re Sara Cleland.”
“Zoe Truax now.” She crossed her legs and smiled at him. “Try to remember that.”
“I don’t know what this is all about, but I can assure you that you need help,” Harper said to her.
“I’ll pass.”
“Let’s get back to Grady,” Ethan said.
Harper’s jaw jerked once. “What does Grady have to do with this? The police told me that he was murdered by a drug dealer in a town in Arizona a few days ago.”
“We know,” Ethan said. “We found the body.”
Harper was clearly taken aback by that information. “I see.”
“The cops think it was a drug deal gone bad, but Zoe and I are pretty sure we can prove otherwise.”
That got Harper’s full attention. “What are you talking about? I assure you—”
A loud pounding on the door interrupted him. He opened his mouth to shout something to the people on the other side.
Ethan held up one hand. “We have information that will give the cops reason to think that you’re a viable suspect in Grady’s murder.”
The pounding continued.
“Dr. Harper, are you okay in there?”
“Get on the intercom and tell the pretty lady out front that you don’t need security assistance,” Ethan said in a level voice that brooked no resistance. “Do it now, or we’ll take our evidence to the police.”
Harper sat down hard and hit the intercom.
“Tell Security I don’t need their assistance,” he repeated. “At least not right away. Tell them to stand by in the hall.”
“Are you sure, Dr. Harper?” Fenella asked, sounding like she thought he was an idiot.
“Yes.” Harper released the intercom switch.
“Good move,” Ethan said.
“What is this about me being a suspect in Grady’s death?” Harper said hoarsely. “That’s not possible.”
“Your name and a Candle Lake Manor credit card were used to hire an investigation agency in Whispering Springs to locate Leon Grady. Shortly after the agency notified their client of Grady’s whereabouts, he wound up dead. I’ve got a hunch we are not dealing with a coincidence here. What do you think, Dr. Harper?”
“I didn’t kill Grady.”
“Was he blackmailing you?” Ethan asked. “Threatening to expose your somewhat unorthodox business and medical practices here at Candle Lake?”
“No.”
“Did you hire Radnor Security Systems to find him?”
“No, damn it. I didn’t hire anyone to find him. Grady went out of town on a business trip. I thought he was on his way to L.A. He was supposed to report back to me when he found—” Harper stopped in mid-sentence. He stared at Zoe.
“He went looking for me, didn’t he?” she asked. “Somehow he managed to locate me. But I wasn’t in L.A. He lied to you, didn’t he? Because he had plans of his own for me. He tried to blackmail me. Wanted me to pay him a whole bunch of money to keep my secret.”
“I did not know that,” Harper snapped. “All I can tell you is that my administrative assistant became suspicious of Grady’s behavior. She got the idea to check his charge card expenses and managed to track him to Whispering Springs. Then she went through his personal email correspondence with a hacker named GopherBoy. Grady had deleted it, but he was not what anyone would call computer literate.”
“But Fenella Leeds is,” Zoe said. “She found my name and address in Grady’s computer files, right?”
“Yes,” Harper said wearily. “GopherBoy supplied the information to Grady.”
“And you sent the hulks to pick me up,” Zoe accused.
“Hulks?” Harper scowled. “What are you talking about?”
“Ron and Ernie. You sent them after me, didn’t you?”
Harper looked like he was about to deny that, but then he drew himself up. “We sent two of our trained medical personnel to Whispering Springs, yes. But then you called me, telling me that you were married. I called the motel where Ron and Ernie were staying and left word that they were to forget about you and return here immediately. I am not responsible for any actions they may have take after that point.”
“Ron and Ernie tried to kidnap me,” Zoe said fiercely.
“That is not my problem,” Harper shot back. “I tried to recall them.” He turned quickly to Ethan. “Maybe they killed Grady.”
“Don’t think so,” Ethan said.
“Got a good alibi for the night of Grady’s death?” Zoe asked.
Harper was clearly panic-stricken. Then his gaze went to his calendar. He appeared to have trouble putting it all together, but eventually he sucked in air and turned an unattractive shade of red.
“Grady was killed the same night that you called me from Las Vegas to tell me that you were marrying Truax.”
“Did I call you?” she asked innocently. “I don’t remember.”
Harper turned purple. “Yes. You were gloating.”
“Was I?” She made a tsk-tsk sound. “You know, what with all the meds you fed me during my stay here at the Manor, my short-term memory just isn’t what it used to be.”
“I was home in bed, here in town that night,” Harper said loudly. “You know it as well as I do.”
“Are you sure?”
“I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing here,” Harper snarled, “but if you’ve given the police any reason at all to think that I was involved in Grady’s death, you have to tell them the truth. You have to inform them that you talked to me that night and that I was here, not in Whispering Springs.”
“Why do I have to tell them the truth?” Zoe asked softly. “After all the lies you told people about me, what possible motive would I have for telling anyone the truth on your behalf?”
“This is your warped vision of revenge, isn’t it?” Harper rasped. “I tried to help you and this is how you repay me. You really are a very sick woman.”
“So I’ve been told.”
Harper turned back to Ethan, desperate now. “I talked to you, too, that night.”
“Did you?” Ethan shifted slightly in his chair. “My memory’s a little vague on that point, too.”
“You can’t do this to me. I’m an innocent man.”
“Well,” Ethan said, “we would like to find the real killer, naturally. But if that proves impossible, we may settle for giving your name to the cops. They can take it from there.
”
“I did not murder Grady. I’ll be able to prove that I was here that night.”
“Sure,” Ethan said, “you’ll probably be able to clear yourself eventually, but not before there’s a lot of really unpleasant publicity. It’ll be the kind of PR that will make your clients very nervous. They pay dearly for privacy, don’t they?”
“Oh, yes,” Zoe chimed in. “Privacy is everything to your clients, isn’t it, Dr. Harper? The last thing any of them want is publicity and there’s nothing like a juicy, high-profile murder case to draw that, is there? Just think what will happen if you’re questioned about your link to the murder of one of your employees.”
Harper made an obvious effort to regain his composure. He gave Ethan a flat stare. “Let’s cut to the chase. What’s in this for you?”
Ethan tapped his fingertips twice. “I like answers.”
“Bullshit. You’re in this for the money. That’s why you married Sara. It’s the only thing that makes any sense in this mess.”
“The name is Zoe,” Zoe said softly. “Zoe Truax.”
Harper ignored her. He kept his attention fixed on Ethan. Zoe could see that he was mentally putting the facts together to his own satisfaction.
“You plan to use her to get your hands on a chunk of Cleland Cage, don’t you?” he said to Ethan. “Fine. I wish you luck. But why come to me? I’m out of it.”
“No, Harper, you are not out of it.” Ethan uncoiled to his feet and reached down to take Zoe by the arm. “When I pick up the phone and call the Whispering Springs cops, you will become a person of interest in the murder of Leon Grady.”
“I didn’t kill him, and you know it.”
Ethan shrugged. “So, you hired someone else to do it to ensure that Grady didn’t expose your business dealings. Ron or Ernie maybe.”
“No.”
“Either way, I’m sure the cops will be curious.” They were at the door now. Ethan paused before opening it. “We’re staying at the Candle Lake Inn. Give us a call if you come up with any ideas regarding who might have wanted you to take the fall for Grady’s murder.”
He opened the door. Zoe walked out of the room ahead of him. She had faced down Harper, threatened him in her own small way, with a taste of what he had done to her—and she was feeling quite accomplished.
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