Fatal Attractions

by Jeanne Foguth

  Stone parked between a turquoise sports car and a dark utility van. As he shut off the engine, a shriek of glee echoed over the parking lot. Ariel looked out the windshield and saw a gorgeous, long-legged woman leap over the railing of a majestic-looking sailboat and sprint toward them.

  Stone tore off his seatbelt, leaped out of the truck and raced toward her.

  "Who the hell is that?" Tempest asked, from the back seat.

  "Probably Dolly.” To look at them, a person would think they hadn't seen each other in ages. Stone picked up the dark haired woman and swung her around in a circle.

  Tempest snorted. "That can't be Dolly."

  If the woman wasn't the love of Stone's life, who was? With leaden legs, Ariel got out of the pickup and took a step toward the happy reunion. Though Stone put his girlfriend down, he didn't remove his hands from her. "I didn't expect you until later," Stone was saying as Ariel got within earshot.

  "Meeting you gained importance." The woman was as dark as Stone and nearly as tall. Of course he would go for a woman as gorgeous as he was and not some nothing little wren of a woman.

  With every step, Ariel felt uglier, fatter, shorter and dumber.

  The brunette noticed her over Stone's shoulder. "That them?" He looked back, then grinned and nodded. Though he removed one hand from her, he kept an arm firmly around her shoulders. She gave them a big smile and held out her hand. "So, you're Stone's neighbors. I'm so glad to finally meet you." Ariel took her hand and looked at her in confusion. "How do you like Alaska so far?"

  "Fine," Ariel managed to say.

  "I love coming here." Did the woman have to have beautiful dimples, too? Ariel's smile felt brittle enough to break her face. The woman poked Stone in the ribs. "Well? Aren't you going to officially introduce us?"

  He jerked. "Sorry. Windy, Ariel and Tempest Danner. Ariel and Tempest, my favorite sister."

  Ariel blinked in confusion.

  "Oh, you're the one with the FBI," Tempest said. "That's so super cool."

  "Where's Link?" Windy craned her neck. "I thought you said he was coming with us.

  "He'll be along."

  Windy grinned and winked at Ariel. “Of course he will, if there’s a fish involved." She gestured toward Stone. "He's been trying to marry the two of us off for the past ten years and-"

  "I have not," Stone said. Windy laughed as she mouthed not to believe him. "Besides, it's only been five years."

  "You think I want to hook up with someone who is like a second brother?"

  Stone blinked with confusion. Windy laughed, shook free of his grasp and tugged Ariel forward. "Come on, you're going to love Dolly." If it hadn't been for Windy's firm grasp, she would have thrown herself into the quay.

  "Is Brit here, too?" Tempest asked. Stone and Windy shook their heads. "Oh, I kinda wondered." Her forehead furrowed. "How come you're here?"

  "Weekend get away and deep sea fishing," Windy said as she pulled Ariel onto a beautiful wooden deck. "Well?" Windy asked expectantly. "How do you like her?"

  Who?

  "She's old," Tempest said. "And she has a whole lot more wood than any boat I’ve ever been on."

  "She may be old, but she’s very stable," Stone said.

  Ariel still couldn't see what they were discussing and wondered it Dolly was keeping out of her sight out of sheer dislike. She wished she'd never allowed herself to be brought here. Wished some other memory of Stone O'Banyon would be the one she took with her.

  "When I got here, I noticed she was sitting a little low in the water, so I turned her bilge pumps on. Hope that's okay."

  Stone nodded. "She puts on water weight every week." He touched Ariel’s elbow, with a warm caress. Even knowing his girl was somewhere watching, she felt the touch all the way to her toes. "Well? Do you like her?"

  Ariel mutely nodded.

  Windy cocked her head to one side and looked from her face to her brother's and a slow smile began to form. "Well, I think I've figured out the details you didn't tell me."

  Stone gave her an odd, warning look. "Later."

  Windy nodded, then turned her full attention on her. Ariel felt herself shrink. "He really wants you to like Dolly. That's very telling." Dear Lord, strike me dead. Windy patted the boat’s gleaming brass railing. "For years after that witch, Marishka, screwed up his mind, Brit and I had a bet that he'd never care about a flesh and blood woman, again. Mom will be thrilled to find out she won't have to consider that dingy a grandchild."

  "Windy." Stone's tone held a warning. She laughed at him.

  Ariel blinked in confusion.

  Tempest looked at her as if she were from another planet, then tugged on Stone's sleeve. "Uncle Stone, isn't Dolly kinda a weird name for a boat?" He shrugged.

  Comprehension nearly floored her. Dear Lord, how dense could she be?

  Stone grasped her biceps, “Let me give you a tour.”

  Chapter 28

  Later, Stone pretended to sort fishing lures, while he watched Windy try to draw Ariel and Tempest out. But the Danners were very skilled at changing the topic and avoiding Windy's innocent appearing questions. His sister had never been this interested in Marishka and he suspected she was fascinated by the deflection and what wasn't being said.

  What information had she unearthed that inspired her to catch a flight to Valdez ASAP? It had to be something earth shaking for Windy to arrive hours early.

  He glanced at the small brass clock bolted to the cabin wall as Link stepped into the salon. 3:12. How much longer would it be until he'd get a chance to speak to Windy and find out what she'd discovered?

  Abruptly, a heavy hand clapped his shoulder, and a stabbing pain ripped through his finger. He winced. "Uncle Link!" Tempest scrambled to her feet and launched herself to Stone's port side, then she paused to ask “Are you okay?” Despite the wound only shedding a drop of blood, her expression looked panicky.

  “I’m fine, it was only a nick,” Stone said, as he put down the lure and applied pressure. Windy's spine straightened and for the first time since he'd noticed her smug expression while being introduced to Ariel and Tempest, she seemed uncertain about something. Stone put aside the lure box, stood up and stretched. "I'm going to the store for provisions and bait. Windy, would you like to tag along?"

  "Uh-oh." Windy laughed and leaned toward Ariel. "He's got this policy that if you buy it, you cook it and if you cook it, you clean the galley."

  "Are you telling me you don't want to come?" he demanded.

  Windy nodded.

  Tempest wrinkled her nose. "Me neither."

  Link held up his hands in a 'don't look at me' pose.

  Ariel shook her head.

  “Fine,” he said, “Just remember that you had the chance to avoid my cooking.”

  Windy sighed. "Fine, I'll come, but this is under protest." She looked him in the eye. "Understand?" He nodded.

  Stone ushered her to his truck. As soon as both truck doors closed, he demanded, "What'd you find out?"

  "What I've got so far are bits and pieces of what looks like it might be a very ugly, confusing puzzle." Her expression became tense, as she pulled an iPad out of her shoulder bag. "Where do you want me to start?"

  "With Ariel and Tempest." What if that Peter person was some sort of bounty hunter? "They're not felons or anything, are they?"

  "They're hard to track and that makes me very suspicious," she hedged. He made an inquiring sound. She added, "I can't think of any good reason, other than marriage, for someone to make one name change, much less four within five years."

  "You've got to be kidding." But the acid in his gut and the way the Danners avoided answering innocent questions told him she wasn't, just as surely as the sad expression on Windy’s face as she shook her head.

  She stared at him. "You're hung up on Ariel. That's why you're so interested in her background check. You're serious about her and afraid of getting burned, again."

  "Reading a lot into this, aren't you?" He asked, hoping he sou
nded flippant. She held his gaze. He turned his attention back to the road. "They’re my tenants and I don’t want felons living next door.” He gave her a hard look. “If I was interested in her, would I end up with another Marishka?"

  "No, Marishka was only a manipulative bitch." Cold coils wound around his heart and he swallowed. “I’m still not certain what your new girlfriend is.” Windy's brow furrowed. "I can't find a direct connection between Baldwin and the Danners, but-"

  "Baldwyn? You think he's involved?"

  "Perhaps."

  "How?" Why did the way she kept giving him bits of information make it feel like she was skirting something?

  "I've got bad vibes about Peter Baldwyn.” She shivered, and she hadn’t even met the guy. “You should read the file Scotland Yard has on him. Interpol’s is even longer." She made a growling sound. "Our own file is more than ninety-five-thousand words long, and it's the smallest. He's been brought in for questioning on several occasions, but always has an ironclad alibi-"

  "For what?"

  "Murder, mostly."

  Murder! Stone cleared his throat. "And you think there's a connection between him and the Danners."

  "I'd bet my badge on it." Dear Lord, could things get any worse? Windy's chin hiked up a notch. "If there's a relationship there, I'll find it." Her tone indicated that she'd bet the farm there was a link. He prayed she wasn’t the guy’s accomplice, but he sensed there was a deep connection and it wasn’t the distraught parental one Baldwyn had claimed.

  At this rate, he'd have a perforated ulcer within the week. "Who has Baldwyn killed or been suspected of killing?"

  She tilted her head. "Now that's the interesting part." He turned the truck left into the grocery store's parking lot. "The only one that he was indicted for was his wife."

  He slammed on the brakes. Tires squealed and people gawked. "His wife!" She nodded. "Well, did he?"

  She shrugged. "The charges were dropped due to lack of evidence."

  After Marishka, he could certainly understand the temptation to strangle certain people. Of course, Marishka would have been more likely to disappear and make it look like she'd been murdered. Stone pulled into a parking lot and turned off the engine. If there was lack of evidence, could it mean that there wasn't a body? Would Ariel have set up her husband for a murder wrap then changed her name and taken their child? He didn't want to believe it, but their fear of discovery and evasion of simple questions made it seem like a suspiciously possible scenario.

  Windy was giving him an oddly appraising look, then closed the file she had been skimming and tucked her pad in her purse. "What are you thinking about?"

  "That people often marry someone who is just like their parent.” She raised her eyebrow. “Like if a girl has a scumbag of a father, she’ll choose a guy who is just like him.”

  "Are you talking about yourself? Because if you are…”

  He shook his head. “Marishka was an exception.

  “But in many ways, Ariel seems a lot like mom.”

  He shrugged and got out of the truck before he fell victim to the temptation to ask in what ways. Windy caught up as he grabbed a grocery cart. They silently headed for the produce section. As Windy chose tomatoes, she glanced at him. "Scotland Yard's file on Baldwyn nearly goes back to his diaper days." She grinned as if she could see the chill that had washed over him. "The most accepted theory is that he's either an enforcer for OPEC or that he works for another organization that wants to control OPEC's decisions."

  "That seems unlikely."

  "Not when you take everything into account and dismiss his iron-clad alibis." Her soft tones sounded more menacing than if she'd shouted fire at the top of her lungs.

  He remembered the tracks on Dolly's deck and could see the man as a killer. Could see why a wife would fake her death and hope the law convicted her husband. If the man really did have ties with OPEC, Stone could see how his connections might have gotten him off. He grabbed a head of lettuce.

  "Don't get any ideas about taking Baldwyn on and mauling him, like that poor produce, Windy hissed. “Even if no one can make anything stick to him, my instincts tell me the guy is bad news. I mean it’s just too much of a coincidence how often Baldwyn is near a place when there's a suspicious accident. Take that drowning in Deadhorse-"

  "Deadhorse!” Stone interrupted, as a memory fell into place. “That's where I saw him. He was following Ariel and Tempest."

  Windy's frame tensed. "What day was that?"

  He told her. They stared at each other in confused horror as both put bits and pieces together and realized the presumed drowning could have been an arranged murder. Stone’s gut constricted as he recalled how upset Ariel and Tempest had been when they returned to the plane.

  And they’d come from the river. Christ, had they killed the guy? Unlikely, since they hadn’t even known they’d be landing there. Helped kill him? Equally unlikely. Seen it happen? Possibly. If they were able to identify Baldwyn because of something they’d seen, maybe he’d concocted the phony story to track them down and arrange another ‘accident’.

  Windy was the first to find her voice. "No wonder they act evasive and have changed their names so often." Yeah, but why was Baldwyn after them? "Though the kid seems kinda young for a murderess."

  "What are you talking about?"

  "Well it makes sense to me, but I'll try to explain. Baldwyn is a licensed PI and several times when he's been questioned concerning a suspicious accident, he's stated that he was tailing this or that person – usually unfaithful wives or husbands." Windy clutched his wrist. "What if the supposition is partially true and Baldwyn works for OPEC, not as their hit-man, but as someone who is trying to track the real killer?" He didn't buy that theory, but Windy barreled ahead with the idea, "What if a woman is the killer? It would have been easy for a female to get close."

  "You should know," he said. "But I'd bet on Baldwyn. There's something sinister about him." He gripped her arm. "You said that there wasn't a link between him and the Danners. What if the connection is new? What if he thinks they could have seen him push that sultan into the water and knows they have the power to testify against him?"

  Windy looked at him. "They'd be in danger."

  He nodded. “The question is, do they realize how much danger they could be in.” She winced. Silently, they loaded up the cart with fruits and vegetables, then headed toward the bakery section.

  Stone chose a loaf of pumpernickel while Windy picked crusty French rolls, then she tapped her pad and scrolled through several pages. “The names MacLennan, Keen, and Smyth-Reynolds pop up alot.” He looked at her, wondering what she was talking about. “In the South, the MacLennan name equals big money and lots of power – political power. The MacLennan comes with the highest pedigree and a load of political power. There is a load of money behind the Keen name. The Smyth-Reynolds family seems to have several powerful connections.”

  “You mean crime-wise?|

  She nodded. “The question is still why anyone would want an alias if they rightfully were a family member.”

  “Are you trying to say that’s who they really are?”

  “I'm still trying to backtrack to be certain, but it looks possible. The most direct link is to Mitchell Keen, but only due to selling the vehicle.” She bit her lower lip as she studied her notes. “Do you know if Ariel has more aliases and if one of them might have been Daniels?"

  Stone stared at her and wondered why his sister. "You seem determined to find the worst in Ariel."

  "Someone has to protect your heart." She frowned. "Don't tell me you think it's normal for someone to chose to drive a bullet-proof car. That's one reason why I suspect them of something sinister and am willing to give Baldwyn the benefit of doubt."

  "I wish you weren't so persuasive." He wished even more that part of him didn't agree with her assessment.

  "The safest thing for you to do would be distance yourself from them, both physically and emotionally."

  D
espite the impossibility, he nodded. "But what if she's a victim?"

  "If she is, I don't think you'll be able to protect her from someone like Baldwyn."

  "What aren't you telling me about him?"

  "For one thing, his talents could rival one of Stephen Segal's characters."

  "You mean he has the capability of being an assassin?" Windy nodded. "Then why do you seem to think it's more likely that Ariel is the killer?"

  "None of the victims have died of a sniper shot between the eyes or a well-placed karate blow. The string of suspected murders all seem to be accidents and Ariel seems a lot smarter than she's letting on."

  "You think she's a potential killer just because she's smart?"

  "I also think she could be a lot older than you think. I had Duke fax a yearbook photo of Phyllis MacLennan-Smyth-Reynolds. Except for coloring, they're practically identical. It's a miracle what plastic surgeons and hair dye can do. And before you say another word, Ariel dyes her hair and is wearing colored contacts. So is Tempest."

  "Any idiot would know Tempest dyed her hair." Windy's expression was a mixture of sorrow and worry. "What are you going to do? Arrest them for needing glasses and liking dye?"

  "On what charge?” she shot back, “Dying without a license?" She sighed and began pushing the cart toward the checkout lane. "I'm going to watch them and talk to them. See what makes them tick." She turned to him and poked him in the chest. "And I'm going to do my level best to make certain no woman hurts you, ever again."

  It would be nice if another person could actually protect his feelings like that.

  If Windy was correct, Ariel may have been married to Baldwyn and perhaps still was. She was at least ten years older, than he'd guessed, too. He scowled, then shrugged. The cashier, who was ringing up their order paused and looked at the produce waiting to be bagged, her expression confused. "Thinking about a business problem," he assured her.