Dangerous Proposition

by Jessica Lauryn

  Saying a silent prayer, Colin asked, “What do you think they are?”

  “Isn’t it obvious? My dad is working for Lucas.”

  Every bit of breath seeped from Colin’s body. Looking Julia’s way, he said, “I’m not sure where you’re getting your information, but I’m sure it’s nothing but a bunch of misunderstandings.”

  “There’s no misunderstanding, Colin. When I was going through my dad’s things, I found this card with a picture of a cougar on it. The symbol matches the one Lena used to wear around her neck. Or rather, the one Lena wore around her neck the day I met her, and then never again.”

  “The cougar’s a fairly common symbol,” Colin said, wiping the sweat from his palms. “Are you sure you’re not so desperate to make a connection here that you’re grasping at straws?”

  “I know what I saw,” Julia said. “The symbol is unique. I’ve never seen anything else like it. It’s almost as if the designer wanted to make sure that no one could possibly replicate it.” She turned to the window. “Those of us who were working for the White Mountain Lodge knew that Becker had been arrested, but we were never told why. Judging by the paperwork Abigail and I found in the filing cabinets—which I’m almost positive contained the same symbol as Lena’s necklace—there isn’t a doubt in my mind that Becker was directly connected to Lucas Ramone. Maybe Lucas was working for Becker, or worse. Maybe Becker was working for Lucas.”

  All circulation in Colin’s body came to a halt. He was halfway across the room before he thought to stop himself. He placed a hand on Julia’s back. “It’s fairly common for the mind to play tricks on a person when someone they love is in danger. I’m a doctor. I see it all the time. To you, all of the things that you’re thinking and feeling right now are very real. But you’ve got to think this through, and see how illogical it all is.” Smoothing his palm along her spine, he said, “You’ve got to hang in there, not lose faith. I’m not sure what it was that you found in your father’s belongings, but I do know that this is all going to work out. Tucker’s a fighter. He’s a lot like his daughter in that way.”

  The faintest hint of a smile touched Julia’s face. Then her hopeful expression faded into one of terror. “Lena used to talk about how demented Lucas was and how ruthless he could be. What if Lucas has my father, Colin? What if this abduction is part of some elaborate plot? What if my father wasn’t abducted at all? What if he’s—”

  “Lucas Ramone can’t hurt your father, Julia,” Colin said. “He’s dead.”

  * * * *

  Julia trembled as Colin’s words, telling her that Lena’s psychotic ex-fiancé was dead, echoed in her mind. Had she heard right? How would Colin know whether Lucas Ramone was dead?

  She’d known she hit on something when she made the connection between Lucas and Mark Becker. Abigail had been closer to the investigation than she was, but between the ledger sheets and the cougar symbols, Julia had seen enough evidence to convince her that there’d been something highly illegal going on at that hotel. What she didn’t understand was how Colin would know whether Lucas Ramone was dead.

  “I don’t get it,” she said. “How do you know that—”

  “It happened at Lena and Alec’s engagement party. Lucas wore the same costume Alec had on, to disguise himself. He abducted Lena and took her up to Cathedral Ledge.”

  “Because he was jealous?”

  “And extremely demented,” Colin muttered under his breath.

  Julia’s thoughts were racing. It made sense that Lucas would have gone to extremes to retrieve his fiancé, considering everything Lena had told her about the guy. But she got the feeling there was something Colin was hesitating to say.

  “Lucas just showed up in the middle of the hors d’oeuvres and crashed Lena’s party?” Julia shifted her lips.

  “Broke in is more like it. Guess the two of you have something in common.”

  “What happened?” she asked, rolling her eyes.

  “Lena was standing on the balcony outside of Alec’s bedroom and Lucas snuck up on her from behind. Alec tried to stop him, but Lucas took her at gunpoint. He jumped off the side of the balcony, and landed on the pavement in front of our house.”

  This guy had been even crazier than she’d been told. Not exactly a comforting thought, especially since he’d just become the primary suspect in her father’s disappearance. Julia sat on the couch. “From what I understand, Lucas was obsessed with Lena. She said that Lucas was working with his father, trying to get the two of them married, only, the bride wasn’t exactly consulted about the pending nuptials.”

  “I heard that, too,” Colin concurred quietly.

  “So, if this creep wanted to be with Lena so badly, why would he risk hurting her by dragging her to the edge of the cliff?”

  “Lucas was insane. There’s no rhyme or reason why he did the things he did.”

  “How did he die?” Julia asked.

  “He and Alec were struggling. The ledge they were standing on broke. Lucas didn’t get off in time. The stone he was holding cracked and he fell over the side.”

  This seemed plausible. But if it was the whole story, why did Colin seem so anxious? His temper was shorter than usual, and his forehead and cheeks were glistening with sweat.

  North Conway was a small town. A tragic death like the one Lucas had suffered would have been reported in the newspaper. That was, if it had been reported.

  Of course it had, Julia assured herself. She didn’t exactly read the New York Times anymore, but the world would have wondered where Lucas Ramone had been during the last three years. He was a business entrepreneur. Rich people were constantly talked about, New Yorkers especially.

  She said, “I know I wasn’t the greatest friend to Lena. But I do know, from what she told me, that Lucas kept a close watch over his possessions and that he considered her to be one of them. Something tells me he wouldn’t have risked her life if he didn’t think he had a damn good reason to.”

  “Don’t you think that hating Lena and Alec would be reason enough?”

  “Alec?”

  Colin cleared his throat. “Naturally, Lucas hated Alec more than anyone. Alec stole his fiancée. At least, from his severely disturbed point of view, he did. He must have thought if he lured him away from the party, he could shoot him without anyone noticing.”

  It was disturbing how much Colin seemed to know about the criminal mind. Julia was glad that none of the guys she’d ever dated had turned out to be candidates for America’s Most Wanted. Well, Shane Dempsey perhaps, but never again.

  “It doesn’t seem like that much of a stretch to assume Lucas would try to murder someone in cold blood. But it is pretty extreme, the idea that he would have hatched such an elaborate scheme to kill a man he’d never met.”

  “Lucas was an elaborate guy,” Colin said.

  “I’m sure he was. But it all seems a bit much to me.” Looking out the window, Julia stared into the apartment beside theirs. She caught sight of an orange cat, which reminded her of her own cat, Marmalade, scurrying across the carpet.

  Abigail had told her something just after Becker was arrested, about a conversation she’d had with Alec Westwood. Her best friend hadn’t said much, but apparently, Alec had admitted there were “things in his past he wasn’t proud of.” Considering everything else she’d put together, that certainly did raise her suspicions.

  “Do you think it’s possible that Lucas knew your brother?” she asked. “Before the night of his engagement party?”

  “I highly doubt it. Why do you ask?”

  “Because as demented as Lucas was, I find it really hard to believe that he would waste his time trying to kill a man he’d never met.”

  “You said yourself that Lucas was obsessed with Lena.” Colin fiddled with his shirt cuff. “Being the psychopath that he was, why wouldn’t he want to take out the man standing in his way?”

  Julia imagined a psychopath would. But that didn’t change the fact that there was something Colin
was hesitating to say.

  “I guess you’re right.” She walked to the bedroom, coming back a moment later with her wallet in her hand. “Just so I know I won’t be starving again, dinner’s on me tonight. But don’t think this is going to be a regular occurrence. Oh, and you’re just going to have to put up with Chinese, ’cause that’s what I’m in the mood for.”

  Colin’s tight-lipped expression made it difficult to tell whether he was about to object or crack up laughing. “If you’re buying, I’m eating.”

  “Well…all right then.” Counting the cash in her wallet, Julia made sure she had at least forty dollars. She went to the kitchen. Taking her cell phone from the counter, she dialed four-one-one and got the number for the nearest Chinese restaurant.

  “I’d like an extra-large roast pork fried rice. One chicken and cashew nuts. Broccoli with mixed vegetables, and a bowl of egg drop soup. Oh, make that two, I guess.”

  Her mind drifted as she jotted down the total and gave the man on the phone the address for Colin’s apartment. She supposed she ought to be eating something that constituted as brain food at a time like this. But she had a feeling she’d already had the biggest revelation she was going to for one evening.

  There was a connection between Colin Westwood and Lucas Ramone. Cover-ups, accidental deaths. She’d hold up on trekking to Griffin’s hideaway for the time being. Because there was a lot more to that story than a jealous lover’s spat.

  And now that she knew that for sure, Julia wasn’t stopping until she knew what that something was.

  Chapter 12

  The air was warm as Colin stepped onto the balcony the following morning. Sunlight beat against his head. Choosing not to shoo the pigeons off of the ledge for a change, he sat in his deck chair. He closed his eyes, allowing the breeze to hit his tired face.

  It was a good thing the weather was so nice. It would be an excellent day for a drive, precisely what he and Julia were going to spend the day doing.

  Colin clutched his stiff back. He hadn’t gotten much sleep, and it wasn’t because he’d spent the night on the couch again. Julia was starting to put things together. Not only because of what she’d seen during the last couple of days—apparently she’d been aware of things for years. Namely, about Lucas and Mark Becker.

  Colin hated Mark Becker. Wished him to burn in the pits of hell was more like it. The bastard had been Lucas’s tell-all right arm before taking up permanent residence in the New Hampshire State Prison for Men. Lucas had insisted that the dick be stationed directly in Colin’s vicinity, rather like his personal spy. Colin had fought it at first, but eventually he’d realized that there were benefits to having Lucas’s assistant so close by. Namely, that it had allowed him to know what his elusive partner was up to.

  Becker had needed a reputable job, a position he could hold as a decoy. So Colin got him a job at one of his father’s hotels, hoping that the number of hours involved in playing the part of hotel manager would keep the bastard out of his hair. But unlike the fairy tale scenario he’d envisioned, the worst thing imaginable had happened. Becker was arrested for smuggling diamonds.

  Naturally, a ton of bad publicity had followed for Westwood Industries. But if Leighton Westwood had had any idea what Mark Becker was really doing at his hotel that summer, he’d never said so. In the end, it had only widened the gap between Colin and his father that was already there.

  The fact that Julia knew about Becker, and that she’d traced the prick all the way back to Lucas was highly disturbing. For Christ’s sake, the cops hadn’t even managed to do it! And Julia had worked at not one, but two of his father’s hotels, both without his knowing about it. Moreover, he had told her the truth about Lucas’s death. Not the story he and Alec had fed the press, but the truth. Worse still, her father had been missing for over two weeks and he hadn’t found so much as a hint regarding his whereabouts.

  Other than the phone call from John Rizzo and his own brush with death, Colin knew nothing. Much as it killed him, he needed help. And he needed it from someone with a greater level of connections than his own.

  The patio door opened. Footsteps sounded against the ground.

  “Look who decided to join the living,” he said, turning as the door was shut behind him.

  “As if I could sleep with your snoring.” Julia, wearing his bathrobe, her new pajama of choice, strutted across the balcony. “Do we have any of that Chinese food left in the fridge? I’m starving.”

  “Whatever’s left in there couldn’t possibly be edible. I’ll get you something to eat on the way.”

  “On the way?” She looked at him. “Where are we going?”

  “It’s a surprise.”

  Colin wasn’t entirely sure she bought that, especially since the next thing he asked her to do was pack. He wasn’t sure how long they’d be gone, but it would probably be at least a day. It was best that they be prepared.

  Thanks to someone stealing his car, there wasn’t a lot to take with them. After a moderate amount of bickering, he loaded their things, the clothing he kept at the apartment and the items Julia had purchased on her day out, into his car. By seven thirty, there was nothing left ahead of them but road.

  It was a very warm day out, and it got even warmer as they sped along the highway. They drove without saying a word, Julia fiddling with the radio, him grateful she didn’t press him to continue their conversation from last night. As they passed a sign saying that they had just entered the state of Connecticut, Julia shot him a glare.

  After a half hour or so, his redheaded companion began to doze off. Noting that she was asleep, Colin glanced her way. He was envious that she had the opportunity to rest and rather wished he’d insisted on them switching off. But as he watched her, other thoughts began to creep their way into his mind.

  Julia was beautiful when she slept, with her long lashes draped over her pretty blue eyes. She seemed innocent, like an angel, and he found himself wanting to reach out and touch her cheek. Shaking his head, he fixed his eyes against the road.

  As he drove on, his hands clenched around the steering wheel. He was worried about Julia, and he was beginning to worry about her more than himself. He ought to be concerned about her not learning the truth—that was why he’d brought her to New York in the first place. But all he could seem to think about was how to keep her safe, and what was going to happen to her if she lost her father, the only real family she had.

  The fact that she had a parent who loved her was more than he could say for himself. He didn’t want Julia to lose that. Glancing at the clock on the dashboard, he sighed. The fact that he was driving to the outskirts of Greenwich, Connecticut spoke volumes about what a sap he was becoming.

  Coming off the highway, Colin slowed his speed and turned down the local street that Ian Hauser, one of his assistants, had instructed him to. At the end of the road, approaching a blanket of grass covered with cottages not fit to house a man on vacation in the Colorado Mountains, he blinked. The last he’d heard, Byron Murdock lived in a gated community. Though it had been many years since he’d seen him last, he was positive that was still the case. The address he’d been given had to be some sort of mistake.

  Something must be wrong with his GPS. Or perhaps they’d driven so far from civilization that there weren’t any known roads. As they appeared to be out of cell phone range, it was very possible that he was going to have to do something he despised—ask for directions.

  Indulging himself, he leaned over and pressed a kiss to Julia’s cream-white cheek. Looming above her forehead, he said, “Time to wake up, Sleeping Beauty. As much as I enjoy it when you can’t shout at me, we’re here.”

  Julia fluttered her eyelids. She looked at him, giving him a wide-eyed stare that indicated she wanted to know what in the world he was doing hovering over her. Clearing his throat, Colin inched back.

  “What exactly are we doing in the middle of nowhere?” Julia asked. Peering out the window, she said, “I thought this Byron guy l
ived in a house the size of your mansion.”

  He furrowed his brow. “He does. At least I think he does. This is the address my associate gave me. I guess he got the street name wrong.”

  “Only one way to find out,” Julia said. She pressed the button beside her, unfastening her seat belt.

  Colin followed suit. He turned off the engine and took his keys from the ignition. Meeting Julia on the grass, he started toward the house.

  Approaching a small white structure that resembled a trailer, Colin observed that the place was even smaller than his City apartment. It had a paneled exterior and only a few windows. There was no landscaping, short of a clothesline that ran from the window to the tree beside it.

  As he and Julia approached the door, a girl with wispy blonde hair and bright-hazel eyes stepped from behind the house. She was carrying a rag doll that had clearly seen better days.

  “Hello!” the girl said with an eager smile. “My name is Nicole. What’s yours?” She looked from Colin to Julia.

  “It’s very nice to meet you, Nicole,” Julia replied, bending to the child’s eye level. “I’m Julia, and this is Colin. We were hoping we could talk to your mommy and daddy. Are they at home?”

  A teenage boy with hair as blonde as the girl’s stepped through the front door. He was tall, and he was wearing a T-shirt with the insignia of a popular heavy metal band. Glaring at Colin and Julia, he shouted, “Nicole, go inside!”

  The girl did as she was told, scurrying past the boy and up the porch steps. “Bye, Julia. Bye, Cowin.”

  The young man shut the door behind her. Taking a step forward, he shot a death stare Julia’s and Colin’s way. “Are you here to threaten my dad again?” he demanded. “Because he’s not here.”

  “Easy there, buddy,” Colin said, holding up two hands. “We’re not here to make any trouble.”

  “Then maybe you should go back where you came from,” the young man spat.