It was the first time in her life she felt so rattled. She refused to use the word scared.
Thorne had called her father, telling him about the newest incident with Aaron. And about their suspicions over Aaron’s having access to the weapons at the plant. Barely a half hour later, FBI special agent Isabel Ortiz had called to go over all that information again. Katelyn had assured her that the conclusions she and Thorne had come to were mere speculation. Even though Aaron had issued a direct threat, that wasn’t sufficient to prove his guilt in any larger crime.
During a quick breakfast of cereal and berries with Thorne, she declared that this would be a “normal” day. “I’m going to get to work, seeing first to the guest house, then to the café for the lunch hour. What are you going to do?” she asked him.
“I can find something to keep me entertained in the lobby until we go over to the café.”
“Great. Natalie is already wondering about you.”
“Tell her I’m your bodyguard.”
“Right.”
“Not that she’ll believe you,” he went on. “She’ll assume we’re lovers.”
“Then she’ll be wrong.”
“Maybe for right now.”
“Don’t get your hopes up.”
She waited for Thorne to counter that, but he chose that moment to go silent. Which was for the best. Even the thought of something happening between them again was making her squirm inside. He might set her body on fire, but with the way she hated lies, her mind was still reeling from his dishonesty and she didn’t think she could find it in her heart to forgive him.
Setting her empty bowl in the sink, she turned on the water and rinsed it out. “I’ll be ready to go in five minutes.” She headed for her bedroom to freshen up. “Just so you know.”
“I’ll be waiting right here for you,” he assured her. “Just so you know.”
She did her best not to think about that as she cleaned up, put on a fresh top, and pulled a brush through her hair, which she then fastened in back with a clip. She accomplished it all in the promised five minutes and reentered her living room as Thorne finished a phone call.
“Thank you. Yes, of course. Keep us informed.” He hung up. “That was Justus Nance, the investigator I contacted in Chicago. He had information about those three victims we zeroed in on.”
The look of concern on Thorne’s face made Katelyn’s pulse surge. “He learned something significant?”
“Nicole Dyer was adopted. He got the name of her birth mother, Faye Robinson, who gave her up, when he tracked down Nicole’s birth certificate. The father is listed as being unknown.”
“So then she must be the child referred to as having been taken in that second email,” Katelyn said.
The child taken from you has the most power over your heart….
“Not necessarily. Jori and Rebecca Hill also had an unusual background. Their parents divorced when they were teenagers. Their mother, Abby, got custody of fourteen-year-old Jori, but since Rebecca was sixteen and wanted to go with her father, Kevin, the judge allowed it.”
“So the person seeking revenge could be either this Faye Robinson or Kevin Hill.”
“Or Abby Hill,” Thorne said, pausing for a second before adding, “By the way, her maiden name was Eklund.”
Katelyn gasped. “Related to Gerard Eklund?”
“Justus didn’t know that, but he is going to look into it. And into seeing if he can pry the name of Nicole Dyer’s birth father from her mother.”
Katelyn’s mind was racing. “I thought it was odd that Eklund just happened to be in Prairie Springs, but he said his bank had a booth at their summer festival.” She’d taken him at his word because of the sunglasses he’d given her, but she hadn’t actually seen the booth.
“Wait a minute—Eklund was there? Why didn’t you say so before?”
“Because his name just came up from your investigator friend. Eklund made me uneasy, but he didn’t threaten me.” Not like Aaron had.
“I need to know what’s going on with you if I’m going to protect you. So what happened with Eklund?”
“He told me his business had a booth at the fair there. He came into the café there when I was trying to buy a ride back to Lake Geneva.”
“Buy a ride?”
She ignored his outraged tone. “Eklund volunteered to bring me home. And I let him.”
“What was the cost?”
“He didn’t charge me.”
“I didn’t mean monetary. He must have wanted something.”
“Information.”
“About?”
“He questioned me about Sam’s death. And somehow he’d learned that Robert Hamilton is my father….”
“He’s obviously aware of the potential connection between those two things. You should share that information with Special Agent Ortiz.”
Katelyn pulled out her cellphone to make that call. “Maybe this will give the FBI the information they need to break the case.”
She could only hope so. Then this state of unreality would be over.
Not to mention that Thorne Hudson would be out of her life.
Forever.
—
Ten minutes later, Thorne was parked in one of the lobby chairs as Katelyn went over the week’s reservations with Natalie. How long was this going to take? He pulled out his cell and checked the time. They had an hour before they needed to report to the café. He kept one eye on Katelyn while he reviewed his emails—mostly junk. He deleted those, took a quick look at others. Nothing pressing.
So why was he getting an adrenaline charge? This sense of building anticipation he had? It felt as if something was going to happen, and happen fast. Justus was a great investigator, and he had experienced people working for him. It was simply a matter of time before his team dug up the goods they needed to identify who wanted revenge. To identify Sam Gilbert’s killer.
Footsteps on the stairs alerted him to new arrivals. He glanced up to see a young couple coming down from their room.
“Ms. Wade,” the man called. “Thanks for telling us about that mailboat tour the other day. We took it, and it was really fun. Now we’re up for a little action. This afternoon, we’d like to take your speedboat out for a spin on the lake.”
“He wants to take the speedboat for a spin,” the woman clarified. “I’m merely going along for the ride to make him happy.”
“I’ll bet you’ll enjoy it, though, Mrs. Stewart,” Katelyn said, but then she frowned. “Oh, wait. I didn’t gas up the tank the other day.”
“Oh, too bad,” the woman said cheerily.
But the man was frowning. “Can’t you fill the tank now? I told you I wanted to rent the boat, and you’ve had days to do it.”
Thorne could see the man had made Katelyn uncomfortable, but she covered with one of her brilliant smiles.
“Um, of course.” She looked over to Thorne. “Something that you could do, Thorne?”
“Something for us to do.” What was she thinking? It was obvious that for some reason she didn’t want to do it, but no way would he go off and leave her alone. “Together.”
“Right,” Katelyn agreed. “Lunch hour is coming up, but we can get over to Bayside Marina to gas up before having to open the café.”
Thankfully, Thorne thought. He couldn’t wait to get out of the lobby. A boat ride on the lake and some time alone with Katelyn were bonuses he hadn’t expected.
—
Before leaving to fill the boat’s tank, Katelyn insisted they deliver the clean tablecloths and napkins to the café so someone could set the tables. Thankfully, her newly promoted assistant manager was already there.
“Ah, I was wondering where those were,” Tansy said, taking the bundles Katelyn was carrying from her. She nodded to Thorne. “Follow me. What I don’t need now, we can stack in a closet in the office.”
While she was there, Katelyn decided to check on the kitchen. To her relief, it appeared fully staffed. Everyone seemed to
be on the job. But when she came back out to the restaurant, she noticed Sophie standing pressed against one of the bussing stations. An intense-looking Donald Radtke seemed to have her trapped.
What in the world was going on?
As she went over to find out, Radtke turned and, noting her approach with a sour expression, said something to Sophie, then walked away.
Staring after him, Katelyn frowned. “What was that all about? Are you all right?”
“Of course I’m all right. We were just talking.”
Katelyn gave her a questioning look.
“Is something wrong?” Sophie asked.
“It just seemed like he was pressuring you about something.”
“No, he said I kind of remind him of someone and asked me about the work I do in the kitchen.”
That sounded a lot friendlier than the Donald Radtke who growled at her and gave her dour looks.
Thorne chose that moment to reappear from the office. “Ready to gas up the boat?”
Sophie took that as her cue to leave, and Katelyn said, “Now or never.”
Heading down to the pier with Thorne, however, she couldn’t shake a deep sense of unease. For a minute, she couldn’t swallow. Could hardly breathe. Had trouble focusing. In her mind’s eye, she saw Sam’s body rolling out from under the pier….
Blinking the phantasm away, she tried to act like nothing was wrong. But as she was getting into the boat, she was off-balance just enough that Thorne had to grab her by the waist to keep her from falling. His hands on her flesh, his breath on her neck, his heat searing her rear—all made her choke back a small sob of longing before she freed herself.
“I don’t need your help!”
His eyebrows rose practically to his hairline. “That’s a matter of opinion.”
If he touched her again, she might weaken, and she didn’t want to be with a man she couldn’t trust. “Just keep your hands off me.”
“If you say so.”
“Well, I do!”
Untying the dock lines from the cleats on the pier, she stood at the wheel and started the engine, slowly backing the boat out of its slip. While she had to look over her shoulder at the pier to make sure everything was lined up correctly and that there were no snags, she avoided glancing at the area where they’d found Sam. She hadn’t wanted to come down here. Hadn’t even wanted to see the pier so soon.
Maybe never again!
Would she ever be able to enjoy this once-idyllic spot without remembering?
There was no way she could avoid the sight of the pier from her apartment windows or from the café. The pier would always be a reminder of that terrible night when they found Sam. His body rolling out from under the boards was emblazoned in her mind forever. She would never be able to wipe it away.
Knowing that, she had no clue if she would be able to run her business with the love and devotion she’d given it over the past six months.
If not, what then?
What did the future hold for her and her dream?
She felt like she was being choked, the pressure in her chest only subsiding as the distance from Lakeside grew. By the time they were approaching the middle of Geneva Lake, she could again take a normal breath. Too bad she couldn’t think of anything normal to say.
“I’m assuming that if you’d heard anything from the medical examiner about the autopsy, you would have told me, wouldn’t you?” she asked Thorne.
“I haven’t heard from Weaver or from Cole since we got back to Lake Geneva.”
“Weaver said it would take forty-eight hours for the diatom test. It’s been that already.”
“If he put the test through right when he called.” He pulled out his cell and dialed. “But I will check for you. I’ll call him right now.”
A few seconds later, the medical examiner answered. “Weaver here. Mr. Hudson, I was just about to call Ms. Wade.”
“She’s here and we’re on speakerphone,” Thorne said.
“What’s all that noise?”
“Boat engine. We’re on our way to gas up for some customers.”
Impatient with the chitchat, Katelyn cut the engine and let the boat slow. “Do you have the autopsy report finished?”
“Indeed I do.”
Her throat tightened again. “Did Sam drown or not?”
“I’m afraid he didn’t, Ms. Wade. He was already dead when he went into the water. Which means he was murdered.”
Her knees gave out and she sank into the seat behind her. “How?” she choked out.
“Blunt force trauma. That blow to his head. I determined that it was newer than the bruises on his body. Those must have been from some kind of fall he took a day or two before he died, but that wasn’t what killed him. He was hit on the head with something hard and narrow.”
“No clue as to the weapon?” Thorne asked.
“Not yet. First we need to figure out where it happened. Not the pier, not the café patio, not the walkway between. Which unfortunately means we need to widen the search in and around your property, Ms. Wade, and beyond that, into the woods.”
“Yes, of course. Whatever you need to do, you’ll have my full cooperation.”
“Detective Cole will have a team there in an hour.”
“Great. Just in time for lunch.”
She might not have to make any decision about Lakeside’s future, after all. The continuing investigation into the murder of someone who had worked for her might kill the business on its own.
They signed off and Katelyn rammed the motor, speeding across the water as fast as she could push the engine. She needed to be back on the premises before Cole’s team got on site to minimize the damage. Luckily, when they arrived at the marina, she didn’t have to wait for the gas. In less than five minutes, the tank was filled, the gas was paid for, and they were on their way home.
“Talking about it might help,” Thorne finally said.
“Help who? Sam?” Standing behind the wheel again, albeit on shaky legs, Katelyn headed the boat away from the shoreline. “He’s dead. Not coming back.”
“There’s still a killer to catch.”
Another speedboat was coming their way fast, and loud enough that Katelyn had to raise her voice to be heard. “The police don’t even know where he died.”
“Somewhere on your property. Given time, they’ll find the exact spot. Plus they know when he died and how.”
“Vaguely how.”
She suddenly realized that the other boat—bigger and faster than hers—was coming straight for them.
“He came back to the guest house for his sunglasses on Monday night, right?” Thorne asked.
“Right.”
“What if he never left?”
But now she was distracted by the other boat. The sun was glaring off its windshield, so she couldn’t see who was behind the wheel. Maybe the other driver couldn’t see them, either. She shifted course to get out of the way, but the bigger boat followed suit. The prow was coming straight at them. Considering the size of the other craft, if it hit them straight-on, it looked as if it could cut them in two.
“Hey!” she yelled, blaring her horn. “Move over!”
But the other driver didn’t seem to hear any better than he could see. The menacing craft was bearing down on them fast.
“Hey!” Thorne was now standing and waving both arms at the driver.
She yelled, “Hold on!”
Swerving hard, tilting the hull to the right, tightening her leg muscles, and gripping the wheel with all her strength, she somehow held on herself as they arched to the right, her boat nearly on its side. That is, until the other boat rammed them anyway, hitting the side hard enough to jerk the wheel out of her hands. She flew up and backward. Hung suspended by air alone for long enough that her speedboat curled out of the way.
And then she dropped straight into the lake and plunged downward as the attacking boat made a tight turn and tore toward her through the water.
“Katelyn!” Thor
ne yelled.
She heard her name burble through the water as the near impact of the other craft mere inches from her spun her around. The wash pushed her sideways and she sank faster, all the while sucking in lake water.
Was this it, then? The end? A real drowning this time? Revenge complete?
Surely no accident!
Choking on the water she was taking in, Katelyn faced what seemed inevitable even as she fought her way back to the surface. Above her, she could see the attacking boat arcing around, coming perilously close. It missed her, but the moment her head cleared the surface, the boat’s wake slapped her in the head. Under she went again, swallowing more water, with little fight left in her.
Thorne! Her last thoughts were of him….
Behind the bar, his best smile winning over customers.
In that sinkhole, saving that dog, and later saving Joey.
In bed, taking her to places she’d never been before.
Struggling against the inevitable, she reached up as if to grab the sky—
And suddenly, a manacle surrounded her wrist and made it happen.
Her arm felt like it was being pulled out of its socket, but her head was suddenly clear of the water. She choked on the air she sucked in.
Hands were on her now. Familiar hands. Thorne’s hands.
Dragging and lifting her.
Powering her into the boat.
Pulling her into him, surrounding her with solid support, holding on to her like he would never let her go.
“He was trying to run you over!” A hand on either side of her head, he tilted it back so he could look into her face. “I thought I’d lost you!”
Coughing ripped her head free from his hands. Lake water ripped from her lungs and onto his chest. She didn’t argue. Made no attempt to pull away from him when he squeezed her hard to him. She clung to him, clung to life. No matter what else she thought about him, Katelyn believed Thorne would do everything in his power to protect her as promised.
He gave her a minute to get her bearings, then circled her waist with one arm and pulled her back toward the wheel. “We need to get out of here in case he comes back.”
His Deception Page 17