“The Boston one.”
Colt opened one of the files on his desk and read silently. When he looked up, Danny was staring, waiting for his follow-up instructions.
“Chances are slim this is even the phone we’re looking for,” Colt said, more to himself than the young deputy. “Find out who was at the conference, which hotel exactly. Then dig around to see if you can connect the dead guy to Porter or Thornton.”
Danny flopped down in the chair, a self-satisfied grin on his face. “Don’t need to.”
“Damn it, Danny, this isn’t a game,” Colt reprimanded, unable to hide his annoyance. Danny Landers was a good cop when his youth didn’t get in the way.
“The owner said he got nervous watching the man fill out the forms. The guy kept looking around to make sure no one was standing behind him. When he walked out, the owner glanced out the window more from curiosity than anything.” Danny hitched his brows. “Here’s where it gets interesting, boss. It was a cop.”
Colt’s body stiffened. “What made him think that?”
“The guy drove off in a Vineyard Police cruiser.”
TWENTY-ONE
OUT OF BREATH, LAINEY opened the door and stared at Dan Maguire as Ginger and Fred checked him out in their own unique way. She’d only had about thirty minutes to take a quick shower after he’d called from the airport, and her hair was still damp.
“You’re beautiful without makeup,” he said softly.
She rushed over and fell into his arms, enjoying the way he cradled her. “I’ve missed you, even though I forgot how good a liar you are.”
When he bent down to kiss her, she turned her head slightly, and his lips brushed her cheek. The questions in his eyes tore at her heart. Dan was a beautiful man inside and out. She owed him the truth.
She pulled away and tugged at his arm. “Come over here and sit.”
Reluctantly, he allowed her to drag him to the kitchen where she guided him to a chair.
“I’m sorry I don’t have coffee, Dan, but there are a few packets of hot chocolate in the cupboard.”
“I’m all coffee’d out, anyway,” he replied. “Hot chocolate sounds nice. I didn’t expect Texas to be this chilly.”
She grinned. “By this afternoon, you’ll wish you hadn’t worn that long-sleeved shirt.”
As she heated the water in the microwave, Lainey felt his intense gaze on the back of her neck. She dreaded what she had to do.
Setting the steaming cup in front of him, she slid into the chair opposite him and took a small sip of her own drink. This wouldn’t be easy. She loved this man, just not in the way he wanted.
“Dan, I …”
He inhaled sharply. “I’m not sure I want to hear what you’re about to say.”
She fought to keep her brimming tears from falling. “You know I love you.”
His eyes begged her not to add the “but I” part he obviously heard in her voice.
“I don’t think I’ve ever met another man as totally unselfish as you. I will always be grateful I have you in my life.”
“But?” he asked, his voice resigned.
She attempted to smile as a lone tear won the battle and slid down her cheek. “I’m not in love with you,” she blurted, reaching across the table and taking his hand in hers. She massaged the tanned skin on top, kneading the soft palm underneath. “I’m sorry.”
“How long have you felt this way?”
She sighed, releasing his hand. “I’ve been questioning myself for a while,” she said. “I’m a coward and not nearly as unselfish as you. When I’m in your arms, I feel so safe, so secure. I want to stay there forever.”
“Then why don’t you?” His eyes sparkled with a ray of hope. “I love you, Lainey. I knew you were special the moment you walked into my office and convinced me you could send the ratings at KSAV through the roof. I just didn’t realize how hard I would fall for you.”
“I felt the same way about you, even with all the false bravado that day.” She watched his steel gray eyes hold her captive, begging her to say what he wanted to hear.
She couldn’t. She loved Dan too much to deceive him.
“But,” she started.
“There’s that negativity again,” he said, turning away from her to dab his eyes.
She choked back her own cry, nearly losing her resolve to continue.
“Truthfully, I’ve known for a while,” he finally said when he faced her again. “I felt it in your touch, saw it in your eyes. I just didn’t want to believe it. I thought you would learn to love me as much as I love you.” The hope disappeared from his eyes, replaced by a cloud of sadness.
“You can’t make your heart feel something it doesn’t,” she said, her own heart aching with sorrow. “God knows, I’ve tried.”
She stood and circled the table, embracing him from behind. For a while, neither spoke until Dan finally broke away.
“Are you still considering the Florida job?”
She shrugged. “They agreed to wait another week to interview me. I’m hopeful things can get wrapped up here in Vineyard by then.” She had almost forgotten about the job interview. It had been rescheduled for this Friday.
Dan turned and met her gaze. A cold blade sliced through her heart with the sudden realization of what she was giving up. Reality hit her like a splash of icy water.
She pushed a stray lock of hair off his forehead. “Nothing’s definite yet, Dan. I can change my mind all together and come begging at your doorstep before then. Who knows what will happen?”
Even as she said it, she knew it wouldn’t happen. The driving force for their on-camera relationship had been the chemistry generated by their off-camera one. After today, that relationship was gone.
“Are you sure there’s nothing I can say to change your mind?”
She shook her head. “As much as I’m gonna regret giving up on us, we both need to move on.”
He glanced at his watch, then reached for his cell phone. She
studied his face as he punched in a number, listening as he changed his plane reservations. When he disconnected, he almost looked relieved, as if he had known this moment was coming and was glad it was over.
Lainey smiled sadly. “You’re leaving at eight tonight?” When he nodded, she sighed. “That gives me the whole day to show you around this little town I grew up in.” Her smile faded. “Unless you’d rather not.”
For the first time, he laughed out loud. “If you’ll feed me before you drag me all over town, count me in. Peanuts just don’t cut it,” he said, springing up from the chair. “Come on, woman, tempt me with some of that great Texas food you’re always gushing about.”
“Ruby’s!” she exclaimed. “You haven’t lived until you’ve tasted her chicken-fried steak.” Lainey grabbed her jacket and nudged him toward the door, stopping to plant a quick kiss on his cheek before closing it behind them.
As she slid into the passenger seat of his rental car, her mouth watered, thinking about Ruby’s delicious home cooking. She prayed Colt wouldn’t decide to have lunch there today. She wasn’t ready to introduce the man she had been sleeping with for the past two years to the man she had slept with less than twelve hours ago.
She couldn’t hide the grin that spread across her face. What did that say about her?
_____
She jumped when her cell phone blared “Before He Cheats,” nearly dumping a half full cup of Diet Dr Pepper into her lap. “Hello.”
“Hey, babe, where are you?” a sleepy voice asked. “I rolled over and you were AWOL.”
“I had to run a few errands before my hair appointment this afternoon. I didn’t want to wake you, especially after you worked so hard last night.” She was glad he couldn’t see her face.
Worked so hard, my ass. All he had to do was plug in the damn vibrator and put it on the right spot. Even an idiot like Jerry could figure that out.
“Daddy knows what you like, don’t I?”
Any moron can turn on the sw
itch. “You sure do, baby. I can’t wait to get more tonight.”
“What time will you get back? Maybe I can sneak away from the office early, and we can do the nasty before dinner.”
Even his voice irritated her. “I’d like that,” she lied. Fat chance of me making it home before dark. “Gotta run if I’m gonna make that appointment. Love you.”
“Hurry home, lambkins. Dirty Harry misses you already.”
She hung up and huffed. Little Harry would be more like it, she thought, referring to the name he’d given his dick.
She raised the binoculars up to her eyes, just as Lainey and the guy who had arrived about an hour ago headed out the door. When Lainey reached over and kissed him, she smiled.
And they call me a whore!
She’d driven out to Colt’s ranch to try to talk Lainey into selling her half of the winery. She thought maybe if she sweetened the pot with money on the side, it might work. From all indications, Lainey had no plans to stay in Vineyard despite what she told Jerry.
Her forced laugh was dry and cynical. She could spot a well-conceived plan a mile away, and Lainey definitely had a scam going to get Jerry to up the ante for what was rightfully his.
Rightfully hers.
Despite Jerry’s promise to promote her after Tessa was out of the way, thanks to Lainey, that hadn’t happened. He said she was the Vice President of Marketing, but she wasn’t born yesterday. He was merely placating her.
Maybe he really had no intentions of making her part of management. If that was true, the man had a big surprise coming. Nobody screwed with Roxy Moretti and got away with it. She would get what was owed her no matter what she had to do.
Roxy shivered and pulled the jacket closer. When she’d left the house this morning, she didn’t know she would be sitting behind a row of trees spying on Lainey. She’d only meant to wait until she saw Colt’s car leave, then approach the woman for a talk. She’d been surprised to see Colt leave Lainey’s house so early, still buttoning his shirt.
Lainey was so much like her sister it was a sin. Even I don’t go straight from one man’s bed to another’s.
Who was this new guy anyway? Since she knew most of the men in Vineyard, she figured he must be an old lover from a neighboring city.
Ducking as the nondescript car backed out of Colt’s driveway and headed down the gravel road, she waited a few minutes longer so the dogs wouldn’t be alerted to her hiding place. She’d purposely stayed far enough away so they wouldn’t pick up her scent.
Thank God for the binoculars Jerry kept in the car. He probably used them to peep into windows.
As she walked to her car, parked off the road farther down the highway, she thought about the way she’d tricked both Colt and Lainey into thinking she was stupid enough to allow Carrie Phillips to blackmail her. Hell, she’d known Carrie was behind that scheme almost the minute she found the pictures on her desk. Since no one else had entered the office, even a retard like Jerry could have figured it out.
It was a brilliant idea to throw them off, and it had worked. Quinton’s death had screwed up the plan somewhat, but everything was back on track now. When she worked out the oil deal with Quinton’s boss, Jerry would have to take notice and promote her to head of marketing for real. She’d worked too hard to accept anything less.
A smile spread across her face as an idea popped into her mind. She knew exactly how to get Tessa’s half of the vineyard back into Jerry’s hands and claim what was hers.
———
“What was so damn urgent you pulled me off the golf course, Colt?” Prescott’s eyes flashed with anger. “It’s not like I’m able to get away any day of the week to play.”
“Sit down, Charlie. I need to ask a few questions.” Colt pointed to the chair and waited until the lawyer was settled. “Let me see if I’ve got this right. You are the lawyer on record for Tessa’s estate, right?”
“What’s that got to do with anything?” Prescott shifted in his seat, a gesture Colt immediately recognized as a common occurrence when he made someone nervous.
“So, you wouldn’t have any reason to be dealing with Jerry Moretti on anything while you’re still acting as executor, right?” Colt saw a flicker of fear in the man’s eyes.
“What are you inferring, Sheriff?”
A minute ago, he’d addressed him as Colt. A sudden shift away from a familiarity usually indicated he had broached a touchy subject. He shoved Moretti’s phone records across the desk with the calls to the lawyer highlighted. “Maybe this will refresh your memory.”
Prescott, suddenly looking older than his fifty-something years, grabbed the papers and fished in his pocket for his reading glasses. When he finally looked up, Colt noticed a drop of sweat beading on his forehead.
“Why is this important? It has nothing to do with Lainey or the will.”
“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?”
Prescott took a deep breath and wiped at the perspiration now visible across his entire forehead. “You have anything cold to drink?”
Colt picked up the phone and asked Rogers to bring in a bottle of water. He sat in silence until Prescott had taken a long swallow.
“About a month ago, a man called my office looking to hire me to broker a deal on a future real estate project.”
“What kind of real estate project?”
“I’m not in a position to divulge that information, Colt.”
So, it’s back to Colt now. “Who was this guy?”
Prescott finished the water in two gulps and placed the empty bottle on the desk. “I can’t tell you that, either.”
Colt studied the man he’d known all his life. The man whose only son had graduated with him from Vineyard High. He wished there was another way to find the facts, but he couldn’t see it. “You are aware I’m investigating three separate murders, right?”
“I read about them,” Prescott admitted.
“As a lawyer, I don’t have to remind you how obstruction of justice works, do I, Charlie?”
The older man flushed. “Now look here, Sheriff. I know the law. What do I have to do with your murders?”
Colt leaned back in his chair with his hands clasped behind his head. “Maybe nothing. But that’s my call, not yours.” He smiled. “I have no qualms about throwing you into a jail cell faster than you can say ‘Mulligan’ unless you answer my questions. Or you could be headed back to the country club before anyone even misses you.” He raised his hands in the air. “Your choice.”
Awkwardly, Prescott cleared his throat. “His name’s Marcus DuPont. Said he’s the middle man for a conglomerate of foreign investors.”
Colt tossed that around in his head. “What does this have to do with Jerry? Wasn’t he working a deal with Porter to set up the oil drilling rig on his property?”
Prescott eyed Colt for a few seconds. “Before you go off on a tangent, let me explain. Never once did I let my involvement with Tessa’s estate become a conflict of interest.”
“Quit stalling.”
The lawyer chewed on his lower lip. “They want to buy Jerry’s land. All two thousand acres of it.”
“Jerry and Lainey’s land,” Colt corrected. “What were they planning to do with it?”
Charles Prescott was visibly uncomfortable with the questions, making Colt speculate about what the man wasn’t telling him. “The largest mall in the southwest, complete with office buildings, theme parks. The works.”
“And Jerry was okay with this?”
“Oh yeah. Jerry was only playing hard to get to run up the asking price.”
Colt seethed under a mounting rage. “More likely to screw Lainey and Gracie out of a helluva lot of cash.” When Prescott didn’t respond, Colt glared. “And you really don’t see this as a conflict of interest?”
“I never saw it that way, no. Lainey would have had to sign on the dotted line right along with Jerry. There’s no way to hide the purchase price.”
“Come on, Charlie. I h
ad you figured for a smart guy. Obviously, the feeling isn’t mutual if you think you can spout this bullshit, and I’ll accept it like gospel.” Colt slammed his fist on the desk, then waved off his employees moving toward his office. “I should lock your sorry ass up on principle alone.”
Colt took a few deep breaths to calm down. He had to take his personal interests out of the equation and treat this like any other investigation. The fact that this jerk was in on a deal that more than likely would hurt both Lainey and Gracie couldn’t influence how he handled it.
“Did Tessa know?”
“Not really. She suspected someone local was trying to work a deal, but she had no idea who it might be.” He paused before adding, “At least to my knowledge, she didn’t know.”
“What was your cut gonna be?”
For the first time, Prescott looked embarrassed. “Around three mil,” he muttered under his breath.
“Three million?” Colt shouted. “Jesus, Charlie, how much money are we talking here?”
The lawyer met Colt’s incredulous stare. “Somewhere around a couple billion.”
There it was—the perfect motive for Tessa’s murder. If Tessa opposed selling the vineyard, which he was pretty sure she had, there were a lot of people with a good reason to want her dead.
Two billion dollars worth of damn good reasons!
“Any idea who the local contact might be?”
Prescott shook his head. “I only know DuPont mentioned whoever worked the deal first would collect the booty. I have no idea who my competition was.”
“Did you know Quinton Porter or a guy named Thornton?”
Again, Prescott shook his head. “I only know Jerry was pretending to be interested in the Houston guy’s offer to make the other deal more lucrative.”
Colt stood. “As much as I’d like to see you spend a few nights in my jail, there really isn’t anything I can charge you with. Double dealing isn’t a crime nor is being a conniving jerk, but hear me out, Charlie. I’m gonna make damn sure anyone who asks my opinion will not come knocking on your door for legal advice. After I think on this a bit, I may even give the state bar a call.”
Heard it Through the Grapevine Page 20