Ahead of them, a pool of light shone down from a streetlight.
“Hey! This neighborhood has electricity,” Neil said.
“That’s not fair.” She put on a pout, and Neil chuckled.
Lights shone from Natalie DeWitt’s windows. He pulled into the driveway. They walked to the door together, and Neil rang the bell. A few seconds later, it opened a crack.
“Yes?”
No wonder Mrs. Burton was jealous, Kate thought. Natalie’s dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail. No gray. Her dramatic makeup showcased a lovely face. Her expression held only a tinge of wariness.
“Natalie DeWitt?” Neil asked.
“Yes.”
“I’m Neil Alexander with the Portland P.D. May we come in and ask you a few questions?”
She hesitated and looked beyond him at Kate. Kate tried to look as official as possible. It wouldn’t do to have her guessing that the detective had brought a friend along on his investigation.
Natalie stepped back and let them enter, but she didn’t offer them a seat.
“Do you know James M. Burton?” Neil asked.
“I…don’t think so.”
“Have you read about his disappearance in the newspaper?”
“Oh, the animal shelter guy!”
“Right. Do you know him?”
“I’ve met him. Wouldn’t say I actually know him.”
“We’re trying to locate Mr. Burton. We thought perhaps you could help us.”
“Me? That’s strange. I’ve seen him once or twice is all.”
“You saw him at the Fun for Pets day?”
“I guess so. I took my dog to that.”
“Have you seen him since?”
“I’m not sure. There was another event at the shelter. I may have seen him then.”
“So you’ve never seen him away from the shelter?”
“I don’t believe so. Why?” A white, long-haired dog came and leaned against her leg, panting.
“Just part of our investigation, ma’am. Could you please tell me where you’re employed?”
“The Spinning Wheel Restaurant. Tonight’s my night off.”
The dog approached Kate and snuffled her hand. Kate stroked his head. He gazed at her with big blue eyes and yawned. She couldn’t help smiling.
Neil asked a few more questions that Ms. DeWitt seemed to answer honestly and without hesitation. Neil thanked her for her time.
“I had high hopes but I don’t think she’s the one,” he admitted to Kate in the truck.
“Burton’s wife was imagining things,” she said.
“Or Ms. DeWitt’s a skilled prevaricator.”
“You’re a good judge of people.”
“Not always.” He threw her an oblique glance, as though wondering if he was reading her right.
Kate hoped she was reading Neil’s signals right, too. She liked him a lot, but the timing still wasn’t good. She’d kept reminding herself all week that now was the time to build her career. Romance could come later. She wouldn’t want him to think she only wanted to be around him if he fed her information for her articles. They both needed more time to let the dust settle from last summer before even considering getting involved romantically again.
The power was still out on Gray Goose Lane when they returned. Connor had opened the couch for Neil to sleep on.
“You’ll be warmer if you sleep by the fireplace.” They lit candles in the kitchen, sunroom and living room. Connor had the woodstove in the sunroom, and he built the fires up in it and the fireplace as soon as Neil and Kate got there.
“I brought my sleeping bag,” Neil told Adrienne. “You don’t need to get sheets out for me.”
“Kate and Matthew slept down here last night, and we shut off the upstairs,” said Connor, “but we’ll try to warm things up enough so she can be comfortable in her room.”
Neil threw a glance Kate’s way. “Maybe I should go home.”
“Don’t do that,” Kate said. “I’ll be fine. I’ve got two quilts.”
“You’d freeze at your place,” Connor said. “Matt’s already asleep in our room. He might just stay there tonight.” He hung the poker by the fireplace. The downstairs was comfortable by then. They had three pans of ice and snow on the woodstove, melting so they could use it to flush toilets. Connor and Adrienne sat down on the wicker settee in the sunroom. Adrienne had set out bottled water and packaged cookies for a candlelight snack.
“Well, it’s too bad Miss DeWitt didn’t turn out to be a good lead for us,” Connor said.
Neil smiled. “At least we put that rumor to rest without having to go bar-hopping.”
Connor was not amused. “Maybe we’ll get a break tomorrow. I think once this power crisis is over, the governor will help us get the authority we need to freeze that bank account.” He pulled Adrienne against him.
They chatted for a few more minutes, and then Adrienne said, “I think I’ll turn in. Not that the company isn’t scintillating, but I know Hailey will be up within a couple of hours, and I may as well sleep while she does.”
“Probably a good idea for everybody,” Connor said. “The chief called and told me the crews are working around the clock to get the power back up. Tomorrow should be a big day to catch up on everything we couldn’t do today.”
Kate stood and gathered the empty water bottles and cookie package.
“Want to get that candle in the kitchen while you’re out there?” Connor asked.
“Sure.” She threw away the wrapper and left the bottles by the sink. The one candle burning on the counter barely illuminated the kitchen. Kate bent over and puffed it out. When she went back to the sunroom, Adrienne handed her a flashlight.
“All set?”
“I think so. Thanks.”
Connor had already disappeared, and Adrienne headed for the master bedroom. Kate rounded the corner into the living room. Neil was spreading his sleeping bag on the sofa. The blaze in the fireplace snapped merrily.
“You sure you’ll be warm enough up there?” he asked.
Kate smiled. “Yeah.” She held her hands toward the fire for a moment. “Seems like a special occasion, doesn’t it? My folks hardly ever have a fire in their fireplace.”
“It’s very special.”
“Neil…” She turned toward him. “I’m glad I’ve had the chance to get to know you again the past couple of weeks.”
“Me, too.”
She smiled at him, feeling as though she didn’t need to learn any more to trust him now.
They stood looking at each other in the soft light for a long moment.
Neil chuckled. “I want to say you’re exactly the way I remembered you, but you’re not. The truth is, you’re better than the woman I hung out with last June. You’re deeper than I ever realized, and I think you’re more beautiful now.”
She felt her face flush. “You’re different, too. In a good way. I used to hear Connor talk about this brash, flippant kid he had trained.”
“He must have been talking about Tony.”
They both laughed.
“Well, that intrigued me. But I think I like you better now.” As she looked into his dark eyes and saw the reflection of the fire leaping in them, she knew she needed to keep her distance. Neil was a Christian now, but old habits resurface when the opportunity arises. She hadn’t experienced a serious, mature relationship. She’d always figured it would happen when the time was right. Last summer she’d hoped that the time had come and had been disappointed. Was she ready now? And was he?
“I’d better head to bed.” She turned on her flashlight and stepped toward the staircase.
“Kate.”
She turned back with one foot on the bottom step. He was still by the fireplace, but when he spoke, she could hear his soft tones across the room.
“Do you think we could start over?”
Her heart raced. Decision time. “What do you mean?”
“I haven’t gone out at all in the last six months.
But now that I’ve seen you again, I think I’d like to try a new relationship and see if I can get it right. With God’s help.”
She smiled. About half her resolutions had just been shattered, but she didn’t mind.
“The pastor’s been showing me some things from the Bible,” he went on earnestly. “Kate, will you give me another chance?”
She caught her breath and sent up a quick prayer. Is this the right time, Lord? The old uneasiness was gone. “I think…I think I would.”
He closed the distance between them in three strides. “What do you think would make a first-rate date?”
None of the places we went last summer, she thought. Aloud she said, “I don’t know. Maybe a boat ride around the bay. But not in January. Hmm. Ice skating?”
“Not a fancy restaurant or a swanky party?”
“Neil, I’m a country girl. I grew up on a farm. If you took me to a fancy party, I wouldn’t have the wardrobe, and I wouldn’t know what to do with my elbows.”
He chuckled. “Are you sure? Just talking about it makes me want to take you to some fancy event. I wonder if Tony could get us tickets to the inaugural ball.”
She blinked at him. “Inaugural ball? In Washington?”
“No, in Augusta. You know. Tony’s uncle. He just got reelected.”
Kate sat down on the second step. “Are you telling me that your bozo detective partner, Tony Carlisle, is Governor Tracey’s nephew?”
“Well, yeah. I thought you knew. I thought the whole world knew.” Neil gulped. “So now I guess you’ll want to interview Tony.”
She stared up at him, appalled that the identical thought had occurred to her.
“Because Tony doesn’t play it up much,” Neil went on. “He wants to be treated just like anyone else—no special privileges or consideration in the P.D. He’s a little impulsive, but he’s a good cop, and getting better. I don’t think he’d want to be interviewed. It would just draw attention to him and ruin it for him to do undercover work.”
“I can see that. You’re right—it wouldn’t help at all to plaster his baby face all over the papers.” In her mind, she backtracked to their earlier conversation with Connor. “So, Connor wasn’t kidding when he said the governor would help him try to freeze Jim Burton’s bank account?”
“I wouldn’t exactly say that he and the governor are buddies, but they’ve met several times, and I’m sure the governor will help if he can. If anyone can trace that money, Connor can. But it’s very difficult to keep people from accessing it when it’s overseas. Connor’s connections may be able to lend him some muscle.”
She nodded, thinking about it. “Do you know who I’d really love to interview?”
“Tony’s uncle?”
She shook her head, smiling. “Your grandmother.”
“Oma?”
“Yes. Both my grandmothers are dead, and they both lived in Maine all their lives, anyway. Your Oma grew up in Holland and came over here as a bride, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll bet she’s got some incredible stories to tell.”
“She does. I love to get her talking about her childhood.”
Kate stood and found herself eye-to-eye with Neil. She leaned back a little, trying to lessen the effect of his gaze. In the dim light, his eyes were the color of dark, purple brown, velvet pansies. Looking into them too long would surely be hazardous.
“That’s my idea of the perfect date,” she said softly. “Visiting your Oma and talking to her about the canals and the flowers and the castles and artists and…and growing up Dutch. Leaving all that, and finding a new life here without really losing her heritage.”
Neil was quiet, but his gaze seemed to gain intensity. His upper lip twitched as though tempted to quirk into a smile. “How about Saturday?”
“Oh, I didn’t mean—”
“You didn’t?”
She dared to return the blazing stare. “Yes, I did. But I wouldn’t push her. If she didn’t want me to write about her, I’d just like to talk to her for my own sake, just to hear her tell about it.”
He nodded. “I’ll fix it with her. And afterward, I’m going to take you to a really fancy place.”
“Not the Elite Lounge, I hope.”
He laughed. “Connor would kill me. No, it’s more exclusive than that dive.”
She couldn’t help herself. She had to touch him. Her hand seemed to rise of its own accord, and she laid her fingers against his cheek. Scratchy, in contrast to those liquid eyes and his thick, dark hair. He leaned into her touch, and her stomach lurched.
She backed up a step and almost sat down.
“Saturday,” she got out. “Good night.”
He was still standing there at the bottom of the stairs watching her when she reached the top and looked back. Well, now I’ve done it, Kate thought. I can’t back out. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Neil raised one hand in a wave and turned away.
Neil lay looking up at the ceiling, watching the flickering light of the fire. He couldn’t remember ever sleeping in the same room with a fireplace going. It made him think of the stories he used to read about knights and warriors. He wished this were his castle hall, and he could be the knight in shining—okay, tarnished—armor for…
Kate.
He hadn’t planned on letting her—or any woman—turn his life upside down again. He’d determined six months earlier to put his social life on hold and learn what God expected of him. If that included love and marriage, he wanted to go by the book—God’s book.
And here was Kate, and he wasn’t ready. Or was he?
He pulled the small Bible that Connor and Adrienne had given him for Christmas from his duffel bag and switched on his flashlight. He read through II Corinthians 5, not sure he understood it all, but phrases here and there jumped out at him. “So we make it our goal to please Him.” He read that verse several times, then put the book and flashlight aside. He lay back on his pillow and prayed that he would not fail in his goal.
He woke up hours later. His senses reeled as he became aware that he wasn’t in his own bed. Wood smoke. He opened his eyes. The lights were back on in Connor’s living room. The fire had died down, but the furnace was humming. He looked at his watch. Twenty minutes past four. He sat up, pulled his jeans on and went around turning off lights. The study, the entry, the kitchen. The sunroom and the bedroom were dark.
He tiptoed back to the living room and shut off the overhead light. The DVD player flashed 12:00 in red. He crawled back into bed and rolled over, turning away from the annoying strobe.
At six-thirty he woke again to the smell of coffee. He jumped out of bed and grabbed his duffel. Adrienne was in the kitchen, fixing breakfast.
“Good morning, Neil. We’ve got power!”
“Yeah. That’s great. Can I take a shower?”
“Absolutely.”
When he emerged from the bathroom fifteen minutes later, Connor was eating scrambled eggs and toast. Adrienne had set a place for Neil with a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee. He sat down and prayed silently. It was good to have hot food.
Connor said, “Let’s hope Augusta’s got power, too. We’ve got so much to do today.”
Kate entered the kitchen carrying Matthew. They both looked rumpled and still a little sleepy. Neil jumped up to pull out a chair for her, and couldn’t help thinking how beautiful she was.
Matthew fussed a little and dove from her lap into his father’s arms.
“Good morning, buddy.” Connor kissed him and tickled him.
“Sleep all right?” Kate asked.
Neil nodded. “I dreamed I was in a medieval castle, sleeping in the great hall. All of a sudden, a fire was blazing all around me. I woke up and realized the electricity was back on.”
He called his mother before they left the house. The Alexanders were still in darkness. “It shouldn’t be long,” he told her. “Connor and Adrienne have power.”
“Ask if they need anything,” said C
onnor.
His mother assured him they were coping. Adrienne started calling their friends to see if anyone who was still without power needed to take showers or do laundry. The streets were still icy, but the city crews had sanded them during the night. Neil watched Kate drive out cautiously, heading for the newspaper office. He followed Connor to the police station on Middle Street.
It was Neil’s job to call every airline that flew into Portland and ask if they had a reservation for Joseph Parlin any time between Christmas Eve and January twentieth.
On the second try, he hit pay dirt.
“Connor,” he called across the office, “Parlin had—or I should say, has—a reservation for January fifteenth. Flying to New York, then on to Paris.”
“When did he book the flight?” Connor asked.
“December tenth. And even though he’s changed his timetable, he didn’t cancel the reservation.”
“He didn’t make another one?”
“They’ve looked and didn’t find anything. The other airlines haven’t, either.”
“Maybe he decided to drive to Boston or New York and fly from there,” Tony said.
“Possibly,” Connor conceded.
“Well, you don’t think he’s still planning to fly out of Portland on the fifteenth?” Neil asked.
“He probably just abandoned the reservation. But still…”
Neil grinned at him. “There’s something else. Mr. and Mrs. Parlin have reservations.”
“First name for the Mrs.?” Connor asked.
“Letter R.”
“Thought they required a full name now.”
“Apparently this one got by them.”
Connor rubbed the back of his neck. “I knew there was a woman in on it.” He called Mike, and the chief came downstairs to pray. Tony and Lance made themselves scarce, but Jimmy joined them.
They prayed earnestly about the case. Afterward, they talked about it some more. Neil told Mike about the plane reservation for Mr. and Mrs. Parlin.
“He wouldn’t use that reservation,” Mike said.
Connor agreed. “He knows we’re onto him now.”
“But he doesn’t know we’re onto the Parlin identity,” Neil said.
Connor frowned. “I would surely like to know who Mrs. Parlin is.”
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