"Did you have her room searched?"
Richard didn't think so, but he had to ask. If Tanner had done it, there would be no telltale remnant that anyone had been in her space.
"No," he replied. "Someone has been in her room?"
"She was moved last night after an incident with a key that opened more than one door. I've discovered that the room I thought she'd taken was changed to a different room."
"Why is that significant?" Tanner asked.
"If you didn't search her room, then there's someone else looking for the same thing we are."
Tanner didn't say anything for a long moment. Richard knew he was formulating something, deciding on the next move.
"Was anything taken?" Tanner replied.
"I don't know. She said not and I didn't get the impression that there was a theft."
"Any idea who might have wanted to go through her things?"
Richard shook his head as he spoke. "Not a clue. But I'm going to find out."
Disconnecting the call, he headed for the guest house, knowing each step that took him toward his room was a step closer to the woman next door. From the beginning, everything about this case had been confusing. First his father was rumored to be involved with a woman, and then he'd disappeared. If April had been that woman, she'd have been way too young for his father. He couldn't imagine it. Didn't want to imagine it. And she hadn't been there when his father died. There were no reports of him being with a woman or a woman being at the scene.
And she'd come to him with the accusation that he'd searched her room. What could anyone else want that she had? He wanted something definite, but her presence at the guest house was unexpected. He'd come because the place was being destroyed and he needed to see what he could find out. Discovering Mason Echoes' daughter in residence was a shiny new apple, but was it a perfect apple or a wormy piece of fruit?
Richard reached the building and went straight to his room. He listened for movement through the common wall. He heard nothing. When this building was constructed, they used thicker walls. He heard nothing. That made him both satisfied and sorry.
The Eden-Paradise House was built seventy-five years ago and named for Helen Eden Paradise and Lionel Paradise, two retirees from Vermont who vacationed in Florida. After several years of coming to Barefoot Bay, they built the house as a permanent vacation home. Helen only spent one winter in the house. She died of a heart attack on the train en route the second winter. Lionel, distraught at the lost of his wife, never again set foot on the place. He gave it over to a management company, allowing them to rent it out. Three years after Helen's death, he sold the place and it was turned into a guest house. It's been a guest house ever since although there have been several owners, the last of which have done little maintenance and time and hurricanes had taken their toll on the place.
Mason Echoes had been a frequent visitor here during what Richard thought had to be the heyday of the place. After the devastating hurricane and the build up of Barefoot Bay, he came and stayed at the guest house with his daughter. April's image flashed in his mind, but not as the child on the photo in his file, but as the vibrant woman with soft brown hair and the ability to throw his entire world into chaos.
He should have continued thinking of her as the young child in the photo. That was impossible now, especially after he remembered them on the floor in his room, the way their bodies fit so perfectly together. And the kiss, that soul-destroying kiss that had him aware of the promise her mouth offered.
Yet someone had been in April's room. He turned and faced the place where she now slept. Was she there now? Was she still angry?
It was time to find out.
***
The knock on her door startled April. She checked her face in the dresser mirror. The glassr was old and most of the silver on the back had worn away leaving it freckled and spotted. Even with the flaws, April could see her face was flushed. Quickly, she splashed some cold water on it before going to the door after the second knock.
"What are you doing here?" The words were out before April could stop or even think about them.
Richard didn't answer her question before coming into the room and closing the door. April stepped back unsure of what he wanted or why he was now standing in front of her.
"Nice room," he said, looking around.
"It's exactly like yours," she said.
"Not exactly, it's the opposite of mine."
Gaining her footing and bracing her shoulders, April stared at the man who had her heart racing. "I'm sure you didn't come here to check my sleeping arrangements." She wished she'd put that another way, since both of them looked at the bed.
Richard took a step forward. While April didn't move, her stance and expression must have stopped him.
"I came to see if you were all right and to ask about our previous conversation."
"You searching my room?"
He waited a beat before answering. April wondered if he was controlling his anger.
"I have not been in this room before. I want you to know that I would never violate you or anything you own." He paused a moment, letting his words since in.
He said he wouldn't violate her. Did she hear more in that sentence than was said? The words without permission seemed to hang in the silence. Or were they only in her head? Was that what she wanted – to have him make love to her? Of course, she did, she told herself with an honestly she hadn't previously admitted. Since she'd seen him on the beach with the little boy, she'd known there was something inside her that reached out to him. Even now, when all her instincts told her to stand clear, she wanted to rush into Richard's arms and bury herself there.
Only her guilt kept her from moving. While Richard said he would not violate her or her things, she'd already tried to violate his. And she knew she would do it again. She had to get that chest out of room six.
"Is that what you came to tell me?" she asked. "If so, I apologize for accusing you." She wanted him out. The space was becoming smaller by the minute.
"Was anything taken from the room?" Instead of accepting her apology and leaving, he asked another question.
April shook her head. "Everything appears to be here," she said. "My computer was locked and I have several levels of security in order to get into it." She wanted him to know that in case his declaration of innocence wasn't the full and complete truth.
"Why would you think someone wanted to look through your things? Could there be something they were looking for and maybe. . .didn't find?" He'd hesitated on the last two words.
"I can't imagine anything. I have clothes, and my computer. They didn't even take the machine. It was like. . ." She stopped.
"Like what?" he prompted.
"Like they just touched everything, moved some things around."
"What about jewelry?"
April had some expensive pieces, some so expensive they were kept in a safe at her house, but she had none of them with her.
"No," she shook her head. "I have only the earrings I'm wearing."
Her hands were free of rings and she hadn't been wearing a necklace when she rushed out of the office. In her haste to pack, looking for jewelry to match her clothes was the last thing on her mind. She could almost hear the question in Richard's mind about why she had no other jewelry with her. Most women packed rings, necklaces, and more than one pair of earrings. April refused to explain.
"Have you checked to see that your home hasn't also been searched?"
That thought had not occurred to her. She was so sure the intruder had been the man standing across from her asking the questions.
"I haven't, but I'm sure my home is fine."
"You're positive of that?"
"I am." April would know if anything had happened at her house. "I have a state of the art security system and while I live alone, my cleaning crew isn't due for another few days." Other than them, no one else had access to her house except Josie whom she trusted. "If anyone went to my house, I
'd receive an alert on my phone." She glanced at the dresser where her cell phone lay. "Nothing has come."
Richard nodded as if approving her protective ability. April hadn't forgotten she was a single woman living alone. She was also a very wealthy woman, a prime suspect for someone who might want to steal from her. Was that what it was, someone seeking to steal from her? And when the thief found nothing, he or she left the room? But the computer was there. Why wouldn't a common thief take the computer? It too, was state of the art and very expensive. It didn't contain much of anything that was incriminating. April stored all her important documents in the cloud. And while a hacker could get into anything they wanted, it was unlikely a common thief could get into her system.
When she looked at Richard, the word common wasn't anywhere in the dictionary she used to describe him.
"Is that all?" April asked.
Richard nodded.
April didn't know what to say. He didn't turn to leave. The moment between them stretched to an uncomfortable silence. She wasn't sure if she should believe him. There were too many inconsistencies. If he had searched her room, what was he looking for? And why leave behind such obvious evidence that he'd been there?
April dropped her head, looking at the scarred and bare floor. Then she looked up at him. "Thank you for being concerned about me," she finally said.
"Maybe you should think about leaving."
"Why?"
"Obviously someone wants something from you. If they didn't find it when they searched your room, the next obvious course would be to get the information from you."
April's hand went to her heart. Breath caught in her throat.
"Why would anyone want me? I have no idea what they could have been looking for. And although they were looking for something they must be assuming I brought it with me. At home, I'd probably be more vulnerable."
"You just said you have a state of the art security system. I'm sure your office is equally protected."
"You think I'm in danger?"
"It's a possibility." He took another step toward her.
Again April held her ground. "I won't. If there's someone who wants something from me, they're not likely to stop looking until they find it. So it doesn't matter where I am."
"Be reasonable," Richard implored.
She was being reasonable, April told herself. "This puts you in danger too."
"How so?"
"It's no secret that you and I have spent time together. Anyone in the house or anyone observing our movements has seen us together. If they are looking for something, they may believe I've told you what it is. And that makes you just as much a target as I am."
Obviously Richard had not thought of that. The fact that he thought about her and her safety made April feel warm all over. But the warmth was flushed out and cold replaced it when the impact of her own words registered.
Unconsciously, she took a step toward him and within seconds the two were in each others arms, clinging to each other as if imminent danger was about to burst through the door.
Chapter 6
Tanner Farland wasn't on Richard's speed dial, but his cell number was in his phone. Without hesitation, he hit the number and the marvels of modern technology found the cell towers and connected the call. Tanner answered immediately.
"Richard," he said, his voice strong. He was laughing. It was evident through the digital network that the smile that had to be on his face came across the transom. Richard wished he was as happy.
"What's going on?" Richard asked.
"I was just playing with my son."
Richard heard the high tones of a child in the background. Then the sound ceased as if Tanner had moved into a quieter room.
"What's up?" Tanner asked.
"You said you'd do something for me," Richard reminded him.
"If I can."
"I want you to do some discrete background checks."
"Sounds doable," Tanner said. "Whom do you want checked out?"
"The guest staying at the Eden Paradise House and April Quinn Echoes," he said.
"Ah," was all Tanner said, yet he held onto the one syllable for over a second.
"I'll text you the names," Richard said. "And Tanner, this is a very low key inquiry."
"I got it," Tanner acknowledged. "I'll get back to you in a day or so."
Richard rang off, thinking about the guests. They couldn't have known April was going to be here. Her plans hadn't been determined well in advance. According to her, she'd come on the spur of the moment. But it wasn't like they couldn't have engineered the situation.
Richard felt as if the danger to April was closer. He had to keep her with him as much as possible. While she had no bodyguard and the need for one might be overkill, Richard was going to take on that role. And he wouldn't lie to himself. He'd fallen in love with Mason Echoes' daughter and if she was involved in his father's death. . .well, he'd cross that bridge when it presented itself.
Twenty-four hours later that bridge was still out of sight, yet Tanner Farland had hit pay dirt. Richard was, however, not delighted to see him standing outside his door.
The two men shook hands and closed the door after Tanner was inside. "You didn't have to come this far. We could have done this on the phone."
"I was curious and wanted to see the house before it's gone for good."
"You know about this place?"
"It was pretty famous before the storm devastated this island and reconstruction changed the focus to the resort." Tanner looked up at the ceiling and around the room. "This place must have really been something in its day."
Richard followed his colleague's gaze for several seconds before the two moved across the room. They sat facing each other at a table that doubled for both a desk and a dining table if he needed to bring a carry-out meal to the room.
"What did you find out?" Richard started, anxious to hear anything that might help him.
"There might be more that I haven't found out on Ms. Echoes, but I'll tell you what I know at this point."
"All right," Richard said with apprehension.
"I'll start with the guests. You gave me five people's names other than April Quinn Echoes. Two of them are married to each other. Two of them are a couple, but not living together and the last is single. Even though you didn't ask, I checked out the current owner of the Eden Paradise House. It was sold nine months ago to the Evans Realty Group of South Carolina. I found them to be financially sound and expanding, which is why they probably want the property. I couldn't find any reference to what they plan to put on the land, once this house is demolished."
"Who's selling the house?" Richard asked.
"It was sold by the mother and daughter owners. The mother, August Christian, is in her nineties and living in a nursing facility. The daughter, Carol Christian Mathers needs the money for her mother's continued upkeep."
Richard nodded. "This is probably why they've let the maintenance on the place take a back seat to parental care."
"Exactly," Tanner agreed. "Her mother has been in a nursing home for five years."
Richard nodded. "Who's next."
"Here's where things get interesting."
Richard could practically see Tanner flexing his mental muscles.
"Darcy Simmons is a former owner of this house," Tanner began. "She's and Ms. Echoes started their business together, but Ms. Simmons was bought out and went on her way. She's been married and divorced three times, always settling comfortably. She runs through money like she does water, generally making bad investments. She's a survivor. Her former husbands went bankrupt. At the moment, her finances are on the low side. She may be looking for another income source."
Richard pursed his lips, but remained silent.
"And that brings me to Giles Wicksham. He's from an old, but impoverished English family. He heads a bank that isn't doing well. Again poor investment strategy."
"Does Ms. Simmons know this?"
"That I can't tell y
ou. Without interviewing her, I don't know what she knows. You said you wanted this low key."
Richard nodded. "Does Wicksham have a connection with April Quinn?"
"Beyond being with Ms. Simmons, there doesn't appear to be one. But–"
"But what?" The hair on Richard's neck stood up.
"Ms. Echoes got an email alerting her that the Eden Paradise was closing. The address links to an IP address in his bank."
Richard knew Tanner had methods of obtaining detailed information that was foreign to him. Both he and Tanner were computer whizzes, Tanner more than Richard. But to determine how and from where an email originated was above Richard's pay grade.
"I don't believe Ms. Echoes would be here without that message."
"Why is that?"
"She apparently left for Barefoot Bay within a couple of hours of receiving that message."
"You are good at uncovering information." Richard said with pride. "Remind me to partner with you in the future," he told the short man.
Tanner smiled at that, showing as much pride as he ever did – which was usually none.
He went on to report on the other members of the guest house. There was nothing significant in their backgrounds, other than the fact that all of them were just barely keeping their heads above water financially.
"That's probably why they're at this house instead of the resort," Richard suggested.
"Could be."
"Did you find anything significant about Ms. Echoes?" Richard had ceased thinking of her as April Echoes, Mason Echoes daughter, only April Quinn."
"She's registered here as April Quinn, her mother's maiden name and her middle name, but not as Mason Quinn's daughter. Her business is financially sound. She's in the middle of negotiating the acquisition of a vegan food company called Briar Foods. Both her and her company have excellent reputations. Her sales income has been increasing each year since she took over the business totally."
"What do you mean totally?"
"After she and Ms. Simmons parted. Ms. Echoes is an excellent business woman and her instincts have proven profitable."
Richard nodded. He wanted to smile. He was proud of April.
Barefoot Bay: Counterfeit Treasure (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 6