“Good boy,” Lalie approved, tousling his hair. “Are you hungry for dinner and dessert, Josh?”
He nodded enthusiastically, then ran ahead of them, kicking his ball with renewed fervor.
Lalie stopped and touched Terra’s arm. “What a shock for you.”
“It was.” Terra drew a deep breath, still feeling shaken and scattered. “I can’t quite absorb it—or believe I fainted.”
“You recognized Rafe right away?”
“Well, yes. I mean, after all the news about him five years ago, he was recognizable.”
“Unfortunately so,” Lalie lamented. “Terra, I’m so sorry. If I hadn’t left the gate open, or if I hadn’t given Josh a ball, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“You aren’t responsible, Lalie. Really. My own curiosity is to blame. And I probably wouldn’t have fainted if I hadn’t skipped lunch on the plane.”
Lalie sympathized, “Airline food doesn’t have much appeal, I know.” She walked slowly again toward the gate. “Maybe eating dinner will help settle you a little, even though it won’t settle what you know now.”
“I don’t know what to think, Lalie.”
“Well, I didn’t either when Rafe showed up at my back door two months ago. It stopped my heart to see him, although I stayed on my feet somehow. He was half drowned, half dead from fever.”
“Where had he been before that?”
“Montinerro. He was held prisoner, deep in the jungle there.”
“But the news said he drowned after he was caught smuggling. They said sharks—” She couldn’t go on.
Lalie nodded. “Rafe says it only looked as if he drowned. He got away, to Montinerro.”
“All this time,” Terra murmured, shaking her head, “he’s been alive.”
“Yes, all this time. And then a couple of months ago he escaped from the prison. He had a poor little raft— bamboo and inner tubes like the Cuban refugees came over on—and after he washed ashore he dragged himself home to Jermain’s Island. Since then, I’ve nursed him halfway back to health, but he still has a ways to go.”
“Does anyone else know about him?”
“Just us. Rafe doesn’t want his family to know, and
I agree with him.” Lalie explained, “The Jermains have
owned the hotel and half of the island since long before the Civil War. If there was a family conspiracy, and it ever came to light, it would take down a lot of people and the island economy, as well.”
They reached the gate and passed through. Lalie closed and latched it, then paused, looking back at the estate. She turned imploring eyes on Terra.
“Rafe is innocent. I’ve known him since the day he was born. Never, never would he turn on this country.”
Terra desperately wanted to believe Lalie’s words. “It’s hard to accept that he’s alive, much less that he’s innocent,” she responded hesitantly.
“He’ll explain what happened.” Lalie gave another worried glance in his direction. “Unless he bolts and tries to hole up somewhere else. Whatever he thinks, he’s not well enough to survive without help.”
Josh came back to them at the gate right then, preventing any further conversation about Rafe.
Lalie took the boy’s hand. “Let’s get you washed up for dinner. I’ve made chicken corn chowder and popovers.”
Terra followed them through the cozy kitchen to a hallway. She was still shaky within herself, her heart skipping beats over what she had discovered at the estate. Her mind still struggled to accept the fantastic fact that Rafe was next door, not dead, not devoured by sharks and maybe not guilty.
She couldn’t yet begin to think of what that could mean for her and Josh, if it was true. She had never needed for something to be true as much as she needed it now.
But what if Lalie was wrong about Rafe? What if he wasn’t innocent? What then?
Too confused to sort out her thoughts, she went on with Lalie and Josh to a bedroom where Lalie explained that Josh would nap when she baby-sat him in the future.
The boy was entranced when he saw that a freestanding canvas hammock stood in place of a bed. It had a colorful spread, pillows that matched and a collection of stuffed animals including Paddington Bear and Kermit the Frog. Delighted, Josh settled right mto the hammock with the menagerie.
Leaving him there to play, Terra went with Lalie to the kitchen. Questions about Rafe were piling up in her mind.
“What is Rafe healing from?” she asked, while the older woman put the finishing touches to the corn chowder.
“Starvation, recurring fever, a sprained back, twisted knee.” Lalie’s lips tightened. “I hate to think what was done to him in that prison. He needs proper medical care, but can’t risk having a doctor turn him in.”
“No, I guess not,” Terra reflected. “He only has you to depend on.”
“And maybe you, now. Whatever good you can do him would help. Not that you shouldn’t hear what he has to say first before you decide what you’ll do.”
Terra said, “I got the impression that he didn’t plan to explain, that he’d be gone by the time I—” She stopped, abruptly aware of a silence in the nap room. “I’d better check on Josh.”
She hastened to the bedroom and found him asleep, hugging Paddington to his cheek. He’d had a big, busy day, she thought, tucking the comforter around him. He needed rest right now, more than he needed dinner. She kissed his cheek and tiptoed out.
In the kitchen, she found Lalie hanging up the phone.
“I called Rafe,” Lalie advised, “and he’s still there, thank goodness. How is Josh doing?”
“He dropped off to sleep.” Terra glanced at the phone. “Maybe I should go next door now instead of later.”
Lalie agreed, taking up the phone again. “I’ll call Rafe and tell him.”
“How does he know it’s you and not someone else?”
“Oh, we have a signal.” Lalie explained that she let the estate phone ring three times first, then hung up and dialed again. Demonstrating, she dialed the second time and spoke to Rafe.
“Terra is coming over there now, okay? No, little Josh fell into a nap so I’m going to hold dinner awhile. Give her a snack to tide her over. Bye.” She hung up, looking alarmed. “He sounded like he had one foot out the door already. Hurry, Terra.”
Terra left her and rushed through the gate, down the long sloping lawn to the brick patio. She was breathless when she reached the French doors and knocked for Rafe to let her in.
For several moments there was no response. She tried the knob and found it locked. Then, slowly, it turned in her hand and the door opened.
“You move fast,” Rafe said, motioning her in and locking the door after her. No longer bare chested, he was wearing a white T-shirt with the same snug denims she’d last seen him in.
“With Josh asleep, this seemed like a good time.”
“You haven’t had anything to eat yet, though.”
“No, but I’m not hungry right now.”
“Eat something, anyway.”
“Really, I’m not—” She stopped as he clasped his hand around her wrist.
He gave a slight tug. “I don’t want you fainting on me again. Come with me.”
Terra didn’t appreciate his peremptory manner, but the strong, warm pressure of his fingers was something else altogether, far more persuasion than command.
Knowing from her night with him what sensual passion his touch could generate in her, she didn’t want to feel that way now. Still, she was feeling it, that same primal reaction she’d had to him five years earlier. Acute awareness. Erotic tension. Rising anticipation.
It didn’t help that the palm of his hand seemed to be charged by a high-voltage current. Her skin felt a provocative shock from the contact.
He’s guilty until he proves otherwise, Terra reminded herself. To forget it and feel attracted to him would be foolish and dangerous…unless he turned out to be truthful. She wasn’t counting on miracles, yet she couldn’t k
eep from holding out a trace of hope that her son’s father was a good man, after all. It seemed impossible, though, despite his and Lalie’s words to the contrary.
Terra stood her ground and drew her arm out of Rafe’s hold. “All right, I’ll have a bite of something.”
“This way, then.” He led her down a long hallway into a formal parlor. It was a grand old house, gracious and refined, furnished with international antiques and elegant artwork.
Terra noticed that Rafe limped badly as he walked. She recalled the injuries Lalie had enumerated.
“How did you hurt your leg?”
“A little of this, a little of that,” he replied with a hard, bitter edge in his voice. “How did you miss lunch?”
“I didn’t have an appetite then.” She added emphatically, “Or now.”
“Well, I don’t have an appetite for picking you up off the floor a second time.”
“Thank you for your help before, although you didn’t need to bother. I could have recovered as well on the floor as on the bed.”
“You’re welcome, but not for implying that chivalry should be dead.”
Increasingly annoyed with his curt remarks and obdurate attitude, she stopped in the middle of the parlor. “I hope your story is a short one, Mr. Jermain, because my offer to listen is wearing out fast.”
“I’m not surprised, Ms. Camden.” He gestured to a doorway. “The kitchen is through there.”
She moved on ahead of him. “How do you know my full name?”
“Lalie briefed me about you and the baby-sitting.” Despite his uneven gait, he caught up with her and took the lead again. “She said you’re a menu specialist, not married and you live in San Francisco. Along with your name, that’s all I know. It’s nothing compared to what you know about me.”
“I’d prefer to know nothing about you. You’re obviously bad for my health.”
“Terrific rapport we’re building between us,” he muttered gloomily.
He led her through a long dining room to the kitchen, where the seating area was a breakfast bar. She perched on the edge of a tall wicker chair he pulled out for her. Then he opened the fridge and took out a crock of cheese spread and a can of cola. He got crackers out of a cupboard, a knife from a drawer and set it all in front of her.
Terra took a sip of cola, aware of his eyes on her, watching every move. Maybe recognizing something familiar about her? No, he showed no hint of recognition.
To evade the unnerving effect of his scrutiny, she glanced around the large, beautifully outfitted kitchen. Long bay windows faced east, to an ocean view. Beyond them, a verdant lawn led down to a narrow beach. The water reflected the sunset and she could hear gentle surf breaking against the shore.
“This is quite a hiding place,” she commented after her visual tour. “You’ve been here two months?”
“Back and forth between here and Lalie’s. The owners don’t know I’m a houseguest, much less alive. No one but Lalie knew until you walked in on me today.”
He pulled out the seat next to hers and eased into it gingerly, favoring his back and the one leg. He was close enough for her to catch the shower-fresh scent of his skin, near enough that she could put a hand out and touch him without reaching very far.
She reached instead for a cracker, dabbed some spread on it and waited for him to say more. But he didn’t elaborate any further. Silent and stone faced, he watched her lift the cracker to her lips. His attention was so piercing, so intense, that she set the cracker down uneaten.
“I’m just not hungry.”
“You’re also not going to believe anything I say.”
She replied, “Your own skeptical attitude is making certain of that.”
“It’s been certain from the start.”
“Only in your own mind.”
“Like your mind is open.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Because of our son, she thought. And because I owe you for saving my life that night.
She replied, “Lalie’s belief in you is one reason.”
“One. Name another.”
“My secretary would say it’s because I’m a Libra with a Libran soft spot for the underdog. I’d say I’m simply fair-minded.”
“Not in my case.”
“I haven’t heard your side of it yet, so how do you know?”
“Instinct. Mine tells me you live by the law, with all due respect for it.”
“So does Lalie,” she countered, “as far as I know.”
“But she’s my godmother, so her belief in me is emotional. You’ve never so much as gotten a parking ticket, I’ll bet.”
Already annoyed with him, Terra was irritated that much more by the condescending certainty in his tone and the fact that he was entirely accurate about her legal correctness.
“So what if I haven’t?” she retorted. “It’s not a major character flaw, and it doesn’t mean I can’t listen.”
“Not with an open mind.”
“Honestly, considering who you are, what do you expect? You broke an embargo, smuggled weapons to Montinerro and got caught red-handed. There were several eyewitnesses.”
“The same witnesses swear I was done in by sharks. True or false?”
“You’re alive,” Terra conceded. “It’s impossible, but true. Nonetheless, I don’t believe that many witnesses lied. They were military personnel, sailors.”
“I didn’t say they lied. They only saw the surface. They—” He stopped and stared out the windows. “What’s the use? I don’t have to tell you what the press made of me. Like everyone else, you already know.”
“Like everyone else, I presume the press had their facts straight. You supplied illegal arms to a brutal dictator.”
“Not arms. Life-saving medicines. For the resistance army and the Montinerran people.”
Terra scoffed, “That explains the cargo of guns and ammunition you were caught off-loading to the Montinerro navy.”
“As a matter of fact, it does. And if I hadn’t promised Lalie I’d tell you everything, I’d stop right there.”
“A promise is a promise,” Terra said. “How do you explain guns and ammunition?”
As if it was killing him to provide the details, he replied, “The ammo was filled with vaccine, not explosives. The weapons were a cover for the medical cargo, and my contact was a resistance operative who’d infiltrated the Montinerro military. He had a network for diverting my cargo to the freedom underground.”
Terra would have given anything at that moment to wholly believe that he wasn’t lying, wasn’t a traitor, wasn’t guilty. Yet she knew that prisons were full of guilty men who pleaded not guilty, and that courtrooms were full of honest eyewitnesses who sometimes mistook what they’d seen. She’d be naive not to suspect that Rafe was giving her the same line he’d give to a defense attorney.
“What you say sounds plausible, but if you were a good guy why did you jump ship?”
“Instinct, again. Something wasn’t right that morning. I could feel it, but couldn’t put a finger on it. Then a U.S. navy cutter showed up out of the blue, where no cutter should have been—not unless something was haywire. I sensed a setup and I was right.”
“Who would set you up?”
Rafe’s eyes hardened to ice. “My contact set me up. He turned traitor to the resistance, went over to the other side for profit and eliminated everybody he’d dealt with before. Now he’s a Montinerran fat cat, a suck-up politico who skims major cream from trade profits with our country.”
“Politico? What’s his name?”
“It doesn’t matter. What difference is there from one politician to the next, anyway? Especially in Montinerro.”
“A name offers proof. No name offers none.”
“Leon.”
“Leon who?”
“Never mind, because I have plans for him. I don’t want him tipped off to it by anyone. Next question.”
Terra had plenty to ask. “Lalie says you were in pri
son, that you escaped.”
“It was more like hell, and I escaped by the skin of my teeth.”
He looked so bleak and anguished as he said it that she couldn’t keep her heart from going out to him.
“Who put you there? Leon?”
“No, he needed me dead. The resistance canned me. I escaped to them, hoping I’d be welcomed as an ally. Surprise, surprise, whoever could vouch for me was dead. They only knew I was the American traitor who allegedly supplied their enemy. So they locked me in a dungeon and kept me as a secret bargaining chip.”
“What exactly do you mean?”
“They hoped they’d get the upper hand on the regime one day. They knew my government would pay big to get its hands on me if it found out I was alive.”
He paused, jaw muscles ticking silently. “Covert operations are a tricky, cutthroat business.”
“I know nothing about the shady side of life, I’m afraid,” Terra said uncertainly.
“You know about me, which is already too much for your good and mine. Or your son’s and Lalie’s.” He set his elbows on the counter and rubbed his fingers through his hair as if battling a migraine. “Innocent people. What a mess.”
Terra thought of the consequences there would be if she did the right thing, if she turned Rafe in. She would be questioned, at the very least. Lalie would be arrested for harboring a criminal. As for Josh, Terra was horrified to think of him being questioned.
“Does Columbia know about you?”
“Doesn’t have a clue. No one but Lalie, until now.”
Terra recalled Lalie saying Rafe had internal bruises. Now they made sickening sense, if he’d been mistreated during his imprisonment. He looked halfstarved, and dungeon pale.
Inching his fingers through his dark hair again, he said, “I shouldn’t have come back here.”
Terra asked herself if a guilty man would voluntarily come back to a country that loathed him. Or would only an innocent man return?
She touched his forearm and felt quivering tension in his tight, knotted muscles. She realized he was barely holding himself together, that his antagonistic rudeness might be his only defense mechanism.
“Rafe, there must be some way you could tell all this to the federal authorities and make them understand.”
Stranger In The Night Page 6