“Hey!” Charlie called out again. “Do you need some help?”
“Hi, Charlie.” She waved vaguely at the pitiful stack of wood. “I was just bringing in some wood.”
Charlie looked down at the remaining logs. “Looks like you’re about done.”
“Actually, I just started.”
“I guess your family doesn’t normally come up here during the winter.” Charlie grimaced. He leaned over and handed a log to Kendra before picking up the last two logs and turning toward her front door. “The wood stack at the other cabin didn’t have much to it either.”
Kendra opened the door for Charlie, her hopes dashed that she could beg some wood off of him. She stomped her feet before she stepped inside to shake most of the snow off of her jeans. Charlie followed suit, brushing at the ski pants he was wearing before moving inside to set the wood down on the hearth.
“There are a couple of fallen trees down the road. I thought I might go chop one of them for firewood, but I was hoping you might have a sled or something I could load it up on. I’d rather not dig my truck out if I don’t have to.”
“Actually, I think there are a couple of sleds in the storage room.” Kendra motioned down the hall.
Charlie followed her into the wide mudroom that housed the washer and dryer along one wall and an assortment of supplies and recreational equipment on the other side. Two sleds were leaning against the wall in the corner.
Kendra pointed to them. “Will these work?”
“Yeah, those will be great.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Kendra asked.
“Help?” Charlie looked at her, bewildered.
“I don’t think you’d want to trust me with an axe, but I can probably help you load the logs onto the sleds.”
“I was planning on using a chain saw,” Charlie said. “But yeah, if you want to help, that would be great.”
She reached for her scarf and gloves. “I’d feel guilty if I let you do all of the work, especially since I’m hoping that you’ll share some of the wood.”
“Yeah.” Charlie looked at her, his expression serious for a moment before he added, “I’m willing to share.”
Chapter 12
“What do you mean, you know where she is but you won’t tell me?” Sterling Blake demanded, his fingers gripping his phone tightly. “She’s my daughter, and I have the right to protect her.”
“She’s a grown woman, Sterling,” William countered. “It’s time you respect that and let her make her own decisions.”
“Dad, how can you say that? You, of all people, know how dangerous it is for her to be without a bodyguard, especially right now.”
“I understand perfectly, but you need to let me handle this my way. If you send her some of your bodyguards, you might very well be leading the bomber right to her. And I never said she didn’t have protection.”
“What?” Confusion filled Sterling’s voice.
“Look, I agree with you that she needs someone looking out for her right now. That’s why I put her in protective custody.”
“How in the world did you get her to agree to that?”
“I have my ways,” William said cryptically. “Trust me, son. I won’t let anything happen to your little girl.”
* * *
Charlie handed Kendra another log and shook his head in amazement. He had expected her to act more like Lisa. On the surface, the two women had a lot in common. They were both beautiful, and they both came from money. He thought they’d both sought out the spotlight, but now he wasn’t so sure about Kendra. He supposed it would be more accurate with her to say that she was used to the spotlight, and he was starting to think that she tolerated it more than she searched for it.
He knew it wasn’t fair to put Kendra in the same category as his ex-fiancée, despite the similarities. Lisa had been cold and calculating in her pursuit of him. As much as it pained him to admit it, Charlie knew he had let himself get caught, let himself see what she had wanted him to see. Since breaking off his engagement, the demands of his job had given him an excuse to steer clear of the dating game. Deep down, though, Charlie knew that he was really afraid of repeating the same mistake again, of finding himself involved with someone who cared more about his name than she did about him.
Glancing over at Kendra, he realized that she had already knocked down some of the walls he’d built, and now he found himself once again wondering who she really was. She had been helping him load and haul wood for nearly two hours. Despite the deep snow and the freezing wind, she hadn’t complained once. She definitely wasn’t acting like the prima donna he had originally taken her for.
“I think that’s about all we’re going to be able to fit on the sleds for this load,” Kendra said as she shifted yet another thick log into place.
“In that case, let’s head back to my place, and I’ll start splitting logs. I’d like to get some of the wood inside tonight so it has a chance to dry out.” Charlie secured the chain saw on top of one of the stacks of wood and grabbed the rope attached to the sled nearest him.
He fell into step beside Kendra, slowing his pace to match hers. When they’d taken the first of three loads to his cabin, he’d half-expected her to say that her sled was too heavy for her. Instead, she had moved forward with a slow, steady progress.
Now, at the end of the third load, he noticed her breath coming a bit more heavily, pluming out in front of her in the cold. They were nearly to his cabin when he noticed her shiver. Then he noticed her jeans. From the top of her boots all the way up past her knees, the denim was soaked through.
“You must be freezing.”
She just shrugged, but Charlie didn’t miss the way she clamped her teeth together to keep them from chattering. “Is there an axe at your cabin, or do you need me to find Grandpa’s?”
“No, I found one.” When they reached his cabin, Charlie pulled his sled off to the side of the road and then reached for Kendra’s. “I can take it from here. Why don’t you go inside and get warmed up.”
“Are you sure you don’t need any more help?”
“I’ve got it,” Charlie assured her.
“Can I at least make you some hot chocolate?”
“That would be great.”
“Okay.” Kendra stepped toward her cabin. “I’ll see you in a little while.”
Charlie nodded. He watched her make her way back to her cabin, noticing the way she shivered again. Then she turned and looked back at him, giving him a timid smile, and he felt an odd sensation seep through him. He managed to smile back, waiting until she slipped inside before turning back to the work at hand.
He set a log on an old stump that had been fashioned into a chopping block, grabbed the axe, and reminded himself that Kendra Blake was just part of a job he needed to do.
* * *
Elias looked up when a knock came on his office door. He waved in Ray Underwood, one of his senior agents. “What’s up?”
“I think we have a bigger problem than we thought,” Ray told him. “I just got off the phone with LAPD. They told me that someone has gained access to Kendra Blake’s laptop. There was a high-tech spyware program running on it.”
“Have they been able to trace it?”
“Not so far.” Ray shook his head. “Whoever this guy is, he’s good. The IP addresses change regularly, and he only gets on for a few minutes at a time—just long enough to download the new data.”
“Then they need to focus on how this guy got the spyware on her computer,” Elias concluded. “It sounds like they’re dealing with an insider. That would explain how someone gained access to both her laptop and the backstage area.”
“That’s what the detectives in LA think.”
“Let them know that we’re willing to offer assistance if they need it. And make sure they keep us in the loop.”
“I’ll stay on top of it,” Ray assured him before turning to leave the room.
* * *
“Here, let me h
ang that up for you.” Kendra reached for Charlie’s coat as he shrugged out of it. He had already brought in a stack of wood through the back door, leaving it in the mudroom to dry out.
“Thanks.” Charlie handed the coat to her, tugged off his gloves, and then leaned down to take his boots off so he wouldn’t track snow into the cabin.
She hung his coat up on the rack that was mounted to the wall near the washer and dryer and then motioned to the door. “Come on into the kitchen. I’ll get you that hot chocolate I promised.”
“Sounds good.” He followed her out of the storage room and down the hall.
Kendra glanced over her shoulder at him. “You must be exhausted. I didn’t think you were going to split all of that wood today.”
“Another storm is supposed to be coming in tonight, and it’s supposed to be a big one. I didn’t want to get caught unprepared.”
“It looks like it already started.” Without thinking, she reached up and brushed at the snow in his hair.
He froze at her touch, his eyes locking on hers for a moment. She felt her cheeks heat and quickly snatched her hand back. “I’m sorry. You just . . .” She stumbled over her words and felt her breath catch in her lungs. “You have some snow in your hair.”
Charlie’s eyes stayed on hers, but he reached up and tousled his hair, causing the rest of the snow to rain down over his shoulders and onto the floor. Then he used his fingers to comb his hair back into place.
“I, uh, I’ll get you that hot chocolate.” Kendra quickly turned toward the kitchen and reached for a thick mug that was sitting on the counter. She concentrated on measuring out the hot cocoa mix and pouring the steaming water from the kettle. When she turned back to hand him the mug, she was surprised to see Charlie still staring at her.
He reached out and took the hot chocolate from her. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” She motioned to the pot she’d put on the stove earlier. “Are you hungry? I was about to make some dinner.”
Charlie’s eyebrows lifted, and the familiar humor sparked in his eyes. “Can you cook?”
Kendra’s lips curved into a smile. “I picked up a few things in Young Women’s.”
“Young Women’s?”
She nodded, noting his confusion. “You know, those activities they hold at church every Wednesday night for the youth.”
“Sorry. It’s still sinking in that you’re LDS.”
“Is it that hard to believe?”
“Just odd.” Charlie shrugged. “I mean, what are the chances that we’d both come up here to get away from life and find another Mormon doing the same thing?”
“I guess it is a pretty big coincidence,” Kendra admitted, now wondering if her grandfather had sent her up here with ulterior motives. Maybe he’d wanted her to meet Charlie. Or more specifically, he had wanted her to meet an eligible bachelor who happened to be Mormon.
“So how is it that your grandparents are LDS, but your parents aren’t?”
“My dad was raised Mormon.”
“But he isn’t active?”
She shook her head. “Not during my lifetime.”
“What about the rest of your family?”
“My mom has never really had any interest in religion,” Kendra admitted. “As for my sister, she’s still trying to figure out if it’s possible to pursue a career in Hollywood and be an active member of the Church at the same time.”
“Acting is a tough business.”
Kendra looked at him thoughtfully. “Not many people think so.”
“Not many people know what it’s like to live with the paparazzi constantly following you.”
Kendra considered Charlie’s background, her eyes lifting quizzically. “Did you have that growing up? I mean, being the son of a senator?”
“A little bit,” Charlie admitted. “I never got it as bad as my brother did.”
“Because he’s a baseball player?”
“That and he’s the oldest.” Charlie took a sip of his hot chocolate. “It never seemed to bother him much. Besides, in politics, the press tends to die down when it isn’t an election year.”
“I guess that’s true.” Kendra rubbed her arms against the chill in the room, glancing over to see that the fire was dwindling. “Would you mind putting another log on the fire?”
“No problem.” Charlie walked to the fireplace and shifted the screen aside. “Your fire sure doesn’t put out much heat, does it?”
Kendra shook her head. “My dad liked the look of a fireplace instead of a wood stove, so we ended up with the pretty version instead of the functional one.”
Charlie put another piece of wood on top of the dwindling flames. “I gather your grandfather is more practical.”
“Oh, yeah. He insisted on having a wood stove in his cabin. He said it was cheaper to put in than a regular fireplace, and it would cut down on their electric bills when they wanted to visit up here in the winter.”
“I doubt your father worries much about utility bills.”
“Very true,” Kendra agreed as she put some water in a pot and started adding the ingredients for her favorite soup. She put everything on to simmer as Charlie crossed back to the kitchen.
He motioned to the stove and asked, “So what’s for dinner?”
“Cheddar chowder.”
“I don’t know that I’ve ever had that before, but right now, anything hot sounds good.” Charlie gave her an odd look and then added, “Thanks for your help today with the wood.”
“It was fun.” Kendra gazed over at the snow that was beginning to fall. It reminded her that she was isolated here, that the snow was keeping anyone from finding her. She looked back at Charlie, suddenly grateful she wasn’t all alone the way she had planned. “I think I could get used to the peace and quiet up here.”
He motioned to the front windows. “That’s good, because with all of the snow we’re getting, it looks like we’re going to be stuck here for a while.”
Nerves fluttered in her stomach, not in fear but in anticipation. “In that case, how are you at backgammon?”
Charlie fought back a smile. “I am a master at backgammon.”
“Oh, really?” Kendra’s eyebrows lifted in challenge. “I guess we’ll just have to see about that.”
Chapter 13
Detective Dan Eadelton entered the interrogation room and took a good look at Zack Prescott. He was dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt, his pretty-boy face beaded with perspiration as he sat in a molded plastic chair next to a scarred wooden table. The moment the door opened, Zack turned to face him with a combination of fear and confusion apparent in his eyes.
“Do you know why you’re here?” Dan asked, dropping a thick file on the desk.
Zack swallowed hard. “I already told that other detective that I didn’t have anything to do with what happened to Joslyn. I never even met her.”
“Joslyn?”
“Joslyn Korden.” Zack looked at him, and his confusion heightened. “Isn’t that why I’m here? Because you wanted to ask me more questions about the explosion at her photo shoot?”
“Actually, I wanted to clarify a few things in your witness report about the incident at Kendra Blake’s concert the other night.” He took his time sitting down, but his mind was working at lightning speed.
He was familiar with the Korden case. A small bomb had detonated during Joslyn Korden’s photo shoot ten days earlier. Joslyn had gone into hiding following the incident, and her body had recently been discovered. Since the FBI believed she was the victim of a serial killer, only the investigation into the bombing had remained under LAPD control. Now Dan found himself wondering if the Korden case and the Blake case could be related.
No one was hurt when the small bomb detonated in a storage room while Joslyn’s photo shoot was going on. The explosion at Kendra Blake’s concert certainly hadn’t been intended to hurt people en masse. Could these bombs have both been intended to scare these women? Were they some kind of initial step in
this serial killer’s ritual? And could this man sitting before him have had anything to do with the six women who had already been slain?
His pulse kicked up a notch, and he had to force himself to stay calm as he settled into his chair and opened his file. As though he didn’t have any place better to be, he drew a pen from his pocket and shifted his notes in front of him. “It says here that you were on stage when the explosion went off backstage at Kendra Blake’s concert.”
“That’s right.”
“What about before the concert?” he asked. “Did you notice anything unusual?”
Zack shrugged a shoulder. “Kendra seemed kind of nervous before the show, but other than that, I didn’t notice anything.”
Dan stared at him, his face carefully expressionless. Then he looked down at his files. “Were you on stage for the whole concert?”
“Yeah.”
Dan’s eyebrows drew together. “That’s interesting. Two of your fellow dancers mentioned that you disappeared for a few minutes between numbers.”
“Just for a few seconds. I went to the bathroom during one of our off numbers.” He sat up a little straighter.
“So you had just enough time to knock Kendra Blake’s bodyguard unconscious and set a bomb backstage.”
The muscle in Zack’s jaw jumped. “That’s crazy! I didn’t have anything to do with that. I would never try to hurt Kendra.”
“Well, Zack, as much as I’d like to believe you, you’re the only name that’s come up at both crime scenes,” he improvised. He scratched his chin as though considering. “Makes me wonder if it’s just a coincidence or if you have something to do with all of this.”
“I already told that other detective that I wasn’t anywhere near the studio that day. And there were a lot of people around when I left the night before.”
“Tell me about what happened at the studio.”
“There really isn’t much to tell. I worked at Grant Photography for a few months as a photography assistant until I got the gig with Kendra Blake,” Zack told him. “Grant was shorthanded for Joslyn’s photo shoot, and he knew I was in town for the Grammys, so he called and asked if I would work it.”
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