Covert Kisses

by Jane Godman

  Laurie sat up a little straighter. One hundred percent. That was very certain. “Did you take her to the airport yourself?”

  He shook his head. “Right at the last minute, I had car problems. Isn’t that just typical? The old Jeep I had back then had never given me a minute’s trouble, then, the day before I need to take my girlfriend to the airport, the damn thing refuses to start.”

  Laurie felt a crawling feeling begin to trace its way down her spine. She sensed Cameron’s eyes on her profile and knew he was thinking the same thing as her. “Who drove Marie to the airport?”

  “Marie had become friendly with Grant Becker, the sheriff. You know him, right?” He turned to Cameron for confirmation. Cameron nodded, his jaw tense. “They had a shared interest in Irish literature, of all things. The sheriff doesn’t look the type, does he? Although, to be fair, Marie used to tease him and say he didn’t know as much as he liked to think he did. Anyway, he happened to stop by to give her a book for the journey. She told him about the problem with the Jeep, and he offered to drive her. Problem solved. He stepped in like a knight in shining armor. That was what Marie said to him at the time.”

  Problem solved indeed. And so neatly.

  “Why didn’t you go with them to the airport?” Laurie managed to keep her voice calm. Was this it? The link between Grant and one of the missing girls they had been seeking? But they still didn’t have a body...

  “The sheriff’s personal car was a two-seater. A sporty little number he’d only just taken delivery of.” Laurie’s eyes flicked over to Cameron for confirmation. He gave a slight shake of his head. This two-seater sports car was clearly news to him. “There was barely enough room for Marie’s luggage. We said goodbye at our apartment.” Toby’s voice was quiet. “It didn’t seem like a big deal at the time. We thought we’d be together again soon.”

  “Did you report Marie missing to the Irish police?”

  “Of course I did. They filed a report, and I’ve checked in with them each time I’ve been back. There haven’t been any developments. It’s as if she vanished that day.” Toby came to sit back down. He looked from Cameron to Laurie and back again. “Why have you come here to ask me about Marie now?”

  Laurie glanced at Cameron. He nodded. Toby could be trusted. “Laurie is an undercover police officer. While she was in Stillwater on an unrelated investigation, she stumbled on evidence that my girlfriend, who was also Laurie’s cousin, Carla Bryan, may have been murdered. You never met Carla, but she also had dark hair and blue eyes. This is all unofficial, but there is a chance other women may also have been targeted by the same man. We’re looking into the possibility he chooses women who look alike.”

  Toby was clearly trying to absorb what he had just been told. “But Marie was taken to the airport...” His face paled as the truth hit him. “It was him? Are you here to tell me Marie was murdered by Grant Becker?”

  * * *

  “We don’t know anything for sure right now.” Cameron had to repeat the message as Toby paced the room. There seemed to be a real possibility of his friend storming out of the house in search of Grant.

  “Was anything out of the ordinary happening just before Marie left?” Laurie asked, and her calm tone had a soothing effect on Toby, drawing his attention back to her. “Anything that made her feel uncomfortable, or made you think someone might be paying her unwanted attention?”

  Toby frowned. “You’re talking about the flowers, right? We laughed over them at the time. I said she was sending them to herself to make me jealous. She said it was me, and I should just be up-front and tell the truth, confess to being a hopeless romantic instead of pretending she had a secret admirer. It was only after she’d gone that I wondered now and then if there really was a mystery man. I’ve tortured myself wondering if she went off with him instead of coming back to me.”

  “These flowers she was getting, were they a heart-shaped arrangement of dark red roses?”

  “My God, that’s exactly what they were.” Toby slumped back onto the sofa. “I can’t take this in. What happens next? You’re a police officer—you must be able to arrest him.”

  Cameron knew Laurie would have liked nothing more than to assure Toby she could do just that. But what did they really have? They might just be able to persuade someone to take an interest in the fact that Deanna, Carla and Marie had all been sent the same arrangement of flowers and two of those women were missing while one was dead. Yes, Carla and Marie had both known Grant, but it was a huge step from knowing them to killing them. Stillwater was a small town. There was no such thing as a stranger. Cameron himself had known Carla intimately and he’d shopped in Milligans, so he knew Deanna well enough to pass the time of day with her. Okay, there was the interesting issue of Grant driving Marie to the airport. If they could prove she didn’t get on that plane, their suspicions might have more weight.

  As if she was reading his mind, Laurie was asking Toby that very question. “Did you ever try to find out if Marie actually boarded her flight?”

  “No, because it never occurred to me until today that she might not have.”

  “Can we start there?” Cameron asked. “Get the airline to confirm whether she actually did fly with them that day?”

  Laurie sighed. “I wish it was that easy. I know from experience that getting airlines to part with that sort of information requires a warrant. I could have tried pulling strings, used my police contacts—” she held up her dead phone “—if I still had any.” She sent a sympathetic glance in Toby’s direction. “As far as the police are concerned, unless we find a body, or Grant comes after me, I know what the response will be. As it stands right now, we are just making up stories about this guy.”

  “If we can find their bodies, we will be in a position of strength to let the police know the rest of our suspicions.” Cameron rose. “Do you have any binoculars we can borrow?” As Toby left the room, he was aware of Laurie regarding him in surprise. “Just something that occurred to me.”

  Toby returned with the binoculars. “I feel so helpless. You’ll let me know as soon as you find something out?”

  “Of course. In the meantime, I know we don’t have to ask you to keep this to yourself.” Cameron paused on the doorstep, scanning the area around the house. He didn’t know what he was looking for exactly, maybe some sign he and Laurie had been followed here. Nothing disturbed the tranquility of the surrounding scenery.

  “That goes without saying. But, my God, I’d like to get my hands on that bastard.” Toby’s eyes misted over, and Cameron understood how he felt. Hadn’t he experienced the same emotions at the thought of what Carla must have gone through? Both of them had been suffering, making assumptions about what had happened to the women they loved, when all the time there was a common denominator. A serial killer who chose them because of their dark hair and blue eyes.

  He glanced at Laurie, at her dark hair and blue eyes, and felt something lurch inside him. This last year had been as if his heart was wrapped in barbed wire with someone tightening and loosening it at will. Since meeting her, it had been getting looser. Slowly, steadily, the tightness was easing up. He almost hadn’t noticed it at all today. His heart had felt normal.

  Laurie hesitated before stepping out into the sunlight. Keeping her safe was his priority now. Cameron had even more reason than Toby to make sure Grant Becker got what was coming to him. He had to keep Laurie alive.

  “I’m ahead of you in this line,” he told Toby.

  * * *

  “You said there were five women matching this description who had disappeared in West County over the last few years, not counting Carla and Deanna,” Cameron said as they drove away from Toby’s home. “Lisa, Kathy, Tanya and Marie. That’s four. Who was number five?”

  Laurie had checked her notes again last night, so she knew the details without needing to refer back to them. “T
his was the most recent one. Four months ago. She was an attorney called Bethany Wade.”

  “Beth Wade? I thought she just left town.”

  Cameron’s quiet tone seemed at odds with his words. Surely the fact he knew one of these women was helpful and, therefore, worthy of a little more enthusiasm?

  “You know her?”

  “Yes.” That was it? He remained silent for a moment or two. His next words explained his hesitation. “She and Vincente had an on-off relationship for a while.”

  “Bethany Wade isn’t officially a missing person, but there was a report about her leaving her law practice very suddenly. Clients were left in the lurch, and it made the local press. When I read the reports, I saw her picture and she fitted the profile for how the missing women look. When she was dating Vincente, didn’t you notice that she looked like Carla?” What Laurie had picked up on when she was doing her missing persons search was the similarity in the women’s coloring. Only someone who knew them could say for sure if they were truly alike.

  “Not so you’d notice,” Cameron said, after giving it some thought. “I suppose there were similarities. But I’m looking at these women now in hindsight. I’m not sure I’d have noticed if this link between them hadn’t happened. There’s something he sees in them that we might not.”

  The thought made Laurie shiver, but there was something else troubling her. She drew a breath. There was no way to be diplomatic about this. “I can’t help noticing Vincente’s name crops up a lot in our discussions about Grant.”

  “That’s just what I was thinking.”

  “Maybe we need to talk to him?” Cameron’s profile was annoyingly inscrutable.

  “I was thinking that, too.” He turned his head slightly to look at her. “We’ll do it after we’ve taken a look at the old Dawson ranch.”

  “How will we do that? It’s broad daylight. If there is something going on at that disused ranch, we can’t very well just drive on up there and ask what it is.”

  “Trust me.”

  For the time being, she had to be content with that, because he didn’t elaborate further until they were within sight of the funnel-shaped hill once more. She did trust him. In the short space of time she’d known him, Laurie had come to trust Cameron more than any other person she knew. More than she thought she had it in her to trust another human being. It was as exhilarating as it was scary.

  Turning off the main highway just before the point where Laurie had seen the Delaney Transportation truck, Cameron took the SUV along a narrow track that climbed steeply upward until they were at the top of a narrow, tree-lined ridge. Leaving the vehicle behind the cover of the trees, he led Laurie with him, until they were crouched at the edge of the sheer, rocky drop. Below them, the old ranch buildings looked like dollhouses set in a patchwork of red earth and green grass.

  Cameron held up the binoculars Toby had lent him. “Forward planning.”

  Lying on his stomach, he commando-crawled forward until he was right at the edge of the cliff. With a glance of resignation at the red earth and her sweatshirt, Laurie followed him. Training the binoculars on the scene below them, Cameron viewed the old ranch buildings in silence for a few minutes. Unable to see anything herself, Laurie started to feel impatient.

  “What can you see?”

  “There’s nothing going on right now, but there is an old barn that’s big enough to take one, maybe even two of our trucks.” He handed her the binoculars.

  Laurie focused on the building he was referring to. It was huge, dominating the smaller structures around it. “Why would a ranch need a building that size?”

  “Movement of livestock. When this place was a thriving business, old Culver Dawson was one of the most successful ranchers in the area. He kept several trailers in that barn for transporting his cattle to market.”

  “And how long has this place been empty?” She moved the binoculars over the area around the barn.

  “Culver died about five years ago. He had no family, and no one bought the place. It’s been standing empty ever since. Why?”

  “For one thing, it’s tragic such a beautiful place should go to waste, but I’m also wondering why there are fresh tire tracks leading to that barn.” As she spoke, a car came into view along the track leading to the ranch. It halted in front of the barn, and a tall man with shoulder-length hair tied back in a ponytail slid out from behind the wheel. Laurie handed the binoculars back to Cameron. “Recognize him?”

  He muttered a curse under his breath. “As a matter of fact, I do. His name is Sam Nichols, and he’s the safety compliance officer at Delaney Transportation.”

  “Isn’t he a little far from where he should be if his job is to ensure the safe compliance of your trucks?”

  “He’s not the only one who has strayed.” Cameron handed the binoculars back to her. Another car had pulled up, and a red-haired man got out. He and Nichols entered the barn together. “That was Jesse Warren, one of the depot managers. Both these men were hired within the last twelve months.” His expression hardened. “By my brother.”

  “I guess we have even more reason for that talk with Vincente?”

  Cameron’s voice was grim. “It’s starting to look that way.”

  Chapter 11

  Vincente lived in a new apartment complex in the downtown area of Stillwater. It was the sort of development Cameron and his fellow local politicians were keen to encourage, even though traditionalists like Bryce sneered at the modernization of their hometown.

  “There was nothing here,” Cameron explained to Laurie as they pulled into the parking lot of the riverside development. “As long as it’s done tastefully, anything that keeps young, professional people in the town has got to be a good thing. Otherwise, these traditional communities start dying out.”

  “You love this place, don’t you?” She’d overcome her fear of encountering Grant on the journey between the Dawson ranch and the town, and was glad to stretch her limbs as they walked toward the elegant apartment block.

  “Is it so obvious?” His smile was slightly sheepish.

  “I like that you feel such a strong sense of loyalty to your hometown. It’s something I’ve missed out on, living in a big city.” She drew a breath as he pressed the buzzer to Vincente’s apartment. “Will this be tough?”

  He nodded. “I’m not going to lie to you. If Vincente feels cornered, tough is likely to be an understatement.”

  Vincente’s voice crackled over the intercom. “Who’s there?”

  “It’s Cameron. Are you alone?” On the drive over, they had discussed the frightening possibility he might have Grant with him. If that was the case, they would hightail it out of there in double time without explaining the reason for this visit.

  “Yeah, what do you want?” Even through the medium of electronic communication, Vincente’s voice was unwelcoming.

  “I need to talk to you.” There was a lengthy pause, then—could Laurie actually sense his reluctance, or was her imagination working overtime?—Vincente buzzed them in.

  Vincente’s apartment was on the second floor, and he was waiting at the door as they mounted the stairs. His eyes registered a brief moment of surprise as he took in Laurie’s presence, but he made no comment, merely gesturing for them to step inside. The views from the full-length windows across the river were incredible, and Laurie was momentarily mesmerized again by the raw power of the Wyoming landscape. She envied these people who got to see it every day.

  “This is an unexpected pleasure.” The sarcasm in Vincente’s voice was unmistakable.

  “I wish it was about pleasure.” Cameron had clearly decided to get straight to the point. “There are a few things bugging me, and I need to speak to you about them.”

  Vincente gestured for them to sit down. Laurie, taking a seat on a leather chair, decided to
let Cameron do the talking. They had agreed he should start with the situation at Delaney Transportation. Maybe they could lead into their questions about Grant from there. Always supposing the conversation went well.

  “Who is Zac Peyton?”

  Vincente’s smile was easy, untroubled. The switch from his antagonistic starting point was dizzying. Laurie decided he was a man who could be very charming. When he wanted to be. He answered without hesitation. “My assistant. Why?”

  “What exactly is he assisting you with?”

  Some of the easy manner slid away. “Do you want a copy of his job description?”

  Cameron maintained his calm approach. It was obvious this give-and-take was something the brothers were used to, a veneer both of them knew was a pretense. Like poker players, they were waiting to see who would fold first. “An outline will do.”

  Vincente grew tired of the bluff first. “Stop pretending, Cam. Just tell me what the hell this is all about.” There was a flash of Italian fire in his dark eyes.

  Cameron cast a glance in Laurie’s direction and she nodded. Tell him. “Laurie is a police officer working undercover for the FBI. She was sent here to investigate the possibility that Delaney Transportation is being used as part of a human-and drug-trafficking operation.”

  Vincente ran a hand through his hair. “Damn. I was hoping to shut it down before you found out.”

  For a few moments, Cameron seemed incapable of speech. Laurie could tell from his stunned expression that he had expected more of a fight from Vincente. Maybe denials, excuses or pleas for leniency. Not this bland, unblinking approach. Her cop instincts told her something wasn’t adding up. Vincente Delaney wasn’t acting like a guilty man.

  “To be honest,” Vincente continued as though unaware of the lowering thundercloud of his brother’s anger, “it’s a relief you know. At least this way we can sort this problem out together.”