“Rude, this is Luke. Did your man have anything to report?”
“Not a thing, Luke. He says we’re looking in the wrong places. He doesn’t see any logic to this pattern.”
“And he’s right, Rude. I suspect each one of these guys was hired by the same person. My problem is the motive.”
“Maybe somebody wants to frighten her?”
“They’ve done that. Seen or heard anything of those two goons?” Luke asked.
“Not a thing, brother. Not since that night we headed them off on their way to Jessup’s Gallery. And if they’d been around, the brothers would have seen them.”
“Thanks, brother. Be in touch.”
“Right on.”
He hung up. Why didn’t she call? He checked on Randy, sent him to bed and went out on his balcony. Within a few minutes, his T-shirt clung to his body and breathing the still air seemed to weigh him down as the late July heat added to his discomfort. The ringing phone brought him charging into the house. He waited. His cell phone.
“Hello.” He never identified himself when he used that phone.
“Luke, it’s—”
“Kate. Thank God. I was on my way out of my mind. How are you? Where are you? No, you don’t have to tell me that. Just say you’re all right.”
“I’m fine, Luke. I’m…I think I’m fine. I—”
“Listen, honey, save that till you get back here. I want us to be together when we talk. I…I have so much to say to you.”
“Me, too. I’d have called earlier, but I fell asleep. I’m in my hotel room. I’m glad I came.”
“If you are, then so am I.”
“Are you meeting me tomorrow? I’m getting in at three-ten.”
“We’ll be there.”
“How’s Randy?”
“Fast asleep. He’s a good kid, and I’ve enjoyed having him here.”
“He’s so attached to you.”
“What’s wrong with that? Such things are never one-sided. If you’re not on the plane tomorrow, I’ll send out an FBI search, bloodhounds, the works. Kate, I need to see you.”
“Not more than I need you, but I realize we have to straighten things out. Maybe we could take that weekend we’d planned.”
“I hope it’ll be possible, sweetheart, but let’s not cross that bridge yet. All right?”
“I know. I’d better hang up. We said we’d wait till we’re together.”
“Yeah. But if you can’t hold it, let it out.”
“I…Just be there, please, when I get off that plane.”
“You betcha, baby.”
“’Night.”
“Hey, wait a minute. You mean, you’re not blowing me a kiss?”
“I didn’t know whether you wanted one.”
“Do I need to breathe, Kate?”
He listened as the sound of a kiss caressed his ears. “Good night, sweetheart.”
He hung up. She hadn’t said she needed to see him, but that she needed him. And she’d made the distinction deliberately. Something had changed. He didn’t know what, but she seemed close to bursting. If her old man had played on her sympathy, it was probably over for them, because he wouldn’t back down. And suppose the man had been honest. Well, he’d rather she’d believed in him without the benefit of his exculpation. But if she could convince him that she understood, appreciated and respected his attitude toward his work, could he ask for more? And should he? He didn’t know.
He answered his telephone on the first ring. Who’d be calling him on his official line at one o’clock Sunday afternoon?
“Hickson.”
“Hello, Luke. This is Jeb Baker in Cambridge. I’ve got a fellow over here who may be the one you’re after. He’s tightlipped, and we can’t get him to budge. We can’t hold him longer than tomorrow morning at seven without evidence. Can you come over tonight, have a look at him, and see what you can get out of him?”
Could he miss meeting Kate’s plane? Out of the question. “How late can I get there?”
“Eleven. Can you make that?”
“Do my best.” He jotted down the address and trip directions. “What’s the guy’s name? I’ll give him a run-through.” He made a note of the man’s name and features, hung up and called Rude.
“Does he ring a bell?” Luke asked Rude.
“The name does, way off somewhere in my mind, but it doesn’t match the description. Maybe our man’s been using disguises. But, heck, brother, it’s pretty hard to disguise your height that much. Who knows but some guy’s invented a way to do it? I’ll pass the word.”
“Not this time, Rude. Keep it under your hat.”
“Will do.”
He opened his laptop computer, which was connected to the department’s system, and entered the suspect’s name and description and waited. No information matched, but that didn’t rule out the man in Cambridge as a possibility. He packed a few personal items, called Cowan and Jenkins to let them know he’d be away overnight, and got ready to meet Kate’s plane. The opportunity to mend their relationship that evening had just been taken from them. He’d sweat out another long day, at least, before he stood a chance of loving her again.
“Come on, Randy, we’ll be late for your mother’s plane.”
“Soon’s I finish this.”
He looked over the boy’s shoulder at a drawing of the view from the window beside the desk where Randy sat. “That’s a very good likeness.”
“I wanted to give it to my mom, but I guess I have to finish it next time I stay here.”
“You can come over one afternoon and work on it. Let’s go.”
His heart began a wild thudding in his chest, and moisture covered his forearms as he counted the minutes until she’d walk off the escalator. He looked around for the wall, found it and let it take his weight, lest he double up from the pains that ripped through his belly. He hadn’t had such a case of nerves since the day his college football coach told him he’d be quarterbacking the team on Homecoming Day. The expression on her face would tell him whether she loved him, but he also needed to know if she believed him, and in him. And it was the latter that had him strung out. For the nth time, he looked at his watch. The plane had been on the ground more than twenty minutes.
And then he saw her, her face wreathed in smiles and her eyes sparkling as though happiness suffused her. Swift feet took him to her, and she came to meet him halfway. She stopped and hugged Randy before straightening up and staring into his face, her own a solemn mass of questions. Then she smiled and opened her arms to him. “Just hold me,” she whispered.
With one hand at the back of her head and the other across her shoulders, he drew her into his arms and held her close. He didn’t speak, couldn’t speak. She was in his arms where she belonged, where he needed her to be, and right then he wasn’t about to tempt the angels. They’d face the rest when they got to it. She leaned back to observe his face, and her lips parted to welcome his kiss, but, with Randy’s gaze glued on them, he couldn’t risk arousal. He squeezed her tightly.
“I just found out I have to go to Cambridge tonight to check out a suspect. I wanted us to spend the evening together, but we’ll have to wait till tomorrow. If I don’t go, the man will have to be released. Understand?”
She nodded but—though he could see that she tried to hide it—disappointment was evident in the droop of her mouth and the way in which the light faded from her oval brown eyes.
“We’ll see each other tomorrow?”
“I’ll be here tomorrow evening, so let’s be together then.”
“Maybe Jessye would keep Randy.”
He shook his head. “That might not be the best solution, so I expect we’ll have to be patient.”
He drove them home, parked in front of her door and went with them to examine her apartment for safety. “I’m on my way to Cambridge. Call my cell phone if you need me.”
Good Lord, the need in her eyes! Hot shivers of desire roared through his body. Heaven help him, he had to ta
ste her. “Kate. Baby, come here.” She flew into his arms, parted her lips and he had his tongue in her mouth, savoring her, loving her. His blood pounded in his head when she gripped his arms and then his shoulders, and finally pulled his buttocks tight to her body. Too late. His full arousal jumped against her, and her moans sent thrill after thrill through his whole being. Her eyes widened in surprise when he held her away to avoid a rush to completion. Never in his life had he come so close to losing total control. Then gently, he pulled her back to him to dispel the feeling of rejection that he knew his sudden movement had caused her.
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” he whispered. “You came around on my blind side and powdered me. I had to…to get it under control.”
“When will you be back?”
“Sometime tomorrow. I’d better go. Randy will bring you up-to-date. Call you later.”
In Cambridge, he sat on the edge of Jeb’s desk, one foot on the floor and the other swinging free as he concentrated on the suspect, a tall, thin, young man who looked him in the eye and didn’t waver in his testimony. He examined the man’s arms for evidence of drug use. None. Three hours later, he had no choice but to recommend his release.
“I think he’s clean, Jeb, but he shouldn’t leave town just yet.”
“Why’re you so sure?”
“I can’t shake his story. And he didn’t recognize me. Whoever’s after Kate Middleton knows who I am, and what I look like. I’d bet my neck on that. If you get any more leads, call me. Any place around here where I can get a night’s sleep?”
“Yeah. Come on to my place. The kids are on their own now, and the house is empty.”
An hour later, after a good home-cooked meal and a warm shower, he got into bed and called Kate on his cell phone.
“I’m spending the night,” he said after they’d greeted each other. “If I leave around six in the morning, I should be in Portsmouth by nine at the latest. Save this evening for me.”
“I will. Drive carefully. ’Night.”
“Say,” he growled, “didn’t you forget something?”
“No. It just seemed so inadequate. But…well, here’s your kiss.”
“Sleep well, sweetheart.”
Five-thirty the next morning found him on Route 50, headed for Salisbury and on to the Scenic Highway that would take him into Norfolk. Early morning driving provided a peacefulness that he enjoyed. Summer rains had blessed the surroundings with lush foliage. Rows of brilliant green corn laced the fields; huge green heads of cabbage and field after field of red tomatoes stood ripe for picking. He marveled at the faith of the American farmer; one month without rain could lay waste to all that beauty and prosperity. He slowed down to pay a toll, and got his first morning’s smell of carbon monoxide from the big truck that pulled up beside him. He didn’t like Route 13, but it represented the fastest way home.
Suddenly he slowed down. Holding out a cane with a red scarf tied to it, an old woman sat beside what was obviously a disabled car, commanding his attention. He pulled up behind her and, mindful of treachery, felt for his revolver, put on his coat and got out.
“Something wrong, ma’am?”
Fierce old eyes peered up at him from under the wide brim of a tattered straw hat. “There certainly is, young man. I’ve got a flat, and I’m practically out of gas.”
“Do you have a spare?”
She nodded toward the back of the car. “There’s a tire in the trunk, but I don’t know what good it is, because I’ve never looked at it. Could be rotten, for all I know.”
He looked hard at her. “Do you have a driver’s license?”
“Of course I have. If I didn’t, I’d be a fool to flag down a cop.”
He nearly slammed the lid of the trunk on his hand as he spun around and stared at her, ready for any necessary action. “What makes you think I’m a policeman?”
“Because you are.”
He walked back to her and faced her. “How do you know, and what are you doing out here this time of morning?”
“I have a message for you. But first, please fix my tire.”
Goose bumps popped out on his arms and hands, and shivers shook him. “Look, ma’am, I’ll help you if I can, but you give me an eerie feeling.”
“Nothing to be afraid of. Hurry up and finish it before that big truck comes along here, weaving in an’ out as if the driver’s on something.”
He shook his head. The woman must be loco. He finished changing the tire and checked her gas level. “How far are you going?”
Suddenly, she grabbed his arm and yanked him out of the way. A big eighteen-wheel truck missed him by inches. Horrified, he backed up and stared at her. “Who are you, and how old are you?”
“I’m Lucy Monroe Watkins, and I’m ninety-three.”
“With that kind of strength?”
“That’s the same thing your Kate asked me. I live right.”
“Wait a minute. What do you know about Kate?”
“She got lost and asked me for directions. Ended up spending the night at my place while you worried yourself silly. When you catch that fellow, he’ll be driving. You’re going to get the ringleader, because his flunkies have been missing the mark. And something’s just happened to make your man real anxious. I told her to bring you to see me when you get yourselves straightened out, but I knew she’d forget all about that. Well, I’d better be getting on.” She got in, turned the ignition key and looked at him. “Thanks.”
He stared unbelieving as she checked the traffic, eased into Route 13 and headed toward Salisbury doing a good sixty miles an hour. Had he just seen an apparition? No, he’d spoken with her, and she’d talked. Made sense, too. He recalled Kate’s tale of an old woman after her attendance at that booksellers convention. Same woman? Possibly. He got in his car and tried to shake it off, but her words hung in his mind. The man would be driving. He didn’t believe any human being knew the future, but he’d take all the help he could get. From now on, two men would tail Kate everywhere she went. If the old woman knew so much, why hadn’t she told him what to expect in his relationship with Kate? Maybe she had, and he hadn’t been listening carefully enough. But he’d figure it out. He relaxed behind the wheel of the big Buick, flipped on the cruise control and headed for Norfolk.
She’d done everything wrong. Jessye heaved a deep sigh, hooked the strap of her white pocketbook over her shoulder, and went in the lobby of her apartment building to meet Axel. Right then, she doubted she had the strength to handle an eager man with Axel’s temperament. She’d done as Kate suggested and paid closer attention to Axel. As far as she could see, the man’s one big shortcoming was his reaction to Luke, but that one packed a wallop. None of it mattered, though, because understanding was no substitute for chemistry. She shook her head. That wasn’t it. She’d always craved the unattainable, and Luke Hickson had put himself out of her reach. She wondered if she’d want him if he was as hot after her as Axel was. She couldn’t figure it out.
“Hi. Every time I look at you, my blood runs faster.”
“Oh, Axel, you sure do know how to make a girl feel special.” With her help, his kiss missed her mouth and caught her cheek. “Where’re we going, honey?”
“I got us two tickets to Buddy Guy, but rain’s threatening, and there’s no shelter for the park concerts. Maybe we’d better just have a nice dinner.” He looked at her, hopefully, she thought. “Unless you want to go to the movies.”
He wanted to please her, so she said what she knew he’d prefer. “Honey, dinner’s just fine. You know I love to eat. If this town would just get some good old butter beans, the place might grow on me.”
His ready smile told her she’d pleased him. “I’ll get you some butter beans, sweetheart, if I have to grow them myself.”
And he would, she realized. Why couldn’t it have been him, and not Luke?
They finished the meal at the River Café, and he leaned back in his chair, more pensive than she remembered having seen him. “Axel, honey, a
re you depressed?”
“Not more than usual. You’re everything I want, and something tells me I don’t stand a ghost of a chance.”
“I haven’t always been honest with men, Axel. I’m just learning that fellows hurt just like I do, and I’m sorry for a lot of the selfish and inconsiderate ways I’ve acted with them. Axel, I think the pill I’m going to swallow is as bitter as yours.”
“You mean, Hickson?”
She nodded. “But you have so much, honey. All you have to do is go home like your folks are begging you to do, and run the family businesses. Look what’s waiting for you. Position, power and money.” She rolled her eyes skyward. “Honey, I’ve walked away from some tidbits in my life, but you’re throwing away a fortune.”
He shook his head. “Try to understand, Jessye. I don’t need that. If I had it, it wouldn’t complete my life. For that I need you.”
She leaned forward. “You’re saying you’d take me over the Strange position and fortune? Lord, how could you have done this to me?”
She had to get used to this Axel. Cool. Dispassionate. As if he had nothing to push for. “Money isn’t everything, Jessye.”
She raised an eyebrow as she imagined herself serving tea in the Strange family drawing room. “Of course it isn’t, especially when you’ve got plenty of it.”
He called for the check. “Come on, babe, let’s go. You’re not giving up on Hickson, and I can’t give up on you.”
She stood and placed a hand gently on his arm. “You’re a terrific guy, Axel. Forget about Luke. He’s never showed a speck of interest in me. Not once.”
He stared down at her, and she could see skepticism splashed across his face. “You’re kidding.”
“I’m not. And when I made passes at him, he brushed them off. Axel, he’s not a ladies’ man. Trust me, I would definitely know.”
“You want me to believe—”
“I wouldn’t lie to you. There’s no point. And if he got every promotion you applied for, like you said, ask yourself why.”
He took her hand as they left the restaurant. “Let’s walk down by the water for a while. I’m not ready to leave you.”
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