“Familiar?” Tash looked puzzled.
“Jennifer knows about the photographs,” Coltrane explained.
“You’ve seen them?” Tash asked.
“Yes.”
“All of them?”
“Yes,” Jennifer said.
Despite Tash’s tan, the embarrassment that colored her cheeks was obvious. It was almost as if she felt the nude photos were of her and not of Rebecca Chance.
“Tash Adler?” Jennifer searched her memory. “Are you the person who inherited Randolph Packard’s estate in Mexico?”
“Yes. How did you know?”
“Jennifer’s been helping me do my research,” Coltrane said. He felt awkward standing between the two women, holding the box of Tupperware containers. “Jennifer, after I visited Greg’s widow, my curiosity got the better of me. I went up to Malibu to see if I could find where Tash lived.”
“You’ve certainly had an eventful day.”
“I brought Tash back here to see the photographs and try to figure out why she looked so much like Rebecca Chance.”
Jennifer couldn’t take her eyes away from Tash. “And did you come up with any answers?”
“We’re beginning to suspect she might have been my grandmother,” Tash said.
“There you are, Mitch. I’m impressed by the progress you’re making.” Jennifer looked uncomfortable in the doorway.
“But why are we standing here?” Coltrane made room. “Come in, and we’ll—”
“No, that’s all right,” Jennifer said too quickly. “I just wanted to stop by and leave this food. I wasn’t planning on staying. I have a lot of things to do at the office tomorrow. I planned on getting an early start.”
“Can’t you come in for a little while at least?” Coltrane asked. “I was going to open a bottle of wine and . . .”
“Yes,” Tash said. “Stay and we’ll talk. It’s awfully nice of you to bring the food. I’m sure Mitch is glad not to have to eat leftovers. He was going to reheat some marinara sauce he made yesterday.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Jennifer’s voice sounded a little choked. “He makes great marinara sauce.” She backed away. “I really have to be going. It was a pleasure to meet you, Tash. I’ll talk to you later, Mitch.”
“But—”
“Happy New Year.”
“. . . Happy New Year.” Conscious of the heavy box of Tupperware in his hands, Coltrane watched Jennifer walk to the curb, get in her BMW, and drive away. She didn’t look back.
16
O NLY AFTER HER HEADLIGHTS VANISHED OVER THE HILL DID Coltrane nudge the door shut. “Lock this for me, will you?”
“Sure,” Tash said. “I have the uneasy feeling I got in the way of something. Are the two of you . . .”
“It’s complicated. We’re trying to see if we can work things out again.” He climbed the stairs toward the living room.
“This misunderstanding couldn’t have helped any.” Tash followed. “Is she the friend you mentioned, the one who emphasized that this was the time of year to concentrate on new beginnings?”
“I’m afraid so.” Coltrane felt terrible about what had happened. “I suspect this wasn’t the kind of beginning she had in mind. I’ll call her first thing tomorrow.”
When they entered the dining room, Tash faltered. “These strings of beads on the walls . . .”
“Yes, they’re unusual, aren’t they?”
“But . . .” Tash shook her head, baffled. “They were in one of the photographs downstairs. One of the nudes.”
“Rebecca Chance used to own this house.”
“What?”
“After she disappeared, Randolph Packard bought the place and kept it exactly as it was when she lived here.”
“What in God’s name is going on?”
“That’s what I was hoping you’d be able to tell me.”
“Never mind the wine,” Tash said abruptly. “Have you got any scotch?”
Worried about her manner, Coltrane poured it. “Do you want ice or—”
“No.” Tash grabbed the glass and took two quick swallows. She closed her eyes, then opened them. “Now you can add ice and water.”
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
Coltrane waited.
“I’m scared.”
Coltrane nodded.
“But I don’t know what scares me more, the man who’s stalking me or the photographs you showed me. I’m even afraid of this house.”
“Why on earth—”
“It makes me feel like I’m being dragged back in time. Rebecca Chance is here. I can sense her. I also feel Randolph Packard.”
“But he loved her. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“Hold me.”
“What?”
“I’ve never felt so alone and scared. Please, hold me.”
Momentarily, Coltrane found it impossible to move. Hoping that his trembling wouldn’t betray him, he moved close, stopped face-to-face with her, and put his arms around her. He did it gently, not pressing himself against her, simply holding her. Closing his eyes, he felt her head sink against his left shoulder. He smelled sun and salt water in her hair. He tried to control his breathing as she raised her own arms and put them around his back. Then he couldn’t subdue his trembling any longer, but it didn’t matter, because Tash was trembling also, holding him tighter. They were pressed against each other. He felt the rise and fall of her chest. He started to become erect, afraid that she would notice. Then her shoulders heaved, and all at once she made a sound that might have been a sob. As his erection diminished, she gently pushed away from him, wiped a tear from her right cheek, and gave him the saddest smile he had ever seen.
“Thank you.”
“There were a lot of times when I felt alone and afraid,” Coltrane said. “Anytime you need a shoulder.”
“It’s strange. I met you only this afternoon, but already I feel you’re a friend.”
“Same here.”
Tash leaned to kiss him on the cheek, but her stomach rumbled, and she looked down, abashed. Unexpectedly, she laughed.
So did Coltrane.
“That’s twice,” Tash said.
“Twice?”
“That I laughed today. Thanks to you.”
Her stomach rumbled again, and she laughed again.
“We’d better get some food into you,” Coltrane said.
Tash’s smile was no longer sad.
As they heated food on the stove and in the microwave, Coltrane made a decision about an idea that he had been debating. “Have you got Walt’s phone number?”
Tash looked up from gravy she was stirring. “Two. One at the sheriff’s station and the other at his home. I have them memorized in case I need him in a hurry.”
“This late, he’s probably off duty. Give me his home number.”
“Why?”
“I think I know a way to trap the man who’s stalking you.”
Tash looked mystified after she told him the number and he picked up the phone. For the first time, he noticed the flashing red light on the answering machine, presumably the message that Jennifer had said she left. Continuing to feel terrible about the misunderstanding, he pressed numbers.
Three rings later, a recognizable male voice answered. It sounded a little huskier, perhaps because of alcohol. “What’s up?”
“This is Mitch Coltrane again.”
“Swell.” Immediately, a possible implication hit Walt. “Why? Has something happened to Tash?”
“She’s fine. That’s not why I’m calling. Are you on a cellular phone?”
“No.”
“Good. There’s less chance of anybody eavesdropping. When we spoke earlier, you said you were going to Tash’s house tomorrow—to search for hidden microphones.”
At the stove, Tash watched him, more confused.
“You should have mentioned those microphones when nobody else was with you,” Walt said. “You made me sound as if I didn’t know my jo
b.”
“That wasn’t my intention.”
“And what about now?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Is Tash listening now?”
“No, she’s in the bathroom,” Coltrane lied.
“So what about the microphones?”
“I’ve got an idea I’m still working out. Ideally, it would be better if you didn’t search for the microphones. But in case somebody used a scanner to eavesdrop on the cellular phone you had earlier, you have to do what you said you were going to do. Otherwise, he’ll get suspicious.”
“What are you talking about?”
“If you do find hidden microphones, don’t disconnect them all,” Coltrane said. “Leave a few, as if you hadn’t found them.”
“Are you telling me how to do my job again?”
“Listen to me. The plan I’m trying to put together won’t work unless whoever’s after Tash overhears her talking about her travel schedule for the next few days.”
“Another trap.”
“Not quite. I haven’t thought all of it through yet,” Coltrane said. “When I see you tomorrow, we’ll talk about it.”
“When you see me tomorrow?” Walt asked. “Wow, that’ll certainly give me a reason to wake up cheery.”
Coltrane set down the phone.
“Why did you lie that I was in the bathroom?” Tash asked.
“Walt’s manly feelings get hurt if I make suggestions when you’re around.”
“He means well,” Tash said.
“Oh, I don’t doubt he’s determined to help.”
Tash studied him. “You’ve got me curious about this plan you mentioned.”
“A couple of years ago, I did a photo assignment for the LAPD Threat Management Unit. I hid outside the house of a woman who was being stalked. In the middle of the night, I managed to take a photograph of a man pouring gasoline on her lawn.”
The reference to gasoline made Tash wince. “Yes, you mentioned that when you spoke to Walt earlier.”
“The woman was able to identify the man from the photograph,” Coltrane said. “He was someone she’d dated twice several years before. My photograph put him in jail.”
“And?”
“Suppose there are microphones hidden in your house. If he’s been overhearing you talk about your schedule, that explains how he’s been able to follow you so closely and get pictures of you wherever you go. So tomorrow you’ll talk about your schedule one more time—to someone on the phone or to Walt at your house or whomever,” Coltrane said. “Then you’ll go about your business, and we’ll hope that he takes the bait. Because this time, there’ll be another photographer wherever you go.” Coltrane pointed at himself. “I’ll stay back far enough to take pictures of anybody in the area, with emphasis on people with cameras. After a couple of locations, if the same face shows up in the photographs . . .”
“And if I recognize that face . . .”
Coltrane nodded. “The police will put the bastard in jail and you can sleep peacefully for a change.”
“If only.” Tash’s shoulders slowly relaxed. “I want that to happen so much.” She touched his arm. “Thank you. You’ve given me a reason to hope.”
A bubbling sound made them turn toward the stove.
“Good Lord, the gravy.”
The tension was broken. As ordinary life interrupted, Coltrane took pleasure from mundane chores, carrying bowls from the oven and setting them on heat-resistant pads. Tash arranged place settings.
“Be back in a moment.” She left the kitchen.
Hearing the bathroom door click shut, Coltrane couldn’t keep from glancing toward the flashing red light on his answering machine. He set down a bottle of fumé blanc that he’d been opening and pressed the play button.
“It’s me,” Jennifer’s voice said. “Still at my parents’. Just a little cleanup left. I’ll be heading out in a little while. In case you get back before I talk to you again, don’t make anything for supper. Mom’s put together a ton of leftovers for you. I’ll take a chance that you’ll be home and drive by.”
Water ran in the bathroom. As the door opened, Coltrane pressed the stop button.
“Did I hear someone talking?” Tash asked.
“Just checking my messages.”
“Anything you have to deal with?”
“Not tonight.”
“In that case, are you ready?”
Tash ate heartily, but thinking of Jennifer, Coltrane felt so dispirited, it was all he could do to get through his meal.
17
D ANIEL , Greg, and his grandparents stood before him while Ilkovic’s headless corpse came up behind them. About to scream, Coltrane jerked awake. Sweating, he stared at the shadows of windblown trees rippling across the dark ceiling. Then he jerked a second time, realizing that one of the shadows was from something moving in his bedroom. But before he could roll out of bed and try to defend himself, his sleep-clouded mind cleared enough for him to understand that the shadow at the top of the stairs leading into his bedroom belonged to Tash.
She wore a white robe he had given her, part of it obscured by her dark hair hanging over her shoulders, her face invisible. “Did I scare you?”
“No. Not you.” Coltrane wiped a hand across his clammy forehead. “I was having a nightmare.”
“I know. You were moaning. I heard you all the way in the guest bedroom downstairs. I came to see if you’re okay.”
“Thanks.” Coltrane’s rushing heart rate slowly subsided. “I’ll be fine now. Sorry to wake you.”
“You didn’t.” Tash paused. “I was already awake.” Another pause. “I had a nightmare, too.”
“How bad?”
“Very bad. Somewhere between fright and terror.”
“Yeah, that definitely qualifies as a nightmare. Lord, I hope this isn’t a pattern for the new year.”
“Why should the new year be any different from the old?”
Coltrane propped himself up on his elbows. “I promise you, my plan’s going to work. The police will catch this guy. The new year will be different.”
“Isn’t it nice to think so.”
“Why don’t I make us some coffee?”
“No,” Tash said, “I’m going to try to get back to sleep.”
“I hope it happens for you.”
“It almost never does.”
“Maybe this time will be different.”
“I’m afraid to sleep alone.”
In the darkness, the white robe moved toward the bed.
Coltrane felt the covers being pulled back, pressure on the side of the bed, Tash’s warmth. Then she pulled the covers over both of them, and they were together.
“So tired,” she said.
“Close your eyes. Try to sleep.”
He touched her shoulder to calm her and was shocked again. Static electricity shot off her, off her bare skin, making him realize that she had dropped the robe. Before he could restrain himself, he kissed her lightly. Not even when Ilkovic had stalked him at the Maynard ranch had he felt so terrified. Dizzy from his hammering heartbeat, he became even dizzier when her mouth opened, her tongue finding his. His mind aswirl, he cupped a hand over a breast, feeling its nipple harden under his palm. She moaned, her arms encircling him. His light-headedness intensified. He had never felt skin so smooth, pubic hair so silken. His sensations whirling, he touched her moistness and groaned as she dug her fingernails into his chest. He flicked his tongue across her nipples. With frightening need, she put her hand on his penis, thrust herself up, and guided him into her, wrapping her legs around his waist. At once, her urgency abated. Gently, she rocked. He whimpered. He had never felt anything so smooth and moist and tight and sweet. Then he couldn’t hold back. His short thrusts became longer. She moaned in unison with him, their hips locked in a frenzy. She screamed as she came, and his own release was so powerful that he felt it go all the way to the top of his head, which seemed to have exploded.
18
&nbs
p; T HEY LAY IN SILENCE .
“That static electricity you give off—I saw sparks in the darkness,” Coltrane said.
“I felt sparks.”
“I’ve never experienced anything like . . .”
“Yes.”
He drew a hand along her smooth thigh, along her flat stomach, over each of her breasts. He had the sensation of worshiping. Now it was his turn to say “Yes.”
“You’ve chased away the nightmares.”
“I’ll always chase them away,” Coltrane said. He suddenly remembered that Randolph Packard and Rebecca Chance had probably made love in this very room on this very bed. So long ago. And now he had made love here with Rebecca Chance’s look-alike, possibly with her granddaughter.
“Not alone,” Tash murmured.
“That’s right,” Coltrane said. “You won’t be alone any longer.”
She sighed, snuggling against him, her weight settling, her body relaxing. Soon she drifted off to sleep, her breathing slow, steady, and faint.
But Coltrane didn’t sleep for a long while. He was unable to adjust to her presence next to him, to the heart-swelling reality of what they had done.
TEN
1
H E AWOKE WITH A RISING FEAR THAT IT HAD ALL BEEN A DREAM , that Tash wouldn’t be lying next to him.
But she was, her eyes flickering slowly open, focusing warmly on him.
“Hi.” Her smile was welcoming.
“Hi.”
She touched his cheek. “Sleep well?”
“When I got myself calmed down.”
She chuckled.
“And you?” Coltrane asked. “How did you sleep?”
“For the first time in a long while, I’m not waking up more exhausted than when I went to bed. Heaven knows, I ought to feel exhausted after the workout we gave ourselves.”
“Maybe we need a massage therapist.”
Tash stretched, her breasts lifting, her naked body shifting next to him. “Oh, I think any aches we’ve got we can make feel better by ourselves.”
Yes, everything is going to be fine, Coltrane thought. He had worried that she would wake up with remorse, telling him that it had all been a mistake, that they had to pretend it had never happened and just be friends, although she regretted that being friends would be almost impossible after what they had done, and maybe it would be better if they didn’t see each other again.
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