by Cara Summers
Cam braked and pulled to a stop. To the left the land dipped into a gully. Another fender lay close to the road but the sedan had left a trail of crushed saplings in its wake before plowing nearly head-on into a third pine tree.
“Stay here and call for help,” Cam ordered as he climbed out and ran toward the sedan.
Adair had already punched in 911 and was talking to an operator when she reached the side of the road. Cam was pulling the driver’s door open.
“He’s alive,” he shouted up to her. “Unconscious.”
As she relayed the information to the 911 operator, Cam dropped to his knees and leaned into the car. She reached him just as he got to his feet.
“I told you to stay put.” He gripped her arm to steer her away from the car. But she caught a good glimpse of Lawrence Banes’s face. Its pallor had her stomach lurching.
“You’re sure he’s alive?”
Cam slid his hand down to hers and linked their fingers. “His pulse is steady. He’ll be fine. But tell the operator one of his legs may be broken. I don’t want to move him. Ask them how long before they can get someone here.”
The simple list of orders helped her to breathe again and to focus. When she’d passed along the information, she said, “The EMTs who are on call at Huntleigh College are on their way. Their ETA is less than ten minutes.”
“Hey, Sutherland, is this your work?”
Adair whirled around to see a man move away from a large black SUV and start down the hill toward them. He was tall with tanned skin and liberal hints of silver threaded through his jet-black hair. Dark glasses hid his eyes and added a hint of danger to his sharply sculpted features.
Any apprehension she might have been feeling was completely erased when Cam met him halfway up the hill and hugged him warmly. “I got your text earlier but I have to say, your timing is excellent. There’s someone I want you to take a look at.”
Cam led the way down the incline. “I want you to meet Adair. This is my boss, Daryl Garnett,” Cam said.
Adair studied the two men as they reached her. Though she guessed Garnett was old enough to be Cam’s father, they looked more like brothers.
Daryl caught her hand between both of his. “Cam has spoken enough about you that I would have been able to pick a beauty like you out of a crowd.”
Adair found herself returning the smile. It seemed to be her day for running into male charm, and Daryl Garnett had a very potent brand.
Daryl glanced over at the car. “Did Sutherland here run this unfortunate man off the road?”
“No,” Adair said. “We were just following him.”
Daryl glanced at Cam. “Why?”
“We think he might have been involved in a little break-in at the castle, and we were interested in who he might be meeting,” Adair said. “He didn’t even know we were following him. And we were still quite a ways behind. So Cam isn’t to blame for this. Banes must have lost control on that hairpin curve.”
“Banes?” Daryl asked.
Cam gestured toward the open car door. “Meet Lawrence Banes. He’s supposed to get married at the castle tomorrow.”
“Is he dead or alive?” Daryl moved to the open car door.
“Alive,” Cam said. “Ambulance is on the way.”
Adair began to get a bad feeling as she watched Daryl check for a pulse and then continue to study the man.
“You recognize him,” Cam said.
Daryl gestured them to follow him away from the vehicle before he answered Cam’s question. “Yeah. It’s Scalzo all right.”
“Scalzo?” Adair asked.
Daryl glanced back at the car. “And if you didn’t facilitate his accident, I’m wondering if someone else did. Wait here.”
Adair might have followed Daryl back to the car if Cam hadn’t put a hand on her arm. “Who is Scalzo?” she asked again as they watched Daryl drop to the ground and wiggle his way beneath the back end of the car.
“What’s he doing?” Adair asked.
“Checking to see what may have caused the skid,” Cam said.
“Got an answer there,” Daryl grunted as he eased himself out from beneath the car and got to his feet. A second later he joined them. “Someone cut your Mr. Banes’s brake lines.”
As Adair shifted her gaze from Daryl to Lawrence Banes, her stomach plummeted. “Someone tried to kill my bridegroom?”
“That would be my guess,” Daryl said as he pulled out a handkerchief and wiped grease and dirt off his hands.
“Why?” Adair asked.
“It could be that someone recognized him as Gianni Scalzo or one of the other names he’s used, or they figured out the investment scam he’s currently running and got to him before I did.”
“What scam?” Adair asked, glaring at both of them. “And who is Gianni Scalzo? This time one of you better answer me.”
Daryl nodded at Cam. “Go ahead.”
As Cam told her about his boss’s experience with Gianni Scalzo, Adair’s stomach plummeted even further. A lightning strike was bad. This was definitely worse. There was no telling how seriously Lawrence Banes was injured, but as soon as he recovered the CIA wanted to put him behind bars.
How many ways could a wedding go wrong?
“I learned today that right after the wedding ceremony the father of the bride, Winston Maitland, is going to transfer millions into Banes’s so far very lucrative real estate investments,” Daryl added.
“What’s wrong with that?” Adair asked.
“Nothing, if the real estate exists somewhere besides on paper. But Scalzo’s specialty is running Ponzi schemes and they’re only lucrative for a certain length of time. Then the investors lose a lot of money.”
A siren sounded in the distance.
“I’m sorry,” Cam said. “I couldn’t tell you until I had confirmation. There was a chance he wasn’t Scalzo.”
She raised a hand. “I get it. You’re CIA. You specialize in covert, sneaky ops.”
Cam winced. “You can deck me if you want.”
“Why? Any way you look at it, the wedding is history. There’s an injured bridegroom. The CIA is waiting to arrest him. And someone else wants him dead.”
There was a moan from the car.
“The two of you go on.” Daryl backed away. “I don’t want him to see me quite yet.”
Adair reached the car first. Lawrence Banes’s eyes were open and filled with pain.
“Ms. MacPherson?” he said in a breathy voice. “What—”
She took one of his hands in hers. “Don’t try to talk. You’ve had an accident.”
“The wedding…” He broke off, wincing.
“Don’t worry about that now,” Adair said. On the road above, an ambulance pulled to a stop. “The EMTs are here.”
As the young medics rushed down the incline, Banes’s eyes drifted shut but his grip on her hand tightened. “Call Bunny. Tell her…wedding is on. I’m marrying Rexie tomorrow.”
Stunned, Adair walked back to Daryl with Cam. “He still wants to go through with the wedding.”
“Perfect,” Daryl said.
“Perfect?” Adair stared at him. “Someone wants to kill him. You want to put him in jail.”
“I have a plan,” Daryl said. “How would you like to be part of an undercover op?”
12
“I DON’T LIKE IT.” Sheriff Morris Skinner made the announcement after Cam and Daryl had taken turns with Adair in filling him in on what had been going on at the castle, up to and including Lawrence Banes’s—or more accurately Gianni Scalzo’s—car accident.
What the sheriff specifically didn’t like was Daryl’s plan—the one he’d outlined while the EMTs were transferring the bridegroom to the ambulance. Adair wasn’t sure she liked it either since it involved letting the wedding go on as scheduled.
Learning the truth about Lawrence Banes had hit her like a Mack truck, and for the past hour she’d felt as if she’d been sitting on the sidelines watching the men handle everyth
ing.
The waiting room in the clinic at Huntleigh College was barely bigger than a walk-in closet, and once Sheriff Skinner had joined them the space had been filled to capacity. The upside of the cramped quarters was that it offered them privacy, and only a soundproof glass wall separated them from the area where Lawrence Banes was being examined and diagnosed by Dr. Barnhill, a young woman in her early thirties who ran a tight ship.
She’d made one appearance in the waiting room to inform them that her patient was suffering from a broken leg and she’d know more about his condition after they’d taken some X-rays. The only thing that she was certain about was that he was determined to get married the next day.
That had been Daryl’s cue to explain his let-the-wedding-go-on scenario to Sheriff Skinner.
Skinner pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “You’re telling me that this Banes/Scalzo guy is an international crook, but I shouldn’t arrest him until after he gets married up at the castle tomorrow.”
“Correct,” Daryl said.
Adair had already played the nightmare scene in her mind. Several times. The setting was the ballroom of the castle with guests looking on. As Lawrence Banes signed the papers with Maitland Investments, law enforcement agencies—some in helicopters, others in black SWAT outfits—would all swoop in to make the arrest of the century.
And each time Rexie Maitland would collapse in tears.
The scene made her head spin so much she couldn’t come up with a coherent argument to counter Daryl Garnett’s plan. Her groom-not-to-be had created Ponzi schemes across the globe and robbed thousands of people of their savings. The Maitlands and their friends and clients were only the current focus of his business schemes. But if the deal went through on Saturday Banes would be caught. And both she and the sheriff were being asked to be good little soldiers and hold off on letting anyone know until the knot was tied and the papers were signed.
Skinner, a wiry man in his early sixties, set down his notebook and scratched his head. “I’ve been sheriff here for thirty years, and I’ve never seen anything like this.” He looked at Garnett first. “You say the Portland P.D. has this guy’s fingerprints when he was operating under a different alias. Can’t they arrest him and take him into custody?”
“Sure,” Daryl said. “But the fraud he perpetrated there was twelve years ago. Lots of things can happen in a trial, especially when twelve years have passed. But if we catch him in the act, we’ve got him.”
“I’d like to question him,” Skinner said.
“So would I,” Daryl agreed amiably. “But that could spook him. The man can disappear faster than the kind of ink they sell in kids’ magic kits.”
Skinner frowned. “I get that. But I’d like to know who cut his brake lines.”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Daryl said. “Scalzo has always worked with a partner—a man many suspect is the real brains behind their cons. It could be they’ve had a falling-out. And it would be a real coup if we could catch him, too.”
Skinner turned to Adair. “I’d also like to know how one or both of them is connected to the other stuff you think is going on up at the castle. A little trespassing aside, I’ve never known there to be trouble up there.” He shifted his gaze to Cam. “You think someone’s been breaking into the castle on a regular basis for the past six months. Could that be Scalzo or this MacDonald character?”
“Scalzo has a social schedule to keep on Long Island,” Cam said. “All we know for sure about MacDonald is he seemed interested in Eleanor’s missing jewels and he had a run-in with Scalzo at Tinker’s Falls.”
“Maybe he’s Scalzo’s elusive partner,” Adair said.
Cam exchanged a look with Daryl. “It’s a possibility.”
“Maybe Banes can help us out there,” Skinner said.
“It would be better all around if we didn’t question him about his connection to MacDonald,” Daryl said. “He doesn’t know that Cam and Adair saw them talking in the woods. Better to leave those questions until after the wedding and the arrest.”
Skinner encompassed all three of them with his gaze. “I’ll talk to Edie who runs the diner in town. She’s the best investigator I’ve got. Everyone goes in there and everyone talks. Maybe she can dig up a connection between the two men that isn’t merely theory. In the meantime, I’m going to ask Mr. Lawrence Banes is if he knows who might have cut his brake lines.”
Cam exchanged a look with Daryl, then nodded. “Be good if he had a nominee. But Adair here should talk to him first. To firm up plans about the wedding.”
As if she were responding to a cue, the young doctor appeared in the waiting room doorway. “Mr. Banes is a lucky man. The fracture was clean. He’ll be in a cast for a while, but his tibia will heal nicely. He won’t be walking down the aisle or dancing, but he should be able to make the big wedding tomorrow. He’s groggy from pain meds.” Dr. Barnhill held up a finger. “I’ll allow one visitor before he gets his MRI.”
Adair rose and followed the doctor into the examining room. The distance was short, but she felt as if she were walking the last mile.
Look at the bright side, Adair. Obviously Lawrence and Rexie were not meant to be. Thank heavens the lightning strike had prevented the young woman from ever kissing the scumbag during the rehearsal. And going along with Daryl’s plan would put a very bad man in jail.
What she couldn’t quite get out of her mind was what the whole thing was going to do to Rexie. The young woman didn’t deserve this. Adair had some idea of what it was like to be dumped unceremoniously by a man. But she was finding it hard to get her mind around what it might be like to discover your second husband was a world-class criminal.
And she couldn’t seem to come up with a plan that would give Rexie a second chance at happiness. Formulating solutions, solving problems—those were supposed to be her strong points.
Stepping closer to the bed, Adair studied the man lying there. His eyes were closed and he looked older to her than he had before. She reached out and took his hand. “Mr. Banes?”
His eyes fluttered open, but they looked glazed.
“It’s Adair MacPherson.”
“Mac…Pherson?” He struggled to focus. “Nurse took my cell. Have to call Bunny. Explain.”
When his lids fluttered shut, Adair’s stomach knotted. Call Bunny? Why did he want to call Bunny? Why didn’t he want to call Rexie?
His eyes opened again and he gripped her hand almost as hard as he had in the car. “You call Bunny. The…wedding. Still on.”
“I’ll call.”
Two technicians in lab coats appeared in the doorway.
“Mr. Banes has to have his MRI now,” Dr. Barnhill said.
When she tried to disengage her hand, his eyes opened, and this time they were clear. “Let Bunny know.”
She waited as the two young men loaded him onto a gurney.
Bunny? And not one mention of Rexie. Well, Rexie was the person she was going to call. And then she was going to make the phone call that she’d had on her To Do list that morning.
Instead of turning right toward the waiting room, Adair detoured into the ladies’ room. She found Rexie’s number on her cell and made the call.
The fourth ring transferred to voice mail. “Sorry, I’m unavailable. Please leave a message after the tone.”
Adair disconnected, then frowned. She didn’t want to leave this message on voice mail. And it wasn’t Rexie whose voice she’d just heard. She could have sworn it was Bunny’s voice. Did she have the wrong number?
After checking, she dialed again. Once more it was Bunny’s voice apologizing on the voice mail message. Why hadn’t she noticed that before? Had she ever called Rexie directly before or had it always been Rexie calling her?
With a shrug, she checked Bunny’s number and tried it.
Rexie’s mother answered immediately. “Ms. MacPherson, don’t tell me there’s a problem.”
Good afternoon to you, too. “I’m calling for Mr. Banes
.”
“Lawrence? Then he’s talked to you about not upsetting our Rexie again.”
“Yes, but he asked me to call on a different matter. He’s been in a little fender bender with his car. He has a broken leg, but he’s going to be fine. And he wanted me to tell you that the wedding will definitely happen on schedule.”
“He’s broken his leg?” Bunny’s voce was laced with panic and concern. “I want to talk to him.”
“I think the doctor has confiscated his cell until he’s a bit more coherent. I just saw him and he asked me to call you specifically. But I’d really like to get in touch with Rexie. Since I’ve actually seen Lawrence and talked to him—”
“I’ll tell Rexie. I can handle her, Ms. MacPherson. Talking to her about her first husband just reopened old wounds. I don’t want my daughter hurt again. So you need to devote your full attention to making sure this wedding takes place on schedule, and I’ll take care of my daughter.” Bunny disconnected.
Adair stared down at her phone. Why were both Lawrence and Bunny so concerned that she’d talked to Rexie about Barry Carlson?
A knock sounded on the ladies’ room door. “You all right, Adair?”
Cam. “Fine. I’ll be right out.” She waited until his footsteps faded before she got the number of the Carlson Horse Farm from Information and punched in the number.
After four rings, a female voice came on. “Dr. Carlson is busy with the animals. Please leave a message and he’ll get back to you.”
“This is Adair MacPherson. It’s really important that Dr. Carlson call me. It’s about his former wife, Rexie Maitland. The matter is urgent.” Then she left her cell number.
It certainly couldn’t hurt to find out why in the world Bunny and Lawrence Banes were so upset that she’d talked to Rexie about Barry. Turning, she faced herself in the bathroom mirror.
“In the meantime, there has to be something you can do about the wedding fiasco tomorrow. Think.”
* * *
WHEN ADAIR JOINED the three men in the small waiting room Cam could feel the change in her energy level. He’d been worried about her ever since Daryl had revealed Banes’s real identity to her. She had to be feeling that the sky was falling on her head, and the hell of it was, he hadn’t been able to cushion the blow. Nor had he been able to come up with a better scenario than Daryl’s.
