Still Waters...

by Crysal V. Rhodes

  At this point, Bev wasn’t ready to analyze the change that Ray seemed to be making in her life. Instead, she chose to go about the mundane chore of fixing her breakfast in an effort to soothe the ache that she felt at being apart from him. How in the world had this happened? When had he become so important in her life that she physically ached for him, and how had it happened so quickly? Had she been lonely and searching and unaware of it? She wasn’t a twenty-something girl looking for some elusive soul mate. She had found hers years ago, and they had lived their lifetime. She was too old for this. Her life was full. Her business was thriving. Her child was happy. Her grandchild was perfect. What was it about Ray that made her crave the man so? Maybe she was just horny.

  Gathering her belongings to leave the house, Bev made a decision. She planned on remedying both situations—missing him and wanting him. Dialing her cell phone as she walked out the door, she started the process of closing the distance between them.

  * * *

  After talking to Bev earlier, Ray was walking with an extra spring in his step as he entered the kitchen of the Cameron-Stewart home. To his surprise Mrs. Sharon had stopped by the house to check on him. He now found her standing at the island, engrossed in reading a paper lying on the counter.

  She looked up as he entered. “That’s for you.” She nodded toward a stack of pancakes and a glass of orange juice. Ray stopped short.

  “Mrs. Sharon, you didn’t have to fix me breakfast.” The aroma assailing his nostrils made him grateful that she had.

  She smiled. “I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. You did all of us a huge favor, and it’s the least that I can do. I’ve got to be leaving soon and get back to Salinas to my daughter, so you sit and eat.”

  Ray did as he was told. “Thank you, and congratulations on your first grandchild. It must be exciting.”

  “Yes, it is.” Mrs. Sharon pushed away from the counter. “But we’re still worried since she’s so little. They’ve got her in an incubator.”

  “I’m sure everything is going to work out fine.” Pouring syrup on the pancakes he cut into the delectable offering and savored the first bite. “Delicious.”

  “Glad you like them.” Mrs. Sharon smiled at the compliment as she moved around cleaning up after herself. “I was reading that article that you left over there.” She indicated the one about Stark Enterprises that Ray had printed out yesterday. He gave it a cursory glance.

  “Oh, yeah, I meant to read that and forgot.” He kept eating.

  Mrs. Sharon placed some pots and pans in the dishwasher. “I didn’t know that you knew that man in the picture.”

  Ray looked at the picture of Mitch, Renee, and her husband. “Actually, I only know one of the men, Mitch Clayton. He was Dana’s fiancé.” He knew that Mrs. Sharon knew Darnell’s aunt. “I don’t know the other man. He’s the husband of the woman in the picture, Renee Ingram. I met her recently. She’s a friend of Dana’s.”

  Looking confused, Mrs. Sharon wiped her hands on a dish towel and went to look at the article in question. “Oh, no, I’m not talking about those two guys, I’m talking about that one.”

  Ray’s eyes followed her finger. It pointed to a separate picture, a smaller insert, below the photo of the happy looking trio. It was a single photograph of a distinguished-looking man staring into the camera. The caption below the photograph read Charles “Moody” Lake, former CEO of Stark Enterprises. He looked up at Mrs. Sharon for further clarification.

  “That guy rented the house across the street a few years ago.”

  “That’s a coincidence.” Ray popped a forkful of pancakes into his mouth and chewed.

  “I remember that he came over to introduce himself to me once and wanted to meet Darnell, but I didn’t let him. I think he was a fan. After that I started to notice him when I was coming and going. He would walk down to the beach nearly every day.”

  Ray scanned the article. It was a fluff piece about a charity event sponsored by Stark Enterprises. The information about Mr. Lake was only five lines. “It seems that Mr. Lake met an untimely death. It says here that he drowned while on vacation in Hawaii.”

  “Yeah, I saw that. Poor man.” She gathered Ray’s empty dishes and headed toward the sink. “But I think that they made a mistake about when he died, because the date that they have in there sounds like the same time that he was renting the house across the street. That’s the one that the owner rents out to vacationers when he’s gone.” Rinsing the dishes, she put them in the dishwasher, and then looked around the kitchen. “Looks like I’m finished in here. What time is the contractor due?”

  “Around now,” Ray answered as he finished the article.

  The bell at the gate rang. He and Mrs. Sharon shared a hopeful look, and then turned their attention to the kitchen monitor.

  “It’s my friend Laura,” Mrs. Sharon said, identifying the visitor. “She’s going with me to Salinas.” She started toward the exit, then stopped and looked back at Ray.

  “I just thought about something. What was the name of that guy in the picture?”

  Ray glanced at the caption again, “Charles ‘Moody’ Lake.”

  “Hmmm.” Mrs. Sharon grimaced as she tried to recall the past. “I don’t think that’s the name that he gave me.” She left the kitchen.

  With one last glance at the article, Ray tossed it in the trash. He was disappointed that their visitor hadn’t been the contractor. The sooner the man arrived, the better. Ray planned on leaving for Tiburon as soon as the workman completed his task. After that he would be going back to Los Angeles and back to Bev.

  CHAPTER 17

  Ray was about to leave the kitchen when Mrs. Sharon re-entered, followed by a tall, stately looking woman with an engaging smile. Mrs. Sharon made the introductions.

  “Mr. Wilson, this is Mrs. Laura Smith. Laura, this is Mr. Ray Wilson.”

  Laura and Ray exchanged greetings as he was walking out of the kitchen. Mrs. Sharon called after him.

  “Where is that article that we were talking about? I wanted Laura to see the picture of that man. She’s the housekeeper in the house across the street, the one that I told you that he was renting. ”

  “I threw it away.” Ray went to the trash can to retrieve it. Smoothing the wrinkles, he placed it on the island counter as Mrs. Sharon and Mrs. Smith gathered around.

  “See, isn’t that the man that rented the house a couple of years ago? I only met him once, but I’m sure that’s him.”

  Mrs. Smith agreed. “Yes, that’s Mr. Waters. I’ll never forget him. He was such a quiet, gentle man of great character and charm. He was one of the nicest people we ever had renting the place.” She looked at the caption. “It says here that his name was Charles Lake.” She looked up at Mrs. Sharon, confused. “That’s not the name that he gave us.”

  “I knew that he used another name!” Mrs. Sharon gloated triumphantly, glad that her memory hadn’t failed her.

  “Good going.” Ray gave her a wink and started to walk away.

  “Now this other guy, he used his right name.”

  Laura’s words stopped Ray’s retreat. He turned back to her.

  “What other guy? “ Ray pointed to Mitch. “Him?”

  “No, him.” Mrs. Smith pointed to Russell Ingram. “He was a nice young man, so polite.”

  Ray’s interest was piqued. “You mean he was staying in the house, too? Was his wife with him?”

  Mrs. Smith shook her head. “No, she wasn’t, and Mr. Ingram only stayed overnight. As a matter of fact, he and Mr. Waters went to San Francisco together the next day and Mr. Waters decided to fly back home after that.”

  “I guess business was calling.” Ray shrugged as he opened a cabinet door and withdrew an empty glass.

  Laura continued to examine the article as Mrs. Sharon urged her to look at the timeline for Moody Lake’s demise.

  “Yes, it’s wrong. Mr. Waters…Lake…or whoever was staying at the house then. These newspapers can’t ever get anything r
ight. I keep precise records on everyone that stays at that house, and I’m sure he was with us during this time.” She addressed Ray, who was pouring another glass of juice. “He did leave unexpectedly, that’s true, but…”

  “Unexpectedly?” Ray sipped his juice as he wondered about the contractor’s arrival.

  “After the two of them went to San Francisco together, Mr. Ingram called me and said that some urgent business had taken Mr. Waters back to the East Coast and that he wouldn’t be returning. He sent a courier service to pick up Mr. Waters’ things, and that’s the last we heard from him. He still had a month to go on his lease.”

  “Some people have money to burn,” Mrs. Sharon piped in as she headed for the exit. “Come, on Laura, we have to go.”

  Mrs. Smith followed her. “I’m really sorry to hear about his death,” she said to her friend’s retreating back. “He was really nice.”

  “And nice looking, too,” Mrs. Sharon added. The women left the room tittering in agreement.

  Ray glanced at the wrinkled piece of paper on the counter. It seemed that there had been a bit of intrigue in the life of Stark Enterprises’ late CEO. Maybe he had used an alias so that he could have a clandestine rendezvous with a woman here on the West Coast.

  The buzzer at the front gate took him to the security camera. The contractor had finally arrived. Good! He was more than ready to get this project finished so that he could head for Tiburon. Yet eight hours later he was still in Carmel.

  “He said that he had to come back tomorrow,” Ray informed Thad. He tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice. “It seems that he has to put the finishing touches on the drywall before he can paint.”

  “Aw, man, I’m sorry. I didn’t know that he was going to take up so much of your time.”

  Ray could tell over the telephone that Thad felt bad. That hadn’t been his intent.

  “Aw, it’s all right. I can hang.” He managed to convince himself as he reassured his friend. Ray then called Bev, but got her voice mail.

  “Hey there, it looks like I’m going to be in Carmel another night before I head up to Tiburon, but I’ll definitely see you on Monday. Call me.”

  After ordering take out, he ate his dinner alone in the dining area and later in the evening found himself back on his laptop. After checking his e-mails, once again he looked up Stark Enterprises. The conversation this morning had transferred his interest from Renee Ingram to Moody Lake. What was his story?

  Although Stark Enterprises was not a huge international conglomerate that would draw a lot of media attention, there were a few articles about the untimely death of Moody Lake. In everything that he read, the date of death was consistent with what Ray had read previously.

  Moody Lake had been on vacation at his beach house in Hawaii. He had been seen taking his boat out on the ocean to fish and he had never returned. His housekeeper had reported him missing. His body had never been found. No relatives were listed. Ray wondered who had inherited the man’s estate.

  The article about Russell’s ascension to CEO of Stark Enterprises wasn’t a long one. It mentioned that Lake’s death had elevated Renee’s husband to the top of his company’s pyramid and identified Ingram as a graduate of an Ivy League university. It mentioned how long he had been with the company and stated that he had been handpicked by Lake to take over his position. Russell’s parents were both mentioned. They appeared to be prominent and socially connected. His engagement to Renee was noted, and the date that they were to be married.

  A specific quote from Russell Ingram gave Ray pause. It read:

  “I had just visited Mr. Lake at his home in Hawaii two days before,” the rising young executive said emotionally. “I took him some information that needed his attention. He was so relaxed and upbeat, so happy to be away from the business grind. His death breaks my heart. He was like a second father to me.”

  Ray reread the man’s words, then read them again. If Mrs. Sharon and Laura Smith were correct about the dates that Moody Lake had been living in the house across the street, then Russell Ingram was telling a lie. He knew that Moody Lake wasn’t in Hawaii. He had been with him in Carmel.

  Ray sat back in his chair. What was going on? His cell phone rang and he glanced at the caller I.D. It was Bev.

  “Hey there.” A smile creased his face.

  “Hey yourself.” Bev was smiling as well. “I got your message. So you’re still going to Tiburon?”

  Ray took his glasses off and gently rubbed his eyes. “Yes, I’m going to go ahead and drive up there. I want to check on the house. I’ll just stay overnight and then fly back to L.A. on Monday.”

  For her own reasons, Bev was glad to hear that. “And suppose you don’t want to come back on Monday?”

  “If you’re there, I’ll be there.”

  His words warmed her. “Smooth talker.”

  “I sure am.”

  “You’ve got smooth moves, too.” The thought of them tightened Bev’s core.

  “I’m glad that you remember.” His tone was heated.

  “You’re a hard man to forget.” That wasn’t just a compliment, but reality. Ray Wilson was the kind of man who could leave a permanent imprint on a woman. She could testify to that.

  * * *

  Bev’s meeting with her client had turned out to be an unqualified success. She had presented a win-win alternative to his investment portfolio and he had agreed to stay with her company. Both had left the meeting feeling good about the deal.

  She wasn’t sure that the execution of her next endeavor would be as successful, but her first step was to get the address of Ray’s vacation home in Tiburon. Bev reviewed her options. She could call her daughter and get the address easily, but how would she explain why she needed it? Her budding relationship with Ray wasn’t something that she was ready to share with Darnell and Thad. She could call Ray and ask him the address, but that would spoil everything. She was driving back to her house when the answer to the dilemma came to her. Excited, she parked the car and called his L.A. office.

  “Wilson Associates.” The voice on the other end of the line was very professional.

  Bev was equally as formal. “Yes, this is Beverley Cameron, Thad Stewart’s mother-in-law. Is this Donna?”

  “Yes, Mrs. Cameron.” The voice registered recognition. Bev had been to Ray’s office with Darnell a couple of times.

  “Well, Donna, I need Mr. Wilson’s address in Tiburon. He’s informed me that he’ll be there this weekend, and I would like to send him a surprise for being so nice to our family during these trying times.” She knew that Ray had kept his office abreast regarding his whereabouts. His associates were aware of Dana’s illness, and there was no hesitation on the young woman’s part in providing the information that Bev needed.

  As she pulled back into traffic Bev began to have doubts about what she was planning—a surprise visit to Ray’s home in Tiburon. That was something that she had never done before with any man. She wasn’t certain that it was the right thing to do. Was she being too forward? Would he feel smothered by her sudden appearance? What if he wasn’t alone when she got there? That was a consideration. She had come to trust him, but those kinds of things did happen. Maybe he really didn’t miss her as much as she missed him. She didn’t want to look like a fool.

  A thousand questions filled her mind. Each one tried to fuel her doubt about their budding relationship. Yet as she remembered Ray’s telephone call and the words that they spoke to each other, those doubts gradually faded. She was going to proceed with her plan to visit Ray in Tiburon. Whatever happened would happen. This was one time that she was willing to take a chance.

  CHAPTER 18

  Ray was awakened by the sound of the buzzer at the front gate. It turned out to be the contractor trying to get an early start.

  While the man worked, Ray showered, dressed, and went downstairs to fix breakfast, the articles that he had printed out yesterday in hand. As he ate he reread the quote from Russell Ingram,
curious about the discrepancy in his statement regarding Lake. Something was definitely wrong. Then there was Mitch. How long had he worked for this Ingram fellow, and for Stark Enterprises? He couldn’t remember him ever mentioning either.

  Of course, if he were honest, Mitch and he rarely discussed business. When it was discussed, it was Mitch asking about Ray’s dealings. Being an entertainment attorney was a glamorous profession, and people were always interested in what he did. Ray couldn’t deny all of the amenities that came with his career. They had been exciting when he was younger—the celebrities, the movie premieres, the parties. He was glad that he had chosen the specific career that he did; it had made him a wealthy man. But, as he had grown older, his work had become less of a priority. He was looking for something else in his life. He was looking for a special someone.

  Ray’s mouth turned up into a smile at the thought of Bev. He couldn’t wait to see her. His mind tried to drift to what would happen between them when they were together again, but the scenario was so erotic that he had to force himself not to think about her or suffer the consequences. It was better to return his attention to the computer screen and the growing mystery of Moody Lake, a.k.a. Waters.

  What was Ingram’s lie about? Did he have something to do with Lake’s disappearance? Ray continued reading. According to two eyewitnesses who knew Lake, he had gone out on the ocean alone. But had it really been Moody Lake? Had anyone seen his face? He reread the section of the articles that held the witnesses’ comments. They stated that they had seen his boat headed out to sea. Their comments didn’t reveal whether they had seen his face or not. It was possible that if Lake’s face hadn’t been seen, anyone with a similar build could have posed as him.