Thunder crackled again, and Elizabeth jumped when the lights flickered. Panic skittered along her backbone. The last thing she needed was for the electricity to go off.
She busied herself finding candles and matches just in case. Lighting the long tapers, she shook out the match, then went back to her vigil at the window.
A draft of frigid air pushed through the glass. Glancing down, she saw that the French door had come open a crack. It had been closed when she’d gone to find the candles. Closed and locked. She was sure of it.
The room was getting colder by the moment. Elizabeth tried to shut the door, but the wind whipped it back.
Her heart pounding, she grabbed the door and forced it closed. Turning the bolt, she glanced through the glass. Something was on the terrace. A cloud of mist that remained untouched by the rain. The vapor hung right outside her door, as if waiting for her to open it and let him come in.
She screamed when the phone rang, her heart thrashing against her chest like a wounded bird. Realizing that it might be Paul, she rushed to answer.
“Hello?”
“Elizabeth?”
“Paul.” She closed her eyes in relief. “Where are you? Are you on your way back?”
He sighed wearily. “No, not yet. Is everything okay there?”
Elizabeth’s gaze shot to the French doors. She could no longer see the mist, and the room seemed to have gotten warmer. Maybe he’d gone away….
Her hand crept to her throat. “I need you to come back, Paul. Now.”
“I’m trying my damnedest. But there was some kind of emergency. A multiple-vehicle collision on one of the highways. They’re shorthanded around here, so I’m stuck at the police station until someone gets back to give me a lift.”
“Maybe I should come get you,” Elizabeth said nervously.
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. The weather is really getting bad out there.”
Elizabeth cast another glance toward the window. “I have to get out of here, Paul. It’s already dark, and I can’t…I can’t bear the thought of spending another night in this place.”
“I don’t want that either.” He hesitated. “Is Frankie there with you?”
“No. I called her room earlier, but she didn’t answer. Maybe she’s already checked out.”
“Damn it, I don’t want you there alone,” Paul muttered. “All right, come pick me up. But promise you’ll be careful.”
She closed her eyes in relief. “I will.”
“Do you know how to get here?”
He gave her directions, and after they hung up, Elizabeth blew out the candles, then grabbed her raincoat and car keys. She almost expected to find her way blocked by that strange mist when she opened the front door, but the trail was clear.
Dashing out into the rain, she tried not to look back as she splashed along the path to the shimmering lights of the hotel, almost sobbing in relief when she spotted the valet standing beneath the portiere.
He held an umbrella for her while another brought around the car.
“Take it easy out there,” he warned as Elizabeth slid behind the wheel. “These mountain roads get treacherous in weather like this.”
“I will.”
She pulled away from the hotel, and as she made the turn onto the main highway, a weight seemed to lift from her heart. Glancing in the rearview mirror, she could see the lights of Fernhaven receding in the distance and she let out a shaky breath. At that moment she couldn’t imagine ever going back. She’d pick up Paul and they would just keep driving. They could have their luggage shipped to them in Seattle.
She almost laughed with relief. I’m free, she thought. I got away.
The rain started coming down harder, and she reached for the windshield-wiper control. But the blades started up automatically, and the radio came on, blasting static so loudly that Elizabeth jumped, almost losing control of the car. She tried frantically to turn off the volume, but the knob spun uselessly in her hand.
In between crackles of static she could hear strands of music, something soft and delicate. Elizabeth went cold inside. It was a lullaby, the one she used to sing to Damon when he was a baby. The one she still heard playing in his room when she was alone in the condo.
She began to sense that she wasn’t alone in the car and she let out a sobbing breath.
“Damon,” she whispered.
She could feel him beside her even though she knew he wasn’t there. If she turned her head, the seat would be empty. She knew that. So she wouldn’t take her eyes off the road the way she had that day eighteen months ago. She wouldn’t. Not even for a split second.
His scent rose all around her as the lullaby tugged at her memories. His laughter drifted up from somewhere deep inside her heart.
Mom, look what I made you!
The exact words he’d said to her that day.
Dear God, how could she resist?
Elizabeth glanced at the empty seat beside her. No one was there, of course. She’d only imagined Damon’s voice. Her son was dead. He wasn’t coming back to her….
Blinking back tears, she forced her attention back to the road. Someone was standing on the pavement directly in her path.
A man dressed all in black.
Roland Latimer.
His gaze seemed to burn into Elizabeth’s as he put up a hand to stop her.
She tried to swerve, but the car struck him head-on. She felt no impact. It was as if he’d somehow gone right through the metal.
Screaming, Elizabeth hit the brakes, and the tires skidded on the wet pavement. The steering wheel spun in her hands as the car careened out of control and plunged down an embankment, plowing over rocks and slamming with a bone-jarring rattle into a tree.
Chapter Fifteen
Frankie rushed toward Paul as he came through the glass doors of the tiny clinic in Cedar Cove. “Thank God you checked your messages,” she said breathlessly. “When I couldn’t find you at the cottage, I didn’t know what else to do but call your cell phone—”
“Where is she?” Paul cut in. “Is she all right?”
“She’s pretty banged up, but the doctor says she’ll be fine in a day or two.”
Paul closed his eyes in relief. When he’d heard Frankie’s message earlier, he’d been almost paralyzed with fear. Memories had assailed him. Another accident. Damon dead and Elizabeth in a coma fighting for her life…
It had been the worst day of Paul’s life. He would never forget that first terrible moment when he’d learned of his son’s death. The numbing disbelief followed by the horror. The agonizing pain in his chest that had threatened to overpower him. He still sometimes dreamed about that moment.
And then seeing Elizabeth so still and silent in that hospital bed…
The knowledge that she was clinging to life by a thread was the only thing that had kept him going during those first few days. He’d had to remain strong for her. He’d sat at her bedside day and night, willing her to fight her way back to him.
That same helplessness tore at him now as he grabbed Frankie’s shoulders. “Where is she? I have to see her.”
“I’ll take you to her. Her room is just down the hall.”
Paul followed Frankie down the corridor and into a tiny cubicle barely large enough to hold one bed. The moment he spotted Elizabeth, his chest tightened so painfully he could hardly breathe. Her eyes were closed, and she looked so fragile with all those bruises on her face—
“She’s not unconscious,” Frankie rushed to assure him. “The doctor gave her a sedative. She’s just resting.”
Paul went over and stood beside her. He picked up her hand and held it to his cheek.
Her eyes fluttered open. “Paul…”
“I’m here. Everything’s okay.”
She clutched his hand. “I saw him again. I didn’t imagine him. He was there….”
“Where, Elizabeth?”
She drew a ragged breath. “He walked in front of my car. He tried to stop m
e from leaving. When I swerved—”
“Shush, don’t talk. Just rest.”
“Don’t you see?” she whispered desperately. “He’s not going to let me leave here.”
A terrible dread settled over Paul. He was suddenly terrified—for Elizabeth and for himself. She was right, he thought. Even if they did leave this place, he was never going to get her back. She was lost to him, and she had been ever since their son died.
He stood at her bedside holding her hand until she finally fell back asleep. Pulling the covers up around her, he turned and walked over to where Frankie stood at the window watching the rain.
“What happened?”
Frankie shook her head. “Evidently she lost control of the car on the wet pavement. Luckily another vehicle was behind her and the driver called 911.”
“How did you find out about it? I thought you’d already checked out.”
“I decided to wait until the weather cleared up. I was hanging out in the lobby and I overheard someone talking about the accident. When they mentioned the make of the car, I had a terrible feeling it might be Elizabeth. And then when I couldn’t reach either of you…” She drew a shuddering breath. “I found out where they’d taken her and I got here as fast as I could. Paul, where was she going all alone like that? Did you two have a fight?”
He frowned. “Why would you think that?”
Something glinted in Frankie’s eyes. “I heard about Nina Wilson. It’s all over the hotel. There’s even speculation that she was murdered.”
Paul shrugged. “There’s no evidence of that. The police believe it was an accident. She had too much to drink and slipped.”
“Is that really what they think?”
Paul’s scowl deepened at her tone. “What are you getting at?”
“Were you having an affair with her?” Frankie blurted. “Was that the reason Elizabeth was leaving without you?”
“There was nothing between Nina and me,” Paul said angrily. “Elizabeth knows that. She wasn’t running away from me. She was coming to pick me up.”
Frankie stared at him for a moment, then turned away. “I wish I could believe that,” she muttered.
“I’m not the one who’s been lying to her, Frankie.”
She whirled back to him, her expression outraged. “I’ve been completely forthright with Elizabeth! She knows everything.”
“Don’t play the innocent,” Paul said coldly. “You only came clean when you were cornered. I’ve suspected for a long time that you’ve been playing fast and loose with the books, but I’m only now starting to put it all together. What I can’t figure out, though, is how you knew anything about my work. Who told you about my projects falling through? Was it Nina?”
She started to deny it, but then her chin lifted defiantly. “What if it was?”
“Then you admit you knew her?”
Frankie hesitated. “I knew her slightly. She used to come into the shop occasionally while Elizabeth was still out.”
“I think you knew her a little better than that,” Paul accused. “In fact, I think you may be the reason she came up here this weekend.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Frankie scoffed. “She came up here to be with you.”
“She’d have no reason to think we’d be together unless someone encouraged her. The two of you cooked up a scheme to break up our marriage, but I haven’t quite figured out why.”
Frankie looked stricken. “It wasn’t like that! You make it sound as if I was deliberately trying to hurt Lizzy, and I would never do that. She’s my best friend, for God’s sake. I was trying to protect her.”
“Protect her from what?”
Frankie’s eyes flared. “From you.”
“Elizabeth doesn’t need protecting from me.”
Frankie’s chin came up again. “That wasn’t the way it seemed to me. Not after I talked to Nina.”
“Then maybe you’d better tell me how the two of you hooked up,” Paul demanded.
Frankie ran a hand through her hair in distress. “Like I said, she used to come into the shop. We started talking. When I found out she worked for your firm, I mentioned that I knew you. I could tell by her reaction that something was wrong, so I finally got her to admit that you and she were having an affair.”
“That was a lie,” Paul said in disgust.
Frankie’s expression tightened. “She was very convincing.”
“I’m sure she was.” He took a moment to get his anger under control. “You told her about us, didn’t you? You related some things about our marriage that Elizabeth had confided in you. Did it never occur to you that Nina might have had an ulterior motive for pumping you for information about us?”
Frankie frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I think she was setting up a sexual-harassment suit against me. I suspect she’s done that sort of thing before. And you played right into her hands.”
Frankie’s gaze faltered. “How do I know you’re telling me the truth?”
“Because I’ve got no reason to lie. Admit it, Frankie. It suited your purpose to have Elizabeth believe the worst of me. Anything that would make her less inclined to believe the worst of you, right?”
“It wasn’t like that,” Frankie insisted. “It wasn’t that…calculating. I believed Nina about the affair because I could see how it might happen. You turning to another woman, I mean. You and Elizabeth had been estranged for months. When she told me that she wanted a divorce, I knew how torn up she was about it. I thought that if she found out about you and Nina, it might make things easier for her.”
“So you arranged for that to happen, didn’t you?” Paul said bitterly. “The day the two of you saw us at the restaurant—that was your doing.”
Frankie nodded. “I knew you and Nina were going to be there. I didn’t have the heart to tell Elizabeth straight out about the affair, and even if I had, I’m not sure she would have believed me. She had to see for herself.”
Paul glared at her. “Have you told the police any of this?”
Frankie’s eyes widened in shock. “The police? Why would I talk to the police about this?”
“Right now they tend to believe that Nina’s death was an accident, but if they decide to reevaluate the case, your relationship with her could make you a suspect.”
Frankie gasped. “A suspect? But I didn’t kill her! I swear it.” Almost inadvertently her gaze darted to Elizabeth.
“Don’t say it,” Paul warned.
“But…if she thought you were having an affair with Nina—”
“She didn’t, in spite of your best efforts.”
Frankie didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure? You and I both know she’s been acting very strange lately. Hearing voices. Seeing things that aren’t there. You heard what she just said about someone not letting her leave here. My God, Paul.” She put a hand to her mouth. “And then yesterday at the pool…if you could have seen the look on her face. She almost had me convinced. I even thought for a moment…”
“What?”
Frankie bit her lip. “When I tried to pull her out of the pool, it was as if someone really was holding her down.”
Paul’s heart quickened. “She said her belt was caught beneath a ledge.”
“I yanked the belt free, but I still couldn’t get her up. I know this sounds crazy, but…” Frankie’s voice trembled. “For a moment I thought I saw someone in the water with her. A man…”
Paul grabbed her arms. “Why didn’t you say something before now?”
“Because it couldn’t have been real! He couldn’t have been there one moment and gone the next. He couldn’t have vanished like that unless…” She trailed off on a shudder.
Unless he was a ghost.
The chill inside Paul deepened as he remembered all the strange things that had happened since they’d arrived at Fernhaven. The unnatural cold inside Elizabeth’s bedroom, the accident at the pool, the scratches that had appeared on his neck after they’d made love…
His grip tightened on Frankie’s arms. “I have to go out. There’s someone I need to talk to, but you have to promise me you won’t leave Elizabeth alone. Not even for a second.”
Frankie’s eyes widened in alarm. “I won’t, but Paul…what I just said…you can’t possibly think—”
“I don’t know what I think,” he said grimly. “Just stay with Elizabeth until I get back. Whatever you do, don’t leave her alone.”
“I’VE ALWAYS BELIEVED that some men are born with evil inside them.” A book lay open on Zoë Lindstrom’s knees as a cup of tea cooled on the table in front of her. Firelight flickered in her silver hair, making it appear to glow from certain angles. She looked almost angelic, seated on her sofa talking about ghosts, and as Paul watched her, a shiver slid up his spine.
“Go on,” he said as he left the fireplace where he’d been standing and came over to sit beside her.
“Roland Latimer was such a man. Cruel and cunning from childhood.” She closed the book and set it aside, as if she could no longer bear to look at his picture. “He was from a wealthy aristocratic family back east, and for years they were able to use their money and power to bury his crimes. Shortly after his twenty-first birthday, however, a girl he’d been seeing went missing. Her family had money and connections, as well, and when they started making inquiries, Latimer’s family shipped him off to Europe. He remained there for nearly twenty years, until his father died. Then he returned to Boston to take control of the family fortune.
“Soon after he returned, he met another woman, one much younger than he. Like a true sociopath, he could be quite charming and charismatic when the need arose. He swept the young woman off her feet, but even be fore the wedding she began to experience his cruelty. She tried to call off the marriage, but it was too late. The two families had already merged their businesses, and she was persuaded to continue with the arrangement.”
“What happened to her?” Paul asked softly.
“Somehow she managed to gather her courage and run away from Latimer on their wedding night. One can only imagine what must have happened,” Zoë said with a shudder. “He followed her to Fernhaven, where she’d gone to meet her childhood sweetheart. The day after the fire, her body was found floating in the pool at the bottom of the waterfall.”
The Edge of Eternity Page 17
