by B. J Daniels
“It’s time to go to bed.” He touched her arm. Hadn’t he read that you shouldn’t wake a person who’s walking in her. sleep?
But she didn’t wake. Nor did she fight him. He turned her toward the lodge, then trailed along beside her. Almost home, something must have clicked, some kind of wakeup call. She blinked. “Where—”
“I’m here,” Jake said quickly.
She turned in surprise to see him there. Tears floodedher eyes. “I did it again,” she whispered. “Where did I go?”
“Just down to the beach. I saw you and brought you back.”
She looked down, startled to find the piece of driftwood in her hand, and dropped it quickly as if it were a poisonous snake. She began to shake.
Jake swept her into his arms and carried her inside the lodge and up to her bed. He sat beside her, holding her hand until she fell asleep again.
He took the chair, positioned it in front of the door, and made himself as comfortable as possible. It was going to be a long night.
Chapter Sixteen
Thursday morning, Jake woke to the ringing of a phone. He hurried down the hall to his room and picked up the cell phone. “Yeah?” He could hear a television in the background.
“No inheritance. No lottery,” Tadd said, sounding as sleepy as Jake felt. “No bank loans. Frank Ames couldn’t have bought a candy bar with his earning power before he purchased the resort.”
“Then, how did he?” Jake asked, starting to wake up.
“Good question,” Tadd said. “As long as he put the money down as income on his tax returns, he’s legal and there’s no way we can track it. Hold on.” Jake heard Tadd turn up the volume on the TV. “Lola’s sister lives in Somers right? Glenda Grimes?”
“Why?” Jake asked, afraid he wasn’t going to like the answer.
“Her house is on fire and her neighbors think she’s inside.”
Jake hung up and raced down the stairs to turn on the television in the living room. Glenda Grimes’s home was nothing but a ball of flames.
“What is it?” Clancy asked from the stairs. She still had on her nightgown, her expression worried and afraid. Not as worried and afraid as Jake was for her at this moment “Glenda Grimes,” Jake said, turning off the TV. “She didn’t make it to Vegas.”
* * *
CLANCY STOOD IN the hot shower, letting the water pound her skin. Desperately she tried not to think about Glenda. Had Jake been right? Had Glenda known more than she’d told them? Well, her secret had died with her.
Clancy shifted her thoughts to something more pleasant. Jake. Knowing he was just outside the door gave her a sense of security and well-being. She’d seen her own fears mirrored in his face. Was she next?
When she reached for the soap, Clancy had a quick flash of her shower with Jake. Her skin tingled, and that ache low in her belly almost brought her to her knees. Having him right outside the door made her more aware of her naked body. Having once had it, she now ached for Jake’s touch. She remembered his fingertips on her skin. His mouth. His tongue. The weight of his body on hers. She groaned.
“Clancy?” Jake asked on the other side of the door, his voice full of concern. “Are you all right?”
“Fine!” she called back quickly, and turned up the cold water. Well, he wasn’t going to make love to her until she asked, and she couldn’t ask until he believed that she wasn’t a liar and a murderer. The way things were going she would never know the feel of him again.
When she came out of the shower wrapped in her modest robe, she heard Jake on the phone. He hung up when he saw her. “What is it?” she asked.
“I just talked to the sheriff’s department.”
“Arson?”
Jake nodded. “And deliberate homicide. Glenda was inside. She’d been bludgeoned to death before the fire was started.”
Just like Lola. Clancy clutched the front of her robe, the look in Jake’s eyes making her more afraid.
“We’ve got to find this guy, Clancy. And soon.”
Clancy couldn’t agree more. “How would you suggest we do that?”
He hesitated. “Helen was close to Lola. Didn’t you say they were involved in summer theater together?”
Clancy nodded. “You think Lola might have confided in Helen about this mystery lover of hers?”
“Maybe.” He rubbed a hand over his stubbled jaw. His hair hung over his forehead. He looked as though he hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep last night.
Clancy felt a twinge of guilt for that, but had to admit Jake Hawkins had never looked more handsome to her.
“Even if Lola never told her, Helen still might recognize something in Lola’s keepsakes that at least would give us a lead,” he said, and stopped. “What are you smiling about?”
Clancy quickly looked away. “I was just thinking that I could make us some breakfast while you—”
“Do I look that bad?” Jake asked.
She shook her head. “You look—” Sexy. Seductive. Wonderful. “Fine.”
He grinned. “I won’t take but a minute. Promise me you’ll be here when I get back.”
Clancy had to laugh. “I promise.” There was no place she wanted to be more than with Jake, she thought with a curse.
Jake was as good as his word. He was back by the time she had the eggs and toast ready. He’d showered, shaved and changed into a shirt and chinos. He looked good enough to eat.
“Not bad,” she said, sliding a plate of food in front of him. As she sat across from him and picked up her fork, she realized her sudden hunger had nothing at all to do with food.
* * *
“WE’RE GOING ON the assumption that Teddy Bear killed Lola, right?” Clancy asked as they took her boat to the Bransons’. “And he’s still killing to keep his secret?”
The lake’s surface mirrored the clear, sunny sky overhead. The air smelled fresh and clean. In the distance, she could hear a boat’s motor running.
“Because he’s never come forward, I think that’s a pretty good assumption,” Jake said. “Or he knows who did. I’m not sure how Frank Ames fits into all of this. I talked to Tadd this morning. No one knows where Frank got the money to buy the resort.”
“You think it’s the missing money?” Clancy asked.
“Maybe,” Jake said. “If it is, then Frank had to have someone on the inside embezzling it for him.”
“Lola.” Clancy looked up at the cliffs as they rounded the end of the island. The Bransons’ place sat on the highest bluff, with the elevator Johnny had put in for Helen running from the dock up to the house. There were also wooden stairs that switchbacked up the face of the cliff.
“Clancy, could you see Frank Ames as Teddy Bear?” Jake asked.
Clancy laughed. “Not hardly. But maybe Lola did. Frank would have been a lot younger. From what Tadd said, Frank had a huge crush on her.”
“Yeah, it sounds like she enjoyed attention,” Jake agreed.
“Maybe she encouraged that attention,” Clancy said.
“That’s what I was thinking,” Jake said as he pulled alongside the Bransons’ dock. “Especially if Frank could be useful to her.”
“Like helping her hide the embezzled money?”
Jake looked over at Clancy. “Yeah. Then maybe he got greedy. More than likely he found out she was seeing other men. I mean, Frank’s note to Lola is on the back of one of the cards. Frank could have decided to get rid of Lola and keep the money for himself.”
Clancy tried to imagine Frank’s face behind the motorbike helmet, in the water off the end of the dock as he dragged her under, beneath the sweatshirt hood as he ran out of her lodge. But all she could see was Dex Strickland’s.
Jake closed the door on the cagelike elevator and pushed the button. It lurched with a noisy groan and began to climb. He’d been disappointed to note that Johnny’s boat wasn’t tied at the dock. Jake had hoped Johnny would be here.
The elevator grumbled to a jerky stop. Jake opened the door and Clancy stepped out.
“I
’ve always wondered why Johnny would build up here, especially with Helen’s handicap,” Clancy said quietly.
“You have to admit, it’s an amazing view,” Jake said, joining her at the railing. “And it’s isolated. I get the impression that since the accident they pretty much keep to themselves.”
Jake stood on the top deck. He couldn’t help but admire the Bransons’ house. Johnny had always been a master carpenter, but he’d outdone himself on this place.
It was built on three levels, all connected by ramps in such a way that they didn’t call attention to Helen’s handicap. Along the side of the house were three decks set at the same levels as the house, also with ramps. It gave the place a spacious feel. Each deck had a view, but the top deck, where he and Clancy stood now, was the most panoramic.
They found Helen in the pool on the second deck, swimming laps.
“Sorry, I didn’t hear you come up,” she said from the side of the pool. “I force myself to get exercise every day, and today was so beautiful—”
“Don’t let us keep you from it,” Clancy said.
“No, actually, I was just finishing,” she said, hoisting herself up onto a step.
“Here, let me help you,” Clancy said.
“No.” Helen smiled to soften her words. “I have to do it myself. I refuse to be an invalid.”
“You look great,” Clancy said as Helen lifted herself into the wheelchair, making it look effortless.
“So what are you up to this morning?” Helen asked, pulling a white robe around her shoulders.
“We brought something we’d like you to look at,” Jake said, indicating the small shoe box under his arm.
“Come on in,” Helen said. “I think Johnny put some coffee on before he left.”
They followed her into the living room, which opened up into the kitchen to the left and what looked like bedrooms off to the right. It had that same open, airy feeling inside as it had out A two-way radio near a large window squawked as they went past.
“Where’s Johnny?” Jake asked. “Fishing?”
“No, he had a doctor’s appointment” Helen said on her way to the kitchen. “He hasn’t been feeling well lately.”
Jake saw that Clancy had stopped in front of a glass cabinet filled with trophies. He joined her, noticing a photograph of a smiling Helen beside a balance beam.
“Gymnastics. It was my first love,” Helen said from the kitchen. “Then I got into theater and met Johnny and found my true love.”
Clancy followed Helen into the kitchen. “You and Johnny both were actors?”
Helen laughed and shook her head. “Johnny on stage? No, he built sets. That’s how we met. I’d seen him around at school, but he was so shy. So I joined the drama club, hoping he might notice me. I liked acting, but found helping with the costumes and makeup put me closer to Johnny. The rest is history, as they say.”
Helen poured them both a cup of coffee. “Sit down,” she said, motioning to the table set against the big bay windows.
“I’ve been so worried about you,” Helen said to Clancy. “Have they got any closer to finding out who killed Dex Strickland?”
Clancy shook her head. “That’s why we’re hoping you might recognize something in the box. It contains Lola’s things.”
Helen looked surprised. “Lola’s? I thought all of her belongings burned in the fire.”
“Not everything burned,” Jake said. “Some things were saved from the fire, the rest were in this box of…keepsakes that Lola left with her sister before her death.”
“This half sister you told me about who lives in Somers?” Helen poured herself a cup of coffee before joining them at the table. “A son and a half sister we knew nothing about. I sometimes wonder if I knew Lola at all.”
“Her sister died in a fire early this morning,” Clancy said.
“I saw something on the news, but I had no idea that it was Lola’s sister,” Helen said. “Oh, how awful. What was her name, Linda Grimes?”
“Glenda,” Clancy corrected her. “She told us yesterday that Dex had figured out who killed his mother. We think that person murdered Dex because of that.”
“And probably Glenda,” Jake added.
Helen looked shocked. “You mean, you don’t think the fire was an accident?”
“No,” Jake said.
“Well, I’ll try to help in any way I can,” Helen said.
Jake pushed the box over to her and watched as Helen riffled through the items.
She frowned. “Why would Lola’s sister have hung on to this for all these years? It doesn’t seem to contain anything…important.” She picked up one of the cards. “Teddy Bear?”
“Do you have any idea who that might have been?” Clancy asked. “Glenda seemed to think that he was the man Lola planned to run off with the night she was killed.”
“I knew she was leaving the island, but she planned to run off with some man?” Helen asked, sounding surprised. “That is certainly news to me. Lola seemed to date a lot of men, but none for very long.”
“Glenda thought Lola had embezzled the money from the resort. This man might have been someone who helped her.”
“Lola?” Helen shook her head, her look full of sympathy as she shifted her gaze to Jake. “I know how badly you want to clear your father’s name, but that just doesn’t sound like the Lola I knew. Did this Glenda person have proof of any of this?”
Jake stared into his coffee cup, his mood as dark as Helen’s coffee. “No. That’s why I was hoping you might recognize something in the box. If we could figure out who the man was—”
“I’m sorry, Jake,” Helen said. “Lola never mentioned him to me, and you’d think she would have.”
“For some reason she kept him a secret,” Clancy said.
“You’re sure she didn’t…dream him up?” Helen asked. “I mean, Lola loved acting, playing different roles. It suited her. She didn’t seem happy with real life. Never satisfied with what she had, whether it was a man or a job. That’s why she told me she was leaving the island. She said she needed a change.” Helen took a sip of coffee. “No, if her ‘Teddy Bear’ existed, he wouldn’t have stayed with her long. It’s a shame. She was a very beautiful woman, but so…needy and dependent. That puts a lot of men off.”
* * *
THE SUN HUNG HIGHM in Montana’s big sky as Clancy and Jake headed back to the lodge. Clancy couldn’t help thinking about Helen’s last remark and how lucky Helen was to have a man like Johnny. Clancy doubted Johnny could have loved her more. Just seeing that kind of love made Clancy ache inside for what she and Jake had had.
Jake said little on the boat ride back, and Clancy knew he’d hoped Helen would provide one of the missing clues. Finding the elusive Teddy Bear was proving much more difficult than Clancy had hoped. She wondered if maybe Helen was right; maybe Lola had made the man up. Hadn’t even Glenda said he sounded too good to be true?
Jake brought the boat into the dock and Clancy jumped out to tie it up. She could feel Jake’s frustration. It matched her own. They were no closer to finding out who had killed Dex Westfall, and her trial was coming up quickly. Without some sort of new evidence—
As Clancy bent down to secure the stern of the boat, she noticed something shiny in the water beyond the dock.
“Jake?” she said.
He joined her and squatted to look into the clear green water. “I’ll take a look.” He stripped off his shirt, then slipped out of his Top-Siders and reached for the zipper on his chinos.
“I’m going in with you,” Clancy said, pulling her shirt over her head.
Jake stopped undressing. “You sure that’s a good idea?” he asked, raising a brow. “You wouldn’t purposely try to get me to break my promise?”
She mugged a face at him, slipped out of her skirt and sandals, down to her bra and panties, and dove into the water. It felt cold after the hot sun and the heat of Jake’s gaze. Was that exactly what she was doing? Trying to get him to break his promise
?
Jake did a shallow dive and came up next to her. They dog-paddled for a few moments just looking at each other, neither touching. His bare shoulders glistened, slick with water. They were so close she could feel his legs churning the water in front of her. It brushed her thighs, sparking a need to feel his skin against hers again. Desire flashed in his eyes as bright as the summer sun overhead. In that instant, the water no longer felt cold. Her skin ached, hot and sensitive to his gaze.
He groaned and dove into the water. She followed. Jake reached the bottom first, scooping the object into his hand. He looked over at Clancy and gave her a thumbs-up.
They burst to the surface almost in unison. Clancy watched as Jake inspected the object in his hand, then passed it to her. She stared at the silver watch for a moment, then up at Jake.
“Just as you described it,” he said. “A flash of silver.”
Proof that someone had tried to drown her that night. She smiled in relief and swam to the dock, hoisting herself up. Sitting on the edge of the dock, she turned the watch over in her hand. She heard Jake dive under the water and saw that he’d disappeared from sight. She looked down at the watch; something on the back caught her eye. Lettering. An inscription. She read the words in shock. Then realized Jake hadn’t surfaced yet.
Getting to her feet, she stared into the clear water but couldn’t see him. Where had he gone? She clutched the watch and waited for him to reappear, suddenly worried. How long could he stay under?
Just when she was about to dive in to search for him, he reappeared beside the dock.
“You scared me,” she admonished.
He grinned up at her, his eyelashes jeweled with water droplets. “Sorry. I think I know where your attacker disappeared to that night.” He pointed to the dock beneath her. “There’re large air pockets under here between the flotations where he could have waited until we were gone.”
Jake lifted himself onto the dock beside her, making her uncomfortably aware of how little they had on and just how wet and body-conforming their clothing was. She could feel Jake’s gaze caress her, traveling across bare, wet skin to what was no longer hidden beneath her underwear. The air stilled around them. Time stopped.
