by Laurel Pace
Theo seemed relieved by her assurances that the elaborate costume gala would run as smoothly as a modest dinner party for six. "Father will be relieved to know that the costume ball is well under control. They're hoping to take him out of intensive care tomorrow, you know."
Dani hadn't heard the good news, but she was glad that the elder Boynton's condition was improving. "Please tell him not to worry about a thing." She took a last glance around the ballroom before tucking the pen and paper into her bag. "I believe you've answered all my questions. Can you think of anything else we need to discuss before the event?"
"Well, yes, now that you mention it. As you know, we're trying to make as much of the Halloween theme as possible. There will be awards for most creative disguise, most unusual costume and so on. To add a bit of spice, we've persuaded the Exchange to include our guests in their annual Halloween tour of the Provost Dungeon. According to legend, a few of the dungeon's former occupants still put in an appearance on All Hallow's Eve." Theo's smile was slightly impish. "The Exchange has volunteers dressed up as historical ghosts wandering about carrying candles on Halloween night. These Ghostly Guests, as they're called, will greet our revelers, so it should be great, spine-tingling fun. Food and drink won't be permitted in the dungeon, but you know how people are. A few guests are bound to forget the rules and leave some napkins and empty cups down there. I'd like for your crew to help police the dungeon after the ball is over, just to make sure the place is tidy."
"I'll add the dungeon to my post-party clean-up checklist," Dani assured him as she followed him to the door.
Theo gave her a sidelong glance. "Have you ever visited the Provost Dungeon?"
Dani shook her head. "No. It's one of those hometown tourist attractions I've never gotten around to seeing."
"Would you like to have a look now?" With his hands clasped behind him, Theo looked like a smooth-faced little boy making a dare. "It's really quite fascinating."
Given her current frame of mind, Dani could think of at least a million curiosities she would rather see than a purportedly haunted dungeon. Theo seemed so keen on giving her a quick tour, however, she would have a hard time declining his offer without appearing ridiculously superstitious. "Okay, if you have the time."
"I'll make time," Theo told her over his shoulder as he led the way downstairs. He smiled and nodded in his deft political way to the security guard they passed on their way down the second flight of stairs. "We'll only be a few minutes, George."
"Take your time, Mr. Boynton." The man's words sounded hollow and remote, as if he were calling down to them at the bottom of a well.
It would have been hard to imagine a more stark contrast than that between the light, airy Colonel Hall and the murky, oppressive dungeon lurking beneath it. A damp chill seemed to emanate from the ancient stone walls, along with a musty odor that was hard to place and all the more disquieting. The area was divided into a series of alcoves formed by brick columns arching into the low, vaulted ceiling. Dark pockets of shadow filled the arches, encroaching on the skimpy light.
"Isn't this spooky?" Theo gleefully eyed the musty bricks curving over his head.
"Very." Dani hung back by the door, instinctively clinging to the vestige of adequate light.
"Come on. I'll show you where they kept pirates chained up." Although the ceiling cleared his head by a generous margin, Theo stooped slightly as he disappeared behind one of the columns.
Dani took a few reluctant steps into the cavemlike chamber. She didn't believe in ghosts, of course. But her experiences during the past few days had left her with a marked distaste for ill-lighted places. This is just a museum. Theo is the only other person here, and whatever his faults, he's certainly harmless enough. Dani was almost embarrassed by the compulsion to repeat these reassuring facts.
"Theo?" In his schoolboy eagerness, the young attorney had quickly outpaced the less-enthusiastic Dani. Already she had lost sight of him among the beehive nooks shaped by the arches. She bit her tongue, stifling the urge to call to him a bit more loudly.
Dani peeked around one of the arches and instantly jumped back. "Oh!" she gasped, and then caught herself. The figure shackled to the foot of the pillar was only a mannequin dressed in the uniform of a British redcoat, but her heart was still palpitating long after she had sidestepped the inanimate form.
Theo must have heard her cry out, for he immediately emerged from the next alcove. "They're awfully lifelike, aren't they?" He glanced down at the hapless redcoat. "Here's tine pirate I was telling you about."
Dani followed his beckoning and peered into the next alcove. "He does look almost real," she agreed, giving the chained pirate an appreciative enough inspection to placate Theo. She stooped to lightly touch the pirate's homespun jerkin.
The sound of unruly young voices and many feet scuffling down stairs carried into the dungeon's somber recesses. "Sounds like a school group is about to descend on us," Theo commented under his breath. "I guess we'd better get out of their way."
Dani followed Theo back to the entrance, letting him push a path through the horde of youngsters trying to press through the door all at once. When they reached the street, Dani politely thanked Theo for his tour of the dungeon and promised to touch base with him again on Monday morning in case there were last-minute changes in the event's schedule.
She had let herself deteriorate into a more neurotic mess than she had suspected if a museum exhibit calculated to delight children had left her feeling this jittery, Dani told herself on the way back to her house. Her nerves were like a raw wound, able to make her wince under the slightest pressure. Thank God, she didn't have a function to cater that evening! Never before had she felt such a desperate need to retreat into her quiet, serene home, to shut out, at least for a few hours, a world that was taking on an increasingly hostile aspect.
As Dani pulled into the driveway, she acknowledged the one person who would have been welcome in her home that evening. She could, of course, call Ken, try to explain how she had felt last night, make a stab at reconnecting the broken lines of communication. Dani realized that much of her hesitancy stemmed from uncertainty about Ken's reaction. He had suffered severe rejection as a child. Who was to say how he might respond to her now that she had refused his comforting? She could imagine nothing worse than seeing him again, only to find him friendly in a casual, distant way, the intimacy between them hopelessly damaged.
Dani was pondering the disjointed turn their relationship had taken as she walked to the curb to check her mailbox. The usual jumble of junk mail—pizza delivery flyers, magazine-subscription offers and coupon packages—filled the black metal box. "Occupant. Occupant." Dani read the computer-generated address labels as she pitched the unopened envelopes into the garbage can. "Miss Danielle Blake." She paused over a plain white, business-size envelope. Not even her creditors called her Danielle. She turned the envelope over, vainly searching for a return address. There was none. On closer inspection, she noticed that the stamp had not been canceled.
Another of those unsteady, apprehensive feelings surged through her, undermining her fingers' efforts to slit open the envelope. She found a single sheet of white typing paper, folded twice, inside the envelope. When she opened the letter and saw the hodgepodge of unmatched letters pasted to the paper, her head began to swim. For a moment, she couldn't focus her eyes well enough to read the crude message spelled out on the page.
Mind your own business. Let well enough alone. You cannot change the past. Keep your secret well if you want to see the future.
WHEN KEN SAW the police car pulled up in front of Dani's condo, he panicked. Never mind that an actively dangerous situation—and certainly a homicide—would have warranted at least two cruisers, the official vehicle with its no-nonsense, black-wall tires was enough to hurl him into a paroxysm of fear. He parked clumsily, the rear half of his rental car still jutting into the street, and scrambled from behind the wheel. His heart was pounding as he cut across the law
n to the front porch. The door opened just as he was about to press the buzzer.
"Ken!" Dani looked as relieved to see him as he was to find her on her feet and apparently unharmed.
Officer Joe Simpson's nod of greeting was friendly, if more reserved. The police officer followed Dani out the front door, anchoring his cap on his head as he cleared the threshold.
"What's happened?" Ken asked. To judge from the tense expressions on both Dani's and Simpson's faces, the answer could not be good.
Simpson held up a plastic bag containing a folded piece of paper. Opening the bag, he carefully removed the paper and unfolded it for Ken to read the primitively lettered message. "Looks like someone's been playing cut and paste again," he remarked drily.
"I found it in my mailbox when I got home this afternoon," Dani explained. Ken could tell she was making a mammoth effort to keep her voice steady.
"I'll have a patrol car keep an eye on your house, Miss Blake," Simpson assured her as he resealed the plastic bag. "And remember, if you notice anything that makes you feel even a little uneasy, don't hesitate to pick up that phone."
"I will," Dani promised. The brave little smile she gave the departing policeman tore at Ken's heart. After Simpson had climbed into his patrol car, she turned to Ken. "I—I wanted to call you. Listen, about last night, uh, I'm sorry if I seemed like a real basketcase. It was all so..." Her small hands rose in a helpless gesture.
Ken took one of her hands and gently guided her back into the condo. "You don't have to explain anything, Dani." Enfolding her in his arms, he nudged the door shut with his foot. Only when he pulled her close to him did he realize that she was trembling. "There, sweetheart. It's going to be okay." His lips grazed her forehead. Then he rested his cheek against the top of her head, rocking her slowly back and forth.
"Oh, God! I'm glad you're here." Her arms closed around him with a ferocity that almost made him wince.
"I'm here and I'll stay as long as you need me, as long as you like." Ken cradled her head against his chest as he led her to the living room. They sank down into a corner of the sofa. Dani pulled her legs up, snuggling into the protective nest of his arm.
He let her talk, gently caressing her hair as she poured out the pain she had been unable to share with him last night. He listened without commenting to her account of the meeting with Sapphira. Whatever the significance of the encounter at Patriots Point, Ken had no desire to ask questions or draw conclusions at this point. Right now, he was unconcerned with the case, with clues, with the whole frustrating investigation. His only care was for the sensitive woman curled inside his embrace; her needs were all that mattered.
After a time, she fell silent and Ken noticed that the shivering that had rippled through her slender body had subsided. "It feels so good to be here together." She shifted her face against his chest to look up at him. In the muted light filtering through the drawn blinds, her hazel eyes reminded him of two smooth, marbled stones glistening in a pool of clear, fresh water.
Ken bent to kiss first one eye, then the other, closing them with his lips. He shut his own eyes, surrendering to the delicious, tactile sensations freed by his blocked vision. His hand found its way to her cheek; for a moment, he let his fingers savor the liquid softness of her skin, tracing the delicately sculpted framework beneath it. Then his hand drifted across her nose and down the upturned peaks of her lips. He felt her mouth move against his palm, planting dewy kisses on the coarser-textured skin.
Dani's hands were exploring his face now. For a moment, Ken was so distracted by their insinuating touch, he could do nothing but revel in the soft fingertips tripping from his temple to his ear and down his neck. An electric shiver tingled through him as she stroked his shoulders, letting her hands slip into the warm, hidden region beneath his open shirt collar.
A shudder of desire gripped him, startling not only in its intensity but in the complexity of its source. He had never wanted a woman the way he wanted Dani right now, wanted her whole being, her tender heart, her strong spirit, her gentle soul every bit as much as he wanted her exquisitely beautiful face and body. And in yearning for her so completely, Ken realized that he was discovering a part of himself that had lain fallow for many long, lonely years: the part of him that could love.
"I want to make love to you, Dani." His whispered desire brushed her cheek like the feather-light flutter of a hummingbird's wing.
"And I want to make love to you." Dani was surprised by the frankness of her response, how unselfconscious she felt with their increasing intimacy. Trust. That was the magic ingredient that elevated their relationship above a mere physical attraction with all the attendant uncertainty.
There was no need for words as they rose from the sofa and walked hand in hand to the bedroom. They stood next to the bed, holding each other, experimenting with the taste and texture of a kiss. The subtle light from the shaded window cast a soft imprint of their embrace onto the quilted coverlet. The muted silhouette swayed against the pastel background, the shadow of hands following the contours of their bodies. Gradually, the outline of their fforms grew sharper, free of the cocoon of clothing blurring it.
Ken's palm began a slow passage down her back, leaving a ripple of delightful sensations in its wake. When his hand reached a barrier hindering its progress, it glided beneath the bra to loosen the taut elastic. Dani instinctively pressed against him, responding to the fingers working their way around her rib cage. She moaned softly, nuzzling his chest as his hands slid between her breasts and the lacy bra cups. His fingers massaged her breasts, moving in ever-smaller concentric circles until they reached her rigid nipples. He withdrew his hands, but only long enough to unfasten the bra clasp nestled in her cleavage.
Her senses had been so captivated by the delectable activity of his hands, Dani had been content only to clasp Ken's neck while his fingers worked their magic. Now, however, her hands began an exciting investigation of their own, letting the intriguing contours of his body dictate their path. First, they caressed the cord of muscle sloping from his neck to his shoulders. Next, they wandered over the well-defined biceps, then detoured to the lean rib cage. When she began to stroke his sides, he pulled her to him, pressing her breasts against his bare midriff.
Still molded against each other, they sank onto the bed. Ken rolled onto his side and then loosened his hold on her slightly. "You're so beautiful," he murmured as his hand drifted into the dip of her waist and then over her hip's curve. Dani gasped with pleasure when his touch grew firm, pulling her hips parallel with his own.
The passion that had been kindled inside them flared, sending a thousand sparks of ecstasy radiating through every fiber of their bodies. As their lovemaking reached its rapturous peak, Dani gazed into Ken's eyes and saw the tiny image of her own face residing in the dark blue mirrors. I am now a part of you, just as you are now a part of me. The thought settled over her like a soft, sun-filled cloud, filling her with an immeasurable happiness as they drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.
Chapter Fifteen
Dani languidly stretched her legs, easing them out of the warm crevice formed by Ken's bent knees. She had no idea how long she had slept, and right now, the effort required to check the time seemed hardly justified. The flare of Ken's shoulder rose next to her cheek, blocking her view of the bedside clock. Rather than risk waking him—or rousing herself from the seductively comfortable spot next to him— Dani decided to stay put for the moment. Only when his shoulder shifted did she make an effort to crane toward the clock.
"I didn't mean to wake you." Dani's smile drew into a kiss as her mouth grazed Ken's conveniently positioned cheek.
Ken reciprocated the kiss with relish. "You didn't. I've been awake for about twenty minutes, but I didn't move for fear of disturbing you. Of course, I wasn't all that uncomfortable." His hands snuggled around her waist, pulling her closer to him.
Dani gave him a teasing grin along with a light kiss on the tip of his nose. "So you were just goi
ng to let me lie here forever, thinking you were asleep?"
"Not forever." Ken's thumbs kneaded the points of her hip bones suggestively. "I guess you and I need to find a better way to communicate."
"I didn't hear any complaints last night." Dani cuddled against him, happily locking her wrists behind his neck. "What time is it anyway?"
"Dinner time." Ken held up his arm, offering her a look at his watch. "Would you like to get up, shower, dry your hair, get dressed, climb in the car, drive downtown, find a parking place, go into a restaurant, pore over a menu, wait for our order and have dinner? Or should we just phone and have some Chinese food delivered?"
Dani pretended to frown. "Gee, that's a tough one!" She ruffled his hair as she sat up in bed. "I'll get the Golden Dragon's take-out menu." She padded to her closet and threw on her robe before going to the kitchen. When she returned to the bedroom, Ken had pulled on his twill slacks and was peeping behind the window shade.
"Do you see something?" Dani froze by the bed, suddenly tense.
Ken reached for the drapery cord and tugged the curtains shut. "Just a patrol car driving past." He walked to Dani's side and put his arm around her shoulders, giving her a reassuring hug. "I've dealt with a lot of cops, enough to know a good one when I see him. Joe Simpson is a straight-ahead guy. He'll have so many cruisers in this area, the newspaper carrier won't be able to slip through their net."
