“Hello, gorgeous.”
His voice was deep and sensual, and she enjoyed it every time she heard it. “Have you left San Francisco yet?”
“Tomorrow, first light. Then I’m on the road home.”
“I can’t wait to have you back, Colin.” The thought of him returning to Paradise Valley for good made her heart beat a little faster and a soft heat radiated over her body.
“I should be there by dinnertime.”
“Let’s go out.” Emily imagined a romantic candlelit dinner at a fancy restaurant to celebrate Colin’s return to Paradise Valley.
“No, I’d rather stay in. I’ll be on the road all day. I’d like to have a nice quiet dinner at your place and just be alone with you.”
“You know I’m not a very good cook.” She was good at a lot of things, but there was no denying that cooking wasn’t one of them.
“Oh, honey, that’s what take-out is for.”
Emily couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Well, I’m not that bad.”
She told him about the football party Camille and Jonathan were planning at their place on Saturday and that all their friends would be there. She filled him in on what she had learned about Jethro’s possible connection to Delia McCall and how the mysterious dark-haired woman in the photo with Evan was likely Jethro’s daughter. Wracking her brain for any other news, she was intent on not hiding anything else from Colin.
“Oh, and another thing…” she started to say.
“What’s that?”
“There’s something I’m investigating where I will need to enlist your help.”
“Sounds intriguing. What’s going on?” Colin asked.
“There’s a possibility of a prostitution ring operating around here, and it may have ties to Camille’s neighborhood.”
“Prostitution ring? Boy, that really surprises me. I’ve had some experience dealing with that in San Francisco, but I didn’t think I’d have to deal with it in a quiet place like Paradise Valley.”
“Looks like you may have to.” Emily went on and described her and Molly’s experiences with the suspicious Asians and what she had discovered about their business.
“I don’t understand why you’re involved, though,” he said.
“I’m a concerned citizen, doing what I can. If human trafficking is happening right under our noses, how can I sit and do nothing, knowing what those girls are being put through night after night?”
“Shouldn’t you report what you know and let law enforcement handle it?”
“Without concrete evidence, they’d just laugh at me.”
“You’re probably right, but—”
“Colin, what if someone had taken a girl you knew, let’s say your sister, and forced her into a life of prostitution? I know you’d be the first to jump in to rescue her. Well, those girls aren’t commodities, they’re somebody’s daughters.”
“I get it, Emily. I’ll help in any way I can, just don’t do anything dangerous before I get there.”
~*~
The next day Emily showed up at the Goodwood restaurant at twelve forty-five. She drove around the parking lot, scanning each vehicle until she spotted the black BMW with Virginia plates. She swung her white Volvo into a space a respectable distance away and sauntered over to the BMW, doing her best to inconspicuously slink by it as she stuck a magnetic GPS device to the car’s frame.
Emily casually waltzed back to her car and texted Isabel that the deed was done. Now she needed to sit and wait for Delia to show up. She hoped her little ploy would prove useful.
Right on time, Delia entered the lot and parked her dark BMW. Emily jumped out of her car and headed to the restaurant, reaching the door at the same time as Delia.
“Hello, Delia.” Emily greeted her with a quick hug and pulled the heavy glass door open.
“Oh, Emily. It’s so good to see you.” Delia’s dark eyes twinkled with apparent sincerity.
Delia was a stunning woman in her early forties, dressed in a handsomely tailored business suit in fine tan wool with a fitted pencil skirt. Her dark waves danced around her shoulders as she teetered to the door in her brown-leather designer high heels.
Emily felt a bit underdressed in her black jeans and cropped black-leather jacket over a scoop-necked white sweater. She politely smiled as she held the door open and followed Delia to the hostess station, glancing nonchalantly around the crowded restaurant. She spotted Isabel sitting opposite Jethro, along the window side of the room, with his back to them. Perfect.
“Table for two?” the hostess asked.
“Yes, along the windows, please,” Emily requested.
“Right this way.” The hostess grabbed a couple of menus from her station and led the women to their table, just beyond Isabel and Jethro. Emily filed in right behind the hostess with Delia trailing close by.
Isabel looked up as they approached the table and her eyes widened momentarily as she appeared to try to hide her astonishment.
“Isabel,” Emily said as they walked past, pausing at her table. “What a nice surprise.”
“Isn’t it, though,” Isabel remarked.
“Delia, you remember Isabel, don’t you?” Emily watched Delia’s eyes for any signs of discomfort at being in Jethro’s presence.
“Yes, of course. How nice to see you again, Isabel.”
“And this is my friend. We call him Jethro.” Isabel looked at him, then her gaze went to Delia. “Jethro, this is Delia McCall.”
Emily picked up on Isabel doing the same thing she was, watching for any signs of recognition in Jetho’s expression. Emily noticed a slight flash of recognition in Delia’s dark eyes, but when she glanced at Jethro, he was controlled and unflinching.
Delia put her hand out and he shook it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jethro.”
“The pleasure is mine, Ms. McCall.”
If there was surprise in his eyes, Emily missed it. It could be simply a coincidence they both had the name Banderas. Not every person who has the same last name is related to one another, Emily had to admit. However, if they did turn out to be father and daughter, or related in some way as suspected, there had to be a reason why they worked at keeping their relationship secret. She was anxious to get Isabel’s read on their interaction.
“It was nice to see you too, Emily,” Jethro uttered as the women walked away. Emily chose not to reply, acting as if she hadn’t heard him. The very sight of him brought visions of the man peeking into her windows, and likely being the person who had been breaking in, so it was all she could do to bite her tongue and not tear into him over it. When she had hatched the plan to invite Delia to lunch to monitor her response to him, she hadn’t counted on her own intense reaction.
“You know that man, too?” Delia leaned forward and whispered, taking her seat at the next table, facing toward Jethro.
Emily nodded casually, back to back with Isabel. She picked up her menu and began reading it, not wanting to give away her true feelings. Her cheeks grew hot and the blood pounded in her head sitting this close to her possible stalker. She hoped the heat had not turned her cheeks red. “Let’s see what’s on the menu. I’m starved.”
CHAPTER 10
Emily undid the plastic wrap on the baby back ribs she had brought home from Goodwood for her welcome-home dinner for Colin. She figured she could do an adequate job of baking the potatoes and making a green salad herself, but she knew that man loved his ribs. She rewrapped them tightly in foil and set them in the oven at a low temperature to stay warm.
She had borrowed a box overflowing with strings of white twinkle lights from Camille and strung them around the deck and the garden. This was the first time she had invited anyone out into her backyard since Evan’s death. Until now, she couldn’t bear to be out there in the garden they had designed together, planted together, and lovingly tended together. A beautiful white gazebo sat at the end of the garden, the gazebo that Evan had built for her as a wedding anniversary gift one year.
&n
bsp; When Evan was killed, she could not bring herself to spend time out there anymore. It brought back too many painful memories. She had hired out the care and maintenance of the lawn and the flowering bushes and trees. For the past year, it had been meticulously maintained by The Green Thumb, but no one except the landscaper ever took the opportunity to enjoy it.
A couple of hours earlier, Colin had phoned to let her know when he thought he’d be there. After stopping by his apartment for a quick shower, he promised to rush over to her house. He wanted nothing more than to be with her, he had said.
As she dashed around her house, finalizing last-minute preparations before dressing for dinner, Emily daydreamed about her man walking through the door and sweeping her up in his arms. Thoughts of everything else going on in her life would have to be put on hold. She wanted this evening to be perfect.
She pushed open the kitchen window over the sink to let the cool fresh air into the bungalow before assembling the salad and storing it in the refrigerator. She had already scrubbed a couple of plump baking potatoes, rubbed them with olive oil and sprinkled coarse salt on the outside before setting them on a cookie sheet, planning to pop them in the oven as soon as Colin arrived. Already sitting in the refrigerator was a decadent chocolate torte Camille had prepared for them, as a surprise, garnished with a swirl of whipped cream and a handful of fresh raspberries. Camille had presented it to Emily when she stopped by to nab the twinkle lights.
She set the round patio table with a crisp white-linen table cloth and her best dishes. In the center was an array of tapered candles of various lengths, which were seated in a mixture of different styles of crystal candle holders set among fresh greenery, waiting until the last minute to be lit. The sky on that early September evening was clear with a few wispy pink and gold clouds, compliments of the warm glow of the setting sun.
“Perfect,” she sighed.
She kicked off her flip flops by the back door and padded down the hall to her bedroom to change. A shiver of excitement feathered up her back.
On her shopping trip with Molly the other day, Emily had picked up a new dress to wear for this evening—a short, off-one-shoulder number in a beautiful shade of aubergine. Molly had told her she looked fabulous in it and she had to agree as she studied her reflection in the full-length mirror. She pulled her soft golden curls up into a twist, held it in place with a pearl-studded comb, stuck her dangly silver earrings in her ears, and took a moment to admire her handiwork.
The sun was going down and the house was beginning to get dark. Emily flipped the front porch light on, then turned on lamps in the living room, which cast a warm glow out to the wide front porch. She peeked out the big living room window to see if Colin was coming yet and noticed a black BMW across the street pull away from the curb as soon as she spotted it.
Though it was close to dusk, the street lights had not come on yet. The dim lighting made it difficult to make out the driver of the car, but Emily had a good idea who it was.
Jethro’s back in town. She thought about checking the GPS monitor, but decided it could wait until later, being pretty certain she already knew what it would read. Emily traipsed through the house and out the back door to the deck to plug in the twinkle lights and light the candles. She was not going to let that man ruin her perfect evening with Colin.
She ambled back inside and stuck the potatoes in the oven to start baking. She turned her favorite instrumental music on low to fill the house with a romantic ambience, and she lit the sandalwood candle in the entry. The mood was set. Now all she needed was her man.
A light rap on the front door sent her heart racing. She flung the door open and there stood Colin smiling with a thick bouquet of chocolate roses in one hand. Pure joy spread across her face as he stepped in and drew her into his arms. In an instant, his soft warm lips covered hers in a long, slow kiss. She floated off to heaven. His arms held her passionately against him and she melted into his embrace. She pushed the door shut with her foot and let his kisses close the emotional distance between them.
“I love you, Emily Parker,” he whispered in her ear as he let her take a breath. He tenderly kissed the curve of her neck as it flowed down to her bare shoulder. She was sure his lips could feel the fine layer of prickles that shimmered across her skin, responding to his words and his touch.
“I love you, too,” she answered. What more was there to say? They held each other for the longest time, or at least that’s how it felt. He kissed her again, then released his embrace.
“These are for you.” Colin held out the bouquet of chocolate roses he had brought for her. “I could have gotten red ones, but these will last a lot longer.” There were three dozen of them.
Emily grinned with delight at his thoughtful gift. He knew of her fondness for anything chocolate. She would smile and think of him each time she stuck one in her mouth and thoroughly enjoyed it. She took the bouquet from his hand and pushed up on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss of gratitude, but as soon as her lips touched his, his arms enveloped her once more.
When he let go of her, she drew in a deep breath to steady herself. “As much as I would enjoy kissing you all night, there’s something I want to show you.” She stepped out of his hold and took him by the hand. She led him through the kitchen, laying the roses on the table as they passed by, and took him out the back door to the deck and the garden.
“Is that ribs I smell?” Colin asked, craning his neck as he glanced back toward the kitchen, while she pulled him out the door.
“Yes, but that’s not the best part.”
Holding her hand, he stood still, in quiet awe, gazing across the garden. “Oh, Emily, this is beautiful.” He slowly looked around at all she had done. The table was set for dining, with candles lit, and the garden sparkled with twinkling lights. “You’ve never brought me out here before.”
“You’re right, I haven’t. I couldn’t before. But now, well, I thought it was time.”
“You even put some lights on the gazebo.” He gazed down at her with a glint of recognition in his eyes, and she was certain he understood what she meant by that gesture.
“I see you decided to get a man instead of a dog to protect you, Emily.” Mr. Cooke, her neighbor, was peeking over the fence at them. “That’ll keep those peeping Toms away.”
“What peeping Toms?” Colin asked, glancing from Mr. Cooke to Emily.
“Thank you, Mr. Cooke, for watching out for me. Now, go and have a good evening.”
“It is going to be a pleasant night tonight,” the elderly man replied, glancing up at the sky.
“No, really, go.”
“Emily,” Colin lightly scolded.
“I can take a hint, young lady.” The neighbor chuckled. The sound of the door closing told them he went back inside his house.
“What did he mean about the peeping Tom?”
“You know how someone has gotten into my house a couple of times, looking for something related to Evan’s death? At least that’s what I believe it is.”
“Yes.” Colin crossed his arms as he stared into Emily’s face, apparently waiting for the rest of the story.
“My neighbor saw some guy peeking into my windows one morning and he yelled at him and scared him off. That’s all.”
“That’s all? You say it like it’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing, but I didn’t want you turning it into a big deal, especially since there wasn’t a thing you could do but worry from so far away.”
He gathered her in his arms. “Well, I’m not in California now.” He kissed her neck and leaned his cheek against her temple. “We’re going to figure out who this character is and put a stop to him.”
“Mr. Cooke saw the guy get away in a black car with Virginia plates, which Isabel and I think must belong to our mysterious FBI guy, Jethro.” Emily told Colin about Isabel’s lunch with Jethro that day and how she was able to stick a tracking device on his car while they were in the restaurant.
“Hav
e you been tracking his movements since this afternoon?”
“Yes, but he went straight home.” Emily leaned her head on his shoulder, but pulled it away as she remembered having seen Jethro after that. “Well, that is, until right before you got here. I did see a black BMW on the street when I peeked out the front window, looking for you. I’m pretty sure it was him.”
“But you didn’t see if the tracker showed it was him?”
“No. I’ve been so busy getting everything ready for this evening, then you showed up. You know, this didn’t all happen on its own.” She gestured toward the deck and garden with a sweep of her hand.
“It looks wonderful, Emily, and I appreciate it, but we will have to check that tracker.”
She nodded her agreement. “Later.”
His lips turned up in a mischievous smile as he snaked a hand around her waist and planted another kiss on her lips. “By the way, did I tell you how stunning you look tonight?”
“No.” She dipped her chin and looked up at him through her lashes.
“Well, you do. I can’t take my eyes off of you, Babe, or my hands.” He pulled her into another passionate embrace, standing in the faint glow of the tiny lights and the sun setting at twilight. He kissed her so deeply her knees went weak.
A loud blast emanated from the kitchen, sounding like a small bomb going off.
“What on earth?” Mr. Cooke’s voice could be heard from over the fence.
Emily and Colin shot each other a look of surprise, dropped their hold on one another, and ran into the house.
“What do you think that was?” she asked, her gaze bouncing around the kitchen as they walked through it, making their way through the rest of the house. She ran to her bedroom and checked the nightstand for her gun. It was there, undisturbed.
Colin checked the living room, then the front porch.
Emily looked in the guest room, then met him back in the entry. “I can’t imagine what that was.”
“A car backfiring, maybe?” Colin shrugged his shoulders.
“It sounded like it came from inside the house.”
3 The Chain of Lies Page 8
