Covert Kisses

by Jane Godman

  With a sinking feeling in her gut, Laurie studied the newspaper report that confirmed the victim’s identity. The photograph alongside the report showed a handsome, blue-eyed, blond-haired man with a charming smile. Sarah’s words came back to her. Flashing that smile... Of course Deanna could have gone looking for Xavier-Quentin, discovered he was dead and been too embarrassed to return. It seemed a far-fetched scenario.

  It seemed more likely that Deanna had not left Stillwater in search of Xavier-Quentin. Sarah Milligan had assumed that he was the one sending Deanna the flowers, but he was already dead when the last arrangements were sent. Which prompted a new set of questions. Who was sending the flowers? And what did happen to Deanna Milligan?

  If Laurie’s instincts were right—dear God, let me not be right—and Carla and Deanna had been stalked and then murdered by the same man, the secret admirer who sent them flowers, was it possible they were not the only ones? If the link between the two of them had been missed, it was entirely possible other connections had been overlooked. How many other local women had been sent a heart-shaped arrangement of dark red roses?

  Heart pounding, Laurie started another internet search right there. Heart-shaped arrangement of dark red roses. The typed words produced a surprising variety of images. None of them looked like the ones that had been left in her cabin. None of them tied into any of the local florists listed on her laptop screen.

  Picking up her cell phone, she started calling the flower stores. Her questions were the same for each. A friend of hers had been sent a heart-shaped arrangement of red roses that she’d loved. As a surprise gift she wanted to send the same arrangement, but she wasn’t sure where it had come from. Yes, the same arrangement every week. No? Okay, thanks for your time. Her calls were hampered by an annoyingly intermittent phone signal. It hadn’t happened before, and it was just typical that her cell phone connection should keep cutting out now when she was in the middle of these important calls.

  None of the florists had made up the arrangement Carla had received. No one seemed to be commenting on social media about how strange it was they were receiving heart-shaped roses from a secret admirer. She didn’t know what to make of that result. Good news? That sixth sense she’d developed over years of doing this job told her it wasn’t. All it meant was if there was a link, she hadn’t found it yet.

  Three hours later, and it looked like her sixth sense was right. In the last three years, five women—not including Carla and Deanna—all with dark hair and blue eyes, had disappeared from Stillwater. When she widened that search to include the whole county, the number rose to twelve. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Laurie lined up the pictures of the five women from Stillwater alongside those of Carla and Deanna on her computer screen. She swallowed hard, her hand instinctively reaching for her phone. Who was she going to call? Oddly, her first thought had been Cameron Delaney. Good thinking, Laurie. Call the criminal mastermind who might just be at the heart of this. Moreton? If she called in now, she’d be on the next flight to San Diego and would never get any answers. A glance at her phone told her she had no signal anyway. She frowned. That had been happening on and off since last night. It had to be the mountains.

  She forced her attention back to the laptop screen. The resemblance between those seven girls wasn’t just a passing likeness. It was striking. Eight girls, not seven. My picture should be up there. Each had dark curls, bright blue eyes, creamy skin and a dazzling smile. This guy has a type, and I’m it. Her thoughts kept flying off at disordered tangents. Okay, focus. Carla. She was the odd one out. The others all disappeared, seemingly without a trace. Although there was still a long way to go to be sure about that, Laurie’s gut instinct was sending her some very strong messages. But Carla hadn’t disappeared; she had been killed. If Laurie was right, her death made to look like an accident. Why was that? Carla had to be the key to this. Laurie scribbled down a few notes in her unique shorthand, jotting down the names of the missing girls, locations and the dates they were last seen, together with her observations and questions. Technology was all very well, but sometimes she liked to do it the old-fashioned way.

  A knock on the cabin door startled her, and she glanced around, surprised to see the light was already dropping into late afternoon. It was still too early for it to be Cameron. Quickly closing the laptop lid, she checked the window at the side of the door. When she saw who it was, she knew things must be bad.

  “Moreton?” He stepped inside as soon as Laurie opened the door.

  “Pack your stuff. As of now, you’re out of here.”

  “Would you care to tell me why?” She couldn’t disobey an order from him, but she was sure as hell going to question it.

  “You were right about Carla.” He turned the key in the lock, removed it from the door and placed it in his pocket. Gesturing to the sofa, he sat down.

  Laurie joined him. “How did the police miss it?”

  “It was a difficult one. She did drown, there’s no question about it. That was the cause of death. It was what happened to her before she drowned that’s the issue. The coroner documented a number of injuries that were caused immediately before her death, including—and I quote—‘a blow to the back of the head and bruising to the throat consistent with strangulation.’”

  “She was murdered.” Laurie’s heart gave a sickening thud.

  “Not officially. Consistent with. Those were the key words. It was the water in her lungs that killed her. The coroner’s verdict was accidental death.”

  “Someone was on that boat with her. He killed her.” Laurie reached for her laptop and opened the lid, pointing to the photographs. “Each of these women has disappeared from her home in Stillwater over the last three years. Carla is the only one we know for sure has died.”

  Moreton studied the screen for a few seconds, then his eyes went to Laurie’s face and lingered there. Why did she get the feeling he wasn’t surprised by what she was telling him? “There’s a lot more I need to tell you, but like I said, it’s time to go. Right now.” His voice was deadly serious. “We’ll get someone else in to investigate Delaney Transportation as soon as we can, but your safety is more important.”

  She rose to her feet. “Does Mike Samuels know about this?”

  Laurie had never met Samuels, Moreton’s superior in the agency, but she knew his word was final. On everything. Moreton didn’t quite meet her eyes, a fact that did nothing for her confidence. “I’ll fill you in on everything while we drive to the airport.”

  Laurie nodded. If there was a serial killer on the loose and her handler was keeping secrets, she wanted out of here. “I’ll get my stuff.”

  As soon as she got into the bedroom, she took her suitcase down from on top of the wardrobe and started pulling clothes out of the closet. After a minute or two, a sound from the next room caught her attention and she paused, listening intently. Moreton must have been moving around restlessly, impatient for her to be finished. Next there was a loud thud followed by silence.

  “Moreton?” She tried to keep the note of panic out of her voice. There was no reply.

  Was she imagining it, or could she sense a presence just outside the bedroom door? Someone listening on the other side of the wooden panels? Her supercharged perception told her she could hear heavy breathing. Then, just as she thought she might go mad with anticipation, she heard the sound of footsteps moving away. There was a pause, followed by the unmistakable sound of one of the windows being raised. She judged the sound to have come from the rear of the cabin. Quiet descended once more.

  With a cold feeling of dread closing around her heart like icy fingers, Laurie moved across the bedroom. With shaking fingers, she reached into the top drawer of the bedside table. Her hand closed around her gun and she withdrew it, willing her breathing into a regular rhythm at the same time. On silent feet, she made her way to the door and opened it a crack. She co
uldn’t see anything. Moreton was out of the line of her vision.

  Opening the door wider, Laurie gripped the gun tight and slid through the gap into the other room. The sight that greeted her almost made her heart stop beating altogether. Moreton lay on his back in front of the fire. Blood had formed a puddle around him where his throat had been cut. On his chest someone had placed a heart-shaped arrangement of red roses.

  Chapter 4

  Cameron pulled up in the parking lot at the vacation village. He needed to do something about this overwhelming craving to see Laurie. No, it was so much more than a craving. It was a need, an all-consuming desire. How the hell had this happened so fast? He had to restrain himself from jumping out of the car and bounding along the path to her cabin like an overeager teenager. He hadn’t felt like this since the early days with Carla. He shook his head, trying to clear it. He had never felt like this. That was what was so scary. Even with Carla he’d never experienced anything that came close to this restless, burning hunger.

  He tried to place what it was that made Laurie different. It was difficult to explain it, even to himself. She was a woman of contrasts. He could say that with confidence, even in the short time he had known her. She was empathetic, yet practical. Feminine, yet strong. Her feelings ran deep, yet her laughter was quick and infectious. All those things drew him to her and made him want to know her better.

  Sitting with his head bent and his hands gripping the steering wheel, he allowed himself to think the unthinkable. What if there was something in this? If they let themselves explore these feelings? Maybe he could ask her to stay here in Stillwater once her vacation was over. Her work was freelance and seemed like the sort of thing she could do anywhere.

  No! He forced his thoughts away from that direction. He’d come to a decision, and he wasn’t going to change his mind. This was all too much. And way too soon. He’d known Laurie Carter for less than three days and already he was planning a future with her? What the hell was this hold she was exerting over him? It didn’t matter. He’d come here earlier than they’d arranged to tell her he couldn’t see her tonight, and that would be the end of it. No more. His feelings were too fragile. He couldn’t put his heart through this sort of strain, not when it was just starting to recover from Carla’s death. So why did the decision he’d just made cause a sharp, knife-like pain right in the center of his gut and a fresh ache in his heart? That would be because he’d done something he’d sworn he wouldn’t do. He had made himself a promise that he wouldn’t risk another heartbreak. Now, he’d let someone get close...and he didn’t even know how it had crept up on him.

  Purposefully, he climbed out of the car and made his way to Laurie’s cabin, pausing for a moment before he knocked. He would keep his distance. Laurie came across as an intuitive, trustworthy sort of person. He thought she’d understand where he was coming from. Raising his fist, he rapped on the door. Even as he did it, a thought flashed through his mind. Why did you have to come here? You could have called. There was no response to his knock. He waited a minute and then tried again.

  “Who’s there?” Laurie’s voice sounded different. A pitch higher than usual and slightly shaky.

  Cameron frowned. “It’s Cameron. We made arrangements to go on a date. Remember?” She didn’t reply. “Laurie? Is everything okay?”

  “Yes... I mean no.” There was definitely a nervous quaver to her voice. “Look, I’m sorry. Something has come up and I can’t make it tonight after all.”

  Cameron stared hard at the door. Wasn’t this what he wanted? Maybe she, too, was having second thoughts about the speed with which things had moved. Yet there was that something in her voice, something that worried him. Walk away, his sensible self prompted. She’s not okay, his intuition told him.

  Not giving himself a chance to change his mind, he went with his intuition. Reaching out, he grasped the door handle. “I don’t want to intrude, but...” The words died on his lips as he walked into the cabin.

  What had he expected? Perhaps that Laurie would be annoyed with him for presuming to enter the cabin when she had said she couldn’t make their date. That she might be sick. Even that she might be with another man. Never in his wildest imaginings did he expect to be confronted by Laurie standing over the body of a man, holding a gun in her hands. Her white shirt was stained with blood, and her hands were smeared red. Although her face was rigid with nerves, Cameron noticed her stance was that of a professional and the gun was very definitely pointing at him.

  “Don’t come any closer.”

  Still working on instinct, he held up his hands. “What the hell is going on here?”

  “Close the door, please.” Her voice was quite calm now. Cameron followed her instruction. “Did you pass anyone on your way here?”

  “No. No one.” He glanced at the body. “Is he dead?”

  “Yes. His throat has been cut from ear to ear, which means his jugular vein and carotid arteries have been severed. Whoever did this knew exactly what he was doing. They meant for him to die.” Although she spoke in a detached way, Cameron noticed her face blanched as she described the horrible way the man on the floor had died.

  “Whoever did this? You mean you don’t know who it was?” He was still standing by the door with his hands up and the gun aimed at his chest.

  “No.” Her eyes flickered from his face to the body. “My God! Did you think I could do something like this?”

  “I don’t know what to think. Until a few minutes ago I was here to tell you I couldn’t make it later for a burger and a beer.”

  Laurie seemed to debate with herself. Slowly she lowered the gun. “I was in the bedroom packing up my things. I heard a noise. When I came out, I found him like this.”

  Cameron stepped farther into the room, allowing his hands to fall to his sides. There was a lot of information in those few sentences. And a hell of a lot of missing information. “Who is he?”

  Laurie moved into the kitchen. Placing the gun on the counter, she turned on the faucet and held her hands under the running water until the blood washed away. “His name is Moreton. He’s an FBI agent.”

  Things just got a whole lot more surreal. Cameron had to ask the next question, even though he didn’t want to hear the answer. “Why is he here?”

  Laurie wrapped her arms around herself as though seeking protection from a chill. Her wet hands left marks on her shirt. “He’s my handler. He was here because I’m in danger and he wanted to bring me in from the job I’m on.”

  “Are you an FBI agent?”

  “No, I’m a police officer. I was brought in to work undercover for the FBI on a specific investigation.” He thought her eyes were pleading with him for understanding, but it was hard to think straight when something inside him was beginning a slow burn.

  “And what exactly are you investigating?”

  Laurie drew a deep breath. “The possibility that a local transportation company is being used as cover for a human-trafficking and drug-running operation.”

  * * *

  “You came to Stillwater to investigate me?” Cameron’s voice was dangerously quiet. The air felt heavier and statically charged. Although Laurie’s thoughts were racing, time seemed to have slowed.

  “I was sent here to investigate the possibility that your company is being used as the cover for a criminal operation.” The cold, hard look in his eyes told Laurie he knew it was a lie.

  He muttered a curse under his breath. “That’s bullshit and we both know it. If this was about my company and not me personally, why send someone who looks exactly like my dead girlfriend?” She winced at the brutality of the words, and he continued, still with that restrained fury in his voice. “So how does this work? Were you going to get me into bed? Wrap those long legs around me? Get me to spill all my secrets as I was sinking deep inside you?”

  Stung by th
e image, she snapped back sharply, “We were never going to have sex.”

  “Oh, I see. You were just going to string me along and make me think it could happen. Keep me panting after you like a lovesick kid. Was that the plan?”

  Laurie could see the pain in his eyes alongside the anger, and it hurt her. It wasn’t meant to be like this. She wasn’t meant to care how Cameron felt. She’d had enough training to be able to maintain a professional distance. And didn’t she have more important things to worry about right now? Her handler was lying dead on the floor. When he had entered the cabin, he had locked the door and placed the key in his pocket. She had a potential serial killer stalking her, someone who found a way to let himself in here. Yet she was concerned because the man she’d been sent to unmask—the possible criminal mastermind you were sent to unmask—was looking at her with a combination of contempt and wounded pride. She’d caused this man immeasurable pain and she wanted to be able to undo it, but she had no idea where to begin.

  When she didn’t answer, Cameron gave a short, bitter laugh and turned away. His intention was clearly to march out of the cabin and out of her life for good. His hand actually reached for the door handle, when he saw the roses she’d placed to one side of Moreton’s body when she’d tried CPR. Although Cameron’s face was turned half away from her, Laurie saw him flinch. He swung slowly back to face her.

  “Is this some kind of sick joke?” He pointed at the roses, a slight tremor in his hand.

  “I would never do that.” He had no reason to ever again believe anything she told him, but she tried to put every bit of credibility she had into those words.

  He must have seen something in her eyes to at least partially convince him because he moved back toward her. Even so, he looked stunned and disbelieving. “What the hell is going on here?”

  “Those flowers were left by whoever killed Moreton. They were placed on his body. A similar arrangement was left in here while I was at Dino’s last night.”