by B. J Daniels
Karen took one step and stopped. “Oh, Jack.” It was like a cabin her grandparents owned in the Gallatin Canyon, rustic and very Western, yet homey with old-fashioned furniture, handmade woven rugs, thick slatted pine flooring and a stone fireplace.
“I think ‘Oh, Jack’ means you like it?” he asked, lifting a brow as he smiled over at her.
“Oh, yes.” She moved to a log hutch and ran her hand over the varnished wood. “How did you find this place?”
“It found me,” he said, taking the groceries to the kitchen. “It belonged to my great-uncle. I hardly knew him but when he passed on last month, he left it to me.”
“How wonderful! I mean—”
He laughed. “I know what you mean. The rest of my family thinks it’s a white elephant. They all think I should tear down the buildings, sell the land and use the money to buy myself a nice condo in town.”
“You wouldn’t!” she cried.
He turned to look over his shoulder at her. “I haven’t really made up my mind yet. That was something I planned to decide after I’d spent some time up here and really looked the place over. It would take a lot of work—”
“But it will be worth it,” she chimed in.
He laughed. “Well, at least now I know a good woodworker.”
His gaze warmed her like summer sun. “Can I help you with dinner?”
JACK BUILT A FIRE in the stone fireplace then cooked two thick, juicy steaks over the coals, while Karen made a salad to go with everything else he’d bought for their dinner.
“So what were you doing before you came home to run the family business?” he asked after they’d eaten and had fallen into a companionable silence in front of the fire.
“Finishing up a degree in child development,” she said. “A friend wanted me to teach at her preschool.”
“No kidding.”
Something about the way he said it made her look over at him. He was smiling, his brown eyes warm and full of humor. Oh, what just one look from this man did to her.
“I take it you like kids,” he said, holding her gaze.
“I love kids. How about you?”
He smiled. “Until just recently, I hadn’t thought much about kids of my own. But now that I have, I can’t seem to get the idea out of my head.”
They laughed and talked in front of the fire until the logs died down to glowing embers. The lights dimmed and Jack excused himself to gas up the generator. Karen wandered out to look at the view again.
Jack found her sitting on the stone wall below the lodge, staring out at the lights in the distance and the darkness, deep in thought.
“A penny for your thoughts?” he said, joining her on the wall.
The rock felt cold and rough but it felt good to have something solid under her. “Thinking about Liz,” she answered. “You know, I didn’t really know her but I got the feeling that she was lonely. Maybe that’s why she let this man into her life so easily, too easily. She needed someone to love and to love her. It’s just so tragic.”
Jack nodded. “But isn’t that what everyone wants, someone to love?”
She turned to look at him. His hair shone like autumn wheat in the moonlight, softening his face and making his eyes golden. “I’ve always thought people who constantly looked for love were like lemmings rushing to the sea.”
“Some people are like that. But I think a lot of us are afraid to even hope there’s someone who’s right for us out there, let alone that there’s a perfect mate for each of us.”
She laughed. “You sound like this elderly woman I know. She’s convinced there is a perfect match for each of us, like a shoe that’s missing its mate. Unfortunately, she feels it’s her mission to bring those people together.”
He chuckled. “The blind date?”
She nodded. “I’m afraid to think how many more unattached men she has in her family. She plays dirty, too, using my weaknesses to entrap me.”
“The sign of a true matchmaker.”
“Sounds like you’ve known a few.”
He laughed. “I’m afraid so.”
A silence fell between them. Moonlight sparkled in the pines, the breeze whispered softly in the boughs and the scent of pine wafted along in the night.
Karen had never been more aware of a man. She could sense him next to her as if she were monitoring his vital signs. Something crackled between them as explosive as lightning on a hot summer night. Only this was March and she could see her breath, frosty white, on the night air. But she felt anything but cold. Did he feel it, too? If he did, then he’d want to kiss her as much as she wanted to kiss him.
She sat for a moment just looking out at the valley, then hesitantly glanced over at him. She caught her breath. His gaze burned her with the heat of it. She felt herself start to lean toward him as her gaze dropped to his lips in anticipation of their first kiss.
“We should get you inside,” Jack said abruptly and slid off the wall. “You need your rest for tomorrow.”
Tomorrow. The word broke the spell. She jerked back, pretending to stretch. “I suppose so,” she said, glancing at her watch, unable to see the dial even in the moonlight.
She yawned for good measure, then slid off and stood, dusting her backside, trying hard to hide her disappointment. That had been desire in his eyes, hadn’t it? Or just a reflection? If swamp gas could be mistaken for a flying saucer, who knew what tricks moonlight could play?
Jack showed her to the bedroom, then bid her goodnight and climbed the stairs to the loft.
She stripped down and climbed into the big iron bed, listening to his movements overhead. A strong man. A good man. Solid as gold, her father would have said. Just the kind of man—
She shoved the thought away and shuddered to think what her mother would say. “Nice women are attracted to their doctors, not their arresting officers,” her mother would say. But as Karen closed her eyes, she radiated in the quiet peace of the isolated ski lodge and the fact that Jack Adams was just upstairs. She felt safe. And tomorrow— No, she wouldn’t think about that. Not now.
Instead she’d think about something pleasant. Maybe he hadn’t kissed her, she thought as she drifted off to sleep, but he’d wanted to.
JACK SAT IN THE CHAIR beside the bed, listening to the lodge settle, wondering if Karen was asleep yet. Why hadn’t he kissed her when he’d had the chance? Because he’d brought her up here to keep her safe. Kissing her in the moonlight would have been anything but safe.
He smiled as he remembered their evening together and especially her reaction to the ski lodge. He’d liked this old place right from the first, but his family had all argued that the place was jinxed, a true white elephant, and something he shouldn’t sink any money into but should get rid of as quickly as possible.
The place had been Crazy Uncle Chuck’s dream. Chuck had built the ski hill in the early 1950s, just about the time snow skiing was taking off in Montana. Unfortunately, his dream of a money-making resort never materialized.
The woman Chuck had planned to marry stood him up at the altar. Brokenhearted, Chuck had closed the place before it ever opened. He’d left it just as it was the day he walked out. But while he’d never returned, he’d never been able to part with it, making him appear all that much more crazy.
Fortunately, he’d hired a caretaker to make sure the place was taken care of. But still, it needed a lot of work and so did the road up to it, and as Jack’s family had said, what did he plan to do with it?
He didn’t know. Except keeping it seemed more of an option now. At least Karen thought so. And after seeing her woodwork, he had a great deal of respect for her opinion when it came to fixing the place up. She seemed to like it as much as he did. He smiled. A woman with exceptional taste.
His smile faded as he reminded himself what Karen was doing here. He’d pushed it from his mind during dinner. But he couldn’t afford to do that any longer. He’d promised to take her back to Missoula tomorrow. Back to where the killer would be look
ing for her.
He picked up the copy of Liz Jones’s murder file and reluctantly opened it. A photograph of Liz fluttered to the floor. He leaned down to pick it up, surprised to see that she didn’t look anything like the usual women his partner dated. A pretty brunette with brown eyes looked up at him.
He turned up one of the crime-scene photos, never comfortable with the death and damage he had to witness in his job. He’d heard that Liz Jones had been strangled with her own panty hose. He hadn’t thought to ask Denny about it. But he could see the thin fabric around her neck, drawn tight.
He pulled out the autopsy report. Cause of death: “Blow to the head.” He frowned. Why strangle her, then? The killer must not have wanted to take any chances that she might still be alive.
The victim had also been beaten with the base of a hotel lamp found at the scene. No latents had been found. The killer had either worn gloves or wiped down everything he touched before he left.
But while apparently trying to fend off the killer, her watch had been broken, establishing the time of death. Thirty-five minutes after Karen had seen a man enter Liz’s hotel room.
The brutality seemed to indicate that this had been a crime of passion. The question was: What passion? If Jack knew that, then he’d know who killed her.
Dr. Carl Vandermullen, the jealous ex-husband?
The secret lover she’d threatened to expose?
Or someone else? Perhaps a former lover she’d dumped back in high school?
Jack shook his head, refusing to believe his friend could do something like this. Sure, Denny had a temper and a pretty short fuse, but Liz dumping him in high school didn’t seem motive enough for murder.
If the killer was Dr. Carl Vandermullen, then it could have been over the divorce or maybe Vandermullen had just found out about the secret lover.
And if it was the secret lover? Liz had gotten a room in her own name in a far wing of the Carlton on a floor with no other guests, requesting privacy. She’d been expecting her secret lover when she’d called Karen. A man, the one Karen had seen, arrived while Liz was leaving a message on Karen’s answering machine.
Jack thought it pretty safe to assume the man Karen had seen was the secret lover. Because of the time element with only thirty-five minutes between the moment when Karen had seen the man in the hotel hallway and Liz had been killed, the man could be the killer.
Also from the message Liz had left on the answering-machine tape, it sounded as if she planned to threaten the man with what she’d learned about him. Add to that the exchange between Liz and the man in the hotel hallway. Whoever the man was, he was definitely a suspect.
Jack played the tape again, careful to keep the volume down so Karen wouldn’t hear it. Liz’s voice disturbed him. She seemed to go from upset to angry and vengeful. Karen was right. Liz’s last statement did sound like a threat. Is that what had gotten her killed?
He turned off the tape and closed the file. Liz was dead. And now Karen Sutton had threatened the killer in the newspaper. Jack feared more than ever that the killer would come after her.
He pulled out his cell phone and punched in Denny’s home number. “I thought I’d better let you know, I have Karen Sutton with me,” he said when Denny answered.
“I figured something like that when I didn’t hear from her,” Denny said. “I’m sure you think you’re protecting her—”
“I am protecting her,” he interrupted.
Denny swore. “You’re a damned fool sticking your neck out like this, especially for a woman you don’t even know.”
“Yeah.” Except that he felt as though he knew her, had always known her. But since he couldn’t even explain it to himself, he sure wasn’t going to try to explain it to Denny. “I also have the answering-machine tape. I guess I stuck it in my pocket and forgot about it.”
“Right. Have her and the tape at my apartment by eight in the morning. I hope you know what you’re doing.” Denny hung up.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Monday morning
Jack found Karen sitting outside on the same rock wall they’d shared the night before. He could tell something was wrong the moment he saw her face.
“Wanna talk about it?” he asked as he sat down next to her. He could feel the warm morning sun on his back, that indefinable smell of spring in the air and this woman, making him feel weightless as he glanced out at the open expanse of landscape and sky—then at her. Just sitting this close to her was like sitting next to a bug zapper on a hot summer night.
“I keep thinking about the man I saw—” She frowned in obvious frustration. “If I just had a better description.”
“Don’t worry,” he assured her. “We’ll find him.” This morning he really believed it. Or maybe because of Karen he wanted it so much, it seemed possible. “In the meantime, you can stay here.”
“Jack, I’ve been thinking—”
He didn’t like the sound of this.
“—I can’t stay.” She touched his arm, stopping him before he could tell her how much he wanted her to stay. Her touch was light and quick, but it made him want to catch her hand and draw her closer. He regretted not kissing her last night. Chivalry be damned, he wouldn’t make that mistake again.
“I appreciate you bringing me here more than you can know,” she said. “But I feel too…safe with you, Jack.”
He laughed softly. “Isn’t that a good thing?” Her eyes were the color of forget-me-nots this morning. Bluer and brighter than he’d ever seen them but also more troubled.
“No, feeling safe when you’re not isn’t a good thing,” she said adamantly. “I can’t let you do this.”
“Do what?”
“Jeopardize your career. You should be enjoying your time off, not baby-sitting me, not making me feel…” She waved a hand through the air.
“Safe?”
She nodded but hesitantly.
He wanted to keep her safe, but if she thought she was completely safe with him, she was wrong. After all, he was a man. And she was a woman. He met her gaze. And if this wasn’t sexual tension smoldering between them, then one of them was about to spontaneously combust.
She dragged her gaze away. “After my father’s heart attack, I was scared,” she said, the words seeming to come hard for her. “My mother and I had always depended on him for everything. I was terrified that I couldn’t take over his business and keep it going until he got better, afraid I didn’t have what it took.”
Jack suspected this woman could do anything she set her mind to, but he said nothing as she continued.
“Then when he died less than six months after I came home, suddenly I had not only the responsibility of the business, but my mother, who was lost without Dad. I learned that I was stronger than I thought. I don’t want to lose that strength and the independence I’ve gained. Especially now.”
“God knows I wouldn’t want to take away an ounce of your independence,” he said smiling. “I just thought you might need someone to lean on.”
“No offense, but this doesn’t seem like the time to be…leaning. I need both feet firmly under me right now. Sure I’m scared that there could be a killer after me and I appreciate your help. But I don’t want to run scared, you know what I mean?”
He nodded. He’d run scared a couple of times in his life.
“I also need to keep my wits about me and, quite frankly, Jack, you’re a…a distraction.”
A distraction? It wasn’t exactly the stuff of Romeo and Juliet but he supposed it would do to start. Is that what he wanted? To start something up with this woman?
He thought about it for a full microsecond, remembering that crazy clear thought he’d had last night about her. Even in the light of day it just didn’t seem all that crazy. Yet Denny’s words rang in his ears like an alarm: “She isn’t even your type.”
Maybe he’d never realized before just what his type was. “Karen, maybe it’s time you let someone take care of you for a change. I’d like to, if you’l
l let me.”
Her eyes shone with tears. “Jack, you barely know me.”
He brushed a tear from her cheek. “We can remedy that.” He leaned toward her, slowly, afraid she’d bolt if he moved too quickly.
But she didn’t bolt. She seemed riveted to the spot as her gaze locked with his until his lips brushed hers and she let out the smallest of sighs.
He drew back, his eyes searching hers. Was he losing his mind? Did he care if he was?
She leaned toward him like a tree surrendering to the force of the wind and pressed her lips to his, sweet and soft, moist and welcoming as she opened, a flower to the sun. He felt something inside him open as well and a rush of feelings poured in, drowning him with a need that did and didn’t have to do with sex.
His cell phone rang, jangling them both back to sudden reality.
“It’s probably Denny,” she said, pulling away. She ran her tongue over her lips, looking a little unsteady.
He knew unsteady as he fumbled for the damned phone. “Yeah?”
“Hope I didn’t interrupt anything,” Denny snapped, “But we have a situation here. Captain Baxter got wind of our star witness. I had to assure him she was safe. He’s fit to be tied.”
Jack knew this would happen. Right now, he couldn’t care less. But after the effects of Karen’s kiss wore off, he just might.
“He’s threatening to put me on suspension,” Denny said. “If you’re smart you’ll go on your vacation now and let me handle this. So far he doesn’t know you’re involved.”
“Sorry, I can’t do that.”
“Well, you’ve been warned,” Denny said.
Silence.
“I guess you might as well know,” Denny said after a few moments. “I talked to an editor at the newspaper. Are you sitting down?”
Jack was, but he still felt as though he was floating. That was some kiss. He wondered what they could do if they really put their minds to it.
