Mystery: Double Cross - The Davenport Mysteries (Suspense novel series of adventure mystery books and Crime mystery thrillers)

by V. S. VASHIST

  Suddenly, Jake remembered something. He loosened his grip around her.

  “What happened? It feels so nice,” she said while opening her eyes.

  “Nothing,” Jake said while stepping aside.

  Natalie couldn’t understand. She looked at him with question-filled eyes.

  “It’s just that you’re too vulnerable right now,” he said in a brittle voice.

  “No, I am not,” she pleaded. “You’re reading too much into it.”

  He came near her and held her face in his palms,” Natalie, you are a really nice person. You should stay away from people like me.”

  She could not understand. He stepped back and left at once. She kept looking at him with tear-filled eyes. She was not able to understand the sudden change in his demeanor.

  Jake kept tossing and turning in his bed. He could not believe himself. This was not him. He never felt so guilty about earning trust from women and then exploiting it. This was a game for him. But today, he felt different. He felt as if he was doing a crime. He had done this so many times, but Natalie was different. The moment he saw her, he thought her to be some rich, lonely housewife or a gold digger who had earned the lake house as alimony. To add fuel to the fire, she was the one who approached him first. He was thinking of her as someone who wanted to have fun with some stranger. But after knowing about her, he felt so small. Not only she was a self-made woman, she had no air about it. She was a kind-hearted person who had opened her soul to him and he was about to betray that trust.

  He closed his eyes, but was not able to get her image out of his mind. It was going to be really awkward facing her again, he thought. But he had made the right decision before the things got too complicated. This thought gave him some strength.

  He looked at his watch. It was two in the morning. He closed his eyes one more time.

  Jake’s sleep was broken by the loud knocking at the door. It took him a moment to open his eyes. He sipped water from a bottle and looked at his watch. It was quarter to nine. He was never that late to get up. He got up immediately and splashed some water on his face. Suddenly, he remembered the knocking at the door.

  As he opened the door, he saw the painter walking back towards his truck.

  “Hey!” Jake called and walked towards him.

  The painter turned around. “I thought no one was in.”

  “I’m sorry. I did not hear the knock,” he said while sipping water.

  “Must be very thirsty after all the drinking,” the painter remarked while looking at him.

  “What?” Jake said with surprise.

  “You people come here for peace and then get bored. Gary is one lucky guy,” he said with a smirk-filled face.

  “Who’s Gary?” Jake asked with surprise. He was already upset about the other night, and now the painter was getting onto his nerves.

  “Whatever.” The painter shrugged his head and walked towards the house.

  “I hope your hands work as fast as your tongue,” Jake said with bitterness.

  The painter did not pay heed to his words and kept walking. Jake followed him. As he was about to open the door, he stopped for a moment. He turned around and looked towards Natalie’s house. He noticed Natalie coming out on the porch. As their eyes met and Jake noticed that they were as sad as he had left her yesterday, he forgot about the promises that he had made with himself. He did not think twice and almost ran towards her.

  Natalie did not move an inch from her place. Her eyes were fixed on Jake and her heart was pounding like an engine. Jake threw the bottle away as he reached her and hugged her with all the passion that he had tried to control unsuccessfully. Natalie buried her face in his chest. Both forgot what time of day it was and where they were standing.

  They stood there motionless for minutes. Suddenly, he remembered what he had thought in the night. He realized that there were things about him that she did not know and she had fallen for someone else. He loosened his grip and thought of stepping back, but she tightened her grip. She had lost enough of her close ones and any ray of hope that she got, she did not want to escape from her grasp. The thought brought tears in her eyes, how helpless and vulnerable she was. Jake felt the wetness on his bare chest and lifted her face from the chin. Her face was flushed red and eyes moist. Looking at her face, the only thought that crossed Jake’s mind was to keep her safe and never let go. He tightened his grip again.

  “I am here for you, always,” he whispered, knowing that he was lying, but he did not want to see tears in her eyes again.

  She looked at him with a smile and then buried herself against him again. As the sunrays hit the walls of the lake house, they came to senses. People in the lake had started to notice them. Jake and Natalie looked at each other and smiled.

  “I’m famished,” Jake said with a smile.

  Natalie held out her hand. Jake looked at it for a moment and then took it. As her soft and warm fingers wrapped around him, he felt as if there was no other thing in the world that mattered to him. He was willing to go wherever she wanted to take him—no questions asked.

  “I’ll get us something to eat,” she said as they entered the hall. Jake left her hand reluctantly. She gave a warm smile and walked towards the kitchen.

  Jake looked around and was awestruck by the collection of paintings and antiques adorning the walls. Each wall had a different theme and a different collection. The paintings looked so genuine that he could not control himself and thought of checking them. He looked towards the kitchen. Her back was towards him. He looked one more time and once assured, walked toward the wall adjacent to the main door.

  There was a fresco surrounded by two large vases that themselves looked from the Renaissance period. For a moment he felt as if it was an original. However, a closer look told him that it was painted recently. The smell of the oil paint was fresh enough to give away the imitation.

  Similarly, the vases were also imitations.

  “They look real, don’t they,” Natalie said from behind, startling him. Jake immediately removed his fingers from the vase. She was holding a tray of coffee and pancakes.

  “Oh … no. I mean, yes. For a moment, I thought it to be real,” he said sheepishly.

  “I noticed the way you were checking the paint,” she said while setting the tray on the table. “You seem to have good knowledge of art.”

  “I have some collection back home. That’s why,” Jake blurted out another lie, much to his chagrin.

  “Another facet of your life I was not aware of,” she said while sitting beside him.

  “Well … we have many things in common, I would say,” Jake tried to cover up.

  She passed the pancakes to Jake, who took a bite immediately before she could ask anything else for which he had to lie again. However, he forgot everything after the bite. They were exactly the same as his mother used to make for him. “You can’t meet anyone perfect than her,” he murmured.

  Natalie looked at him. “Did you say something?”

  “These pancakes are out of this world. I can eat these for the rest of my life,” he said before realizing what he meant.

  Natalie’s face turned red. “I’ll get us some more coffee.”

  Jake looked at her as she entered the kitchen. He smiled at the thought of what he had said. His whole life had changed in a matter of a few hours and he wanted it to stay just like that.

  Chapter 3

  “Selling fake paintings is illegal, isn’t it?” he asked while sipping the coffee.

  “Only if it is an imitation of something famous. All these paintings are originals made by lesser-known artists. People who want to have classy interiors at much lower prices are our clientele.” Natalie explained.

  Jake nodded. “For a moment I thought it to be an original Fresco.”

  “But you caught it. You have an eye for the art. I am impressed,” Natalie said with admiration.

  I have been doing this for a year, but it has benefited me now. Jake smiled. This broug
ht him back to the reason why he was suspended. He needed to check with Kiara if there was any progress on the case. He knew, even after being removed from the case, that she would have all the intel.

  “What are you thinking?” Natalie asked while pressing his hand.

  “I … I was thinking of having a tour of your collection,” he said at once.

  “Sure. But remember, these are not my collections. These are the displays for my prospective clients. If you want, you can take anything. I won’t charge you,” she said while getting up.

  Jake smiled back. He thought of forgetting about the case and diverting his attention on Natalie. Had he known her earlier, he might have taken her advice on the case. But for now, he was a corporate lawyer.

  Natalie had a huge collection of paintings, vases, and jewelry. She indeed was running her business from here. And from the look of samples, Jake was sure that she had an impressive group of artist working for her.

  While going around the hall, Jake happened to notice something on the table near the fireplace. It was the same ring that he had seen in Pablo’s shop.

  “Of all the collection, I must say the jewelry is the most impressive one,” he said and walked across toward the box of the ring. “I mean, look at this. It looks so real that anyone can get fooled.”

  “I am glad you liked it,” Natalie said while walking towards him.

  Jake kept the ring inside the box and turned towards her.

  “Enough of the tour: let’s go and take a dip in the lake,” he suggested while gazing out from the window. The sun was already a quarter of the way from the horizon, warming up the air.

  Natalie was taken aback. She looked a bit hesitant.

  “This is one of the ironies of my life,” she said with a frail voice. “I am allergic to the lake water.”

  “What?” Jake said with surprise. “Then why did you buy a lake house?!”

  Natalie waved her hands in the air. “I have no explanation for that. I liked the view, the freshness in the air and the beautiful sunsets, maybe.”

  Jake’s unhappiness was clearly visible. He had planned for a swim with her for a specific reason. It would have helped him to know her even better and might have brought them even closer. Natalie noticed that on his face.

  “Well … I can watch you swimming?” she offered and smiled. Her smile brought smile back on Jake’s face.

  As they stepped out, Jake remembered something.

  “I will need a towel. Let me get it,” he said and walked towards his cabin.

  “Wait, I’ll get it,” Natalie said and went inside. Jake followed her.

  “Here you go,” she said and slid her fingers over Jake’s hand while passing the towel. Jake smiled back and took it.

  Once on the dock, Jake looked around. The day had come up beautifully. He marveled at the view of the lake with mountains making the background, just like one of the paintings he had seen inside.

  The weather was nice during the day, but the air from the surrounding mountains carried a chill during the evenings. This was a perfect time for a swim, he thought. He removed his sweatshirt and jeans. From the periphery of his eyes, he noticed Natalie checking him out. He thanked Kiara for pushing him for the workouts. We have to outsmart the thieves in every department, she used to tell.

  He ran a short stretch and then jumped to the water. Natalie also walked to the end of the dock to see where he had gone. She could see his outline in the lake water.

  It took him a moment to resurface and to know that his assessment was not entirely correct. The water was much colder than he anticipated, giving him a cold shock. He heard Natalie giggling looking at his face. He looked back and swam towards her and splashed water on her. This made her step back in a shock and cover her face under the towel. Now it was Jake’s turn to laugh.

  By the time she removed the towel, Jake had gone past the nearby docks and she could see only his outline in the water. Jake on the other hand was lost in the thrill of swimming through the clean, clear water after so many years. He was swimming fast, trying to increase his heartbeat to reduce the impact of the cold water.

  He must have gone a hundred feet away from her when he noticed something. She got up and went inside the cabin. It was already over ten minutes and he was feeling the cold. He decided to go back. As he grabbed hold of the ladder and climbed out, he saw her coming out. She looked a bit tense.

  “Is something wrong?” he asked while wiping off the water.

  “No,” she said tersely.

  Jake walked up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. “You can tell me.”

  She looked at him. A streak of sadness passed her eyes. She tried to hide it behind a fake smile. Jake shook his head, urging her to tell him the reason.

  She looked down. “I have to leave for Seattle for some business.”

  Jake was also taken aback, but he controlled his emotions. “For how long?”

  She looked at him. She could read in his eyes that he did not want her to go either and it hurt her even more. “It’s not decided yet. It may take a week or maybe more.”

  “When do you leave?” Jake asked further, hoping he still had time.

  “Tomorrow,” her voice cracked.

  “But, you are the boss. Can’t you postpone it?” Jake urged.

  “It’s really important. The client is coming from Europe,” she said with great difficulty.

  There was a moment of silence. Jake took her hand in his hand.

  “We still have a day with us. Let’s not waste it thinking about what will happen after that,” he said with a smile.

  He grabbed his clothes and they started walking towards the house. Natalie put her head on his shoulder. Jake looked at her and kissed on her forehead.

  As they entered, Jake’s phone rang. He had forgotten about his cell phone; there were no calls for the last two days and it had not bothered him for the first time in his life. Every moment of his day was spent in thinking of how to eradicate crime, and now he was in another world. He looked at Natalie and smiled. She gestured towards the ringing phone. Jake looked at it in a hurry. It was Kiara.

  “Hi, Jake this side,” he teased her.

  “So, you got hit on your head just like that thug?”

  “What?” Jake said in surprise.

  “Because of you, I’m having the worst days of my life and now you don’t even recognize my number,” she said angrily.

  “Of course I remember you. You’re the one working under Bob, right?” he hit her where it pained.

  “With him!” Kiara shouted, making Jake take the phone away from his ear. “I’m going to kick your ass.”

  “For that, you have to come here. Because I’m not returning,” he said candidly.

  “What?” Kiara shouted again. Jake looked towards Natalie in some hesitation. He could not possibly tell this to Kiara in her presence.

  “I will check my mail,” Natalie noticed and got up.

  “Miss me?” Jake said while keeping his hand over the speaker.

  “I heard that,” Kiara said. “Who is that?”

  “That’s the reason I don’t want to come back,” Jake said softly.

  “You’re fooling me again,” Kiara said with disbelief.

  There was a momentarily pause. Jake looked towards the bedroom. He could see Natalie’s hands running on the keyboard.

  “I am serious. In fact, I am going to propose to her,” he said with a smile.

  “Now you’re definitely trying to pull something here. Of all people, Jake Carter has fallen in love, in two days. I can’t believe. You have to be better than that to fool me.”

  “Even a lifetime is less to know someone. But, if you are in love, two days are more than enough,” he said quietly.

  Kiara faked the sound of vomiting. “That’s enough bullshit for a day.”

  “Well, you can wait till tomorrow evening when I am going to propose to her,” he said and disconnected. He knew Kiara was never going to understand and he did
not want to waste any time in trying to make her to. He wanted to spend every moment with Natalie before she left for Seattle.

  The day went like a dream for Jake. He spent the whole time with Natalie thinking about the future. However, as the evening arrived, something started to bother him. It was the truth about his identity that he had hidden from her and the ease with which they had fallen for each other. His personal life was never been so smooth and any semblance of hope always felt like a signal for another disaster. As if there was some hidden agenda that life had with him, whenever he was about to gain something, it was taken away from him. Natalie may also be one of those moments of his life. This fear made him rethink about his plan. He could not possibly live with his fake identity and as he had known her more, he had felt that he was answerable to her.

  There was something else that was bothering him too: the presence of her ex-husband the other night. But for the moment, he thought of not giving it that much importance. Maybe the line of work where he had spent the last ten years had made him a bit cynical.

  “Is something bothering you?” Natalie asked while they were having dinner. She had made arrangements for a romantic dinner on the porch. Everything looked perfect. Moonlight reflected from the lake, stars looked like a million fireflies witnessing them and the quiet of the night, making them feel as if there was no one in the world except them.

  “Nothing … Don’t bother. You’ve made this such a great day for me,” Jake said with moist eyes.

  Natalie pressed his hand. “You have to tell me … What is it?”

  Jake looked at her. “Before that, I want a promise from you.”

  Natalie did not understand what Jake meant. She just gazed into his eyes.