Hot Stuff (Hot Zone 1)

"What's motive? And for what?" Mara sneezed.

"Bless you."

"Thanks." Mara grabbed a tissue from the box she'd been carrying around with her. "Have Kleenex, will travel," she said laughing. "Now talk to me. What are you thinking?"

"You have to promise not to laugh."

Mara nodded. "Swear."

"Well, I ran into Roy at the coffee shop. I wanted to leave, he tried to buy me a drink, I said no, but he made me stay and talk. Until I mentioned he'd missed the party. Then he couldn't wait to be gone."

Mara rolled her eyes. "There's no doubt about it, Roy's an odd duck."

"But there's more. He lied about why he wasn't at the party and when I walked outside he was grinding a cigarette butt into the ground." Her stomach jumping, her nerves rioting, Annabelle tapped her fingers against the Formica tabletop.

"Look, I understand why you're upset, but with Roy it could be as simple as the fact that he was cheating on his wife last night and doesn't want to get caught." Mara paused to blow her nose. "Rumor has it Roy's wife told him if he strayed again, he'd be out on his ass and she'd file for sole custody. And you know how much his son means to him."

Once again, Annabelle's hunch was strengthened. "That's just it! If the lodge were destroyed, Vaughn would be free to take the coaching job. It's Roy's dream for his son to go pro and he thinks the boy needs Vaughn to do it."

Mara frowned. "Even without the lodge, Vaughn wouldn't take that job. He'd rather help in his own way."

"You know that. I know that. Any sane person knows that, but is Roy sane?" Annabelle pressed her fingers against her pounding temples. "I just don't know what to do with this theory of mine. I'm afraid the police will laugh me out of the building, and Vaughn and Nick have enough on their plate without me adding stupid ideas to their list of problems."

"Obviously you don't think it's all that stupid or you wouldn't be this

upset," Mara said softly. "And really how much more lame is your idea than blaming Vaughn's ex-wife?"

Annabelle bit down on the inside of her cheek. "If I do something about it and I'm wrong, I've accused an innocent man. Innocent of arson, anyway. His cheating is a foregone conclusion. But if I'm right about the fire and I say nothing, the lodge is still at risk."

Mara touched her hand. "The lodge is at risk until whoever it is is caught," Mara reminded her.

She rose and shook her head. "It's probably my imagination acting overtime. I'm going to go."

Mara stood. "Annabelle, wait. You're upset. Let's talk some more."

"You need your rest. Besides, Roy was going back to work. I can talk to him there. I need to get a feeling one way or another before saying anything to Vaughn. Besides both Vaughn and Nick are watching everyone right now. It'll be okay," she said as much for Mara's benefit as her own.

"Well I'm here if you need me."

"Would you watch Boris for me?"

Mara nodded.

"Thank you. And don't worry." Annabelle forced a smile. "It'll be okay," she said, hoping to convince herself and relieve the gnawing gut feeling that just wouldn't disappear.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

VAUGHN RUBBED HIS FISTS against his burning eyes. He hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours and was so exhausted he could barely concentrate. Yet hours after Annabelle had left his office, he still couldn't stop thinking about her. He had financial statements to go through, he would have to put thousands of his personal money into the lodge to keep it afloat, and yet the only thing on his mind was Annabelle.

She never ceased to surprise him. From showing up here this morning, to covering any emotional reaction to his disappearing act the night before, to making sure he had food in the fridge, the woman simply blew him away. So much so he hadn't had the heart to tell her he wouldn't be home to share meals because he planned to live, eat and sleep at the lodge until the culprit was caught. He'd just have to arrange to have the contents of his full refrigerator delivered to him here. As for Annabelle…

He reminded himself he couldn't afford any more distractions if he didn't want to end up bankrupt, his dream gone up in smoke. Literally.

"The insurance adjuster thinks we'll recoup enough to rebuild," Nick said as he strode into the office.

Vaughn glanced up at his partner and friend. "That's good news. In the meantime I've arranged to liquidate some stock and CDs to cover us until the money comes through."

Nick nodded. "I've done the same."