Angel of the Dark

Matt hadn’t forgotten, but he certainly wanted to. He wanted to forget all of what he’d just heard, especially the lies that McGuire had told him about Lisa. He wanted to take Lisa far, far away, to protect her and love her and never have to think about death or pain or betrayal ever again. He tried to keep calm.

“You don’t know Lisa, okay? I do. She would never have cheated on Miles. She just isn’t that sort of person.”

Danny McGuire’s eye roll could practically be heard down the telephone line. “Come on, man…”

“And even if she did, so what?” Matt’s voice grew increasingly desperate. “It doesn’t make her a killer.”

“No, it doesn’t. But it might make her an accomplice.”

“To what, her own rape?”

“Maybe it wasn’t rape. Maybe it was consensual.”

“Take that back,” Matt said quietly.

“I’m sorry,” said Danny, picking up the hurt and anger in Matt’s voice. “I’m not saying this is what I think.”

“I should hope not.”

“I still have no idea what happened that night. But Liu has Lisa in his sights, and he has good reason for it. She did have a boyfriend—still does, for all we know. She was the only person who stood to gain financially from Miles’s death. She instructed her staff not to come to the top floor the night of the attack. She was the only person, other than her husband, who knew how to disable the security alarm. And by the way, it was disabled earlier in the day, if you want to talk about facts. Whoever killed Miles Baring had inside help.”

Matt didn’t want to hear it. “If Liu had enough evidence to arrest Lisa, he’d have done it. But he hasn’t. He’s grasping at straws because he’s got nothing. Just like you had nothing in the investigation of my father’s murder.”

It was a low blow, but Danny had no choice but to suck it up. All he wanted was for Matt Daley to get out of Bali, before this whole thing blew up in both their faces. If anyone linked Matt Daley to Danny McGuire, Operation Azrael would be over and so would Danny’s career.

“Do you remember what you said to me the day we met, in my office in Lyon?” Danny asked.

“‘What kept you so long, you time-wasting bastard’?” quipped Matt.

“After that. You said: ‘It’s the wives. They’re the key to all this.’ Do you remember that?”

“Not Lisa.”

“Why not Lisa?” Danny challenged him. “Because you’re in love with her?”

Yes! “No. Of course not.”

“How long have you known this woman, Matt? A month? Two? Has it occurred to you she might be using you?”

“Hmm, let me see,” said Matt. “She’s a drop-dead gorgeous millionairess; and I’m an out-of-shape, bankrupt, soon-to-be-divorced ex–comedy writer. Yeah, I can see where you’re coming from. She’s definitely using me.”

Danny smiled. Daley was infuriating, but his deadpan humor still hit home.

“I meant, using you for information. You know as much about these murders as the police, if not more. If Lisa’s boyfriend was behind them…”

“He wasn’t.”

“How do you know?”

“Because she doesn’t have a boyfriend! Haven’t you been listening to a word I said?”

Danny’s exasperation got the better of him. “Let me break it down for you. If you don’t get out of that villa—assuming you aren’t hacked to death in your bed by your girlfriend’s lover in the meantime—Liu’s men will arrest you and they will throw you into some stinking Chinese jail, and I will not, repeat not, come riding to your rescue.”

“Fine,” said Matt

petulantly. He hung up the phone.

“Hey. Is everything all right? I heard you shouting.”