Dark Room (Pete 'Monty' Montgomery 2)

The local media stations had broadcast word of the hit-and-run on the evening and the eleven o’clock news—complete with Rachel’s and Karly’s names. Yet, based on her surprise this morning, Elyse was clueless about the identities of the victim and the eyewitness, and equally clueless about the fact that they were both Winshore clients. For a savvy woman with a high-powered political husband, it seemed odd that she’d be so out of touch with the day’s current events.

So could Elyse be lying? Possibly. But why?

Monty could think of just one reason for her to devise such an intricate fabrication—and that is if she were the culprit, not the victim.

It was a long shot. But it had to be considered, especially in light of what he’d learned about Rachel Ogden. After all, how did that saying go? Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Jonah had said that Elyse was in a foul mood when she’d shown up at her husband’s office. Well, orchestrating a scare tactic for your rival—one that went way further than planned—would do that.

If—and Monty still considered it a huge if—Elyse had invented the story she’d told him to mesh with the timing of the hit-and-run, it would explain why she seemed totally oblivious to the identity of the women involved, and it would scrap the uptown leg of the van’s trip, making the timing and the route more plausible.

On the other hand, if Elyse was telling the truth, there was another, more unnerving fact to consider—one he had refrained from mentioning to Morgan. And that was that, on paper, Rachel Ogden’s description matched Morgan’s to a tee. Slight build. Corporate dress. Shoulder-length dark hair. Green eyes. Expected in the area of the St. Regis at hit-and-run time.

Following that logic, it was a very real prospect that the error made by the punk who’d stolen that van hadn’t been that he’d hurt Rachel Ogden too badly, but that he’d run down the wrong woman. And if that was the case, his orders might very well have been to kill, not injure, Morgan.

Lots of theories. An equal number of outstanding answers, some grimmer than others.

Monty pulled into the hospital parking area. He was impatient to have this chat with Rachel Ogden.

JILL HAD JUST organized some files on her desk when her cell phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID and punched it on with lightning-quick speed.

“Dad—hi. I’ve been waiting for sunrise in the Rockies so I could call. Glad you beat me to it.”

“Why the urgency?” Her father’s tension was palpable, even through the phone.

“Everyone’s fine. But last night, Morgan told me what’s been going on with Mom. I called her at Grandma and Grandpa’s right before I turned in, and she still sounded drained, but less stressed out. Talking to you obviously helped. Whatever you said calmed her down.”

“It did. And now it should calm you down, too. I just got off the phone with Detective Montgomery. He’s arranged for round-the-clock security to keep an eye on your mother, on Morgan, and on you. No one’s going to come near you—any of you.”

Even though she could have predicted her father’s reaction, Jill felt a surge of relief. “That’s great. Thanks, Dad. If nothing else, it will grant us peace of mind.” A forced laugh. “Not to mention that it will rescue Mom from spending another night with her parents. I know Gr

andpa’s your staunchest ally, but he drives Mom crazy. Her conversation with Detective Montgomery must have really freaked her out for her to decide to sleep over there.”

“I’m sure she had her reasons.”

“I invited her to stay with Morgan and me.”

“And?”

Jill sighed. “Morgan and I had scheduled a girls’ night. And you know Mom. Much as I told her she was one of the girls, she decided we needed our privacy to talk about personal stuff like guys. Particularly the guy you’re about to go skiing with.”

“Lane?”

“Yup. Did he tell you he’s taking Morgan out the minute your plane lands tonight? Of course not.” Jill supplied her own answer. “Men never communicate about anything. So I’ll fill you in. There are some definite sparks between those two. They have late dinner plans tonight.”

“No great eye-opener there.” Arthur’s reply was tinged with dry humor. “Despite your belief that we men are clueless, I did pick up on the vibes between Morgan and Lane. Last night in the lounge, I saw him talking on his cell, and it didn’t look like a business call. So I’m not surprised they have plans.”

“It’ll be good for her.” Jill chewed her lip. “Morgan’s even more wound up now than she was when she first hired Detective Montgomery. Things were bad enough when she was dealing with her initial shock and pain over the reopened investigation. But now she’s dealing with the fact that people she loves are being directly affected. Instead of scaring her, it’s infuriating her. Forget the idea of her taking a passive role. If she has her way, she’s going to be right there, center stage, solving this case alongside Detective Montgomery.”

“That’s the worst thing she can do to herself,” Arthur said fervently. “She’s already on emotional overdrive. If she becomes any more obsessed with this investigation, she’ll make herself ill.”

“That’s why Lane couldn’t have come into her life at a better time. I hope they have a fabulous time tonight. At the very least, he’ll be a great distraction. But I have a hunch it’ll be more, maybe even explode into a full-blown romance. Either way, I’d be thrilled. Anything to divert her focus.”

“I agree.” A thoughtful pause. “Maybe you should spend tonight at our place. Extra security or not, I’m not thrilled with the idea of you or your mother being alone. I won’t be home until late, which means Morgan will be out with Lane until all hours. I’d feel better on all fronts if you stayed with us. Morgan, too, for that matter. I don’t want her walking into an empty house. I’ll talk to Lane, tell him to drop her off after their date.”

“Uh—I’d hold off on that,” Jill advised.

“Why?”

“Dad, do I have to paint you a picture? It’s possible that their date might last longer than expected. Your instructing Lane about where to drop Morgan off would definitely throw ice water on any romantic plans he might have.”