She wore a T-shirt and jeans and her red hair curled wildly around her head just the way it had when she was a kid. But she wasn’t that kid anymore. Nor was she the young woman who had jarred his hormones into overdrive at his mother’s wedding seven years ago.
She was so much more.
He thought of the way she’d held so steady when he’d discovered the bomb. She had courage. He knew that she had to have mixed feelings about letting the wedding go on as scheduled, but he’d studied her face when Daryl had spoken about the hundreds of people that Banes had stolen from over the years. And she’d agreed to the plan even though it might put her dream of establishing the reputation of Castle MacPherson as a prime wedding destination in grave jeopardy.
She wasn’t anything he’d expected or even thought he wanted. All he’d known was that she would be different for him. What he hadn’t counted on was how different. Or that she would take him so far beyond his expectations—or even his fantasies.
He wanted—no, he needed more time with her. They hadn’t had much yet. He also wanted to make love with her again. And he had a feeling that he wasn’t going to stop wanting that anytime soon.
When her eyes slid to his, he got that same feeling he’d gotten when they’d been making love—that his whole world was suddenly becoming very narrow. Very centered. The feeling had his stomach skittering and something tightened around his heart.
“This is one of the aisles in Hazel Gallinger’s store,” Skinner said.
Cam focused on the TV screen.
“She was in Edie’s Diner when I came in to ask about any strangers in town. She said she saw two early this morning.”
Skinner leaned forward to tap a finger on the screen as a man entered. “She noticed the Banes guy right away because of his fancy shoes and shirt. The next guy came in a few minutes later.”
Adair felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as the second man entered the store. The screen only showed his back, but he had a camera hanging from a strap over his shoulder. And the hair was the right length for MacDonald. She waited, wanting to be sure.
He strolled up the aisle and when Banes turned to him, there was surprise on his face followed by a frown.
“Not a stranger to Banes,” she murmured.
“That would be my guess,” Skinner said. “And Banes doesn’t look happy to see him.”
The two men stood face-to-face. It was the shorter man who seemed to be doing all the talking. Then Banes glanced at his watch and nodded. The other man turned away from Banes and the moment he did, Wes Pinter said, “Mustache, fancy beard. That’s the guy who attacked me.”
“That’s also the man who introduced himself to me as Nathan MacDonald.” Adair turned to meet Cam’s eyes. “And that’s the man we saw arguing with Lawrence Banes at Tinker’s Falls.”
Daryl leaned forward and spoke to the sheriff. “A beard and a mustache, especially one that people remember, is a great disguise. If you’d be willing to lend me that disc, I can get a good enough image off it to send to a tech I know. He’ll run it through a facial recognition program minus the beard. Then we might know who we’re dealing with.” He turned to Cam. “It may match up with that old photo I have of Gianni Scalzo’s partner.”
Skinner ejected the disc and handed it over. “Banes claims that he has no idea who might have tampered with his brake lines. He’s going full steam ahead with the wedding. By the time I left his room, he was pestering Dr. Barnhill for a phone so that he could to talk to Bunny.”
Bunny again. Adair frowned and found herself looking at Cam. She wanted to talk to him about the fact that Banes hadn’t once mentioned talking to Rexie. Something about that was still rubbing her the wrong way. She wanted his take on it, and she just wanted time to be with him. Everything had happened so fast between them. And time was slipping away. After tomorrow, after he and Daryl and the sheriff were able to arrest Banes, they’d probably have to go back to Washington. She and Vi would have their hands full with the fallout from the wedding disaster.
All her life she’d focused on mapping out plans for her future. No one had ever made her want to live so totally in the moment. In the now.
“I wish we had a better handle on what the hell is going on here,” Skinner said.
Adair shifted her focus back to the conversation.
“All we’ve got are theories or suppositions.” Cam stretched his legs out. “If MacDonald is the guy who’s been poking around in the castle for the past six months, I’d say his goal is the sapphires. Something must have convinced him that they exist and they’re here. Maybe it started out as a hobby. But now he’s convinced they’re in the stone arch, and he’s determined to get them before the hills come alive with other fortune hunters.”
“If he’s Scalzo’s longtime partner and he cut Scalzo’s brake lines, the partnership is obviously on the rocks. The question is why?” Daryl said. “And why now? They’ve been together for years. Why have a falling-out the day before a wedding that promises to net them millions?”
“He could be both our nocturnal visitor and Banes’s partner,” Adair said. “The Maitlands signed the contract for the wedding about six months ago, the same time Vi started to have her sleep disturbed and brought Alba home. If MacDonald is the man behind the scenes, his job could be intelligence gathering, right?”
“That has always been my assessment,” Daryl said. “What are you thinking?”
“Maybe MacDonald decided to take the jewels on as a private project and didn’t inform Banes,” Adair continued. “Then the earring shows up and Banes gets wind of it and MacDonald doesn’t want to share. They argue. MacDonald tries to eliminate Banes.”
“Damn good theory,” Daryl said.
“Ninety-nine percent of marriages that break up do so because of differences over money. I imagine the same thing could happen to a partnership,” Vi said.
“And with this kind of money at stake, it might explain why things are getting so volatile so fast,” Skinner said. “Whoever he is, the MacDonald guy is dangerous. And he’s had professional training.”
“Plus, he’s versatile,” Daryl said. “He cuts Scalzo’s brake lines, takes out Wes here and a dog without leaving permanent damage, and plants a bomb.”
“A regular one-man army.” Skinner rose from his chair. “Before Wes and I leave I want you to fill me in on the schedule for tomorrow.”
“I can take you into my office,” Adair said. “The entire day is on the wall.”
* * *
CAM PACED BACK and forth in his room. They’d done all that they could do for the moment. Daryl had a tech working to identify Nathan MacDonald. Banes was being guarded by Skinner’s deputy in the hospital, and two of his other men were working surveillance on both the stone arch and the castle grounds.
He glanced at his watch. It was late—well past midnight. Adair had a full day tomorrow. They all did. He should let her get her rest. He should get some of his own.
Moving to the sliding doors that led to the balcony, he stepped outside. The storm had cleared and a full moon bathed the garden below him. He could even see the outline of the stone arch. As he watched, two figures stepped off the garden path and started across the clearing toward the stones. He recognized them immediately. Daryl and Vi. When they reached the shelter of the arch, he saw Daryl take Vi into his arms.
His boss clearly wasn’t wasting any time.
And hadn’t he already wasted enough? For seven years he’d avoided Adair. And those were years he could never get back.
Turning, he stepped back into his room, locked the slider, then strode to the door of his room and reached for the handle. The thought struck him just as he was about to step into the hallway. He was close to being obsessed with her.
Just as obsessed as Banes was with his wedding and this Nathan MacDonald seemed to be with the sapphires.
How in hell had he let it come to this?
* * *
ADAIR LAY ON her back counting sheep. Fifty-seven of them so far. But about every five sheep or so, she lost her focus and started thinking about Cam. And wanting him.
Opening her eyes, she stared up at the ceiling. Twenty-four hours ago he hadn’t been a part of her life. She hadn’t seen him in seven years. And they’d only made love twice. Surely it took longer than that to develop an addiction.
Yet, as ridiculous as it seemed, she wanted him now—so badly that she couldn’t sleep. Sitting up, she twisted around and punched her pillow several times, then lay back down and closed her eyes.
Seven sheep later, her mind drifted right back to Cam as if it were on a magnetic tractor beam.
After the sheriff had left, he’d told her that he was going to work with Daryl for a while and that she should get some sleep. They all had a big day ahead of them.
Rolling over on her back, she stared up at the ceiling. It promised to be a big day all right. A big disastrous day.