Blood Kissed (Lizzie Grace 1)

“Anyway,” the teenager cut in, “he was dark and beautiful and totally unlike anyone I’ve ever met.”

“And has this stunning sample of boyhood got a name?”

“He’s a man, Dad, not a boy. And I’m sure he has, but he hasn’t shared it yet.”

“So you ogled from a distance?”

“Well, yeah, kinda. But he noticed me. He smiled more than once.”

“It’s obviously true love then.”

“Oh, Dad,” Karen said, her tone exasperated.

“So if you haven’t even talked to him, how do plan to see him again?”

“He’ll be at the club again tonight. I’m sure of it.”

“You will be careful if he is, won’t you?” Phillip said. “Don’t be alone with him or anything like that until you know more about him.”

“Of course, Dad. I’m not dumb.”

Phillip harrumphed, and the conversation moved on to more mundane things like school. I opened my eyes and pulled my hand from Phillip’s.

He blinked. “A man. She mentioned a man.”

“Yes.” I resisted the urge to wipe the lingering sensation of his touch away and picked up my coffee instead. “Do you know what club she was talking about?”

“Not really, but there aren’t many choices in Castle Rock. It’ll probably be one of the hotels.” He paused, frowning. “Although I read somewhere that the old Richards Road Hotel had been recently renovated. That might be worth a shot.”

“Karen was underage—and surely well-known in Castle Rock, given Marjorie’s prominence as a lawyer. She wouldn’t have been allowed entry, would she?”

“Karen was an extremely strong-willed and persuasive young woman,” he said. “If she wanted in, she would have gotten in, one way or another.”

I had to wonder how, given serving underage persons not in the company of a responsible adult was illegal in this state and could incur huge fines. But that was something I could follow up with the owners of said nightclub.

“Did you give your daughter a necklace, by chance? One on a gold chain, with a large, bloodred stone set into the pendant?”

He wrinkled his nose. “It sounds rather ghastly, and no, I didn’t. I have better taste than that.”

No matter how ghastly, Karen would have nevertheless cherished the gift, because it was from him. But his words suggested he’d never really done such things. No wonder Karen had gone searching for something akin to parental love elsewhere.

I quickly finished the rest of my coffee and then pushed to my feet. “Thanks for your help, Mr. Banks.”

“You’ll let me know if you uncover anything?” His tone was somewhat dismissive. His attention had already returned to the article he’d been reading.

To say it annoyed me would be something of an understatement.

“I sure as hell won’t,” I replied evenly, “but I daresay the rangers will.”

“What?” he said, his gaze jumping back to mine.

I gave him a smile every bit as cool as his expression. “Goodbye, Mr. Banks.”

Once outside, I took a deep breath that didn’t do much to wash the lingering wisps of annoyance from my system, and then headed for my car and home. I parked the wagon in our spot behind the café, and then grabbed the pack and walked over to the Tourist Information Center to see what information they had on abandoned miners cottages. Unfortunately, it seemed that while the Heritage Park did have a number of old buildings on their grounds, there wasn’t a list of the many other derelict cottages dotted throughout the region. They did give me a list of cottages that had been renovated and were now available for renting, but that wasn’t what the dream had shown me. I also discovered—via the woman who was serving me gushing about how wonderful the place now was—that the old Richards Road Hotel had become a themed nightclub called Émigré.

Given I felt no urgency to return to the café—which either meant the place was empty or Belle and Penny were coping just fine without me—I resolutely swung the other way and walked up the hill toward the ranger station. Belle was right—whether he believed me or not, Aiden needed to know what I’d dreamed last night.

A dark-haired woman with a thin face was standing at the reception desk, but the vast room behind her was empty. She glanced up as I entered, but her welcoming smile faded rather quickly. “How may I help you, Ms. Grace?”