Dangerous Proposition (15 page)

Colin had always wondered why Tucker Dyson wanted to work for him. He wasn’t complaining, not by a long shot. But it hardly made sense that someone who had another choice—any other choice—wouldn’t have taken it.

He looked at Julia. “I’m sure you’re well aware that I’m not really in a position to talk about what I do. People’s lives, your father’s included, could very well be jeopardized.”

“As if his life isn’t already in jeopardy.” She crossed her arms. Taking the seat opposite him, she said, “I’m waiting.”

“And I’m sorry. But I’m not about to blurt out information that could get Tucker killed.” Taking a breath, he said, “I’ll say this much. Your father does a lot of messaging for me.”

“Messaging.” She nodded. “Like, passing along information about criminals?”

“Naturally, yes.”

“So my father delivers information about criminals, from one party to another, in an effort to have those same criminals put away?”

“That is what generally happens when people break the law.”

Julia stood. She paced for several agonizing moments, stopping at last in front of the window. “I’m not sure if Alec ever told you, but Lena and I used to be roommates.”

“I believe he mentioned it.” Though you certainly never would have known it.

“We met during a very strange afternoon in the spring a few years back. Lena crashed her car in the middle of a bridge. I gave her a ride to an auto mechanic. I thought it was pretty out there that she was walking around dressed for a dinner party at the White House, but what really threw me was that she paid her bill in cash. That’s when I knew there was more to Lena Gallagher than meets the eye.”

Her real name had been Benson at the time, though Colin didn’t suppose there was any sense in mentioning the fact.

He’d always found his sister-in-law to be a bit flighty in a Donna Reed sort of way, but he had a feeling that wasn’t what Julia was getting at. He furrowed his eyebrows. “That’s intriguing, but Lena Gallagher—Lena
Westwood
isn’t a criminal.”

“She’s the most clean-cut woman I’ve ever met. But during the time we were living together, she was running from her past. More specifically, from her fiancé. Lucas Ramone.”

Colin averted his bulging pupils. He was all too aware of the connection between Lucas and Lena. He’d known from the day Alec and Lena became involved, that the mystery woman his younger brother was sharing a toothbrush with was actually the fiancée of his maniacal business partner. It was a bit of knowledge he kept to himself to this day. He prayed his travel companion wasn’t quite so informed.

“A lot of people run from troubled pasts. What exactly does that have to do with Lena’s inability to produce a credit card?”

“Lucas was smuggling diamonds. I didn’t understand Lena’s fear toward the guy at first, but something about her story didn’t add up. A few months after she moved out, I talked to a friend, a guy I went to high school with, who writes for the Conway News. He did some digging, and he found out that there was a connection between Lucas Ramone and Mark Becker. Becker was the hotel manager who was arrested for smuggling diamonds when Abigail and I were working at the Washington Valley Hotel. I didn’t have proof that Lucas was smuggling, but I do know that he lives in Westchester, which is where I followed my father to that underground club.”

Colin fiddled with his change. “Smuggling diamonds doesn’t sound like Tucker’s style,” he said carefully.

“Maybe not. But I’m positive that there are things about my father’s life he doesn’t want me to know. Things he’s been keeping from me for years, ever since we left San Francisco for New York City then North Conway.”

Saying a silent prayer, Colin asked, “What do you think they are?”

“Isn’t it obvious? My dad is working for Lucas.”

Every bit of breath seeped from Colin’s body. Looking Julia’s way, he said, “I’m not sure where you’re getting your information, but I’m sure it’s nothing but a bunch of misunderstandings.”

“There’s no misunderstanding, Colin. When I was going through my dad’s things, I found this card with a picture of a cougar on it. The symbol matches the one Lena used to wear around her neck. Or rather, the one Lena wore around her neck the day I met her, and then never again.”

“The cougar’s a fairly common symbol,” Colin said, wiping the sweat from his palms. “Are you sure you’re not so desperate to make a connection here that you’re grasping at straws?”

“I know what I saw,” Julia said. “The symbol is unique. I’ve never seen anything else like it. It’s almost as if the designer wanted to make sure that no one could possibly replicate it.” She turned to the window. “Those of us who were working for the White Mountain Lodge knew that Becker had been arrested, but we were never told why. Judging by the paperwork Abigail and I found in the filing cabinets—which I’m almost positive contained the same symbol as Lena’s necklace—there isn’t a doubt in my mind that Becker was directly connected to Lucas Ramone. Maybe Lucas was working for Becker, or worse. Maybe Becker was working for Lucas.”

All circulation in Colin’s body came to a halt. He was halfway across the room before he thought to stop himself. He placed a hand on Julia’s back. “It’s fairly common for the mind to play tricks on a person when someone they love is in danger. I’m a doctor. I see it all the time. To you, all of the things that you’re thinking and feeling right now are very real. But you’ve got to think this through, and see how illogical it all is.” Smoothing his palm along her spine, he said, “You’ve got to hang in there, not lose faith. I’m not sure what it was that you found in your father’s belongings, but I do know that this is all going to work out. Tucker’s a fighter. He’s a lot like his daughter in that way.”

The faintest hint of a smile touched Julia’s face. Then her hopeful expression faded into one of terror. “Lena used to talk about how demented Lucas was and how ruthless he could be. What if Lucas has my father, Colin? What if this abduction is part of some elaborate plot? What if my father wasn’t abducted at all? What if he’s—”

“Lucas Ramone can’t hurt your father, Julia,” Colin said. “He’s dead.”

* * * *

Julia trembled as Colin’s words, telling her that Lena’s psychotic ex-fiancé was dead, echoed in her mind. Had she heard right? How would Colin know whether Lucas Ramone was dead?

She’d known she hit on something when she made the connection between Lucas and Mark Becker. Abigail had been closer to the investigation than she was, but between the ledger sheets and the cougar symbols, Julia had seen enough evidence to convince her that there’d been something highly illegal going on at that hotel. What she didn’t understand was how Colin would know whether Lucas Ramone was dead.

“I don’t get it,” she said. “How do you know that—”

“It happened at Lena and Alec’s engagement party. Lucas wore the same costume Alec had on, to disguise himself. He abducted Lena and took her up to Cathedral Ledge.”

“Because he was jealous?”

“And extremely demented,” Colin muttered under his breath.

Julia’s thoughts were racing. It made sense that Lucas would have gone to extremes to retrieve his fiancé, considering everything Lena had told her about the guy. But she got the feeling there was something Colin was hesitating to say.

“Lucas just showed up in the middle of the
hors d’oeuvres
and crashed Lena’s party?” Julia shifted her lips.

“Broke in is more like it. Guess the two of you have something in common.”

“What happened?” she asked, rolling her eyes.

“Lena was standing on the balcony outside of Alec’s bedroom and Lucas snuck up on her from behind. Alec tried to stop him, but Lucas took her at gunpoint. He jumped off the side of the balcony, and landed on the pavement in front of our house.”

This guy had been even crazier than she’d been told. Not exactly a comforting thought, especially since he’d just become the primary suspect in her father’s disappearance. Julia sat on the couch. “From what I understand, Lucas was obsessed with Lena. She said that Lucas was working with his father, trying to get the two of them married, only, the bride wasn’t exactly consulted about the pending nuptials.”

“I heard that, too,” Colin concurred quietly.

“So, if this creep wanted to be with Lena so badly, why would he risk hurting her by dragging her to the edge of the cliff?”

“Lucas was insane. There’s no rhyme or reason why he did the things he did.”

“How did he die?” Julia asked.

“He and Alec were struggling. The ledge they were standing on broke. Lucas didn’t get off in time. The stone he was holding cracked and he fell over the side.”

This seemed plausible. But if it was the whole story, why did Colin seem so anxious? His temper was shorter than usual, and his forehead and cheeks were glistening with sweat.

North Conway was a small town. A tragic death like the one Lucas had suffered would have been reported in the newspaper. That was, if it
had
been reported.

Of course it had, Julia assured herself. She didn’t exactly read the
New York Times
anymore, but the world would have wondered where Lucas Ramone had been during the last three years. He was a business entrepreneur. Rich people were constantly talked about, New Yorkers especially.

She said, “I know I wasn’t the greatest friend to Lena. But I do know, from what she told me, that Lucas kept a close watch over his possessions and that he considered her to be one of them. Something tells me he wouldn’t have risked her life if he didn’t think he had a damn good reason to.”

“Don’t you think that hating Lena and Alec would be reason enough?”

“
Alec
?”

Colin cleared his throat. “Naturally, Lucas hated Alec more than anyone. Alec stole his fiancée. At least, from his severely disturbed point of view, he did. He must have thought if he lured him away from the party, he could shoot him without anyone noticing.”

It was disturbing how much Colin seemed to know about the criminal mind. Julia was glad that none of the guys
she’d
ever dated had turned out to be candidates for America’s Most Wanted. Well, Shane Dempsey perhaps, but never again.

“It doesn’t seem like that much of a stretch to assume Lucas would try to murder someone in cold blood. But it is pretty extreme, the idea that he would have hatched such an elaborate scheme to kill a man he’d never met.”

“Lucas was an elaborate guy,” Colin said.

“I’m sure he was. But it all seems a bit much to me.” Looking out the window, Julia stared into the apartment beside theirs. She caught sight of an orange cat, which reminded her of her own cat, Marmalade, scurrying across the carpet.

Abigail had told her something just after Becker was arrested, about a conversation she’d had with Alec Westwood. Her best friend hadn’t said much, but apparently, Alec had admitted there were “things in his past he wasn’t proud of.” Considering everything else she’d put together, that certainly did raise her suspicions.

“Do you think it’s possible that Lucas knew your brother?” she asked. “Before the night of his engagement party?”

“I highly doubt it. Why do you ask?”

“Because as demented as Lucas was, I find it really hard to believe that he would waste his time trying to kill a man he’d never met.”

“You said yourself that Lucas was obsessed with Lena.” Colin fiddled with his shirt cuff. “Being the psychopath that he was, why wouldn’t he want to take out the man standing in his way?”

Julia imagined a psychopath would. But that didn’t change the fact that there was something Colin was hesitating to say.

“I guess you’re right.” She walked to the bedroom, coming back a moment later with her wallet in her hand. “Just so I know I won’t be starving again, dinner’s on me tonight. But don’t think this is going to be a regular occurrence. Oh, and you’re just going to have to put up with Chinese, ’cause that’s what I’m in the mood for.”

Colin’s tight-lipped expression made it difficult to tell whether he was about to object or crack up laughing. “If you’re buying, I’m eating.”

“Well…all right then.” Counting the cash in her wallet, Julia made sure she had at least forty dollars. She went to the kitchen. Taking her cell phone from the counter, she dialed four-one-one and got the number for the nearest Chinese restaurant.

“I’d like an extra-large roast pork fried rice. One chicken and cashew nuts. Broccoli with mixed vegetables, and a bowl of egg drop soup. Oh, make that two, I guess.”

Her mind drifted as she jotted down the total and gave the man on the phone the address for Colin’s apartment. She supposed she ought to be eating something that constituted as brain food at a time like this. But she had a feeling she’d already had the biggest revelation she was going to for one evening.

There was a connection between Colin Westwood and Lucas Ramone. Cover-ups, accidental deaths. She’d hold up on trekking to Griffin’s hideaway for the time being. Because there was a lot more to that story than a jealous lover’s spat.

And now that she knew that for sure, Julia wasn’t stopping until she knew what that something was.

The air was warm as Colin stepped onto the balcony the following morning. Sunlight beat against his head. Choosing not to shoo the pigeons off of the ledge for a change, he sat in his deck chair. He closed his eyes, allowing the breeze to hit his tired face.

It was a good thing the weather was so nice. It would be an excellent day for a drive, precisely what he and Julia were going to spend the day doing.

Colin clutched his stiff back. He hadn’t gotten much sleep, and it wasn’t because he’d spent the night on the couch again. Julia was starting to put things together. Not only because of what she’d seen during the last couple of days—apparently she’d been aware of things for years. Namely, about Lucas and Mark Becker.

Colin hated Mark Becker. Wished him to burn in the pits of hell was more like it. The bastard had been Lucas’s tell-all right arm before taking up permanent residence in the New Hampshire State Prison for Men. Lucas had insisted that the dick be stationed directly in Colin’s vicinity, rather like his personal spy. Colin had fought it at first, but eventually he’d realized that there were benefits to having Lucas’s assistant so close by. Namely, that it had allowed him to know what his elusive partner was up to.