Hot as Hell (19 page)

L
exy exhaled in relief the minute after the detective left.

“That went better that I thought it would.”

“She’s listening. That’s something,” Noah said.

“Does this mean we’re letting the police handle the situation and we’re backing out?”

“Of course not.”

She knew he would say something like that. “Do we have a plan?”

“Yep.”

Uh-oh
. “Is this going to tick me off?”

“Yep.”

A terrible thought popped into her mind. “Are you going to be the bait?”

“Sort of.”

“Come up with another plan.” One that did not put him near a potential murderess who also happened to be a woman on the prowl. She knew enough about Marie to know she was dangerous, whether or not she ever killed anyone. “Now.”

“Too late.”

“How can it be too late? The detective left a half hour ago.”

“I already developed the plan.” He tapped his finger against his temple. “In my head.”

“It must be rather lonely up there.”

Noah’s sexy smile lost some of its wattage. “That’s not very charming.”

She knew she going to regret this as soon as she said it, but…“What’s this brilliant idea of yours? And lay the whole thing out. I don’t want half the plan.”

“I’ll give Marie a reason to believe we have some information directly from Henderson.”

Yeah, regret
. “I don’t get it.”

“It’s a brilliant plan.”

“I still don’t know what it is.”

“Watch a master at work.” He cracked his knuckles.

She had never seen him do that before. She’d be happy never to see him do that again. “You?”

“Of course me.”

“Maybe I should just call the company lawyer now and arrange for bail money.”

“Not a bad idea.”

The man was completely infuriating. “So when do we launch this piece of brilliance?”

“Depends.”

“On anything in particular?”

“Does Marie teach a class today?”

Lexy hated this plan more every second.

“Well?” he asked.

She glanced around the room looking for her resort brochure. Noah had picked up the area. Folded this. Put that away. The place was a mess, but less cluttered now that everything had a place.

“Stop touching my stuff.”

“But I like touching your stuff.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I didn’t have a choice, since I couldn’t find the bed.”

“I don’t know where anything is,” she said, trying to hide the anger in her voice. “You messed up everything.”

He did not take the bait.

“Where did you put all the paperwork?”

“On the desk.”

Fighting held some appeal, but she abandoned the idea in favor of getting this follow-Marie-around plan done. The sooner Noah was away from that one, the better. Oh, she trusted him with Marie. He had a disclosure problem, but his zipper stayed up around other women. Still, Marie gave her the creeps.

Lexy pulled out the aerobics class schedule. “She teaches in two hours.”

“Perfect.”

“I still don’t know why.”

“I have plans.” His hands went to his belt buckle.

“And you have to be naked to do them.”

“Oh, yeah.” He lowered his zipper.

“What are you doing?”

“Burning through the next two hours. Want to help me?”

She did.

A little less than two hours later the memory of the mind-blowing sex with Lexy still lingered in Noah’s mind. Something about the idea of his going off to meet Marie made Lexy even more flexible than usual.

And since the sight of Marie turned him off to sex or anything related to sex, Noah was grateful he had just enjoyed a fix. Now it was showtime.

He walked into the aerobics studio. Finding Marie was not hard. She wore the brightest costume he had ever seen. The thing was tight and psychedelic pink and utterly annoying, but it served the purpose of getting her noticed. Noah figured that was her goal.

He did not have to go up to Marie. She came to him. “Mr. Paxton.”

“Call me Noah.”

Her smile turned feral. Not exactly a turn-on in Noah’s book. Kind of made him feel like prey.

“I still can’t let you sit in on a class.”

Time to lay on the charm. “I apologize for interrupting. I needed to find Lexy.”

At the mention of Lexy’s name, Marie’s smile took on a nasty edge. “She’s not here.”

“Damn. And I have good news for her.”

“Something personal, perhaps?”

Did Marie just throw her hair back over her shoulder?
“About the resort, actually.”

“About what specifically, if I may ask.”

That’s exactly what he wanted her to do. The woman walked right into his trap, as he knew she would. “I just talked to the police about the murder…”

“And?”

“Well, I don’t want to bother you. I can wait to talk to Lexy. You have a class.”

Marie did not let him take a step away from her. She grabbed on to his forearm and started whispering. “I’d love to hear the news. After all, I worked with Charlie.”

“Of course.”

“What happened to him was horrible.”

She certainly did not sound broken up by the guy’s death. If the way she had her hand wrapped around Noah’s arm and her body stuck to his side was any indication, two more minutes and she’d be climbing all over him.

“The police finally have a break in the case.”

The color drained from her face. “What is it?”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m very happy about your news.” She stumbled over the words.

She was thrilled. He could tell. Right.

“Apparently Henderson—or did you call him Charlie? You know I never used the man’s first name.”

She almost crawled out of her skin. Her cheeks looked ready to burst. “You mentioned something about the police?”

“Right.” He patted her fingers where they dug into his skin. “Seems Henderson kept a diary.”

“Charlie?”

“Yeah.”

“Do the police have it?”

“No. They found some crumpled pages in with his employee uniforms. They figure he hid the diary itself and it contains information that could lead them to his killer.”

“Do they know where this diary is?”

Since it didn’t exist, no. But he bet she would tear the resort apart looking for it.

“That’s the odd thing. His room was pretty empty when they went to check it out.”

“He did not own a lot of things.”

Interesting how she felt the need to mention that when she insisted to Lexy she barely knew the man. “They figure he stayed with someone else at the resort most of the time. The plan is to search his room, including ripping out the wall if they have to, and then start checking other employee rooms just in case some of Henderson’s stuff is in one of those. The diary is somewhere.”

“When?” Marie barked out the question.

The high-pitched sound grabbed the attention of most of the ladies in the room. All three of them. The stared at her, then scowled.

Lexy was right. Marie was not a woman other women liked.

“Later tonight sometime.”

He had decided to make the time line as tight as possible. Better to trap Marie fast. She would teach her class and then start looking. Noah bet that’s how this entire scene would unfold.

Dex was waiting near Henderson’s apartment just in case. Gray took Marie’s apartment as a lookout. Noah would follow her just in case she had another place to check that they did not know about. Between the three of them, they would see if Marie panicked and went searching for the nonexistent diary.

The goal was to make the woman crack. See if she did have a tie to Henderson and then poke at it. Once they had her on the run, they could work on that angle. Give Detective Sommerville whatever background she needed to finish the job.

“I would like to talk to the detectives. Maybe I have some information that could help.”

“Did you know Henderson well?”

“No.” She gave a quick glance around the room and saw her class lined up and ready to go. “Do you know exactly what time the police plan to come by?”

“Detective Sommerville was not that specific, but I got the impression that they’d be here around dinnertime. Something about getting search warrants and that sort of thing.” He reached into his pocket with his free hand. “I do have her number—”

“That’s not necessary.”

Of course not
. “Well, I’ll let you go.”

Marie did not take the hint. She continued to hold on to his arm. Noah figured it was less about making a pass and more about being lost in thought.

“Marie?”

She jerked back. “Sorry.”

“Enjoy the exercise.”

M
arie ended the class forty-eight minutes later. She gave the women a quick apology for the short session and then ran out of the room. Noah knew because he watched the entire scene. Peeking in windows and hanging out in doorways were not his usual ways to spend a day, but he had to admit there was a certain energy that came from sneaking around like this.

Instead of sticking around to shower or chat with the ladies, Marie left. She grabbed her bag and headed across the parking lot to the back side of the resort’s campus. To exactly where the employee apartments were located.

She did not stop or linger. She did not hide her trail, either. Following was pretty easy, since she did not look around. Didn’t even stop to say hello to the two employees who tried to stop her to engage in conversation.

With so few people staying at the resort, nothing blocked her path. She could make her way around with little hardship. Hiding was not easy, either. He did a lot of ducking behind buildings and kept a decent distance between them just in case.

Less than fifteen minutes later, she stepped onto Henderson’s porch. Noah glanced around, checking the area for Dex. Wherever his friend hid, he did it well. Noah could not see him, anywhere. That meant Marie could not see him either.

But Noah had a clear view of Marie. He hovered at the far side of the dome-shaped building next to the one that housed Henderson’s apartment. The sun beat down on him. Even dressed in a light polo shirt, his skin melted from the heat. Damn, but dry heat was still heat.

She took one last quick look around. Unlike Dex and Gray, she did not have to resort to breaking in. That was a key she slid into the lock. For a woman with no interest in the crime, she sure did have access to the dead man’s property.

When she slipped inside, Noah came around the building, crossed in front of another one, and made his way to Henderson’s apartment. The sight that greeted him almost made him laugh. Sure made him smile.

She stood inside turning over drawers, throwing whatever wasn’t nailed down onto the floor, and generally doing nothing to hide her noisy search. Wood crashed. Something that sounded like breaking glass came next.

If there were a diary in there, she would have found it. Since it was all a ruse, all she did was make a mess. And prove that she had something to hide in relation to Henderson.

The plan worked. Well, except for the part where he ordered Lexy to stay out of the way and she ignored him. Noah did not see Dex. He did see his wayward and stubborn fiancée. She did a not-so-great job of hiding at the opposite end of the row of apartment domes.

When he locked eyes on her, she stared right at him as if daring him to say something. She probably figured he’d stay quiet and accept her presence without question.

Wrong.

With one last look inside at Marie, who was ripping down the ceiling tiles one by one, Noah stalked over to Lexy. He stepped right in front of her. Had to put his hand over her mouth when it looked as if she was going to squeal.

“What’s with the screaming? You saw me coming to get you.”

“I didn’t expect you to be so angry.”

She had to be kidding. “I told you to wait in the room.”

“I ignored you.”

He took in a huge breath. It was either that or lose control completely. “Why are you here?”

“To help.”

“Are you trying to get killed?”

“Don’t be dramatic.” Her frown turned into a smile. “I was right about Marie, wasn’t I?”

The self-satisfied look meant trouble. If Lexy got the idea that running around causing trouble was a positive thing, he’d spend the rest of her life trying to protect her from herself.

“You’re missing the point.” And he assumed that was on purpose.

“What is she doing in there? Sounds like major reconstruction.”

Since Lexy was ignoring his fury and did not seem particularly in the mood for a lecture, he gave up. There would be time for yelling later.

He suspected she knew that his actions were limited at the moment. She had the upper hand and they both knew it. Kind of hard to tail someone and remain out of sight if you stood ten feet away screaming your head off.

“You’re leaving.” He did not waver.

“Why?”

She was going to be the death of him. He was convinced of that fact now. “Lexy, do not test me on this. It is not safe for you to be here.”

“Or for you.”

“That’s different.”

“Because you’re a man?” She snorted at the idea.

“Because…” He actually did not have a good reason why it was different. Probably did have something to do with his sex and superior ability to hide, but Lexy would discount those like she did everything else.

“That’s what I thought. Stop acting like a bully.” She did not bother to hide the satisfaction on her face.

“You are totally out of control.”

Lexy grabbed his arm and dragged him to the side of the building.

“What are you—”

“Shhhh.” She threw a hand over his mouth. He was so surprised, he stopped talking.

She took one last peek around the corner before she let go of him. “Marie has left the building.”

“What?” He watched Marie’s tight butt scurry back across the parking lot. “Where is she going?”

“Looks like she’s headed for the main resort buildings.”

“To her apartment.”

“Not much of a surprise that hers is a small room near the main conference center, huh? The only apartment near Tate’s house. How convenient.”

“I’m sure there’s some explanation about it being closer to the exercise facilities.”

“Sure.”

“One of the benefits of boffing the boss, I guess.”

“Let’s get going.”

Noah made sure they hung back. Him getting caught was one thing. Allowing Lexy to get picked off was a different story. Besides, they were out in the open again.

Instead of taking the right and heading back to the aerobics room, Marie took a left and headed for her apartment.

Talking to the detective earlier provided this lead. Noah never would have expected a married woman with a house in town to keep a separate apartment at the resort. Went to show how he kept underestimating Marie. Just when he thought she could not get any lower, she dug a hole and crawled right in.

Marie did not stop, either. Her legs whipped back and forth until she reached the hidden beige staircase that led to the second-floor area above the conference center. She took the steps two at a time to get to the top.

“How the hell are we supposed to follow her up there?” Lexy stood with her hands on her hips and stared up at the small window next to Marie’s front door.

Knowing Lexy, she planned to climb up on the roof and lower her body down to peek into Marie’s windows. He did not mention the possibility for fear she would try it.

“Good question.”

“You didn’t make a plan for this?”

“Like what, a hot-air balloon?”

Lexy took a step forward. “We could be quiet and go up—”

“No.” He held her arm just in case she decided to make a break for the stairs.

“You didn’t even know what I was going to say.”

“Yeah, I did. The answer is still no.”

“Now what?”

She sounded disappointed that there wouldn’t be a shootout or something more dramatic. “We’ve proven our point. Let’s find Gray and let him know what’s going on.”

“What point?”

Was he the only one who understood the plan? “That Marie had something to hide relating to Henderson.”

“Oh.”

When Lexy continued to look disappointed, he tried again. “Did you think we would catch her in the act of doing something criminal?”

“I was hoping for a confession.”

A little investigating and the woman went Special Ops on him. “The heat is making you insane.”

She ignored his observation. “I didn’t see Dex back at Henderson’s apartment.”

“Because
he
knows how to stay hidden.”

“I saved you from being smack in sight when Marie came out of the apartment.” Lexy hit the back of her hand against her other palm with a crack to prove her point. “You could be a little more grateful.”

“I wouldn’t have been out of position and in the open if I hadn’t seen you standing there where you were not supposed to be.”

“I don’t see it that way at all.”

“Of course you don’t.”

“I didn’t agree to stay hidden. You’ve got the wrong woman if blind devotion is what you want.”

“What I want is for you to exercise some common sense.”

She rolled her eyes, a gesture she knew he hated. “Are we going to fight all day?”

“Apparently.”

She pointed past him. “There’s Gray.”

He turned around and followed her gaze. “And there’s Sommerville, Lindsay, and four other officers.”

“That’s bad.”

“Well, it’s not good.”

Detective Sommerville stopped right in front of them. “Mr. Paxton. Ms. Stuart. I see you both ignored my directions. Again.”

“We’re just taking a walk.”

“Right.”

“We’re going up.” Detective Lindsay called out his plans, then headed up the stairs to Marie’s apartment with the other officers.

“What’s going on?” Lexy asked.

Gray answered her. “They’re here to arrest Marie and search her apartment. The detective dragged me out from behind that building over here.”

“I was afraid we’d accidentally shoot him.”

“Would that really be an accident?” Noah asked.

Lexy saw the entire situation differently. “So you did listen to us.”

“We were investigating Marie before you came to me with your theories.”

“Sure,” Lexy mumbled.

“We decided to move this afternoon instead of waiting as we wanted to do.” The detective aimed her comments at Noah. “We figured you two would do something dangerous and potentially ruin our chances of catching Marie before she could destroy any more evidence. Our timetable shifted to prevent a full-scale disaster.”

“More evidence?” Gray asked.

“Seems Tate is not so trusting of his employees. He has security cameras stationed outside their residences. Those cameras caught Marie cleaning out Henderson’s apartment yesterday.”

Gray looked impressed with Tate’s business ingenuity. “Score one for Tate.”

“The guy’s a pig.”

Noah agreed with Lexy’s assessment. “Why didn’t any of those cameras catch the murderer going into Lexy’s room?”

“Apparently Tate is less concerned about the guests and their security. There are cameras on the grounds, but not as many and not as prominently placed.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Lexy said.

“He said seeing the cameras scare the guests. If they see the security, they think they aren’t safe.”

“As opposed to having a murder on the grounds?” Gray asked.

Noah understood Tate’s philosophy. Didn’t like him one bit, but got where the man was coming from. The guy wasn’t all that deep. He had one worry: money.

“He’s always worried about his bottom line. Upset guests mean fewer bookings and less money coming in,” Noah added when Lexy remained unconvinced.

“Well, the camera near Ms. Stuart’s room caught a figure entering her room. A small figure, but that’s all we could make out.” No notepad this time. The detective knew this information without help.

“You thought it was me,” Lexy said.

“It was a logical conclusion to check into your background and see.”

The apartment door opened and Detective Lindsay marched Marie down the steps. He grinned like a fool until he saw the small crowd gathered at the bottom of the steps. Probably figured it was time to act like a serious professional and put on his police face.

Marie had no compunctions about making a little noise. She was complaining and swearing. She blamed Tate and Lexy. Called them both some choice names. By the time she reached the bottom of the staircase, a few guests and employees stood around watching the scene. None seemed concerned about Marie being in trouble.

Noah did not see Tate arrive until he walked up behind Lexy and started talking. “She killed Henderson.”

They all turned and stared at him. The man looked terrible. Messed-up hair and a stain on his shirt. Not at all Tate’s usual look. From the dark circles under his eyes, the poor bastard looked as if he had not slept in a month.

Detective Sommerville took a step to the left to block Tate’s view of his girlfriend being dragged off in handcuffs. “Tate has been very helpful. He made the security tapes available. Provided some background information and cleared up Marie’s alibi. Marie’s fingerprints in Ms. Stuart’s room did the rest. She tried to wipe off the lamp, but she missed others.”

The next hour moved by in a haze. There were questions. Reporters arrived at the resort. Lexy tried to comfort Tate, and Gray went to bring Dex back from Henderson’s apartment.

Just before she left, Detective Sommerville pulled Noah aside.

“Good detective work,” he said.

“I told you we know how to solve crime here.”

“You do. Sorry if I made that harder.” As an apology, it sucked, but he did have to admit that the police were on top of this one.

“What’s next for you?”

The personal question struck Noah as odd. “A few more days here to wrap up and make sure everything’s been handled, then back to work.”

She nodded in understanding. Noah thought she would walk off, but she seemed to be coming to a decision in her head.

“Is there something you want to say to me, detective?”

“No.” This time she turned away.

“Okay.”

“Actually.” She faced him again with a look more serious than before. “What are you going to do about your other problem?”

He figured she meant his engagement to Lexy. “I’m making progress.”

“You shouldn’t fool around with blackmail. Get someone in law enforcement to help you.”

Her verbal bomb exploded in his head. “What did you just say?”

“We reviewed your phone records. Saw your e-mails. You didn’t erase the more objectionable ones.”

It never dawned on him that they would pick through his private life. One of the reasons he wanted to turn this thing around and take the spotlight off Lexy was to make sure his private life stayed private.