Ring of Lies (23 page)

‘
Jack—
’

He rubbed his beard, and then ran his hand round the back of his neck.
‘
Accept it, Grace
,
I have.
There’s no point
in fretting
over what might have been.
Now, i
f you’re about done, let’s go.
I want to get you settled before I leave you alone for the night.
’

Stunned
, Grace sn
apped the locks on her suitcase
and picked up her purse.
A quick glance around the room told her she’d not left anything behind.
Jack dragged her case off the bed and
strode out of the
suite
.

In the lobby,
Grace
paid her bill
and
arranged for any mail to be held,
then
followed
him
out to his car.

‘
Did you leave a forwarding address
?
’
Jack asked.

‘
I could hardly do that, seeing as I don’t know where you’re taking me
,
’
she replied
curtly.

‘
Sorry,
I was thinking about something else.
’
Like
how
Rosa
is
going to
react
when
he told
her
he wasn’t
going to be around
to help with Emilia
tomorrow
.

While
he
waited for a tourist bus to clear the exit of the parking lot, he studied Grace’s face.
Tight-lipped and sombre, h
er expression was
easy
to read.
Was she angry
because he’d suggested
that her husband was a crook or because he’d admitted that he wanted her?
Or both?

The drive to Coral Gables didn’t take long, and by the time Jack pulled up in front of the Cutler Inn he’d had enough of the
silence and tension in the car.

‘
You’ll be safe here,
’
he
said.
‘
It’s run
by
Frank
Davis
, and his wife, Maisie.
We’re old friends.
I’d trust both of them with my life.
’

Grace didn’t even look at him.
‘
Why should I trust them with mine?
’

‘
Because
Frank’s
an ex-cop.
One of the best.
And he’s
real keen on security, and short of taking an axe to the doors, there’s no way for anyone to gain entry to the guest rooms.
That’s why.
’
He clambered out of the
car
,
pulled Grace’s luggage off the back seat
, and herded her
toward the front door
.

The two-storey Florida mansion ho
use had been
lovingly
restored
.
Painted white, with double galleries supported by pillars, it
overlooked the Coral Gables
w
aterway.

Jack shouldered
open
the massive
carved oak
door and stepped aside to let Grace pass.
He dropped her suitcase on th
e floor.

‘
I’ll go find Frank.
’

While she waited, Grace wandered around the room.
Decorated
in soft cream, with oak floors
, rattan furniture and
colo
u
r
ful cushions
,
the reception
room
was a picture
of
elegance
and old
s
outhern
c
harm.
Overhead, a huge brass fan stirred the air.
Sh
e
was
busy
examining an old, framed photograph of the property when Jack returned with a
man
wearing a
green, blue and yellow
Hawaiian shirt and
khaki
shorts
.

‘
Hi, I’m Frank,
’
he said
, and held
his
out
hand
.

‘
Grace Elliott.
’
She
took
it
and
felt the inherent strength in his fingers.
Frank Davis might be in his sixties, but he was stronger and looked fitter than men half his age.
Nor had a
ge dulled the sparkle in his blue-grey eyes.
Deeply tanned, his
white hair was cut crew-
cut
short
.

‘
Jack
tells me you’ve had
some
trouble.
Don’t
worry. Y
ou’ll be safe here.
I’
ve
given
you the room next to Maisie and me.
Ordinarily we don’t serve dinner, but for you, I’m making an exception.
’

Grace forced herself to smile.
‘
That’s very kind of you
Mr
.
Davis
.
’

‘
Naw, call me Frank
.
E
veryone else does.
And it’s no trouble at all.
’
He picked up her suitcase.
‘
I’ll show you to your room.
After you
freshen up, we’ll eat.
Maisie i
s a great cook.
You staying for dinner, Jack?
’

‘
Thanks, Frank,
b
ut I’d better get back.
Things do to.
’

Grace and Jack followed him upstairs to a room at the front of the house.
The
bedroom, complete with private bathroom
,
was large and airy
and tastefully decorated in muted
shade
s
of green.
A king-size
bed
, covered
by
a rose
colo
u
r
ed throw,
with a
bedside cabinet on either side,
filled the
centre
of one wall.
The furniture, like that of the r
eception room, was made of oak.

‘
This is wonderful.
It’s very kind of you to take me on such short notice
,
’
Grace said.

‘
It’s always a pleasure to help
Jack
.
Okay
, I’ll leave you to settle in and see you
downstairs when you’re ready.
’

Jack closed the door.
‘
Frank i
s a good man, Grace.
He sleeps with a
.
38 next to the bed, so you only have to holler and he’ll come running.
’
He nodded towards the phone.
‘
I’ve asked
him
to
en
sure you have an outside line at all times.
If you hear anything that makes you nervous, yo
u
call me
no matter what the time is
and I’ll be here right away.
Otherwise
,
I’ll see you in the morning
and we’ll go over th
e
bank statements
then
.
In the meantime,
try and get some rest
.
’
He bent to kiss her cheek then decided it wasn’t such a good idea after all, so settled for giving her
shoulder a re-assuring squeeze, then left.

Grace crossed to the window and leaned her head against the glass.
Outside,
colo
u
r
ed lights twinkled in the branches of the trees, reminding her that Christmas was
but a few short weeks away.

Her first Christmas without Daniel.

Life would never be the same again.
She felt hurt, empty, lost.
Unlike
Catherine
, her sister, she’d never been one for the
social
scene, and the idea of forging new
friends
hips
was abhorrent.
But, th
en so was the prospect of spending the rest of her life on her own.