Star Bright (38 page)

Rainie released a taut breath. “I was afraid of that. He poisoned his first wife, but somehow no traces of poison showed up during the autopsy.”

“And he had the remains cremated immediately,” Simpson inserted. “As a result, we have no body to exhume, and because the coroner believed the young woman died of natural causes, he kept no autopsy samples. We’ve talked with him at length, and he noted nothing suspicious when he examined the body. Her medical records indicate that she died from a lingering illness that baffled several specialists. They couldn’t determine what was wrong with her, but none of them suspected foul play.”

“Poison that couldn’t be detected unless they were looking for it,” Rainie whispered. “Or something that left the system quickly, leaving no chemical trace.”

Simpson nodded. “We believe so, yes. Some lethal substances are difficult if not impossible to detect, and we think Danning used one of them. But we can’t prove it.”

“The second murder was executed just as cleverly,” Slaughter added. “The young woman was driving on a curvy road in rainy, slick-surface conditions and plunged the car off a steep embankment. The police didn’t suspect foul play.” He gestured limply with one hand. “Going on what Loni related to us about Danning’s hiring a thug to tamper with the vehicle’s brakes, we got a warrant to examine Danning’s bank transactions, dating back well before the car accident. We found evidence of the payoff, a check for ten thousand made out to a man named Charles White. Mr. White had a record. He’d once been investigated in a murder-for-hire case but was never charged because there wasn’t enough evidence to convict him. We feel certain that Danning hired White to tamper with Clarissa Danning’s vehicle.”

Hearing Peter’s second wife mentioned by name made her seem more real to Rainie, not just some faceless woman who’d met with a tragic end, but a person who’d loved unwisely, just as Rainie had, and then found herself trapped in a deadly web.

“Have you talked to White?” Quinn asked.

“Mr. White died shortly after the car accident that killed Clarissa Danning,” Simpson replied. “He fell down a flight of stairs and broke his neck.”

“That’s convenient.” Parker’s voice grated like a dull knife over the rough surface of a whetstone. “Danning saw him as a loose end and got rid of him.”

“We believe so, yes,” Slaughter agreed. “We just can’t prove it. In order to put Peter Danning away and stop him from victimizing anyone else, we have to gather irrefutable evidence against him, and so far, we have none.”

“So Rainie is sunk.” Parker didn’t phrase it as a question. “You haven’t come right out and said it, but you can’t help her.”

“That isn’t what we’re saying at all,” Simpson interjected. “But in order to help her, we must get proof to nail Danning.”

“But he left no evidence,” Rainie said, her voice shaky with nerves.

“Which only means that we have to create a situation that produces some,” Simpson replied.

“I’m not following,” Rainie said.

Abandoning all pretense of searching through her notes, the female agent met Rainie’s bewildered gaze. Flattening her palms on the table, she said, “Let me cut to the chase. We’ve put out word to law enforcement agencies, making it possible for you to resurface without any legal ramifications, and now we would like you to file for dissolution of the marriage.”

“What?”
Rainie pressed her shoulder against Parker’s solid arm. The sturdy, muscular brace of his body made her feel safe. “File for a divorce, you mean?”

“If Danning is the greedy killer we believe he is, he’ll freak at the thought of your being awarded half of his ill-gotten gains in divorce court,” Simpson replied. “We think he’ll come after you, making an attempt on your life under the guise of an accident or a random act of violence.”

“Exactly,” Rainie cried. “He’ll come after me and kill me!”

“He’ll try,” Simpson amended. “In order for us to catch him in the act, you will have to be under constant FBI surveillance.”

Parker stiffened on his chair. “You want to use her as
bait
?”

“There is a certain level of risk. I won’t lie to you about that.” Simpson made direct eye contact with Parker. “But we will take every possible precaution to ensure Ms. Hall’s safety. You have my personal guarantee on that.”

Parker leveled a hard look at Slaughter. “Do you people have any idea what a ruthless son of a bitch Danning is?”

“We’re well aware that the man is ruthless and probably psychotic,” Slaughter retorted. “We’re also aware that he’ll strike again if we don’t stop him. We need Ms. Hall’s cooperation to do that.”

“We’ve made arrangements with Mr. Quinn for you to sign the divorce papers this afternoon,” Simpson went on, her gaze shifting to the lawyer. “If you agree to cooperate, he’ll file them at your local courthouse first thing tomorrow morning. In the hope that we can end this as quickly as possible, strings will be pulled to get Danning served no later than tomorrow afternoon.”

“But then he’ll know where I am,” Rainie protested.

“Exactly.” Simpson pushed at her cropped blond hair. “We want him to know where you are, Ms. Hall, and we want him to make an attempt on your life. According to Mr. Quinn, you’ve been staying here at the ranch for safety reasons. We must request that you return to your residence as of tomorrow. You can come here to work during the day, of course. That’s been your usual routine, but henceforth, you need to go home every night. Danning won’t make a move unless he believes you’re alone and unprotected.”

Parker sat forward on his chair. “You want her to stay there alone? Are you out of your minds?” He sent a sharp look at the lawyer. “Why didn’t you give us a heads-up about this so we could discuss it? I don’t want Rainie’s safety to be at risk.”

“I wasn’t informed until right before the meeting,” Quinn replied.

“There’s no other way,” Simpson interjected softly. “And Ms. Hall won’t really be alone, Mr. Harrigan. When she travels back and forth between here and home, she’ll be tailed by two well-trained agents. They’ll hang back, of course, so they won’t be detected, but they’ll be there in case she needs help. A transmitter will be placed on her car, enabling them to know when she’s on the move and also to track her. That way, they can park well away from the ranch or her house and fall in behind her without being seen. We’ll also have agents positioned all around her residence. If Danning shows up, his every move will be monitored, and they’ll get on scene before Ms. Hall is harmed.”

“You won’t be able to prove deadly intent unless you allow him to make an actual attempt on her life!” Parker shot back. “What do you take me for, Ms. Simpson, a backwoods hick with no understandin’ of the law? You can’t arrest the man for enterin’ his wife’s residence. You can’t arrest him for attemptin’ to see her. You’ll have to catch him red-handed, tryin’ to take her life.”

“When Ms. Hall signs the divorce papers this afternoon, Mr. Quinn will also file a restraining order. In that paperwork, Ms. Hall will detail her reasons for requesting the order, namely that she’s afraid Danning will try to kill her. So we
will
be able to arrest Danning if he goes within a hundred and fifty yards of her. But we’ll do so only in the event that we believe the situation has gotten out of hand.”

“In other words, you plan to stand clear until he tries to take her life.” Parker’s jaw muscle started to tic. “I’m sorry, but that isn’t okay with me.”

“Her safety will be our number one priority.”

Parker sank back on his chair.

“There’s no other way,” Slaughter interjected. “We want this man off the streets as much as you do. We’re going to have to work together to nail him.”

“A charge of attempted murder won’t keep him off the streets for very long,” Parker shot back.

“No, but once he’s in custody,” Simpson replied, “we can interrogate him and hopefully wring a confession out of him about one of the three slayings. Our people are well trained and know how to rattle a suspect. If he gets his facts mixed up, just once, then our chances of getting him to confess increase substantially.”

The thought of going home to spend nights alone frightened Rainie, but she wasn’t nearly as terrified by the prospect as she would have been a month ago. She squeezed Parker’s hand. “I’m okay with it, Parker.”

He sent her a smoldering look.

“It’s something I have to do,” Rainie hurried to explain. “If Peter isn’t stopped, how many other young women may die? I can’t live with that on my conscience.”

“I’m not asking you to. But I absolutely
refuse
to let you stay alone at night, no how, no way.”

“She has to stay there alone,” Slaughter insisted. “Otherwise, Danning won’t show his hand. As Special Agent Simpson said, every precaution will be taken to ensure Ms. Hall’s safety. The house will be wired so the surveillance agents will be able to hear what’s going on. They’ll move in the moment there’s cause for alarm.”

A sudden concern occurred to Rainie. “What about my friends, Maggie and Janet? Will you be protecting them, too?”

Slaughter shook his head. “It’s not Danning’s MO to go after them. Too obvious. He prides himself on being so slick he’ll never be caught, and going after them would be a dead giveaway.”

Rainie decided that was probably a correct assumption. Peter believed himself to be of superior intelligence. Going after Maggie or Janet would be rash and stupid, and Peter was far too cunning for that.

That afternoon Parker accompanied Rainie to the attorney’s office to sign the divorce papers. He was uncharacteristically quiet en route, had little to say during the meeting with Raymond Quinn, and still seemed distant when they were once again in his truck, driving back to the ranch.

“Parker, please don’t be mad at me,” she finally said.

He gave her a brooding look and then checked his rearview mirror before changing lanes. “I’m not mad at you, honey. I’m scared half to death.”

Rainie understood exactly how he felt. Her initial confidence about staying alone at night had given way to a bad case of nerves. Peter was smart. What if he managed to slip past the FBI agents and into her house? He might sabotage the microphones, making it impossible for them to hear what was going on. The very thought made her blood run cold. As hard as she had worked over the last two weeks to prepare herself for a physical confrontation with Peter, she still had a long way to go. Unlike the punching bag, he wouldn’t just stand there and let her kick him.

After the supper dishes were done that evening, Rainie turned from putting something away in a cupboard to find Parker right behind her. With a shaky sigh, he drew her into his arms, the urgency in his embrace conveying without words just how worried he was.

“I love you so much,” he whispered huskily. “I’m sorry for sulkin’ all day. It’s just difficult for me to put your safety into someone else’s hands.”

Her eyes swimming with tears, Rainie knew beyond any doubt that she had come to love him, too. No more reservations, no more excuses, no more holding her feelings in check. How could she not love this man? From the start, even when he’d had no proof to make him believe her story, he’d become her friend and supporter, and he’d been behind her ever since, never once threatening to expose her or trying to control her in any way. In the beginning, he could have done that so easily, using his knowledge of her wrongdoing as leverage against her. Deep in her heart, Rainie knew that was precisely what Peter would have done.

Curling her arms around his shoulders, she went up on her tiptoes, pressed close, and turned her face against his neck. “I love you, too, Parker. With all my heart. I love you, too.”

He went absolutely still. Then his arms tightened around her. “Say that again?”

Rainie smiled, her lips curving against his skin. “I love you, Parker. I have for a long time. It’s just really,
really
hard for me to say the words, even inside my head.”

“Why?”
he asked. “I’ve been waitin’ for what seems like forever to hear them.”

He’d been waiting for other things as well. Rainie felt the evidence of that, a hard ridge of masculine desire throbbing against her belly. “I was afraid of where they might take me, I guess. Loving you—admitting that I love you—is
huge
for me. Remember talking to me about leaping off a cliff with you? That’s how it feels to me, as if I’m about to jump and do a free fall.”

She swallowed hard, hating herself for being such a coward. If any man on earth had ever earned a woman’s absolute trust, it was
this
man. Inside, she still cringed at the thought of having sex, though. Her memories of Peter’s touch and the beatings that he’d meted out when her performance in the bedroom hadn’t pleased him were still so fresh in her mind. She needed more time to distance herself from all of that. Problem: Parker needed her
now
, and he deserved to have his needs met. If she loved him,
really
loved him, she wouldn’t think of herself. She’d think only of him.

“I’m ready to do that now,” she whispered. “Take the leap, I mean.”

He dipped his dark head to bury his face in her hair. “Are you, now?”

Rainie nodded and pressed her body more firmly against his. “I am, Parker. I truly am. Take me upstairs and make love to me.”

Instead he just stood there like a tree that had put down roots, his arms locked around her, his body swaying slightly as if buffeted by a strong breeze. Finally he said, “Never,
ever
lie to me, Rainie. I know you
want
to be ready, and that you’re willin’ to pretend that you are in order to make me happy. But I’m not okay with that.”

“But what if I’m never ready?” she asked, her voice taut with concern. “Sometimes you just have to force yourself.”

She felt his mouth tip into a grin. “There are times when forcin’ yourself to confront your fears is the only way to conquer ’em. I agree with you on that. But I’m not willin’ to settle for that when it comes to sex. I want our first time together to be absolutely beautiful for you—so perfect in every way that you never even
think
about Peter Danning, from start to finish.”

That was a tall order. Rainie squeezed her eyes closed, her chest aching with regret, because she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to deliver on that request. “What if that time never comes?”

“Never?” he echoed huskily. “Well, then, I guess we’ll have to reassess the situation and come up with another plan of action. If you still aren’t ready in six months or a year, I promise to consider the grin-and-bear-it method.”

The grin-and-bear-it method?
A giggle bubbled up her throat. She tried to swallow it back, but it escaped, sounding more like a wet snort than a laugh.

“What, exactly, is so funny?” he asked with a smile in his voice.

Rainie tightened her hold on his neck. “
You
are. A year, Parker? I can’t believe you’d offer to wait that long.”

“I’m not exactly happy about it,” he admitted. “And to be honest, I don’t think it’ll take that long.” He nibbled her earlobe, sending shocks of sensation spiraling into her belly. “But I’m willin’ to wait if it does. When it happens, I don’t want it to be a chore you’re performin’ to make me happy. I want it to be what makes
you
happy. When the time is right, you will be. You’ll see.”

His refusal to take what she had offered brought a fresh rush of tears to Rainie’s eyes, and deep within her, a chink formed in the ice that Peter had put around her heart.

“Oh, Parker, no wonder I love you,” she whispered shakily. “You’re the most wonderful man I’ve ever known.”

“Thank you, darlin’. That’s one of the nicest compliments I’ve ever received.” He loosened his arms from around her, took her hand, and led her upstairs. At her door, he took her face between his hands. “What would you say if I asked to sleep with you tonight?”

Rainie gazed up at him in bewildered confusion. “I thought you just said—”

He angled a thumb across her lips. “No funny business. I only want to hold you and be with you. Tomorrow you leave. This is our last night together.”

Unable to speak past the lump in her throat, Rainie only nodded. He followed her into the bedroom. When she went to the dresser for a nightgown, he stopped her with, “As a safety precaution, let’s sleep in our clothes. I’m a man, not a saint.”

She returned to the bed, he on one side, she on the other. As he toed off his boots, she kicked off hers. After pulling back the covers, they sank down onto their respective sides of the mattress and then rolled toward each other, jostling for a comfortable position, which ended with her head resting in the hollow of his shoulder. In the dim glow of the light spilling in from the hall, they were surrounded by shadows and the combined warmth of their bodies. Without speaking, he lightly stroked her hair, each pass of his hand telling her how deeply he loved her.

Rainie settled against him and closed her eyes, feeling utterly at peace for the first time in so long she couldn’t remember when. Just then, a series of yips traveled up the staircase and into the room.

“Shit,” he whispered.

Rainie giggled. “We forgot your sidekick.”

He sat up and swung his feet off the bed. While jerking his boots back on, he said over his shoulder, “I’ll need to take him out.”

“I’ll wait for you.”

He pushed to his feet, a masculine silhouette in the dimness. “Be right back.”

While he was gone, Thomas joined Rainie in bed and settled on the pillow that had so recently supported Parker’s dark head. Sighing, Rainie petted her cat until Parker returned. Mojo stumbled across the rumpled bedcovers to curl up on the pillow with Thomas. When Parker had once again divested himself of his boots, he assessed the situation.

“Well, hell. Is that a bed or a kennel?”

Rainie patted her side of the mattress. “We can fit over here. It’ll be cozier this way.”

As he slipped in beside her and drew her back into his arms, he asked, “What’ll we do when Mojo weighs close to two hundred pounds?”

Rainie smiled and snuggled close, loving the feel of his strong arms. “Get a bigger bed?”

They held each other long into the night, Parker controlling his physical urges because he knew that she was still haunted by terrible memories, Rainie feeling grateful just to have his warmth all around her. She was touched more deeply than he would ever know when he made no moves on her. He seemed content simply to hold her close. It was one of the most beautiful gifts he could have given her.

The following day, it was never far from Rainie’s mind that she would have to go home alone that afternoon. She adhered to her usual routine, taking her breakfast with Parker, working out, and then going to the office to perform her job. When Parker joined her for lunch in the office, they dined on Chinese takeout in unaccustomed silence. Not even Parker seemed inclined to talk. Rainie had never known him to be quiet for so long. That told her he was as worried about the coming night as she was.

When her workday was over, he invited her to stay for dinner.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I need to stop by the store for some groceries, and once I get home, I’ll have heaps to do. The whole place is probably covered in dust, and even though I emptied the fridge of perishables, it’ll probably need a wipe-down with soda water to freshen it up.”

His dark gaze held hers, and for a moment, she thought he might argue. But in the end, he only nodded and walked with her to the Mazda. Once she was settled behind the wheel, he rested his folded arms on the window opening and leaned close to say, “You’ve got my number on speed dial.”

“Yes. I’ll call if I need you.”

“If you get nervous and can’t sleep, don’t hesitate, either.”

She nodded and tried to avoid his gaze, afraid she might burst into tears if she looked directly into his eyes.
Alone.
For the next fifteen hours, she would be completely alone. “What if—” She broke off and swallowed to steady her voice. “What if they don’t have any agents lined up to stand watch tonight?”

“I’m sure they have that covered,” he assured her. “Try not to be scared, Rainie mine. The FBI is a pretty squared-away outfit. The agents are all very well trained. Nobody will get past ’em without bein’ seen.”

She turned the key in the ignition. The Mazda’s engine purred to life, still running smoothly, thanks to the overhaul Parker’s mechanic had given it. The memory made her heart pang. That long-ago morning, she’d been so afraid to give Parker her keys, thinking that he meant to keep her at the ranch until the police arrived. That seemed like a lifetime ago now.

“Well, good-bye,” she said hollowly. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

He nodded and backed away from the vehicle. “Ten minutes,” he called as she backed the car around to head down the driveway. “I can be there just that fast.”

Rainie watched him in her rearview mirror as she drove along the rutted road that led to the highway. He was still standing there, gazing after her, when she executed the turn and lost sight of him.
Coward.
She glanced in the mirror, hoping to see a vehicle in the distance, but if two agents were tailing her, they were nowhere in sight.

With a shaky hand, she turned on the radio, but not even George Strait’s honeyed voice could soothe her frazzled nerves. She wouldn’t even have Thomas to keep her company, she thought forlornly. Because he had gotten so upset the last time she transported him, she’d decided to leave him at Parker’s place, where he’d come to feel at home.

Her stop at the grocery store took over thirty minutes, so it was a little over an hour before she reached her place. After parking in the short driveway, she sat in the car for a long while, staring at the house. She didn’t want to go in there. Peter hadn’t been served the papers until sometime that afternoon. Odds were good that he was still in Seattle, and he was far too smart to do anything impulsive. Instead, he’d probably circle the situation, wondering why she hadn’t been arrested. The FBI agents seemed to think that he would accept at face value the story he would be told by Seattle law enforcement officers, namely that she hadn’t broken any law by faking her own death.

Rainie worried that Peter wasn’t quite that gullible. He’d smell something fishy. She just knew he would. Besides, it had never been far from her mind that he might already know where she was. She’d been safe on the ranch over the last two weeks. For all she knew, he could have cased her house during her absence and be hiding in there right now, waiting to pounce on her. Would she have been notified if he wasn’t available when they tried to serve him with the divorce papers? What if he wasn’t in Seattle, but right here in Crystal Falls?

Stop it, Rainie. Just stop it!
She forced herself to get out of the car and collect the grocery bags. As she walked toward the front porch, she whispered under her breath, “I can, I can, I
can
.” But somehow the words gave her little comfort. Though she knew agents were watching her, she couldn’t see them. What if they weren’t out there?

Once in the house, she locked the door behind her, then walked straight into the kitchen. Her skin felt as if it had been turned inside out, and her heart was pounding like a piston. She set the bags on the counter and grabbed the rolling pin from a drawer. Then she took a tour of the house, ready to clobber anything that moved.
All clear.
She checked every conceivable hiding place, even looking under the beds.

Satisfied that her husband wasn’t inside the house, she set herself to the task of bringing in her suitcase, unpacking, and tidying the rooms. That kept her busy until almost dark. Then she fixed herself a ham sandwich and some vegetable soup, sat at the table, and tried to eat.
Yeah, right
. Every time the floor creaked, she about had a heart attack. No amount of lecturing herself settled her nerves. Special Agents Slaughter and Simpson seemed positive that Peter would come after her. They just couldn’t say when. And wasn’t that just ducky? In the interim, all she could do was wait. Did either of them comprehend how frightening that was for her?

Chapter Fifteen

B
efore it grew fully dark, Rainie pulled all the curtains. Peter could be out there right now. She could imagine him peering through a crack in the drapes, smiling and planning his revenge. She envisioned him wearing gloves and a stocking cap to avoid leaving behind any trace of his DNA during a struggle. Her only comfort was in the knowledge that he wouldn’t rape her. Peter was far too intelligent to leave any physical evidence that might implicate him, and semen was as damning as a fingerprint nowadays.

Unable to settle anywhere, Rainie started pacing from room to room. Within thirty minutes, she’d bitten her fingernails to the quick.
Oh, God.
She couldn’t
do
this. She went to the phone, wanting to call Parker. She knew he would come if she asked. But then what? Peter wouldn’t make a move unless he felt certain she was alone. By inviting Parker over, she would only be prolonging the torture. Eventually, she had to stay here alone and be okay with it. It was the only way to lure Peter into the FBI’s trap.

Her feet almost parted company with the floor when a soft tap came at her back door. Scrambling to retrieve her rolling pin, Rainie faced the portal.