Jake swung Adelaide into another slow turn around the dance floor. When the music stopped, they were on the opposite side of the room.
“Let’s go outside and get some fresh air,” he said.
He took her hand and steered her toward the open French doors. The lush gardens that surrounded the Paradise Club were a wonderland at night. The footpaths were illuminated with small, low-level lamps. Tiny lights sparkled in the tall hedges. The air was fragrant with the scents of flowers and citrus. The grounds had been designed to provide privacy for couples. Adelaide heard soft laughter and low murmurs wafting on the evening air.
Jake drew her to a halt in the deep shadows of an orange tree.
“Would you mind telling me why you’ve been so tense since you returned from your shopping trip with Raina this afternoon?” he said.
She froze. It took her a few seconds to recover.
“Why shouldn’t I be tense?” she whispered. “If your suspicions are correct, we may be hunting for a killer. At the very least we’re trying to locate a blackmailer. I’d say I have a lot of reasons to feel tense.”
“Take it easy. I agree with you. It’s just that you seem a little different tonight. Distracted. Jumpier than usual.”
So much for thinking that she had succeeded in concealing her emotions. Her temper spiked.
“Jumpier than usual?” she said.
“If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine.”
“There is nothing to talk about,” she said, careful to keep her tone very even.
Jake went preternaturally still. “Hush.”
“Don’t you dare tell me to—”
She closed her mouth because Jake had put one hand firmly over her lips. Before she could protest, he was easing her into the deep shadows of a nearby orange tree.
He took his hand away from her mouth and kissed her before she could catch her breath.
For a few seconds she was too astonished to react. And then a wild rush of excitement flashed through her. Some part of her had been anticipating the moment when Jake took her into his arms since the first time he had walked into the tearoom. She had sensed even then that his kiss would change her life, if only for one night.
She had been wrong.
Jake’s kiss was cold and calculating. There was nothing thrilling about it. His mouth was hard on hers, devoid of any trace of warmth and passion. She was still reeling from the disorienting shock when she heard the approach of rapid footsteps on the graveled path.
Understanding crackled through her. The kiss was not real. It was a screen kiss designed to fool an audience.
The footsteps drew closer. Whoever was coming their way would pass them in a few seconds. Jake was faking the kiss because he wanted whoever was coming toward them to think they were just another romantically inclined couple that had slipped into the gardens for some privacy.
She wound her arms around Jake’s neck and pressed herself very tightly against him, throwing herself into the role that he had assigned her. She knew how to play a part, she thought. Hellfire and damnation, did she know how to act. She had fooled a mad scientist, a couple of experienced nurses, some oversized orderlies, and the scheming bastard who ran the Rushbrook Sanitarium. When the occasion demanded it, she was as good an actress as any Hollywood star.
Her spirited response caught Jake off guard. It was his turn to freeze in surprise. She tightened her arms around his neck. The hurrying footsteps drew closer.
Jake lost control of the kiss. He groaned and crushed her against his chest. The clinical embrace went from ice-cold to red-hot and out of control between one heartbeat and the next.
The footsteps passed by and faded into the distance, but Jake did not relax his grip. Adelaide was just starting to realize that the storm of passion had become shatteringly real when it ended as suddenly as it had begun.
Jake ripped his mouth off hers, closed his hands around her forearms, and very carefully, very deliberately set her a short distance away.
Fingers as cold as the grave touched the back of her neck, just as they had earlier that afternoon. The heat of passion evaporated instantly. Panic churned in her stomach.
She opened her eyes and found herself looking past Jake’s broad shoulder. A tall, elegantly thin man in a white dinner jacket was just disappearing around a hedge. The light of a nearby garden lamp gleamed briefly on his oiled dark hair. He didn’t give any indication that he had noticed the couple embracing in the shadows of the orange tree. He moved like an angry, impatient, or, perhaps, very frustrated man.
He moved exactly like the man she had glimpsed in the shopping plaza that afternoon—exactly like Conrad Massey.
She realized that Jake was watching her with a disconcerting intensity. It was, she thought, almost as if he was suddenly a little wary of her.
“My apologies,” he said. His low voice was rough around the edges. “I was just trying to keep him from seeing you.”
She took a shaky breath. “I understand. I think you were successful.”
Jake searched her face.
“Did you get a look at him?”
“No, not really.” That much was true but it was not the whole truth. She needed time to think, but the panic rising inside her told her that time had run out. “I only saw him from the back. He was wearing a white evening jacket. Dark trousers. Dark hair.”
“That describes half the men in the Paradise tonight, including me.”
“No,” she said before she could stop herself. “It doesn’t describe you.”
“Are you sure?” He sounded wryly amused.
“You move . . . differently.” She waved her hands, struggling to explain. “Like a very large cat. A leopard or a mountain lion or . . . something. The man I saw did not walk the way you do. Never mind, I can’t explain it. You’ll have to take my word for it.”
“That’s not terribly helpful. Did you notice anything else about him?”
“He was walking very quickly. I got the impression that he was angry.”
“I think he followed us out here. But he didn’t see us in the shadows.”
“Why would he follow us?” she asked. She knew her voice sounded weak.
Jake gave her a searching look. She knew he didn’t believe her but he did not comment. Without a word, he took her arm.
Unable to think of anything else to do, Adelaide allowed him to steer her back into the nightclub. The first thing she noticed was that Vera Westlake was once again sitting alone.
“Paxton is gone,” Jake said. “That’s interesting. Any sign of the other man?”
“No, but I can’t be positive he’s not in here somewhere,” she said. “It’s just too dark. The only people I can see clearly are the ones seated in the booths around the dance floor and the couples who are dancing.”
“Luther’s security people will have a list of everyone who is in the club tonight. I’ll ask to take a look at it tomorrow.”
Would Conrad Massey—assuming it was Massey she had seen—use his real name? Adelaide wondered.
Jake escorted her to their booth. She looked at the sparkling water in her glass. What she really needed was a martini, she thought.
She picked up the glass of water and tried to decide what to do. She finally came to a decision. She set the glass down abruptly.
“There are some things about me that you should know,” she said, choosing her words very carefully. “I was hoping I would never have to explain my life to you, but I don’t think I have a choice now. You deserve the truth.”
Jake had just swallowed some of his sparkling water. He lowered the glass. His eyes never left her face.
“I’m listening,” he said.
“I don’t want to talk about it here.”
Jake got to his feet. “Let’s go home.”
She wanted to tell him that
she didn’t have a home, that in a very real sense she did not even exist. That she was just Patient B and, as far as some people were concerned, she had vanished.
But it was not the kind of story a woman told a man while sitting with him in a candlelit booth in a nightclub.
Chapter 28
She had not lied, Jake thought, but she had not told him the full truth about the man who had passed them in the garden. Once again he reminded himself that she had a right to her secrets, but whatever she was not telling him was definitely complicating the problem of keeping her safe.
They stood silently together in front of the big wrought iron gates at the front of the Paradise Club, waiting for the valet to fetch the car. He was very conscious of Adelaide’s nearness but he had no clue as to her thoughts. It was obvious that she had been badly shaken by the events in the gardens, but he did not know if it was the kiss that had rattled her or the sight of the man who had walked past them. He was starting to wonder if it was both of those things.
One thing was certain—the kiss that had flashed like lightning between them had definitely left him feeling shaken. It wasn’t that he hadn’t known there was some risk involved in kissing her. But he had been so damn sure he could control the situation.
He had been wrong, and not for the first time when it came to Adelaide, he thought.
The valet brought the speedster to a stop in front of the gate and got out. Jake opened the passenger side door to allow Adelaide to slip into the front seat. A silver sandal gleamed briefly in the moonlight, allowing him a glimpse of one elegantly arched foot. The heat that had slammed through him when he had taken her into his arms a few minutes ago stirred his senses again.
He closed the car door very quickly and took a couple of deep breaths while he walked around the long hood of the vehicle. By the time he got behind the wheel, he thought he was back in command of himself.
He put the car in gear and drove down the lane and onto Cliff Road. The moon was still out but a light fog was starting to coalesce over the night-darkened ocean.
“Why don’t you start by telling me what it was about that man who passed us in the gardens that is worrying you?” he asked.
Adelaide had been concentrating on the view of the narrow strip of pavement unspooling in the car’s headlights. She turned her head and gave him a very brief, very sharp look. For a moment he didn’t think she was going to answer.
“I’m almost positive that I saw him earlier today while I was shopping with Raina,” she said finally. “But I only caught a glimpse of him then, too, so I can’t be absolutely certain.”
“You thought you recognized him?”
“He resembled a man I knew in San Francisco. We . . . dated for a time.”
Jake remembered the golf course conversation with Luther. Wouldn’t be the first time a woman tried to escape a mentally unbalanced man who became obsessed with her.
“Do you think that a man you once dated has followed you to Burning Cove?” he asked, needing to be sure.
“Maybe. The story is complicated. I’d prefer to wait until we get home. I could use a drink—something stronger than water or tea.”
He wanted to keep pushing her for answers but it was obvious that she needed time.
“All right,” he said. “Meanwhile, I think it might be a good idea for me to have a look around Calvin Paxton’s villa at the Burning Cove Hotel. Luther can probably get his friend Oliver Ward to let me inside.”
Alarmed, Adelaide turned quickly in the seat. “Are you talking about breaking into Dr. Paxton’s villa?”
“No, I’m talking about asking a friend to get me a key to the villa so that I can take a look around while Paxton is out. Got a better idea?”
“Not yet, but I’ll think of something,” Adelaide vowed. “Give me thirty seconds.”
“Why are you so concerned about me going into Paxton’s villa?”
“Because if you’re right, if he did have something to do with Zolanda’s death, he’s dangerous.”
“Thank you for your concern but I can take care of myself, Adelaide.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know—you used to be in the import-export business. You have a gun. I’ve got one question for you.”
“What?”
“Where is that gun tonight?”
“Locked inside the glove compartment of this car. Luther doesn’t allow guests to carry guns into the club. I could have asked for special permission, being his friend and all, but I didn’t think it was necessary. Luther’s security people are well armed. There’s probably no safer place in Burning Cove than the Paradise.”
“Oh,” Adelaide said.
She studied the glove compartment in front of her as if she had never seen one before.
“I assume you were going to point out that owning a gun isn’t much use if it’s not available when you need it,” he said.
She sighed. “Something like that. I didn’t bring my gun, either, so I’m in no position to lecture on the subject. Moving right along, has it occurred to you that Paxton might also own a gun. If he surprises you while you are searching his villa, he would have every reason to shoot you first. He would be able to claim he thought you were an intruder. Which would be more or less the truth.”
“Huh.”
“Now what are you thinking?”
“It strikes me as rather interesting that you would leap to the conclusion that Paxton might have a gun,” he said.
“Why wouldn’t I think that? I’ve got one and so do you. And someone in this situation is already dead.”
“Madam Zolanda was not shot.”
“True,” Adelaide said. “But if she was murdered, I think I may know how.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’ll tell you when we get back to the cottage. You’re driving at the moment. You shouldn’t be distracted.”
“And what you’re going to tell me will probably distract me?”
“Probably.”
Adelaide fell silent. He realized that he was starting to enjoy the view of Cliff Road. The pavement was lengthening and unwinding in front of the car—all the way into infinity. It occurred to him that he could drive forever and never arrive at the end. He would have Adelaide beside him all the way.
The moonlight splashed silver on the night-darkened ocean. The glow was becoming more intense. It was beckoning him, drawing him deeper into the night. It was a spangled highway that until now he had never known existed. There were secrets at the end of the gleaming silver road. All he had to do was follow the radiant trail.
“Jake?”
Adelaide’s voice came from another dimension.
“There’s nothing to worry about,” he said. “We’re going to find all the answers when we get there.”
“Where are we going?” Adelaide asked.
She was concerned. He did not want her to worry. He would protect her.
“Everything will be all right,” he said. “Can’t you see the moonlight highway? We can follow it to the truth.”
“Jake, listen to me. You must stop the car.”
“But we’re not there yet. Look at all the colors around us. Who knew there were so many shades of night?”
“I said, stop the car.”
She leaned toward him. For a few seconds he thought she was going to kiss him. Instead, she yanked the key out of the ignition. The roar of the engine ceased abruptly. The car began to slow.
Adelaide grabbed the wheel.
“Let go,” she ordered.
He obeyed, letting his hands drop to his knees. She was climbing over him now, taking control of the wheel.
He laughed. “You should have told me you wanted to drive.”
“Move your foot out of the way,” she said. She kicked the side of his leg with one silver sandal. “Do it now, Jake Truett.”
Obediently he moved his foot. Adelaide was half sitting on his thigh. He could feel the lush curve of her hips. Filled with wonder, he raised a hand to touch her bare back.
“You’re so soft,” he said. “And warm.”
She got one silvery foot on the brake and steered the car onto the side of the road. It came to a full stop. The glorious night closed in around them.
“Are we going to make love now?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “We’re going to get out of the car.”
“Good idea,” he said. “We can make love on the beach.”
“No,” she said again. She scrambled back to her side of the seat and used his keys to unlock the glove compartment. He watched with interest as she took out his gun and a flashlight.
“Do you want to do some target practice on the beach?” he asked.
“Pay attention, Jake, and do exactly as I say.”
“All right. Are we going to follow the moonlight road?”
“Yes. But it will be easier to do that if we get out of the car.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“The car is faster.”
“But it will take us in the wrong direction.”
That made sense, he concluded. He opened his car door and climbed out. The colors of midnight grew ever more dazzling, swirling around him like an old-fashioned magic lantern show. No, not a magic lantern show; a kaleidoscope. That was it—he was inside a giant kaleidoscope and he was perceiving the secrets of the universe. He could watch the brilliant, shifting waves of light forever as long as Adelaide was there.
She rounded the car to join him. She had his pistol in one hand and the flashlight in the other.
“The end of the moonlight highway is down on the beach,” she explained.
“You’re sure?” he asked.