Letty lifted one shoulder in an elaborate shrug and concentrated on her highly spiced rice noodles. “Well, you have to understand that it does require a drastic adjustment in my old-fashioned midwestern notions of propriety. Back where I come from it's still considered appropriate to get married before one starts a family.”
“A family.” It was Joel's turn to go into shock. “Are you telling me you're pregnant? You couldn't possibly be pregnant. We've been careful.” He thought about that first time in the barn and winced.
“I'm not pregnant.” She smiled. “Yet.”
“Don't go making wild statements like that. It's not good for my heart.”
“Don't you want a family, Joel?”
He thought about Letty having his baby, pictured her pregnant, imagined her holding an infant. It was not the first time the image had danced fleetingly through his mind, and each time it appeared, it did odd things to him. It made him want to use the M-word himself, for example.
But he could not marry Letty so long as she owned Thornquist Gear and that was that.
“Eventually,” Joel said. “Yeah, sure. Eventually I want kids.”
“You shouldn't wait too much longer, you know. Maybe we should start working on it. What do you think? I mean, now that I'm getting the hang of having an affair and am able to be totally blasé about it, maybe there's no need to get married at all. This isn't the Heartland. This is the West Coast. The fast lane.”
Irritation flared in him. “We're not having kids until we're married, and we're not getting married as long as you own Thornquist Gear. That's final, Letty. Absolutely final.”
She studied him coolly. “You want me to give up my inheritance before you'll consider marriage?”
“I never asked you to give up a damn thing. I'm asking you to sell it to me. I'll give you a fair price. Hell, you'll make more off the sale of Thornquist Gear than you'd make in twenty years of working as a librarian.”
Letty considered that with a dark frown. “That sounds suspiciously like buying myself a husband.”
“Damn it, you wouldn't be buying me. You'd be selling Thornquist to me. There's a big difference.”
She chewed reflectively on her lower lip. “What if you changed your mind after the sale?”
“Jesus. What are you talking about now?”
“What if you decided you didn't want to marry me after I sold Thornquist to you? There wouldn't be any way I could force you to keep up your end of the bargain.” Letty shook her head. “No, I think it's too big a risk. Let's just continue with the affair. I'm getting accustomed to it. There are certainly some exciting moments.”
He stared at her. “You're in a weird mood, aren't you?”
“It's been a weird day. First I dump a plate of oysters and fries over the one man who has actually made me an honorable proposal of marriage. Next I find myself trying to offer aid and comfort to your ex-girlfriend. Then I get caught in an extremely inappropriate position in your office, and now I'm eating food that's hot enough to set fire to the plate.”
“As I said back at the beginning, you're not in Kansas anymore.”
“Indiana.”
Joel fell into a brooding silence after that exchange. He had to admit he had counted on Letty finding the affair uncomfortable after a while. He had suspected from the start that her quest for wild, illicit passion and pizzazz would not last long. Old virtues and values would quickly reassert themselves. When that happened, Joel had reasoned, she would start talking about marriage.
Once he knew he had her hooked, he could negotiate. He fully intended to marry Letty. He was not quite certain when that decision had crystallized in his brain, but it was rock solid now. However, he intended to do so on his own terms.
No one was going to accuse him of marrying her in order to get his hands on Thornquist Gear.
He had not counted on Letty coming to the conclusion that a permanent affair would be acceptable. Nor had he anticipated that she would actually start talking about having children without marriage. Things were getting out of hand.
Letty seemed in a far more upbeat mood by the time she had finished her noodles. Joel got to his feet, paid the bill, and led her out onto the street. A thought struck him as they turned to start up First Avenue to her apartment.
“Clean shirts,” Joel said abruptly.
“What about them?”
“I don't have any more at your place. We'll have to drop by my apartment.”
“Okay,” Letty agreed. “Actually, that brings up an interesting point. We're going to have to decide if it's economically worthwhile to maintain two apartments. Maybe we should just move into one. What do you think?”
Joel squashed his irritation. “You were the one who said we should keep our own apartments.”
“That was before I realized that I could handle a real, full-fledged affair.”
“Your father isn't going to approve of our having a perpetual affair, Letty. He'll expect some sign of commitment fairly soon.”
“He'll just have to get used to the affair, won't he?”
“He's kind of an old-fashioned guy,” Joel reminded her. “I can tell. And you're his only daughter. Sooner or later he'll expect you to get married.”
“Who knows? Maybe I will get married. Sooner or later.”
They caught a bus up to the First Hill neighborhood where Joel lived. It was faster and easier than going back to Letty's place to get the Jeep out of her garage.
It occurred to Joel as they walked into the small lobby that he had not been spending a lot of time at his own apartment lately. It was Letty's place that felt like home now. Maybe he should consider getting rid of his apartment.
But that would only encourage Letty's new notion of having all the benefits of marriage without the license.
Things were getting complicated.
“This won't take long,” he said as they got out of the elevator and started down the hall. He dug his keys out of his jeans. “Maybe I'd better check the refrigerator while I'm here. I think I left some milk in there.”
“It's probably gone sour by now,” Letty said. “It's a good thing you don't have any plants to worry about. You know, Joel, you really should consider moving in with me. It's a waste of money to maintain this place. And I've got a better view.”
“I'll think about it,” Joel muttered.
Then he shoved his key into the lock of his front door and realized instantly that something was very wrong.
“Damn it to hell.”
Letty glanced at him in alarm. “What is it?”
Joel eased the key back out of the lock and pushed the door open. It swung inwardly very easily. Too easily.
“Somebody busted the lock,” Joel said. “Ten to one the place has been cleaned out. Goddamn it. I'll bet they got the new speakers I bought two months ago. And the computer. And Lord knows what else.”
He strode furiously into the apartment and went down the short hall to the living room. He realized at once that what had taken place had been more than a quick, efficient burglary.
The apartment looked as if a bomb had exploded in the middle of it. Furniture had been overturned, the cushions ripped open with a knife. Lamps had been smashed. Books had been dumped from the shelves.
Everything of value was still there, but it had all been systematically destroyed, not stolen. The new stereo speakers looked like gutted fish. They had been slashed open and the innards torn out.
“Oh, my God,” Letty whispered. She moved closer to Joel.
Wordlessly, Joel toured the apartment with Letty at his heels. The clothes in his closet had been doused with varnish. The smell reminded Joel of a boatyard. The food in the refrigerator had been dumped all over the kitchen floor and left to rot. Joel grimaced at the odor of sour milk.
“Vandals?” Letty asked softly.
“No,” Joel said, thinking of the varnish that had been flung on everything in his closet. “Victor Copeland. He must have come here right after he left my
office this morning.”
“How did he know where you lived?”
Joel shook his head. “I don't know, but it probably wasn't all that difficult to find out.”
“Joel, this looks sick.”
“I know.” Joel recalled the wildness in Copeland's eyes that night fifteen years ago in the abandoned barn. He had known then that if it had been possible to do so, Copeland would have willingly killed in that moment.
Joel walked over to where the phone was lying on the carpet. He picked it up and saw that the clip on the end of the cord was still intact. He plugged it into the jack. He had the number for Copeland Marine in his pocket. He dialed it quickly.
The phone was answered almost at once by Keith Escott.
“Figured you'd be spending the night there,” Joel said. “This is Blackstone.”
“What's up?” Keith asked, apparently sensing the grimness in Joel's voice.
“It looks as if Copeland went on a rampage through my apartment this afternoon. He destroyed the place.”
“Christ. The man's gone over the edge.”
“Yeah, I think that's a real possibility.”
Keith sighed. “I've suspected he was getting worse for some months now.”
“Letty thinks Diana's afraid of him, and I do, too,” Joel said. “Diana is frightened of what he might do if he gets too angry.”
“And afraid I won't be able to protect her or myself if that happens. I know.” Keith sounded weary, as if he had been fighting that battle for a long time.
“If it's any consolation, she didn't have any faith in me, either, fifteen years ago,” Joel said quietly. “Her daddy is very scary. But now it looks as if the two of us are going to have to do something about him. I'm going to call the police after we hang up. I'll tell them what's going on and who we think is behind this vandalism. But don't count on them being able to do much at this point. We don't have any proof.”
“You think he's on his way down here?”
“I think it's a real good possibility. Everything under control there?”
“Yes,” said Keith. “I've got two men doing sentry duty shifts twenty-four hours a day. And I'm here in the office all the time. I've moved in for a while.”
Joel went over to the window and lowered his voice. “You armed?”
“Are you kidding?” Keith said equally softly. “I've got an automatic. Bought it three years ago right after I married Diana and began to realize just how close to the edge my new father-in-law was.”
“Right. I'll talk to you in the morning. If anything happens tonight you can reach me at my office.”
“Got it.” Keith hesitated. “I'm going to call Diana. Tell her to stay in the hotel room. I don't think she's in any real danger. Copeland has never hurt her, as far as I know, but apparently he used to beat her mother. She let that much information slip once.”
Joel slid a glance at Letty, who was watching him intently. She had her arms folded tightly under her breasts. “Look, I'm going to send Letty over to her father's place. You want Diana to go there with her?”
“Thanks,” Keith said, sounding relieved. “I'd feel a lot better if I knew she wasn't alone.”
“I'll take care of it.” Joel started to hang up the phone.
“Blackstone?”
“Yeah?”
“If I manage to keep Copeland from torching this yard and if I pull it out of the red, you and I are going to have to do a deal. Fair enough?”
Joel smiled humorlessly. “Fair enough. Save Copeland Marine and I'll sell it to you. Real cheap.”
Keith chuckled. “I'll call you if anything happens.”
Joel hung up and turned to Letty. “Let's go, honey. We have to stop at the hotel and pick up Diana.”
She looked mutinous. “I don't want to be tucked away somewhere while you're trying to protect yourself and Thornquist Gear from some crazy man. This is my company, Joel. I've got a right to help defend it.”
“Not a chance. I'm the one who dragged Thornquist Gear into this situation. I'll take care of the cleanup.” Joel took her arm and drew her out of the devastated apartment and into the hall. “You're not going to be anywhere near Thornquist Gear or me tonight.”
She gave him an anxious look. “Are you saying he might come after you personally?”
“He hit my apartment. I don't know where he'll go next. I still have a hunch he's on his way to Echo Cove. But who knows for certain? As Escott said, the man's gone over the edge.”
“Joel, please let me stay with you,” Letty begged.
“No.”
“Damn it, I own the company. I am ordering you to let me stay with you.”
“The answer is no, Letty.”
“But why?”
“You know why.” He got her into the elevator and punched the lobby button. “This entire situation exists because I set up the takeover of Copeland Marine. It has nothing to do with you, and that's the way I intend to keep it.”
She touched his arm, her eyes pleading. “Joel, this is not your fault.”
Anger washed through him. “It is my fault, goddamn it, and I am not going to risk your neck. Escott and I will deal with Copeland, and that's final.”
“But, Joel…”
“What's the matter?” he bit out. “Don't you think I can handle this? You told Diana she should have more faith in Escott. Well, where's your faith in me?”
Letty looked at him in shocked silence for several long seconds. “All right,” she finally said very quietly. “I'll go to Dad's house.”
Joel heaved an inner sigh of relief. That particular tactic was definitely a case of hitting below the belt. He told himself he would apologize later. The important thing now was to make certain Letty was not in the vicinity if Victor Copeland came calling tonight.
Letty was still in an unnaturally quiet mood when they reached the hotel where Diana was staying. But when Diana opened the door, her eyes full of anxious questions, Letty made an obvious effort to pull herself together.
She took charge of dealing with Diana, for which Joel was profoundly grateful. He would thank her later, he told himself. Right after he apologized for virtually blackmailing her into following orders.
“Keith called,” Diana said to Letty. “He wants me to spend the night with you at your father's house. I argued with him, but he was very insistent. I've already packed.”
Letty grimaced wryly. “I'm afraid we women are being sent off to hide in the wagons while the men deal with the bad guys.”
Diana glanced uneasily at Joel and then away. “I'm afraid my father is not well, mentally. I don't know what to say. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for everything.”
“It's hardly your fault, Diana,” Letty said firmly. “Come on, we'd better get going.” She put her arm around Diana's shoulders and guided her out of the hotel room.
Joel picked up Diana's elegant leather suitcase and followed the two women out the door.
Twenty minutes later they all stood in Morgan and Stephanie's living room. Joel ran through the explanations and was relieved when Morgan agreed immediately with his decision.
“Letty and Diana can stay here with Stephanie tonight,” Morgan announced. “I'll come down to Thornquist Gear and keep the midnight vigil with you, Joel.”
Joel started to protest but changed his mind when he saw the stubborn expression in Morgan's eyes. Something told him there was no point in arguing with an Indiana farmer once he had made up his mind. All the logic in the world would not alter Morgan's decision.
What the hell, the man was going to be his father-in-law someday, Joel thought.
“All right,” he said.
Joel was profoundly grateful when nobody put up any more arguments. Letty walked out to the Jeep with him while they waited for Morgan to throw a few items into a duffel bag. Her expression was serious and intent.
“Joel, there's something I want to tell you.”
He leaned back against the Jeep and smiled. “More orders for your CEO, Mada
m President?”
Her eyes were huge and solemn with concern. “I want you to be very careful tonight.”
“I will,” he promised.
“Joel, I love you. You know that, don't you?”
For an instant he was stunned at the admission. Then elation soared in him. For the moment, at least, it blotted out all the other things he had been feeling since he'd walked into his apartment and seen the evidence of Victor Copeland's ungovernable rage. He reached for Letty.
“Damn, Letty,” he muttered thickly, “you've picked a fine time to tell me.” He pulled her into his arms, fumbling for the feel of her through the plump layers of her Thornquist Gear down coat. “You know I love you, too, don't you?”
“Well, you hadn't actually said so,” she reminded him. The comment was tart, but her eyes were brimming with delight. “However, I have been extremely optimistic.”
“Don't ever forget it.” He kissed her mouth, the only part of her that was not swallowed up by her voluminous jacket. Her lips were warm in spite of the cold air. Joel groaned and pulled her closer.
“I'm ready,” Morgan called as he came down the steps.
Letty stepped back and smiled at Joel. “Remember what I said. Be careful.”
“Letty…” Joel broke off. This was not the time to say all the things he wanted to say. He smiled wryly. “Sure, boss.”
Within the hour Joel and Morgan were camped out in Joel's office. Joel had a cordless telephone at hand. A security guard had been posted at the building entrance downstairs and the state-of-the-art security system that had been installed last year had been activated and double-checked.
“Now we wait,” Morgan said calmly.
Joel lounged back in his chair and stacked his feet on the desk. “Now we wait.”
“Do you play chess, by any chance?” Morgan asked.
Joel eyed him warily. “Some.”
“Excellent.” Morgan beamed. “I just happen to have brought along a small set. Can I interest you in a game?”
“I am not, by any chance, being hustled, am I?”
Morgan gave him a reproachful look. “What a suspicious mind you have. I was just thinking of a friendly little game to pass the time.”