“Jesus,” Tom muttered. “It’s true.”
“I’m not staying today, Tom. I know the office is in an uproar, so I’ll get out of your hair. I’m just looking for something.”
“Looking for what?”
“An article about a cancer drug tested in Canada.”
The color drained from his face.
“Son of a bitch.” Ryan stepped around Tom and closed the door. Then he glanced at Kate. “I think we just found our link.”
Chapter Eighteen
Tom Adams’s Victorian row house sat on a quiet street in Pacific Heights. Ryan tapped a hand against his knee as he and Kate waited in the immaculate living room. Wide windows looked out over the city. Trees swayed gently in the afternoon breeze.
Kate caught Ryan’s tense shoulders, his tight jaw. “Relax, would you? You’re stressing me out.”
He shot her an irritated look and went back to tapping.
Kari Adams came down the stairs with Tom at her side. Her face was drawn, the swell of her very pregnant belly protruding from her slim body. “Sorry we kept you waiting.”
Ryan tensed at Kate’s side, but she ignored him. “It’s all right. I’m sorry we’re bothering you. I know how tired you must be.”
Kari smiled, running a hand over her belly. “I’m not able to sleep much these days.”
“Practice for B-day,” Tom said, his fingers skimming their baby.
“Look.” Ryan shifted his feet. “I don’t mean to be rude, but we really need some answers. The first of which is why you dragged us all the way over here when you could have answered our questions at Katie’s office.”
Kate slanted him a warning look, which he ignored. The man had no tact when he was on a mission.
“That’s my fault.” Kari sank onto the floral couch. Even with her pregnant belly, the couch seemed to gobble up her petite body. “Tom knew I’d want to be involved.”
“I’m not following you.” Kate sat in a plush, cream chair across from Kari. “How do you have anything to do with a medical study?”
“Do you recognize me at all?” Kari asked.
“No, should I?” Worry tickled the back of Kate’s throat.
“I suppose not. We only spoke a few times when I was in the nursing home, but I could never forget your eyes.”
Kate glanced up at Ryan. His jaw twitched. Kari Adams. Why hadn’t the name clicked when she’d looked at the list from Janet Kelly’s house?
Tom stepped behind his wife, rested a hand on her shoulder. “Kari had ovarian cancer. We decided to try experimental treatments after we’d exhausted all other avenues.”
“I didn’t think I’d make it,” Kari said, looking down. “But Dr. Alexander was so optimistic, he gave us hope. The treatments lasted over six months. I was in and out of the nursing home, being monitored by the staff there. That’s when I met you.”
Kate’s eyes widened. “I was awake?”
“Some. You’d been in a car accident, were in a coma for several months. Your husband…” She glanced at Ryan. “Dr. Alexander, I mean, had you relocated to the nursing home so he could keep an eye on you since that’s where most of his patients were. After your baby was born, you woke up, but you were in and out of consciousness for quite some time. One day you’d be up and moving around, the next completely out.”
She’d been awake. She’d been moving. Which explained why her recovery hadn’t been so extreme. Why her body had bounced back relatively quickly. People had seen her, talked to her. And she couldn’t remember any of it.
“Go on,” she said, swallowing the lump in her throat. “Jake said he was my husband?”
Kari nodded. “Yes. Another doctor was overseeing your care. I didn’t know his name. Tall, dark hair, the lightest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. They seemed to know each other well. I think it must have been his nursing home—or he knew the person who owned and operated it.”
“Reynolds.” Kate glanced at Ryan again. He’d been right. Her Houston doctor had been involved. Had probably been killed because of that involvement.
“What was the name of the experimental drug treatment?” Ryan asked.
“Amatroxin,” Tom said. “It completely cured Kari’s cancer. A handful of other patients were taking it as well. Last year, Dr. Alexander compiled a list of research and he and another doctor published this article in our medical journal.” He handed Ryan a journal from the table behind him.
“This references a study in Canada,” Ryan said.
Tom swallowed. “Yes.”
“You published false data?” Kate asked.
Tom drew in a deep breath. “Yeah.”
“Why? Why didn’t you tell me any of this, Tom?”
Tom shifted his weight nervously, gripped Kari’s shoulder tighter. She reached up and grasped his hand in a sign of support. “Jake and I had an agreement. He let Kari into the research project, and I kept what I knew about the studies to myself. When the time came to publish the information, I’d help. We were desperate, and willing to try anything. After it cured Kari’s cancer, I owed him. He needed to show proof the drug worked; I knew it did. The way I looked at it, it didn’t really matter where the studies took place.”
“Tom didn’t know you were married before, Kate,” Kari cut in, her eyes shifting from Kate to Ryan. “What he knew was you were in the nursing home under Jake’s care, that you were his wife. Jake asked him to keep things quiet around you. He said that the trauma from the accident had been especially bad. Jake was very worried about your prognosis.”
Kate rubbed the scar on her head. So much of this still didn’t make sense. “And when I woke up, he arranged for me to do freelance work for the publishing house.” She glanced up at Tom. “You never questioned my background? What I knew?”
Tension gathered in fine lines around Tom’s eyes. “I didn’t know he was a McKellen until after he’d moved you to Houston. When I saw your name listed on one of your freelance articles, I contacted him. He said he didn’t like to use the McKellen name because of a falling out he’d had with his family. I believed him. He’s the one who set you up with the Dallas branch. I wasn’t in a position to question anything he told me. It made sense, and I was indebted to him. And then when I saw your work, I realized he was right. You’re more knowledgeable about geology than anyone I know.”
“You still didn’t say anything after Jake died. Why not? I was here in San Francisco. You knew I was looking for answers. You knew I’d been to that nursing home, but you didn’t say anything?” She stood, anger bubbling through her. Ryan reached for her arm to steady her.
“I don’t think you understand what’s going on here, Kate,” Tom said. “Someone doesn’t want you to find answers. After you called me and asked about a job here at the San Francisco branch, we started getting warnings.”
“What do you mean, warnings?” Ryan asked.
“Anonymous phone calls, mostly,” Kari answered. “They never referenced your name, Kate, but they said to keep what we knew about the nursing home to ourselves. That it would be in Tom’s best interest not to be involved if word of the study leaked.”
“Then why did you suggest I see a lawyer?”
Tom sighed. “I wanted to help. I saw how frustrated you were. I thought maybe if you could find the answers on your own, if I wasn’t directly involved, it wouldn’t hurt to give you a little push. I didn’t know the lawyer you picked was going to recognize you.”
So Kate was the link. If she hadn’t come to San Francisco, if she’d never called Simone and scheduled that appointment, if Simone hadn’t recognized her, it was likely none of this would be happening now. The lies would still be truth.
Ryan looked to Kari. “Did anyone else visit Katie at the nursing home, that you know of?”
Kari bit her lip. “There was another man, older, white hair, large build. And a young woman once that I remember. Other than that, I’m not sure. Kate was there for a long time, though.”
An older man and a young woman
. That could be anyone.
“I’m not much help, I’m afraid,” Kari said softly. “My memories from that time are pretty vague.”
The anger seeped out, was replaced by a weary disappointment. Everything Kate discovered just seemed to confuse her more. She was learning the how but not the why.
“No.” Kate blinked back frustrated tears. “You’ve been a big help.”
“Kate.” Tom stepped around the couch.
Out of the corner of her eye, Kate caught Ryan’s tense shoulders, the way his arms dropped to his side in a protective measure. She held out a hand to stop him and glanced at Tom. “What?”
“If I’d known what was really going on, I wouldn’t have kept quiet. I thought Jake was on the up and up. After your press conference the other day, I knew I needed to find you. To tell you what I knew. I’ve been trying to get hold of you since.”
So many lies. Every time she turned around, there seemed to be one more, smacking her in the face. She wasn’t sure what to believe anymore. “I need to find the answers, Tom. I’m not going to stop until I do.”
“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to her,” Ryan interjected firmly from across the room. “If anyone tries to hurt her, they’ll have to get through me first.”
There was a warning laced through his words that had both Kate and Tom turning. A muscle in Ryan’s jaw twitched. His eyes hinted of vengeance.
Tom nodded and glanced back at his wife. “I know how you feel. If there’s anything we can do, let us know. We want to help.”
Sweat trickled down Kate’s back under Ryan’s intense gaze. She could see he was serious, that he’d take on anyone who came after her.
And for reasons she couldn’t explain, that knowledge scared her more than what the truth held.
***
“We’ve been driving around for an hour, sweetheart,” Mitch complained from the passenger seat of Simone’s rented SUV. He flipped the map in his lap, studied street signs, then glanced back down. “Your sense of direction’s crap.”
Simone shot him a less-than-amused look. She was still having trouble dealing with the fact he’d changed his work plans and pushed his way onto this trip with her. Not only was he now seated beside her as they searched for Walter Alexander’s home in the suburbs of Vancouver, he’d waited patiently while she’d finished her business in Seattle. Hadn’t even complained once. She knew he was supposed to be at the Queen Charlotte Sound site doing whatever work an engineering geologist does, but every time she’d brought it up, he’d brushed her off and told her he was right where he was supposed to be.
What kind of man did that?
One who’s crazy about you.
Her pulse picked up speed, and her hands grew sweaty against the wheel.
A minivan? He was clearly certifiable. Problem was, the idea didn’t sound as insane to her as it had before. Which meant he’d sucked her into his alternate reality and that she was certifiable now too.
“Tell you what?” she said, trying not to think about the future and what she was going to do about Mitch Mathews yet. If she did, it’d just make her scream. “If I find it in the next ten minutes, you let me do some shopping on Robson Street before we head home.”
“Fine with me. I’ll hang out in the hotel.”
“We aren’t staying in a hotel, sweetheart.”
“Don’t remind me. I’m already bitter about that fact. My plans to seduce the hell out of you keep getting shot down.”
Seduce the hell out of her? Oh, shit. She was in serious trouble with this one.
“So you’ll come shopping with me,” she said, trying to change the subject.
“I’d rather die a slow and agonizing death at the hands of a sadistic dominatrix.” A grin quirked his lips. “Now there’s a thought.”
She couldn’t help it. She laughed. He was one great big walking hormone. And God help her, she loved it.
“Now, Mitch.” She turned down a side street. “We’ll get to your fantasies later. Right now, we’re talking shopping—just an hour or so of male torture. Trust me, you’ll love it. There are some adorable boutiques on Robson Street.”
“Kill me now. Wait. Do they have a lingerie store?”
Her stomach fluttered. “Probably.”
“Think you can find a little black, lacy number?”
She pulled to a stop in front of a rambling cedar-sided house on a quiet street. “They might not have your size, honey.”
“Very funny.”
“And since I found the house, that hour’s mine.”
He grasped her arm before she could climb from the car and pulled her close. “Take me to that lingerie store, and I’ll make it worth your while.”
The heat from his eyes all but seared her veins. But when he kissed her, she forgot everything. Why they were here, what they were looking for, why the hell falling into a relationship with him was such a bad idea.
When he eased back, his eyes were dancing with a mixture of heat and humor. “Forget black lace. I think I want you in red leather.”
Red leather? Oh, man.
Her nerves were a jangled mess by the time they walked up the front steps and rang the doorbell. She flipped her hair back from her face, straightened her jacket. “Let me do the talking. We don’t need to scare Walter Alexander off first thing.”
“If you use that cool, professional tone on me while wearing red leather lingerie and holding a whip, I’ll definitely listen.”
Her elbow connected with his sternum and he sucked in a breath. But his laughter vibrated through the porch and into her feet, then slithered up to her chest, reminding her just what it was about Mitch Mathews that did it for her. What was likely going to be her undoing if she wasn’t careful.
“God, what is that smell?” Mitch brushed a hand over his nose.
“I don’t know.” Simone leaned her hand against the glass, peeked in a side window. Newspapers littered an antique table. A lime-green crocheted, afghan lay over the side of a chair. A piece of pizza sat atop a paper plate on an end table. Dust littered the surface of most items in the living room. An unopened suitcase was pushed up against the far wall. “Doesn’t look like anyone’s home.”
“I can smell why.”
Foreboding washed over Simone. She jogged down the front steps. A flagstone path graced the side of the house.
“Where are you going?” Mitch asked, following.
She ducked under a low bush and pushed the gate open, giving them access to the backyard. “Reynolds was found in his pool.”
“Whoa. Back up. I suddenly have a bad feeling about this.”
Simone rounded the corner of the house before he could stop her. The stench was stronger in the backyard. A cat darted from behind a tree and disappeared around the side of the house. Her eyes widened when she saw the body, feet sticking out of rhododendron bushes near the back stoop.
She swallowed, hard. “So do I.”
“Oh, hell.” Mitch stepped in front of her, blocking her view.
***
Ryan’s mother, Angela, tucked her auburn hair over her shoulder and laughed, flashing a wide smile. Candlelight from the dinner table flickered across her face. “So, Mitch is belaying at the top of the cliff, and Ryan slips.”
Ryan watched Kate’s brow shoot up across the table. Her apprehension at having to meet his parents had slowly diminished as the evening wore on. They were all seated around his dining room table, empty dishes in front of them, his mother telling embarrassing stories from his youth. In any other situation, he’d have put an end to it, but Kate looked thoroughly interested, and after her afternoon with Kari Adams, he figured she needed a few minutes of peace.
Even if it was at his expense.
Shifting Julia on his lap, Ryan shook his head. “Dumbo didn’t close the system.”
“What does that mean?” Kate asked with genuine curiosity.
Kathy Mathews rounded the table with a pot of cof
fee, refilling cups. “It means Mitch didn’t tie a keeper knot in the figure-eight knot, and the end of the rope passed right through the belay device.”
“You see,” Angela went on, “Ryan had never climbed outdoors before. He’d only ever climbed indoors with Mitch, so when this happened—”
“Scared the crap right out of me,” he said with all seriousness.
Everyone laughed but Kate.
“What did you do?” Her eyes locked on his, and he read the concern in those green depths. His heart bumped.
“There was a huge crack about shoulder level, so I jammed my arm in, elbow first, and dug the toes of my boots into the rock to brace myself. Found I could rest almost all my weight on that arm, though it hurt like hell. Then I shouted every profanity I’d ever learned up at Mitch.”
“So that’s where my boy learned those words,” Kathy said, laughing.
“You could have been killed.” Kate stared at him with wide eyes.
Whenever she looked at him with those soft, emotion-filled eyes, he wanted to wrap his arms around her and lose himself in her sweetness. Since both their parents—and their kids—were sitting around the table, he decided it probably wasn’t the best time to do that. He’d have to save it for later, when they were alone. When he could drag her into his bedroom, lock the door, and show her just how much having her in his house meant to him.
“Yeah, tell that to Mitch,” he said, trying to dampen the fantasy. “He about bust a gut when I finally got to the top. Thought it was the funniest thing ever.”
Roger Mathews leaned an elbow on the table and sipped his coffee. “If you listen to Mitch tell it, the cliff wasn’t all that high. Ryan would only have broken a leg, maybe two in the fall.”
“Thanks a lot,” Ryan shot at him.
Laughter resonated around the table. The phone rang, and Julia scrambled off Ryan’s lap to answer it.
“I think,” Ryan’s father, Michael, said, running a hand down Reed’s little back as he slept against his chest, “that was the last time you went rock climbing with Mitch.”