A Midsummer Night's Romp

  “Thompson,” Gunner repeated, although less certainly. “Christ, I feel like I’ve been through the wars.”

  “Who would put himself above everyone on the production team?”

  “Thompson?” It was a question now, but Gunner hated to give up on the idea, despite the fact that, his personal behavior aside, Thompson had shown only professionalism regarding the dig itself.

  Lorina gave him a weary look. “Just because we don’t like him doesn’t mean we can peg him for the villain. Although I would love for him to have done it, because then we could call in the cops and have them work him over.”

  “A strangely enticing idea,” Gunner agreed. “And I fear you are correct about his not being the person responsible, although it leaves us with a dearth of suspects. The doors are locked, you say?”

  She waved a hand toward them. “Feel free to give them a try. Daria and I got nowhere. If it wasn’t Paul, who did this to us? It had to be someone who wouldn’t care that the archaeology company lost the prestige of finding the treasure, which means someone outside of their organization.”

  “That’s the question I’d like answered most right now,” Gunner said, trying the door. He eyed Daria when she returned from the other end of the barn. “Unfortunately, I don’t have a suggestion. I’m hot. Are you hot?”

  Lorina gave a weak smile, and took his arm. “Normally I’d tease you about having to ask, but I’m just too tired. I thought I was having a hot flash earlier, but Daria said she was feeling warm, too.”

  “It’s not an enjoyable experience,” Daria agreed, sitting down on an overturned bucket. There wasn’t much else in the barn—until the film crew’s arrival, it had been used to store antique farm equipment. Since the crew had no need of farm tools, now the barn was empty of all but them. “What are we going to do? We’re trapped in here while Paul is no doubt secreting away the find.”

  “Surely you can’t seriously think Paul would do that,” Lorina protested, releasing Gunner when he tried the double doors of the barn. “I know he’s not your favorite person, but you work with the man—is it likely he would do something so at odds with his job?”

  “He might,” Daria said darkly, narrowing her eyes. “If he had sufficient cause to think he could get away with it.”

  Lorina shook her head a little, her eyes drooping. She yawned as she said, “I don’t see that, but maybe I’m too muddleheaded to figure it out. Don’t get me wrong—there’s no love lost between Paul and me—but that doesn’t mean he’s responsible for this. He’s just too much of a professional to do something so heinous as steal archaeology.”

  “Don’t let that professional persona fool you. He’s only after what he can get. I should know,” Daria said, leaping up to pace the floor.

  Lorina drooped against the wall, and Gunner wanted badly to let his eyes just close for a bit. He rattled the door again, and tried to get his mind working at its usual speed.

  “Why should you know?” Lorina asked, rubbing her eyes. “Because the board of your company gave him the head-honcho job instead of you?”

  “That, and . . . well . . . it’s not widely known, but we dated a short while before I met my husband, and I can tell you from experience that Paul Thompson is not a man who takes other people’s successes well. I found a number of important artifacts at two of our digs, and it destroyed our relationship. Not that I’m unhappy about that now—I’m quite happy with my husband—but it did open my eyes to Paul’s true character.”

  Gunner cocked his head, putting his ear to the door and listening.

  “Wow,” Lorina said, giving Daria a look of surprise mingled with admiration. “I had no idea he was so vindictive.”

  “Ha! That’s one word for it.” Daria gave a short laugh. “He’s had it out for me ever since I dumped his ass. Why do you think he insisted I be assigned trenches that aren’t likely to provide the treasure? Jealousy, pure and simple. And now this. I just bet you if we searched his caravan, we’d find the jewelry.”

  Gunner straightened up and moved a few steps away from the door, standing next to Lorina so he could put his arm around her. Immediately, she sagged against him. A wave of protectiveness welled up inside him. He was angry with himself for allowing harm to come to Lorina, but at the same time, he realized that the situation was not one he could have foreseen. Still, he chided himself, he’d have to do better if he wanted to keep her where she belonged—right in the center of his world.

  “But to drug us!” Lorina protested. “That’s so extreme. Wait. . . .” She frowned, looking puzzled. “I really am not thinking straight. How could he know we were going to find the treasure? Oh, wait. . . . He might have noticed that Gunner had shovels when we went to see him earlier, and figured out we were going to do some digging. Still, that doesn’t mean he’d know we were going to find anything valuable, and even if he did think that, where did he get the drugs to knock us all out? And when would he have time to do it? He said he was late for a dinner with the mayor.”

  Daria shrugged, and continued to pace. Gunner eyed her, wondering where she got the energy. Perhaps she hadn’t been drugged as heavily as Lorina and he had been.

  “Some of that might have been my fault,” Daria admitted. “After I saw you two heading for the grove where the temple was, I went back to camp for a little break. That’s when I met Paul, and he asked if I was the only one who was digging late. I mentioned you two. He said something about praising such dedication, and that the least he could do was make sure some refreshments were sent out to us. By the time I was ready to go back to my trench, he had the thermos of tea and a packet of biscuits for us.”

  Gunner frowned. “It seems like such an out-of-character thing for Thompson to do.”

  “I agree, but at the time, I didn’t think anything about it,” Daria answered.

  “Even assuming he had some psychic intuition that we were going to find treasure, where did he get the drugs to doctor the tea?” Lorina asked with another yawn.

  Gunner yawned in sympathy, and wondered if he had misheard voices at the door. He badly wanted to get Lorina tucked away safely so he could figure out who it was who had attacked them with drugs.

  “Who knows? Oh!” Daria stopped and pointed at Lorina. “Didn’t you say you had some knockout drugs?”

  “Me?” Lorina frowned. “I . . . I don’t remember saying anything like that.”

  “You must have, or else I wouldn’t know about it,” Daria observed, and rubbed her chin.

  Gunner looked in surprise at Lorina, who he had to admit looked just as taken aback. “I told you about my drugs?” she finally said in a voice that squeaked.

  “You did,” Daria said calmly.

  Worry was clearly visible in Lorina’s eyes. “I don’t remember that. I would never—I mean, it’s not like me to tell people—Gunner is the only one I ever wanted to blurt the truth to, and even then, I didn’t for a week.”

  Daria shrugged. “I don’t know why you can’t remember telling me. It was the second day you were here, I think.”

  “I just don’t seem to remember—”

  “But regardless,” Daria said despite the fact that Lorina was talking, “it explains the time you caught Paul hanging around your tent. No doubt he was looking through your things and found your Mickey Finn ingredients.”

  Lorina rubbed her eyes again, her body drooping heavily against him, her words sounding thick and slow. “That makes sense, I guess. Oh, what do I know? My brain is so fuzzy I can’t think straight. I just want to sleep. Gunner, what are we going to do?”

  “We’re going to wait about thirty seconds, and then have a doctor check us out. Following that, we’ll talk to Thompson.”

  “What do you mean, wait thirty seconds—”

  At that moment, the voices that Gunner had heard in the distance grew louder, followed by a demand to know if they were inside.

/>   “Yes, we’re here,” Gunner yelled in response.

  “Thank god Cressy tried to find you before she left for her evening out. Hang on—we’ll have you out in a minute. Someone’s jammed a wedge under the door,” Elliott called.

  Cressy’s head popped into a window that was visible in the upper loft. “You guys aren’t having sex in here, are you? Because if you are, I’m going to want a horse trailer to haul my new horse in. Oh. You’re not.”

  “Get down off that ladder,” Gunner told his daughter.

  “How do you know I’m on a ladder?” Cressy asked, trying to look coy. It didn’t work.

  “I know because the last time I looked, you weren’t twelve feet tall, and I happened to see a ladder lying around from where the film crew was hooking up lights. Now get down.”

  “I’m not hurting anyone,” Cressy protested.

  He donned his very best Annoyed Father Expression. “If you fall and break your ankle, you won’t be able to go riding.”

  Cressy thought about that a second, made a face, and disappeared from the window.

  “Did you know there was a window up there?” Lorina asked him, taking his hand.

  His fingers tightened around hers while he wondered if she’d let him lock her away until he found the culprit who had drugged them, and immediately discounted that thought. Lorina wasn’t the type of woman to allow others to fight her battles. Share them, yes, but fight them? He smiled at her, wondering if she knew just how delightful she was. “Yes.”

  “Then why didn’t you say something?” She dropped his hand and gave him a thin-lipped look. “We could have gotten out of here!”

  Damn, she was even adorable when she was annoyed with him.

  “What are you laughing at?” she demanded to know.

  “You,” he said, pulling her to his chest, and kissing the edges of her mouth. “You’re the only woman I know who looks sexy as hell even when she’s half-asleep and irritable.”

  “If I’m irritable, it’s because you’re driving me insane.” She kissed him back, then suddenly moved to the side, her face flushing as she glanced at Daria.

  “Don’t mind me,” the latter said, picking a piece of hay off her clothing. “Just pretend I’m not here.”

  Gunner gave her a long look, was about to say something, but decided better.

  The door gave a creak, followed by a nerve-rending squeak as the wedge was removed. Immediately thereafter, the darkness of the barn was flooded by the camping lights held by their rescuers.

  Gunner straightened up to face his brother, who had a particularly long-suffering look on his face. “What have you done now?” Elliott asked. His glance moved on to where Lorina stood. “Ah. I see. At least this time you’ve managed to keep your clothing on.”

  “They have, but that’s probably because of my presence,” Daria said, coming forward quickly. “I really need the loo. If you’ll excuse me—” She dashed off with her hand over her mouth.

  Lorina took an unfortunately good look at Daria and made an odd guh sound, looking a bit green about the gills.

  With one eye on Lorina, Gunner took his brother aside and quickly filled him in on the happenings of the evening.

  “You were drugged?” Elliott asked in stark astonishment. “Are you sure?”

  “Am I sure that we didn’t just suddenly fall asleep in the middle of uncovering what looked to be an unprecedented cache of silver and gold jewelry and coins? Yes, I’m certain we were drugged.”

  “How did you get here?” Elliott looked around them in search of an obvious vehicle.

  “I have no idea, but I suspect via one of the wheelbarrows used by the diggers. Everyone is off at dinner, and since this barn isn’t visible to the tents, I suspect someone simply wheeled us down from the temple and dumped us here. It would only take a few minutes.”

  “True,” Elliott agreed, frowning at where Lorina weaved her way over to the door.

  Gunner immediately went to her, and supported her with an arm. “I’d like a doctor to see Lorina. She seems a bit woozy.”

  Elliott made no protests; he simply took charge of the people gathered around the door and sent them on various tasks. In no time, Gunner had tucked an only mildly protesting Lorina into his bed, and was waiting outside the room while the family doctor examined her inside.

  For the first time in his life, fear clutched at him, and he was not enjoying the experience. Lorina had become more and more woozy, dropping off to sleep in the middle of sentences. What if the drug had seriously harmed her? He’d just found her, dammit—he didn’t want to lose her now.

  He leaned against the wall across from the door to his bedroom, his palms sweating as he gave in to his fears. She could be ill, gravely ill, and what could he do about it? Nothing! Dammit, why hadn’t he stopped her from drinking that tea? If he got her through this, he would take far better care of her in the future.

  No more playboy ways for him. Not just for Cressy’s sake—it was himself he was thinking about now. He didn’t want to live a life that did not include Lorina in it, and just the thought that she could even now be fighting for her life . . . “Dammit!” he exploded, and took a step forward to fling open the door and demand the doctor do whatever it took to save Lorina.

  “Is the doctor done?” Cressy trotted down the hall, her face twisted with worry. “Are you guys all right?”

  “I’m fine. It’s Lorina I’m worried about. The doctor is in with her now.” It took a heroic effort, but Gunner managed to not charge into the room, instead returning to leaning against the wall outside the door.

  “She looked pretty sleepy at the barn. Is the doctor going to give her something to wake her up?” Cressy asked, pacing nervously up and down the hallway. “How come you aren’t sleepy like she was? Who would drug you guys? I just don’t get it!”

  “Lorina will be fine,” Gunner said, making an effort to chase all the dire thoughts from his head. He sagged tiredly against the wall, suddenly so overwhelmed that it was a struggle to remain upright. He wanted so badly to crawl into bed next to Lorina, to hold her and keep her safe from the world, but there were things he had to do, and he had to do them now, before too much time passed. “I spilled some of my tea, so I didn’t drink as much tea as she did. And I’m not sure there’s anything to get.”

  “You didn’t say who drugged you,” Cressy said suspiciously, stopping in front of him. “You know, don’t you?”

  He rubbed his jaw. He needed a shave and a hot shower, and about three straight days of sleep. But most of all, he needed Lorina hale and hearty. If they got through this, then he’d make sure that things were different. He’d make sure she understood that he had changed, and was a better man. The sort of man who deserved her. “I have an idea, yes. The problem is, I don’t know the reason for it.”

  “I thought someone drugged you to take the treasure.”

  “Possibly. Possibly there was another motive.”

  “Well, for god’s sake, Gunner!” Cressy all but jumped with excitement. “Uncle Elliott and that TV guy know the guy who took the jewelry you dug up. That’s got to be the one who drugged you, right?”

  Gunner straightened up at that. “What man who stole the jewelry?”

  “The one who Uncle Elliott found with the jewelry,” Cressy said impatiently. “That is, the jewelry was found in his trailer. You know, the head guy who Lorina was pretending she really liked.”

  He gave his daughter a piercing look. She met it with eyes that were bright with intelligence. Damn, he’d forgotten for a moment just how perceptive she really was. “They found the jewelry in Thompson’s caravan?”

  “That’s what Uncle Elliott said a couple of minutes ago. He wants to call the police, but Roger is insisting that they wait until he can talk to the head of the studio. Uncle Elliott said he’ll wait until you go down to talk to them, but after that
, he’ll get the police in. I just hope Lorina is all right. Can I be your best man? Only I’d be a best woman, obvs. Or do you want Uncle Elliott to be best man? Can you have two? I wouldn’t mind sharing with him.”

  “I believe most women tend to go for bridesmaid,” he answered, rubbing his head and willing the massive headache away. Why was the doctor taking so long? Should he call for a helicopter to airlift Lorina to the nearest hospital?

  “I’m not most women,” Cressy said, whomping him on the arm. “I want to be your best woman.”

  Distracted from his dark thoughts, he smiled and pulled her into a hug, kissing her on her head. “You are my best woman.”

  “And Lorina,” she said, giving him a fierce hug. “She’s best, too.”

  “Yes, she is.” He released her to search her face. “If we did get married—yes, you can be my best man. Or one of them, because I would like Elliott for that position as well—if Lorina and I did get married, would you be happy? You like her, yes?”

  “Of course I’d be happy. She’s cool, and she likes Gran, and she’s deep, you know? I like deep.”

  “I like deep, too,” he said, relieved that his marriage would pose no issues with Cressy. He wondered how he could ever consider Lorina without the thought of marrying her, and decided that wasn’t important. What was important was getting Lorina on board with the idea.

  The doctor emerged from the room at that point, a woman in her sixties who was semiretired, but who still oversaw the health care of the Ainslie family. “Your friend is fine,” Dr. Magnus said before Gunner could ask. “I’ve taken blood and urine samples from her, and I’d like to get the same from you as well, but I suspect you are correct and that you’ve both ingested some form of benzodiazepines. I’ve given her a little stimulant to help combat the effects of the drug, so she’s feeling much better. Now, let me take a look at you.”

  “I don’t need an exam. I had less of the drugged tea than Lorina. Is there any reason I can’t go in and see her?” Dammit, why was the doctor getting in his way when there was a woman to cherish?