Forever Hers (40 page)

Eddie paced outside the bathroom where his sister was helping Amy get ready. As soon as they’d arrived at the hotel, the two of them had gone shopping at the pedestrian mall, which was adjacent to their hotel. It was almost eight.

They’d eaten on the plane and Raelynn was on the floor with her latest toys, courtesy of the hotel. Not only had the front desk manager offered them a backpack full of toys, books for her during their stay and a list of activities for kids. They’d even sent milk and cookies up to their suite. Trust his sister to pick a kid-friendly hotel.

He punched in Rod’s number. “Has he left the house?”

“Yes. I’m on his tail. Their reservation is at eight and Ms. Kincaid’s at 8:15.”

“We haven’t left, but we’ll be there as soon as we can. Is Hailey in place?”

“And hating every minute of it,” Rod said and chuckled.

Eddie was still amazed Ken had paired the ultra-macho Rod with the moody Goth girl. But then again Rod’s specialty wasn’t computers and security.

The door opened and Lori stepped out, eyes flashing with mischief. “Ready for the transformation?”

Eddie rolled his eyes. He still didn’t understand why it had taken them half an hour to put on a simple dress and a wig. “This is no time for games, Lori. We have to go.”

Amy stepped out and air froze in his chest. Draping down from one shoulder, the blue and black striped sheath dress hugged her curves and stopped at her mid-thighs where her black boots came to just above her knees, she was breathtaking. The wheat-colored hair tumbled past her shoulders and framed her face. Parted on the left, the full bangs were swept to one side and partially covered her right eye. She peered at him with seductive, smoky blue eyes framed with thick lashes and electric blue eye shadow. Bright red lipstick enhanced and drew attention to her naturally pouty lips.

An image of her from last night flashed through his mind. His seductress was back. He couldn’t wait for this to be over, so he could propose to her.

“Is there a cloak or coat to cover up the dress?” he asked irritably.

Amy laughed. “And spoil the effect?”

“Don’t listen to him,” Lori retorted. “You look gorgeous.”

“She doesn’t need to be dolled up to look gorgeous,” he snapped.

“Oh, thank you, sweetie.” She walked across the room to kiss Raelynn and Eddie’s gaze followed her.

“Mommy, you look beautiful. Where are we going?”

“Swimming,” Lori answered and moved to Raelynn’s side, two hangers with bikinis dangling on her fingers. “Look at what I got for us. New swimsuits. You and I are going to change and head downstairs to the pool for a dip. We’ll also make an appointment for
mani-pedis
because tomorrow, we’re going to have princess spa treatment.”

“What are
mani-pedis
?” Raelynn asked, touching her new swim suit.

“I’ll show you the pictures.” Lori looked at them and mouthed, “Go.”

“She’s something else, isn’t she?” Amy said as they waited for the elevator.

“If you’re talking about my sister, then you might revise that once she turns Raelynn into a carbon copy of herself. Here, take a look at this.” He gave her the stapled printouts when they entered the elevator and it was just the two of them. “You were right. Penelope looks
a little
like you.”

Amy frowned as she studied the colored picture. “A little? We could be twins.”

Penelope Digger, Nolan’s true love, did resemble Amy a lot more than his present girlfriend. “Sly sent it this evening. Most high schools didn’t have online records of year book pictures ten years ago, so it took a lot of digging to find the picture. William Burgess, or should I say Jeremy Blackwell, is also the co-owner of ABC rentals with Caldecott and Aldridge in Sandpoint. Reither must have known of your location nearly two months ago and orchestrated the burglaries
before
Blackwell’s arrival.”

Amy just shook her head and flipped over the picture and read the second page.

“Funny, Nolan tried to convince me to go into nursing when I went back to school to finish college. I was perfectly happy with my English major, but he kept saying nursing is a noble job, like being a cop. Now it all makes sense. Penelope was a nurse.”

She folded the papers and shoved them in the purse he hadn’t noticed her carry, then removed a compact mirror and checked her makeup, which was perfect. Not that she needed it. She shot him a look from the corner of her eye, caught him watching her and gave him a small smile.

“Are you nervous?” she asked.

“No. You?”

“A little. Nolan isn’t stupid and I’m afraid he might pull a fast one on us.”

“Don’t be. We’ll all be there. Hailey is waitressing in the restaurant. You’ll recognize her right away. She has black hair, a nose ring and tattoos, and doesn’t smile much. She’s our ears and eyes on the inside. Rod and I will be outside. We’ll be in communication the entire time, so Nolan won’t do anything without us knowing.”

The walk from the elevator through the seven-story atrium to the entrance of the hotel gave him a taste of what tonight was going to be like. Guests seated around the atrium turned and stared, the bellhops forgot they were pushing luggage and bumped into tables. Even the front desk managers stopped whatever they were doing, their gaze following her hip-rolling walk across the room. Amy wore a faraway look on her face and appeared completely oblivious to the commotion she was causing.

He ushered her into a SUV and gunned the engine. The restaurant was only five blocks away. “Let’s go over what you’re supposed to do tonight.”

“The reservation is under your name and it’s for a couple. Hailey will find me a table in the middle of the room, where the occupants of the restaurant can see me. The idea is to have as many witnesses as possible. I’ll order salad and wait for your call, which will be to the restaurant, so the hostess can page me. The entire restaurant will hear my name and see me get up. The hostess will overhear my side of the conversation and know I’ve been stood up. Instead of going back to my table, I’ll leave the restaurant.”

Eddie smiled with approval. “Good. When a criminal panics, which we hope Nolan will, they always try to cover their tracks. He will either follow you or leave to get rid of the boxes. Either case, we’ll be waiting.”

She sighed. “I don’t know. I feel like I should do more, force him to react right there inside the restaurant in front of everyone.”

“No. Stick to the plan. I want you in the presence of everyone at all times. I don’t trust him.” He pulled up outside the city’s best French restaurant. Before they stepped from the SUV, Rob appeared and opened the passenger door for Amy.

“Ms. Kincaid, nice to finally meet you.” He kissed her hand. “Don’t get out of the car yet. I want to show you something.” Then he glanced at Eddie. “I got it.”

Eddie grinned, noting Rod’s gloved hands. He’d asked the Cuban to get a hold of the boxes in Nolan’s trunk while Nolan and the girlfriend were inside the restaurant.

“What’s going on?” Amy asked when Rod disappeared.

“He found the boxes in Nolan’s trunk. We want you to take a look at the contents to see if you recognize anything. Remember? Burgess, uh, Blackwell said he keeps mementos.” Eddie shrugged off his jacket and placed it on her lap. “You don’t want the metal snagging your dress. Fabrics transfer could implicate you in this or worse, make whatever is in that box inadmissible in court.”

Amy stared at him with wide eyes.

Rod returned carrying something under his trench coat. He nudged the door wider and placed the box on Amy’s lap, then lifted the lid. Inside were keys, old cell phones, even toys.

***

Amy reached inside the box, but Eddie grabbed her wrist.
 
“Don’t touch anything. The last thing you want to do is leave a fingerprint.”

Amy stared at her cell phone. It had been over a year, but she remembered losing it after a burglary. It had red nail polish on it from when she’d accidently swiped it on its surface while repairing a nail. The other cell phones she didn’t recognize. Then there were keys. So many of them. She recognized a few because she always made colored duplicate keys or used ones with popular cartoons etched on them. No matter how often she’d changed her locks or moved, the burglar always found a way to get inside her house. Nolan had probably known her locksmith. Anger roiled through her.

“Do you recognize anything?” Rod asked.

Amy swallowed and nodded. “Do you have a pen or a pencil?”

Eddie retrieved one from the glove compartment and passed it to her. Gripping one end, she tapped at the cell phone. “That’s mine. I lost it a few weeks after I moved out of his house.” She pushed at a few keys. “Those are mine too and...” Her heart stopped and started pounding hard. In the corner of the box was a marquis diamond engagement ring. Grief clasped her throat, making it impossible to swallow, and tears rushed to her eyes.

“Amy?”

She looked up and blinked hard until she was in control again. “That’s my engagement ring. It disappeared the night we were attacked. When I woke in the hospital and it wasn’t on my finger, I just assumed I lost it during the attack.” She stared at her fingers and a hysterical laughter escaped her. “You see, I wear size six and it was a size seven. Charles was going to resize it for me.”

“All we need to put Nolan away forever is in that box,” Eddie murmured.

Amy nodded and sat back as Rod took the box away. She removed a compact mirror from her purse and repaired her makeup and adjusted her wig. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Eddie cupped her nape and looked into her eyes. “You’re angry.”

“No, I’m furious.”

He frowned. “Don’t do anything inside the restaurant without checking with me first, okay?”

She nodded, but inside, she wanted to hurt Nolan. Wanted to gut him and make him suffer.

Eddie lifted her chin, so their gazes met. “I love you. No, don’t say anything right now. I meant it when I said it last night and I’ll mean it when I say it tomorrow.” He pressed a kiss on her lips. “Now, go.”

He loved her. Eddie loved her. Amy wanted to wrap herself around him and never let go, but first things first. Somehow, she managed to hold herself in check and stepped out of the car. She glanced back and waved. He smiled and indicated with both hands to keep going.

At the entrance, people were waiting to be seated. She didn’t see the waitress fitting the description Eddie had given her.

“Do you have reservation?”

“Yes. Eddie Fitzgerald, party of two, eight-fifteen. He’ll join me shortly.”

“Just a moment, please.” The hostess turned to talk to someone then said. “A table will be available in five minutes.”

Amy stepped back and waited, getting impatient as seconds passed. There was so much she wanted to say to that son of a bitch. That she couldn’t say anything was a bitter pill. Her gaze connected with one of the guys waiting to be seated. He smiled, earning him a glare from his partner. She became aware of the interest she was causing and wondered if her wig was tilted or something. Maybe she needed a quick trip to the restroom.

She’d eaten here before and knew her way. In fact, the restaurant was one of Nolan’s favorites. Turning, she headed toward the narrow hallway leading to the restrooms. Her makeup was okay and so was the wig. She went back to wait. It took less than five minutes to be seated by Rod’s partner.

“You are Hailey?” she asked as she sat.

The Gothic waitress nodded. “I’m filling in for my new BFF, who couldn’t come to work this evening because of stomach cramps.”

Somehow Amy knew Hailey had something to do with that. Amy scanned the room for Nolan and his new girlfriend while Hailey poured water into her glass.

They were seated at the far end of the room, the woman facing the front entrance. All Amy saw was the back of Nolan’s head. The girlfriend wore a red dress, but her hair was like Amy’s wig. She talked with hand gestures, her pretty face animated. Poor woman. She had no idea who she was dating.

“Do you know what salad you want to order?” Hailey asked

“Any will do. I don’t intend to eat it. Can you do me a favor?”

Hailey picked up the menu. “Sure.”

“After I get the call, spill something on Nolan’s girlfriend. Water, a drink, anything.” Like any woman, she’d go to the bathroom to clean up. Amy planned to warn the woman, and she hoped Nolan would see her following his girlfriend. Let him sweat some bricks worrying about her motive.

“That’s not part of Detective Fitzgerald’s plan,” Hailey protested.

“I know. Look at her.” The woman was laughing and appeared to be having a good time. “The least I can do is to tell her the truth.”

Hailey scowled, obviously not liking her idea. “Okay. One salad coming up.”

Amy watched Hailey walk away then studied Nolan’s table. She wished the woman could look away from him and see her. Surely, she’d see the resemblance. At the neighboring table, three guys made goo-goo eyes at Amy. She smiled and sipped her water. A bold one got up and approached her.
 

He squatted by her chair and looked up at her. “I’m Trent. He’s Chris,” he pointed at his friend, who smiled, “and he’s Jonas.” He indicated the third one. “We were wondering if you’d like to join us. That is, if you’re alone.”