Sweet Fortune (32 page)

Hatch nodded. “Well, I think that about does it. Thanks for wrapping up a few of the loose ends for me.” He started toward the boat again.

“Wait, goddammit. You've got to take me with you. I won't make it if I have to walk back to the mansion alone. I'm too damn cold, even with this blanket. I need warm liquids.”

“All right. If you can make it to the boat, you can come with us. But don't get any bright ideas like trying to intimidate Susan, or I'll throw you overboard. I doubt the fish will even notice one more load of toxic waste in the Sound.”

“Is that supposed to be funny?” Bright asked through clenched teeth.

“No. I don't have a sense of humor. Just ask anyone.”

“Shit. I knew you were a pro.”

Jessie was euphoric. The adventure had ended on a note of shining success and she could not wait to tell Mrs. Valentine every detail.

The police had taken statements and dispatched a boat to New Dawn Island to see what was going on there. Bright was in the local hospital under guard. He was being treated for the early stages of hypothermia. He was already demanding a lawyer.

The computer printout Susan Attwood had brought with her, as well as the list and key from Bright's wallet, was in safekeeping in the hands of the police. Susan had phoned her mother from the police station and Mrs. Attwood had broken down in tears of relief. She had explained that a man who fitted Hoffman's description had told her that her daughter would disappear forever if she did not call off the investigation.

Jessie was already mentally preparing her report to Mrs. Valentine. She knew her boss was going to be thrilled with the results of the case. Business would be flowing into Valentine Consultations as soon as the story hit the newspapers.

But now was the time for celebration.

Jessie sat tailor-fashion in the middle of the bed and gazed happily around at her little group of intrepid adventurers. They were gathered together in a room at the same inn where she and Hatch had stayed on the occasion of their first visit to Edwin Bright's island. Several cans of soda recently purchased from the inn's vending machine had been opened and were bubbling freely. Bags of potato chips were being passed around. It was a festive sight.

“I want to thank you all for what you did tonight,” Jessie said. “Valentine Consultations is deeply grateful for your assistance on this case.” She raised her glass of cola toward Alex. “First, to Alex, for cracking the computer and making contact with Susan.”

“To Alex,” David said grandly.

“To Alex.” Susan Attwood blushed rosily and looked at Alex as if he were the reincarnation of Albert Einstein.

Hatch, sprawled in the chair near the window, took a swallow of cola and nodded at Alex. “Hell of a job, Robin.”

“Thanks. It was nothing.” Alex was flushed with pride and embarrassment. His eyes kept straying to Susan's admiring gaze. “Anytime you need help on a case, Jessie, just let me know.”

“Why, thank you, Alex.” Jessie beamed fondly at him. Then she raised her glass in David's direction. “To David, who has shown he is that rarest of all beings, a philosopher who is also a man of action. A true Renaissance man.”

“I wouldn't go that far,” David muttered, turning almost as red as Alex. But he was grinning hugely.

“To David,” Alex intoned. “I owe you one, friend, for what you did to that jerk who was holding a gun on Susan.”

“Yes,” Susan said shyly. “Thank you, David. You were wonderful. Almost as wonderful as Alex.”

Hatch took another swallow of cola. “I told you that you didn't need anyone running interference for you, Ringstead. You can do your own dirty work just fine.”

David met his eyes. “So you did.”

“To Susan,” Jessie continued, hoisting her glass again. “Who bravely got out of the mansion with the proof of Edwin Bright's fraud.”

“To Susan.” Alex gazed at her with pride and longing in his eyes.

“To Susan.” David held up his glass.

Hatch munched and nodded at Susan. “Bringing that printout showing Bright's financial setup was a stroke of genius, Susan. The authorities are going to have a field day.”

“It was nothing.” Susan blushed again. “I just wish I hadn't been such a gullible idiot in the first place.”

Alex touched her hand. “Don't blame yourself, Susan. You had only the best intentions.”

“The others I worked with there at the mansion were innocent too, for the most part.” Susan glanced anxiously around the room. “The people who manned the telephones, as well as the computer operators and programmers. We all believed in Edwin Bright. We thought he was a true genius who was being deliberately ignored by the establishment because his predictions were so alarming. And you know how the government is about bad news.”

“Nobody likes to hear talk of disaster,” David agreed. “It's easier to kill the messenger than deal with the real problem.”

Susan nodded sadly. “Those of us who went to work for Bright thought we were dealing with the real problem. We believed the climate forecasts were accurate and we thought the money was needed desperately for Bright's technology-development plan. I'd started having some doubts, but it wasn't until Alex contacted me and pointed out the anomalies in the forecast data that I really questioned what was going on. Then I stumbled over a record of Bright's scam back East and knew for sure something was wrong.”

“I wouldn't worry about the others,” Hatch said. “The authorities will probably only go after Bright.”

“Fortunately, the people who got conned into working for Bright are all basically data-oriented,” Alex said. “Show them where the data are wrong and they'll buy into the truth. They're not the type to follow Bright blindly, as if he were some guru. Not when they've seen the facts.”

Susan nodded soberly. “I think that's true. Edwin Bright is a charismatic man, but without solid data to back up his claims, no one I know is going to follow him.”

“Not everyone who worked for Bright got conned,” Hatch said thoughtfully. “A few of them were in it for the money. Landis and Hoffman, for example. Not exactly your average wide-eyed innocents.”

David gave him a sharp glance. “You think there might be more hired muscle like Landis and Hoffman running around?”

Hatch shrugged. “How would I know? I'm a businessman, not a detective. But there was a lot of money involved. It just seems remotely possible that if Bright had those two on the payroll, he might have had others.”

Susan frowned. “If he did, I never saw them on the island.”

“That's reassuring.” Hatch took another swallow of cola.

“I'm sure the authorities will pick up everyone involved very quickly,” Jessie declared crisply, although she couldn't meet Hatch's eyes. “Now, then, your attention, please.” She tapped the edge of her glass with her fingernail. “I have one more toast to make before we conclude this celebration. To Hatch. Without whose unflagging zeal and noble leadership this mission would never have been accomplished.”

A cheer went up around the room.

“Don't forget to mention my gold card,” Hatch said. “You used it to get the guy down at the marina to rent you a boat in the middle of the night, remember?”

“To Hatch's gold card,” Jessie repeated dutifully. It was a joke. She was sure of it. In fact, she was almost positive. It
had
to be a joke.

“To Hatch's gold card.”

“To Hatch's gold card.”

Hatch met Jessie's laughing eyes and smiled coolly. “One more toast,” he said softly. “To Jessie. Who is going to marry me. Soon. Aren't you, Jessie?”

A sudden silence descended on the room. Jessie froze, her glass halfway to her lips. Her gaze collided with Hatch's and she was unable to look away. She loved him. And just look what he had gone through for her sake. Surely no man would go through all that unless he cared at least a little. She took a deep breath.

“Yes,” Jessie said.

This time the cheer that went up shook the paintings on the walls and rattled the glassware on the end table. Hatch gazed at Jessie with deep satisfaction as Alex and David whooped in approval.

“About time,” Hatch said softly.

A loud pounding began on the other side of the adjoining wall. A man's voice yelled from the next room.

“For Christ's sake, will you hold it down in there? We're trying to get some sleep.”

Hatch groaned, shut his eyes, and sank deeper into his chair.

Jessie grinned. “This makes the second time poor Hatch has nearly been kicked out of here,” she explained to the others. “Guess we better not come here on our honeymoon, huh, Hatch? A little too embarrassing for you.”

“I never even considered this inn for our honeymoon,” Hatch muttered without opening his eyes. “No telephones in the rooms. That means no business calls, no modem hookup, and no way to run a fax machine. How could I function?”

Jessie hurled a pillow at him while the others dissolved into laughter.

A long while later Jessie emerged from the bathroom to find that Hatch was already in bed. He had turned out the light. She could see him waiting for her in the shadows, his broad shoulders dark against the snowy pillows. His eyes glittered with a masculine anticipation that sent a delightful chill down her spine.

A wave of shyness threatened to overwhelm her as she went slowly toward him. This was the first time she had been truly alone with Hatch since the others had retired to their own rooms a short while ago. It was the first time she had been alone with him since agreeing to marry him.

“What's the matter, Jessie?” His voice was deep and dark. “Nervous now that everyone else has gone?”

“No, of course not. Why should I be nervous?” At that moment Jessie stubbed her toe against the leg of the chair, tripped, and sprawled across the bed. Mortified, she buried her face in the blanket. “Good grief, how can I marry a man who turns me into a walking disaster?”

“The same way I can marry a woman who gets me into situations where I wind up running around in the woods in the middle of the night playing hide-and-seek with people who carry guns,” Hatch said. “Very carefully.”

Jessie tried to stifle a laugh and failed. “That was a joke. I know it was.”

“You're wrong. I meant every word. In fact, I have never been more serious in my life.” Hatch pulled her up so that she lay beside him on the pillows. His expression was very intent as he speared his fingers through her hair and gripped the back of her head. “We're engaged now, Jessie. It's official.”

“Yes.” She knew her lower lip was quivering. She could feel it. A sense of desperation tore through her. “Hatch, I love you.”

“I'm glad.” He covered her mouth with his own and rolled her onto her back, crushing her into the bedclothes. “I want you to love me, Jessie. I want it very, very much,” he muttered against her lips. Then he deepened the kiss. His tongue invaded her mouth.

Jessie felt herself plunging into deep water for the second time that night. But this time the water was warm, not icy. Her arms went around Hatch's shoulders as the weight of him bore her downward. For long moments she was caught up in the spell of his lovemaking, unable to think of the future or the past, longing only to please and be pleased, to satisfy and be satisfied.

She slitted her eyes briefly when she became aware of Hatch's hand gliding down the length of her, lifting the hem of the nightgown. Then his fingers were on the insides of her thighs and she sucked in her breath.

He parted her, moistening his fingers in the sweet, liquid warmth he had drawn forth. His lips found her nipples through the fabric of the gown as he touched her intimately. When she lifted herself against his hand and cried out softly, he groaned.

“Touch me,” he muttered. “Yes. There. Hold me. God, Jessie.
Yes
.”

He was naked beneath the sheets, his body heavy with arousal. She curled her fingers around him and felt the drop of moisture at the broad, blunt tip of his manhood.

“Hang on.” He took a deep breath and pulled away from her, groping for something on the nightstand. “Give me a second. I've got it here, somewhere.”

She opened her eyes again and saw the stark need on his face. Lightly, wonderingly, she touched his cheek. “You said you wanted children.”

“Yes. Damn.
Yes
. Jessie, are you sure?”

“I'm sure. I think, with a little practice, you would make a very good father, Hatch.”

He stopped groping for the condom and pushed her flat on her back once more. His mouth captured hers in a kiss of searing need as he surged heavily into her warmth.

Hatch lay awake for a long while after Jessie fell asleep in his arms. One hand crooked behind his head, he watched the patterns on the ceiling and thought about the future.

He was not in the clear yet and he knew it, even if Jessie did think everything was tied up with a neat pink bow. Hatch understood that the potential for disaster still loomed. It was his way to calculate the odds and to take risks when the time was right. He had learned the hard way to do it in his personal life just as he did it in business.

He knew he had done a good job of cementing his future with Jessie by deliberately linking himself to Benedict Fasteners and the entire Benedict clan. He had been as thorough as possible about the task. Jessie was devoted to her family and he was rapidly becoming a part of the family. Everything was under control so long as nothing forced Jessie to have to choose between him and the rest of the clan.

The last thing Hatch wanted was for Jessie to ever have to make such a choice.

Hatch did not kid himself on that score. He knew that if Jessie were ever placed in a position where she had to choose between him and her family, the odds were not going to be in his favor. For Jessie, family would always come first.

And the family was bound by Benedict Fasteners
.

The control of the company was the key
.

Hatch turned the problem over in his mind a few more times. He did not like uncertainties. This was not the first time he had contemplated a method of getting Jessie out from under the responsibility she faced. He was definitely vulnerable as long as she had the long-term duty of looking after the firm for the rest of the family.