The Double Cross (19 page)

“How do you know that?”

“I have people everywhere.”

His face turned red and I knew I had him. Unfortunately for me, at just that moment the waiter came over to take our orders. It was the break Jesse had been looking for. Rather than press the issue, I uncharacteristically let him off the hook. I didn’t want to be cruel, and even though I was curious, I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear what he had to tell me, so instead, as we ate, I told him about my afternoon with the students and later with Rita, as well as my encounter in the woods, and he told me about the conversation he and McIntyre had with Frank.

“He didn’t like the guy,” Jesse said. “He said George was not to be trusted.”

“In what way?”

“He told McIntyre they went hunting together a couple of times, he and George and that Pete guy from the quilt class, and the three of them got separated. They didn’t find George again for a couple of hours.”

“Where did he go?”

“Apparently George said he got a call from Rita and had to go back to the house.”

“I’m stuffed,” I said, as I put my fork down for the last time. The food had been so good that I’d eaten more than I needed to. “That’s plausible, what George said, isn’t it?”

“According to Frank a man who abandons a hunt is not to be trusted. But he made sure to add that George wasn’t much of a hunter anyway.”

“Based on how he dressed, I don’t think he was a natural outdoorsman.”

“Maybe not, but Frank is something. He also made it clear that he didn’t think too much of Pete. He didn’t give a reason, just made it clear that he didn’t like the guy.

“I noticed that,” I said. “I don’t think Pete likes him much either. Kind of makes you wonder why they went hunting together.”

“I have a feeling Frank likes being alpha male. Maybe he was trying to prove he’s a better man than Pete or George.” Jesse gestured toward the waiter. “I want coffee and, knowing you, you probably do too.”

“And we can split a tiramisu?”

“I thought you were stuffed.”

“I thought you knew me.” I laughed.

As we pulled up in front of the inn, Jesse took my hand and stared at it. I waited but he didn’t seem in any hurry to say anything, and I wasn’t going to fill the space with empty chatter. Though the wait was killing me, it was clear he wanted to say something, and I was determined this time to let him say it.

When he looked at me, he seemed almost scared. “You know what you said earlier about having people everywhere?”

“I meant Carrie and Natalie. They ran into one of your deputies.”

“I know who you meant.” He took a deep breath. “I saw Carrie earlier in the week, when I was having dinner.”

Oh. That was what this was about. The redhead. If he was going to tell me he’d found a new love, I wasn’t sure this was a conversation I wanted to have.

“Carrie mentioned it,” I told him. “It’s no big deal.”

He cocked his head to the side the way confused puppies do. “Why isn’t it a big deal?”

“I can’t speak for you, Jesse. I just mean that if you want to date someone else, obviously you’re free to do that. You did tell me that I wasn’t the right person for you.”

“I never said that.”

“You once said I wasn’t like your wife. She was more sensible, more restrained, more predictable. More suited to you.”

“I know. But you’re more . . .” He seemed to be struggling. “You.”

“And if you like that, why go out with other women?” I asked.

“My mother fixed me up with a woman she knows from her volunteer work at the church.”

I relaxed a little. Blind dates arranged by your mother rarely turn into love matches. At least I assumed they didn’t. My mother never set me up on blind dates. She and my father had left for France when I graduated from college, and had been slowly making their way around the world ever since.

“When I saw Carrie, I knew she would tell you and I knew you would read something into it, and so I called to explain, and then you told me what was going on with this place and . . .”

“You got on your white horse and rode up here to save the day?” I leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “I appreciate that and I’m really glad you’re here, even though I can take of myself.”

“I knew that.” He kissed me on the lips. “I get that, with you and Eleanor and the rest of them. You have things under control. I just want to be available if I can be of assistance.”

I kissed him back, and our faces stayed close, just in case the urge to kiss overtook us again. “It’s nice to have you around.”

“Nell, if I’m uncomfortable with you being so . . .” He searched for a word.

“Exciting?”

“Terrifyingly nosy,” he corrected me. “Look, I’ve only been in love with two women and I lost one. I don’t want to lose you, and when you go off on one of your adventures . . .”

“I’m just trying help a friend,” I said when I realized he’d buried the lead. “Wait, you’re in love with me?”

Even in the darkness of the car, I could see him turn red. “I really like you, Nell.”

There it was. He had taken a step forward and then was willing to chew his own leg off to get out of the trap he’d set for himself.

“I like you too,” I said.

He stopped for a moment before taking a deep breath. “I don’t want to lose you and I get scared when you stick your nose into things.”

“Help a friend,” I corrected him.

He nodded. “I guess I realized that if I didn’t let you be yourself, I would lose you anyway.”

“I like that you’re protective,” I admitted.

“And I like that you’re a little unpredictable.”

“It doesn’t freak you out?”

He brushed his hand on my cheek and let it rest against the back of my neck. “It freaks me out. But this is who you are, and I want to be with you. And if it’s not going to scare you too much for me to say this, it might be good for Allie to have a woman as fearless as you in her life.”

“Doesn’t scare me at all. Nothing scares me,” I said grandly.

“I’m aware of that,” he said. Then he kissed me again.

CHAPTER 28

I woke up the next morning and smiled. It’s amazing what a few good kisses can do for a girl’s mood. Then I remembered: George was dead, Bernie was a suspect, and somewhere among the people we had met, I was sure, was a killer.

My grandmother’s bed was empty, so I jumped up and readied myself for the day. I left the room and bounded down the stairs, toward the kitchen. I needed lots of coffee to fortify me for the drive to see George and Rita’s daughter.

As I walked down the stairs into the entryway, I noticed an ornate silver candlestick on the landing. It must have been moved, and then dropped, by one of the volunteers who had been painting, but I didn’t remember it from downstairs. As I picked it up, I heard whispers that stopped me on the way to my all-important caffeine fix. The voice was clearly female, but she was speaking so low that I couldn’t determine the identity. Momentarily caught up in the possibility of catching Rita on the phone with the mysterious man from the office building, I moved closer. Tucked against the wall, with the phone against her ear, was my grandmother.

“I miss you too, Oliver,” she was saying. “I had no idea I’d miss you this much.”

She turned and saw me. I’m not sure who was more embarrassed, but I was the one in the way so I moved quickly toward the kitchen. She stopped me.

“For heaven’s sake, Nell, don’t make anything of it,” Eleanor scolded me once she’d hung up the phone.

“Sorry, Grandma. I didn’t mean to overhear, but since I did, I think it’s very sweet to see you so happy.”

“I’m not the only one. I looked out the window last night and happened to notice you and Jesse lingering in the car. Your conversation about Frank and McIntyre went well?”

“Very well. And your conversation?” I pointed toward the phone.

She smiled a little shyly. “Good. Very good. Now get some breakfast.”

As I walked into the kitchen, I realized I had interrupted yet another scene. One of the twins was rubbing a damp cloth against her red T-shirt. “I’ve gotten some paint on me. A hazard of redecorating, I guess,” she said. “So annoying. We’ve only been here five minutes and I’m already a mess.”

I looked closely at the dark spot. It seemed more like grease than the latex paint that was being used on the walls. “I’m not sure water will get that out, Alysse.” I took a guess at the name.

“Alice. Don’t worry. Not even our mother can tell us apart half the time.”

“It must be nice to be so close.”

“It is. We would do anything for each other,” Alice said. “Though you’ll find we are very different in personality once you know us.” She swatted at the stain on her shirt and gave up. “I don’t want to waste any more time. I’ll just leave it and hope I can get it out at home.”

After she left I stood at the sink and sipped my coffee. Maybe it had been sitting for a while but it was unusually bitter, so even though I prefer my coffee black, I opened the fridge in search of milk.

I found the milk but I also found the pitcher of lemonade that I hoped was the same batch from a couple of days before. I searched the cabinets for a small storage bowl, poured a cupful into it, and carefully sealed the container. Then I left the coffee behind and brought the container up to my room. I wanted to bring it to Jesse, but I had something more important to do first—to find out why the George and Rita’s daughter hadn’t bothered to come back after her father’s death. I left the container on the dresser and grabbed my car keys.

“Hey there,” I called out to Pete as I stepped out of the inn. Pete was walking slowly, grabbing an unhappy-looking Barney by the collar.

“Found him knee-deep in a tangle of vines out in the woods.”

“I’m so sorry.” I took hold of Barney. “I can’t imagine why he keeps doing that. Normally you can’t pry him away from my grandmother.” I looked back at the house and came up with a reason. “I think he’s feeling a little confused by all the activity.”

“Nothing for you to do, old boy?” Pete patted Barney’s head. “Still, you need to keep him out of there if he’s unsupervised. I was doing some hunting this morning and I almost mistook him for a deer.”

I crouched down and looked Barney in the eyes. “You’ve been very bad. From now on you stay with Grandma, you old trouble-maker.”

Barney, either because he was nearly deaf or because he was ignoring the scolding, started wagging his tail furiously and licking my face.

“I should get to work,” Pete said. “Our goal is to get the entire first floor painted and fixed up as best we can. Are you coming? We can use all the help we can get.”

I stood up. “Not right now. I do want to help but I have an errand to run.” I jangled my car keys as if it were the universal symbol for errand running.

“Any leads on George’s death?”

“None that I’m aware of.”

“Well, you be careful. Folks up here are a private bunch. They might give you some trouble.”