The Heart of Lies (7 page)

“Well, I didn’t want to go overboard, give you a big head or anything,” Colin replied.

“I’m hurt.”

“I bet you’re pouting, aren’t you?”

She giggled.

“Doesn’t mean I don’t still think of you as
smokin’ hot
, Emily.” He laughed, then his voice turned sensually serious. “If I was there with you, you couldn’t stop me from showing you how hot I think you are. I ache for you, woman.”

“Okay, okay. You’re making me blush.”

“Glad to know I can do that even from a long distance. All joking aside…I do ache for you, Emily. I’m hoping I’ll be able to come and visit before too long.”

“I would love that. This long-distance relationship is excruciating.”

“Agreed. I’ll let you know when I can work things out. But until then, tell me how your gig went tonight?”

“You wouldn’t believe it if I told you.”

“Try me.”

She explained the case of the suspected philanderer and how she discovered the truth, including her disguise. Between laughs and giggles, she did her best to describe the man’s red negligee and slippers, as well as the advice she gave him to come clean with his wife.

Colin laughed deeply as she painted the visual image—the kind of thoroughly satisfying belly laugh that gave Emily pleasure just hearing it.

Then their conversation took a serious turn. Emily explained to Colin what she had observed in the hotel bar between Maggie’s new man and his assistant, and how it seemed suspicious to her, even though it might have been completely innocent.

“I have a bad feeling about it,” she said, pulling her car into her driveway. “Isabel is going to do a background check in the morning, see if we can dig anything up on him.”

“I hope for Maggie’s sake she doesn’t find anything,” Colin replied. “From what you’ve told me, she’s been waiting for a good man for a long time.”

“She has. Maggs raised Josh alone and now he’s off to the Navy. Even though she’s late for just about everything and she doesn’t know how to keep a secret, she is one of the sweetest, kindest people I know. She’d do absolutely anything for a friend.” Emily turned the engine off, set her Bluetooth in the console, and raised the phone to her ear.

“She’s lucky to have you, Emily.”

Emily climbed out of her car. “Not just me, Isabel and Camille, too.”

With the wide front porch illuminated by the lamplights on either side of the front door, Emily stuck her key in the lock and went inside her bungalow.

“They were all there for me when Evan died, and we’ll all be there for Maggie—however this thing turns out.” She flipped on the inside foyer light and kicked her shoes off as she went to the kitchen.

“If there’s anything I can do to help, just ask,” Colin offered.

Emily turned on the kitchen light and pulled the wig and glasses off with her free hand. As she laid them on the breakfast bar, she noticed the back door was unlocked and partly open. Her heart began to beat hard at the realization.

“Colin, I think someone’s been in my house.” She closed and locked the door, then pulled her gun out of the back of her waistband.

“What makes you think that?”

“The back door was ajar. I’m sure I locked it before I left. I
always
lock it. I’m going to set the phone down and check the house. Stay on the line.”

“Wait!” She heard Colin holler into the phone, but she had already set it on the counter.
 

Emily drew her gun and crept from room to room, peeking around corners, behind shower curtains, and into closets. After a thorough search, she felt confident whoever had been there was gone.

She picked up the phone. “All’s clear.”

“Emily! You should have stepped outside and called the police to come and search the house. The perp could still have been in the house and you’d be dead.”

“You forget, Colin, I’m not just any helpless woman. Please don’t treat me like I am.” Emily knew Colin was just being protective, but she didn’t appreciate it.

Even though he had lost a fiancée to gunshot wounds, and she had lost her husband to a bullet, Colin needed to remember that she was a gun-carrying private investigator who’d decided a long time ago not to shrink from danger.

Emily had read his over-the-top protectiveness early on in their relationship as a lack of respect. She had suggested to him that maybe they should both date other people—people with safe, boring jobs.

His response was to grab her and kiss her so deeply that her body melted against him and he had to support her as her knees went weak.

Even though they had both been in dangerous situations since that pivotal kiss, with him as a police detective and her as a private eye, they had never discussed fears about each other’s safety again—until now. Perhaps it was the distance that made Colin feel so out of control, of no help to her at all.

Emily padded to the living room and sunk down the sofa. She laid her gun down on the coffee table before drawing her feet up under her.

“I know you’re not just
any
woman—you’re lovely and sweet and kind—but you’re also stubborn and pigheaded and
ugh!
I care for you, Emily. I—”

“Hold that thought.”

The photo of Evan and the mystery woman was missing from the coffee table. She glanced around the floor. Had it fallen? No.

She remembered clearing the food and drinks after her guests left. The photo was the only thing she purposely had not cleared away.

“It’s gone!”

“What’s gone?”

“The photo.”

~*~

Distraught over the missing photo, Emily phoned Isabel once she’d hung up with Colin. Apologizing for the lateness of the hour, she told her friend about the break-in and the stolen photo.

“Oh, Emily! Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.”

“Did you call the police?”

“Yes. I called Colin’s friend, Ernie, after I checked to see if anything else was missing. Seems like the photo was all they took. I told Ernie just to file a report, no need to come over.”

“I wonder why someone would want that old photo.”

“Do you know if anyone besides Jethro knows about it?”

“Maybe he made a few calls or sent some emails about it already, trying to find something out for you,” Isabel guessed.

“Yeah, maybe. Can you check with him? Because if that’s the case, then someone he told didn’t want me to have it.”

“Perhaps they don’t want you snooping around, uncovering their real identities. Do you want to spend the night here?” Isabel offered.

“No. I think they already got what they came for.”

CHAPTER 7

Seven o’clock was approaching, and Emily arrived to see Lucas and his team busy setting up the large conference room at the Paradise Valley Hilton Hotel, preparing for the first of several sales presentations for the new Whitetail Ski and Golf Resort.

Fiona was busy setting out stacks of brochures and financing flyers on one of the green-skirted rectangular tables that sat at the front of the room.

Emily looked around for her friends, but they had not arrived yet. A few people were already milling around, though, talking in small groups, or watching the presentation being set up.

Lucas and the three real estate agents he had contracted with were setting up the renderings. They were positioning them across the front of the room on gleaming brass easels. The massive main lodge, the lush green golf course, and the breathtaking lake dotted with boats and swimmers was showcased alongside the snow-covered mountain, depicting skiers and snowboarders, and the tennis courts with families in white tennis outfits pictured on the courts. There were also drawings of the charming rustic condos with vignettes of the luxurious amenities inside.

Maggie walked in a side door, handed Lucas a red tie and helped him put it on. Emily watched her friend interact with Lucas. She hadn’t seen Maggie this happy since—well, never. Lucas seemed to dote on Maggie, as well.

Emily peered over at Fiona and noticed her glancing at the happy couple from time to time, looking none too pleased. Was that jealously she saw in Fiona’s eyes? She wasn’t sure, but it was something unsettling.

Emily took a seat on one of the back rows, saving a couple for Isabel and Alex. Camille had told her they might come, if Jonathan was back in town, but not to hold any seats for them.

Then Maggie left through the side door she had entered from. She must not have noticed Emily in the audience.

Sully Sullivan came in, shaking hands with everyone as he made his way to the front. Then he shook hands with Lucas and they spoke to each other, leaning in conspiratorially. What was that about?

“Hey, Emily.”

Emily jumped, startled out of her conjecturing.

Camille greeted her, bending down to give her a hug. “Jonathan is stuck in Seattle, so I decided to come by myself. Are Isabel and Alex on their way?”

“Yes, but here, let me move over a couple of seats and we can leave the two on the end for them.”

“You’re a doll,” Camille said as she squeezed past Emily, taking the next chair over. “This is so exciting, isn’t it?”

“What do you mean? The new resort?”

“No, silly, Maggie and Lucas—I think she’s in love.”

“Did she tell you that?”

“Well, I don’t know if she wants me spreading it around, so keep this between you and me—and Isabel, of course—but Maggie thinks Lucas is going to pop the question pretty soon.” Camille grinned, digging around in her purse and pulling out a mirrored compact and a tube of lipstick. “I think she’s finally snagged the handsome rich husband she’s been dreaming about her whole life.”

“Knowing what humble beginnings she came from…”

“Dirt poor,” Camille added as she applied the color, snapping the compact shut. “Mayor Sully, too. I guess because he’s older than Maggie, he escaped that life first and has done pretty well for himself.”

“Yes, he has.” Emily glanced around the room again, which was filling up fast, trying to catch a glimpse of her friends. She saw Alex first and waved them over. Isabel filed in and Alex took the seat on the aisle.

“Did we miss anything?” Isabel asked her friends.

“No, but I think they’re about to begin,” Camille answered, fidgeting with excitement.

Emily leaned toward Isabel and asked if she’d had any word from Jethro. Isabel looked her friend in the eyes, pursing her lips, and shook her head no. Grimacing, Emily sat up straight in her chair and turned her attention to Mayor Sullivan as he took the microphone.

The mayor gave a few words of greeting and told how thrilled he and the other council members were to have such a spectacular resort being built so close to their community.

As Sully was speaking, Maggie returned and took a seat on the front row, looking lovely in a chic electric-blue designer dress and heels, wearing a look of sheer bliss on her face. Emily assumed Lucas must have bought the dress for her, because it looked far more expensive than anything she’d ever seen Maggie wear.

Sully finished his short speech and turned the microphone over to Lucas to tell about this extensive new project. Lucas strode up to the microphone, looking dashing and powerful, his smile dripping with sincerity. He offered a few words of introduction, then he asked Maggie to join him. He held his hand out to her, and every eye in the room was instantly riveted on the handsome couple.

“I’m sure you’re all wondering what’s going on,” Lucas began his announcement. “Most of you are probably familiar with Maggie Sullivan, the mayor’s sister, and the love of my life. As a newcomer to your charming community, you have welcomed me with open arms and I am very grateful,” he said, putting a hand over his heart. “That’s why I want you all to be a part of what I’m doing here.”

Lucas got down on one knee in front of Maggie and took her left hand. A collective gasp rose from the crowd, then a hush fell over the room. Everyone seemed to lean forward on the edge of their seats, including Emily and her friends. He pulled a diamond ring from his coat pocket, it sparkled under the spotlights, refracting the colors of the rainbow across Maggie’s smiling face.

“Maggie, I am totally and completely in love with you. Will you do me the honor of making me the happiest man in the world? Will you marry me?”

The whole room seemed to hold its breath, waiting for her reply.

“Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you,” she exclaimed. She offered him her ring finger and he tenderly slipped the engagement ring on it.

He shot to his feet and took her in his arms, planting a serious kiss on her lips. The crowd applauded enthusiastically.

Emily clapped too, though she and Isabel applauded with less enthusiasm than the rest, while they observed the newly-engaged couple. Then Emily glanced over at Fiona, trying to read her reaction. Fiona was clapping along with the rest of the people, but Emily noted the unnatural smile plastered across her face and her unenthusiastic clap.

Was there something more that Fiona felt for Lucas that an employer-employee relationship? They had seemed rather cozy at the hotel bar the night before, but it wasn’t like they had their hands on each other.