River Road(61)
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz

“What?”

“Brinker was very careful when it came to the drugs. I couldn’t see him making a connection directly. He used Kelly as the broker. And I could tell that Kelly had no idea what had happened to Brinker. In fact, I got the impression that Nolan Kelly was as relieved as everyone else when word went around that Brinker was probably dead.”

“How did you and Brinker end up as buddies that summer? The two of you didn’t have a lot in common as far as I could tell, aside from the fact that your fathers were partners, that is.”

Quinn’s mouth twisted into a humorless smile. “Here’s a nice slice of irony for you. My old man figured Brinker was a good role model for me.”

The sunlight slanting through the window behind Quinn had become uncomfortably bright. Mason decided it was time to leave. He set the mug down on the desk.

“Thanks for the coffee,” he said. He got to his feet and went to the door. The knob was very cold to the touch. He paused and looked back at Quinn.

“After Brinker was reported missing, what did you think had happened?” he asked.

“I assumed he was playing some game at first,” Quinn said. “But when the authorities concluded that he was dead, I decided that you had probably killed him.”

The sunlight was painful now. Mason took out his sunglasses and put them on. “Is that what you told the cops?”

“No,” Quinn said. “I just said that there had been an argument between you and Brinker, but that’s all. As far as I was concerned, if you had killed him, you’d done me and a lot of other people a favor.”

Mason opened the door. The knob had been cold a few seconds ago, but now it felt like it was made of ice.

“One thing you might want to know,” Quinn said quietly.

Mason looked at him. “What?”

“I did warn one person about Brinker’s threats.”

A knowing sensation crackled through Mason. “You told Sara Sheridan that he had threatened to hurt her and Lucy and my brother, and that he would probably go after me eventually.”

“I couldn’t sleep that night. I got out of bed about four in the morning, dressed and drove out to the orchard. I parked in the trees and walked the rest of the way to her house. I never even got a chance to knock on the door. It was as if Sara had been waiting for me—or maybe keeping watch at the window. She came out onto the back porch in her robe. I told her about the threats that Brinker had made. We spoke in whispers. I knew she didn’t want to wake Lucy.”

“What did Sara do after you told her your story?”

“She smiled at me in that way she had, as if she could see straight through you and knew all your secrets. She thanked me and told me that she would take care of everything. And then she told me to go home and forget that I had ever talked to her. She said Brinker must never find out, because there was no telling what he would do. She was right.”

“Talk about a coincidence. I had a similar conversation with her later that same morning.”

There was a short silence. The office was starting to look like a brilliantly lit stage.

“It never occurred to you that she was the one who killed Brinker?” Mason said.

“No.” Quinn gave a weak laugh. “I mean, Sara Sheridan? A murderer? She was first in line at the antiwar protests. She led classes in meditation and yoga. She was vegan before vegan was cool.”

“You’ve got to watch out for those vegans,” Mason said.

37

He let himself out into the hall and closed the door. He stood still for a moment, wondering why it was so dark. Belatedly, he remembered that he was wearing his sunglasses. He took them off, stuffed them into his shirt pocket and walked into the tasting room. The wine tourists were gone. So was Letty.

He went outside. The glare of the sun was so dazzling it hurt his eyes. He fumbled with his sunglasses, got them on again and made his way down the broad steps to the parking lot.

He climbed behind the wheel and sat quietly for a moment, enchanted by the way the sun filtered through the leaves of the trees and splashed on the ground. Liquid gold. He would like to make love to Lucy in the beautiful light. But Lucy was not here. He needed to find her.

He got the car going after a couple of tries and drove out of the parking lot. The road that followed the river seemed to have more curves than he remembered. It twisted into infinity. He was struck with a sudden flash of insight. The answers he was looking for were at the end of River Road. All he had to do was keep driving. Lucy would be waiting for him.

The world had a crystalline purity, as if his vision had been enhanced. Everything from the boughs of the trees to the white lines on the pavement was as sharp and clear as if it had been made of glass. The colors were amazing. He had never been so aware of the many shades of nature.

Even the scene in his rearview mirror was vivid. The large black SUV coming up fast behind him had a cinematic quality. He laughed, wondering if he had accidentally taken a wrong turn and driven into a movie.

The SUV was closer now. The windows were heavily tinted. He could not make out the driver’s face. Probably a stuntman. It was starting to look like one of those films in which the bad guy tried to force the good guy off the road.

Just as someone had forced Sara and Mary off the road.

But the accident had happened out on Manzanita Road. This was River Road.

He wondered if he should tell the stunt driver that he was on the wrong road.

The lookout point above the river was coming up soon. One more curve.

The SUV pulled out to pass. Now, that was just stupid. It was also illegal as hell. But this was a movie. The bad guys did stupid, illegal things in films and got away with it, at least until the very end.

Okay, fine. If the bad guy wanted to risk his neck passing on a curve, that was his problem.

But he didn’t want to be in a movie, Mason thought. He wanted to find Lucy and make love to her in the liquid-gold sunlight streaming through the trees. Oh, yeah, and find the answers at the end of the ride.

The big SUV was alongside now. Close. Way too close. Suddenly the script became crystal clear, just like everything else. This was it, the big scene where the bad guy tried to send the good guy over a cliff.

But the good guy was not in a mood to act. He just wanted to find Lucy. Damned stuntman was in the way.

Mason hit the brakes hard, slamming to a halt. There was a screech of metal as the rear fender of the SUV clipped the front of the car.

The stunt driver must not have expected that change in the script, because the SUV overcorrected wildly, barely managing to stay on the pavement. In the next instant it was gone, vanishing around the next curve.