River Road(64)
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz

Mason gave that some thought.

“Maybe,” he said. “But if they were drugged, it means someone not only had to know that they were going to the coast that day but also had access to the contents of their picnic basket. Can you figure out how that could have happened?”

Lucy thought about it. “They always picked up the baskets at Becky’s Garden. But I can’t imagine that Becky would have any reason to hurt either Sara or Mary.”

“No, and I’m sure she has no financial interest in Colfax Inc. But it’s possible that someone else got to the picnic basket that day.”

“The killer would have had to follow them the whole way, waiting for the opportunity,” Lucy said.

“Maybe there was no drug. Maybe the killer simply forced Sara and Mary off the road. It happens. Usually in the movies, but it happens in real life, too.” Mason paused. “But in real life it requires a very good driver behind the wheel of the assault car. And like I said, results are not guaranteed. It’s a sloppy way to get rid of a target. I still think we’re dealing with a desperate amateur.”

“Doesn’t make him or her any less dangerous.”

“Makes him or her more dangerous in some ways. Less predictable. We’ve identified two fault lines in this thing—money and drugs. We’ve been focusing on the drugs. I think we need to pay closer attention to the money.”

Mason stopped and released her hand. She sensed the energy in the atmosphere around him. He took his phone out of his pocket and hit a coded number.

“Aaron—yes, I’m fine. Deke called you? Yeah, well, he overacted. Yes, there were drugs involved, but we’re not dealing with a drug gang or a cartel here. There’s money in this thing, though. I want you to use Alice to follow it. I need to know everything you can find out about the status of a company named Colfax Inc.”

Lucy went closer to the water.

Behind her, Mason continued to talk to his brother. He rattled off the location of the Colfax company.

“. . . Yes, I know it’s a privately held corporation. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be plenty of rumors about the merger. Go ask Alice. Plug in all the data you can find and see what she says. I’m looking for signs of financial problems that may have been covered up at Colfax. Right. Call me as soon as you get anything solid. Thanks.”

Mason ended the connection and dropped the phone back into his pocket. He came to stand directly behind Lucy. His hands closed over her shoulders. She smiled and reached up to cover one of his hands with one of her own. She sensed his chained anticipation. The part of him that had been born to hunt the bad guys was aroused and ready.

“Go ask Alice?” she asked.

“Aaron loves that line,” Mason said.

“You’re onto something, aren’t you?” she asked.

“Maybe. I can envision a scenario in which Cecil Dillon, the second Mrs. Colfax, Quinn and Jillian aren’t just anxious to make the merger happen because they want to take the profits and run. Maybe they’re desperate to make it happen because they know something about Colfax Inc. that Warner doesn’t know, something that could bring down the company. They want to get out while the getting is good. If they don’t, they might lose everything.”

“That would explain their united front. But why wouldn’t they tell Warner?”

“Because it’s his company, his empire.”

“His legacy,” Lucy said.

“If he finds out that there’s something rotten at the core, he’ll want to try to save Colfax Inc. and rebuild—not sell it to an unsuspecting buyer.”

“But the others wouldn’t want that, because it would put the whole company at risk. There’s a good chance they would end up with nothing.”

“Plenty of motive to go around in that family.”

“But it was Quinn who poisoned you,” Lucy said. “That makes him the most likely suspect in the murder of Sara and Mary. Same setup in both cases—drugs and a car accident.”

“It’s looking like Quinn, but something doesn’t feel right,” Mason said. He tightened his fingers on her shoulders and turned her around to face him. “Yesterday, when I was in the middle of that damn movie—”

“You mean when you were hallucinating.”

“When I was hallucinating, I pulled over into the lay-by and took out my phone. I was aware enough of what was happening to know that I should call nine-one-one, but I also knew that whoever had tried to force me off the road might come back to finish the job. Just in case, I wanted to say good-bye to you.”

She cupped his face in her hands. “You scared the daylights out of me.”

His mouth crooked at the corner. “Yeah, sorry about that. I was too messed up to realize how you would react.” He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck. “Lucy, the night together over on the coast was the most important night of my life. The best thing that ever happened to me.”

She knew that the declaration was fueled, at least in part, by the charged emotions generated by his near-death experience. But in that moment she did not care. She, too, was dealing with some strong emotions, mostly the aftershocks caused by the forces of fear and anxiety followed by overwhelming relief at the knowledge that Mason had not died.

“That night on the coast was the most important night of my life, too,” she said. “I will never forget it.”

He did not look satisfied with her answer, but he did not push for more.

“Lucy,” he said. He drew her closer. “Little Lucy. Now that you have come back into my life, I don’t want to let you go.”

He kissed her before she could demand a clarification of that enigmatic sentence. She reminded herself that he had been through a lot in the past twenty-four hours. He might be saying things—feeling things—that he might not say and feel when reality had once again fully asserted itself. Maybe the same went for her.

But in the meantime she could not think of any sane reason not to abandon herself to the hot rush of desire and the intense intimacy that she experienced when she was in Mason’s arms.

She returned the kiss with all of the passion that he ignited in her. His mouth was hot, fierce and exciting. He held her close and tight against him, making her aware of his own arousal.

He finally raised his head and did a quick scan of their surroundings. She knew they were alone. No one was likely to come hiking along that stretch of the river, but Mason shook his head.