Always Love a Villain on San Juan Island (21 page)

He took a deep breath. “It might cost me you.”

“What? What're you talking about.”

“A baby would change everything between us. Our work, our friendship—”

“A baby—a child—would just add to all that.”

“Yeah? What, you'd breastfeed it on stakeout? Carry it in a backpack when you break into somebody's office?”

“Don't be silly.” But she smiled. A baby in a carriage would be great cover while she picked a lock or tailed someone for Triple I or Puget Sound Life.

“Kyra, I do
not
want to be someone's father. I don't want the responsibility for a young life.” He took a bite of his sandwich and chewed. “You'd start to see me as the baby's father instead of as your friend. And worse, I'd see myself the same way.” He took a larger bite, his mouth now so full he couldn't speak.

She wondered, but did not say, Would that be so bad? At fifteen she'd had a mighty crush on Noel, a whole summer long. Till she came to understand he didn't go for girls. Her only salvage back then was to realize he hadn't rejected her specifically. “I doubt that'd happen. We've been through a lot together and we're closer friends for it.”

He swallowed most of his mouthful. “Nothing like this. We'd argue—”

“As we have, many times. And made up. We've done many crazy things together.” She took a bite of egg salad. “And undone them. Together.”

“A baby is something that can't be undone. Once it's made, it's there for a lifetime. It'll be your responsibility. And mine.”

“I'll be in Bellingham and you'll be in Nanaimo. It'll be my responsibility. I am perfectly capable of being a single mother.”

“How do you know?”

“I know myself pretty well. And you can come and visit. Maybe visit your friend Peter on your way.”

“Peter?”

“He likes you. A lot.”

“What's that got to do with your having a baby?”

“Just an association.” She gave Noel an evil grin. “Maybe Peter will give me some sperm.”

“Oh stop it!”

“Well face it, I want to have a baby, and if you can't be the donor, some other guy will have to be.”

Noel said nothing. He hadn't gone this far in his thinking. She'd mentioned it after the Quadra case and he'd said no, and surely that was that. The idea of Kyra having a child fathered by some unknown person was all of a sudden acutely upsetting. “I think the whole idea is bad. You have a kid, everything changes.”

“You keep saying that.”

“Because it's true.”

“Okay, okay.” She took a large bite of her sandwich.

“Okay what?”

She shook her head and chewed, eyes cast on her plate. In truth, she hadn't given much thought to getting pregnant with the sperm of someone she didn't know. She couldn't believe Noel could be this stubborn. She thought she could break him down. She thought he was a friend and would do her this small favor. Hold it—more than a small favor. A very large favor. She did understand that.

“Okay what?” he repeated.

She swallowed. “Okay, let's stop talking about it. I don't want to argue with you.”

“You're not going to get just any sperm to impregnate you. Are you?”

“I don't want to talk about it.”

“You've been wanting to talk about it for weeks.”

“And when we start, you see what happens.”

“What?”

“You get angry.” She took a small bite of her sandwich. “We argue.”

“I'm not angry. And we're not arguing.” He finished the last of his Reuben.

“What is this, a cheerful chat or something?”

“Okay,” he said while chewing. “No more.”

“I'm going to the washroom. If the waiter comes, I'm finished.”

Noel watched her head toward the door marked
TOILET
. He truly didn't want to talk about this. If they stopped the conversation about having a baby, maybe the baby would just go away. Until minutes ago, he had truly believed that if he refused to father her child, she'd give up on the idea. But she was going to have a baby whether he agreed to her plan or not, and that would assuredly destroy their friendship and their partnership. Damn her! He read the menu front to back to take his mind off their disagreement.

She returned. “So. The plagiarism case is dealt with. And we have to stay here at least another twenty-four hours. What shall we do?”

Oh, he needed time to think about Kyra. But he said only, “First we tell Peter what we've concluded. I'll see where he wants to meet us. Then we do what we want. Be tourists.” Noel took out his Blackberry and gauchely pressed in Peter's number. Interesting. He'd memorized it.

Peter took the news of the unlikelihood of plagiarism with equanimity. “You've done the best you could. It's most likely that Jordan just does have two writing styles.” He lifted his eyebrow. “Or at least two.”

“Where do we send our bill?” Noel asked.

Peter gave him the address of the English Department office. “So you're meeting tomorrow with Larry Rossini.”

“We are,” said Noel. “And leaving the next day. Oh, may we use the house another night?”

“Sure. Just one night? You don't think you can help him?”

“We don't know yet.”

Kyra said, “Any idea what his problem could be?”

Peter shook his head. “He's been acting weird recently. Even more than usual.”

Kyra squinted at him. “Than usual?”

“He's working on some heavy-duty research that he keeps so secret nobody around here knows what it is.”

“What's his field?”

“Biomolecular engineering. I have no idea what his specialty is. Nanotechnology, I think. All too esoteric for me.”

“Sounds complicated,” said Noel.

“When're you meeting him?”

“Tomorrow. Noon.”

“Oh.” Peter's face looked as if he were deciding something. “Want to come by my place? Around 5:30? Someone I'd like you to meet.”

“Who's that?”

“A surprise. And it's not an invitation for dinner. A drink, yes. But I'm busy this evening.”

“Sure,” said Noel.

“Fine,” said Kyra.

After a lunch with no more talk about hiring detectives, Toni and Larry returned to her hotel room, where they once again undressed each other and went at it. Then they both slept. Larry woke first, his thoughts rehearsing for the umpteenth time his responses to Susanna's kidnapping. His ploy was not going to work. He'd hoped in three weeks the Sheriff's people would find her. But they hadn't, and time was running out. When the three weeks were up, the kidnappers, very angry, would contact him: The process didn't work! He'd say they must have misapplied the algorithms. They'd say—what? He'd have to find a way to get them the real algorithms without admitting he'd tried to cheat them. Susanna mustn't be harmed. He should have given them the correct ones in the first place. Which was more important, his discovery or his daughter? He'd thought he could have both. He shouldn't have come to Seattle before convincing Rachel and Franklin to take on the case. He should call them again, tell them he must meet with them this evening. He'd return to San Juan, have them start immediately. If he remembered right, there was a 6:00
PM
ferry. He leaned over to the side table and checked his watch. 3:10.

He rolled over and put his arm around Toni. She stirred. He kissed the back of her head. “Toni?”

“Mmm?”

“I love you, Toni.” What?! He'd never said that before. The words had simply left his mouth.

She turned to face him. “What did you say?”

“I think I said I love you.”

“Larry!” She reached for him, drew his face against her breasts, held him to her.

He pressed his lips to her skin and lay still for a moment, then pulled away. “I want to be with you, right now and for a long time. But I've got to go back to San Juan.”

“When? Now?”

He kissed her hard. Relaxing his lips, he whispered, “Right now.” He pushed himself from the bed.

She sat up. “Why now?”

“In case the kidnappers make contact.” He pulled on his shorts.

“From all you've told me, they won't.”

“Or if the Sheriff's office has any news.”

“If they've found out nothing till now—”

“Toni, I need to be close to where I last saw Susanna. I shouldn't have left the island. I shouldn't be here.” He pulled on his trousers and shirt.

She let herself fall back onto the bed. “I'm glad you came.”

“Me too,” he smiled. “Twice.”

Kyra would sightsee, Noel would nap. They drove back to the house. She pored over his map. She grabbed a couple of pamphlets and her purse. Did she really need the mace and pistol? One never knew. Yes, she could borrow the Honda. She made a joke about getting both her and the car back in one piece. It fell flat. The last time she'd borrowed his car was still too recent. Sure, she'd be back in time to meet Peter's mysterious person.

Off the campus, out to the main road. First stop, Lime Kiln Point State Park. So named because lime had once been quarried there. Not much to see—some old bones of buildings, but a lovely ocean view. An old lighthouse stood at the water's edge, a one-storey building and a two-storey tower with a beacon on top. No longer manned, the guidebook said, automated for years. Beyond it, Deadman Bay, so-called because of a sensational murder that happened more than a hundred and twenty years ago, not described but obviously a major event of the time. Likely of any time between now and then. The next crime to come along was the possible plagiarism of a novella? Kyra laughed out loud. She loved small islands.

Onward. Lots of green fields, a number of farmhouses each with its requisite geese pecking at grass or floating on ponds. Past Mt. Dallas Road; Peter had mentioned lots of upscale housing that way, people wanting a view. Not much of a mountain, Kyra remembered—barely a thousand feet high. Of course sea level was close by. Then Smallpox Bay, called this because of an infestation many years ago among the native people. Burning with the illness, they leapt into the bay to kill the fever, but they caught pneumonia and killed themselves instead. Another sad story.

At last, the English Camp, one of the bases during the Pig War. On a well-protected harbor. Good place for military fortification. Long-stretching lawns. Some restored buildings, and a formal garden. All very pretty on this sunny summer day. Good place to bring a baby who's just learning to walk. Oh dear.