Jayne Ann Krentz (12 page)

Rafe gave a rude grunt and reached for the coffeepot.

Hannah eyed Perry with renewed caution. “You promised your boss that you would produce me tomorrow night, didn't you? And he's going to be annoyed if I don't put in an appearance.”

Perry sighed. “I would take it as a great personal favor, Hannah. Tomorrow night is very, very important to me, careerwise.”

“Who else is on the guest list?”

Perry appeared briefly surprised by the question. But he switched gears swiftly. “The usual local honchos, of course. Plus all the folks who backed Thornley's previous campaigns. We've also got some heavy-duty movers and shakers from Portland coming in. The big catch of the evening is Tom Lydd.”

“Tom Lydd of Lydd-Zone Software?” Hannah asked.

“One and the same.” Perry tried and failed to look modest. “I've been courting him for months, trying to get him to endow a research fund at the institute. I don't mind telling you that the fact that he agreed to attend tomorrow night is a very, very good sign. I'll have his name on an endowment agreement by the end of the week if all goes well.”

“Big coup for you, I imagine,” Hannah said politely.

“Doesn't get any bigger than Tom Lydd.” Anticipation glittered in Perry's eyes. “I think it's safe to say that if I land an endowment from him, my position at the institute will be rock solid. I'll be in line to take over as director when Manchester retires next year.”

“Wow,” Hannah said. She paid no attention to Rafe, who was watching her with a bemused expression.

Perry chuckled. “I think we can agree that ‘wow' is the operative word. I've got plans for the institute. Big plans. When I take over I'm going to turn it into one of the most influential social policy think tanks in the country. We'll be able to make or break political candidates. Anyone in the Northwest with an eye on political office will come to us for consulting advice.”

“All right,” Hannah said. “I'll do it.”

Perry patted her hand with the same air of condescending approval that he had exuded when he patted Winston's head. Hannah had the same reaction Winston had had. It was all she could do not to bare her teeth.

She could tell from the glint in Rafe's eyes that he had caught her reaction. Perry, however, did not appear to notice. Goal accomplished, he was already halfway out of his chair.

“I'll be very busy tomorrow evening,” he said en route to the front door. “I won't be able to swing by here to pick you up. Why don't you meet me at the institute? Say, eight o'clock? Dressy but not formal attire. I'm sure you know the drill.”

“Sure, Perry.” She followed him back outside onto the porch.

He paused on the second-to-last step and glanced over her shoulder, evidently assuring himself that he could not be overheard by Rafe. Then he lowered his voice to a confidential tone.

“What's with you and Madison?”

“You must have heard by now that Aunt Isabel left her house to both of us. Rafe and I are discussing how to handle Dreamscape.”

A concerned frown furrowed Perry's brow. “Everyone in town heard about that will. Isabel must have been going senile there at the end. Why didn't you let the lawyers work it out?”

“Rafe didn't want to involve lawyers.”

“Is that right?” Perry slanted a thoughtful glance at the door. “Probably thinks he can get a better deal on his own. You're lucky that I'm the one who happened to drop by this morning. Anyone else might have taken one look at that domestic little scene in the kitchen and jumped to the wrong conclusions.”

“What conclusions?”

“You know what I'm talking about. You, Madison, the breakfast dishes. Hell, it isn't even nine o'clock yet. Looks like the two of you just spent the night together. If that kind of talk got around—”

She folded her arms, leaned one shoulder against the post, and looked at him. “Are you going to spread the rumor that I'm having an affair with Rafe Madison?”

“Of course not. Hell, I'm probably the one person in town who doesn't believe that you let him seduce you on the beach the night Kaitlin Sadler died.”

“I appreciate your faith in my virtue. But what makes you so sure I didn't let Rafe seduce me that night?”

Perry chuckled indulgently. “As I recall, you were a bit naïve, not to say, downright inhibited about sex in those days.”

“In other words, because I wasn't interested in getting into the backseat with you that night, it's highly unlikely that I fooled around with Rafe Madison later? Is that your logic?”

Perry gave her a knowing look. “As I said, I realize that there's nothing going on between the two of you, but a word to the wise. Eclipse Bay is still one very small town. You'd better be a little more careful about appearances in the future. Someone else might get the wrong idea.”

“Thanks for the advice, Perry.”

“One other thing you should know.” He glanced toward the door behind her again and then leaned forward and dropped his voice still lower. “There's some serious question about Rafe Madison's source of income.”

“What exactly are you implying, Perry?”

“I'm not one to make accusations, but there's talk that he may be involved in some less-than-legitimate investments, if you catch my drift.”

“You mean he may be a gangster?”

Perry's lips thinned. “I'm just saying he might be skating a little close to the edge of the legal ice. Who knows what he's been up to during the past eight years?”

“Why don't you ask him?”

“None of my business.” Perry went hastily down the last step. “Well, got to be on my way. Lots to do before tomorrow night. See you at the reception.”

“Don't worry,” she said softly. “I wouldn't miss it for the world.”

She stayed where she was, lounging against the post, until the Volvo disappeared at the end of the drive. When she finally turned around, she saw Rafe and Winston gazing at her through the screen door.

“You'll be happy to hear that Perry doesn't believe for one moment that anything went on here last night,” she said.

“Hell of a relief,” Rafe said. “Someone who wasn't quite so high-minded as Decatur might have drawn all the wrong conclusions.”

“Yes.”

“He's still a jerk,” Rafe said.

“Yes.”

A speculative look gleamed in his eyes. “Are you serious about going to that political reception?”

“Very serious. Luckily I packed a black dress and a pair of heels. There's just one more thing I need.”

“Yeah?” Rafe looked at her. “What's that?”

“A date.”

“I got the impression that Decatur thinks he's going to be your date for the evening.”

“He couldn't even be bothered to pick me up. I don't count that as a date.”

“Got someone else in mind?”

She gave him her brightest smile. “I figure you owe me.”

“What caused the feud?” Octavia asked after a while.

Mitchell paused in the process of removing dead blooms from the rosebushes. “A woman. What else?”

Octavia folded her arms on top of the fence and rested her chin on her hands. She watched him nip off another faded flower. “What was her name?”

“Her name was Claudia Banner.”

“Was she very beautiful?”

Mitchell opened his mouth to say yes, but then he hesitated, thinking back through the years to his first impression of Claudia. “She was fascinating,” he said finally. “I couldn't take my eyes off her. But I never really thought of her as beautiful. I just knew that I wanted her so badly that nothing else mattered. Unfortunately, my partner, Sullivan, wanted her too. For a while.”

“What do you mean, for a while?”

Mitchell snorted softly. “Sullivan Harte was always too logical and too coolheaded to let himself be led around by his balls for long. He figured out what Claudia was up to long before I did. I refused to believe him. We fought. End of story.”

“How did it happen?”

Mitchell tossed a dead bloom into a sack. “Sullivan and I set up Harte-Madison right after we got out of the army. We had us some mighty big dreams in those days. The plan was simple. We'd pick up a few cheap parking lots in downtown Portland and Seattle and then sit on 'em for as long as it took.”

“As long as it took for what?”

“For the boom times to come, naturally. We both knew that sooner or later the Northwest cities were going to be important. What with the Pacific Rim trade taking off, property values were bound to skyrocket. We figured that when the time was right, we'd sell the parking lots to developers and make our fortunes. In the meantime, we'd have income off some very low-maintenance properties in the heart of the cities.”

“How did Claudia Banner get involved?”

“Things started happening faster than we expected. We hired Claudia to help us negotiate the first sale. She'd had experience in that kind of thing, you see. Sullivan and I were novices.”

“She did the deal for you?”

“Yep.” Mitchell moved on to the next rosebush. “And it was a hell of a deal. Sullivan and I were suddenly rolling in dough. Both richer than we'd ever been in our lives. Couldn't wait to sell the next parking lot. Claudia found us a buyer right off the bat. More money fell down out of the sky. We were golden. Couldn't miss.”

“What went wrong?”

“Somewhere in the middle of the sale of the third lot, a big one in downtown Seattle, Claudia pointed out that Harte-Madison could structure the deal in such a way that we'd be able to keep a stake in the future profits of the office tower that was slated to be built on the site.”

“Uh-oh.”

“Yep.” Mitchell dropped another dead rose into his sack. “Uh-oh pretty much sums it up. Sullivan and I had financial stars in our eyes. We trusted Claudia. She took us for a ride and then vanished with the company profits on all three parking lots. Harte-Madison got left with a stack of leveraged debt, and the firm was suddenly out of business.”

“And you and Sullivan were at each other's throats,” Octavia mused.

Mitchell looked at her across the fence, squinting faintly against the weak sun. “I was sure he had somehow seduced Claudia into doing what she did. He figured I was working with her. Sullivan and I cornered each other outside Fulton's Supermarket one day, and the rest, as they say around these parts, is history.”

“Did you love her very much, then?”

Mitchell shrugged. “She was my passion. Naturally, I made a fool of myself over her. Making fools out of themselves over females is something Madison men do.”

“Is she still your passion?”

Mitchell examined the dead rose he had just pulled off a bush. “I'll let you in on a little secret. When you find yourself within spitting distance of ninety, you start viewing things from a slightly different perspective. If Claudia Banner walked back into my life today, I'd ask for my money back.”

“And that's all?”

“Yep.” He smiled slightly at the dead rose. “That's all. I've got other passions these days. That's another thing I've learned over the years. If he gives himself a chance, even a Madison can develop a little common sense when it comes to his passions.”

Octavia was quiet for a while, watching him work. Eventually she stirred. “You know, if you leave some of the dead blooms on the bush you'll get rose hips. They make a very healthy tonic.”

“I can't stand rose hip tea,” Mitchell said. He snapped off another dead bloom and stuffed it into his sack. “I've got some good ten-year-old whiskey I use when I need a tonic.”

At eight-thirty the following evening, Rafe stood with Jed Steadman at the edge of the crowd and watched Hannah dance with Perry Decatur. Decatur, he was pleased to note, did not appear to be enjoying himself.

The whole scene bordered on amusing. Rafe could almost feel sorry for Thornley and his retinue. The reception was ostensibly in the politician's honor, but most of the guests were too busy sneaking covert glances at Hannah and Rafe to pay much attention to Thornley. That was due to the fact that most of those present were locals, including the mayor and his wife, all of the members of the town council, and the owners of several Eclipse Bay businesses.

Rafe recognized a lot of faces. He knew that the majority of these people had been around long enough to be familiar with the legend of the famous Harte-Madison feud, and virtually all of them had been living in Eclipse Bay eight years ago when Hannah had provided him with his alibi for the night of Kaitlin Sadler's death. In addition, the entire town was no doubt aware of the terms of Isabel Harte's will.

When Rafe and Hannah had walked into the reception together shortly after eight, they had caused any number of heads to swivel and jaws to drop. A ripple of murmurs had spread through the crowd. An amazing number of people had found an excuse to cross the room to greet them and make conversation.

Definitely not a banner night for Thornley, Rafe thought. How could his staff have known that their man's forthcoming announcement of his intention to run for the U.S. Senate seat would take second place to the latest development in the Harte-Madison feud?

Jed munched a cracker slathered in cream cheese and smoked salmon. “Thornley might be the next senator from the great state of Oregon, but he's having a hard time getting anyone's attention tonight.”

“Only so far as the locals are concerned. The out-of-town crowd hasn't got a clue about the reason for the buzz.”

“True, but almost everyone here is from Eclipse Bay.” Jed eyed Perry and Hannah with an assessing gaze. “Decatur certainly doesn't look thrilled. Probably didn't expect you to show up with Hannah.”

Rafe watched Perry and Hannah come to a halt on the dance floor. “I'm not real concerned with Decatur's feelings.”

“From what I hear, he's got a lot at stake tonight too. Word is he's trying to position himself to take over the institute next year.”

“Not my problem.” Rafe picked up a feathered toothpick that had an olive, a bit of cheese, and a mushroom impaled on it. He put the tiny skewer in his mouth and removed the edible portions with his teeth.

Jed shot him a curious look. “So what's up with you and Hannah, anyway?”

“We're conducting negotiations.”

Jed looked amused. “Yeah, I heard about that. Your Porsche was spotted at the Harte place night before last. Word is you're doing your negotiating in bed.”

Very deliberately, Rafe turned to look at him. He said nothing.

Jed grimaced and put up a hand, palm out. “Sorry. Can't help the curiosity. I'm a reporter, remember?”

“Yeah,” Rafe said, “I remember.”

“I get the message. No more questions of a personal nature about you and Hannah Harte. But speaking as an old friend, I'll just say that you'd better hope that her family doesn't get wind of the talk that's going around town.”

“I'm not worried about the rest of the Hartes. This is between Hannah and me.”

“Sure. Whatever you say.” Jed reached for another canapé and another topic of conversation. “Some big bucks in this crowd tonight. Just saw Tom Lydd and his new bride arrive. I understand the head of the institute is hoping Lydd will endow a research fund.”

Rafe followed his gaze to the man with the boyish face and the techie glasses on the far side of the room. Tom Lydd was not yet thirty, but he was already worth millions. “Very smart guy. Took his company public at the right time. His security software is some of the best on the market. Wouldn't be surprised if there's a buyout on the horizon.”

Jed glanced at him. “You follow that kind of business news?”

Rafe shrugged. “It's a hobby.”

Jed nodded, satisfied. He turned back to his survey of the crowd. “Not a bad turnout for the institute. A rising politician, a sprinkling of big money, and the right people from the political end of the spectrum. Got to admit, this operation has come a long way since it first opened its doors.”

Rafe glanced at the tall, photogenic man talking to Tom Lydd. “And so has Trevor Thornley.”

“You can say that again. He'll do okay in Washington. He's got all the right instincts, including good timing.”

“You always said that timing was everything.”

“It sure as hell is in politics. Thornley is also into long-range planning. Another big asset. In addition, he's smart enough not to neglect his home base here in Eclipse Bay. Pols that take their local support for granted always get into trouble fast.”

“The fact that he married Marilyn Caldwell didn't hurt him either,” Rafe said dryly.

Jed grunted. “You can say that again. Her father's money has come in real handy. Like I said, the guy knows how to plan.”

“He sure pays a lot of attention to the institute.”

“With good reason. He was its first important political client, and he's still the most faithful. The higher he climbs, the more prestige and power this place acquires.”

“And the more it backs him.”

“That's how it works.” Jed swirled the wine in his glass. “I remember covering his first public relations events here. I knew even then that he had what it takes to make it big in politics.”

Rafe thought about the night he had walked Hannah home. The institute had been ablaze with lights that evening. He had seen them from Bayview Drive. Hannah had mentioned that her parents were attending a reception for a politician named Thornley who had just announced that he was running for the state legislature.

Rafe hadn't paid much attention. Politics had been of little interest to him in those days. In any event, he had been too busy obsessing on Hannah's list of criteria for Mr. Right that night.

The memory made him look around for his date. He spotted her coming toward him through the crowd. The sight of her sparked a thrill of intense awareness deep in his gut. She looked great, he thought. The snug-fitting little black number she was wearing underscored a whole lot of her best assets, including the neatly curved breasts, slim waist, and full hips. Her hair swung in a sleek, gleaming curve every time she moved her head. Her legs were incredibly sexy in dark stockings and black high heels.

The most exciting woman in the room, no doubt about it. At least so far as he was concerned.

He watched her weave her way toward him. She had Decatur in tow, but Perry looked more irritated than ever, so that was okay for now, Rafe concluded. Irritated was good. Irritated meant that Decatur had not liked the fact that Hannah had brought her own date tonight. The jerk had probably counted on taking her home after the reception, maybe even planned to take up where he had left off that night in the front seat of his car eight years ago.

Not bloody likely.

Hannah came to a halt in front of Rafe. She looked flushed and glowing, and there was a sparkle in her eye. He was almost positive that Decatur had nothing to do with the look. She was up to something. He had sensed it when he'd picked her up earlier. She had a scheme cooking tonight. He was content to stand back and watch it unfold.

She smiled.

“We're back,” she said.

“Yeah, I can see that,” Rafe said.

“You'll have to excuse me,” Perry muttered. “Got to say hello to some very big people. I'll catch up with you later, Hannah.”

“Yes, you will,” she said very sweetly. “I'll look forward to it.”

Perry hurried off into the throng.

“He doesn't look real happy,” Rafe said. “What did you do? Step on his toes?”

“I'm saving that for later.”

Jed looked interested. “That sounds promising. Anything you want to tell the press?”

“Not yet, Jed.” Hannah smiled. “But stay tuned.”

“If we've got some time before the excitement starts,” Rafe said, “may I have the next dance?”

“You may.”

“Hannah!”
A man's voice rose above the din of nearby conversation. “Hannah Harte! Is that you?

In the next instant, a small knot of people unraveled to allow Tom Lydd to pass between them. He had his wife, a wholesome-looking blonde, in tow. Both were smiling at Hannah with genuine delight.

“What a terrific surprise,” the young Mrs. Lydd said. She threw her arms around Hannah and then stepped aside so that Tom could do the same.

“Didn't know that you'd be here,” Tom crowed. “This is great. Nice to see a familiar face.”

“I'm delighted to see you,” Hannah murmured. “Allow me to introduce Rafe Madison and Jed Steadman. Rafe, Jed, meet Tom and Julie Lydd. Fair warning—Jed is the editor of the
Eclipse Bay Journal
.”

“Not a problem. I've got no quarrel with the press. Always been good to Lydd-Zone.” Tom pumped the hands of both men with his trademark boyish enthusiasm. “Great to meet you both.”

“Any friend of Hannah's.” Rafe slanted a quick glance at her. She winked at him. That clarified one thing, he thought. The Lydds were part of whatever plan she had concocted.

“Hannah is more than a friend,” Julie Lydd confided.

“She was our wedding consultant. A true magician, as far as we're concerned. Tom and I had a vision of what we wanted, but we didn't have the vaguest idea of how to pull it off. Hannah made it all happen.”

“Everything went off like clockwork.” Tom beamed at his wife. “Isn't that right?”

“It was amazing,” Julie agreed. “We wanted the whole thing staged on an alien world, you see. The one Tom created for his first big computer game.”

“We're talking waterfalls, lagoons, architectural features, the works,” Tom continued. “Did the whole thing on our private island up in the Sans Juans. Hannah was brilliant. You can imagine the logistical nightmare involved. Very impressive organizational talents. After we got back from the honeymoon, I called her up and tried to hire her. There's always room for that kind of management skill at Lydd-Zone.”

“I told him that if the bottom ever falls out of the wedding business, I'll take him up on his offer,” Hannah said.

“Anytime,” Tom assured her genially.

Hannah smiled warmly. “I love doing weddings for couples who are matched by my sister's agency.”

Jed cocked a brow. “Your sister's a matchmaker?”

Julie Lydd answered, “Tom and I met through Private Arrangements. That's the name of Lillian Harte's agency. She uses a very sophisticated computer program to make her matches. Not everyone likes that approach, of course. A lot of folks think it takes the romance out of the process. But it appealed to both Tom and me.”

Rafe looked at Tom. “I hear you're thinking of endowing a research fund here at the institute.”

“Looking into it,” Tom agreed. “I'm a big fan of the think tank concept.” He turned to Hannah. “You're from this neck of the woods. What's your take on the folks running this place?”

Hannah's smile brightened to a blinding glare. “I'm so glad you asked, Tom. I do have some opinions on this operation. Why don't we find a private place to talk?”

“Great.” Tom took his wife's arm. “I noticed a small conference room just outside in the main hall. Doubt if anyone would mind if we used it.”

Jed watched the three vanish back into the crowd. He turned to Rafe, his eyes gleaming with interest. “What do you think that was all about?”

Rafe picked up a knife, dipped it into a bowl of what looked like cheese spread, and smeared some on a cracker. “How the heck should I know?”

But he had a pretty good idea, he thought. Hannah was making her move. He couldn't wait to find out what happened next.

“What's wrong?” Jed asked.

Rafe grimaced. “The cheese spread is bland. Could have done with some feta and walnuts.”

At ten-thirty Hannah emerged from the rest room in time to see Trevor Thornley take the podium to make his big announcement. The lights dimmed over the crowd. Onstage, the politician stood in the center of a dramatic spot. His wife, Marilyn, stood a little behind and just to the right, glowing with wifely pride.

Hannah had a hunch that Marilyn could take a lot of the credit for the fact that her husband was about to launch a campaign for the U.S. Senate. Marilyn had always been ambitious.

Trevor Thornley raised his hands for silence.

“I want to thank everyone here tonight, starting with the faculty of this outstanding think tank. The cutting-edge work done here at the institute in the areas of social and public policy has had a profound impact, not only on how the pundits discuss the issues, but, more importantly, on how politicians and voters think about the challenges that face our nation today.