Silver Sparks (28 page)

“She was supposed to what?” Cal folded his arms, sure the explanation wouldn’t make him happy, but interested in making him say it anyway.

“To entice Rafe back to the room so we could catch him in a compromising position. Ruin his image.” Rick worked his jaw back and forth, then seemed to think better of it and left it alone.

“So you were going to let
Rafe
fuck my sister. Get up.”

“No! She wasn’t going to sleep with him.” He narrowed his eyes at Cal. “Or with me.”

“I told you trying to catch Rafe attacking a woman was a stupid idea the first time you proposed it. You agreed to try it my way.”

“Yeah, well, your investigation wasn’t getting anywhere. I had to do something.”

“I found the bodies.”

His mouth opened and he blinked several times. “You found bodies?”

“At least two, in an old mine on De Luca land. One was Emily Banks. The police are investigating.”

“Wow.” Rick’s stare was unfocused as he thought. “That’s great. I could sell your firsthand account for . . .” He looked up. “You’ll give me an exclusive, right?”

His distaste for Rick was mounting by the second.

“I’ll cut you in. You’ll see, we can both make money off this.” Rick scrambled to his feet with newfound energy, but kept a wary distance from Cal. “When can I interview you?”

“The first thing we do is take Amber back to the commune, and you can explain to everyone there how you won’t be taking her away again.”

“Yeah, whatever.” He folded a tripod and tossed it into a small duffel bag, along with a video camera. “Let’s go. The sooner I get this story, the better. Man, I’m gonna nail Rafe’s ass this time.” He paused at the door and motioned to Cal. “Come on, we gotta get back before someone else gets the jump on me.”

“That would be tragic.” Cal thought the sarcasm was obvious, but he wasn’t sure Rick got it.

They wouldn’t let Maggie see Rafe.

“He’s being examined by his doctor,” the security guard said. He swiveled his chair, putting his back to the bank of monitor screens. She noticed various views of the lobby, the spa, and the parking lot glowing brightly under halogen lamps. She couldn’t tell if one of the other screens showed the bar in The Aerie, and sincerely hoped it didn’t.

“Does he really have a broken jaw?”

“Doubt it. He’ll probably need a few new caps on his teeth, though.”

The little office held one other chair and a desk, but it was unoccupied. “Is another guard with him?”

“Nope.”

“What if he leaves?”

“I hope he does. We got no reason to hold him, and if he leaves, the pack of paparazzi will go with him. Makes my night a whole lot easier.”

Damn. She’d been all psyched about crushing Rafe’s hopes for a giant lawsuit. But telling Parker Jameson might be just as good. Propositioning a minor—that should crack Jameson’s cool exterior. If the press got wind of it, it wouldn’t matter if the minor in question had looked willing. It was the kind of publicity Jameson was paid to cover up.

“Do you know where his lawyer is?”

“Haven’t seen him.” The guard cocked his head, looking her over. “Aren’t you Zoe Larkin’s sister?”

She nodded.

He leaned back and laced his fingers over his belly. “Heard you put on a pretty good show tonight.”

The little room suddenly felt claustrophobic. “Someone must have exaggerated.”

“Hey, I ain’t criticizin’. Fact, I wish I’d been there to see it.” His eyes took another tour of her body, lingering on her breasts. “You planning on doin’ an encore?”

Never, but that didn’t matter. The newspapers would make sure no one forgot. Photos of her in her bra and fringe skirt would be everywhere, even on the Internet. God, she’d never live this down.

And Cal . . . Heat bloomed on her cheeks. She knew from the shocked look on his face that he’d never forget, either.

“Thanks for the information,” she mumbled, and made a quick exit.

The enormity of what she’d done was starting to sink in. She’d known there were possible repercussions, but hadn’t thought about them at the time. She did what had to be done. She’d dealt with a reputation tarnished by rumors before. But this was more than rumors, and it was far more than local. By tomorrow, Wild Maggie Larkin would be national news.

And Cal Drummond would never want to see her again.

Loud laughter made her look toward the lobby. A group of reporters had gathered by the fountain, probably waiting for Rafe to emerge from the administrative offices. She didn’t want to face them. She didn’t feel like being shut up in Zoe’s office, either, answering Amber’s questions. Her only other option was the alarmed exit at the end of the hall, with darkness and cool night air beyond. It sounded perfect.

Opening Zoe’s office door a crack, she motioned for her sister to step into the hall. “Can you override that alarm for me? I need to get my cargo pants from Cal’s truck, and the lobby’s full of reporters. I can’t go that way.”

Zoe led the way down the hall. She keyed the override, then held the door open. “Call me when you’re ready to come back in.” Maggie nodded and slipped outside. The door clicked shut behind her.

The night wasn’t dark here, or quiet. Even though there was no moon, the mountainside above her glowed with light. Floodlights bathed each ski run in white as snow guns spit long arcs of snow over the slopes, the white fountains adding a layer of powder to fight off the spring melt. By morning, huge snowcats would have the runs packed and groomed for the last skiers of the season. It might be after 2:00 a.m., but the slopes were busy.

At least the people out here weren’t reporters. She ran to Cal’s truck and was relieved to find he hadn’t locked it. Her pants might be dirty, but they were a lot warmer than bare legs. She traded the robe for her jacket while she was there.

Going back inside wasn’t appealing. She wandered toward the equipment barn, staying close to the pine trees that shielded it from the view of guests. Away from buildings, among the fragrant branches of the pines, she at least had the illusion of solitude. Even the diesel exhaust from the snow groomer idling in front of the barn drifted in another direction. The air among the trees was fresh, filled with the spring smells of damp earth and new growth—just what she needed. Maggie closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

The faint trace of cigarette smoke touched her nostrils. Someone else was out here, not too far away.

Cal skirted the reporters as he scanned the lobby. No Amber, no security guard. The man had looked too earnest and impressed with Cal’s badge to have let her go; they had to be close by. His best bet was the security office. If the guard wasn’t there, someone would know where to find him.

“Looks like something’s going on,” said Rick, taking in the mass of reporters and photographers by the fountain. Cal had nearly forgotten about him in his eagerness to wring Amber’s neck.

Maggie’s bartop striptease would explain the paparazzi. So would Rafe’s bruised face. Since the reporters were keeping an eye on the door that led to the administrative offices, he figured one or both of them were in there.

He hadn’t told Rick what had happened in The Aerie. He didn’t intend to, either—Rick had chosen sides when he tried to use Amber. Encouraging him to mingle with his own kind could be a good way to get rid of him. “I’ll check with Zoe. Why don’t you stay here, find out what’s going on?”

“Right.” Rick sauntered over to a group of reporters. He didn’t even realize he’d been dumped.

Cal nodded to the desk clerk and slipped through the doorway to the administrative offices. He’d check with security first, and hope they had Amber. Then he could find Maggie. Of the two, Amber was the slipperier, the one who’d run if he turned his back. Maggie would just . . . actually, he wasn’t sure
what
to expect from Maggie, after that striptease on the bar. But he would start with Amber.

He paused with his hand on the door to the security office. Sergeant Kyle Todd walked toward him from the direction of Zoe’s office.

A cold spot formed inside Cal, an icy lump of fatalism. He could think of two reasons for Todd to be here—one, to arrest him for smashing Rafe in the face, or two, to arrest Maggie for public indecency. Like any good criminal, he acted innocent. “Hey, Kyle. What’s up?”

“I got word that Rafe De Luca was here. We’ve been trying to find him for questioning ever since you led us to those bodies.”

He wouldn’t mind having a word with Rafe himself, especially if he was in there with Amber. “Mind if I watch?”

Todd only gave it a second’s thought. “I guess you’ve got a stake in this, too.”

He had no idea how much. Cal followed him through the door.

A man turned from the bank of monitors he was watching. At a desk on the other side of the tiny office, Rafe sat holding an ice bag to the side of his face.

“I’m looking for a girl named Amber,” Cal told the security guard at the monitors. “I left her with another—”

“Assistant manager’s office,” the guy cut him off. “Down the hall.”

If Zoe had her, Amber was safe. Rafe didn’t look interested, anyway. He glanced at Sergeant Todd and sank into a scowl. “Don’t waste your time. I don’t talk to cops without my lawyer present.”

Todd arched an eyebrow. “You get a lot of practice being questioned?”

Rafe’s narrowed glance took in Cal. “If you’ve already talked to him, I’m not giving my side without my lawyer.”

Todd turned a questioning look on Cal. “His side?”

Cal gave a half smile in return. “I’m the one who gave him the lump on his jaw.”

Todd turned back to Rafe. “You have a lump?”

Rafe glared and lowered the ice bag. Cal stepped forward to see. Purple bloomed along Rafe’s finely chiseled jaw, with red stretching over the cheekbone. Cal smiled; the golf ball–size swelling was coming in nicely.

Todd smiled. “This should be good.”

“Arrest him!”

“Well now, I might get to that later,” Todd said, as unconcerned as if Rafe had requested a can of soda. “But that’s not what I’m here for.”

Rafe sat straighter. “Why the hell not? I want to press charges against that asshole. I don’t care if he
is
a cop, he didn’t have the right to hit me. You really slipped in shit this time, cowboy. You ever seen the press go after a cop for police brutality? I got witnesses.”

“And I have pictures—of you with your hands all over a sixteen-year-old girl.”

Rafe clamped his mouth shut.

Todd said, “I came to ask you about Emily Banks.”

Rafe returned the ice bag to his face. “I already talked to the cops about that. I don’t know where she went that night.”

“We found her body.”

Rafe met Todd’s eyes briefly, unconcerned. Pretty damn composed for a killer. “Yeah? So what? Everyone figured she was dead. Now you have proof. Go do your forensic stuff, find out who did it, and leave me alone.”

“That’s such a touching testimonial for a girl you spent most of an evening with.”

“I’m all sniffly,” Cal agreed.

“Fuck you.” Rafe moved the ice bag for an unimpeded glare. “You’re out of your jurisdiction, cowboy.”

“I’m not,” Todd said, his voice suddenly several degrees colder. “And I’m the one talking to you.”

Rafe gave him a sullen stare. “Like I said, I’m waiting for my lawyer.”

“Fine. Here’s something to think about while you wait. I got a dead girl who was last seen with you, and whose body was found on your parents’ property. Their gated, guarded property that you have access to. I want to know how she got there.”

Cal knew he wasn’t fishing for an answer, not after Rafe had mentioned his lawyer. He just wanted to see Rafe’s uncensored reaction to the news. So did Cal.

Denial wouldn’t have surprised him. The furious, self-righteous arrogance of a criminal who knows he can use the law to protect himself.

What he hadn’t expected was shock. Rafe’s face went slack and drained of color. He lowered the ice bag. “Her
body
was at my parents’ house?”

“Are you speaking to me voluntarily, without your lawyer?” Todd glanced at the security guard by the monitors to make sure he had a witness. No problem—the guy hadn’t looked at his screens since they walked in.

“Yeah, yeah, no lawyer,” Rafe said, waving his hand impatiently. “Tell me where you found her body.”

Cal noted the mix of puzzlement and concern in Rafe’s eyes, and frowned. He hadn’t thought the asshole was a good enough actor to fake it so convincingly.

“In a pool of water inside an abandoned mine.”

“A mine? What mine?” Rafe’s forehead showed deep creases, then cleared as he shook his head. “There’s no mine on that property. You’d better check a map.” His confidence returned rapidly. “And get yourself a whole damn law firm while you’re at it, because you just implied some very damaging shit that’s going to end your career.”

“It’s on De Luca land,” Todd told him, unruffled. “No question.”

They exchanged stares for several seconds, while doubt grew on Rafe’s face. “Where?”