Sudden Second Chance (5 page)

Chapter Six

Duke felt a twinge of guilt in his gut as Beth’s pale face blanched even more. Was she claustrophobic, too? He knew she had those panic attacks, and if she started down that road he’d cave. He had a weakness for this woman.

“I...I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m here to do a
Cold Case Chronicles
episode on the Timberline Trio—come hell or high water.”

“Cut it, Beth. That’s not your kind of story and we both know it.” He leveled a finger at her. “You’re up to something. You may have fooled me two years ago, but I’m tuned in to the Beth St. Regis line of baloney now.”

Her eye twitched and her tongue darted from her mouth. “It’s personal.”

He rolled his shoulders. “Now we’re getting somewhere. I knew there was more to this story. Start talking.”

“If I do, will you help me?”

He tilted his head back and eyed the ceiling. “Just like you to turn the tables. I’m not agreeing to anything. I just want to know the truth—for a change. Don’t you think you owe me the truth?”

Tears brightened her eyes, and the tip of her nose turned red.

He scooped in a deep breath. If she shed even one tear, he’d be finished. But that was how she’d gotten around him last time—pushed all his buttons.

“C’mon, Beth. What are you doing here?”

Drawing in a shaky breath, she covered her eyes with one hand. “You’re right. It’s not just the Timberline Trio case that brings me here, but in a way it is.”

“Is this going to be a guessing game?”

“No.” She sniffled. “I do owe you the truth, but do we have to do this here, like I’m some suspect you’re interrogating?”

He punched the button. “Sorry about that. I just wanted to get your attention. You’re not...?”

“Claustrophobic?” Her lips trembled into a smile. “Sort of.”

The doors opened onto the second floor and he ushered her out of the car in front of him and then wheeled her suitcase down the hall after her, his gaze taking in the way the soft flannel draped over her derriere. Beth was probably the only woman he knew who could make flannel pajamas look sexy.

She stopped in front of the room next to his and swiped the card key. As she fumbled with the door, he reached around her and pushed it open.

“You want me to check for frogs in the bed?”

“My tormentor doesn’t know my new room number, but go ahead anyway.”

In three strides he reached the king-size bed and whipped back the covers. “Frog-free.”

She climbed onto the bed and crossed her legs beneath her. “You ready?”

Pulling the chair from the desk in the corner, he straddled it. “I’m always ready for the truth.”

“You know I’m adopted.”

“And you hit the jackpot with a set of rich parents.” He held up his hands. “I know they weren’t the best parents, but at least they gave you all the creature comforts your teenage mother couldn’t give you.”

“I didn’t have a teenage mother.”

“What?” He hunched over the back of the chair. “You told me your birth mother was an unwed teen who gave you up to a wealthy couple for a better life and then disappeared.”

“I lied.”

He flinched as if she’d thrown a knife at his heart. What didn’t she lie about?

“Okay. Who was your mother and what does this all have to do with Timberline?”

“Duke, I don’t know who my birth parents are. My adoptive parents, the Kings, never told me.”

“Maybe they didn’t want you running after some bio parents and getting disappointed.”

She snorted. “I doubt that.”

“They wouldn’t give you any information? The adoption agency? A birth certificate?”

“I...I think my adoption was illegal. My birth certificate is fraudulent. The Kings are listed as my biological parents. The only reason I even knew I was adopted was because I overheard them talking once. When I confronted them about it, they admitted it but refused to give me any more information.”

“That’s strange, but what does it all have to do with Timber...?” Her implication smacked him on the back of the head. She couldn’t be serious.

“That’s right.” She dragged a pillow into her lap and hugged it. “I think I’m one of the Timberline Trio—Heather Brice.”

He pushed up from the chair and took a turn around the room. “How in the hell did you come to that conclusion?”

She launched into a crazy tale of stuffed frogs and repressed memories of forests and news stories of Timberline until his head was swimming.

“Wait.” He sank onto the edge of the bed. “Based on a stuffed frog you had as a child that happens to be Timberline’s mascot, you think you were kidnapped and then what? Sold on the black market?”

“Don’t pretend that doesn’t happen. We both know it does, and the Kings were just the type to be involved in something like that. The rules didn’t apply to them. Their riches always gave them a sense of entitlement.”

“From what you’ve told me about your adoptive parents, I agree. But, Beth...” He reached across the bed and tugged on the hem of her pajama bottoms. “Maybe you have that frog because your parents, the Kings, passed through this area and bought it for you.”

“I thought of that, not that I could ever see them vacationing in Timberline, but what about the hypnosis?” She waved her arms in a big circle. “I went to a hypnotist in LA, and I saw this place—the lush forest, the greenery—and it scares the hell out of me.”

“There are a lot of places in the world that look like Timberline.”

“But combined with the frog?”

“Maybe something traumatic happened here when your parents were passing through. Hell, maybe there was a car accident or you wandered away and got lost—God knows, you’d be the kind of kid to do that, and I mean that in a good way.”

“The Kings never mentioned anything like that.”

“Why would they? You said they were distant, uncommunicative.”

“I just feel it, Duke.” She pounded her chest with one fist. “From the moment I saw the Wyatt Carson story and the Timberline scenery on TV, I felt it in my bones. There’s something about this place. I have a connection to it.”

“Have you tried to contact the Brices?”

“No. I don’t want to get their hopes up or make them think this is some cruel joke. I want to do some legwork first.”

“I thought you were convinced you were Heather Brice.”

“There’s being convinced and then there’s proving it. I came here to prove it.”

“It would be easy to know for sure with a DNA test.”

“I can’t put those poor people through that if I’m not sure.”

“What do you think is going to happen here? You’re going to have some revelation? Everything that happened to you at age two is suddenly going to come back to you in perfect recall?”

She stretched her legs out in front of her and tapped her feet together. “I’m not sure. I just know I have to be here, and I have to investigate.”

“You can’t go to the Brice house anymore. It’s been torn down along with its neighbors to make room for a shopping center.”

“I know that.” She drew her knees up to her chest and clasped her arms around her legs. “Does this mean you’re going to help me?”

He jerked back. How’d he get sucked in so quickly? He planted his feet on the carpet. Was she even telling the truth now? Maybe it was all a trick to get him to turn over what he knew about the Timberline Trio so she could film her stupid show and maybe even piggyback on his success like last time.

She saw it in his face—the doubt.

She touched her forehead to her knees and her strawberry blond hair created a veil over her face. Her voice came out muffled and unsteady. “I’m not playing you, Duke.”

A sharp pain knifed the back of his head. He was done—for now.

“You’ve had a crazy day. Get to bed and we’ll discuss it tomorrow.” He pushed off the bed and made it to the door. He yanked it open and paused as she rolled off the bed as if to follow him.

He raised one eyebrow.

“I have to brush my teeth again. Thanks for suggesting this room. I know it’s just a frog and a broken window, but I feel better being close to you.”

“Good night, Beth.”

As the door shut behind him, a whisper floated after him. “I always did feel better close to you.”

* * *

T
HE
FOLLOWING
MORNING
Beth opened her eyes and stretched, feeling fifty pounds lighter. There had been a moment at the end of the evening when it looked like Duke was ready to bolt, but overall he’d taken her confession well. And he’d believed her.

She hadn’t revealed everything to him, but she wasn’t ready for that...and neither was he. Maybe she’d feel another fifty pounds lighter once she did.

Sitting up in bed, she reached for her phone and checked her messages. Scott had asked when she needed her cameraman and the rest of the crew. Maybe she’d never need them. If she played it cool and didn’t make a big fuss, her tormentor might stop harassing her and she could get down to the business of her real investigation.

The tap on her door made her yank the covers up to her chin.

“Beth, are you up yet? I talked to the cleaning crew, and I think I know how the intruder got into your hotel room.”

“I’m awake. Just a minute.” She scrambled out of bed, ran her tongue along her teeth and lunged for the door.

“Sleeping in?”

“I was exhausted.” She swung the door wide. “Come on in. What did the maids have to say?”

He put a finger to his lips and closed the door. “Let’s not broadcast this. They had a cart on your floor at about the time we figured someone broke into your room. They carry master room keys with them, and Gregory thinks someone walked by and snatched one, letting himself in your room.”

“Doesn’t say much for their security, does it?”

“What security? But the hotel is going to change its policy, and now each maid will have a single master key—no more leaving them on the carts. I’m not sure they were supposed to be doing that anyway.”

“I hope I didn’t get anyone in trouble.” She ran her fingers through her hair, wishing she’d told Duke to wait until she’d showered and dressed. “Have you had breakfast yet?”

“No. I went for a run and then met with Gregory.”

“Wish I’d been able to join you.” She glanced at the alarm clock. “Can I buy you breakfast?”

“To continue our discussion from last night?”

“To eat breakfast.”

“Pound on the wall when you’re ready.”

She released a pent-up breath when Duke left. Still testy, but he seemed as if he trusted her a little more after sleeping on her revelation. She’d have to make sure that trust continued to grow. She could use his help...and maybe his protection while unraveling her past.

She showered and dressed for the weather in a pair of jeans, a sweater and the boots she’d been wearing every day since she got here. Before leaving the room, she called the rental-car company to report the broken window.

Instead of banging on the wall, she knocked on Duke’s door.

He answered with a file folder in his hand. As he held it up, he said, “You may want to just eat breakfast, but I have to get to work. Yesterday was a wash.”

“There’s a restaurant a few miles from here that serves breakfast.” She averted her eyes from the folder. If he wanted to share with her, he would.

“We’ll take my car. Did you call the rental-car place?”

“I just did. They’re swapping out the car for me. Seemed so surprised about the vandalism and theft.”

“I guess it is unusual for this town unless you’re determined to dwell on its ugly past.”

“You know what I was thinking?” She ducked into the stairwell as Duke held the door for her. “I should’ve come here as a tourist and done my own detective work without the glare of publicity.”

“Without bringing the spotlight with you, a lot of those people last night at the restaurant wouldn’t have any interest in talking to you about the case. They might’ve recognized you anyway and had their suspicions. You just didn’t realize not everyone would be thrilled with the show coming to town.”

“It’s not like it hasn’t happened before—people unhappy with the show coming to their town.” She shoved open the fire door to the lobby. “I’m going to put those pranks out of my mind and concentrate on my goal. Nothing is going to stop me.”

She glanced at the front desk on her way out but another clerk had replaced Gregory. When they reached the parking lot, Beth spotted the ex-con she’d run into before, straddling his bike and examining her broken car window.

“That’s the guy I saw in the forest.” She elbowed Duke and called to the man. “I saw you in the forest.”

The man looked up, a green baseball cap low on his forehead. “Is this your car?”

“It’s a rental.”

“That’s a shame.” He scratched his chin. “I heard why you were here—from them teenagers drinking in the woods.”

“Do you want to get on camera now, too?”

“No, ma’am. Some things are just better off left alone.” He got back on his bike and pedaled away.

“Do you know that man was questioned for the Carson kidnappings?”

Duke waved the file at her. “I do. His name is Gary Binder and he’s a former junkie and an ex-con.”

“Were you going to tell me about him?” She walked to the passenger side and he followed her. “I mentioned him to you yesterday.”

As he opened the door, he shrugged. “Would you blame me for keeping my research to myself?”

Before she could answer, he turned and walked back to the driver’s side.

By the time Duke got behind the wheel, she’d decided not to push her luck. If Duke wanted to help her in her quest, he’d do it. She wouldn’t push him, wouldn’t cajole. When she’d started this journey, she’d had no idea that Duke would be here. His presence did give her a sense of comfort, but she was determined to dig into this thing on her own and to discover the truth with or without Duke.

While he drove, she gave him directions to the little café that sat near a creek bed and served breakfast and lunch only. As they entered the restaurant, she pointed to the back. “They have a deck next to a running creek, but it looks like rain.”

“I have a feeling it always looks like rain in Timberline, and I don’t want my papers floating away.”