The Deception (23 page)

"So, what will you be doing while I'm at the spa?" she asked, taking her seat in the dining room.

"Taking a nap. I didn't sleep very well last night."

"Sorry to hear that. Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine. Sometimes I have trouble sleeping in a strange bed. How 'bout you?"

"I slept like a baby," she confessed as she picked up her coffee cup. "The wine and the hot tub sure did the trick."

After breakfast they returned to their rooms and Carrie got ready for the spa. She wanted to tell Alex goodbye before she left. She stepped into his suite and called his name. When he didn't respond right away, she went inside to look for him. She found him asleep on top of one of the beds. She took the blanket off the other bed and wrapped him up in it, giving him a light kiss on the cheek. He smiled and moaned softly. She gently stroked his head before she stepped out.

The next few hours would be heavenly. She would be getting the works--a body scrub, body wrap and a facial, followed by a Swedish massage. For a brief time, she felt as if she hadn't a care in the world, and by the time she returned to her suite she felt invigorated. She noticed the door between their suites was still open. She went to look for Alex, but he'd apparently stepped out. She ordered a sandwich from room service, but by the time she'd finished he still hadn't returned. She finally decided to help herself to the hot tub. She leaned back and closed her eyes, basking in the hot, flowing jets.

"Caught ya!"

She let out a shriek while Alex doubled over in laughter.

"Oh now that's just fine." Her cheeks turned pink as she tried to stifle her own laughter. "I oughta pull you in here, clothes and all."

"Now, now, Carrie-Anne. I had to go out to get you a birthday present. Then, when I returned, I felt like Papa Bear, only this time Goldilocks has helped herself to my hot tub instead of eating my porridge."

"I'm not Goldilocks," she replied, flirtatiously.

"You're not?"

"Nope." Her tone was still flirtatious. "She was a blonde. I'm a brunette. Also you would be Baby Bear, not Papa Bear, being as she ate Baby Bear's porridge, not Papa Bear's. Papa Bear's porridge was too hot, so there. How do you like me now?"

Alex started laughing again. "You know, Carrie-Anne, you should have gone to law school. You have a real knack for arguing a case."

Laughing, she thought about the good rapport they had, and how she could let go and truly be herself. She'd never felt that way with anyone before, not even Doug.

"Seriously, Alex, you didn't have to go out and buy me a present. Just being here with you, away from all of life's troubles, is enough of a present for me."

"You've had it too hard for too long, Carrie-Anne. It's time for you to enjoy some of the nicer things in life."

"Well, in that case, when do I get to open it?"

"Later. Tonight I'm taking you dancing."

"Dancing?"

"Yes, dancing," he replied. "Tonight there'll be a band and dancing by the pool terrace. That ought to be the perfect way to celebrate your birthday. In the meantime, would you like to have some company?"

"You bet. Come on in, Baby Bear."

Alex changed into his swim trunks and joined her in the hot tub. Once again, he had to fight the urge to kiss her. Before long she excused herself, explaining that she wanted to take a short nap before getting ready for dinner.

* * *

It was nearly sundown when he knocked on Carrie's door.

"Whoa," he exclaimed as she opened it. "Where did you get that?"

"Do you like it?"

"It's gorgeous. I don't think I've ever seen you this beautiful before."

"Thanks, Alex, but please, whatever you do, don't tell Steve that you saw me in this dress. Allie would have a fit if she knew I was wearing her maid of honor dress before the wedding."

"Your secret's safe with me. Attorney-client privilege, you know, and I have the perfect thing to go with it." He handed her a small, gold-foil gift box with a matching gold ribbon and bow. "Happy birthday, Carrie-Anne."

"Oh my," she exclaimed as she opened the box. "Alex, I don't know what to say. It's the most beautiful thing anyone's ever given me."

Her hands were trembling as she removed the pendant from its box. The stone glimmered in the light as the gold chain dangled through her fingers. There was also a matching pair of earrings.

"Sapphire is your birthstone, and I wanted to get something that would match the color of your eyes."

"It's absolutely stunning. Can you help me put it on?"

"Of course."

She walked up to the mirror, pulling her hair aside as he came up behind her. He breathed in the sweet scent of her perfume as he put the pendant around her neck and hooked the clasp. It was intoxicating. He put his hands on top of her shoulders for a moment as he gazed at their reflection. They made a great couple and the pose would have made the perfect portrait. He stepped back and watched as she put the earrings on. Carrie marveled as she stepped back to look at her reflection. He'd given her the perfect accessories for her dress.

"Thank you, Alex, so much." She turned to kiss him on the cheek. "No one's ever given me such a wonderful gift before. You have no idea what this means."

"You're my best friend." He kissed her forehead. "Making you happy makes me happy."

He escorted her to the elevator and took her down to the main dining room. After a candlelit dinner, it was time to head out to the pool terrace. Candles floated and bobbed on the gently undulating water, tiki torches flared brightly around the lawn, and the trees were lit with soft white lights that shined like the stars above. The band began to play "Unchained Melody" and he asked her to dance. He escorted her onto the terrace and she looked up into his eyes. He finally gave in and kissed her. It was a soft passionate kiss. He could tell she felt their passion too.

"Alex, I'm so sorry." She laid her head on his shoulder. "I guess I must have gotten carried away in the moment. I didn't mean to be so forward."

He let out a sigh. Carrie was still in denial. "It's okay, Carrie-Anne. You have nothing to apologize for. What's a kiss between two good friends?"

They stayed and danced, stopping for an occasional glass of champagne. Neither wanted the night to end. Both felt a little sad when the band played their encore and said goodnight. Alex escorted her back to their rooms. It was nearly midnight, and they'd have to get ready to leave the following morning. He walked her to her door.

"Thank you again, Alex, for everything. It was the best birthday ever."

"You're welcome, Carrie-Anne." 

She gave him a long hug goodnight and he waited until she was safely inside before heading to his own room. As soon as he closed the door behind him he let out a long sigh. Once again, he felt restless and he wasn't looking forward to another long, sleepless night. He changed into his sweatpants and after turning down his bed he went to get his phone. He'd downloaded a few new books into his e-reader app. Perhaps reading in bed might help him unwind. He picked it up, only to discover the battery was nearly dead. He let out another frustrated sigh as he went to get his charger. He searched everywhere for it but it wasn't in his bag. He realized he must have forgotten to pack it. He knew Carrie had the same phone that he had. Hopefully, she'd remembered her charger. He walked up to the door between their rooms and noticed her light shining underneath. At least she was still awake. He tapped on the door.

"Carrie-Anne?"

"What is it?"

"Can I borrow your phone charger?"

"Sure," she replied as she opened the door.

As Alex stepped into the room, he froze in his tracks. Carrie had on the most incredible white negligee he'd ever seen. He stood mesmerized, while he watched her pull her charger from her suitcase.

"Here you go."

Somehow things got awkward as she handed it to him and it fell to the floor. Both reached down to grab it and their hands accidentally touched. As his hand covered hers there was no denying the pulse of electricity that sizzled between them. Their eyes met and they left the charger on the floor. It was no longer important. Their eyes remained locked. He took her in his arms and kissed her passionately. This time she wasn't resisting. The time had come for her to stop denying her feelings. He swooped her up and carried her back to his room, laying her down on top the bed. He looked into her eyes once again.

"Are you sure, Carrie-Anne?"

She nodded as she took his hand and gave it a squeeze. He gently laid down next to her and began kissing her again. This time his tongue went into her mouth as she held him tight. He began stroking the side of her face, her hair, her shoulders, and then down her side. Her negligee felt soft and satiny smooth. His gently rubbed his hands across her hips before slowly and carefully inching his way up toward her breasts. Her nipples responded to his light, gentle strokes as she softly moaned. Her breasts felt soft and supple in his hands as he began to gently caress them. He stopped for a moment to remove his sweatpants. Tossing them aside, he began kissing and stroking her again, while she began massaging his back. He reached down and began rubbing her thigh, slowly pulling up her nightgown. As he pulled it off, her body was revealed to him. He marveled at the sight of her. The photos he'd seen of her were nowhere close to the real thing. He began kissing her again, this time with a passion he'd never experienced before. He felt her hands running through his hair, rubbing his back, butt and thighs, and then she began intimately caressing him, giving him an intense pleasure that made him shiver and moan as he began to kiss her breasts. She moaned with pleasure again as his hands reached further down. She opened her legs, allowing him to gently massage her. As soon as she was ready, he slowly and carefully entered her. She wrapped her legs tightly around him. He kissed her breasts and she stroked his hair, back and butt while they danced their dance. Their moans grew more intense as they kissed and held each other tight. As she began to climax he felt his own body hitting new heights until he thought he'd touched the sky. He felt her arms squeezing him tight as he slowly came back down to earth. Afterwards they stayed in each other's arms, lovingly caressing one another until both fell into a blissful, exhausted sleep. 

B
illie took her seat at her desk and started going through the Daniels file. The lab results from the fireplace ashes were in. They'd managed to partially reconstruct several items, including the signed release form, an autographed photo of Carrie Daniels, and a piece of paper that someone had used to practice copying her signature. A copy of
Gentry Magazine
, with the published photos, had also been recovered. Many of the magazine's interior pages were scorched around the edges, but otherwise intact. As she reviewed the rest of the file, her supervisor approached her desk.

"Morning Billie. How's your Saturday?"

"So far, so good. How 'bout you?"

"Not bad so far, and I see you've got it."

"Indeed. Interesting reading."

"It's time to call Kansas City and have them pick up Scott Andrews."

"But Ken is convinced his wife, Maggie, is the forger," argued Billie.

"And we certainly haven't ruled out the possibility of collusion between Scott and Maggie, so we'll continue investigating her. We know she was using Scott's computer that morning, and we know she paid for her lunch at The Cattle Rustlers at one forty-nine that afternoon. We also know that Scott left his office around one-fifteen, and at that hour of the day it, would have only taken him about ten minutes to get home. He was getting ready to leave town. We think he came home early that day to take care of some last-minute business. Maggie has steadfastly maintained that she returned home around two o'clock and that when she arrived, she found Scott in the den in front of his laptop. Scott has no other alibi for the time when the signature was forged and the files were uploaded, and his laptop was used for the upload."

"What about finding any security camera footage from the luggage shop?"

"It doesn't exist. Turns out their security cameras weren't working that day. In the meantime, he lied to his supervisor about having to leave early for a dental appointment. He also took the two photos of Ms. Daniels with him when left town."

Billie was still unconvinced. "Maggie doesn't have an alibi either and she has the perfect motive--revenge."

"I know she doesn't have an alibi for the time the files were uploaded, however, her story's always been consistent. Scott, on the other hand, lied to his supervisor. He also lied to Ms. Daniels about a whole lot of other things when he was seeing her. So, how much would you like to bet he's lying when he says he didn't know anything about this? He's a jilted lover, Billie. Ms. Daniels abruptly stopped communicating with him several weeks before he left town, so he decided to get even with her. Let's get the ball rolling on this. I want him picked up today so we can begin the extradition process on Monday. Let him spend some time in a holding cell. Maybe that'll motivate him to tell the truth."

* * *