The Lady Has a Past (Burning Cove #5) - Amanda Quick Page 0,22
aware of the man’s legend. The dramatic end of Ward’s career had made headlines across the nation and around the world.
Ward’s wife, Irene, who had the crime beat for the local paper, had her own notebook at the ready. Luther had told her that they were going to need her help.
Luther himself was prowling the room. Simon had been doing odd jobs for him for a couple of years now, long enough to be aware that the restless pacing was out of character for him; evidence of a seething anxiety. Pell’s impatience was laced with a barely concealed frustration. He was using anger to overcome his fear that something terrible had happened to his lover.
Simon passed the time trying to analyze exactly why he did not want to take his eyes off Lyra. It was alarming to know she had realized so quickly that he had been immediately suspicious of her. Most people either ignored him entirely or dismissed him as a stodgy antiquarian book dealer until it was too late; until he had discovered their secrets.
He had spent the past two years cultivating his unimpressive image. Lyra had taken one look at him and known exactly what he was thinking. You don’t fit the pattern, Lyra Brazier.
That was true in too many ways.
She was striking, but not beautiful in the Hollywood mold. Her hazel gaze was intelligent and insightful, not soft, sultry, and seductive. He was no judge of women’s fashions but even he could tell she possessed the hard-to-define qualities of grace and style. She was the kind of woman who could light up a room when she walked into it—not because she was glamorous but simply because she was interested in everyone in the room and people responded to that energy.
The magic was that there was no magic, he thought. Lyra’s curiosity was genuine. He never ceased to be surprised by how rare that particular character trait was in both men and women. Most people were eager to talk about themselves, but their interest in others was too often limited to a consideration of how someone else might be of use or persuaded to climb into bed.
I may have gotten cynical.
Lyra should have been the cynical type. She was in a profession known for inspiring cynicism and a deep disappointment in human nature. Yet in spite of the serious circumstances they were investigating, she radiated a determined optimism that probably hinted at naïveté. He got the feeling she was one of those annoying individuals who always looked for the silver lining and refused to take a realistic view of people and situations.
Yet yesterday she had killed a man with a golf club and then danced the night away at a fashionable club.
“The Gregg method is completely phonetic,” Elena explained. “It records the sound of the word, not the actual spelling.” She finished transcribing, put the pencil down, and looked up. “Miss Kirk wrote Labyrinth Springs Hotel and Spa.”
Lyra’s eyes widened. “You’re sure?”
Elena glanced down at her notes. “As sure as I can be under the circumstances.”
“Why would Raina meet an acquaintance at a spa?” Oliver said.
Luther went very still. “Maybe she isn’t meeting an acquaintance. Maybe that was an excuse. Maybe she checked in for personal reasons. What if she recently learned that she’s ill, and she didn’t want to tell me? She’s undergoing one of those bizarre so-called cures they feature at health spas.”
“Please don’t panic, Mr. Pell,” Lyra said. “That is not a useful emotion at the moment.”
Everyone stared at her. Simon knew they were all thinking the same thing: No one told Luther Pell not to panic.
Luther shut up and started pacing again.
Simon looked at him. “Keep in mind that we don’t know if Miss Kirk made that note on the pad this morning. She could have jotted it down yesterday or the day before.”
Elena shook her head. “I think it’s safe to say she wrote this today. There’s an entry on the previous page that refers to her reservations for dinner for two here at the hotel last night.”
“Raina took me out for dinner last night,” Lyra said. “After that we went to the Paradise. You’re right, Elena. The note about the Labyrinth Springs Hotel and Spa must have been written early this morning.”
Oliver looked at Luther. “If Raina had a sudden, serious concern about her health, I doubt very much that she would have chosen the Labyrinth Springs Hotel and Spa.”