The Lady Has a Past (Burning Cove #5) - Amanda Quick Page 0,70
the disaster. That was what hurt the most. They had been friends and lovers at one time. Now he despised her and she yearned to be free of him. But she could not shake the heavy burden of guilt she carried. She felt responsible for the threat that was hanging over his head. She could not bring herself to walk out because the kidnappers would still have leverage over him. The photos could do enormous damage regardless of whether or not she and Bradley got a quiet divorce. The press would make him look like a cuckold.
Bradley would be furious if he knew that she was about to confide her secret to a stranger. But Bradley was not home this morning. He was gone a lot these days, preferring to spend his time at the office and the beach house.
“I’m sorry your friend is missing, Mr. Pell, but I don’t see how I can help you,” she said.
“I want you to tell me everything you can about the kidnappers and the place where you were held,” Luther said.
“I was warned that not only would I pay a heavy price if I did not keep quiet, my husband and my family would also be badly hurt.”
“Blackmail?”
“Yes.”
“They’ve got something on you? Secrets?”
“They didn’t know anything about me or my family, really. Just that we have money and that my husband is preparing to go into politics. So no, they didn’t dig up any deep, dark secrets. They created new ones.”
“Why you?”
She sighed. “I don’t think I was targeted directly. I suspect I was the victim of some very clever advertising aimed at women in my position. Women of means.”
“Wealthy women who move in certain social circles?”
“Yes. Every two months since the spa opened last year I received a handwritten invitation from Madam Guppy offering me a week of tranquility and three full days of exclusive, personally designed spa treatments. It’s billed as a vacation for the fashionable woman who needs time away from the demands of family and society, time to fortify the mind and rejuvenate the body. I ignored the invitations until I finally decided to accept one.”
“Sounds like the kidnappers put a lot of hooks in the water, see who takes the bait, and then select one.”
She winced. “Talk about fishing in a barrel. Only wealthy women can afford Guppy’s spa. I’m sure those are the only ones who receive the invitations. The vast majority of the ladies who move in my social circle would be lured by the promise of a few days of peace and privacy during which they can indulge themselves at an exclusive hotel and spa. The rich suffer from strained nerves and stress, too, just like everyone else, Mr. Pell.”
“I know.” He paused a beat. “Photographs?”
She raised her brows. “You’re very insightful. Yes, they took photographs of me with a man. I was chained to a bed. I was nude. They threatened to mail them to all of our friends, the people at my husband’s club, his business acquaintances, and the press. Bradley would be ruined before he even got his campaign off the ground.”
“The photos would destroy him and humiliate you.”
“Technically, I wasn’t raped, Mr. Pell, but only because the bastard who assaulted me could not get an erection. The photographs don’t show that, however. They were taken from angles that make it appear he forced himself inside me. Going to the police wouldn’t do any good, because I never saw his face. He and the woman behind the camera wore hideous rubber masks, the kind that are used in spas to smooth wrinkles.”
“You’re sure the photographer was a woman?”
“Yes. She never spoke a word, her entire head and face were covered by the mask, and she wore a long, flowing caftan so I couldn’t see her body, but she was definitely female. And before you ask, there is no way I can prove what happened to me.”
“I don’t need proof, Mrs. Merryweather. I believe every word you’re saying.”
“You’ve received a ransom note, I assume?”
“No,” Luther said. “There have been no demands, and that’s what worries me the most. Talk to me, Mrs. Merryweather. Tell me everything you know, and regardless of the outcome, I will be in your debt. You can call in the favor anytime.”
“I don’t need your money, Mr. Pell. Bradley married me for my trust fund, but I am the only one who can access it. If I leave, the money goes with me.”