The Lady Has a Past (Burning Cove #5) - Amanda Quick Page 0,77

the side of her cup. “What if the husband isn’t dead? Maybe his family made him disappear inside a psychiatric institution and told everyone he fell down the stairs. Maybe he escaped.”

Simon’s eyes tightened at the corners. “And came looking for Raina? It’s a possibility. But that would mean he knew Guppy was in the kidnapping business out here in California.”

“Don’t forget she had a long history in New York before she moved her spa to Labyrinth Springs. From the outset she catered to the social world. That’s a small one. She and Whitlock may have known each other.”

“Very true. It’s interesting that Guppy suddenly closed down her New York business and opened up on the other side of the country.”

Lyra considered briefly for a moment. “There’s another possibility. Raina told me she worked for a small but exclusive law firm in New York. It handled a lot of confidential business for its clients. Secretaries know all the secrets. Maybe someone thinks she knows too much, tracked her down to Burning Cove, and arranged to lure her to Labyrinth Springs so that she could be kidnapped without drawing Luther Pell’s attention.”

“If that was the plan, it failed,” Simon said. “I agree, it’s on the list of possible motives, but, again, we don’t have time to investigate that angle. Our priority this morning is to find the house where they’re holding Miss Kirk.”

The cup in Lyra’s fingers trembled. She put it down very carefully.

“If Raina is still alive,” she said.

“We keep going until we find her, regardless. Pell needs to know what happened to her.”

“So do I, but I was hoping you would offer a more optimistic scenario.”

“You want optimism? Here’s what I’ve got—Mrs. Merryweather’s description of the house where she was held. It’s called a lead, Lyra. We run it down.”

“Right.” Lyra straightened in her chair. She had a job to do. “How do we set about looking for it? There are private homes scattered around Labyrinth Springs. Most are miles apart. It could take days to locate them all and try to figure out which one the kidnappers are using.”

“Not if you call in an expert,” Simon said.

“Who in the world—?”

“An ambitious real estate agent who knows the local market well.”

“That,” Lyra said slowly, “is a brilliant idea.”

“Thank you. As I believe I’ve mentioned, I’ve been doing this sort of work for a while now.”

“I have so much to learn.”

“You’re getting a crash course in the investigation business.” Simon tossed his napkin down on the table and got to his feet. “Let’s move. Pell’s on his way here. We’re going to meet him on the outskirts of town in about two hours. That gives us time to wake up a local real estate agent and see if we can pinpoint the property.”

She shot to her feet. “I’ll get dressed.” She rushed toward the bedroom doorway, pausing at the entrance to look back. “It occurs to me that we may know more about the house than we think.”

“What’s that?”

“We know the kidnappers are linked to the hotel and the spa. The new owner purchased the resort about two years ago and opened it a year later, the same time that Guppy moved her spa here. The kidnappings started soon afterward. I’ll bet the house where the captives are held was probably acquired at about the same time. Every real estate agent remembers sales, especially in a small community like Labyrinth Springs.”

Simon’s brows rose. “You’re a fast learner.”

His praise sent a little burst of pleasure through her. She hurried into the bedroom and pulled on a pair of rust-brown trousers and a long-sleeved, cream-colored blouse. She was tying the laces on her sport shoes when Simon appeared in the doorway. He had his briefcase in one hand. He looked at the bed.

“What is the housekeeper going to think?” he asked.

Lyra glanced at the tumbled bedding and the telltale stains on the once-pristine white sheets.

“The housekeeper will assume the obvious,” she said, pulling a scarf out of the drawer. “We’re a couple of honeymooners who couldn’t figure it out the first night but managed to get it right on the second night.”

Simon shook his head. Reluctant amusement lit his eyes. “You’ve got an answer for everything, don’t you?”

“No, I don’t, but that’s okay. It’s the stuff I don’t know that keeps life interesting.”

Chapter 36

The sound of a heavy bolt being slid aside brought her out of the restless, nightmare-laced sleep that had finally overtaken her. Raina sat up on the edge of