The Other Lady Vanishes (Burning Cove #2)(14)

The whole town looked like it had been copied from a picture postcard illustration of a Mediterranean village. But Burning Cove was very real, Adelaide thought. She was starting to hope that it was a place she could call home.

“Just promise me you won’t leave Zolanda’s performance convinced that she really does have paranormal powers,” Raina said.

“Not likely.” Adelaide turned around. “Don’t worry about me, Raina.”

“Why do I have the feeling that there is something you haven’t told me about your plans for tomorrow evening?”

Adelaide smiled. “Maybe you’re the one who is psychic. Probably a useful quality in a private investigator. As a matter of fact, there is something I haven’t told you. I have a date for Zolanda’s show.”

Raina’s elegantly arched brows rose. “Well, well, well. That certainly makes things more interesting. Congratulations. Who’s the lucky guy?”

“His name is Jake Truett. He’s my neighbor out on Crescent Beach. He’s here in Burning Cove because his doctor told him he needs an extended stay by the seaside.”

“He’s got health problems?”

“Evidently his nerves have been badly stressed because he has been working too hard.”

“Hmm. Did he ask you to prescribe some herbal blends that will help his nerves?”

“No.” Adelaide winced. “I made the mistake of offering him some advice, though. He was clearly annoyed. He made fun of me for being so serious.”

“Let me get this straight—you are going to the theater tomorrow night with a gentleman who was rude to you when you offered to help him?”

“To be fair, I think I offended him.”

“By offering advice?” Raina’s voice rose in disbelief.

“I doubt if any man wants to admit that he has been diagnosed with exhausted nerves. It was obvious he regretted telling me his reason for being in Burning Cove.”

“How did you respond when he was rude to you?”

Adelaide considered the question briefly. “I was rather rude myself. I assured Mr. Truett that it would be a cold day in hell before he got any more advice from me.”

Raina smiled. “You mean you gave him the edge of your temper?”

“Yep.”

“Good for you. And then you agreed to let him accompany you to the theater.”

“Yep.”

“Hmm.”

“What?”

Raina smiled a little. “You enjoyed it, didn’t you?”

“Enjoyed what?”

“Losing your temper with the gentleman in question.”

“It was,” Adelaide said, “refreshing. Especially when he tried to apologize and then practically begged me to let him escort me to the theater.”

It made me feel normal, she added to herself. As if I didn’t have to hide my real self.

Raina looked thoughtful. “You say his name is Jake Truett?”

“Yes. He used to own an import-export business in Los Angeles.”

“Hmm,” Raina said again.

“I sense suspicion.”

“Well, I am in the private investigation business,” Raina reminded her. “I’m supposed to be suspicious.”

Adelaide sank down on one of the two client chairs in front of the desk. “What is your problem with Mr. Truett? You’ve never even met him.”

“That’s one of the problems. The other is that the import-export business has been known to cover a multitude of illegal activities.”

“Such as?”

“Smuggling comes to mind, as well as the underground trade in forgeries, stolen art, and illegal drugs. The list of illicit activities that can be concealed in the import-export business is endless.”

Adelaide was amused. “You really are the suspicious type.”

“I’ll tell you what.” Raina sat forward and replaced the pencil in the handsome amber plastic tray. “I’ve got some connections in L.A. I’ll make a few phone calls and check out your Mr. Truett. I’ll telephone you as soon as I’ve confirmed that he’s a legitimate businessman.”

“I appreciate your concern,” Adelaide said. She spread her hands. “But what else could he be?”

“You’d be surprised,” Raina said.

“Sometimes you scare me, Raina.”

“Sometimes I scare myself.”



* * *



? ? ?

?Raina telephoned at five o’clock the following evening. Adelaide was still trying to decide what to wear.

“I don’t have a lot of new information on Truett,” Raina said. “He appears to be exactly who he says he is, a widower who inherited his family’s import-export business. He sold the business shortly after his wife died.”

“How did she die?”

“Elizabeth Benton Truett took her own life.”

Adelaide tightened her grip on the phone. “How awful for Jake.”

“I’m sure it was,” Raina said. “Mrs. Truett hanged herself in the basement. Truett found the body.”

“That must have been a terrible shock. No wonder his doctor advised him to rest his nerves.”

“According to my sources, in the wake of Mrs. Truett’s death there were rumors that she may have been involved in an affair. It was all hushed up by her family, of course. The Bentons are a very wealthy, very proud New York clan. I’m told their summer cottage in Bar Harbor is almost as large as the Burning Cove Hotel, and the one in the Hamptons is even larger. They move in exclusive circles and have for several generations.”