The Other Lady Vanishes (Burning Cove #2)(18)

He hesitated and then nodded once. “Yes.”

“I see. If your opinion of psychics is so low, may I ask why you wanted to accompany me to the performance tonight?”

For the first time since leaving the theater, a shadow of a smile briefly transformed Jake’s stern features.

“Isn’t it obvious why I talked you into giving me that second ticket?” he said.

A flash of understanding sparked through her. She clenched her hand around her evening bag. I should have known he had an ulterior motive, she thought.

“I see,” she said, striving to keep her tone cool.

“What do you see?”

“Madam Zolanda was the psychic who tricked your friend, wasn’t she?”

Jake took his eyes off the road just long enough to give her a quick, narrow-eyed glance.

“How the hell did you figure that out?” he asked.

He was annoyed, she decided, but not with her. He had never intended to give himself away. But he probably wasn’t accustomed to dealing with paranoid mental patients who were always ready to suspect a plot or a conspiracy.

She gripped her bag with both hands and stared straight ahead at the winding road. So much for the possibility of engaging in a fleeting seaside romance with an interesting businessman from out of town.

“It explains a lot,” she said. “You found me and my extra ticket very convenient, didn’t you?”

“You are a very smart lady.” Jake tightened his hands on the wheel. “But for your information, I already had a ticket to Zolanda’s performance tonight. That’s not why I wanted to accompany you this evening.”

“There’s no need for explanations,” she said. “You’ve made yourself clear. You’re in Burning Cove because you followed Madam Zolanda here. That’s why you’ve made a habit of showing up at Refresh every day. You know that there’s a good chance she’ll show up, too. You’re watching her.”

“Stop jumping to conclusions. I admit that Zolanda is why I’m here, but I asked you for that extra ticket because I wanted to spend the evening with you. Zolanda’s performance seemed like the perfect opportunity.” Jake paused. “It was either that or the art museum.”

The museum crack was an attempt to change the subject, she decided. She was not about to fall for it. He had used her, and she’d had enough of being used by men.

“Let’s get back to your real reason for being in town,” she said. “What do you hope to do? Prove Zolanda is a fraud? What good will that do? As you’ve already pointed out, people will believe what they want to believe.”

Jake was silent for a few seconds. She knew he was debating how much to tell her.

“I have reason to think that Zolanda is in possession of a diary that does not belong to her,” he said. “If the contents of the diary were to become public, there are people whose lives could be destroyed.”

Adelaide thought she had been prepared for an alarming turn of events. Nevertheless, she was stunned.

“Are you telling me that Zolanda isn’t just a phony psychic?” she said. “She’s a blackmailer?”

“Yes.”

“I see. So you are in town under false pretenses but for a very good reason.”

“Damn it, Adelaide—”

“It’s all right. No need to apologize.” She waved a hand in what she hoped was an airy gesture of dismissal. “I’ll admit I’m irritated that I was under a misunderstanding for most of the evening, but I do appreciate your reasons for the deception. In your shoes I probably would have done the same thing. Maybe.”

“Will you listen for a moment? Yes, I am here in Burning Cove because I promised someone that I would do my best to recover the diary. But that is not why I asked you to let me use that second ticket tonight. My reasons for that were personal.”

“Sure. And while we’re on the subject of your deceptive behavior, there’s something that I should mention.”

“What?” Jake asked.

She was pleased by the very cautious undertone in the single word. Call me petty, she thought. She had a hunch that making Jake a little uneasy was likely the only revenge she would get.

“One of my friends was concerned about my date for tonight,” she said, grimly cheerful. “She made some phone calls to Los Angeles and asked about you. She wanted to be sure you were who you claimed to be.”

“You had someone investigate me?” Jake sounded nonplussed.

She had actually managed to shock him. She smiled to herself.

“My friend’s name is Raina Kirk,” she said. “Raina just opened a private investigation agency here in Burning Cove. Congratulations. Looking into your background was her very first case. All right, not exactly her first case.”

“What the hell does ‘not exactly’ mean?”

“I didn’t actually pay her. She did it as a favor.”

“Damn.” Jake was silent for a beat. “I came up clean, I take it?”

“Raina assured me that you are who you say you are.”

“That’s good to know. I’m very glad to find out for certain that I’m who I’ve always assumed I was. You can’t be too careful these days.”

“I just thought you should know that I checked up on you.”