Jake gave her a searching look. She knew he didn’t believe her but he did not comment. Without a word, he took her arm.
Unable to think of anything else to do, Adelaide allowed him to steer her back into the nightclub. The first thing she noticed was that Vera Westlake was once again sitting alone.
“Paxton is gone,” Jake said. “That’s interesting. Any sign of the other man?”
“No, but I can’t be positive he’s not in here somewhere,” she said. “It’s just too dark. The only people I can see clearly are the ones seated in the booths around the dance floor and the couples who are dancing.”
“Luther’s security people will have a list of everyone who is in the club tonight. I’ll ask to take a look at it tomorrow.”
Would Conrad Massey—assuming it was Massey she had seen—use his real name? Adelaide wondered.
Jake escorted her to their booth. She looked at the sparkling water in her glass. What she really needed was a martini, she thought.
She picked up the glass of water and tried to decide what to do. She finally came to a decision. She set the glass down abruptly.
“There are some things about me that you should know,” she said, choosing her words very carefully. “I was hoping I would never have to explain my life to you, but I don’t think I have a choice now. You deserve the truth.”
Jake had just swallowed some of his sparkling water. He lowered the glass. His eyes never left her face.
“I’m listening,” he said.
“I don’t want to talk about it here.”
Jake got to his feet. “Let’s go home.”
She wanted to tell him that she didn’t have a home, that in a very real sense she did not even exist. That she was just Patient B and, as far as some people were concerned, she had vanished.
But it was not the kind of story a woman told a man while sitting with him in a candlelit booth in a nightclub.
Chapter 28
She had not lied, Jake thought, but she had not told him the full truth about the man who had passed them in the garden. Once again he reminded himself that she had a right to her secrets, but whatever she was not telling him was definitely complicating the problem of keeping her safe.
They stood silently together in front of the big wrought iron gates at the front of the Paradise Club, waiting for the valet to fetch the car. He was very conscious of Adelaide’s nearness but he had no clue as to her thoughts. It was obvious that she had been badly shaken by the events in the gardens, but he did not know if it was the kiss that had rattled her or the sight of the man who had walked past them. He was starting to wonder if it was both of those things.
One thing was certain—the kiss that had flashed like lightning between them had definitely left him feeling shaken. It wasn’t that he hadn’t known there was some risk involved in kissing her. But he had been so damn sure he could control the situation.
He had been wrong, and not for the first time when it came to Adelaide, he thought.
The valet brought the speedster to a stop in front of the gate and got out. Jake opened the passenger side door to allow Adelaide to slip into the front seat. A silver sandal gleamed briefly in the moonlight, allowing him a glimpse of one elegantly arched foot. The heat that had slammed through him when he had taken her into his arms a few minutes ago stirred his senses again.
He closed the car door very quickly and took a couple of deep breaths while he walked around the long hood of the vehicle. By the time he got behind the wheel, he thought he was back in command of himself.
He put the car in gear and drove down the lane and onto Cliff Road. The moon was still out but a light fog was starting to coalesce over the night-darkened ocean.
“Why don’t you start by telling me what it was about that man who passed us in the gardens that is worrying you?” he asked.
Adelaide had been concentrating on the view of the narrow strip of pavement unspooling in the car’s headlights. She turned her head and gave him a very brief, very sharp look. For a moment he didn’t think she was going to answer.
“I’m almost positive that I saw him earlier today while I was shopping with Raina,” she said finally. “But I only caught a glimpse of him then, too, so I can’t be absolutely certain.”
“You thought you recognized him?”
“He resembled a man I knew in San Francisco. We . . . dated for a time.”
Jake remembered the golf course conversation with Luther. Wouldn’t be the first time a woman tried to escape a mentally unbalanced man who became obsessed with her.
“Do you think that a man you once dated has followed you to Burning Cove?” he asked, needing to be sure.
“Maybe. The story is complicated. I’d prefer to wait until we get home. I could use a drink—something stronger than water or tea.”
He wanted to keep pushing her for answers but it was obvious that she needed time.
“All right,” he said. “Meanwhile, I think it might be a good idea for me to have a look around Calvin Paxton’s villa at the Burning Cove Hotel. Luther can probably get his friend Oliver Ward to let me inside.”
Alarmed, Adelaide turned quickly in the seat. “Are you talking about breaking into Dr. Paxton’s villa?”
“No, I’m talking about asking a friend to get me a key to the villa so that I can take a look around while Paxton is out. Got a better idea?”
“Not yet, but I’ll think of something,” Adelaide vowed. “Give me thirty seconds.”
“Why are you so concerned about me going into Paxton’s villa?”
“Because if you’re right, if he did have something to do with Zolanda’s death, he’s dangerous.”
“Thank you for your concern but I can take care of myself, Adelaide.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know—you used to be in the import-export business. You have a gun. I’ve got one question for you.”
“What?”
“Where is that gun tonight?”
“Locked inside the glove compartment of this car. Luther doesn’t allow guests to carry guns into the club. I could have asked for special permission, being his friend and all, but I didn’t think it was necessary. Luther’s security people are well armed. There’s probably no safer place in Burning Cove than the Paradise.”
“Oh,” Adelaide said.
She studied the glove compartment in front of her as if she had never seen one before.
“I assume you were going to point out that owning a gun isn’t much use if it’s not available when you need it,” he said.
She sighed. “Something like that. I didn’t bring my gun, either, so I’m in no position to lecture on the subject. Moving right along, has it occurred to you that Paxton might also own a gun. If he surprises you while you are searching his villa, he would have every reason to shoot you first. He would be able to claim he thought you were an intruder. Which would be more or less the truth.”
“Huh.”
“Now what are you thinking?”
“It strikes me as rather interesting that you would leap to the conclusion that Paxton might have a gun,” he said.
“Why wouldn’t I think that? I’ve got one and so do you. And someone in this situation is already dead.”
“Madam Zolanda was not shot.”
“True,” Adelaide said. “But if she was murdered, I think I may know how.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’ll tell you when we get back to the cottage. You’re driving at the moment. You shouldn’t be distracted.”
“And what you’re going to tell me will probably distract me?”
“Probably.”
Adelaide fell silent. He realized that he was starting to enjoy the view of Cliff Road. The pavement was lengthening and unwinding in front of the car—all the way into infinity. It occurred to him that he could drive forever and never arrive at the end. He would have Adelaide beside him all the way.
The moonlight splashed silver on the night-darkened ocean. The glow was becoming more intense. It was beckoning him, drawing him deeper into the night. It was a spangled highway that until now he had never known existed. There were secrets at the end of the gleaming silver road. All he had to do was follow the radiant trail.
“Jake?”