Hoaley Ill-Manored (8 page)

“It belonged to my Gramma.”

“Lolly?” Adam asked.

Worth just glared at him.

“This isn’t a very good way to preserve a
gun of this value,” CC chastised the other man.

“It was tied into a velvet bag, but that
must have rotted away,” Worth responded petulantly. “You give me
that gun now, Detective Clandestine. It’s my property.”

CC pulled out his cell phone and took a
picture of the gun before handing it back to Teddy. “I’d advise you
get this cleaned up and oiled and put it in a safety deposit box
somewhere. That’s a little bit of history. It deserves better
treatment than being buried in a barn.”

Worth’s lips twisted with anger but he gave
CC a short, sharp nod.

CC looked at Adam. “I don’t have my cuffs
with me, but I’m sure you won’t give me any trouble when I take you
in, will you, Mr. Hoale?”

Adam opened his mouth to argue but CC lifted
a single eyebrow and shut him down. He turned to Maddy instead.
“Maddy, I’m going to jail. Can you take Walter home, please?”

“The girl broke into the barn too,” Teddy
growled.

“She’s an employee of Mr. Hoale’s. I’m
guessing she didn’t even know they were breaking in.” CC glanced at
Maddy. “Is that a correct assumption, Ms. Rodgers?”

Maddy was nodding before CC finished asking
his question. “It is. Yes. Yup, I was duped. I’m a dupe.” She
widened her eyes and gave Teddy Worth her most innocent look. “I’m
very sorry, Teddy. If I’d known this was your barn I’d have never
come in with
Adam
. You made it very clear that you didn’t
want us to come back.” She slid Adam a look.

Adam didn’t miss the venom with which she
said his name. He thought maybe she was playing along a little too
eagerly. He
was
surprised she could choke down being called
his employee, however. “CC’s right, Teddy. I lied to Maddy to get
her help. She never intended to trespass.”

“Makes no difference to me.” The man’s lower
lip stuck out with belligerence.

CC turned to Worth. “You know, Mr. Worth, I
think I should take that gun in and have it run through
ballistics…just in case.”

Worth glared at CC for a long moment, his
brown gaze spitting sparks, and then reluctantly inclined his head.
“The girl can go.”

CC grabbed Adam’s arm and led him toward the
door. “I knew we could come to a meeting of the minds, Mr. Worth.
You have a good night, now.”

DS

“You sure you guys will be okay here?” Maddy
slanted Dirk a look and grimaced. He was standing across the
kitchen, talking to CC with his arms crossed over his chest and a
potentially permanent furrow between his dark brows.

CC was drinking a beer but Dirk hadn’t
wanted one. He’d been like an exposed wire since they’d returned to
the house, nearly sizzling with temper. Adam just wanted everybody
to leave so he could try to explain his side of things to Dirk.
Though he wasn’t sure that would do much good. Even he knew he’d
been an ass.

“We just need to talk.”

Maddy touched his arm. “Good luck, honey.”
She kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

CC left with Maddy and Adam walked with him
to the door. “You’ll do some research on that gun? I have a feeling
I know where it came from.”

CC nodded, then fixed him with a look.
“You’re a jerk and a moron, Hoale, but that man in there loves you.
I’m not sure why.” CC shook his head. “It’s one of life’s great
mysteries. He deserves better than what you did to him
tonight.”

Adam couldn’t speak. He had no words with
which to defend himself. He knew he’d been a jerk. If his antics of
that night caused him to lose Dirk, he realized it would serve him
right. But he wasn’t sure he’d survive the loss.

Closing the door behind CC, Adam returned to
the kitchen, looking for Dirk. He wasn’t there. Adam grabbed two
beers from the refrigerator and went to look for him. He found Dirk
sitting in a folding chair on the veranda, staring out at the lake,
where a beam of moonlight illuminated Mike and Sue gliding silently
across the glassy surface.

Adam handed Dirk a beer and dropped into the
second chair. They sat in taut silence for several minutes, Adam
unsure how to begin. Finally he tried making light of the
situation. “I can’t believe you and CC were able to talk Worth into
giving up the plan. If I’d only known, I could have saved myself
the cost of a metal detector.”

Dirk didn’t respond. He didn’t react. He
just continued to stare out at the lake.

Adam’s heart broke a little at Dirk’s cold,
stony treatment, though he knew he deserved it. “I’m surprised you
didn’t leave with CC and Maddy.”

Dirk didn’t respond for so long that Adam
didn’t think he was going to. Then he lifted his beer and sipped
it. “Did you want me to leave, Ads?”

“God no!”

Dirk turned at his exclamation and Adam
forced himself to meet the anger and hurt in his lover’s gaze. “I’m
so sorry, babe. I was totally wrong. I feel like a complete ass.
You deserve better.”

Dirk gave a derisive snort and turned back
to the lake, taking another sip of his beer.

Silence enveloped them again. Adam
understood that there was more distance between them than the eight
feet between their chairs. Much more. Adam would have given
anything…anything at all…to know what Dirk was thinking. When Adam
couldn’t take it any longer he asked, “Can you forgive me?”

Dirk’s long fingers plucked at the label on
the beer bottle, scraping it away in moist chunks. “I’m not sure.”
Finally, he stood up and turned toward the house. “Good night,
Adam.”

As his lover walked away, every soft thump
of Dirk’s shoes against the marble floor was like a jolt to Adam’s
nervous system. He had no idea what Dirk was going to do. If it
were him and Dirk had treated him the way Adam had treated Dirk
that night, Adam knew he would probably have left.

Adam was good at running away. What he
wasn’t good at was standing still. And, at least for tonight, it
appeared Dirk was asking him to stand still. To wait. Adam thought
that, maybe, the waiting would kill him. But it was all he could
do. He’d wait. And try to make it up to Dirk in the future.

With a sigh, he settled back in his chair
and tipped the bottle, sucking down a major portion of his beer.
Maybe if he drank enough he’d pass out and it would allow him to
get through the night. With that thought he climbed wearily to his
feet. He thought there was a six pack of beer in the fridge.
Hopefully it would be enough.

DS

Adam’s dreams were horrible. He envisioned
strange men and women from another time who wore strange,
voluminous clothing and fired jewel-handled derringers at him.
Dirk’s cold, angry face kept getting superimposed over the
strangers’ faces. In fact, it was his finger that pulled the finger
on the derringer the last time.

As the little gun spat death in his
direction, Adam jolted awake. His eyes were gritty and stinging,
and his nose twitched under the assault from an acrid scent. He sat
slumped in the chair on the veranda, where he’d finally fallen
asleep in the wee hours of the morning. Groaning, he pushed himself
upright, rubbing his aching neck.

The eerie sound of coyotes yipping in the
distance made him shudder.

A strange, orange light danced across the
veranda floor and Adam realized he must have left the lights on
inside the ballroom. But why was the light dancing? Mike’s familiar
squawk tore the last bit of grogginess from Adam’s brain and his
gaze slid toward the lake.

Fire lit the night sky. Dense, gray smoke
climbed upward as a soft breeze fed the fire, urging its hungry
consumption of the gazebo. Even as Adam jumped to his feet he knew
he would be too late. The fire was too far along…too hot…and the
beautiful structure he’d built with his own hands was already
little more than a charred skeleton.

As Adam started down the steps, he heard
Dirk calling his name from inside the house and stopped, turning to
find the other man, wearing only a pair of sexy silk boxers, coming
through the ballroom doors and running toward him. “I called
9-1-1.”

Even as he said the words, sirens split the
night. They sounded far away but were moving rapidly closer. A
cracking sound preceded the collapse of the structure’s roof into
the frame as it folded into itself. Adam realized in that moment
that there was no point running toward the fire. The gazebo was
gone.

Dirk stopped beside him and grabbed his
hand, squeezing his fingers. “I’m sorry, Ads. I know you loved that
gazebo.”

Adam’s eyes filled with tears at Dirk’s
kindness. He didn’t deserve it. Shaking his head he turned to face
the other man. “I’d burn down the house too if it would make you
forgive me.”

Dirk dropped Adam’s hand, his gaze sliding
away. We’ll talk about that later. Right now, let’s get through
this crisis.”

Adam nodded.

“Any idea how the fire started?”

“Take a deep breath, smell the air.”

Dirk shook his head. “Gasoline. Did you see
who started it?”

“No. I fell asleep in the chair.”

Lights flared through the trees and sirens
screamed toward them, their strident call dulled slightly by the
roar of the fire. “Well, let’s get the official word on the arson,
then we can get CC involved to help us find the ass who did
this.”

DS

“Obviously Teddy Worth is our prime
suspect.” CC plucked a second donut from the box and took a large
bite.

Adam nursed his black coffee, his appetite
gone with the gazebo. “I’d like to go with you when you question
him.”

Edgar looked up from his own donut, which
he’d cut into tidy little wedges that he was dunking into his
coffee. “This happened around one in the morning, right?”

Adam nodded.

“Teddy works nights at the River Bluff Bar
and Grille. He would have been there until closing time, which I
believe is three in the morning. It’s doubtful he’s your guy.”

CC looked at Adam. “You still want me to go
talk to him?”

“No. But thanks. I owe him an apology
anyway. I might as well go eat crow and see if I can find out what
time he left the bar last night.”

CC nodded. “Suit yourself. I talked to the
firemen. There’s not much question what started the fire. The
arsonist threw the damn gas can into the lake, probably as he was
running away. It got caught in some lily pads.”

Maddy came into the room, her pretty face
filled with concern. “I saw the gazebo…what’s left of it. Are you
guys all right?”

Adam and Dirk assured her they were
fine.

She glanced at CC. “I heard you say the guy
who did this threw the gas can into the lake. It didn’t leak gas
into the water did it? I’m worried about the swans.”

“I doubt there was enough in the can to harm
them, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a water test done.”

She pulled her phone out of her pocket. “On
it.”

“Thanks, Mads.” Adam watched her leave the
room, pecking at her cell to locate the nearest water testing
service. “This is a nightmare.”

Dirk wrapped an arm around his shoulders and
gave him a squeeze. “We’ll get underneath whatever’s happening
here, babe.”

Adam had been watching Edgar dunk a tiny
wedge of donut into his coffee so he saw the old man stiffen
slightly and lift his gaze toward them. Adam smiled, lifting his
eyebrows as Edgar realized that things were not as he’d assumed.
Adam hoped it wouldn’t change things between them. He’d grown
really fond of the sweet old man.

He didn’t get a chance to find out. Mike’s
early warning system announced the arrival of Peter and the crew.
“Well, life goes on.” He gave Dirk a grateful smile and left the
kitchen. He had a lot of work to do before he could go into town
and question Teddy Worth. Hopefully the day would be an uneventful
one.

He was too tired to deal with any more
crises.

CHAPTER NINE

The River Bluff Bar and Grille was north of
town, built on a bluff overlooking what looked more like a creek
than a river. The views on the other side of the wide wall of
windows were stunning, showcasing some of the prettiest countryside
in the States.

The restaurant had been made to look like an
old time saloon and country music played over the speaker system,
furthering that impression. Wooden booths, centered by glossy wood
tables, filled the busy space and wait staff dressed in cowboy hats
and sharp toed boots moved quickly between them.

The menu, exhibited behind Plexiglas on the
wall, seemed to feature standard cowboy fare like beef, chicken,
and baked beans. The mouthwatering scent of grilled meat reminded
Adam that he hadn’t had much to eat that day. Maybe he and Dirk
would stay for dinner after talking to Teddy. That was, if he was
still standing on two feet after the event.

The wood floor beneath Adam’s feet was
covered in peanut shells that crunched underfoot as he and Dirk
started toward the bar. The drinking establishment inhabited one
end of the building, cut off from the restaurant by a pair of
swinging half doors. Just like a saloon from the wild, wild
west.

Adam resisted the urge to check his pistols
and shove his cowboy hat back on his head as he pushed through the
doors. The peanut shell on the floor thing had carried into the
bar, and the long, U-shaped bar and dozen or so high topped tables
were made of the same dark, glossy wood as the booths in the
restaurant. The bar was full-ish for a summer weeknight and
noisy.

Behind the bar was a wall of glistening
bottles that appeared to represent every shape, size, color, and
type of booze and manufacturer known to civilized man. Also behind
the bar was Teddy Worth, currently holding a white bar towel in one
hand and glowering at them.

Adam got the distinct impression that, had
country music not been blaring through the room, Teddy Worth would
have been screaming at them to vacate the premises. Fortunately for
them he could only radiate hate vibes across the room as they
sauntered over and bellied up to the bar.