Hooper, Kay - [Hagen 09] (4 page)

"Sharon, I need your help."

"Just ask," her friend said Instantly.

"There was a man at the party I've never seen
before. Big, dark, very good looking, and he was wearing a
cream-colored tux. I have to talk to him."

"No problem," Sharon said cheerfully. "I'd
have had to be blind not to notice that one. He came in with a lovely
brunette on his arm; didn't spend too much time with her, though."

Jennifer felt a pang she refused to acknowledge. "Do
you know who he is?"

"Rick found out for me," Sharon said,
referring to her fiancé of two months. "The guy's name is
Dane Prescott, and he's staying at a hotel here in Lake Charles.
Seems one of Kelly's poker buddies brought him along to the party and
introduced him. He's supposed to be some hotshot gambler from
Florida, with a lot of bucks."

"I see."

Sharon's voice wavered between curiosity and teasing.
"If you're worried about the brunette, I'd say there's nothing
there but friendship. They acted like buddies, not lovers. No
romantic spark, you know?"

Jennifer bit back an instinctive denial of interest in
Dane Prescott as a man, since the truth was a bit too complicated to
go into at the moment. "We'll see. Um . . . exactly where is he
staying, Sharon?"

So Sharon told her. Exactly.

* * *

The knock on the door caused both men to go still. Skye
looked at Dane, and asked softly, "Expecting anyone?"

"No," Dane replied Just as softly. "No
one."

Skye rose and moved soundlessly across the room toward
the bedroom, carrying the counterfeit plate in one hand, and his
drink in the other. "I'll wait in there."

"Right." Dane slid his sketch of Kelly's house
off the coffee table and placed it in the top drawer of the desk,
then went to the door and looked through the security peephole. He
glanced back over his shoulder to make sure the bedroom door was
closed, then opened this door and stepped back.

"Hello again, Miss Chantry."

She came into the suite with a determined stride, and
Dane could hardly help being amused as he closed the door behind her
and followed her into the sitting room. Today, she was wearing jeans
and a short-sleeved blouse, her golden hair swept up casually in a
ponytail; she looked younger than last night, but just as lovely and
considerably less frightened.

He had a vivid memory of the way that ruby gown had
clung to her every curve, and his body remembered too well those
curves pressed against him.

"What can I do for you?" he asked politely,
leaning back against the bar with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Why were you at Belle Retour last night?" she
demanded.

"There was a party. You may have noticed."

Her blue eyes took on a glint of anger. "That isn't
what I meant, and you know it. What did you take from the safe?"

"Nothing of yours. Or your mother's."

She was silent for a moment, staring at him. How much
did he know about her and her mother? A great deal, it seemed. Then,
slowly, she said, "You took something of Kelly's. Something
important."

Dane raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

"Because he thinks my mother and I have it. He came
to our house a couple of hours ago, demanding we give it back. He
threatened my mother. I don't like it when someone threatens my
mother." She drew a deep breath. "I'd side with the devil
if Kelly were storming hell, but I won't have my mother hurt. So
I want to know exactly what you stole from Kelly."

"Damn," Dane muttered, frowning. He hadn't
expected Kelly to blame the theft of the plate on anyone
specific. Considering how crowded last night's party had been, anyone
could have gotten in and out of the study. But it made sense for him
to suspect Jennifer and her mother; that safe hadn't been changed in
twenty years, so of course they'd know the combination.

"What did you take out of the safe?"

Dane ran a hand around the back of his neck and looked
ruefully at her. "I can't answer that, I'm afraid."

"Why not?"

"I'm not iIn a good position here," he said.
"I certainly don't want Kelly to find out I got into his safe.
In fact, that's the last thing I want him to know. So why should I
blithely tell you what I took out of that safe?"

Jennifer saw his point, but she hadn't come here
prepared to take no for an answer. She gritted her teeth. "Word
has it you came here to play poker with him. I can tell you right now
he won't welcome you if I tell him you were in his study last night,
and that you had the safe open."

"What would you gain by doing that?" Dane
asked slowly.

"My mother's safety. Kelly's desperate to get back
whatever it was you took. And I don't much care who he's after as
long as it isn't my mother or me."

"Reasonable," Dane agreed dryly. He studied
her for a moment in silence. "The grapevine around here is
pretty good. What else have you found out about me?"

"That you're a gambler from Florida with a lot of
money to lose. I already knew you were a thief."

"Just like I knew you were a thief."

Jennifer stiffened. "I am not! I just – "

"Appearances," Dane murmured, "can be
deceptive. Never assume, Miss Chantry. Or may I call you Jenny?"

She blinked at him, suddenly doubtful. Was he only a
gambler and thief – or was he something more? She didn't know,
couldn't be sure. "Nobody calls me Jenny," she said at
last.

"Then I'll be the only one. Good." Before she
could respond, he went on calmly. "I've been listening to the
grapevine too. And I heard that both you and your mother want Belle
Retour back. Also, I understand that you would dearly love to get
your hands on a means for revenge against Kelly."

It was all common knowledge in the area, but Jennifer
wasn't happy he knew. "So?"

He drew a breath and let it out slowly. "So, maybe
we can work together."

"Why should I trust you?"

"You'll have to decide for yourself about that. All
I can tell you is that the prospects are good for Kelly going to jail
for a long, long time. And not for cheating at cards."

"For what?"

"First," Dane said calmly, "you have to
decide whether you trust me."

"How can I know? Tell me something to convince me."

Dane grinned. "Well, I could tell you that my heart
is pure, but I doubt you'd believe me."

Ridiculously, Jennifer felt herself torn between
giggling and snorting in disbelief. Oh, this man had charm. Why,
she felt she could almost pluck it out of the air, like a raindrop.
She steeled herself against the appeal of him, remembering the need
for revenge against Kelly, remembering her mother, remembering a
"lovely brunette." "You're right. I don't believe
you."

He rubbed his nose, looking at her thoughtfully but with
those vivid eyes laughing. "I was afraid of that. And I don't
suppose swearing on my honor would do any good either?"

"If I don't know whether you're trustworthy,"
she pointed out, "then why would I believe you
have
any
honor?"

He sighed. "That is a point. Look, Jenny, one of us
is going to have to trust the other, or we won't get anywhere."

She lifted her chin. "Then you trust me. Since you
seem to know so much about my background, you must have guessed that
the bracelet I took last night belonged to either me or my mother. It
should be fairly obvious that I have every reason in the world to
want to get Garrett Kelly. It's your reasons that are in doubt here."

Dane sighed again. "All right, dammit. Sit down –
we're going to be here for a while. Would you like a drink, coffee?"

"No, thank you." She sat down a bit gingerly
on one end of the long couch, and watched him sit a couple of feet
away. And her guard was back up, because something told her this
abrupt giving in of his had been expressly designed to win her trust.

Conversationally, he asked, "Do you know that your
eyes turn almost gray when you're suddenly having misgivings about
something?"

Jennifer blinked. "What?"

"Well, it's obvious you think I'm trying to trick
you in some way." He was half turned toward her, one arm along
the back of the couch between them. "I'm not that devious, I
promise you."

She reserved judgment on that, trying to ignore the
beautiful, long-fingered hand so near her shoulder. "Just tell
me what this is all about, all right?"

"All right." Carefully, Dane began by saying,
"I was asked by a friend to check the contents of Kelly's safe.
And, before you ask, what I was looking for had nothing to do
with valuables; I wanted to find some paper connection between Kelly
and another man. Since that has nothing to do with you, and since it
isn't my story anyway, you'll have to take that much on faith."

She accepted that for the moment, but had what seemed to
her a pertinent question. "Do your friends often ask you to
break into other people's safes?"

Dane was smiling. "Well, let's just say that
sometimes my friends need to know things about people, and I
happen to be good at getting information.."

"By breaking into safes?"

"Whatever it takes."

Jennifer felt baffled. This didn't sound like a
garden-variety thief or gambler; but then, how many of those had she
met? "All right. For now."

"Suspicious Jenny."

She wasn't sure she liked the way he said that
shortened version of her name. It sounded like a caress. "Just
finish the story, would you, please?"

"Certainly. I didn't find that paper connection I
was looking for in the safe. But I did find a plate used to
counterfeit hundred-dollar bills."

She felt her eyes widen. "What?"

"Interesting, isn't it? A fine, upright citizen
like Kelly making his own money. If he is, of course."

Jennifer was trying to think clearly. "There's a
question about that? I mean, why else would he have this . . .
this plate?"

"He could have been holding it for a friend; he
could 'have found it himself and be busy blackmailing someone.
You see. Jenny, we need two more items to prove Kelly's making money
himself. The other plate, because it takes two to print a bill, and
the press to do the printing."

"I see." She mused about that for a moment,
then frowned at him. "What's your angle in this?"

"Justice?" he suggested in the tone of a man
who didn't expect to be believed.

"Try again."

Dane shrugged. "All right, then. I have a friend in
the Treasury Department, and I owe him. After I found the plate last
night, I gave him a call. He asked me to try and find those other two
items, and to see if I could discover whether Kelly's passing phony
money at his poker games. I said I'd do it. I hate debts," he
added almost parenthetically.

Those were the first words he'd said that held a ring of
truth for Jennifer. She believed him. Her father had been the same
way about debts; she wondered idly if it was a trait peculiar to
gamblers. "So what're you planning to do?"

"The first thing
we
have to do," he
said, "is get the plate back into Kelly's possession without
making him suspicious."

"Is that possible?"

"It better be. We have to divert suspicion from you
and your mother, and at the same time keep it far away from me. As
you pointed out, Kelly would hardly invite me into his house if he
found out I'd rifled his safe. And I have to be able to come and go
at the house, or well never find the evidence to put him away for
good."

Jennifer was quiet for a moment, then said, "I
don't suppose this is going to get Belle Retour back for mother?"

Dane hesitated. "I don't know. But I have to tell
you it's doubtful. The plantation was legally transferred into
Kelly's name. Chances are, the property's his no matter what happens.
There's a slim chance though, that if he were convicted and the
government slapped a hefty fine on him as well as a prison term, he
would have to sell Belle Retour to raise the money."

"Couldn't we prove he cheated my father?"
Jennifer asked. "A person isn't allowed to profit from crime,
and he
did!"

"That's a sticky point to prove in court when it
comes to gambling."

Jennifer had kept her hopes up these last years,
convinced that she could do something to restore Belle Retour to the
family. Now, for the first time, she realized how impossible a
dream that had been. Her home, lost to her. Her promise to her
mother, just so many empty words.

"Damn," she whispered. "We can't get it
back. We can never get it back."

"Yes, you can," Dane said suddenly. "And
you will."

She looked at him, blind for a moment, her eyes full of
unexpected tears. "What? How?"

He smiled an odd, crooked smile. "On that point,
you'll again have to trust me. But I promise you, Jenny, before this
is over, you'll have Belle Retour back."

She didn't believe him. But, at the same time, she
realized that her only chance of revenge against Kelly lay in helping
to find evidence against him for counter-felting. If she could do
that, it would be enough. It would have to be enough.

"Okay. So what do we do?"

"First, I want you to pay a little visit to Kelly."

"I hate that man," she said.

"Good. Make sure he sees it. You're furious with
him. He came to your house and threatened your mother, all because he
thought she took something from his safe. Tell him your mother went
nowhere near that study, but you saw other people going in and out
all evening. Even one of his security men went in at least three
times – you saw him."

Jennifer was listening intently. "Why am I pointing
at the security guard in particular?"

"He's as good a target as any. Besides, I still
have to check on that connection I mentioned. So you be sure and
direct Kelly's attention that way. And he'll find the plate hidden in
the guard's room."