Read Online The Chilling Deception by Jayne Castle - Free Book Online
Authors: Jayne Castle
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aggrieved.
Guinevere bit her lip, torn between sympathy and amusement. Impulsively she put a hand on his sleeve. "You can’t come with us on this harbor jaunt?"
He looked at her. "You heard Vandyke. Not that it makes much difference. Everything else about this weekend is getting fouled up, so I might as well earn my pay. You’re right about your client, Gwen. He’s scared to death. I think he’ll feel a lot better if I stay close to him. And since I’ve decided to actually work this weekend, I think I’ll make a couple of phone calls."
"To whom? About what?"
"I love it when you get excited. The only problem is, you’re picking the wrong time and place."
"Zac! Quit baiting me. Tell me who you’re going to call."
"Someone who used to work for my old firm. He had the Caribbean region during the seventies. He quit the company in nineteen eighty to devote his life to rum and writing the great American novel, but he stayed in Saint Thomas. I thought I’d see if he can dig up some info on the accident."
"What accident?" Guinevere asked, momentarily lost. "Oh! You mean the plane accident that killed Vandyke’s partner."
"It’s not normal to carry around a page out of a dead nan’s logbook, Gwen."
"You can say that again. It’s downright morbid." juinevere gave the matter some thought. "Maybe I can veasel out of this scenic tour."
"Forget it." Zac glanced over her shoulder at Vandyke, ipproaching across the lobby. "It will take Sol a while to lig up any real information. That’s assuming I can get lold of him in the first place." He got to his feet. "Have ftin," he whispered into her ear, quickly brushing her nose with a kiss. "Sorry about that. I know it’s bad for the image, but I couldn’t resist." He was gone before Guinevere could tell him wistfully that she didn’t really mind the small kiss in public.
Two hours later she found herself in the back of the fair-size cabin cruiser Sheldon Washburn had hired for the occasion. Three of the other assistants had also been freed by their employers to take the trip. The surprise passenger was Cassidy. When he’d stepped onto the boat, grinning at her with charming wickedness, Guinevere had experienced a small twinge of guilt. Utterly ridiculous, of course, she told herself. She was certainly not to blame if Cassidy blithely chose to crash the cruise party. There was no way on earth Zac could take her to task for it. Besides, she didn’t owe Zac undying fealty. They hadn’t even had the big relationship discussion yet. And she was hardly contemplating anything resembling betrayal in any case! The whole situation was simply, clearly, undeniably not her fault. But she was secretly glad Zac didn’t know who had joined the small group on the scenic tour. Some things were better left unmentioned.
Cassidy’s grin grew decidedly broader as he chose the seat next to hers. He stayed there during the entire trip, one booted foot braced against the seat in front of him, his left arm casually draped across the back of Guinevere’s chair. In a laid-back laconic manner he supplemented the travelogue the boat’s pilot was giving.
"Have you flown to most of these little islands?" Guinevere asked politely at one point. In the rare morning sunlight the gems of lush green seemed to have been sprinkled in the water by a careless hand.
"No point flying to some of them," Cassidy told her. "No one lives on them. And some you couldn’t beach the Cessna on anyway. They’re just tree-covered rocks, without any natural coves or bays."
"I’ve heard some of them are privately owned."
Toby Springer caught the comment and remarked, "Washburn is thinking about buying one." There was a touch of pride in his voice. Springer clearly admired his boss’s success.
"Really?" Guinevere asked, interested. "Near here?"
"Over there, I think. Isn’t that the one, Cassidy? You took him there once in your plane."
Cassidy nodded, showing a supreme lack of interest. "Yeah."
"Does he have
Guinevere bit her lip, torn between sympathy and amusement. Impulsively she put a hand on his sleeve. "You can’t come with us on this harbor jaunt?"
He looked at her. "You heard Vandyke. Not that it makes much difference. Everything else about this weekend is getting fouled up, so I might as well earn my pay. You’re right about your client, Gwen. He’s scared to death. I think he’ll feel a lot better if I stay close to him. And since I’ve decided to actually work this weekend, I think I’ll make a couple of phone calls."
"To whom? About what?"
"I love it when you get excited. The only problem is, you’re picking the wrong time and place."
"Zac! Quit baiting me. Tell me who you’re going to call."
"Someone who used to work for my old firm. He had the Caribbean region during the seventies. He quit the company in nineteen eighty to devote his life to rum and writing the great American novel, but he stayed in Saint Thomas. I thought I’d see if he can dig up some info on the accident."
"What accident?" Guinevere asked, momentarily lost. "Oh! You mean the plane accident that killed Vandyke’s partner."
"It’s not normal to carry around a page out of a dead nan’s logbook, Gwen."
"You can say that again. It’s downright morbid." juinevere gave the matter some thought. "Maybe I can veasel out of this scenic tour."
"Forget it." Zac glanced over her shoulder at Vandyke, ipproaching across the lobby. "It will take Sol a while to lig up any real information. That’s assuming I can get lold of him in the first place." He got to his feet. "Have ftin," he whispered into her ear, quickly brushing her nose with a kiss. "Sorry about that. I know it’s bad for the image, but I couldn’t resist." He was gone before Guinevere could tell him wistfully that she didn’t really mind the small kiss in public.
Two hours later she found herself in the back of the fair-size cabin cruiser Sheldon Washburn had hired for the occasion. Three of the other assistants had also been freed by their employers to take the trip. The surprise passenger was Cassidy. When he’d stepped onto the boat, grinning at her with charming wickedness, Guinevere had experienced a small twinge of guilt. Utterly ridiculous, of course, she told herself. She was certainly not to blame if Cassidy blithely chose to crash the cruise party. There was no way on earth Zac could take her to task for it. Besides, she didn’t owe Zac undying fealty. They hadn’t even had the big relationship discussion yet. And she was hardly contemplating anything resembling betrayal in any case! The whole situation was simply, clearly, undeniably not her fault. But she was secretly glad Zac didn’t know who had joined the small group on the scenic tour. Some things were better left unmentioned.
Cassidy’s grin grew decidedly broader as he chose the seat next to hers. He stayed there during the entire trip, one booted foot braced against the seat in front of him, his left arm casually draped across the back of Guinevere’s chair. In a laid-back laconic manner he supplemented the travelogue the boat’s pilot was giving.
"Have you flown to most of these little islands?" Guinevere asked politely at one point. In the rare morning sunlight the gems of lush green seemed to have been sprinkled in the water by a careless hand.
"No point flying to some of them," Cassidy told her. "No one lives on them. And some you couldn’t beach the Cessna on anyway. They’re just tree-covered rocks, without any natural coves or bays."
"I’ve heard some of them are privately owned."
Toby Springer caught the comment and remarked, "Washburn is thinking about buying one." There was a touch of pride in his voice. Springer clearly admired his boss’s success.
"Really?" Guinevere asked, interested. "Near here?"
"Over there, I think. Isn’t that the one, Cassidy? You took him there once in your plane."
Cassidy nodded, showing a supreme lack of interest. "Yeah."
"Does he have
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