the time. It was the grief talking. What he meant, of course, was that he failed to stop her from taking her boat out that night.”
“Are you sure about that?”
Moreton looked startled. “You don’t mean...? No, he was at a state function in full view of hundreds of people when she died. Mayor Delaney was the keynote speaker.”
“If Cameron Delaney is all the things you tell me he is, would he think twice about getting someone else to kill his girlfriend?”
His round face became even more serious. “If you want out, you only have to say the word.”
“You know me better than that, Moreton. When you approached me with this job, I knew what it involved. I’ll see it through. I guess if I’m having dinner with a guy I’d like to know in advance if there’s a chance he might have killed his last girlfriend.”
“Dinner? Tonight?” When she nodded, he whistled. “He’s a fast worker, our guy. How will you deal with it if he wants to...” He cleared his throat. “...You know?”
“You mean if he wants to have sex with me?” She almost laughed aloud at his pained expression. “I’ve done this sort of thing before, remember?”
“I seem to recall you have a few creative ways of keeping them at arm’s length. So, now you’ve met him, what are your initial thoughts on Delaney?”
Laurie hesitated. First impressions were important, and she knew Moreton was asking her because he trusted her instincts. For the first time ever, she wasn’t sure he was right to do so.
“You know I had my doubts about this job. Using a man’s grief to get under his skin? That has never felt right to me. It was only when you showed me the file about what was going on here—what Delaney Transportation is potentially a cover for—that you convinced me. The evidence against him is about as watertight as it gets.” She spread her hands, palms upward. To an observer, she could have been indicating she was clueless about the route. “Initial thoughts? The file you compiled told me he’s one of the wealthiest men in the state. Each of the three Delaney brothers inherited a modest amount of money from their father. Cameron used his to set up the business, growing it into a thriving corporation within a few years. He’s also a successful businessman and politician. Mayor of Stillwater. The voters love him. He’d get my vote and I don’t even know what he stands for. The guy’s got charisma. Underneath it all he’s hurting like hell. Even when I rocked his world yesterday, the facade stayed in place. I’d say he’s going to be a tough one to crack.”
“If anyone can do it, you can. Delaney is one of the smoothest operators we’ve come across. On the surface, he’s squeaky clean. He’s never had a parking ticket, or filed a late tax return. We have to throw him off balance. The psychologists tell me Delaney will be drawn to someone who looks so much like Carla. He was devoted to her. You’ll shake him out of his usual composure. When he’s with you he may just slip up, make a mistake, however small, and allow you to get close enough to glimpse the illegal side of the business. It’s a long shot, but it’s all we have right now. I want to close this bastard down, but so far every attempt we’ve made to get someone undercover inside the firm itself has failed. This operation has been going on for a long time, but it’s only recently we’ve had the evidence to pinpoint Delaney Transportation.”
“Possibly he’s started to slip up. There’s no doubt that Carla’s death devastated him.”
Was Moreton frowning because he sensed sympathy in her voice? Even imagining he could detect a moment’s hesitation? “Every time that bothers you, think about the drugs and firearms that are pumped onto the streets every day. And we both know that’s not the worst part of this operation. Human trafficking. Forced prostitution. A nasty, but very lucrative, business. Many of the girls we’re talking about are as young as thirteen. Some are younger. If ever you find yourself feeling sorry for Delaney, think of them.”
Laurie felt a flash of anger light her eyes as she raised them to his face. “Are you questioning my commitment?”
“Never.” Still in his role as the hapless hiker, Moreton folded his map and turned, shrugging as he pointed back at the trail. “Anything you need from me?” Laurie shook her head. “Next time, maybe we can find somewhere civilized like a coffee shop?”
After he’d gone, Laurie sat a while longer, allowing the peace of her surroundings to soothe her. In six years of working undercover, she had never let her emotions get to her. For a moment back then, she had come perilously close. Why was it so hard to be objective about Cameron Delaney? From the outset, she’d allowed emotion to creep in. It must be the Carla factor. It was hard not to feel a connection to the other woman when she had recently discovered their relationship. The cousin she never knew she had. And Carla had died tragically. Just when she had everything to live for. Sighing, Laurie rose and tugged her backpack into place. She’d have to work a bit harder to fight the feelings in the future. There was a job to be done. Starting with dinner tonight.
Cameron gripped the steering wheel hard. What was he doing? What had possessed him to invite her to dinner? You know what it was, a voice inside his head chimed instantly. You idiot. Carla is dead. This woman is not her. Perhaps if he repeated those words often enough, his heart would stop pounding so loudly every time he thought about Laurie Carter.
Twelve months ago, he would have said his heart couldn’t pound. If anyone had asked him such a stupid question, he’d have explained it wasn’t possible for his heart to do anything. Because the night Carla died, Cameron had been left with a gaping hole in place of a heart. So he supposed the fact he could feel something in the region of his chest in place of the awful, aching heaviness that had been there for the last year was a positive step. He just wasn’t sure it should be focused on this stranger who reminded him of Carla. Reminded him? He almost laughed out loud at the understatement. Laurie Carter was Carla’s double. The resemblance was uncanny enough to be scary. It was frightening the hell out of Cameron. In a spine-chilling yet surprisingly exciting way.
He steered the car up the narrow track that led to the Paradise Creek vacation village. A group of twenty or more log cabins clustered together at the base of the mountain like children clinging to their mother’s skirts. More and more of these places were springing up each year as people were discovering that Stillwater had as much to offer as Yellowstone. Some, like this one, were tastefully done and well managed, but there were a few eyesores that caused Cameron and his fellow council members an ongoing headache.
Cameron took his role as mayor seriously. Having been Stillwater’s youngest-ever council member at twenty-four and its youngest-ever mayor at twenty-six, he never forgot his duty to the community where he grew up. His four-year term of office was coming to an end, but, in the words of the local radio station, “There’s more chance of the Wyoming wind forgetting to blow than there is of Mayor Delaney not getting reelected.” That validation would allow him to continue the projects he had already started. Closing down cheap tourist traps was on his list.
Leaving his car in the little parking lot at the end of the road, Cameron walked a few yards to the first cabin and knocked on the door.
“It’s open. Come on in.”
She doesn’t sound like Carla. The thought steadied him, and he stepped straight into the open-plan living space. The place was furnished in traditional vacation-rental style. Polished pine paneling, exposed brickwork and functional furniture had been softened with colorful rugs, cushions and subdued lighting. As Cameron was taking in his surroundings, a door to his left opened and Laurie appeared.
On the drive over he had done his best to convince himself the likeness was not as strong as he remembered. It couldn’t be. Unless they were identical twins, two people couldn’t possibly look that alike. He’d done a pretty good job of persuading himself. Now she stood before him, a smile just beginning to light the blue depths of her eyes, and his internal lecture became so much meaningless white noise.