"Shoot."

"If you count everyone we sent invitations to, who didn't show up last night?"

"Hmm. Let's sit down a minute so I can think. Want something to drink?"

"No, thanks."

Mara poured herself a large glass of orange juice and joined Annabelle at a small white kitchen table. "It's hard to know since it was so last minute. There were no place cards and no official RSVP was required. Off the top of my head, the only two noticeably missing were Roy Murray and Fred O'Grady. Fred's wife went into labor and the only time Roy's predictable is when he's hitting on women or pushing his son's athletic agenda."

Annabelle nodded. "See? That's motive right there," she said, her voice rising.

"What's motive? And for what?" Mara sneezed.

"Bless you."

"Thanks." Mara grabbed a tissue from the box she'd been carrying around with her. "Have Kleenex, will travel," she said laughing. "Now talk to me. What are you thinking?"

"You have to promise not to laugh."

Mara nodded. "Swear."

"Well, I ran into Roy at the coffee shop. I wanted to leave, he tried to buy me a drink, I said no, but he made me stay and talk. Until I mentioned he'd missed the party. Then he couldn't wait to be gone."

Mara rolled her eyes. "There's no doubt about it, Roy's an odd duck."

"But there's more. He lied about why he wasn't at the party and when I walked outside he was grinding a cigarette butt into the ground." Her stomach jumping, her nerves rioting, Annabelle tapped her fingers against the Formica tabletop.

"Look, I understand why you're upset, but with Roy it could be as simple as the fact that he was cheating on his wife last night and doesn't want to get caught." Mara paused to blow her nose. "Rumor has it Roy's wife told him if he strayed again, he'd be out on his ass and she'd file for sole custody. And you know how much his son means to him."

Once again, Annabelle's hunch was strengthened. "That's just it! If the lodge were destroyed, Vaughn would be free to take the coaching job. It's Roy's dream for his son to go pro and he thinks the boy needs Vaughn to do it."

Mara frowned. "Even without the lodge, Vaughn wouldn't take that job. He'd rather help in his own way."

"You know that. I know that. Any sane person knows that, but is Roy sane?" Annabelle pressed her fingers against her pounding temples. "I just don't know what to do with this theory of mine. I'm afraid the police will laugh me out of the building, and Vaughn and Nick have enough on their plate without me adding stupid ideas to their list of problems."

"Obviously you don't think it's all that stupid or you wouldn't be this upset," Mara said softly. "And really how much more lame is your idea than blaming Vaughn's ex-wife?"

Annabelle bit down on the inside of her cheek. "If I do something about it and I'm wrong, I've accused an innocent man. Innocent of arson, anyway. His cheating is a foregone conclusion. But if I'm right about the fire and I say nothing, the lodge is still at risk."

Mara touched her hand. "The lodge is at risk until whoever it is is caught," Mara reminded her.

She rose and shook her head. "It's probably my imagination acting overtime. I'm going to go."

Mara stood. "Annabelle, wait. You're upset. Let's talk some more."

"You need your rest. Besides, Roy was going back to work. I can talk to him there. I need to get a feeling one way or another before saying anything to Vaughn. Besides both Vaughn and Nick are watching everyone right now. It'll be okay," she said as much for Mara's benefit as her own.

"Well I'm here if you need me."

"Would you watch Boris for me?"

Mara nodded.

"Thank you. And don't worry." Annabelle forced a smile. "It'll be okay," she said, hoping to convince herself and relieve the gnawing gut feeling that just wouldn't disappear.


CHAPTER SEVENTEEN


VAUGHN RUBBED HIS FISTS against his burning eyes. He hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours and was so exhausted he could barely concentrate. Yet hours after Annabelle had left his office, he still couldn't stop thinking about her. He had financial statements to go through, he would have to put thousands of his personal money into the lodge to keep it afloat, and yet the only thing on his mind was Annabelle.

She never ceased to surprise him. From showing up here this morning, to covering any emotional reaction to his disappearing act the night before, to making sure he had food in the fridge, the woman simply blew him away. So much so he hadn't had the heart to tell her he wouldn't be home to share meals because he planned to live, eat and sleep at the lodge until the culprit was caught. He'd just have to arrange to have the contents of his full refrigerator delivered to him here. As for Annabelle…

He reminded himself he couldn't afford any more distractions if he didn't want to end up bankrupt, his dream gone up in smoke. Literally.

"The insurance adjuster thinks we'll recoup enough to rebuild," Nick said as he strode into the office.

Vaughn glanced up at his partner and friend. "That's good news. In the meantime I've arranged to liquidate some stock and CDs to cover us until the money comes through."

Nick nodded. "I've done the same."

Vaughn blinked, startled. "You already put in the amount of cash we agreed upon. I'm not going to let you-"

"Shut the hell up, will you?" Nick shoved nisi hands into his front pockets. "We may not be equal in all things, but I can damn well help out my partner in a crisis. It's our investment," he reminded Vaughn.

Not wanting to insult his best friend and too grateful to speak anyway, Vaughn merely nodded.

Nick headed for his desk and they worked in silence for a few minutes, until Vaughn couldn't hold in his thoughts any longer. "What did you mean when you said we may not be equal in all things?"

Nick didn't lift his head from the paperwork in front of him. "Never mind that."

Vaughn thought back over the last few weeks. To things Nick and Mara had said and done, and to Annabelle's accusations against Nick when she'd first come to town. "You can't possibly think you aren't my equal in all ways, Nick." There weren't many people Vaughn would give life and limb for but Nick was one of them.

Nick tossed down his pen and glanced up. "Do you not realize? You're a living legend. In the eyes of the ladies and this town, you're the man."

Vaughn couldn't help but smirk at the ridiculous irony. He was a man who looked in the mirror and saw inadequacy day in and day out. Football had been his only salvation and those days were long gone. He didn't know how to explain any of this to Nick though. "I'm nobody's hero. Just ask Estelle and Theodore," he said wryly.

Nick grinned. "Hell, if you thought or acted like you were God's gift, I wouldn't be in business with you. I wouldn't consider you like a brother. Now can we drop this? I feel like a whiny kid and that does nothing for my self-esteem."

Vaughn let out a laugh. "We're a pair."

"That we are."

Both men turned at the sound of footsteps just outside the door. "Oh good, you're both here." Mara burst in, out of breath at a dead run.

Nick stepped forward, catching her before she practically fell. "I thought I told you to stay in bed," he said, his gruff voice barely disguising his concern.

She rolled her eyes. "This is important."

"Ever heard of a phone?" Nick growled.

"It's not working," Vaughn and Mara reminded him at the same time.

"Have either of you seen Annabelle?" Mara asked.

"Not me," Nick said.

At the sound of Annabelle’s name, Vaughn cocked an eyebrow, on instant alert. "She went food shopping last I heard. Why?"

"Well she came by my apartment earlier and she was very upset. She had this theory about the sabotage and the fire. It involved Roy." Mara went on to explain Annabelle's hunch regarding Roy, backing up her instinct with motive and opportunity.

Vaughn knew the man also had easy access to the job site.

"Why didn't she come to me?" he asked aloud.

Vaughn didn't think the theory was as far-fetched as Annabelle might believe. In fact the more Vaughn mulled things over, the more he realized that Roy as the culprit made more sense than Laura if only because he had opportunity. Then again, the man's only crime they knew of was cheating on his wife, which was a far cry from arson.

"Annabelle didn't go food shopping," Mara said, interrupting his thoughts. "When she left my apartment a little while ago, she said she planned to talk to Roy. She asked me to watch her dog so she could come here."

An uneasy feeling trickled along Vaughn's nerve endings. He strode to the window and glanced out to the parking lot. "Damn. Her car's there. Where's Roy scheduled to work this morning?"

Mara checked her clipboard. "Pre-fire he was overseeing the repairs to the last round of sabotage. Today things are so off schedule, he could be anywhere."

Vaughn began barking out orders. "Nick, check the north section. I'll take the main section. Mara, you stay here. And call the police. My gut tells me not to blow this off as some sort of asinine theory."

ANNABELLE FOUND ROY in the main section, working with the men who were repairing the damage. He stood by a stack of boxes he was opening with a box cutter. She stepped carefully into the construction area, grateful she'd worn her Ugg boots instead of heels. As she marched in, all appraising eyes turned her way.

Used to attention, she trained her gaze on her target. "Roy, I'd like to have a word with you."

He glanced around at the stares of the other men. "Take a break, boys. The pretty lady wants to talk to me."