“Never heard of it.”

“Not many people have.”

“Lived there all your life?”

She eyed him carefully. “For as long as I can remember.”

“With your folks?”

“Yes.” His questions put her on edge. He was looking for lies. She stuck close to the truth. Though she’d never been really close to her mother, Victor had been kind and loving to her and she was beginning to suspect that he was a far more patient parent than Witt Danvers had ever thought of being.

“Did your mother think you were London as well?”

Adria shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

Accelerating through a yellow light, he asked, “Don’t you remember the first time you met your folks? If you were London, you would have been around five. As you pointed out, even five-year-olds have memories.”

She watched as the skyscrapers fingered upward into the night-black sky. “I don’t have memories, not real ones. Just images.”

“Images? Of what?”

He nosed the Jeep into a side street, near the Benson. “Of the party. It was loud and exciting and…”

“You read about it.”

“I remember Witt. With his silvery hair, he reminded me of a polar bear…so huge…”

“Again the newspapers.” He pulled into the lane reserved for guests of the Benson and she turned her startling blue eyes at him. “You’re right, of course,” she said, reaching for the door handle, “but there’s something that doesn’t quite fit. In all the faded images that I have stored in my mind, there’s one that’s so clear, it’s frightening.”

“What’s that?” he scoffed, though he felt as if a vise had clamped over his chest and his heart began to thud.

She stared at him. “I remember you, Zach.”

“I doubt it.” The clamp twisted tighter.

“As clearly as if it were yesterday, I remember a sullen, dark-haired boy whom I adored.” She pushed open the door and stepped onto the curb. Zach reached for her, but she was gone. Like a faint puff of white smoke, she disappeared into the hotel.

He considered chasing her down-calling after her and making her explain herself. What did she remember about him? But he didn’t move. The last throwaway line was obviously planned, a comment intended to get under his skin.

A horn blasted behind him and he stepped on the gas, but he didn’t leave her words behind; they hung on the air and followed him all the way back to the Hotel Danvers where, to avoid any guests still lingering in the bar after the party had wound down, he took the service elevator to the seventh floor and walked into his room. The red message light on his phone was flashing. He wasn’t surprised to learn Jason had called.

“Great.” Zachary looked at his bags. They were packed and ready to go but he knew with sudden clarity that he wasn’t going anywhere. At least, not tonight. Kicking off his shoes, he sat on the edge of the bed and dialed. Jason picked it up on the second ring.

“About time. Where were you?”

“I dropped her off at the Benson.”

“That’s where she’s staying?” Jason sounded suspicious.

“A nice touch, don’t you think? Claims she’s the long-lost Danvers heir and stays at the competition.”

Jason’s voice was muffled but Zach heard him ordering Nelson to call the Benson on the other line, talk to Bob Everhart, who had once worked for Witt, and find out Adria’s room number. His voice was stronger when he turned back to Zach. “You should have hung around after you dropped her off at the hotel.”

“Why?’

“Why? To follow her, of course.”

“Of course,” Zach mouthed. “Why didn’t I think of it?”

“She represents a threat, Zach.”

“I don’t think so.” Flopping back on the bed, he wondered why he was even bothering with the conversation. “Look, it’s late, I’m taking off-”

“Now? You’re leaving now?”

“Soon.”

“When we’re in the middle of a fucking family crisis?”

“I don’t give a shit.”

“Sure you do,” Jason said, and Zach stared up at the ceiling.

He was lying a little. He did care. About the ranch. And he was curious about Adria. Just what was her game?

Jason wasn’t giving up. “You think your ranch is protected, right? Because it was a specific bequest? Well, things change if this woman proves she’s London. A lot of the extra acres were bought after the will was originally signed and all those wouldn’t be considered part of the ranch, per see. And if everyone else has to cough up to make sure she gets her fifty percent, you will, too.”

Zach frowned into the receiver. “You’ve been busy.”

“Now, listen. Adria seems to trust you. She came to you first. Get close to her. Find out what makes her tick-What?” His voice faded as he turned his head and the words were muffled, but Zach heard them all. “I knew it! Okay, so start calling cab companies…I don’t know. Just do it. The police do it all the time-right, call Logan-he’s still on our payroll and he has connections even though he’s retired. Oh, for Christ’s sake, don’t give me that conflict-of-interest crap.” There was further argument and Zach was about to hang up, but Jason turned back to the receiver. “Big fucking surprise. No Adria Nash or London Danvers, or London Nash or Adria Danvers at the Benson. She probably just ducked into the ladies’ room and, satisfied that you were gone, took a cab to God-only-knows-where.”

“She’ll show up. Her kind always does.”

“You’re forgetting something, Zach. She’s different. She’s not here claiming she’s London, screaming that she’s our darling long-lost sister; no, she’s got a different story and one the press would love. ‘Is she or isn’t she?’ And she looks so much like Kat, there’s bound to be speculation. We’ve got to keep her mouth closed.”

“How?”

“First, you’ve got to follow her-”

“You’ve got to be kidding!”

“I’m not.”

Zach’s jaw was so tight it ached. He didn’t like being manipulated, and for as long as he could remember, someone in his family-Witt, or Kat, or Jason-was trying to pull his strings.

“My guess is that she’s working with an accomplice.”

“Come on-”

“Why not? We’re talking a lot of money here. A lot. People would do just about anything to get their hands on it-even impersonate a dead girl. Think about it, Zach-our biggest worry has been that someone would show up now, after Witt and Kat are both dead, claiming to be an heir, and there’s no way to take DNA tests or anything of the sort.”

“I’m not worried about it.”

“You should be-whether you like it or not, you’re a member of this family and…hang on a minute.” His voice was muffled for a second, then clear again. “Look, Logan’s checking with the cab companies. I’ll call you when we hear something.”

“Don’t bother.” Zach slammed the phone back in its cradle. He was tired of Portland, tired of his family, tired of all the mess. He stripped out of his tuxedo-a rental-stuffed it back in its bag, and left it hanging in the closet. By the time he’d changed into jeans and a sweater, the phone was ringing insistently. He wanted to ignore it, but snapped up the receiver again. He didn’t have to guess who was calling.

“She’s at the Riverview Inn on Eighty-second, somewhere near Flavel,” Jason said, pleased with himself. “Seems our little gold digger isn’t so well off, is she?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it does. She can’t afford the best lawyers if she can’t even pay for a decent room. Why don’t you go out there, Zach, check out what the situation is? If she’s working alone, take her to the ranch with you.”

“No way.”

“She’d be safe there. Isolated.”

“The lady won’t want to come.”

“Convince her.”

“How? Tell her that maybe she’ll get a piece of the estate? Forget it.”

“Come on, Zach. Do it. Who knows? She might even be London.”

“Not in a million years,” he said and ignored the funny feeling in his stomach when he remembered her clear blue eyes and her low, seductive voice. I remember you, Zach. As clearly as if it were yesterday, I remember a sullen, dark-haired boy whom I adored. His palms began to sweat around the receiver.

“I hope you’re right, but I sure would like to find out.”

“Drive over there yourself.”

“As I said, she trusts you.”

“She doesn’t even know me.” He tapped a foot in frustration and thought of Adria. She was beautiful and seductive and he was attracted to her. That fascination, in and of itself, was dangerous. He didn’t want or need a woman in his life, especially one who had her eye on the family fortune. He’d already learned that lesson.

“This’ll blow over soon. But we need to get a handle on her. All you have to do is convince her to come to the ranch with you for a couple of days.”

“No way.”

“Well, at least go talk to her. Ask her to stay at the Hotel Danvers, compliments of the family.”

Zach barked out a laugh. “As if she’d believe you. She went to a lot of trouble to hide herself. I don’t think shell want to stay in a hotel where she could be watched day and night.”

“My guess is she’ll like the higher-rent district. She’s after money, remember, and it must gall her to stay in some dump of a motel.”

“Maybe she likes her privacy.”

“Then she should never have started this, because before it’s over she won’t know what the word means.” He paused for a second and Zachary imagined Jason running a nervous hand around his neck. “Hell, Zach, we have to keep our eye on her.”

“Then invite her to stay at the damned hotel.”

“She trusts you.”

Zach snorted. “If she’s smart, she won’t trust anyone in the family.” He thought about the way she’d gazed at the picture of Witt and Katherine and London. As if she really cared. She either believed her far-fetched story herself or was the best damned actress he’d ever met.

“Talk to her,” Jason insisted.