She gave a soft, shaky laugh and buried her face against his chest. “I knew you were a romantic at heart.”
He caught her face between his hands and looked down into her moon-shadowed eyes.
“Whatever is going on here, it’s not romantic,” he said. “It’s not about hearts and flowers. It’s about something a lot more elemental.”
Rex left his post in front of the wrought iron gate and trotted briskly back across the patio and into the living room. He gave a sharp, warning bark from the interior of the villa.
Nick released Vivian instantly. “There’s someone here.”
The doorbell chimed. Rex barked again. Nick went into the villa, turned on a lamp, and checked the peephole in the front door. A young man dressed in the uniform of the hotel staff stood on the step.
“It’s all right, Rex,” Nick said.
He opened the door.
“I’m Hank, sir. Front desk. The night operator just took a phone call from a man asking for Miss Vivian Brazier. The caller was, of course, informed that no one by that name was in residence. The manager, however, instructed me to inform you immediately of the message.”
Chapter 25
He’s gone,” Nick said. He brought the Packard to a stop at the curb and studied the empty phone booth in the glare of the headlights. “He told the front desk he would wait for you in front of that shop, the Elegant Lady, but there’s no one around.”
“He’s here,” Vivian said. “I recognize that Ford parked at the curb. It belongs to Toby.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes. Toby shows up at the same crime-and-fire scenes that I cover. Trust me, I’d know that beat-up sedan anywhere.”
She started to open her door.
“Wait.” Nick wrapped one hand around her wrist, stopping her. “He’s not in the car. Take a look. There’s no one sitting behind the wheel.”
Vivian reluctantly settled back into the seat. “He must be here somewhere. Maybe he’s hiding in a doorway. He might be scared. Don’t you see? There’s only one reason he would track me down and tell me he’s got information to sell. He knows something about the fire that burned down my cottage. This is the break we’ve been hoping for.”
“Maybe.” Nick took the gun out of the holster he wore under his jacket and cracked open his door. “This is where Rex and I get to earn our keep. We’ll take a look around.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“No, you will stay in the car until I tell you it’s safe to get out.” He reached for the flashlight he had stowed under the seat. “Understand?”
She eyed him thoughtfully. “That sounds a lot like an order.”
“It is.”
“I don’t take orders well.”
“You will as long as I’m in charge of keeping you alive. Stay in the car.”
He did not wait to see if she was going to argue. He opened his door and got out. Rex followed, bounding nimbly out of the compartment behind the front seat and down onto the pavement.
“Search,” Nick said quietly.
Rex immediately trotted toward the shadowed vestibule of a nearby store. He sniffed a few times, sat down, and looked back at Nick.
Nick moved forward cautiously. When he got closer he aimed the flashlight into the vestibule.
A man was sprawled facedown in the doorway. Not a transient bunking down for the night. Not a drunk who had passed out in the nearest convenient location. In the beam of the flashlight the blood on the sidewalk appeared almost black.
Nick patted Rex. “Good job. Anyone else around?”
Rex appeared unconcerned. His work was done. Nick concluded they were probably alone. He crouched to feel for a pulse. He did not expect to find one. He was right.
“Bad news,” he said to Rex. “I need information and Toby Flint obviously had some.”
He went through the dead man’s pockets.
In the stillness of the night the sound of the Packard’s door opening seemed unnaturally loud. Nick looked around and saw Vivian standing on the curb next to the vehicle.
“Is it Toby?” she asked, anxiety and sorrow mingling in her words.
“Probably,” Nick said. “I think someone must have gone through his pockets. They’re empty.”
“I can tell you for certain if it’s him,” she said.
“You’re not going to want to take a close look. He’s pretty cut up and . . . broken. There’s some glass. Must have been hit by a car.”
“I’ve done a lot of crime scene photography, remember? I’ve seen bodies before.”
“I doubt if they were bodies of people you knew,” Nick said. “It’s different.”
“I have to be sure it’s him because if it is—”
“Stop right there. Whatever happened here, it’s not your fault that this man is dead. The person who murdered him is the one responsible.”
Vivian did not respond. She walked toward the doorway. Nick could tell that she was having to make herself go through the ordeal. When she got close, he leaned down and tugged on the deadweight of one shoulder, turning the body just far enough to give Vivian a view of the victim’s face.
“Yes.” Vivian wrapped her arms around her midsection and quickly turned away. “It’s Toby. And you’re right—it’s different when it’s someone you know. Dear heaven. So much blood.”
“Hood ornaments will do that,” Nick said. “One of these days they’ll probably outlaw them. I’ll call the police from the phone booth. And then I’ll call Luther Pell.”
“At this hour?”
“He operates a hot nightclub. Trust me, he’ll be awake.”
Chapter 26
I can’t imagine how Toby managed to find me,” Vivian said. “My sister is the only one who knows I’m here in Burning Cove. I called her shortly after we arrived because I knew she would worry if she saw the reports of the fire that burned down the cottage I was renting in Adelina Beach.”
It was nearly three o’clock in the morning. She and Nick were back in the living room of the villa but this time they were not alone. Luther Pell and Raina Kirk, the sophisticated, enigmatic woman who was obviously much more than a friend, had joined them.
Nick had mentioned that Pell had served in the Great War, which meant he was probably in his late thirties or early forties. There was some silver in his dark hair and a host of secrets in his eyes. It was obvious he had come directly from his nightclub. He wore an elegantly cut evening jacket, a crisp white shirt, and a black bow tie. His trousers were perfectly creased and broke at the precise angle over his gleaming shoes. There was a gold watch on his left wrist.