Page 78 of Cougar Point

Jack says, “I should have the ransom money together this evening. If you catch the kidnappers tell them, I’ll pay them. Money’s not important. My wife’s best chance is for them to give her up. Right?”

Says the guy with plenty of money. “That’s a good idea, Jack.” But they won’t do that. “We’d better get going. Call and tell us what motel. And, Jack?” He looks at me. “If you hear from the kidnappers, what are you going to do?”

“If I hear from them, I’ll call you. Not Lucas,” Jack says.

“You can tell them we have the money. They may already have a place picked for the exchange. If so, tell us and we’ll go. If you go, they might just kill you both. No witnesses that way.”

“I didn’t think of that. But I want to see Vic.”

“Got it,” I say.

I hope I’m not misplacing my trust in Jack. If this goes south, I’ll be damned for life. Ronnie is more than a partner. I didn’t think I’d ever feel this way but I’d take a bullet for her. And I know she would do the same for me. The only person I’ve ever felt more for is Hayden. If I’ve learned anything by being here, where secrets are abundant, it’s that secrets are deadly. Secrets can kill. I just hope Jack’s secrets don’t get his wife killed. He should have come clean. Too late now.

FIFTY

MARCH 2023

Whatcom County

Lucas had never had cause to visit the Semiahmoo Resort before for a couple of good reasons. The first was that it was within ten miles of his home, so he had never had the need for an overnight stay, even if he could afford it. The second was that the Semiahmoo Resort wasn’t the kind of place where the police were regularly in attendance.

Detectives MacDonald and Anderson had talked about the Park Plaza in Ohio like it was high-end, but the Semiahmoo Resort made it look like a Motel 6 by comparison.

Lucas parked in the lot outside and went into reception.

There was a brunette behind reception wearing a black blouse and gold stud earrings. She looked up from her computer as Lucas approached, the customer-service smile breaking out on her face unconsciously. The badge over her left breast read CHRISTI.

“Good afternoon, how may I help you?”

Lucas flashed his badge and told her who he was.

People react in all sorts of different ways to seeing the badge. Some are immediately on their guard. Some sigh and resign themselves to a little more hassle than they had scheduled for the day. Some give away guilty consciences.

Christi was none of the above. Instead, she widened her eyes and her smile got wider. “Oh wow, exciting! What are you here for?”

“I was hoping I could ask a few questions in relation to an ongoing investigation.”

“Are you working on that dead body they found up at the creek?”

Lucas stalled by patting his pockets, looking for his notebook, reflecting on the fact that it might be possible for someone to betoocooperative.

“I’m working on a few things right now.” He took his notebook out and flipped through a couple of pages, pretending to look for something. “Let me see. Right. I’m looking into a report somebody made about a black Nissan Frontier being parked in your lot last Tuesday. Somebody complained about it, said it wasn’t registered with a guest.”

Christi told him she hadn’t seen such a car, with her tone suggesting that she would have remembered a car like that in this place. She offered to check the security cameras, if Lucas had an idea of when on Tuesday the car had been sighted. He asked for the whole day, and Christi said she would get the manager to send it over.

Lucas was pleasantly surprised with how cooperative Christi was. No persuasion or cajoling had been required. Nobody had mentioned a warrant. He asked if she had worked for the resort long.

“I’m here for a good time, not a long time,” she said. “I’m going to college in the fall. Criminology. Although I have beenthinking I might like to be a police officer. Do you have any advice?”

Behind them, the elevator pinged softly. Lucas glanced back and saw a well-dressed man and a woman step out. He looked back at Christi.

“Sure,” Lucas said. “Stick to the lab. Better pay, less grief.”

“Good afternoon, Christi.”

Lucas turned at the pointed greeting to see a man in his fifties who had just exited the elevator. He was a little shorter than average, dressed in a slim-fitting charcoal suit with a white shirt and a gray tie. Lucas could almost see the reflection in his shoes. He had a suede overcoat draped over one arm.

His female partner, presumably his wife or girlfriend, was a step or two behind him, looking into one of the large mirrors that lined the wall and adjusting one of her earrings. She was younger than the man. Blond-haired and with striking cheekbones. She reminded Lucas a little of Olivia Greenwood. She wore a long coat that hung down to just above ankle level.

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