Page 39 of A Treasure Worth Seeking

Confirming Erin’s surmise, Melanie said, “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll go back to my room. I’m not very good company tonight. I want to lie in the bed I share with Ken and think about him. Does that sound crazy?”

“It sounds perfectly normal. If you need to talk to someone in the middle of the night, I’m available. You won’t be disturbing me.”

“Thanks, Erin. I… I’m really glad you’re here.”

Thin arms went around Erin’s neck and she hugged Melanie closer. “I’m glad I’m here, too. Good night.”

“Good night.”

Erin had slept so much during the day that she didn’t think she would be able to fall asleep, but it was amazingly simple. She wanted to analyze Lance’s peculiar behavior, but her brain refused to focus on that. Ken’s disappearance was a problem she still had to cope with, and Melanie’s unhappiness troubled her as well. Defensively, her brain shut out these burdensome thoughts and she fell asleep the moment she lay her head on the pillow.

Her dreams were full of Lance. One moment he was cruel and vindictive. The next, she was locked in an intoxicating embrace and he was making love to her. Her fingertips could feel the texture of his hair where it lay against his neck. His scent was so familiar to her now, she was engulfed in it as he moved against her. He was repeating her name close to her ear. Erin, Erin, Erin. She drew him closer still and clasped her hands behind his neck.

For a moment, after she opened her eyes, she thought she was in an extension of her dream. Lance was saying her name softly. He leaned over her. Her arms were tight around his neck.

“What—” she gasped, pulling her arms back and reaching hastily for the covers.

Chapter Nine

“Shhhh, it’s okay. I’m sorry if I scared you,” he whispered. “Erin—”

“What are you doing here?” she demanded angrily. What kind of game was he playing now? She didn’t trust him. He was too unpredictable. She didn’t understand him. Nor did she understand why her heart was pounding and her body trembling as though the dream had been real. It had been so vivid. She could feel—

“Erin, I have something to tell you. Do you want me to turn on the light?” She shook her head no. “We’ve had some news. It’s not good. I need you to help me tell Mrs. Lyman.”

“Ken?”

She could see his head nodding before he said, “Yes.” A foreboding cloaked her with dread.

“Oh, God,” she whimpered. “Lance, you found him?”

“Yes.” He took a deep breath. In the darkness he found her clenched hands being pressed against her lips. He took them in his hand and warmed them between strong fingers. “Erin, he’s dead.”

“No,” she breathed, shaking her head in denial. It couldn’t be true. God wasn’t that cruel. “No,” she said aloud with more emphasis.

Lance took her by the shoulders and said, “I’m sorry, Erin, believe me. They found him late last night in a dumpy hotel room on the outskirts of San Diego. Apparently he was waiting to slip across the border.”

She was trying to absorb all the facts, but couldn’t. Only one grim truth had significance. She would never see her brother alive. Kenneth Lyman was dead. She realized that Lance had stopped talking and asked listlessly, “How?” Did it matter?

“We’ll go into that later—”

“Tell me now,” she said levelly.

“He was murdered,” Lance sighed. “He had been robbed of pocket money, his watch, things like that. Ironically, the suitcase with all the money in it was found intact under his bed.” He waited for a moment before asking, “Are you all right?”

“Yes,” she said. Her calmness surprised her. “We’d better go tell Melanie.” She didn’t wait for him to say anything. She got out of bed and slipped into a robe. When she turned around, he was already out in the hallway.

At the door of Melanie’s room he suggested, “Why don’t you go in and wake her up. Call me when you’re ready.”

It was the hardest thing she had ever had to do in her life, but Erin went into the room, awakened Melanie, helped her get into her robe, and then stood by while Lance told the young woman about her husband’s death. Erin would have expected her sister-in-law to faint, cry, scream, or go into hysterics. But she listened calmly and dry-eyed.

When Lance finally finished telling her the facts, sparing her the details, she said tonelessly, “I think I knew that he was dead. I’ve had a feeling all day that I’d never see him again. It’s strange how I knew.”

She asked Lance what procedure they must follow and he answered her. “Well, we’re sure it’s him, but unfortunately you’ll have to go down there and identify the body. Because his demise was the result of a crime, you’ll have to sign a lot of papers to have the body released. I can help you with all of that.”

“Thank you, Mr. Barrett. I’ll need your help, I’m sure.”

“I’ll call your parents—”

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