Secrets Read online

  She stood up, her back against the tree, and looked about her. He certainly seemed able to see his way in the dark. And if he could see so well and move so quietly, maybe he’d seen her standing by the tree. Which meant that when he’d knocked her to the ground and straddled her, he’d known exactly what he was doing and to whom.

  Yet again, Cassie had the feeling that she was in the middle of a play, and it was as though everyone except her had a script.

  After what seemed a long time, Jeff suddenly appeared beside her, and again she marveled at how he managed to travel about in the woods in silence.

  “It was nothing,” he said quietly, “just some tourists. We’d better go in and get some sleep before morning.”

  As they started walking, she said, “Which cabin is it that belonged to the robber?”

  This question seemed to catch Jeff off guard, but he recovered in seconds. “That one,” he said, pointing behind them. “The one with the yellow porch light. But someone else owns it now.” He shrugged. “I never had any hope we’d find anything.”

  “Too bad. I would have liked to pull up the floorboards and find a hoard of jewels. Do you know exactly what was stolen?”

  “Historic pieces, I think. Some things that used to belong to Lillie Langtry.”

  “Nice,” Cassie said. “Did you look inside the cabin?”

  “Break and enter, you mean? No, I didn’t.” He sounded almost prudish, as though he’d never think of doing something illegal. He paused for a moment, then said, “But I did make some plans for us, though.”

  “And what are they?”

  “The reason I agreed to come on this wild-goose chase was because an old friend of mine is here this weekend, Leo Norton. I invited him to go on a boat with us tomorrow morning. Can you water-ski?”

  “Never been on them in my life.”

  “Good,” he said. “I’ll teach you.”

  He said it in such a lascivious way that she laughed. She started to reply, but he put his finger to his lips. Their cabin was in front of them and the windows were open. He motioned that he’d go ahead of her. No doubt he thought she couldn’t open a door without making noise. She was tempted to yell out that she and Jeff were back and see what would happen, but she didn’t.

  Minutes later they were inside the cabin and Jeff was mouthing good night to her as he slipped into the bedroom he was sharing with Brent. At least they had twin beds. Cassie quietly went back to the bedroom she shared with Skylar, put on her nightgown, and went back to bed. She was asleep in seconds.

  11

  IT WAS ONLY9A.M . and already Cassie had thought of a thousand ways to murder the obnoxious Leo Norton. She couldn’t believe he was friends with Jeff. In his fifties, with a big belly, and a loud voice, all he did was leer—and his leering was directed solely at Cassie.

  “What’s a little honey like you doin’ with this bunch?” he demanded when he saw her at the boat. She had on a one-piece swimsuit under a loose pair of trousers and a big cotton shirt. It wasn’t exactly what would inspire lust in a man. On the other hand, Skylar was wearing something straight out of Vogue . It was a microscopically tiny bikini, barely covered by a big, semitransparent white jacket that just reached to midthigh. Her big straw hat had a band of the same fabric around it.

  When Skylar walked down to the dock where the boat that Jeff had rented was waiting, she gave Cassie a look up and down, then smiled as she let Brent help her onto the boat.

  Cassie was looking after the huge cooler that held drinks, sandwiches, and fruit. She’d gone to the grocery at seven—it was open for fishermen—and bought lunch for all of them. No more watery pasta.

  Jeff was waiting for her when she returned from the grocery. “You should have told me where you were going,” he said, frowning.

  “I was sneaking off to meet my lover, so I couldn’t tell you,” she said as she handed him a bag of groceries. “Are they up yet?”

  “Yeah,” Jeff said, still frowning. “You look awfully chipper this morning.”

  “And you look grumpy. Has something happened?”

  “No. It’s just that when I got up and you weren’t here I was worried. You should have at least left a note.”

  Cassie stared at his back in wonder as he took the bags to the kitchen. Worried? Because she was out of his sight for forty-five minutes? What in the world was wrong with him? In the year she’d lived in his house, he’d never once worried about her. Was it the idea that a murderer used to own a cabin near here? Was that what was bothering him? Whatever his problem, she was quite happy as she put the groceries away and made sandwiches for the day’s outing. Even when Skylar came into the kitchen, perfectly made up and wearing her beautiful outfit, she didn’t stop smiling.

  But she did stop smiling when she met Leo Norton. He walked onto the porch, pounded on the screen door, and bellowed, asking if anyone was there. Cassie was the only one in the house. She had no idea where Skylar was, but Jeff and Brent had gone to pack the boat.

  “Anybody home?” he asked in an accent that could only be called “redneck.” “I’m a-comin’ in, so get your clothes on,” he said as he entered.

  Cassie put the last of the sandwiches in the cooler with a pack of hot dogs, and went into the living room. He was tall, older, with hair that was one long strand combed over his nearly bald head. His shirt was half out of his trousers. When he saw Cassie, his eyes widened. “Who are you?” he asked in astonishment, then seemed to recover himself quickly. “Well, little lady, who are you? You’re the prettiest thing I’ve seen in a month of Sundays. Do you belong to Jeff or Brent?”

  “I don’t belong to anyone,” she said, trying not to frown. “Are you Mr. Norton?”

  “Sure am, honey, but you gotta call me Leo. All my best friends do. They say I remind them of a lion, so the name fits.” With that, he turned his head to the side and gave a little growl.

  Cassie managed to give him a tiny smile, but she began thinking of excuses as to why she couldn’t go on the boat with them. Spend a whole day with this man? Her stomach turned at the thought.

  “I work for Jeff,” she said. “I’m his daughter’s nanny.”

  “Are ya, now, honey? You can be my nanny any time you want.” He took a step toward her and Cassie backed toward the kitchen.

  “Mr. Norton,” she began, “I don’t think—”

  Jeff opened the door and came into the living room. “Leo, I see you’ve met Cassie. She’s—”

  “Your nanny. She told me.”

  Something that Cassie didn’t understand passed between the dreadful man and Jeff.

  “I was just gettin’ to know this little honey. Why don’t you leave us alone for a while?”

  Jeff moved so his body was between Leo’s and Cassie’s. “Why don’t you go down to the boat and I’ll help Cassie get ready here. Goodwin and Skylar are already on it. I’ll be there in seconds.”

  The man hesitated, but after one more glance at Cassie, he left.

  “That man is a friend of yours?” Cassie asked when she was alone with Jeff.

  “He hasn’t always been that bad,” Jeff said as he went into the kitchen. “Once you get to know him, he’s…” He trailed off. “Is this cooler ready to go?”

  “I don’t like the way he looked at me or the things he said,” Cassie said. “I don’t want to go. You three go without me.”

  “You can’t stay here alone,” Jeff said. “I can’t leave you here.”

  “Then let Brent and Skylar go boating with him, and you can stay here with me.”

  Jeff’s face softened. “I’d love to do that, but I can’t. I mean, Leo is my friend, not theirs. Come on, Cassie. We’ll have fun, I promise.”

  Cassie was torn between wanting time with Jeff and not wanting time with that lecherous, greasy Leo Norton. She looked at Jeff, trying to decide.

  “Please,” he said. “For me.”

  His eyes, looking so full of need, won her over. “Okay,” she said at last, “but if that creep