Final Resort (4 page)

FOUR

S
ergeant Cecil Towers stood politely next to the bed, his dark eyes nearly a match for his dusky skin. His uniform was smartly pressed, fitting his slender frame nicely. A tinge of gray showed on his close-cropped hair. He reached out a hand to straighten the box of tissue on her bedside tray.

Her body reacted viscerally, edging away from the man who was guilty of nothing
but informing her three weeks from the end of her senior year of high school that her mother’s body had been recovered from Melody Lake. Even with her eyes closed she would never forget the tiniest detail of that visit, from the curve of his thin lips to his spotless uniform and the way he wiped his feet meticulously on the doormat before he’d entered Whisper Mountain Lodge.

Ava had gotten
the gist of her situation from the nurses. She’d been more or less out for ten hours. No, she had not lost any fingers or toes amazingly, and no, they knew nothing about her uncle Paul. She remembered Luca being there and although she’d willed herself to ask him, to beg him to tell her of her uncle, her body would not come out of its frozen stupor. Now there was no sign of Luca, but now she had
a cop to pump for information.

“Are the police looking for my uncle?”

The question seemed to startle Towers, who raised an eyebrow and leaned closer. “Hello, there. I thought you were asleep, Ms. Stanton.”

She repeated her question.

“First off, I’ll tell you that we have not found your uncle. Why don’t you go over the whole series of events? I was already briefed by Luca Gage,
but let’s see if you have anything fresh to add.”

She told him every detail.

The Sergeant wrote with precision on a small tablet. When she ran out of words he smiled, revealing a chipped front tooth. “Did your uncle tell you about anyone who might have wished him harm?”

She shook her head.

He eyed her closely. “But there are people, aren’t there? A long list, as a matter of
fact, from disappointed investors, loan sharks...” He flipped back to an earlier page. “Disgruntled husbands.”

Ava felt her face grow hot. “He wasn’t perfect, but he deserves to be found, doesn’t he?”

“Of course. We’ll start a thorough background to come up with a list. In the meantime, we’ve got a crew up on the mountain searching.” He slid his pencil back into his breast pocket. “You
should know,” he said, voice soft. “There has been a lot of snow movement where the machine went over, Ms. Stanton. It may be some time before we can locate the driver or anyone else.”

Ava felt the walls crush in around her. She swallowed hard. “Are you saying if he’s down there, hurt or dying you can’t do anything about it?”

He sighed, as if he had been expecting the question. “The
dogs are out and Search and Rescue, but the snow is continuing to move and the ravine is extremely deep. There’s a storm coming in.” He patted her hand where it lay on the bed, his palm oddly cool. “We’ll do what we can, I promise.”

Tears fell hotly down her cheeks. “He found something, some sort of treasure, and he was abducted. He’s still alive, I know he is. You’re not doing enough to
find him.”

The officer’s eyes hardened for a moment. “Actually, I’m quite eager to take custody of your uncle. He’s the reason I lost part of my front tooth last week.”

Her mouth fell open. She was vaguely aware of Luca standing in the doorway, but she was too dumbfounded to pay him much heed. “My uncle broke your tooth?”

“To be fair, I walked into a dispute between your uncle and
a local here in town. The local was extremely angry and threw an ashtray which intercepted my tooth instead of your uncle’s face, although he deserved it more, no doubt.” Another ghost of a smile that left no warmth in his eyes.

Ava groaned. “What did my uncle do this time?”

“Seems he sold the gentleman a necklace claiming it was an expensive antique.” Sergeant Towers raised an eyebrow.
“It was more along the lines of cheap costume jewelry. Of course the local was booked for assault, but by the time I’d sorted that out, your uncle had already taken off.” The slight smile didn’t leave his face. “So you see, if your uncle is still alive, I’m looking forward to speaking with him.”

Towers wished her a good afternoon and promised to contact her soon before he left. Ava bit her
lip. Uncle Paul’s sins were catching up with him. Or was he already dead? Buried under a ton of snow and ice until the spring would release his body?

Through blurry eyes she saw Luca approach the bed. He was no longer the rambunctious teen she’d known. His shoulders were now impossibly broad, face filled out and the shadow of a beard showing on his unshaven face. How could he look so strong,
so healthy in that all-American way as if he hadn’t nearly drowned along with her? Someone had supplied him with dry jeans that clung to his long legs and a T-shirt that was too tight for his biceps. She swiped at her eyes with the sheet.

Luca stared at her, eyes wandering over her bruised face. “How are you feeling?”

“How am I feeling? How would you be feeling if it was your uncle?”
She clamped her lips together, mortified.
I’m sorry, I’m sorry,
she wanted to say, but she could not summon up the strength to make herself say it.

His cheeks colored slightly, the only reaction. “Right. Dumb question. Sorry. Let’s stick to business, then. I’ve done some checking around. Your uncle didn’t make many friends here. He was looking for something, following the trail of a wealthy
man who used to live up the mountain.”

She looked Luca over more closely, noting a bruise that darkened his cheekbone. He had no business walking out on that frozen lake to get her. She should be gracious, express her thanks. Instead, she wished with all her heart that he would go away and take his calm “I’m in charge” attitude with him. Now, above all things, she did not need him around,
this wealthy successful man who made her stomach jump for some strange reason.

He continued to regard her with a contemplative look. “You said your uncle thought he found a treasure. What was it?”

“I don’t know.”

“He didn’t give you any idea? Coins? Old stock certificates? Did he mention anything like that?”

“I said I don’t know.”

He thought for a moment. “We have to find
out. It will lead us to whoever did this.”

She gritted her teeth. “Look, I know you hunt for treasure professionally now, but...”

He suddenly flashed her a mischievous grin. “My exploits have reached even this humble hamlet?”

Her cheeks burned at the slip. So she’d kept tabs on his career. Who wouldn’t? It was just an occasional internet search on an old high school friend. No,
an acquaintance. She knew about the Gage siblings and their treasure hunting business that had recovered numerous rich prizes for private clients. But she had no intention of allowing him to become involved in her current mess. “You’ve done enough.” She swallowed hard. “Thank you for getting me out of the water.” She kept her eyes riveted to the faded Smokey the Bear on the front of his shirt. “I’ll
find out what happened to him on my own.”

“How?”

“I’ll hire someone. A detective.”

Luca cocked his head. “It just so happens that Treasure Seekers is setting up a temporary satellite office right here in town until Uncle Paul’s situation is resolved. Stephanie and Tate are already hard at work. Victor promises to join us when he can.”

“No.” She shook her head, sending a pain
shooting up her neck. “You have a business to run
.
”
No doubt a girlfriend waiting in San Francisco.
“I don’t want you involved.”

His smile was gentle. “I already am.”

“You’re not. You should leave.”

He folded his arms, brows drawn together. “I almost didn’t make it out of that lake, either. That’s something I take personally. Whatever your uncle found, someone was willing to kill
you to get their hands on it. Maybe it’s not a treasure, but then again, maybe it is.”

She closed her eyes. “No, Luca. I don’t want your help.” When she opened them again, he was staring at her.

He sighed. “All right. Cards on the table. I have another reason for staying. I got a call from your father.”

She stiffened. “Is he...”

“He’s fine. The police called him to notify him
about your accident. Because he couldn’t talk to you, he called my father.”

She should have known. Bruce had been friends with Wyatt Gage since their days serving together in Vietnam.

“He said to tell you he’ll come as soon as he’s fit to travel.”

Ava groaned. She did not want her father on a plane so soon after a surgery to relieve pressure on his lower back. She’d just returned
from visiting him. “I’ll call him. Tell him I’m okay.”

Luca nodded. “The doctors filled him in. He asked me to look into the situation, to find out what happened to your uncle and what he was after because he thinks it might endanger you.”

She felt like screaming. “He can’t stand Uncle Paul. He just wants him out of my life.”

Luca appeared unsure how to respond.

“My uncle was
looking for something, some sort of treasure. All I know is he was planning to buy an unclaimed storage unit. He told me a while back that he thought it might have belonged to a rich family, I think the name was Danson, but I don’t know anything else, okay?”

“Okay. That’s a place to start.”

She drew herself up as high as she could against the pillows. “I don’t want help. I can take care
of myself.”

He grinned. “That much I already know. I remember how you could make it down the mountain no matter how rough the snow or how bad the weather. You beat me every time we raced, and that bugged me like nobody’s business.”

She felt a small thrill that he remembered their time together as vividly as she did. “Proves my point,” she said.

He bent slightly so he could look
her full in the face and her stomach fluttered just like it had in high school when she drew near the popular, easygoing Luca Gage.

“Your father and my father go way back,” Luca was saying. “He’s asked me to look into this matter. I’m going to find a treasure if there is one and figure out what happened to your uncle Paul, because that’s what I do.”

“So it doesn’t matter what I want?”
she demanded, sitting up higher against the pillows.

“No,” he said, turning to the door and giving her a cheerful smile. “It doesn’t.”

* * *

Luca found his sister waiting in the lobby, drumming manicured fingers against the dark denim of her jeans.

He shrugged. “She’s okay. No permanent damage.”

Stephanie’s lips curved. “And I’m guessing from the look on your face, she
wants you to leave her alone?”

He didn’t answer.

“And I’m also guessing you’re not going to cooperate?”

He paced to the window. “This isn’t about Ava. I gave my word to her father. We’re going to find out if there really is a treasure. It’s the only way to find the person who abducted Paul and sent us to the bottom of the lake.”

She watched him pace the beige tiled floor. “Typically,
that’s the police’s job, crime solving and all that.”

“This time they’re going to have help. What do you know about John Danson? Paul might have bought his unclaimed storage unit.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Danson? I remember we came across that name in one of our cases way back. He was a bit of an eccentric, the sole survivor of a wealthy family, but mentally unstable. I read in the paper
he died six months ago, leaving no heirs and not much of an inheritance because he donated the family fortune to charity over the years.”

“Not all of it. I remember reading that there was one item in the Danson treasure trove, a particularly valuable one, that never turned up.”

She stretched her slender arms over her head and yawned. “And you happen to think Paul found that particular
item?”

“Ava said her uncle was after Danson’s storage unit.”

She stood and smoothed her leather jacket. “Luca, even though you’re a big dope sometimes, I love you anyway, so I have to say, this is dangerous.”

He grunted. “What’s dangerous? It couldn’t be worse than getting caught in a burning building.”

She shivered, no doubt reliving the perils of their last treasure hunt
for a stolen violin that almost cost both Stephanie and Tate their lives. He was sorry for his joke. Another stupid remark from big-mouth brother. “Hey, I’m sorry. Poor taste.”

She waved a hand. “Not that kind of dangerous. The kind of danger that comes from getting involved in complicated family business. Bruce doesn’t like Paul. Ava loves him. Is the truth going to make things better or
worse?”

He turned away, gazing out the window into the piles of dirty snow churned up along the newly plowed road. “I don’t know.”

She came close and put a hand on his arm, voice soft, her head barely reaching his shoulder. “And I remember how you used to show off for Ava. I always thought you had a thing for her.”

“I showed off for all the girls, not just Ava.” He gave her a squeeze.
“This is professional. Treasure hunting only. That’s all I’m here for.”

Stephanie chewed her lip. “Did you tell her Dad is interested in buying Whisper?”

“No, that seemed like a little much for the moment. I’ll tell her at a better time.”

Something flickered in her eyes, but mercifully, she did not comment. “Because I know better than to argue when you have your jaw set like that,
I’ll work on the details. The first thing is to find a temporary space for Treasure Seekers. Gold Summit is booked solid for the next two weeks. I’m still looking for a place.”

He nodded, relieved to be hammering out a plan. “Doesn’t have to be fancy. An internet hookup, a couple of mattresses on the floor, and I’m fine.”

“Speak for yourself. I require better accommodations than that,
and it’s gotta take dogs.”

“Dogs?”

She nodded. “Until Ava is sprung and takes possession of Mack Dog, he’s your new hairy little brother.”

He laughed. “I always wanted another brother. Victor is no good at fetch.”

“Swell, then you can share your mattress with him. Tate filled up his pockets with dog biscuits and took him for a walk.”