Hart To Hart (6 page)

“Found some aspirin.” Vic stepped close and held out two pills and a glass of orange juice.

His presence made her pulse rise, which only caused the pounding to worsen. “Thanks, but do me a favor?”

“Sure.”

“Don’t let me drink again. Ever.”

He chuckled. “I think you’ve learned your lesson. What made you do it?”

She shrugged. “Just all the shit coming down at once made for some bad decisions.” She swallowed the pills, along with half the juice, and handed him back the glass.

“Come sit at the table and have a bite,” he said.

She agreed mostly because she wanted to know what he’d found out. Once seated, she placed a few bites of scrambled eggs on her plate, along with a slice of bacon and a half piece of whole-wheat toast. “May I have some coffee?” She nodded to the white carafe next to him.

He poured them both a cup. “Drink and I’ll tell you what Amy found out.”

From the way he was frowning, it wasn’t good. Oh, shit. “Was it Hilton? Or Brian?”

“Neither.”

She should be relieved, but that only left Cal. “Then it was Cal Forsythe. Damn. That little creep.”

“Wasn’t him either.”

While she ate, Vic loaded up his iPad then turned it toward her. She watched as a woman with shoulder length brown hair sat at a computer. “Who is she?”

He cocked a brow. “I was hoping you could tell me. I thought it might be Wendy.”

She shook her head, not happy he believed she could have been fooled like that. “Wendy cut her hair short and dyed it blonde a few months back.” The video stopped. “You don’t have one of her face?”

“No. She was careful to keep it averted. It was as if she knew the camera’s location.”

“You’re sure she sent the message?”

“Yes.”

Ellie finished a few bites then sipped her coffee, hoping the caffeine would help the headache. “Why would a woman send me creepy emails?”

“It’s possible that Brian dumped her before dating you. Maybe she’s worried you two are still a couple.”

“I suppose, though it’s not likely. She had a piece of paper in her hand. It’s as if she’s just following instructions.”

Vic’s eyes widened, seemingly impressed. She glanced away, not happy that he looked so young all of a sudden—so like he used to when she first met him.

“If you give me the rest of the names of the people in your class,” he said, “I’ll do a quick background check on them.”

Vic was going above and beyond the call of duty. “Can do.”

After she finished eating as much as she could, Ellie’s head didn’t ache as much and her stomach seemed to be settling. She wrote down the information he asked for. “That’s all of them.”

Vic slapped his thighs and stood. “Are you going to be okay by yourself?”

“Yes. If I go out, I’ll be sure to stay on the main drag. Or, I’ll download a book and stay in and read.”

“Good. I’ll let you know if I find anything.” His tone had turned professional. That worked for her.

Vic nodded and left. Ellie had debated apologizing for her behavior last night, but she wasn’t ready to talk about what she did. Knowing Vic, it would only lead them to a place she didn’t want to go.

Chapter Five

N
ever having mastered
the art of sleeping comfortably in a chair, Vic rolled his shoulders to work out the kinks. As much as he’d like to stretch out on his office floor and take a nap, he had to keep working. If he didn’t, his mind would wander back to El. Beautiful El. The last five years had made her a resilient woman, yet at the same time, a lost soul. He didn’t dare speculate why.

With the list of suspects before him, he went to work researching each person, starting with Hilton Davies then moving on to Brian Lovett, before tackling El’s best friend, Wendy Jackson. He refused to draw any conclusions until he knew what each of them ate for breakfast. One of them had to have a reason for targeting El.

Sharon had offered to do a lunch run for him and then, five hours later, ran out and picked up dinner. She’d earned a raise this week for sure.

She set the container of fish, steamed broccoli, and coleslaw on his desk. “You plan on working all night?” He could see from the way she was shifting her weight that she wanted to get home. It was Friday night, after all, and last week she’d met someone new.

He looked up at her. “You go ahead. I’m working my way through the last of the suspects.”

“You’re the one who needs to go home. Your eyes are bloodshot. You’ll be fresher in the morning. You always are.”

He smiled, but it took an effort. “I’ll eat and then decide my next move. Thanks for holding down the fort today.” She’d fielded several phone calls, telling people Vic could not be disturbed. She acted more like his keeper than his secretary. “Go. Have a good weekend.”

“You can rest assured I will. Got a date tonight.” She grinned.

He was happy for her. After she headed out, Vic began with the members of El’s class, starting with Cal Forsythe because he seemed to be the most interesting of the lot. Vic quickly learned that Cal’s father had died when he was five. That might not have been so bad had his mother not been a drunk. Cal was eleven when she passed away from alcohol poisoning. After that, he was put in a foster home. His first foster parents were artists and taught him to appreciate art, but when they couldn’t afford to keep him, he went back in the system. From some of the awards Cal had won, he had some artistic talent.

The man was forty-one, but the only picture Vic found of him was as a twenty-five year old. He had classic good looks despite being on the thin side. El claimed he had a crush on her. As someone who might be able to help Cal with his career, it made sense he’d gravitate toward her. The motive for him stalking her wasn’t apparent, however. Damn.

Vic had to be missing something. He leaned back in his chair and stretched. It was almost nine. Sharon was right. Things might be clearer in the morning, so he packed up his files and laptop and headed out. Wow. He hadn’t expected snow. The wind was quite still, making it pretty but cold.

His mind continued to swirl with scenarios as he headed out of town toward his house. Vic wasn’t ready to eliminate Hilton, but he seemed the least likely suspect. The man’s wife had passed away seven years ago, and she left him quite a lot of money, much of which he’d invested in the Davies-Hart Gallery. Surely, he had to know that El was no longer seeing Brian, which might explain the flowers, but not the emails and texts. Unless, what El said was right—that they were dealing with more than one person. That would complicate things.

Halfway to his house, a pair of headlights came behind him—fast—and he flipped up the rearview mirror to prevent the glare from blinding him. With no streetlights this far out, he couldn’t see much. Vic slowed then moved closer to the side of the road to let this ass pass. The lights drew near. Just as Vic was about to press hard on the accelerator to speed up, the guy rammed the back of Vic’s SUV.

What the fuck?

He gripped the wheel tight and slammed on the brakes, but the large truck behind him had the momentum. One minute Vic was on the road and the next he was sliding down the snowy embankment, bouncing on two wheels and then flipping over. Upside down, the car slid on the roof, jarring Vic right and left, his head hitting the side window with force. Shit. The seatbelt yanked him back as his body tried to fly forward. Glass broke and Vic’s face was sliced open. Blood trickled down his cheek. The car rammed into something solid, and then blackness engulfed him.

*     *     *

The ringing phone
in Ellie’s dream caused her to jerk in her sleep. She was in the middle of a recurring dream in which she was young, thin, and happy. She and Vic were holding hands, wading ankle-deep in the clear blue waters of the Caribbean. They’d been married only a few years but were still talking about their exciting future—how he wanted to protect mankind while she wanted to make the world a better place, one brush stroke at a time. Then his cell rang, like it always did at this point. It was the call they knew was coming—the one that would signal the end. Vic was being deployed.

Every time she reached this part, Ellie had woken up—the rest of the vacation bitter, argumentative, and very painful. Then why was the phone still ringing if Vic’s cell was at his ear and he was talking?

A rush of reality reached her. Her phone was ringing. She jerked awake, but it took a moment to recognize that she was not at home but rather in Montana. She reached across the bed to the hotel phone. “Hello?”

She glanced at the glowing clock. It was three in the morning. WTF?

“Ms. Hart?”

“Yes. Who is this?” Had her stalker finally decided to confront her?

“This is Dr. Randy Carstead. I work at the Emergency Room of the Lucy Ambrose Center For Excellence Hospital.”

Was this a joke? No hospital had that many names. “Okay.”

“I’m calling to let you know your husband was in a car accident this evening.”

“What?” Her heart pounded, and suddenly the cobwebs that had a strong hold on her mind disintegrated.

“He’s fine even though someone ran him off the road. The paramedics on the scene said he was lucky to be alive.”

Ellie’s heart sputtered and then froze for a moment. She wanted to tell the doctor that Vic wasn’t her husband, but no words would form. Fine could mean a lot of different things. “How is he? Really.”

“We’re still assessing him now, ma’am. He’s conscious and seems—”

Just conscious? How is that fine? “Can I see him?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Dr. Carstead gave her directions. “Be prepared for a belligerent patient, though. I’ve given him a pain pill that should kick in soon.”

This almost made her smile. Vic’s feistiness implied he’d be okay. “Thank you for letting me know.”

When she hung up, she needed a moment to process what happened. This was all her fault. She never should have come to Montana and chance drawing this mad man out here. Whoever she’d pissed off, wanted to harm the people she cared for. Damn him.

As fast as she could, she dressed. Her head pounded anew with another headache. Poor Vic. As soon as she knew the extent of his injuries, she’d call Charlotte to let her know.

Ellie rushed out, got halfway to the elevator then had to return because she’d forgotten her phone. Christ. Where was her head? On her second attempt to leave the hotel, she’d made it as far as the front door before she realized she’d forgotten her car keys. Double shit. Back upstairs she went for hopefully her last trip. Finally, she made outside.
Really?

Snow was falling heavily. Finding her way to the hospital would be hard enough in the middle of the night. She didn’t need the roads to be slippery. Ugh. Ellie inhaled to help gather her thoughts, but all that did was freeze her nose hairs. Being careful not to slip, she reached her car and jumped in. The engine turned over but she let it run thirty seconds for the inside to warm.

She took off, still not believing Vic was in the hospital. Driving under the speed limit, she headed east on Second Avenue then north on Arbor Way. The last thing either of them needed was for her to wreck. While it was probably less than two miles, it seemed like twenty. The hospital lot was almost deserted, which allowed her to park close to the Emergency Room entrance.

Pulling her coat tightly across her chest and keeping her head down, Ellie rushed inside. At the nurse’s station, she asked for information about Vic. As the nurse typed his name into her computer, an angry voice sounded at the end of the hall, and the tension in her body released. It was Vic, issuing orders like he used to.

“He’s in room seven,” the nurse said nodding to her left.

“Thank you.” Ellie straightened her shoulders and hurried toward the room.

Just as she placed her hand on the curtain to pull it back, a tall, broad shouldered doctor stepped out.

“Oh. Are you Mrs. Hart?”

She didn’t want to mislead him. “I’m Ellie Hart, Vic’s ex-wife.”

“I’m glad you’re here.” He didn’t address the
ex
part.

“How is he?”

“He’ll make a full recovery. Vic does have a concussion, a small cut on his forehead, a gash on his back, and a dislocated shoulder. As you can imagine, he’s chomping at the bit to go home, but I was hoping you could watch him for a day or two. Concussions can be tricky and Vic is a stubborn SOB.”