All Night Long

fantasies. In fact, you may get her into some real bad trouble.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    Sam hesitated. “When I told Senator Webb about the fire, the first thing he asked me was whether o ot I thought Irene had set it.”
    This was bad news, Luke thought.
    “You told him no, right?” he said evenly.
    “I told him I didn’t have any suspects yet. But between you and me, Webb figures Irene may have los t after she found Pamela’s body. He’s thinking that she torched the house because of some kind o razy fixation.”
    “You’ve got my statement backing up Irene’s version of what happened.”
    “I told the senator that you were there and what you saw,” Sam said. “Thing is, like a lot of other people around here, Webb figures you’re sleeping with Irene. To his way of thinking that means you’re not the most reliable witness. He also pointed out that you’re new here in town. No one knows much about you.”
    “What’s the senator planning to do about his burned-out house?”
    Sam’s expression hardened. “The man’s making arrangements to bury his daughter.
    He doesn’t want

    any more trouble. He just wants to make this whole thing go away.”
    “Looks like he’s using you to make sure that happens,” Luke said.
    Sam turned a dark, furious shade of red. “What the hell are you saying, Danner?”
    “I’m saying it’s not your job to make things go away for Senator Webb.”
    Luke put the SUV in gear and drove back onto the road that led to the lodge.

Twenty-One
    “They met in the cool, fragrant shadows of the red wine fermentation cellars. Most of the big California wineries had opted for modern steel fermentation tanks for their big reds, but Elena Creek Vineyards had used a lot of oak right from the start. The wood, imported from Europe, added distinctive characteristics not only to the cabernets but to the very air of the cellars.
    Jason inhaled deeply, as he always did when he entered the cavernous room. He loved the place. He savored everything about it, from the big vats to the unique smells created in the magical process of fermentation.
    “Did he look depressed?” Katy asked anxiously.
    “We’re talking about Luke,” Jason reminded her. “If he was depressed, he sure as heck wouldn’t make it obvious. Never knew anyone who could hide his feelings as well as Big Brother. But no, I don’t think he was depressed. If you ask me, he’s having a very good time up there at Ventana Lake.”
    Her eyes widened. “A good time?”
    Jason smiled. “Yep.”
    Hackett folded his arms and propped a shoulder against one of the fermentation tanks. “How could h e having a good time? You said he found a dead woman and nearly got incinerated in a house fire.”

    “Yeah, well, you know Luke,” Jason said. “He’s got an odd kick to his gallop when it comes to fun.”
    “Or anything else,” Hackett said wearily. “Damn. The Old Man isn’t going to like this. Neither is Mom.”
    “Or Dad, for that matter,” Katy said. She rubbed her temples. “They’re all so worried about Luke.”
    “I thought it would make them feel better knowing that he’s not sitting around that tumbledown lodge, getting drunk on bad wine and staring at the lake day in and day out,” Jason said, going for reasonableness. “Plus he’s got a new girlfriend. That should be very reassuring to everyone.”
    Katy looked at him with an expression of suddenly sharp interest. “Do you think they’re sleeping together?”
    Hackett was also watching him closely, Jason realized.
    “Well?” Hackett demanded.
    “Maybe not quite yet,” Jason admitted. “Irene arrived at the lodge only a couple of days ago. I got the impression that the first night she and Luke were sort of busy finding the body. The second night there was that business with the arson. Things have been a little hectic up there at the lake.”
    “And extremely stressful, from the sound of it.” Katy sighed. “You know Dr. Van Dyke says that Luke should not be subjected to too much stress.”
    “I’m just telling you that it’s not like Luke and Irene have had a lot of time or opportunity for romance,” Jason explained. “But there’s definitely something going on between those two. I’m sure of it. When you’re in the room with that pair, you can almost hear the sizzle.”
    Hackett and Katy looked at him with expressions of acute doubt.
    “The question,” Hackett said, “is whether the sizzle fizzles before it