Eclipse Bay

think he’d make the same mistake with me.”
    “He seems to like you very much.”
    “Guess that’ll have to do. For now.”
    She tilted her head slightly. “I guess so. For now.”
    He lay there unmoving, intensely conscious of the warmth of her hip where it rested against his thigh and the elegantly sensual curve of her shoulder. He could not shake the feeling of destiny that rippled through him. It was the same sensation that had come over him the day he opened the letter from Isabel’s lawyer.
    “What are you thinking?” she asked.
    Don’t let the feeling run away with you, he warned himself. Stay on top of it. Stay in control. Don’t think about the future. Stay with the present.
    But the future was so important now.
    He inhaled slowly, centering himself. “I was thinking about the subject that we were discussing before we were so delightfully interrupted.”
    “I believe you were holding forth on a theory that whoever tried to murder Winston might have been attempting to express his displeasure over our relationship.”
    “You don’t have to say it in that tone of voice. It’s a good theory. But I never got a chance to explain the finer points.”
    “I’m listening.”
    “I didn’t mean to imply that whoever tried to off Winston did so because he was pissed about the fact that you and I are sleeping together. What I was going to suggest was that he or she might be worried about something else altogether.”
    “Such as?”
    “Think about it,” he said patiently. “Ever since we arrived here in Eclipse Bay, there has been talk. It hasn’t all been focused on the speculation that one of us is trying to screw the other out of Dreamscape.”
    She winced. “What a delicate way to put it.”
    He ignored her. “There’s also been gossip about what happened eight years ago.”
    “Oh, for pity’s sake. You actually think that some people still care whether or not we had sex on the beach that night?”
    “No. The conversations have circled around the subject of Kaitlin Sadler’s death. You heard the Willis brothers. Others are talking, too. I overheard a couple of folks in the vegetable aisle at Fulton’s chatting about how no one was really sure what happened that night. One of them suggested that Yates might have closed the case a little too quickly, for lack of suspects.”
    Hannah’s lips parted as understanding struck. “Kaitlin died a long time ago. Who would care if there was fresh talk going around about an old tragedy?”
    “Someone who thinks that I really did murder Kaitlin might care. A lot.”
    She froze. “Dell Sadler. But why would he try to harm my dog?”
    “As far as Dell is concerned, you covered for me that night. You’re involved.”
    “You think he would have tried to harm Winston as a way of taking some revenge?”
    “I think,” Rafe said deliberately, “that we’d better talk to him.”

chapter 17
    The faded sign over the gate read SADLER’S AUTO RE-BUILD . Beneath it, in slightly smaller letters, were the words 24- HOUR TOWING . And below that was the phrase SPECIALIZING IN INSURANCE WORK . But the chain-link fence that enclosed the metal carcasses of ruined automobiles and the big dog with the massive head sprawled in front of the trailer sent a slightly different message. This was a junkyard.
    Hannah took one look at the huge dog and decided to leave Winston in the car. “Whatever you do, don’t let him out,” she said as Rafe opened the door on his side.
    Rafe eyed the animal lying in the shade of the tattered awning that shielded the trailer door. “Have a little faith. We’re talking brains versus brawn here. My money’s on Winston.”
    “We are not going to put that to the test.” Hannah looked at Winston through the two-inch crack she had left between the window and the top of the car door frame. “Don’t do anything to provoke that beast, understand?”
    Winston whined softly. His rear legs were planted on the seat she had just vacated, his front paws braced against the door. Ears alert, nose quivering, he stared through the window, his whole attention concentrated on the other dog.
    Hannah shuddered at the thought of what might happen if Winston got out of the car. She checked the passenger door to make certain that it was firmly shut and then sent Rafe a warning glance over the low roof of the Porsche.
    “Be sure you close that door firmly.”
    “You worry too much,” Rafe said. He gave the Porsche door a rather casual push.