Midnight Jewels

stereo from one of the cars in the parking lot and got three wallets from first floor guest rooms before he made his assault on our floor. It was obvious me intruder was just checking all possibilities."
    "It looks that way, doesn't it?" Mercy frowned down at the package in her hand. It was true that the thief had covered a lot of territory. Surely anyone who had been after
Valley
wouldn't have bothered with a car stereo and a few wallets. "Who could have known about
Valley
in the first place? Unless the clerk told someone he'd put something valuable in the safe this evening. It doesn't make any sense."
    "You're sure you didn't see anything of that man's face when he went past your window?" Croft asked quietly as he studied her bent head.
    "No. It was just a figure in black sliding past my window. He halted for a second when I screamed and then he was gone." Mercy's head came up abruptly as she remembered exactly which direction the man had vanished. "He was headed toward your window."
    Croft said nothing, watching her intent face as she worked through the possibilities.
    "In fact," Mercy whispered slowly, "he could have gone onto your ledge, slipped into your room and—"
    "Stripped off his clothes and appeared at your door a few seconds later in response to your scream?" Croft finished for her, not sounding particularly alarmed at the obvious conclusion. "Forget it. It wasn't me you heard going past your window tonight, Mercy."
    His cool denial irked her. "You expect me to take everything you say at face value. How do I know it wasn't you running along my window ledge two hours ago?"
    His eyes met hers. "Because if it had been me out there you wouldn't have heard a tiling." There was no trace of boastfulness in the words, it was just a statement of fact.
    A ghost. You didn't hear a ghost when it moved. He was right.
    Mercy sighed and set
Valley
beside her on the rumpled bed. "Well, I guess that's it, then. Just a casual bit of roadside violence. The desk clerk will survive and the intruder gets away with a car stereo and three wallets."
    "Mercy."
    "Yes, Croft?"
    "There is another possibility." He spoke far too gently as he leaned back in his chair, rested his elbows on the edge and laced his strong hands under his chin. His hazel eyes were brooding and thoughtful.
    "Somehow," Mercy responded wearily, "I was afraid you were going to say that. I'm not sure I want to hear this, Croft."
    "I think it's time you did. There are a few tilings you should know about me and
Valley of Secret Jewels
."
    Mercy touched the paper wrapping around the book, aware of a deep sadness welling up inside her. Angrily she fought it down. She had sensed from the beginning that Croft's presence in her life wasn't going to be simple and straightforward. Still, a part of her wanted to resist hearing the full truth. She was certain that everything would change once she did. "If there are things I should know, why didn't you tell me before this?"
    "Look at me, Mercy."
    She gave him one quick, resentful glance and then went back to staring at the package beside her. "Just say what you have to say and get it over with, Croft. But this time around why don't you save us both a lot of time and effort? Tell me the truth."
    "I've never lied to you."
    "Have you told me all the truth?" she countered tightly.
    "No."
    "Why not?"
    "Because until now there's been no need for you to know. All I had was a handful of questions I wanted answered. No facts, no real leads, no hard information, except for that copy of
Valley
."
    Mercy yanked her fingers away from the package and sat waiting. "What about this copy of
Valley
?"
    "It shouldn't exist. It should have been destroyed in a fire three years ago, along with a man named Egan Graves and everything in his collection."
    "Why are you so concerned about its reappearance?"
    "If
Valley
escaped the fire, there's the possibility Graves did, too."
    "How do you happen to know all this?" Her voice was a thin reed of sound.
    "I was there the night of the fire."
    Mercy drew in her breath, afraid to move. "Where?"
    "At Graves' estate down in the Caribbean."
    "Did you set the fire?"
    Craft shook his head. "No. It's not my way. I hadn't planned to use fire. There was a fight near the estate's dectrical room. A guard threw a small grenade and something exploded. The fire just blew up and consumed everything. Or nearly everything. Afterward I thought it was all over. There was no evidence that Graves had survived. I didn't see