As Good as Dead (Angel Delaney Mysteries Book #3) (Angel Delaney Mystery) Read online

  The sun was going down, and as had become their evening ritual, they planned to watch the flaming red ball dip into the sea. This was the first opportunity they’d had to talk, and Angel was anxious to learn what, if anything, Callen’s investigation into the shooting had unearthed.

  Callen ruffled her hair when she asked. “Do we really have to talk about work?” His breath fluttered the wisps of hair on her cheek.

  No, I’d much rather sit here and kiss you. “Yes. For now, anyway. Nick told you where Luke had been staying. Did you learn anything?” Wanting Callen’s take first, she didn’t tell him she’d talked to the people after he’d been there. He might tell her to back off, and she didn’t want to do that.

  He took a sip of tea and set the glass back on the table. “The license plate turned up a rental car. It had been rented to a Hal Perkins from Cheyenne, Wyoming.”

  “That’s where the money order was sent from to pay Nick back.”

  “Right. Hal Perkins’s name came up in our search, but it wasn’t Luke. The guy is eighty years old and in a nursing home. The credit card was set up five years ago but has never been used, so there’s no balance.”

  “Why was Luke using this guy’s name?” Angel hated thinking her brother could be involved in identity theft, and she found herself making excuses for his behavior. After all, it wasn’t as though Luke had stolen the man’s identity. As Callen said, there was no balance in the account, and the card hadn’t been used.

  “He needed credentials,” Callen said. “I’m thinking we’ve hit a dead end. We’ll keep trying. Maybe we’ll get a hit on the photo. In the meantime, we’re trying to track down the shooter. Nick says he didn’t see a car. The guy came out of the woods acting like he was hurt. Nick got out of his car, and the guy started shooting.”

  “I’m surprised Nick is still alive.”

  “He’s smart. He dropped to the ground and pretended to be dead. The guy came close enough to take a picture, then took off.”

  “A picture?”

  “That’s one of the reasons we’re thinking it was a hired gun. Took the picture and sent it to his boss to prove he’d done the job.”

  Angel felt sick. “Hard to believe anyone could be that cold.”

  “Mmm.” Callen pulled her closer. “There are a lot of people out there devoid of a conscience. Killing to them is no different than what stepping on a spider might be to you or me.”

  Angel shuddered. She didn’t even like to do that. “I wonder if he realizes Nick is alive?”

  “If he does, he’ll try again, and we’ll get him. We have round-the-clock guards posted, and a lot of the guys are volunteering to do it.”

  Angel sighed. “Good. Do you think there’s any connection between the shooting and the letter bomb?”

  “It’s possible, though we won’t know any real details for a few days. The lab is backed up and weeks behind. We do know there were only two sets of identifiable prints, yours and the mailman’s.”

  “We can stop talking shop now,” she said.

  “Good.” He kissed her forehead.

  As the sky went crazy with color, Angel prayed for Nick and Luke and Peter and Paul. Just before dinner she’d reached Paul via his cell phone. He assured her that he and Peter had no ulterior motives and that they really had gone to Florida to deal with some problems at their resort. Angel just wished she could believe him.

  At 10:00 the following morning, Tim called asking Angel and their mother to meet him for lunch at the resort that Peter and Paul owned near Sunset Cove. The place was posh and very spendy. She suspected their meals would be on the house; still, it seemed odd that Tim would want to meet them there. He tended to prefer simpler, less expensive places.

  Anna decided it was Tim’s way of taking her mind off her troubles. “He’s like that, you know. Going out of his way. He does too much sometimes.”

  Angel nodded, hoping Tim wasn’t planning to talk to Ma about Luke. “Let’s take our swimsuits,” Angel suggested. “After lunch we can go to the day spa and maybe swim.”

  Anna chuckled. “You can bring your suit, dear. I’ll lounge by the pool, maybe read. The day spa sounds nice, though. Why don’t we see if Ingrid can work us in for a massage.”

  While Ma made the call, Angel went into Luke’s old room and turned on her mother’s computer. Hers had crashed—or rather been destroyed when vandals had broken into her apartment, wanting revenge for Billy Dean’s death. They blamed her; still did, even though the grand jury had cleared her.

  Rather than buy a new machine, she used Anna’s. Angel wasn’t one of those check-your-email-every-day people. Usually the only mail she got was advertisements, which she tried to block, but they came anyway. She rarely gave out her email address, preferring to talk on the phone or face to face. As soon as she heard her mother hang up the phone, Angel went online.

  Though Callen seemed to have come to a dead end, Angel decided to dig a bit deeper into the Hal Perkins thing. The night before she’d hardly slept, ruminating over how Luke would have chosen the name of an old man in Wyoming and be carrying around the man’s credit card.

  She tried to put herself in Luke’s place. He had gone to pick up the witness and probably found him and the guard dead. Had he run for his life at that point? He’d later called Nick and asked for money, which was wired to Fort Myers and then repaid via a money order from Cheyenne.

  She typed Cheyenne into the search space and hit the enter key. For the next half hour she clicked around the city’s official website, finally finding a list of nursing home facilities. Angel wrote down the phone numbers and called them. The second one yielded fruit. The woman who answered told her that yes, they did have a Hal Perkins as a resident.

  “How long has he been there?”

  “Probably ten years. Why the interest in Hal? I just spoke to a detective in Oregon yesterday about poor Mr. Perkins. When I told him how old Hal was, he apologized and said they’d made a mistake.”

  “What an odd coincidence,” Angel said. “Actually, I’m not looking for Mr. Perkins. His name was on something that belonged to my brother, Luke Delaney. Luke has been missing for six years, and I’m thinking he may have worked there.”

  “Your brother is missing? I’m so sorry. But I don’t recall that name at all.”

  “He may have been using another name at the time.” Angel asked for an email address. “I’ll send you a couple of photos. Maybe you could look at them and tell me if you recognize either of them.”

  “All right. I’ll look at them and call you back.”

  Angel scanned in the photo Callen had given her as well as Luke’s graduation picture.

  The woman from the nursing home called back within minutes. “I know the young man from the photo. He worked here as an aide for nearly a year. Nice boy, kept to himself. Worked hard and did an awful lot of overtime. His name wasn’t Luke, though. What was it?” she murmured. “Jack. That’s it. I don’t recall the last name, but I could look it up in our personnel records. I’ll try to get it by tomorrow and email you.”

  Angel thanked her. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”

  “Glad I could help. I hope you find him. Terrible thing to have a family member missing. I’ll be praying you find him.”

  Angel could hardly wait to tell Callen.

  Tim was already seated, and a man who appeared to be in his late fifties or early sixties was sitting across from him. They both stood when they saw Angel and Anna. Angel took the seat next to Tim, and Anna slipped into the seat the older gentleman was holding out for her.

  “Mom, Angel, this is Professor Ethan Hathaway.”

  The professor smiled, shaking Anna’s hand, then Angel’s. His handshake was firm but not too firm. He had blue eyes and handsome features. Important looking, Angel decided.

  She tossed Tim a questioning look. What’s this about?

  He ignored the look. “The professor came to see me this morning. He used to teach at Harvard.”

&
nbsp; It took less than two seconds for the name of the school and the name of the professor to register. “Dr. Hathaway.” Anna turned to look at him again. “Luke’s law professor?”

  “I thought you’d like to meet him.” Tim smiled.

  “Of course.” Anna’s eyes filled with tears as they always did when anyone mentioned Luke’s name.

  “I hope you don’t mind the intrusion, but Luke always told me I should vacation on the Oregon coast. I finally decided to do just that. Thought I’d stop and see him on my way through.”

  “I explained that we hadn’t seen Luke for a while,” Tim said.

  Angel stared at the man. Why now? Coincidence? Maybe, but it seemed all wrong. “Could I see some ID, please?”

  “Angel!” Anna chided. “What on earth?”

  “It’s all right, Mrs. Delaney. From what Tim has been telling me, I can understand her having reservations.”

  What Tim had been telling him? Angel stole a sideways glance at her brother and glowered at him.

  The professor pulled a flat wallet from the inside pocket of his expensive-looking suit and took out two cards and handed them to her. “All in order, I can assure you.”

  Angel looked them over. The photo ID did resemble the large, slightly overweight man across from her. The name on the credit card matched as well, but there was a discrepancy. “This says you’re from California.”

  He smiled. “Yes. My wife and I moved to California four years ago to be closer to family. I teach at Stanford now.”

  “You’ll have to excuse Angel, professor,” Anna said. “She’s so like her father—distrusting. She’s in law enforcement too, you know.”

  “I’m not surprised. Luke had many wonderful things to say about you, Angel. One of them was that you hoped to be a police officer one day.”

  Angel handed back the cards, still not completely satisfied. “I am.” She didn’t go into details about being on an extended leave.

  Lunch was pleasant enough, and everyone loved their meals. Angel had ordered the grilled salmon salad, one of her favorites. Between bites of his crab Louie, the professor talked about how much he’d enjoyed having Luke as a student. Anna seemed elated to have him there. Angel acted in what she hoped was a gracious manner for her mother’s sake, thankful the conversation hadn’t drifted into their latest concerns over Luke.

  After lunch Anna headed for the spa area for her massage with Ingrid. The professor went back to his room, and Angel walked Tim out to his car. “How much did you tell that guy about Luke?”

  “Pretty much everything. He was so concerned and... Anyway, what’s the big deal? I was thinking maybe he’d heard from Luke. It’s not like he’s a threat or anything. Of course, you made sure of that, asking for his ID.”

  “Tim, we still don’t know if this professor is for real. Did you ever see a picture of Professor Hathaway? I never did. Do you have any idea how easy it is to get fake IDs these days?”

  “Relax, Angel. You’re suspicious of everyone—to the point of being paranoid.”

  “And you are too trusting. Tim, we just had a letter bomb delivered to the house with Luke’s name on it. Nick got shot, and he’d just been with Luke a couple of days before. He told me Luke was in danger. Now this professor shows up out of the blue, asking questions, and you spill your guts to him. Hello! Can’t you see a connection here?”

  Looking concerned now, he opened his car door and slid in. “He seems genuine to me, Angel. I had no reason to suspect him.”

  Angel moved aside while he closed the door. “I really don’t think his showing up right now is coincidental.”

  “Maybe not, but... Look, I’ll have the school fax me a picture of Dr. Hathaway. Then we’ll know for sure.”

  “I’ll be pleasantly surprised and relieved if the guy is for real.”

  “All right. Go enjoy your massage.”

  “Thank you.”

  Angel went back into the resort and noticed the professor standing at the concierge’s desk. He nodded at her and smiled. She waved back. Dr. Hathaway had been a perfect gentleman, and Angel had actually enjoyed having lunch with him. Maybe she was being overly cautious, but they’d soon find out.

  Angel swam in the covered pool area, enjoying the sunlight shining through the clear canopy, during her mother’s massage and forty minutes later felt refreshed and ready for her own treatment. Her arm ached where she’d been shot, but the pain hadn’t kept her from using it. Her spa treatment started with a mud pack and facial and ended in a deep muscle massage revealing just how tense she’d been. Ingrid worked out a number of painful knots in her shoulders and back. When she’d finished, Angel felt like a rag doll, barely able to walk.

  When she went out to the pool area to get her mother, she noticed the professor sitting in the lounge chair next to her. He’d changed into swimming trunks and looked quite athletic and tan for a man his age. He looks like a professor from Southern California. They were laughing about something, and their friendliness irritated her.

  “If you do decide to go to Seal Beach, you’ll have to arrange to come up to Stanford,” the professor was saying. “Give me a call. I’ll be happy to show you around the campus.”

  I’ll bet you will. Angel frowned. Hadn’t Dr. Hathaway mentioned a wife and children? Her mother was going to Seal Beach?

  “That’s very nice of you, Ethan, but I suspect my sister will have enough activities to keep me going from morning to night.”

  Ethan? They were on a first-name basis already? And what about Ma’s sister? Angel remembered the card that had come from California the day before. It must have been from Aunt Gabby. She’d been wanting Anna to visit for years. Ma had talked about it but had never done it. Was she considering it now?

  “Hey.” Angel lowered herself on the chair to her mother’s left. “What’s going on? Did I hear you say something about going to Seal Beach?”

  “Yes.” Anna shielded her eyes as she turned toward Angel. “Gabby is wanting me to come. Says I need some sunshine to heal. But I don’t know if I should go. I don’t want to leave you and the boys now. It’s too soon.”

  “You don’t need to stay home for our sake, Ma. With all the remodeling, this might be a great time for you and Aunt Gabby to spend some time together.” Angel had mixed feelings about her mother leaving, especially with Dr. Hathaway encouraging her. Still, the idea appealed to her. With Ma gone she could be more aggressive in trying to find Luke without being secretive about it.

  “Maybe I will,” Anna said. “I’ll talk to the boys. It would be wonderful to spend more time with Gabby and Leonard.” She smiled. “Do you know they have grandchildren I’ve never seen?”

  “Excuse me, ladies.” The professor stood, blocking the sun and casting a shadow over them. “I need to get my laps in. I’ll see you this evening then, Anna?”

  “Yes. That would be lovely. I’ll have to check with my chef to make certain he won’t mind cooking for one more, but I’m sure he’ll be delighted.”

  “Good, I’ll look forward to it.”

  He went to the deep end and dove into the water, sleek and easy.

  Angel finally found her voice. “You invited him to dinner? At our house?”

  Anna watched him surface and glide through the water, her eyes shining. “Of course, Angel. He was Luke’s professor.”

  The bittersweet tone made Angel realize that the light in her mother’s eyes had nothing to do with admiration for the charming professor and everything to do with her missing son.

  Oh, Ma. Angel helped Anna to her feet, and together they walked to the car. Angel found herself looking forward to the professor’s visit too. She just hoped he was who he said he was.

  THIRTEEN

  Luke set his copy of the Oregonian in the bottom drawer of his desk. He’d started ordering the paper a few years ago so he’d have a taste of home every day. The news was always a few days old, but that didn’t really matter—until now. Nick had been shot and left to die, all because Luke Del
aney had been foolish enough to go to Sunset Cove. All because he didn’t think the man who had let him live six years ago would make good on his threat.

  Strange, though, that the killer had gone after Nick rather than Angel, as he’d threatened to do. Stranger still that he had missed. Luke doubted the hit man he’d met would leave a victim alive unless he specifically intended to. Maybe he was sending a message.

  Fortunately, the credit card information he’d left with the car rental agency would lead anyone looking on a paper trail to Wyoming and to poor old Hal Perkins. But what if whoever had spotted him in Sunset Cove had also followed him to Idaho? What if the killer now knew where he lived and that he had a wife and daughter? Luke had lulled himself into feeling safe. Now panic tore through him. He’d have to move again. How would Kinsey feel about that? They had a good life here. She had a business. They both loved Idaho and especially Coeur d’Alene.

  No, he tried to reassure himself. There’s no way anyone could track me down. He’d taken on a new identity here in Coeur d’Alene, and he’d been safe all this time. Or had he just wanted to believe it?

  “Thomas?” Kinsey peered around the doorjamb. “Honey, it’s getting late. I need you to take Marie to day care this morning.”

  He stared at her for a moment, taking in the soft brown hair swept up in a bun. Her artsy T-shirt and denim jacket and skirt were perfect for working in her art gallery at the resort. She exuded wealth and artistry and at the same time looked professional and knowledgeable.

  But then, Kinsey would look perfect in anything. With some degree of difficulty, he switched his identity back to the man he was now—Thomas Sinclair, husband, father, manager of a five-star resort on one of the most beautiful lakes in the country. He moved toward his wife of four years and embraced her, hoping she wouldn’t sense his anguish and fear. He brushed his lips across hers. “Has Marie eaten breakfast?”

  Laughing, she moved from his arms. “If you can call what she does to food ‘eating.’”