When Ty returned with the pest-chasers, Carine brought him back to her studio and showed him what she'd been up to. "Kind of an odd coincidence, huh?" She handed him her magnifying glass, noticing he'd showered and changed into jeans and a sweater, the ends of his hair still damp. "You've heard of the San-born Dairy."
"They delivered pint bottles of milk to school when Gus was a kid."
"Suppose that's where Louis got his alias? He could have grown up in the valley and picked Sanborn because it was convenient, or maybe he's a distant Sanborn cousin or something."
"That doesn't make him one of the smugglers."
She shrugged. "It doesn't not make him one of the smugglers."
Ty peered through the magnifying glass. "Did you ever steal a deer-crossing sign?"
"That's not a deer, that's a cow and a moose-"
He glanced at her. "I know it's a cow and a moose. Jesus."
"You stole a deer-crossing sign? Ty, that's low."
"Nate helped."
"How come I never knew?"
"You and Antonia would've ratted us out."
"We were not tattletales!"
He rolled his eyes and handed her back her magnifying glass. "I think I used a Sanborn Dairy bottle for target practice once. How's that for a coincidence?"
"All right, so it's a weak theory, but it's something, anyway. A nibble. Maybe Louis was one of the smugglers and saw the sign, and when it came to pick an alias, he chose Sanborn, not realizing where he got it. Manny was looking for a connection between the smugglers and Louis."
"Good. You can tell him it's a defunct dairy."
"If Louis and Jodie met up here-" She sighed, knowing she wasn't going to get anywhere with him. "Oh, never mind. We're just chasing our tails. The police are probably way ahead of us."
"We? Us?"
She smiled. "Go install your pest-chasers. How many did you scare up?"
"Three. They should help."
Carine quickly put the pictures away and headed for the shower, not wasting any time rinsing off, toweling herself dry and jumping into fresh clothes. Ty had her on edge, no question about it. Val Carrera's call and Manny's computer log didn't help, but they weren't the main cause. The teasing, the sexy comments and looks, the easy manner he had with her all reminded her of their first days together last fall, before they'd tried to commit to something deeper. Marriage. A life together.
Don't think.
Yes. Much better that way. She'd learned her lesson. She wasn't going to get ahead of herself with him again.
She combed her damp hair, not bothering to pull it back, and returned to the kitchen. Gus had called before her run to say he was bringing dinner. She slipped out onto the back deck, shivering, the air chilly against her shower-warmed skin. She noticed Gary Turner's midnight blue car in her driveway. He waved to her over its roof and joined her on the deck, his all-black attire and the fading light emphasizing the whiteness of his hair, the blandness of his eyes and skin.
"Sorry to bother you," he said.
"You're not bothering me. I'm just getting a breath of air."
"Your hair's wet-don't catch cold." He cocked his head, smiling at her. "Have I ever seen you with your hair down?" But he didn't wait for an answer, straightening, his manner becoming more formal. "I assume you've heard the latest."
"That Louis Sanborn is an alias?" Carine nodded. "I heard yesterday. After my last visit with the Rancourts, I didn't think it appropriate to go up there and chat with them about it."
"Understandable. They're furious with me now, too."
"Because you didn't know?"
He shrugged, not really answering.
She was aware she hadn't invited him inside and wondered where Ty was with his pest-chasers. "Did you hire him?" she asked.
Turner narrowed his colorless eyes on her. "He came well recommended-"
"By Jodie Rancourt?"
He sighed. "Then you know."
"I don't know anything, but they were having an affair."
"She told her husband it was just that one time in the library. It's none of my business. I've tried not to interfere in their relationship. Of course, if anyone believed her affair with Louis had anything to do with his murder, I'd speak up."
"Have you told the police-no, never mind. That's not fair of me to ask. You must be in an incredibly difficult situation."
He paused a moment, his expression unreadable. "Regardless of the circumstances of how Louis came to me, I should have gone deeper into his background. I liked him, and I figured I'd keep an eye on him, see how he worked out."
She decided not to tell him about Manny's log, how sure he was that it was Louis he'd run into with Jodie Rancourt in Cold Ridge in September-under a different name. Maybe Turner knew, maybe he didn't. It wasn't for her to discuss the contents of a computer file that the police, after all, also had.
"I think we were all taken in," she said. "Gary-do you know who took the pictures in the library? It couldn't have been Jodie or Louis, but I suppose one or the other could have persuaded someone-"
"The pictures are irrelevant. I'm history with the Rancourts. I guess I don't blame them. "He seemed genuinely unconcerned. "After this week, they're skittish about the whole idea of hiring their own security experts. They'll probably contract out with an established firm."
"What will you do?"
"I have options." He tilted his head back, the fading light darkening his eyes just a notch. "What about you? Does the big city still beckon?"
"I like my apartment. No one else seems to."
He smiled gently. "That's because they've seen this place."
"I have great neighbors in the city. I don't have any neighbors here-"
"Tyler North."
She swallowed. "He's active-duty military. He's not aroundmuch.Itjustsohappensthathe'sherethisweek." Up in her loft, as a matter of fact, she thought, installing pest-chasers. "I had a lot of projects in the works before the Rancourts lured me with easy money and a kind of sexy job, taking pictures of a historic mansion."
"But you don't have that anymore."
"There's a shop on Newbury Street that's after me to do a brochure for them. I did some work for another shop a couple of months ago-haven't done much commercial work, but it could be fun."
He seemed amused, but not in a patronizing way. "Keeping your overhead low preserves your options, so you can pick and choose what jobs you take."
"It hasn't been easy keeping this place here and renting an apartment in the city, but I've managed. Louis- whoever he was-teased me about being a tight-fisted Yankee."
Turner laughed, but his heart obviously wasn't in it, the stress of the past few days taking their toll on him, too. "I wonder if the southern act was real. I wonder if anything we knew about him was real."
"He's dead. There's no question of that."
"No, there isn't, and murdering him-that was a terrible thing, no matter who he was. I imagine the police will sort out whatever history exists between Louis and Manny Carrera. I've been ordered not to get involved.
'Let the police handle it' is the mantra."
"I suppose it makes sense."
"Carine-" Turner shifted, intense but quiet, even self-conscious, making no excess movements. "Please be careful until this situation gets resolved. I told you- something's happening under the radar."
She wondered what he might know that Manny didn't-that she and Ty didn't. "Gary, if there's anything I should know-"
"I'm operating more on instinct and experience than on fact. I'm sorry you found Louis on Wednesday." He paused, taking a breath, and she thought she noticed his hands shaking. "I've enjoyed getting to know you, although I don't claim to know you well. If I can swing it and you plan to stay on there yourself, I'd like to get another job in Boston. I'd appreciate seeing you from time to time. Maybe-" He took another breath, swallowing visibly. "Maybe we could have dinner."
She crossed her arms on her chest, not wanting to hurt his feelings or to encourage him. "Gus is bringing over a lasagna out of the freezer." Her hair felt like ice in the cold breeze, and she smiled, the friend, the woman who liked him but wasn't attracted to him. "We can have dinner right now."