Ring of Lies (33 page)

Like a
drunk
seeking
his next
drink
, she
sought out the bedrooms
.
On the landing she
hesita
ted until curiosity and the desire for truth got the better of her.
She
pushed
open the nearest door
and stepped inside.

It
was his room—she was sure
.

Spasms of panic ran through her body, for here too,
the
scent of
Daniel’s
favourite
blend of
tobacco
lingered in the air
.
Decorated in blue and cream, the room overlooked the ocean.
A
n elaborate
, carved
oak
king-size bed
, with matching nightstands
stood against one wall.
Unable to stop herself, she ran her fingers across the
navy
blue
chenille
bedspread.
Anger born of grief made her throw back the covers and toss the pillows onto the floor.

Darkness spun around her, as the room tilted alarmingly.
Bile filled her throat
. She
swallowed hard and pushed it back down
,
as she
lurched
to
ward
the French doors
. She
threw
them open
and
stepped out onto the
veranda
. She
gulped in a lung full of fresh clean air.
Moonlight cast a silvery glow on the sea, but all she could think about was Daniel’s treachery.

‘
I thought you loved me, Daniel,
’
she
said
with a hoarse cry
.
‘
How could you
lie to me like this, and
how could I
not know
?
’

Only the gentle breeze
blowing
off the ocean answered.

Grace
wrapped her arms around her chest,
and
leaned heavily
agai
nst the
handrail
.
Shudders racked her body
. S
he willed them to stop.
Her breath came in chest-heaving gasps.
H
er heartbeat throbbed in her ears
, and
she felt
so lightheaded that
for one
heart-stopping
moment she thought she
would
topple over the
balustrade on
to the
tiled
patio below
.
She stepped back
, her face a glowering mask of rage.
S
he
stumbled
inside
, d
etermined to
uncover what other secrets
the room held
.

The dressing area contained a
large
walk-in wardrobe.
Her hand shook as she slid back the door
.
One section
was filled with
a
selection of men’s
designer
suits, shirts, and jackets
.  T
he other
held
a rail
full of women’s clothes.
She bit her lip until it throbbed like her pulse
.
One by one she
studied
the
contents
.
A
sapphire blue cocktail dress
caught her
attention
.
Something about the design
seemed
vaguely
fam
iliar.

Grace lifted
it out
and examined it more closely
.
The notes of some heady
oriental
fragrance lingered on the fabric.
She
wadded it into a ball and threw it onto the floor, then
removed a trouser suit.
It too ended
up
on the floor,
alo
ng with
the
rest of
contents.

The
dresser
contained
underwear.
She took out a peach teddy and held it up.
Delicate lace and silk shimmered in the light
.
She pulled at the lace until it ripped
in two
then
tossed
the shreds
on the floor
along with
everything else
.

Her breath hissed out between her teeth.
She teetered
,
then
ran
and kept
running
until
she was out of the hous
e and heading toward the ocean.

It was true.
It was
all true
.

Daniel hadn’t loved her.

All the devotion she’d felt—everything she’d done had been for him.
And he’d kept someone else, here in this house.
And who knew where else?

Pain shredded her eyes, her mind,
and her
heart.
S
he was
seize
d and crushed by g
asping, tearing agony.
There was no more reason to live.
No more reason to breathe.
Instead of breathing, there wa
s screaming, endless screaming.

Across the hall from the
family
room
,
was a
small
study.
Floor to ceiling bookcases filled one wall.
A large
,
‘L’ shaped
desk faced the window
,
which offered views
over the
garden
to the
ocean beyond
.

Jack
closed the drapes
and turned
on the small desk lamp.
The glow from the blub
shed a tiny golden
circle of light
on the polished wood surface.

The desk drawers were locked, but that didn’t surprise him.
None of the keys on the ring Grace had given him earlier fit.
He pulled a small folding knife out of his jeans pocket and inserted it between the lock and the frame,
and twisted
.
There was
a sharp
click and the
topmost
drawer slid open.
He
was examining the contents when
Grace scream
ed
.

His stomach turned over, then clenched.
Adrenaline flooded his
veins, sharpening his senses, as a
second
ear-spli
tting scream filled the house.

He reached for his gun.
The clip was full, plus he had a spare in his back pocket.
He slipped
off
the safety
, and
stepped into the hallway just
in time to see
Grace
drag
open
the front door
and da
rt
outside
, shrieking the whole way
.

‘
What the hell
?
’
He cursed
again
and took off after her.
He jumped the porch steps, landing hard
.
The driveway was
empty;
t
he
Ford Explorer
where they’d left it.
He spun round toward the back of the house
in time to see
Grace’s
slim figure running t
hrough
the garden.
He
prayed
that
whatever
had spooked
her
didn’t
have two legs and a gun
, and wasn’t about to come charging out of the house after them
.

He listened.

A
branch snapped.

Leaves rustled.

Then all he could hear was the steady thump of his heart and the mur
mur of waves washing the shore.