Adrian’s mouth tightened. He reached down and picked up the manuscript. „We are going to do something. We’re going to stay out of Lowell’s way and let him handle his unfinished business.“
„Adrian, we have a responsibility!“
„My responsibility is to take care of you. Very clear-very simple. That’s what your uncle wants and that’s what I’m going to do. Now, if you really want to do something useful for Lowell, come on into the kitchen and help me clean up the mess. If we don’t take care of it, some helpful, foraging skunks or worse will take care of it for us.“
Chapter Three
She was genuinely scared, Adrian reflected a few hours later. Tense, nervous, restless and scared. He had spent the past three hours alternately trying to reassure her that Lowell Kincaid could handle his own problems and trying to convince her that she was letting her imagination play havoc with her common sense. Neither attempt had been particularly successful. But then, he hadn’t had a lot of experience attempting to soothe the fears of others.
It had been late by the time they’d finished cleaning up Lowell’s cabin, and when Adrian had suggested they spend the night at a motel instead of driving all the way back to Seattle, Sara hadn’t argued. He’d scrupulously booked two rooms at a charmingly rustic little lodge located just off the main highway.
Now, as he studied her across the restaurant table, it occurred to Adrian that he was going to have his hands full trying to carry out the task Kincaid had assigned him in that damned recorded phone message.
Nothing was going the way he had thought it would, and the knowledge irritated him. For the better part of the past year the unknown Sara had been hovering in the back of his mind, her nebulous image planted there by Lowell Kincaid.
„The two of you are going to be great together,“ Lowell had told him with vast assurance. „But you both need a little time. You’ve got to get Phantom out of your system and she has to reach a few conclusions on her own. I figure in another few months – “
„Lowell, you may be my best friend but I don’t want you playing matchmaker. Understand?“ Adrian had been very firm even though he’d already downed a great deal of beer before the conversation had gotten around to the subject of Kincaid’s niece.
„You’re going to love her, pal. Trust me. The two of you have a lot in common.“
„That's rather doubtful, isn’t it?“
„I know people, Adrian. You should realize that by now. She’s perfect for you. She’s intelligent and full of life. She’s also fundamentally genuine and honest. She’ll help you keep your life in balance. You need a dose of enthusiasm and optimism. You’re too cautious. Furthermore, she’s capable of making a commitment to the right man. Luckily for you, she hasn’t found him yet. And she won’t as long as she hangs around those wimps she’s been dating for the past few years. She’s smart enough to play with the dross but wait for the real gold.“ Lowell had grinned. „She’s really very good at playing with life. In college she played at being pseudo-intellectual. She used to spend hours arguing about philosophical treatises. A lot of people thought she was serious, including her teachers. Got good grades. When she graduated she decided to play at being an artist for a while. Rented a genuine garret, wore her hair long and went around in paint-stained jeans. She actually sold a couple of paintings through a gallery that made the mistake of taking her seriously. Then she went through an activist phase during which she went around protesting against environmental polluters. Eventually she wound up as the epitome of the young, upwardly mobile urban professional. She always did have a good sense of tuning. She also has a real flair for management. She enjoys life the way some people enjoy a game.“
„And just what am I going to be offering her in return?“ Adrian had asked roughly as he popped the top on another can of beer. The discussion was outrageous, but such conversations were allowable when you were sharing several beers with your only real friend. Besides, there was something about the unknown Sara that intrigued him more than he wanted to admit. He found himself wondering what she would think of him if Lowell ever got around to introductions.
„She needs someone strong, someone who can appreciate what she has to offer. She also needs a counterfoil for her natural enthusiasm and impulsiveness. Someone stable and steady. When she does give her heart for real, it will be completely. She’ll need someone who will make the same commitment to her that she’ll be making to him. A lot of men aren’t capable of that. They might know several fancy names for spaghetti or how to select the right brand of running shorts but that’s about the extent of their sensitivity.“
„Been reading those articles on the ‘new male,’ I see. I warned you about that. You should cancel some of those magazine subscriptions. Bunch of garbage and you know it.“
„Is that so? Well, how many men would you trust with your life or your wallet or your woman these days?“ Lowell had countered.
That had struck a chord, Adrian remembered. „Not many. Maybe you. That’s about it.“
„And you’re the only one I would trust with anything I value. I value my niece, Adrian. Perhaps because there’s something in her that reminds me of myself.“
„So you’re going to give her to me? I’m not sure that you’re taking your responsibilities as her uncle seriously enough.“
„I know what I’m doing. You should be thanking me. You need a woman who can give herself completely. You also need someone who has a real understanding of loyalty. You could also use someone who occasionally shakes you up a bit. You’re so damned controlled, son, that it worries me at times. It’s as though you’ve built a carefully organized, well-defined little world for yourself and nothing gets in unless you’ve fully analyzed and comprehended it first.“
„I like to be sure of things, Lowell. You know that.“
The older man had grinned complacently. „Once you get to know Sara you’ll realize you can be sure of her in all the ways that count. There’s a lot of love and loyalty in that woman, and the man who taps it is going to be very rich. You’ll see.“
The conversation, as Adrian recalled, had gone downhill from there. The beer had flowed freely, and mercifully it had inspired Lowell Kincaid to bring up other topics for discussion. Adrian couldn’t remember too many of them the next morning, but he definitely recalled the little matter of Kincaid’s niece.
Phantom had absorbed most of his time and energy in the ensuing months. He hadn’t seen a great deal of anyone, not even Lowell Kincaid,- but the older man had known what he was doing. As usual.
The seed had been planted, and as he’d worked steadily, often painfully, on the novel, Adrian had found the presence of the mysterious Sara hovering in the corners of his mind. Sometimes late at night after he’d put in hours on the manuscript he’d dosed himself with brandy and gone to bed thinking about what he would do if he had Sara there. He’d let himself fantasize about having a woman who loved him, a woman who knew what loyalty meant. And then he’d gone to sleep with a body that still ached from the stirrings of an irrational passion.
On the rare occasions when he did talk to Kincaid, Adrian had heard himself ask after the woman with what he hoped was deceptive casualness. Lowell had supplied information readily enough, telling him about her success in her job or the latest „wimp“ she was seeing.
When he’d begun to realize he didn’t like hearing about the newest males in Sara’s life, Adrian had finally acknowledged to himself that he might have a problem. It was ridiculous and quite asinine to start wanting a woman you’d never met, but the sense of anticipation had taken firm root. That anticipation had been followed by a curious sensation of possessiveness that was even more perplexing than the fantasy-induced desire.
Her undefined image had remained on the borders of his mind, always waiting for him. She was there when he took a break during the day from Phantom. She emerged to haunt him before he went to sleep at night. And she casually made herself felt when he sat by himself in front of the fire i
n the evenings sipping a lonely glass of wine.
Lowell had said he’d see about introducing Sara to Adrian when the book was finished. Over a period of months she had begun to seem like the prize at the end of a quest.
Last night when he’d returned from his small celebration of the sale of Phantom and walked home to find the lady in his study, Adrian had experienced the disorienting sensation of having met his destiny. The quest had been completed and now his gift was within reach. The fantasy hadn’t diminished since the previous evening.
It should have, Adrian thought objectively as he watched Sara prod a sun-dried tomato in her pasta salad. Fantasies were supposed to die quick deaths when reality took over. But reality was proving very interesting in this case, far more gripping than fantasy.
„So what are we going to do?“ Across the table Sara finally gave up on her salad and set down her fork. Challengingly she waited for Adrian to say something brilliant.
Adrian realized he couldn’t rise to the challenge. „Nothing.“
„As an answer, that lacks a certain something,“ she muttered. „In management training I learned that you’re always supposed to sound confident and in charge.“
„Maybe I should take the course.“
„This is not a joke, Adrian. We can’t just sit around and wait.“
„Why not? It’s what your uncle wants us to do. We’ll drive back to Seattle in the morning. You can stay with me on the island until Lowell returns.“
She eyed him with abrupt wariness. „I don’t think that’s such a good idea.“
„It sounds perfectly reasonable to me. You’re certainly not going to spend the time waiting in Lowell’s cottage. If you think I’d leave you there knowing that whoever went through that place once might return, you’re out of your little ex-corporate skull.“
He hadn’t raised his voice, but Sara felt the diamond-hard determination in him more clearly than if he’d shouted the words.
„Don’t worry,“ she said bluntly, „I’m not particularly eager to stay alone at Uncle Lowell’s cottage. Not after seeing that sketch of the wolf.“
Adrian glared at her and picked up his wineglass. „What the devil is all this nonsense about the wolf, anyway? You’ve been acting as if you’d seen a ghost ever since you saw Lowell’s dumb doodle on my manuscript.“
„I did. In a way.“ Moodily Sara stared at the tablecloth in front of her, remembering. „It’s a long story, Adrian.“
„We’ve got a long evening ahead of us,“ he noted grimly. „You might as well tell me the tale.“
„I only know bits and pieces of it.“ Sara sighed and pushed aside her half-eaten meal. „Uncle Lowell never told me all the details. He probably couldn’t because of security reasons, although lately my uncle has begun to demonstrate an amazing disgust for all the bureaucratic paranoia that generally controls matters of security.“ A brief flicker of amusement lit her eyes for a few seconds as she thought about that. She heartily approved of the trend.
„So what did he tell you about this wolf business that has you so upset tonight?“
„There was a man,“ she began slowly, recalling the conversation with her uncle that had taken place nearly a year ago. „A man who carried the code name of Wolf. Uncle Lowell said it suited him.“ Sara gave Adrian a level glance, willing him to understand the importance of what she was trying to say. „Lowell said he was so good at what he did, so dangerous, that when he walked into a room the temperature seemed to drop by twenty degrees.“
Adrian considered that in silence for a moment and then murmured very distinctly, „Bull.“
Sara scowled at him. „It’s true.“
„Your uncle’s right. You do have an overactive imagination.“
„It was Uncle Lowell who told me about the guy. That business of the room going cold was his description, not mine. He meant that the man could literally chill your blood. Even Uncle Lowell’s blood, apparently. Now do you want to hear the rest of the story or not?“
Adrian shrugged and buttered a roll. „Go ahead.“
„All right. But only if you’re going to listen seriously to what I’m saying. This is not a wild tale, Adrian. Uncle Lowell meant every word the night he told me the story. He was… upset.“
„Lowell was upset?“
„Yes. You see, he knew the man they called Wolf. The guy was supposed to be his replacement. Uncle Lowell had the job of grooming him to step into his shoes when he retired.“
„Lowell officially retired five years ago.“
Sara nodded. „But my uncle kept tabs on his replacement, I guess. He must have been very uneasy about him right from the beginning. He said this Wolf was almost frighteningly ruthless. He seemed to have no emotions, no human sensitivity. Sending him on a mission was like aiming a gun and pulling the trigger. From what Uncle Lowell said, the man would probably qualify as a sociopath. You know, someone who doesn’t really function in society. No emotional equipment. Sick. Working for the intelligence group Uncle Lowell was in gave him an outlet for his antisocial tendencies and his ruthlessness. If he hadn’t gotten that kind of job, he probably would have ended up as a first-class criminal.“
„Lowell said all this?“ Adrian seemed both skeptical and reluctantly fascinated.
„Some of it I’ve inferred from his description that night. My uncle was very restless about something that evening. He wanted to talk to someone, I think. I’ve never seen him in quite that mood. And he’d certainly never made a habit before of talking about his, uh, former business associates. Sometimes he’d tell me stories and tales but they were always deliberately vague on details. I could tell that the story wasn’t being embroidered or altered for security reasons this time. Anyhow, he’d come down to spend a weekend with my family in San Diego. We had all gone out to dinner, and when we were finished he drove me over to my apartment. I knew something was bothering him, and when he started talking, I just let him go on until he’d gotten it all out of his system.“
„Did he give you any specific details on this character he calls Wolf?“ Adrian asked softly.
„You mean like a description or his real name? Of course not.“ Sara smiled wryly. „Even when Uncle Lowell’s in a chatty mood, he knows how to watch his tongue. I guess he spent too many years being cautious. All I know about Wolf is that Lowell was worried. I think he believed his proteg6 might be slipping over the edge. Wolf was dangerous enough when he could still be aimed by his superiors and fired like a weapon, but if he could no longer be at least minimally controlled… If he decided to go into business for himself, for example…“
„You’re saying Lowell thought the guy might have gone renegade?“ Adrian demanded.
Sara took a breath. „That’s the impression I got that night. I only know that Uncle Lowell was tense and worried about what he had helped create.“
Adrian chewed meditatively on another chunk of his roll. „Dr. Frankenstein and his monster.“
„I know it sounds melodramatic,“ Sara admitted, „and if I hadn’t seen that little drawing of a wolf’s head on your manuscript, I wouldn’t have thought twice about that conversation with my uncle. But after hearing the message on the telephone-answering machine and seeing the mess that cottage was in and then finding the drawing – “ She broke off, her anxiety clear in her eyes.
„Why do you suppose your uncle happened to make that little doodle on the front page of my manuscript?“ Adrian asked reflectively.
Sara lifted one shoulder negligently. „You know him. He’s constantly sketching and doodling. He uses whatever’s handy. I’ve seen him make the most intricate little drawings on cocktail napkins or paper towels or the back of his income-tax forms. Your manuscript probably happened to be nearby when he was thinking of this Wolf person. Or…“ Sara’s eyes widened as a thought caught her attention. „Maybe something in your manuscript reminded him of the wolf.“
„Not likely. Not from the way you’ve described the guy,“ Adrian said flatly.
&nbs
p; Sara thought about that. „Then he must have been thinking of the wolf at a time when your manuscript was lying nearby. Which means that something was making him uneasy. He tells us in that recorded message that he’s going to take care of unfinished business. I think… I think Uncle Lowell always considered Wolf unfinished business.“
„Because he’d trained him and then turned him loose?“
„Something like that. How would you feel if you’d been assigned to train someone and had him turn into a…a criminal or worse. Perhaps a renegade killer. Wouldn’t you feel you had to do something about it?“
„Not a pleasant thought,“ Adrian said slowly.
„But wouldn’t you feel responsible?“
„I might.“
„Then maybe – “
Adrian interrupted abruptly. „But, Sara, that doesn’t explain Lowell’s message completely. Remember, he said he was out to protect our, er, wedding present.“
„I know. I can’t figure out that part,“ she admitted morosely.
„Face it. We don’t stand a chance in hell of figuring any of this out until your uncle gets back and tells us just what was going on. The only thing we can do is wait.“ Adrian’s rare smile flickered briefly at the corners of his mouth. „At least I got assigned a task to keep my mind off Lowell’s problems.“
„What task?“ She frowned at him across the table.
„Taking care of you. I’m supposed to keep you out of mischief, remember?“
„Oh, that.“ She waved the entire matter aside. „That was just a casual comment on my uncle’s part.“
„Nevertheless, I feel obliged to take it seriously. After all, you’re worried, and if someone doesn’t keep an eye on you, I can envision you getting into all sorts of trouble.“
„Don’t be ridiculous.“
„You might,“ Adrian concluded without any trace of amusement at all, „even manage to make some trouble for your uncle.“