A Deadly Business Read online

  But better safe than sorry was a motto she lived with each day. Brushing imaginary lint from her blouse, she eased back into the gallery, staying to the back so she didn’t crowd the couple. The seascape was by a local artist she’d been working to promote. This sale would be a big boost for her, especially if these people passed the word to others.

  So, she occupied herself adjusting the other displays and sipping on her coffee.

  “Oh, excuse me,” the woman called. “Could we ask you a couple of questions?”

  Marissa ditched the rest of the coffee and walked over to them, smiling.

  “Of course. What would you like to know?”

  She went through her usual spiel with them, answering questions about the artist and what location the painting depicted. She considered it a good omen for the weekend when they bought the painting and didn’t quibble about the price. Still, she couldn’t shake that bad-vibe feeling. She was wrapping the painting in protective paper when she looked up to see Laura Danforth standing in the doorway of the packing room.

  “You know, we’ve been coming here every year for the past ten years, all except for last year. I just told Howard I don’t think I remember seeing the gallery before this. Are you new?”

  Marissa paused for a moment, her hands stilled in the process of taping.

  She’d be new to a lot of people. It didn’t mean anything.

  Or did it?

  “Well, new to you, I guess. I moved here two years ago. I think just about a month after the Fourth of July celebration.”

  “How do you like it?”

  She looked up at the woman and smiled “I love it. Arrowhead Bay is a warm and friendly town. I’m on the water. The people are great. This was a very good move for me.”

  “What brought you down here?” Howard Danforth had joined his wife and stood there with his arm draped around her shoulder.

  Marissa studied them for a moment. They looked harmless, relaxed and happy like any other tourist couple here for the celebration and festivities. But she’d learned over and over that appearances deceived, and you should never take anyone at face value. She had their information from the credit card receipt. She’d just ask Avery to run a check.

  She lifted the wrapped picture and handed it to Howard.

  “Enjoy your painting.”

  “Oh, we will,” Linda Danforth gushed. “Every time I look at it I’ll think of being back here at Arrowhead Bay.” She looked around as she and her husband headed toward the door. “This is a very nice gallery. You have a great selection, and I always love discovering local talent. I’ll be sure to tell our friends about it.”

  “Thank you so much. Please come back again next year.”

  The moment they were gone she hurried to her little office, grabbed a bottle of water from her minifridge, and drank half of it down before taking a breath. It disturbed her to see a slight tremor in her hands. What was the matter with her? For three tense years in London, under the very nose of one of the most vicious men in the world, she’d had nerves of steel. Now, despite the safety of her new surroundings, it seemed she was jumping at shadows. She supposed that was what happened with living every day knowing that Stefan Maes had vowed to destroy her.

  She capped the water bottle and returned it to the fridge. This was ridiculous. Her old identity was buried under multiple layers. She’d grown out her hair from the short auburn flip she’d worn for three years and let it go back to its natural long honey brown. Just that alone had made a drastic change in her appearance. She’d even gained ten pounds; a fact she wasn’t sure she was all that happy about. She had changed her wardrobe, and even trained herself to walk differently. It still amazed her the things the CIA could train a person to do when changing or burying an identity.

  So cool it, she told herself. The Howards were just what they seemed, a boating couple here for the weekend. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to have Avery check them out.

  As busy as the morning turned out to be, she didn’t have time to give much thought to the situation, and by noon her nerves had settled, and her sales had exploded. She made a note to bring out items she had stored and to contact the local artists she worked with to see what they had they’d like her to show.

  She was just closing down her computer and thinking about lunch when the bell jingled to announce someone. Wearing her best public face, she hurried out of the office and relaxed when she saw it was Justin.

  He lifted an eyebrow. “I can’t tell if that expression on your face means you’re glad to see me or if I should turn around and walk out.”

  Her laugh had a slight hysterical edge. “Glad to see you. Very glad.”

  His face sobered. “Trouble?”

  For the first time since the CIA had recruited her, she was struck with an urge to unburden herself to someone and have them assure her things were fine. What was up with that? She hadn’t needed anyone for a long time. Maybe it was the unsettled feeling she’d been plagued with of late, a feeling that told her she might not be as safe as she thought.

  Stop it, she thought. Why was she seeing dragons all of a sudden?

  She forced her mouth into a smile. “Oh, no, no trouble. Just very busy. Way more than last year.”

  “But that’s good, right?”

  “Yes. It is.” She waved her hand around the display area. “I’ve replaced at least half of the art on display since I opened. I don’t remember the crowd being this big last year.”

  “It keeps growing every year. Avery sent me to fetch you for lunch. She has a table at the Driftwood and she saved space for you.”

  Lunch? With people she didn’t know?

  But why was she spooked? Nothing had happened.

  “Oh, I don’t know…” She twisted her hands together. The Danforths had tickled her Spidey senses and unnerved her. She wasn’t sure she was up to facing the crowd at the restaurant.

  “It’s just lunch, Marissa. With a couple of nice people.” Justin smiled, but she caught a questioning look in his eyes. “Come on. You can sit next to me and I’ll protect you. Or maybe you can try out some of those kickboxing techniques if someone pisses you off.”

  She couldn’t help the tiny laugh that escaped.

  “You must think I’m an idiot. I’m just not a very social person.”

  “Oh, I think you’re very social.” He winked. “And sociable. Come on. Lock up and we’ll head over there.”

  “I can’t believe she got a table. Is there even a place to park?”

  He nodded. “A little thing like a crowd never stops Avery.”

  Marissa double-checked the alarm when she set it. Her training had taught her to be extra cautious whenever she sensed something might be off. Even though she might be chasing shadows where there were none, she wasn’t about to take chances.

  Justin helped her into the black Vigilance SUV he’d parked by a fire hydrant.

  “Aren’t you afraid of getting a ticket?” she teased.

  “I didn’t think I’d be long. And besides, I have a little pull with the police department.” He glanced over at her. “All set?”

  She nodded.

  “Not my business, but you seem a little uptight today,” he commented as he pulled smoothly away from the curb into traffic.

  “I’ve just got a lot on my mind right now. This big weekend. Some other stuff.”

  “You know, I’m a good listener if you ever want to bounce anything off of me.”

  What she wanted to bounce off him weren’t ideas. Her hormones, so ruthlessly suppressed for so long, had decided to revolt.

  “Good to know. And thank you. I’ll remember that.”

  The parking lot at the Driftwood was as jammed as she’d expected, but Justin wheeled the SUV into a slot with a Reserved sign.

  “It’s good to know the right people,” he teased. “Come on. I prescr
ibe a glass of wine with lunch.”

  Marissa seldom drank anything stronger than iced tea or coffee, but she had to agree that a glass of wine sounded good. And Avery’s friendly face at a table out on the covered porch helped her relax, even if it was an infinitesimal amount.

  “I’m glad Justin was successful dragging you out of that gallery,” she said. “I’m sure you’ve been busy, but everyone has to eat lunch and I figured you could use a little break.”

  Justin pulled out a chair for her then sat down in the one next to her. Sheri March sat next to her sister. Blake Morgan and a woman she figured was his wife occupied the other two chairs.

  “We meet again,” Blake greeted her. “Marissa, this is my wife, Samantha. Sam.”

  Sam held out her hand. “Blake tells me you own Endless Art. We’re going to come by this weekend, if you haven’t sold out to the tourists.”

  “Please stop in.” She smiled at Sam. “I love helping people select just the right pieces.”

  Lunch turned out to be better than she expected, if only she could get rid of this edgy feeling. When she ordered a glass of wine, Avery looked at her and lifted an eyebrow but said nothing. She managed to relax and enjoy the conversation, although she caught Avery sliding looks her way now and then.

  “Justin’s going to drop me at Vigilance before he takes you back to the gallery,” Avery told her. “That okay with you?”

  “Oh, sure. It was nice of you to send him to fetch me.”

  “I wanted to make sure you took a little break.”

  Marissa said goodbye to Blake and Sam and reminded them to stop by and see her. As they wound their way through the dining room to the exit, she scanned the restaurant, taking note of the crowd, and wondering if any of them had picked up the flyers the Driftwood had been kind enough to put out for her.

  She almost stumbled when she spotted the Danforths at a table with two men. It wasn’t them, however, as much as the two men they were with who tickled her senses. On the surface they looked like the other tourists in their casual attire. She couldn’t define it except to say they reminded her so much of the men she’d dealt with for three years in London.

  She wasn’t aware she’d stopped walking until Avery bumped into her.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. My mind must just be wandering today.” She started walking again but Avery was right in step with her.

  “Your mind doesn’t wander,” Avery said in a low voice. “Not like that. What did you see?”

  “What? Nothing. I—Nothing. Really.”

  Avery gave Justin a silent signal to move on and tugged Marissa off to the side.

  “I know that look. I’ve seen it on enough faces in my line of work. Something spooked you. Who or what did you see that threw you off balance?”

  Justin had turned and was looking at her with a quizzical expression on his face. She moved forward again.

  “It’s nothing. Really.” He knew nothing about her situation, so he’d probably think she was an idiot for being spooked by strangers.

  Avery, right behind her, touched her shoulder. “It may be, but just in case, let’s figure out what spooked you.”

  Yes, maybe it was nothing, but she didn’t want to worry about it all day. Not smart.

  “Not here.” She lowered her voice even more. “See that older couple with two dark-haired men at a middle table? Just take a quick look, like you’re scanning the room.”

  Avery’s mouth turned up in a quick smile. “I think I can do this, Marissa.”

  Marissa’s face flamed. Of course, she could. She was in the business. “I think they’re watching us. Let’s all go back to Vigilance. I’ll tell you what happened today and hope you can assure me I’m jumping at shadows.”

  “Of course. Come on.”

  Marissa said little on the ride to Vigilance, digging around in her brain to find whatever it was that had triggered her reaction to the Danforths. She still had no specific answer when she was seated across from Avery in her office, holding a fresh cup of coffee.

  “Okay.” Avery studied Marissa. “You aren’t one to jump at shadows, so let’s have it, no matter how insignificant.”

  Marissa took a sip of her coffee. How to phrase this so she didn’t sound nuts? “That couple I showed you,” she began. “They came into the gallery this morning. There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary about them. They looked like any other holiday couple, tanned, relaxed, casually dressed. They were friendly and raved about the gallery. They even bought that seascape I’ve had on one of the main easels.”

  “But?” Avery lifted an eyebrow. “Something set you off.”

  “The questions they asked weren’t any different than I get from so many others, but…” Marissa shrugged. “I don’t know. They asked if I was new to the area. Said they’d been here every year but the last one and didn’t remember the gallery. When I told them I’d only been here two years, that last year was my first Fourth of July event, they said that must explain it.”

  Avery nodded. “Sounds like normal chit chat.”

  “I agree. Even when they kept asking me things like where did I move from and why here, there was nothing I could put my finger on. It just sounded more like an inquisition than casual conversation.”

  “Was that all?”

  Marissa shook her head. “No. Yes. I don’t know. When I saw them at the Driftwood, the two men at their table reminded me of the men I met in London who might have you killed for choosing the wrong silverware.”

  “Well, that doesn’t sound good. Brian Gould told me you have good instincts, and I believe he’s right.”

  “If they’d been coming here for several years, wouldn’t you have recognized them?”

  Avery shrugged. “Maybe, but not necessarily. We get hundreds of people for this weekend every year. Unless I had a reason to cross paths with them they might not have landed on my radar. Do you have their information with you? I can do a quick check.”

  “Yes. I copied it from their credit card slip.” She handed a piece of paper across the desk. “I’d at least like to know if they are who they say they are.”

  “Okay, let’s see what we can find.” She picked up her desk phone and pressed a button. “Ginger? Can you come in for a second?”

  Marissa knew that Ginger was the go-to person at Vigilance for computer searches. If she couldn’t find it, no one could.

  There was a light rap on the door, and then Ginger poked her head in. “You rang?”

  “I did.” Avery handed over the slip of paper. “See what you can find out about these people. And—”

  “I know, I know,” Ginger interrupted. “You want it five minutes ago. Gotcha.”

  “If Stefan Maes sent these people, how the hell did he know where I was to begin with?” Marissa raked her fingers through her hair. “The CIA was meticulous about erasing every detail concerning Lauren Masters. And I have not left this place since the first day I set foot in it.”

  “That’s a difficult question to answer,” Avery told her. “I—”

  Before she could finish her sentence, a cell phone sitting on her desk chimed.

  “I need to take this right now.” She rose from her chair. “Can you excuse me for just a minute?”

  Marissa lifted an eyebrow. “Of course. I’ll just step outside. Let me know when you’re finished.”

  She closed the door behind her and leaned against it. Was she making something out of nothing? Letting her imagination run away with her? Maybe these people were art thieves who scouted galleries and made a purchase to look normal. How on earth would anyone find her here, anyway?

  “Avery kick you out?”

  Marissa startled as Justin came out of the big electronics room. “What? Oh, no. She got a phone call she had to have privacy for.”

  “Yeah, she gets a lot of those.” He studied her face. “You ok
ay? You look a little shook up. Was it those people you saw at the Driftwood?”

  “Um, just some questions I had.”

  She had a weird feeling Avery’s call had to do with her. The same impression that she’d had during her last meeting with Craig Joffrey. She sipped at her cooling drink while she tried to keep herself together. When Avery opened the door and beckoned her back into the office, she had a hard time not yelling for Avery to tell her what it was all about this second. When Avery asked Justin to join them, Marissa knew there was trouble.

  “First of all, Marissa,” Avery began when they were seated, “I need your permission to fill Justin in on your background.”

  Marissa clutched the arms of the chair. She was right. Maes had found her. Otherwise why involve Justin? Why tell him her secrets?

  “Is it— Do you—”

  “Justin knows you. Plus, he would never give up secrets even under torture. And we’re going to need him.”

  She swallowed hard, then nodded. “Yes. All right. If you think it’s necessary.”

  “It’s necessary.”

  “Then go ahead.”

  Marissa sat there, tense, hands fisted in her lap, while Avery filled Justin in on her CIA stint, the way it had ended, and the fact that Maes had put a price on her head. Justin absorbed it all and when Avery finished he turned to her, his lips curved in a warm, reassuring smile.

  “Whatever this is,” he told her, “I’ve got your back. We’ll keep you safe.”

  “Thank you.” She looked at Avery. “Okay, let’s have it. What was that call about?”

  Avery leaned forward. “That was Brian Gould. Talk about a coincidence of timing.”

  Cold dread landed in Marissa’s stomach like a lead fist. She hated that her instincts had been right.

  “It’s bad, right?”

  “I won’t lie to you. It’s not good. Brian said ever since Stefan Maes learned you were the one who blew the whistle on him, he’s had people poking into every corner of the world, looking for you. He’s as sneaky as the CIA. Brian assured me they’ve been keeping an eye on Maes, knowing he has a vendetta against you. This is the first time, however, they’ve heard one of his people actually sighted you. This couple must have called Maes as soon as they left the gallery.”