McCarson looked even more wary. “Information about who or what?”

“Your client must have given you a file on Ms. North.”

“What of it?”

“I want everything that’s in it.”

McCarson managed a fairly good imitation of appearing deeply offended. “Haven’t you ever heard of client confidentiality?”

“Sure, but your little act of breaking and entering tonight indicates to me that your ethics are somewhat flexible.”

McCarson’s mouth twisted. “Just trying to make a living.” He shot a veiled look at Alice. “Besides, as far as I knew, Ms. North is a blackmailer. That ranks pretty damn low on the ethics scale.”

“It would if it were true,” Drake said. “But it’s not.”

“How do you know that?”

Drake started to respond but there was no need.

“Get real, McCarson,” Alice snapped. She threw out her arms to indicate the shabby little studio apartment. “Do you think I’d be living in a dump like this if I was making big bucks blackmailing the Whitcombs?”

McCarson blinked. It was clear he had not considered that angle.

“Huh,” he said. His brow furrowed. “Well, maybe you haven’t been able to spend the money yet.”

Alice raised her eyes to the ceiling. “Oh, for pity’s sake. Face the truth, Mr. McCarson. You’re working for a woman who is obsessed with revenge. I get that. But she’s wasting time and money looking in all the wrong places. She should be looking for whoever murdered her son.”

“That’s enough,” Drake said. He studied McCarson. “I want the file. I assume it’s on your computer.”

“No, Mrs. Whitcomb’s assistant gave me a hardcopy file when I agreed to take the job,” McCarson said. “For some reason the client doesn’t want a computer file created.”

“Sure, because it would be evidence that she’s been stalking me,” Alice said.

McCarson ignored that. “The file that I was given is locked in the trunk of my car. But I’ll tell you right now, there’s not much in it.”

“Let’s take a look,” Drake said.

They all trooped down the hall and back downstairs to the lobby. Outside McCarson led them to an inexpensive rental parked at the curb. He opened the trunk, reached into a briefcase, and removed a file folder. He handed it to Drake.

“Knock yourself out,” McCarson said. “Can I go now?”

“Sure,” Drake said. “One more thing, though.”

“Now what?”

“When you tell Ethel Whitcomb that you’re off the case, you can tell her something else.”

“What’s that?” McCarson asked.

Drake looked at him. “Let her know that Ms. North has moved on with her life. Tomorrow she will be entering into a Marriage of Convenience with me.”

Alice opened her mouth on what he knew was going to be a shocked—make that horrified—protest. He moved his head ever so slightly, willing her to keep silent. Somewhat to his amazement, she closed her mouth again without uttering a word.

McCarson did not appear to notice the byplay. He just snorted and slammed the trunk of the car.

“I don’t know why you want to enter an MC with Ms. North, given her track record with husbands, but I assume you have your reasons. Good luck and watch your back is all I can say. Can I go now?”

“Yes,” Drake said. “But make certain the news of the marriage gets to Ethel Whitcomb.”

“No problem,” McCarson said.

He walked around to the driver’s-side door and got behind the wheel.

Alice stood beside Drake. He could tell she was seething. Together they watched McCarson’s car turn the corner and drive away into the night.

“What in the world was that all about?” Alice asked.

“I need you on Rainshadow. I do not need an endless series of investigators following you to the island and getting in my way.”

“I see.” She gave that a moment’s consideration. “You think that if Ethel believes that I’m in an MC with you she will back off on the stalking?”

“Ethel Whitcomb might be determined to carry on with her campaign of harassment, but she’s going to have a big problem finding private investigators who will agree to work for her once they find out that you’re married to me.”

“Oh. Yeah.” Alice blew out a long sigh. “I see where you’re going with this.”

“I’m fairly certain that common sense and a healthy survival instinct will convince ninety-nine out of a hundred PIs to decline her offer of a job. They’ll know what they’re going up against.”

“And the one who isn’t convinced?”

“We’ll know something important about him, whoever he is.”

“Which is?”

“That he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed.” Drake hesitated. “But this plan will only work if the marriage is for real.”

Alice’s brows shot up. “You’re suggesting we actually go through with an MC?”

“Ethel Whitcomb is bound to check, don’t you think?”

Alice groaned. “Probably. What happens if I accept your job offer and agree to an MC and we actually find those missing crystals?”

“After the business on Rainshadow is finished, I’ll take care of Ethel Whitcomb for you.”

Alice gave him a searching look. “Geez, you’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Consider it a bonus payment for helping us find the crystals.”

“Do you really think you can get Ethel out of my life for good?”

He smiled slowly. “Making problems like Ethel Whitcomb go away is what I do, Alice. You might say I’ve got a talent for it.”

She watched him with a thoughtful expression. “A paranormal talent?”

He shrugged.

“I think I believe you,” she said slowly. “But to be clear, there’s something I would rather you did for me in exchange for my help on Rainshadow.”

“Find out who really killed Fulton Whitcomb?”

“Yes.”

“Deal.”

She blinked. “You’re that sure you can do it?”

“Whitcomb’s death is tied to everything else that is happening on Rainshadow,” Drake said. “When we find those two missing crystals, we’ll find the killer.”

“Suddenly you’ve got my full attention.”

“You’ll come to Rainshadow with me?”

“You couldn’t keep me away, not now.”

“Good,” he said. “That leaves us with just one more issue to settle this evening.”

“What’s that?”

“Do I spend the night in my car or on your couch?”

She thought about that for a moment longer than he would have liked.

“I’ve accepted your offer of a job and an MC, so the least I can do is let you sleep on the couch,” she said.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me yet. The couch came with the apartment. It’s really old and lumpy. The springs are shot. Houdini likes to bounce on it.”

Chapter 5

THE LIGHTS IN THE APARTMENT WERE OFF WHEN ALICE emerged from the bathroom. The balcony slider was open. Drake was outside, lounging against the railing. His broad shoulders were silhouetted in the ambient green glow that illuminated the Quarter. Houdini was perched on the railing beside him. Both males appeared to be savoring the energy of the night.

She was quite certain that Drake had stepped out of the tiny apartment in an act of gentlemanly discretion to give her some privacy while she got ready for bed.

What had she done by agreeing to go back to Rainshadow? This was not the first time she had made life-changing decisions on the fly. The one thing she had learned early on was how to rez with the currents, as the kids said. She was good at analyzing her options and making decisions quickly. She was nothing if not adaptable. She was also very good at cutting her losses.

It was not the decision to accept the job offer that she questioned. That was easy to understand. She needed the money and she had been told that she could name her price. Drake Sebastian was a powerful man with resources far beyond anything she could muster. If anyone could find the man who had murdered Fulton, it was Drake.

It was the second part of the deal—the Marriage of Convenience to a man she had only just met—that had her second-guessing herself. The last time she had been talked into an MC followed by a honeymoon on Rainshadow, things had not gone well.