Her front tire wobbled a little when a few intriguing possibilities popped unbidden into her mind. She’d have to put a stop to that train of thought quickly or risk crashing her bike before she arrived at her door. Once she was safely inside—well, then she’d be free to fantasize all she wanted about sexy Aaron Walker.
Chapter Six
Even on vacations, Aaron didn’t tend to be a late sleeper. He was up with the sun the next morning, opening the blinds to let in the light. The brief rainfall during the night had been just enough to leave everything clean and fresh this morning, almost begging him to go outside and appreciate.
There was no movement from the cabin next door, and the blinds there were still tightly closed, he noted before heading for the shower. He wondered if Andrew had dug up anything interesting on Terrence Landon, because Aaron had noted nothing particularly remarkable.
After a quick shower and shave, he dressed in a worn gray T-shirt from a Springsteen concert seven summers earlier and a pair of charcoal shorts made of a quick-dry fabric for water sports. He zipped his wallet into a waterproof bag and shoved it in his back pocket, then buttoned his cell phone, which was already protected by a waterproof case, into the cargo pocket on his right thigh. Water sandals, sunglasses and his Rangers ball cap completed his ultracasual outfit.
Man, he thought, he could get used to dressing like this every day. No tie, no jacket, no socks, for that matter. Maybe his next job should be outdoors. He didn’t mind hard work, but he wouldn’t care if he never wore another necktie.
He ate a bagel with chocolate-hazelnut spread for breakfast
, then took out his phone and dialed his brother. “Have you found anything on Landon?” he asked as soon as he heard Andrew’s voice.
“I take it you’re still at the resort?”
“Yeah. Thought I’d hang around through the weekend while I do some internet searches for my next career plans. It’s a nice place. Nice people.”
“They are,” Andrew agreed.
Aaron thought of the brochure he’d found on the floor. “But you weren’t planning to come back here, were you?”
“Not anytime soon,” Andrew replied after a very brief hesitation. “I didn’t see any need to do so once the job ended.”
Aaron thought the Bell family would be disappointed if they heard that. They seemed to think Andrew had become a friend while he’d worked for them, whereas he kept referring to them as clients. Aaron knew his twin well enough to figure out that something else was going on here, but also well enough to know that Andrew would tell him what it was in his own good time. Prodding would get him nowhere.
He changed the subject. “So about Terrence Landon...”
“The license number you gave me belongs to a rental. It was leased in a woman’s name, Marie Jonas. Haven’t yet found anything to tell me who she is.”
“I haven’t seen a woman around. A man visited yesterday. I’ve got another license plate for you.”
“Did you notice anything suspicious about the guy’s visit?”
“Other than that both of them looked nervous and distrustful of me, not really. But to be honest, Landon could be jumpy because Shelby’s been spying on him, probably not quite as subtly as she thinks.”
Andrew gave a short bark of laughter. “You’d better tell her to back off before she gets charged with stalking.”
“Already have. She has reason to be suspicious, the guy seems downright weird. But other than peeking at me through his blinds, I haven’t seen him do anything over the top. Did you find anything on him?”
“Not so far. No record I can find of a Terrence Landon in marketing in Austin. Doesn’t mean he’s a fake, just that I haven’t found him yet.”
Which raised Aaron’s suspicions even further. Was the guy really here under an assumed name? And if so, why?
“Everything you’ve told me raises flags,” Andrew continued. “The name, the rental car, paying in cash, the stream of visitors, staying inside at a place most people go to for outdoor sports. But has it occurred to you his visitors could be there for sex? This could all be nothing more than a cheating spouse or partner trying to stay low.”
“It occurred to me. Not ruling it out, though I didn’t get that vibe from them yesterday.”
“I’ll run this new number, see what else I can find on Landon. Can’t get to it immediately, I’ve got a security consultation in Plano this morning. Having lunch with the CEO and a few bigwigs, doing a factory walkthrough afterward.”
“Can’t see that there’s any rush. If Landon checks out before we find anything, I don’t think anyone will be sad to see him go. Whatever he’s up to, Shelby doesn’t want him using her family’s resort for it, but he hasn’t shown any hurry to leave yet.”
“Then I’ll look into it when I can.”
“Thanks, Andrew.”
“You seem awfully eager to set Shelby’s mind at ease.”