I’d guessed right; Peter and Cooper were a handsome team.Both were tall, each imposing in his way.Cooper, wearing T-shirt, flannel shirtand jeans, clearly was the rougher-edged of the two.His hair was darker, the stubble on his cheeks darker, his eyes darker.I wanted to blame the grimness of his expression on the situation, but the fact was that Cooper had a shadowed side not even I had touched in nine years of trying.I’d long since learned that parts of Cooper were off-limits; but then, parts of me were, too.Cooper and I accepted that about each other, which was one of the things that made our relationship work.
Peter, on the other hand, wasn’t so much dark as new and, therefore, an enigma.Whereas I could guess that Cooper was feeling frustrated and constrained and angry as hell at the situation and all those related to it, Peter’s feelings escaped me.I supposed it was to be expected.I didn’t know the man.His features were controlled.Little slipped past his professional facade.
Oh, I could guess things.I could guess that he found me attractive.I intrigued him, he said.And I wasn’t so ignorant as to think he was fascinated by my mind.He was male through and through.I was willing to wager that his sexual prowess rivaled his legal skill.Whether wandering through my living room, standing by my counter or sitting in one of the ladder-back chairs at my table, his lines flowed.He was comfortable with his body; he handled it well.
I supposed others had handled it well, too, over the years.
But I wasn’t entirely sure.Helaine had calledhim a lady-killer, but what did Helaine know?Rumor had a way of feeding upon itself, particularly where sex was involved.Perhaps rumor was wrong.Perhaps Peter Hathaway was the monogamous type.Perhaps he’d been married and divorced, or engaged and burned.Perhaps he had a long-time steady lover in Manhattan.Or he’d sworn off women completely.Or he was hung up on his mother.
His love life was one big, fat question mark.Even the half smile he’d given me, the one that had set my equilibrium back so, had been mysterious in its way, as though it held a secret that I ought to know but didn’t.
“Hutter Johns wouldn’t have done anything like that,” Cooper barked, intruding on my thoughts, retraining them on the discussion at hand.“Yes, he’s the newest member of my crew, but he’s one of the most open.”
“Sometimes the open ones are the most deceptive,” Peter returned.“They toss out red herrings right and left.”
“Not Hutter,” Cooper vowed.“Not to me.”He clamped his mouth shut.
Reaching quickly for the coffeepot, I skirted the table and went to his side.When I put a tentative hand on his shoulder, his gaze flew to mine in surprise—as though he’d momentarily forgotten I was in the room—and then softened in the subtle way that was characteristically Cooper.I refilled his mug, then moved around and did the same for Peter.Once I’d replaced the glass carafeon its warmer, I returned to Cooper’s side.
Peter looked up from his mug.If he thought anything of my change of position, he didn’t let on, and it certainly didn’t deter him from his purpose.He’d apparently reached the point where he felt a little pushing was in order.Though his voice was quiet, his eyes were clear and sharp.“If neither you nor your crew had anything to do with the smuggling of those diamonds, how did they get onto the boat and into your cabin?”
Stone-voiced, Cooper said, “I don’t know.”
“You must have a theory.”
“I assume they were put on the boat while we were docked at Grand Bank.”
“By whom?”
“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be sitting here now.”
“Where would you be?”
“Fishing.”
More softly than Cooper, I told Peter, “The boat’s been impounded, and the crew is filing for unemployment.It isn’t a great situation.”
Peter’s gaze caught mine, and I imagined I saw a germ of compassion there before he turned back to Cooper.“Why would someone have picked theFree Reign?”
“Because,” Copper said without pause, “we’re predictable.And reliable.We leave here on schedule, we come back on schedule.And we’re above reproach.”
“Until now.”
Cooper didn’t respond.Since I stood slightly behind his shoulder, I couldn’t see his face, still I knew without a doubt that it was granite hard.I could feel his anger, a tangible thing very much in control of his being, and I had the uncomfortable notion that he was getting ready to bolt.That was the last thing I wanted.So I spoke up in his defense.
“Cooper is innocent.In the nine years I’ve known him, he’s never done anything even remotely questionable.He keeps detailed records of where he’s fished and what he’s caught.The fishing authorities trust him.I trust him.He’s innocent.So is theFree Reign.They’ve been used, that’s all.We have to find out by whom.”
“How do you propose we do that?”Peter asked.
“I was going to ask you the same question.”
He took a slow swallow of his coffee, set the mug down and leaned back in his seat.“I could talk with the police, but obviously they feel they already have their man.I will plant some doubt.That won’t hurt, and I can do it easily enough, but a little doubt won’t spark an active investigation.”He looked from Cooper’s face to mine, then back.“We could conduct one ourselves.We could hire an investigator.But it’ll cost.”
“No,” Cooper said.“No investigator.”
Tightening my hand on his shoulder, I said to Peter, “We’ll think about it.In the meantime, what can we do?”
His answer was on the tip of his tongue.“Talkwith people, anyone and everyone around here who has anything to do with Cooper or the boat.The crew comes first.I want to talk with each of them.”
