Cole couldn’t believe his luck. Although the first four dentists had never heard of Carl, the fifth turned up some interesting information.

“This is Dr. Greenwood,” he said when he returned Cole’s message to his answering service. “What can I do for you?”

“My name is Cole Marshall, Dr. Greenwood.”

“Cole Marshall?” the dentist repeated. “The one on the radio?”

“That’s right, sir.”

“Well, I’ll be. We listen to your program at the office every day. We really enjoy it.”

“Thank you. I was hoping you could help me, Dr. Greenwood. I’m doing some research on a Carl Lucas. Do you know him?”

“I was before he left town. He was a good friend of mine, and he told me that he was going to run off with his sister-in-law. It’s been …” The dentist paused a moment. “I don’t know. It’s probably been twenty years since I last heard from him.”

“Do you still have his records?” Cole asked.

“They’re most likely in storage. I don’t dispose of any records unless I’m sure the person has died.”

“Could I borrow them for a few days?”

“I don’t see why not, but I don’t understand why you would want to.”

“His sister-in-law is my mother. There’s been an accident, and they need dental records both of Mom and Carl to see if they’re the burn victims.”

“Surely, they’ve had dental work over the past twenty years. Everything’s changed by now.”

“It isn’t so much that,” Cole lied carefully, “as it is trying to see if the victims could be Mom and Carl. Apparently, there’s evidence that they were using assumed names.”

“All right, Mr. Marshall. Meet me at my office, and I’ll have the records. By the way, what was your mother’s name? I can see if she was my patient, too.”

“I’d really appreciate that, sir,” Cole said. “Her name’s Lucinda Marshall. I’ll be there in about an hour. Will that be enough time?”

“Give me at least two. I need to go to a storage locker first.”

“Thanks a lot, Dr. Greenwood. I really appreciate all the help.”

 ***

        After finishing cleaning the cupboards and drawers in the mansion kitchen, Tori went to the apartment. There she saw Jack diligently working on some pieces of bone with the equipment he’d brought.

“How’s it going?” Tori asked.

“Slowly,” Jack replied without even glancing at her. “What have you been doing?”

Sinking onto the couch, Tori sighed, suddenly exhausted by everything that had been happening since she got to Charleston. “Cole cleaned the apartment before I came, but he didn’t do anything in the house. I’m pretty the cops won’t find anything here, but I don’t want to risk contaminating anything that came up after I found the skeleton. That’s why I’m staying in the main house. Anyway, I want to buy some groceries later, so I disinfected all the cupboards in the kitchen.”

He glanced over at her then took a second, longer look as he sat back on his knees. Tori turned her attention to her clothing and noticed all the soot on her shirt and jeans. Grimacing, she said, “I also cleaned one of the fireplaces. Is there anything I can help with?”

“No thanks,” Jack said with a smile. “I’ve done about all I can here. I’ll have to take some bone samples back to my office where I have equipment for detailed analyses.”

“You have equipment for doing autopsies at your office?” she asked incredulously. “Why?”

“Didn’t Cole tell you? I work for the coroner as an assistant medical examiner. Mostly doing forensics work and testifying at trials, but I’ve done my share of autopsies, too.”

Tori watched him silently for a moment as he gathered his belongings together. He seemed very friendly now, not at all like their original meeting when he’d been rather distant toward her. Did she dare ask him why he’d appeared so suspicious of her when they’d met? Or should she let it rest and hope that he would come around?

Unable to contain her curiosity, she questioned him slowly. “Why did you act so suspicious of me yesterday?”

Shooting his startled gaze to her, he wandered to the overstuffed chair and sank down into it. “I’m just concerned about Cole. He’s been my friend for a long time. We corresponded every week the entire time he was gone. Then we ended up at the same college. I know him almost as well as I know myself. That’s why I want to protect him.”

“From me?” she asked in amazement.

“He doesn’t trust women because of what his mother did. Since you showed up, all he can think of is protecting you. Frankly, I’ve never seen him treat a woman like he does you. I’m just afraid he’ll get hurt.”

At that moment, Cole burst through the door with a jovial greeting. Tori sighed in relief, glad that he had interrupted. Her conversation with Jack had started down a road she didn’t want to take.

“Here are the dental records,” Cole said as he handed a large, manila folder to Jack.

Accepting the folder, Jack rose and returned to the skeleton. “I have to admit that I wasn’t sure you could pull this off. How did you find the dentist and convince him to give you these records without going into detail?

“I gave him a partial truth,” Cole explained as he sat down beside Tori and draped his arm around her shoulders. “Jack was his good friend, and Jack had told him that he and Mom were running away together. He was a little suspicious that I wanted the dental records because it had been so long. I really hadn’t thought of that when I called around. Anyway, I covered by having him look for Mom’s, too. I wouldn’t even have thought of it if he hadn’t offered.”

When Jack opened the jawbone, Tori shuddered in distaste. How could he be so casual about his work? Beside her, Cole tightened his hold. Gazing up at him, she saw his crooked grin and shook her head slowly. Now what was he planning? The thought had no sooner crossed her mind than Cole’s voice rang pleasantly in her ear.

“So, pal, now that you’ve had a chance to chat with Tori,” Cole asked, “does that she pass inspection?”

“We didn’t talk that much, but she passes. And that’s not necessarily good.”

“I know,” Cole admitted with a grimace. “Dad’s probably going to balk when he meets her.”

“Why?” Tori asked, slightly offended by the remark.

“We have different tastes in women. He thinks I should find somebody he likes and learn to like her myself. I say it doesn’t work that way.”

Tori grimaced. She didn’t like the turn this conversation had taken, either. Not only did she have no intention of getting closer to Cole, she refused to even consider it.. She’d thought she’d made that perfectly clear to him. Now he was talking like this was going to be a long-term commitment at the very least, a lifetime one at the most. Nope, if she could be rational, she wasn’t even going to entertain the possibility. Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to be rational very often where Cole was concerned.

Determined to keep her distance, Tori pushed away and glared up at him. “I don’t want to be your taste in women. I don’t want to be your father’s taste, either. I just want to be your restoration expert and do my job.”

Cole laughed. “Don’t get on your high horse. I was just stating a fact. Besides, where’s there a law written that says you can’t be both?”

“In my etiquette manual,” she declared. “I don’t horse around with my clients.”

“That’s okay by me. If we decide to horse around, I’ll fire you. Then I’ll hire you again when it’s all over.”

“Damn it, Cole! I’m not that kind of woman.”

“Which makes you all the more interesting.” Across the room, Jack rose with a chuckle, and Cole turned toward his friend. “What do you think?”

“I think you’ve finally met your match,” Jack returned.

Cole gazed at Tori longingly, his green eyes somehow brighter than she’d seen them yet. “I could have told you that, but I was talking about the remains.”

“I know. Say hello to your uncle Carl.”

Cole’s frivolity disappeared in an instant, replaced by a vivid disappointment. Tori’s heart went out to him. She knew that, despite the passing of the years, he still felt the loss. But when he responded, he sounded quite calm. “I was afraid of that. Now I really do think Dad lied to me.”

Tori realized that now was the time to tell him what she’d found. “That might not be the case, Cole.” She hesitated, reluctant to mention her discovery even though she’d brought it up herself. But the men needed to know all the information she had. “Now that we have a positive identification, there’s something you should know. I found a letter yesterday—from Carl to Lucinda. That was your mother’s name, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. What did the letter say?”

“That Carl was staying with Claire because he couldn’t hurt her by running off.”

Cole gasped and stared down at her in horror. “Oh, my God. You think Mom did it. But she couldn’t have, Tori. I told you before that she isn’t that kind of person. Besides, she could never have built that wall. She’s as afraid of heights as I am. She couldn’t have gotten anywhere close to the ceiling to paint the wall, let alone construct it. She probably couldn’t even have figured out how. Dad probably did it. It’s the only logical explanation. What was the date on the letter, and where is it?”

“I put it back where I found it, and there was no date.”

“Mom’s letter to us kids was dated August 1. They could have changed their minds.”

“And they might not have. You have to accept the theory, Cole.”

“I won’t!” he roared. “I’ll never accept such an absurd notion. The whole idea is ludicrous. Why can’t you see that?”

“I’m not emotionally involved. I’m a third party to all of this.”

“So am I,” Jack inserted as he finished packing up his equipment, “and I agree with Cole. Mrs. Marshall was my favorite person when we were growing up. She always welcomed me—even if I just got off the bus with Cole after school. All I had to do was call home and tell my mother where I was.” He picked up his belongings and started toward the door. “Matt’s scheduled to leave work at seven tonight, so I’ll be alone after that. Don’t come by until at least nine, though, in case he’s late or has to come back for some reason. I’ll tell you then what I came up with, and we’ll go to the police with our findings.”

“All right,” Cole agreed as he followed Jack toward the door. “In the meantime, I’m going to have Tori show me the letter she found. Maybe there’s some way I can prove to her how ridiculous her theory is.”

 ***

        As they sat on the 200-year-old Queen Anne sofa in the library, Tori questioned Cole about the letters. “Is there anything in there that will disprove my theory?”

He gazed at her sadly, hating to admit the truth. “No, but I still can’t believe it. My mother just isn’t that kind of person. She would have been disappointed, but she couldn’t have been jealous enough to kill Carl. Besides, maybe Carl wasn’t murdered. Maybe he died of natural causes. Jack didn’t see any evidence of a mortal injury.”

“Think about it, Cole. How many people are boarded up in an alcove after a natural death? Things like that aren’t done. The only logical explanation is murder. You just don’t want to accept it.”

The lump in Cole’s throat grew larger as he stared at her. He couldn’t believe that either of his parents was involved in murder. He sighed heavily and swallowed hard to clear his throat. “How can I accept it, honey? The number one suspect is my mother; the number two suspect is my father. Don’t you see how devastating this is for me?”

Tori took his hand and squeezed it tenderly. “Of course, I do, but denial’s only going to make it harder for you.”

“My mind tells me that you’re right, but my heart can’t accept the evidence.” He paused a moment. Should he say more? Or should he take the chance of making a fool of himself by speaking his mind? If he was going to be honest, it didn’t make much difference. He already felt like a fool for falling so hard for a woman he didn’t know, and that much was already obvious to her. Besides, admitting his confusion concerning his parents’ involvement in Carl’s death might bring her closer to him. And he wanted that more than answers right now.

To still his anxiety, he took a deep breath then said, “Actually, my heart’s never been more confused about life’s unexpected turns than it is right now. I want Dad to be innocent, but I want to believe that he was the one who killed Carl. I want Mom to be innocent, too. Most of all, I want to send you home, but I can’t. Like I said, our lives are entangled, especially now that we’ve unearthed this mystery. You’re as much involved in it as I am, and I can’t protect you if you leave town.”

“You don’t need to protect me,” she countered.

“Oh, yes, I do. And starting tonight, you’re coming to my place. No more sleeping here.”

“I am not leaving,” she denied in her most authoritative tone. “And I’m definitely not moving in with you.”

In her anger, Tori almost blurted out that she’d seen him the night before, but something stopped her. Cole wasn’t the only man who knew where the plantation was—so did his father and Jack. But as far as she knew, Cole was the only person other than herself who had keys to the mansion.

Besides, now that she was thinking rationally again, she wasn’t sure that Cole had been there last night. It could just as easily have been Richard or Jack trying to scare her into leaving. Although, she wasn’t really sure what motive Jack would have for doing such a thing.

Now she was reluctant to bring up the subject to Cole. She certainly didn’t want him to confront either Jack or Richard and accuse him of terrorizing her. That could cause hard feelings all around.

“Why won’t you move in with me?” he asked. “Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course, I do. It’s just that …”

Nervous, Tori wandered to the window without finishing her sentence. Since she was working for him, she couldn’t tell him the truth—that each time they were together her attachment to him grew stronger. Each time the sparks his touch sent through her increased in intensity, and someday those sparks would start a fire that she could only extinguish in one way.

While she watched his reflection in the window, Cole wandered up behind her and caressed her shoulders. Then he questioned her in a mocking tone. “It’s just what, honey? Just that you like me a little too much? Exactly the way I like you?”

Why did he have to hold her again? she wondered frantically. Why couldn’t he keep his hands to himself? Worse yet, why didn’t she try to get away from him? At least, the last question was easy to answer. She didn’t want to! She liked having him hold her and had no intention of denying herself the pleasure of his caresses. Still, she had to deny Cole everything if she didn’t want to get hurt again.

“You obviously have an elevated opinion of yourself,” she said dryly. “You could use a few lessons in humility.”

Cole chuckled. “I’m just stating the obvious, sweetheart. Even under your tough exterior, it shows.”

Something in the woods about fifty feet from the house caught Tori’s attention. But the shadow was only there for a second. Shaking her head, she chastised herself. She really needed to get her mind off Cole’s coming to the mansion last night because her already overactive imagination had gone into overdrive. Now she was starting to see things.

Regaining her composure, she broke away from him. “Let’s get out of here for a while. You could use a break from the letters so you can see things more clearly. And I need to do some grocery shopping. Let’s go our separate ways for the rest of the day. I’ll meet you at the Tides about nine so we can meet Jack.”

“Good idea.” His expression took on that playful look he got every time he was about to make another comment with a sexual overtone. “I have a few things I need to do this afternoon, too—like talk to Dad. Come to think of it, maybe we should meet at my place. We might run into him at the Tides.”

Shaking of her head, Tori smiled up at him. “Nice try, but I’ll take my chances with meeting your father. If we met at your house, I have the distinct impression that we’d be late meeting Jack, because I’d have to fight off an amorous client.”

“You’re probably right,” he said in a sensuous tone. “Get your purse while I check the locks.”

 ***

        Cole didn’t like what he saw. Jack should be waiting in the morgue lobby, but he wasn’t. And it wasn’t like Jack not to do what he said he would.

“What’s the matter, Cole?” Tori asked.

“I don’t know,” he returned, taking her hand. “Come on. Let’s find his office.”

Several minutes later they came to a room with the door open only a couple of inches. They stopped outside, and Cole listened silently for movement. He heard nothing.

“Jack?” he shouted. “You here?”

There was no response. Tori grasped his forearm with both hands. Her grip was so strong that he knew she was frightened.

“This is spooky, Cole,” she said, her voice cracking. “We’re in a morgue, and there’s not a sound. Maybe we should leave.”

“Don’t worry, honey,” he said as he patted her hand reassuringly. “Nobody here is going to jump out and grab us. Besides, I thought you didn’t believe in ghosts.”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t think this place is spooky.”

Cole chuckled as he pushed open the door. “You in here, Jack?” Again he met with silence. He peeked inside. A partially dissected body lay on a table, so he glanced at Tori. “You stay here. Jack’s been working.” Tori nodded silently while Cole stepped into the room. That feeling in his gut that he’d had lately told him that he had to be very careful not to touch anything in case …

Stopping short, Cole stared at the floor about five feet from him. “Oh, my God! Get the hell out of here, Tori. Fast!”

Tori didn’t even think to question him. Terrified by his tone, she raced down the corridor and ran through the front doors, not stopping until she got to his car. Her heart pumped unmercifully as she collapsed back against the Rogue; she panted hard from the mixture of fear and sudden exertion. What had happened to make Cole so frantic?