Casey stopped at the small table next to the window. She bent down, running her finger over what appeared to be a mark on the carpet.
As she slowly rose, he saw her touch the top of the table with a finger and then hold it up to her nose. The movement had dispersed the scent into the air again. He breathed it in, assaulted with memories, all bittersweet. He’d never known Megan. He wasn’t sure anyone really had.
“Someone dragged this table over by the door,” Casey said. She pointed to another spot on the carpet, this one closer to the door.
“They probably used some kind of spray device to disperse the perfume into the hall.” Had whoever had done it been waiting for someone to come by as they hid behind the locked door? Or was this just for her—the reason they’d left the note for her?
Finn felt a draft and quickly stepped to the window. He shoved aside the drapes and could see where the screen had been bent when it was shoved aside. He looked for tracks in the soft dirt outside, but there were none. There was a rock ledge along the exterior. It appeared someone had been coming and going from an adjoining room.
Turning, he met Casey’s gaze. He doubted that the two of them were the only ones who remembered Megan’s perfume, but whoever had left the note had been targeting her. Targeting them both. “The person could have gone out the window. Or wanted us to think they did.”
“I’m sorry I thought it was you,” she said.
He nodded, still upset that she didn’t trust him. “Whoever did this might have wanted to come between us. Isn’t that what Megan had done with you and your grandmother? If so, it almost worked.” He raked his fingers through his hair again. “This could be all for the reunion.” But even as he said it, he remembered those sleepless nights when he’d heard things and been convinced he wasn’t alone.
“If they did it to scare me, they’re wasting their time. I’m leaving as soon as I can.” She met his gaze. “Maybe I’m not moving fast enough to suit them.”
“I think they don’t want you to trust me,” he said, holding her gaze. “We both know who might benefit from that.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“DEVLIN?” CASEY SHOOK her head. “He knows I’m selling the hotel to you. Let me see the note.” She’d barely glanced at it before, but now she felt a start as she recognized the handwriting. It was the same as the message that had been left on her bathroom mirror.
She felt Finn’s gaze on her.
“Casey? Is something wrong?”
It was on the tip of her tongue. Tell him. He isn’t going to stop until he learns the truth. “I don’t think it was Devlin.” She thought of the offers he’d made her just that morning. Not his handwriting.
“Maybe it’s someone who doesn’t want the truth to come out,” he said.
Maybe. What if the person who left the message on her mirror believed that she’d read the diary and that Megan had named her killer? Was the perfume stunt just another warning? Except, this time, whoever had written the note had involved Finn. To make her not trust him so she wouldn’t tell him?
For ten years, she’d lived with her secret. But she couldn’t keep lying, especially to Finn. She opened her mouth, the words just lying there on her tongue. Releasing them seemed so easy.
But they weren’t what came out. “You’re the only one who still cares what happened to Megan.” The words were tinged with bitterness and jealousy and anger and, of course, guilt. Look at the trouble he’d gone to for Megan. Months in this old hotel.
And he still wouldn’t let it go. It made her angry that anyone could care that much about Megan, especially Finn. Especially since Casey had nothing but contempt for her.
Finn looked as if she’d slapped him, and then, slowly, he nodded. “You’re right. In all these years the killer hasn’t been caught. The marshal who got the call that night has retired, and while the case might still be open because there’s no statute of limitations on murder, no one is actively looking. Except for me. You’re just wrong about why I’m doing this.” He settled a look on her that sent shivers down her spine.
Stepping to her, he took her shoulders in his big hands. “I might be the only one looking for the truth, but someone sure is going to a lot of trouble to make us think Megan’s ghost is in this hotel. I’m afraid it’s a distraction for what’s really going on behind the scenes. Whoever is behind this, they don’t want you and me together. Why is that?”
FINN LOOKED INTO Casey’s blue eyes. She couldn’t have been more beautiful right now, her cheeks flushed, those blue eyes glittering bright, her bow-shaped lips slightly parted.
She looked so damned kissable. He felt that pull again—just as he had in the tower earlier. “Why would anyone care about keeping us apart?” she asked.
Their gazes locked, and it was as if all the air in the room had been sucked out. “They’re worried that we know more than we do.” But at this moment, he didn’t care what their motives might be. That alone was sending up a red flag. Abort! You can’t get involved with this woman. Not now.
“The person must know that you’re determined to find Megan’s killer,” she said.
He swore under his breath. She still thought this was about Megan. He ignored the warnings flashing in his brain as he drew her to him. There were no words that would convince her he’d gotten over Megan a long time ago.
Casey Crenshaw? That was a whole other story, and one he wanted desperately to delve into. Her eyes widened as he pulled her to him, needing to hold her, to taste her, to show her how
