Chapter 3
The city of Cody, in neighboring Park County, looked a lot like the city of Stillwater. It had the same wide main street, historic buildings and backdrop of snow-capped mountains. Laurie parked the rental car and looked out at her surroundings, drawing in a deep breath to steady her nerves. In all her years of working undercover, she had never had to make emergency contact with her handler. She supposed there had to be a first time for everything. And these circumstances certainly were unusual. Grabbing the portfolio of pictures that were her cover story together with the paper bag in which she had concealed the flower arrangement, she locked up the car.
When she found the nondescript attorney’s office, she made her way up the steps at the side of the building to the second floor. Moreton, who was leaning back in his chair drinking coffee and reading a newspaper, looked startled when, after a brief knock, she walked into the tiny office he was using.
“Another ten minutes and I’d have been gone.” He indicated the clock on the wall. The arrangement was he would be there for two hours each day from 9 a.m. “How are you?”
“Exactly how did Carla die?” Laurie didn’t want to waste time on pleasantries.
“In a boating accident. You read the file.”
“That’s not what I meant. What was the specific injury that killed her?”
Moreton frowned. “It’s always been assumed she drowned.”
“Assumed? Did you actually read the autopsy report?”
“Laurie, sit down. Take a breath. What’s this all about?”
Instead of doing as he said, she produced the heart-shaped flower arrangement from the paper bag and placed it on his desk. His eyes remained on the flowers for a moment or two, before lifting to her face. His expression was blank. “That was left in my cabin while I was out last night.”
“Someone got into your cabin?” Moreton pulled a pad of paper toward him and flipped it over to a blank page. “Who else has a key?”
“We can check that out later. How they got in is not the most important thing.” Moreton waited for her to continue. “Cameron told me last night Carla had a secret admirer. Someone who sent her a heart-shaped arrangement of red roses every week.”
“And you think whoever sent it was the same person who sent these to you? And that he could have murdered Carla?” Moreton was scribbling notes, following her thought processes fast.
“You have to admit it’s a possibility.”
He remained quiet while he studied the flowers. Laurie knew that look. It meant his analytical mind was weighing every probability. But she caught a glimpse of something else in his expression. A glimmer of acute emotion that looked a lot like excitement. It was gone as soon as it appeared. And it puzzled her. Moreton didn’t do excitement. Didn’t really do emotion. Maybe it had been a long time since he’d come across such an interesting lead with the potential of opening up a whole new case.
“Okay. I agree it’s possible Carla Bryan had a stalker. There’s even a chance she was murdered by the person who was sending her these flowers, and her death was mistakenly written off as an accident. Let’s not rule anything out. The first thing I need to do is what you’ve asked, and double-check the coroner’s report. I’ll let you know the actual cause of Carla’s death.”
“We could also try to find out where these flowers came from and if any were sent to Carla from the same supplier.”
“We?” He raised a brow. “You can’t do any investigating. You are not Detective Bryan of the San Diego Police Department. She hasn’t been around for a while, remember? You are Laurie Carter, children’s storybook illustrator, here in Wyoming on vacation. I don’t want you putting yourself at risk.”
“Okay.” Laurie felt a blush tinge her cheeks. Moreton’s reminder put her firmly in her place. In this investigation, she was powerless. In reality, she didn’t exist. Even her name was fake. She actually was Amy Carter-Bryan. Her middle name was Laurie, and that was what her family called her. She was an undercover detective in the San Diego Police Department. Two years ago her department had worked alongside the FBI on a series of homicides. Laurie and Moreton had collaborated closely on that case.
When Moreton needed someone here in Wyoming to get close to Cameron Delaney, he had begun his research. Pictures of Carla had instantly made him think of the young San Diego detective he had worked with. Incredibly, further probing had unearthed the information that the two women were related. Moreton had approached Laurie’s chief with a request for her to be assigned to the Bureau for this case...and here she was.
Laurie felt obliged to ask the question that had been bothering her since the previous night. “Could Cameron Delaney be wary of me? He might have made up this whole story about the flowers as an elaborate way of scaring me off. He could have had someone plant these in my cabin, in which case, I’ve already blown the whole operation.”
Moreton considered the suggestion, his head on one side. “I checked your credentials before I recruited you. You’ve never aroused any distrust before. If Delaney wanted to get rid of you, the flowers seem like an elaborate way to do it. He doesn’t strike me as that kind of guy. But you tell me what you want to do. If you think Carla’s stalker is targeting you, or Delaney’s guard is up, don’t go back to Stillwater. Come in now.”
Laurie had been afraid of this, had actually considered not bringing the flowers to him in case he insisted on ending the operation immediately. At least he was offering her options. “Let’s not be hasty. You’ve been trying for a long time to get someone close to Delaney Transportation. I’m not there yet, but I’m the best you’ve got. I won’t take any chances with my personal safety.”
He pursed his lips thoughtfully, then he nodded. She got the feeling she’d given him the answer he wanted. Hell, she was having a lot of feelings today. Most of them uncomfortable. “Let’s meet again tomorrow morning. By that time, I’ll have had a chance to get the information we need. We’ll take it from there. In the meantime, you have your gun with you, right?”
“Of course I do.”
Having made arrangements to return to Moreton’s office the following day, Laurie headed back to her car. She was surprised and relieved Moreton had listened to her and, having done so, had not insisted on ending the operation there and then. It was a lack of caution that was out of character with what she knew of him, but then, what did she really know of Moreton? She didn’t even know his first name. Their interactions were limited to discussions of the case, and this one felt different from any other she’d been on. So different that she was tipped off balance. She had come here certain about her role, but now there was a possible new element to be considered that was throwing everything off-kilter.
She spent the drive back to Stillwater deep in thought, much of it going over the same ground she had covered the night before. She was already convinced Carla’s death was not an accident. But, if that was the case, who had killed her and why? The only person who seemed to be in the clear was Cameron. He had a watertight alibi for the night Carla died. Hundreds of people could vouch for his presence at the political function. He was the person who had told Laurie about Carla’s secret admirer and the flowers he sent her. And, unless he had an accomplice who had carried out the task on his behalf, he had been with Laurie last night and couldn’t have left the flowers in her cabin.
She
