Return to Mystic Lake by Carla Cassidy Page A

haven’t figured out a motive. In the case I was working on in Bachelor Moon, we never figured out a motive for what we finally came to believe had to have been a kidnapping. In both cases no ransom notes have been received, everyone couldn’t imagine the people having any enemies and no bodies have been found.”
    “But you said none of the investigators in the case in Bachelor Moon were threatened in any way,” she replied, obviously not wanting the cases to be related and still clinging to the hope that they would find the couple alive and well any day now.
    “True,” he replied. Hell, he didn’t want the two cases to be related, but comparing the facts of the crimes gave him pause. The fact that Edward Bentz was from the Baton Rouge area, which was very close to Bachelor Moon, and that he was now in Mystic Lake definitely was too much of a coincidence to ignore.
    He got up from the table and headed toward the fridge. “I’ll scramble us up some eggs and make toast and then we can get on the road. Hopefully today we’ll get some answers that will help make something about this case come into focus.”
    Breakfast was eaten quickly, with the conversation centered on their visit with Marjorie’s mother. “She’s a lovely lady,” Jackson said.
    “She’s got a lot of heart.”
    “It bothers me that you live like a pauper and she’s in that luxury two-bedroom apartment,” he admitted.
    “I don’t live like a pauper,” she protested.
    He raised a dark brow and held her gaze. “Maggie, I know about what you make for a salary and it’s obvious you aren’t spending any of it on creature comforts for yourself. Hell, since I’ve been here I’ve never even seen you in anything but that white blouse and slacks. Do you have any other wardrobe?”
    “Of course I do. I’m fine the way things are. I like helping out my mother.”
    Jackson finished the last of the eggs on his plate and then looked at her again. “But wouldn’t it be better if you’d tell your mother the truth of the situation? Have her move to a place that’s more within her means and ease some of the pressure off you?”
    “I think we need to solve this case, and you should keep your nose out of my personal life.” She straightened in her chair and he knew he’d crossed a line with her.
    He reached out his hand and covered one of hers. She tried to pull away, but he held tight. “I just want more for you, Maggie. You deserve more from life.”
    Her gaze searched his, as if seeking a joke, a facade of charm, but he knew she’d find nothing like that there. He’d spoken the simple, stark truth.
    She tried to pull her hand from his again, and this time he let go, and she looked down at her plate. “I appreciate your concern for me, Jackson, but I’m doing just fine. I don’t require a lot to be happy.”
    “Are you happy?” he asked.
    Her beautiful green eyes met his once again and a frown darted across her forehead. She took a sip of her coffee and then placed the cup back on the table.
    “I never really look for happy. I’m satisfied.... Most of the time I’m content with my life, and that’s good enough for me,” she finally replied.
    He nodded, although he wasn’t sure why it wasn’t good enough for him. He wanted her to have things—scented oils for a bubble bath, a silk purple dress with killer high heels. She deserved dinner in a candlelit restaurant where the prices weren’t on the menu. He wanted her to have a luxurious carpet to rub her bare toes in at the end of a long day, a sofa soft enough to cradle her as she watched television to unwind.
    He also wanted her to have laughter, and a man who loved her more than anyone else on the face of the earth. There was no question that she’d suffered financial devastation at the hands of scamming stepfathers, but he imagined she wasn’t even aware of the emotional trauma that had gone along with it.
    She needed a man who could break through her defenses, a man who could