The Fatal Fortune by Jayne Castle

tomorrow."
    "What if we can't reach her?" Guinevere dumped the pile of mushrooms into a frying pan and let them sizzle in butter.
    "I guess if we can't get hold of her in a couple of days we could drive over to the coast and see if we can find her," Zac said reluctantly.
    "Good idea! I'm impressed that you found her so quickly." Guinevere picked up her wineglass and took a rather large swallow. "You really are awfully good at your work, aren't you, Zac?"
    Zac blinked lazily, watching her movements with a shuttered curiosity. The tension in her this evening was new. He'd seen it the moment he'd come through the door. Because of it, he'd refrained from asking her who had been smoking a cigarette in the apartment before he'd arrived. He'd caught the lingering scent of burning tobacco as soon as he'd entered the hall. But before he could casually ask who'd been visiting, Guinevere' had thrown herself into his arms. Instinct had warned Zac to wait and see. "In my own slow, humble way I try to do my job," he said with grave modesty. To his surprise she reacted strongly to the joke.
    "You are not slow or humble or plodding or anything like it," Guinevere said fiercely. "You are downright brilliant at times."
    "Gosh, lady, I didn't know I'd made such a great impression."
    She turned back to the stove brusquely. "Well, you have. Are you ready? The salmon is done and so are the mushrooms."
    Zac cocked one thick brow. "Salmon? Now I'm the one impressed. What did I do to deserve salmon tonight?" He swung his foot down off the chair and got up to pour another glass of tequila.
    "Nothing special. I stopped by the market on the way home from work and spotted a great buy on salmon, so I got some for us. Ready?"
    "I'm ready."
    She continued to chatter throughout dinner. Zac let her, content to eat the beautifully poached salmon and listen to Guinevere's conversation. The truth was, most of the time he liked listening to her talk. She had a talent for soothing him or teasing him or nagging him or arguing with him that was very satisfying. Zac had a feeling he could listen to her for the rest of his life, merely taking steps to close her mouth when he was ready to take her to bed. Maybe not even then. He liked the small, passionate sounds she made in bed. But there was no getting around the fact that her conversation tonight contained a thread of tension. Zac waited. He was a patient man and he'd always been good at waiting when it was necessary.
    After dinner Guinevere sat back in her chair and drained the last of her wine. "That," she announced, "was terrific salmon, even if I do say so myself."
    "It was," Zac agreed, smiling at her. "And this kitchen will smell of fish tomorrow if I don't empty your garbage for you tonight. I'll take care of it while you start the dishes."
    "Why do I always get to start the dishes while you empty the trash? There's a male chauvinist pattern developing in this household, Zac Justis." But she got to her feet and began rinsing dishes under the faucet.
    "Some things are biologically preordained," Zac explained as he hauled the garbage out from under the sink. "Women have evolved with a certain innate ability to do dishes and men seem to have gotten stuck with a talent for emptying garbage. I suppose it's all fair enough, when you consider the great cosmic scheme of things. Be back in a minute."
    He opened a drawer and found a twist tie for the garbage sack, and headed for the front door. The building's garbage chute was located near the stairs in the outside hall. Standing before the metal panel that opened onto the chute, Zac caught the stale cigarette smell as he started to twist the tie around the plastic bag.
    He stood still for a moment, thinking. Then he calmly opened the bag and glanced inside. He found the damp cigarette butt under the paper that had been used to wrap the salmon. Zac stared at it for a moment, and then twisted the bag closed and dumped it down the chute. He would be patient.
    The damning