LuAnn looked at him quizzically. “Yes, but he’s been here for five years, long before I got here.”
“That’s not the point. I’m not suggesting the man is a plant. I am suggesting that he could well be something entirely different than what he claims. Now he coincidentally collides with your world. That’s what worries me.”
“I don’t think it was anything other than a coincidence. He was hired to do a job for me. It was perfectly natural that he would be nearby when the other man started chasing me.”
Jackson shook his head. “I don’t like it. I saw him tonight.” LuAnn stiffened perceptibly. “At the cottage. I was this close to him.” He spread his hands about two feet apart. “I contemplated killing him on the spot. It would have been extremely easy.”
LuAnn’s face turned white and she licked dry lips. “There’s no reason to do that.”
“You have no way of knowing that. I’m going to check him out and if I find anything in his background to suggest trouble for me, then I will eliminate him. It’s that simple.”
“Let me get that information for you.”
“What?” Jackson looked startled.
“Riggs likes me. He’s already helped me, probably saved my life. It would be natural for me to show my gratitude. Get to know him better.”
“No, I don’t like it.”
“Riggs is a nobody. A local builder. Why trouble yourself with him? Like you said, you’re busy.”
Jackson studied her intensely for a moment. “All right, LuAnn, you do that. However, any information you obtain better be reported to me in a timely fashion or, with respect to Mr. Riggs, I will take matters into my own very capable hands. Clear?”
LuAnn let out a deep breath. “Clear.”
“The other man, of course, I must find. It shouldn’t be too terribly difficult.”
“Don’t do that.”
“Excuse me?”
“You don’t have to do that. Find him.”
“I am very much certain that I do.”
The memory of Mr. Rainbow came flooding back to her. She did not want another death on her conscience. She wasn’t worth it. “If he shows up again, we’re just going to leave the country.”
Jackson refolded the paper and replaced it in his pocket. He made a precise steeple with his hands. “You obviously do not fully understand the situation. Were you the only one he was onto, then perhaps your simplistic solution might resolve the matter, at least temporarily. However, the man has a list with the names of eleven other people with whom I worked. I would submit that a resolution involving all of them fleeing the country almost simultaneously would be essentially unworkable.”
LuAnn drew in a sharp breath. “I could pay the man. How much money can he want? That would take care of it.”
Jackson smiled tightly. “Blackmailers are a bad lot. They never seem to go away.” He added sharply, “Unless they receive extreme persuasion to do so.”
“Mr. Jackson, please don’t do it,” she said again.
“Don’t do what, LuAnn? Ensure your survival?” He glanced around. “And with it all of this?” He rested his gaze back upon her. “How is Lisa, by the way? As beautiful as her mother?”
LuAnn felt her throat constrict. “She’s fine.”
“Excellent. Let’s keep it that way, shall we?”
“Can’t you just let it go? Let me handle it.”
“LuAnn, many years ago we were confronted with a situation regarding another would-be blackmailer. I took care of that incident and I will take care of this one. In matters like this I almost never opt for delegation. Count your blessings that I’m allowing Riggs to live. For now.”
“But that man can’t prove anything. How can he? And even if he could, they’ll never be able to trace anything to you. Maybe I’ll go to jail, but you won’t. Hell, I don’t even know who you really are.”
Jackson stood up, his lips pursed. He took a moment to rub his left hand delicately along the edge of the bedspread.
“Beautiful needlework here,” Jackson commented. “Indian isn’t it?”
Distracted for an instant by his query, LuAnn was suddenly staring down the barrel of a 9-mm, a suppressor attached to its muzzle.
“One potential solution could involve my killing all twelve of you. That would certainly qualify as a startling dead-end for our inquisitive friend. Remember that the ten-year period is up. The lottery’s principal amount has already been returned to a Swiss account that I have set up in your name. I would strongly advise against transferring that money into the United States.” He pulled another slip of paper from his pocket and put it down on her bed. “Here are the authorization codes and other account information that will enable you to access it. The funds are untraceable. There you have it. As agreed.” Jackson’s finger curled around the trigger of his weapon. “However, now I really don’t have any incentive to keep you around, do I?” He advanced toward her. LuAnn’s fingers tightened around the letter opener.
“Put it down, LuAnn. Granted, you’re remarkably athletic, but you’re not faster than a bullet. Put it down. Now!”
She dropped the letter opener and backed up against the wall.
Jackson stopped a few inches from her. While he lined up the pistol with her left cheekbone, he ran a gloved hand along her right cheek. There was no sexual content to the motion. Even through the glove, LuAnn could sense the purely clinical chill of his touch.
“You should have thrown it the first time, LuAnn. You really should have.” His eyes were mocking.
“I’m not going to kill someone in cold blood,” said LuAnn.
“I know. You see, that is your greatest shortcoming, because that’s precisely when you should strike.”
He removed his hand and looked at her.
“Ten years ago I felt you were the weak link in the chain. During the intervening years, I thought perhaps I was wrong. Everything was going so smoothly. But now I find my initial intuition was correct. Even if I were in no personal danger of discovery, were I to let this man blackmail you or perhaps even expose the manipulations of the lottery, then that would be a failure on my part. I do not fail. Ever. And I do not let other people have any control whatsoever over plans of mine, for that, in itself, would be a form of failure. Besides, I couldn’t bear to let such a grand performance be ruined.
“Just think about the wonderful life I’ve given you, LuAnn. Remember what I told you all those years ago: ‘Go anywhere, do anything.’ I gave that to you. The impossible. All yours. Look at you now. Flawless beauty.” His hand went to the front of her robe. With slow movements he undid the strap and the robe fell open, fully exposing her quivering breasts and flat belly. He slid the robe over her shoulders and it fell to the floor.
“The most prudent action on my part, of course, would be to kill you. Right here and right now. In fact, what the hell.” He pointed the gun directly at her head and pulled on the trigger. LuAnn jerked back, her eyes slamming shut.
When she reopened them, Jackson was studying her reaction. She was shaking terribly; her heart was thumping around inside her, she couldn’t catch her breath.
Jackson shook his head. “Your nerves don’t seem to be as strong, LuAnn, as when we were last together. And nerves, or a lack thereof, really are the whole ball of wax.” He looked at the pistol for a moment, slipped off the safety, and continued speaking calmly. “As I was saying, the most prudent thing, when one is confronted with a weak link, is to snip it out.” He paused and then continued, “I’m not going to do that with you, at least not yet. Not even after you’ve disobeyed me, jeopardized everything. Would you like to know why?”
LuAnn remained planted against the wall, afraid to move, her eyes fixed on his.