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“Well, Tara, as the doctor must have told you, I need to ask you some questions. So the sooner we get on with this, the faster we may be able to find this man.” He pulled a notebook from his pocket. “Can you tell me where your sister, Briana, met her Dr. Landers?”
Tara exchanged a nervous glance with Matt. “She just said she met him in Mexico when she went there on vacation with a friend.”
“Did she call the man she met by name?”
“She told me his name was Matt Landers and he was a heart surgeon.”
Jim took some notes. “What friend went with her?”
Tara shrugged. “I’m not sure. Bri and I hadn’t been in touch much the past year. I didn’t know she was pregnant until she called two days before she delivered Erin. No one else came to visit Bri in the hospital.”
Matt watched sadness veil Tara’s features and knew this situation had to be hard on her. “Maybe the friend moved away,” he said.
“L.A. is a big city,” Jim said. “A person could get lost there. Do you have any idea who this friend is?”
“I can only tell you she moved to L.A. with Cathy Guthrie. I remember Bri telling me that Cathy got married to a Marine her first year here in Los Angeles. Then she and her husband moved to San Diego.”
“Do you think she and your sister kept in touch?”
“I don’t know.”
Matt watched as Tara brushed wisps of auburn bangs from her forehead, her eyes showing deep concentration. He knew she was trying hard to remember.
“What about in your sister’s apartment?” Jim continued writing. “Did she have anything belonging to Matt Landers?”
Tara didn’t want to go through this—airing private family matters in front of strangers. She and Bri hadn’t had the best relationship over the years, and it hurt to share how badly she’d failed her sister. “I didn’t find much, just her clothes, a little jewelry…” She suddenly remembered something. “Wait, there was a ring. Bri wore an emerald ring. It was rather pretty, but she kept twisting it around her finger whenever she talked about Matt.”
Matt’s expression never wavered.
“Did she say where she’d gotten it?” the investigator asked.
Tara shrugged. “No, but when packing up her things, I found a velvet box. I saved it…for Erin.” She wanted to give her something of her mother’s.
“Was there a name on the box?”
She sighed. “I’m not sure. Why is this important?” She looked at Matt. His dark eyes were intense. One brow was arched.
“Because, Tara, if we have the jeweler’s name maybe he’ll remember who bought the ring and what the person looked like. It’s a long shot, but it’s all we have right now.”
She nodded. “My neighbor has my house key. I could have her look for me.”
Matt rewarded her with a smile, and an odd feeling gripped Tara’s stomach. “That would be great,” he said.
“Could she look for an address book, too?” Sloan said. “Maybe this Cathy Guthrie is in there, or other friends who might have gone with her to Mexico.”
“Okay. Anything else?” She wanted the interrogation over.
“What was your sister’s last address?”
It had been nothing more than a small room in a house in a graffiti-filled neighborhood, but Tara gave it to him. “But Bri had lived other places. She must have moved there when she had to quit working because of complications with the pregnancy. She had to stay in bed the last three months.”
“Why didn’t she go home to Phoenix?” Jim asked.
Guilt and shame filled Tara. Her throat tightened, making it difficult to speak. “Bri and I hadn’t been close…in a long time, not since our mother died….” She looked away, not wanting to see a judgmental look.
“How long did Bri live in L.A.?”
“Over three years.”
“So you didn’t know about her life? Her job…the men…”
“Look, my sister and I may not have seen eye to eye on everything, but I loved her. And pregnant or not, Bri was family. And when she told me Matt Landers was Erin’s father, I took it as the truth.” She could feel the tears building, but she wouldn’t cry in front of strangers. That she’d do in private.
Matt reached out and covered her hand with his. “I’m sorry, Tara.” He glared at Sloan. “We have no right—”
No matter how comforting his touch was, she pulled away. “That’s right, you don’t.”
Jim wasn’t apologetic at all. He forged ahead. “Okay. I have one more question, then we’ll stop. When was Bri in Mexico?”
“Bri said she went to Acapulco the last week of May a year ago. She met a man named Matt Landers the next day by the hotel pool.” Tara tried to control the heat creeping up her neck, recalling her sister’s all-too-vivid description of the good doctor and their heated sexual affair.
She studied Matt. Although he hadn’t been her sister’s lover, Tara couldn’t stop the images of this man’s probable sexual prowess. She jerked her head toward Jim. “They had a two-week affair that was supposed to continue after returning home.”
“How old was your sister?”
“Twenty-three.”
“My God, that would make me fifteen years her senior.” Matt’s expression became angry as he stood and paced. “She was hardly more than a child.”
“Bri could make herself look a lot older,” Tara said, remembering in high school how Bri and her friends would dress up. With her shapely body, people couldn’t believe she was only seventeen.
“Do you have a picture?” the investigator asked.
Tara opened her purse and pulled out her wallet. She flipped through the photos until she came up with the last one Bri sent their mother. “It’s one of those glamour shots. My sister was naturally pretty, though.”
Matt took the picture and examined the striking blue-eyed blonde closely.
“Bri was given the looks in the family. She’s the image of our mother,” Tara said.
“She’s beautiful,” Matt said, then glanced at Tara. “You look alike. Only your coloring is different.”
Tara blushed, knowing there had been several differences. Body type, for one. Bri was shapely where Tara was thin. Bri’s eyes were sparkling blue to Tara’s hazel green. Bri was outgoing and could draw any man’s attention. Tara was shy and wasn’t comfortable in crowds.
Matt handed the picture back to Tara. “I might have been in Mexico City during that time, but I never met this woman.”
Jim Sloan studied his notes, then turned to Matt. “I’m beginning to think this is personal, that this guy is out to intentionally ruin you and your reputation.”
Matt sat in the den and stared out the window at the roaring surf. He took a drink from his long-neck bottle of beer. He’d made an attempt to eat, but after Tara refused to stay he didn’t feel much like food. Not even Juanita’s enchiladas.
“Dammit. Why does everything have to be so complicated?”
“If you’re talking about a woman, it comes with the territory.”
Matt swung around to find Nick Malone standing in the doorway. “Nick.” Matt walked across the room to welcome his friend. They shook hands.
“Juanita let us in.” He held up a beer. “She’s even taken care of us with a selection from the bar.”
“Us?”
Nick’s wife, Cari, peeked in. “You guys talking about me?” she asked with a smile that lit up her bright blue eyes.
Matt smiled as the petite blond woman came over and hugged him. Dressed in jeans and an ivory sweater, she looked about sixteen.
“This is a pleasant surprise,” he said.
“Sure. Everyone loves people to just drop in,” she said.
Matt never minded the Malones dropping by. He’d always considered Nick and Cari close friends. Nick knew nearly everything about him, from his childhood to his disastrous relationship with his ex-fiancée. And Cari had worked for him at the hospital for a short while until she found Nick. Matt had watched the two fall in love, had even helped the relationship a little.
“What’s the occasion that’s brought you two out of the house without the kids?” Matt asked.
Nick took a drink of his beer, then said, “I thought my wife needed a night out. I kidnapped her for a quiet dinner at the Sandy Cove Restaurant down the road. But if we’d known Juanita was making her enchiladas, we would have come here instead.”
“You know you don’t need an invitation.”
“Even when you have a woman over?” Nick said as he came up behind his wife, slipped his arms around her waist and locked his fingers together. After being married for nearly five years, they still couldn’t keep their hands off each other.
Matt felt the heat rise in his face. “I take it Juanita just happened to mention Tara to you.”
“Well, not all the details,” Cari said, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. “I was hoping you would fill us in.” She held up her hand. “Or you can just tell us that it’s none of our business.”
Matt saw the eager look on Cari’s face and had to smile. He knew for certain that whatever he said to them would never go any further.
“Is this the same woman who’s accused you of being her niece’s father?” Nick asked.
Matt had no doubt that his friend would have told his wife the whole story. “Her name is Tara McNeal, and now thanks to Detective Warren, she finally believes that I never had an affair with her sister. This afternoon we met with Jim Sloan, the investigator I’ve had working on this case.”
“Could she help with any information?” Nick asked.
“Some. But it seems like the guy who’s doing this knows my every move. He was in Mexico seducing Briana McNeal when I was there teaching my surgical procedures.”
The Malones exchanged a look, then Cari spoke. “Maybe there’s someone who wants to cause you trouble.”
“I can’t imagine who,” Matt said, trying to think of anyone he’d alienated enough to want to destroy his life.
Nick and Cari sat on the edge of the sofa, and Cari looked up expectantly. “It’s hard to believe that someone fathered a child just to get back at you.”
Matt had to agree with her. “I think this guy just found it convenient to seduce a woman using my name.”
“Can we do anything?” Cari asked. “I could tell Tara all your good qualities.”
Nick stood. “No, Matt should stay clear of the woman and let his lawyer handle it.”
Matt didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to tell them that he’d already ignored his lawyer’s advice. “I can’t. Tara might be able to help me find the man impersonating me.”
“All this has got to be hard on her, too,” Cari said, “Especially after losing her sister so recently and now having the responsibility of a baby.”
A pain tore at Matt’s chest. No one ever thought about how this affected the child. “The baby isn’t mine.”
Cari smiled. “I know you would never walk away from your child, Matt. I take it you’re running a blood test?”
Matt nodded again. “Since we’re both O positive, my lawyer suggested a DNA test, just for insurance.” He sighed tiredly, thinking about the hospital administrator. “If Harry finds out he won’t be too happy about the news.”
“No, he won’t,” Cari agreed. “Especially with the hospital’s charity auction coming up in a month.” Surprisingly, she laughed. “It would be fun just to see his face when he heard about—”
“No!” Matt almost shouted. “I don’t want any of this to get out. It’s bad enough my credit is in a shambles. My career is too important to me.” It was the only thing he had in his life.
Nick stepped in. “Hey, you don’t have to worry about Harry and your job at Riverhaven. Hell, Dad’s money nearly built the heart wing, and I can just as easily stop any future donations.”
Cari patted her husband’s arm. “Don’t worry, honey, Harry isn’t going to do anything crazy. He needs Matt more than Matt needs him.”
Right now, Matt had more to worry about than his own skin. “We have to think about the innocent baby in all this. She’s the one who’ll be hurt. Damn this jerk for causing these problems.” And for causing him to long for something he could never have.
“Then just sit tight for awhile,” Nick said. “You’ll be cleared of everything. And your life can get back to normal.”
Matt didn’t know if he wanted his life normal again. The memory of Tara McNeal’s face wasn’t going to go away easily, nor was the thought of having a child. Forgetting them might take a lifetime.
It was nearly ten o’clock when Matt knocked on Tara’s motel room door. He knew it was late, but he couldn’t take the chance and wait until tomorrow. She could be gone by then.
“Who is it?” Her voice was muffled through the door.
“It’s Matt…Matt Landers.”
The door opened slightly, and Tara’s face appeared, her short hair mussed. She was wearing an oversize T-shirt. Damn, she’d been asleep. He blinked away the picture of her curled up in bed.
“May I come inside and talk to you?”
Tara opened the door, and he stepped inside.
The first thing he saw was the bed. The sheets were rumpled, and the pillow had an imprint where Tara had lain her head.
“I’m sorry I woke you.” He turned to look at her. A big mistake. Her T-shirt might have been oversize, but there was plenty of leg revealed. Long, gorgeous leg. “But I…I wanted to make sure I saw you before you left. I wanted to thank you for talking with Jim Sloan.” He glanced around nervously. “And I was hoping to give it one more shot and try to convince you to stay.”
Having Matt in her room made Tara nervous. She grabbed her cotton robe from the end of the bed and slipped it on. “I told you earlier, I can’t. It’s best that I take Erin back to Phoenix.”
“And what? Wait?” he asked. “I thought you wanted to find her father.” He went to the baby’s bed and glanced at Erin. She was asleep on her side, her little mouth moving occasionally in a sucking motion. He moved away from the crib.
“She’s a beautiful child,” he said.
