Heat Wave by Jill Marie Landis

LONG BEACH. CALIFORNIA

Sometimes it paid not to answer the phone.

When the call for help came, Kat Vargas had just kicked off her shoes and sat down to eat a take-out Chinese chicken salad.

She slid wooden chopsticks out of their paper wrapper as she glanced at the caller 1.0. It was Sandi Kline, a new client who suspected her husband was having an affair.

Kat picked up the phone, remembering the hollow sound of the woman's heart-wrenching sobs the day Sandi had first walked into the office.

Kat was no stranger to betrayal.

"Hi, Sandi." She tucked the phone between her ear and shoulder. Starving, she was tempted to take a bite of salad but spared Sandi having to hear her crunch a mouthful of cabbage.

"I found them!" The other woman's breathing was rapid and shallow, rasping over the line. "I followed him to the Seal Beach Inn and Gardens. They're in there right now. Together."

Kat's adrenaline spiked. She pictured the neat, old building built around a courtyard on a quiet residential street. The place was the quintessential bed-and-breakfast with lace curtains at every window. Trailing vines loaded with hanging cup-o-gold blossoms and morning glories clung to the exterior walls.

She'd already run the standard credit card checks and surveillance on Dan Kline the weekend before, but so far, turned up nothing out of the ordinary.

But Sandi Kline was adamant. She knew her husband was having an affair and she wanted proof. She wanted him to pay. She wanted more than half of everything they owned, and if what Sandi said was true, half was a considerable amount.

"Are you sure it's him?" Kat picked a slivered almond off the top of the salad and popped it into her mouth. "You definitely saw your husband go into the motel with someone?"

"No, but I saw him walk into the office alone, then he came out and went into the room. She must have gone in ahead of him. He's in there with her right now."

"Where are you? "

"Parked across the street from the inn."

"Look, Sandi. Go home. I'll drive over there and handle this." Kat glanced through the half-open mini-blinds, watched the rain streak the windowpane. "You don't have a birthday or anniversary coming up, do you? Maybe he's checking the place out, planning to surprise you with a getaway."

"Fat chance. The asshole is cheating on me. I know he's with another woman."

In Kat's experience there was always "another" someone. Another woman. Another man. She was convinced happy endings were only for romance novels and that ninety percent of the population shouldn't even bother getting married.

No "other woman" would suddenly be appearing in her life again. Once was more than enough.

"Please, Kat. Meet me here." Sandi Kline's voice broke.

Kat set the Styrofoam take-out box on her coffee table. Mrs. Kline had done her own legwork, but it would take a level head to get good pictures. Juicy photos always helped when lawyers started tossing deals on the table.

Kat shoved her salad aside, her appetite curbed by the rush of catching a wayward husband in the act. It might be raining cats and dogs out, but Sandi was her client and this was her job.

Besides, she was an insomniac by design anyway. Staying up all hours on surveillance helped keep her from facing her own nightmares. Still, she had already been on the job nearly twenty-four hours and was looking forward to unwinding with a new martial arts movie tonight – but Sandi's tears got to her.

She wasn't fond of driving around in the rain, not with the streets as slick as snot on a doorknob. But the woman's pitiful pleas had clamped on to Kat's heartstrings, inspiring her more than the thrill of the hunt or the hefty retainer Sandi was paying.

"Where are you exactly?" she wanted to know.

"I'm on the corner of Electric and Fifth. In the gold Mercedes station wagon."

"You go on home. I can be there in ten minutes and I'll get photos."

"I'll wait. He might come out before you get here."

Rain always reminded Kat of the worst night of her life. Tonight was no different. The wet streets glistened in the beams of her headlights. She drove carefully, slower than usual as she headed to Seal Beach. She forced herself to focus on the case and not the head-on collision she'd been involved in on Kauai five years ago.

That was old news. She ought to have let it go by now, but the ache hung on despite the fact she'd left her old life behind and thrown herself into her work.

Once she reached Seal Beach, she edged her red Honda CRV to the curb behind Sandi Kline's Mercedes station wagon and cut the engine. The woman stepped out of her car and rushed over to hover beside Kat's door. Kat rolled down the window. 'They're still in there," Sandi whispered, clutching the lapels of a long trench coat together. "Why don't you go home and let me take it from here?" Kat glanced over at the B&B. "It could be hours before he comes out. Trust me to get photos. You don't need to do this to yourself." She shivered inside her hooded navy sweatshirt and pants.

"I want to confront him. Come with me."

Kat shook her head. 'Tm a P.I., not a marriage counselor."

Sandi's fingers trembled uncontrollably as she tried to wipe her wet bangs off her forehead. Her wedding band with its huge solitaire diamond glistened beneath the glow of the nearby street lamp. Mascara smeared her cheeks, mingled with the rain, and her tears.

"I'll pay you double," Sandi tempted.

"I don't need the money." Not that badly anyway.

Sandi was a good fifty pounds overweight, her face puffy but still somewhat attractive. She wore her thin, dark brown hair short, framing her heavy cheeks, but her clear blue eyes, though bleak, were her best feature. She hugged her coat close, haunting the curb beside Kat's car. Rain blew through the open window, dampened the sleeve of Kat's sweatshirt.

"You don't realize what this is doing to me. How much this hurts. You can't imagine what I'm going through," Sandi said.

Kat clamped her jaw tight, tempted to tell Mrs. Kline that she knew exactly how much betrayal hurt. She didn't have to imagine what Sandi Kline was going through.

Which is why, against her better judgment, emotion won out and she gave in.

Camera in hand, she stepped out of her car and hit the alarm button. Her heartbeat accelerated as she anticipated seeing Creep Kline's face when they caught him red-handed.

She and Sandi fell silent as they diagonally crossed the intersection to stand in front of the narrow door that faced the street. Low light filtered through the shade behind the lace curtains at the window.

Kat hoped to God that Dan Kline was inside, that in Sandi's zeal to prove he was cheating, she hadn't mistaken some other poor bastard for her husband.

Then, without warning, Sandi Kline started beating on the door. When no one answered, she intensified her pounding. "Dan? Dan, you bastard! I know you're in there. Open this door!"

Another moment passed. A handful of frantic heartbeats.

Beside her, Sandi's breathing became labored. They heard a man's voice behind the door before it opened far enough to reveal a tall, good-looking guy with light blond hair. He was wrapped in a stark white terry-cloth robe. Six feet, bare-footed, medium build, an excellent specimen of manhood.

Sandi had given Kat a photograph of Dan Kline.
This was not Dan Kline.

Kat quickly reached for her client's arm. "Let's go, Sandi. Obviously you've made a mistake."

With surprising strength, Sandi shook her off. "I know I saw him go in this room. I know it."

"Then you're mistaken." Kat grabbed Sandi's elbow. The woman was becoming more distraught by the moment.

"I don't understand. I saw Dan go in there." Sandi stared at the silent man holding the door partially open. He didn't seem at all upset by the disturbance. In fact, a half smile, half smirk slowly hiked one comer of his lips. He glanced over his shoulder into the semi-dark room.

"This might be the perfect time to tell her, you think?" He stepped back, opening the door to reveal Dan Kline.

Dan was seated on the edge of a queen-sized bed, the sheet and nothing more draped around his hips, elbows propped on his knees, head supported by his hands.

The situation was immediately clear to Kat, but Sandi's gaze shot back and forth between her husband and the other man as if riveted by the final round of a tennis match.

Suddenly, Sandi shoved her hand into the deep pocket of her oversized coat and pulled out a handgun.

"Shit!" The blond man immediately raised his hands and reeled back. Sandi took aim at her husband.

Kat acted instinctively. Years of Tae Kwon Do training and discipline kicked in. She raised her arm and swung it in a downward arc, attempting to knock the gun out of Sandi's hand, but the woman lunged to the side and fired off a round.

The shot went wild. The sound of breaking glass fused with the echo of the gunshot reverberating in the small room.

Dan Kline bolted to his feet and ran toward them. Kat easily knocked Sandi off balance just as Dan reached his wife.

Sandi was still waving the gun around with a berserk look in her eyes. Kat raised her arm, and in that split second when she realized she was looking down the barrel of Sandi's gun, one thought streaked through her mind.

Not now. Not like this. I want –

Suddenly, Kat's left hand was on fire. The pain drove her to her knees. Nude, Dan Kline threw himself on Sandi and they hit the ground.

Kat's hand hurt like hell, but even through the intense pain, she knew she'd recover. This wasn't the worst thing that had ever happened to her. Not by a long shot.

But it had been one hell of a wake-up call.

Twelve hours later she was back in her apartment, sitting on the sofa with her bandaged hand cradled in her lap. Last night's Chinese chicken salad lay limp and ugly in the Styrofoam carton in the middle of the coffee table.

Her former partner, Jake Montgomery, was pacing around the room, driving her stark raving mad. He stopped long enough to close the lid on the salad carton and carry it to the overflowing rubbish can in the kitchen.

When he came back, he didn't sit. He loomed over her, shaking his head.

"Get up and show me what to pack for you, Vargas. You're coming home with me."

She refused to look at him. "You're making way too big a deal out of this, Jake."

"You were almost killed. That is a big deal."

"I was shot in the hand. It's practically a flesh wound."

"That's not the point. You were very, very lucky."

When his genuine concern got to her, she had to wipe her eyes. "I'm fine. And I'm not going to your place. Besides, you're leaving on vacation in four days."

"Exactly. That's why it's perfect timing. Carly's been on me to find somebody to house-sit. You'll have the whole place to yourself for six weeks."

She glanced around her compact one-bedroom duplex apartment. The kitchen was just large enough to hold a stove and refrigerator. The bed barely fit in the back room. She wasn't the greatest housekeeper in the world – there was stuff piled everywhere.

"What in the hell would I do with a whole house?" Besides mess it up.

"Relax, for one. You rarely take a day off. You've been living on adrenaline and caffeine for so long that you're addicted to them."

"I don't need caffeine detox. I've got a business to run. By myself, thanks to you."

Fine partner he turned out to be. A year ago he'd split up their business, married, and moved to Twilight Cove, a small town sandwiched between Oceano and Pismo Beach up the coast.

He ignored her last comment altogether.

"While you were in surgery I called a friend who recently retired from Alexander and Perry. His name is Arnie Tate, and he'll be happy to step in and run things until you get back."

"Aren't you just the busy bee?" It was exactly like Jake to want to look out for her, to even go as far as to call in reinforcements. He'd started out at Alexander and Perry years ago. It was still one of the best investigative firms in the business.

He walked over to the other end of the sofa and sat down. The fact that he looked worn-out only added to her guilt. She hadn't called him last night, the hospital had – since he was listed as her emergency contact.

It was a sorry statement on her life that her only emergency contact lived three hours away.

"You've got to get a life, Kat. You're a twenty-nine-year-old workaholic."

"My life is just the way I want it." She'd designed it to be hurt-free, which meant that she stayed out of serious relationships by keeping busy. "Besides, you're one to talk. You wouldn't be bugging me about this if you hadn't changed your tune and fallen in love with Carly. Now you're born-again married!"

She needed a pain pill. Her hand hurt, almost as much as it hurt that Jake had found someone to love. Before he left the firm, they hadn't just been partners, they'd been kindred spirits who'd sworn off relationships.

He'd gone through a bitter divorce. She'd never married, but she'd been engaged once.

After years of waiting for the right guy to come along, convinced she was the oldest living virgin on Kauai, she'd finally given a man her trust, her love, and her virginity. His betrayal had hurt so deeply, the consequences so unbearable, that her life had been forever altered.

Unlike her, Jake had taken a chance again. He'd not only married, but adopted his wife's eight-year-old son. He had made a commitment to his new family. He had a life outside of private investigation. He'd found love and contentment.

Her job was all she had. It was all she wanted, at least that's what she'd thought until last night.

Most of the time she tried not to feel anything. Feeling brought back memories and memories were nothing but land mines buried in a field of pain. If she'd been thinking when she talked to Sandi Kline instead of feeling sorry for the woman, she'd have remembered that. She'd broken a cardinal rule when she put herself in Sandi's place and let her emotions take over.

In that stark, desperate moment when she thought her life might be over, she realized she wanted more. More time. More than being alone. She wanted more out of life, period.

"Kat?"

Finally she looked at Jake. It was odd seeing him in her apartment. She'd never had anyone over before.

"I'm not leaving you here alone." His tone was gentler, but firm.

"What am I supposed to do for six weeks in a place like Twilight Cove?" The idea of all that downtime was terrifying.

"There's a great view from the house. You can read. Watch movies. Stroll through town. Walk on the beach. Swim. Hike.

"If you give the place half a chance, you might like it. Maybe you'll meet somebody interesting. All you have to do is water Cady's garden and potted plants, pick up the mail. Make the place look lived in."

He stared at the chaos in her cluttered living room. "Shoot, well even keep the cleaning lady coming in."

"You can get a ten-year-old to water the plants and pick up the mail." She held up her bandaged hand. "I have to go to physical therapy sessions. "

"You can do that in Twilight. If there's no therapist in town, you can drive over to San Luis Obispo. It's only a few minutes away." He noticed her stack of martial arts videos and CDs on the table beside the sofa. "You still watch these?" Jake picked up one of her old favorites, Return of the Dragon.

"Sure. It's fun to critique all the ridiculous stuff in them."

Jake glanced at his watch. "We've really got to get going if we want to miss the traffic."

"You're kidding, aren't you?"

There was no missing the L.A. traffic, day or night, but Jake looked perfectly serious.

"You're welcome to leave anytime you want," she encouraged.

He didn't budge. "You're either going with me or I'm calling your family and telling them what happened."

"Like hell you will." He was scaring her now. The last thing she needed was her mom and pop or her sisters – all of them happily married with more kids than she could count – descending on her from Kauai toting "local" foods and bossing her around. Smothering her. Feeling sorry for her again.

"I'll do whatever I have to do to get you to slow down and think about what you really want out of life. There's more to it than work, kung fu videos, and the occasional one-night stand."

"Get out, Jake. I mean it."

It wouldn't have simultaneously pissed her off and terrified her half as much if she hadn't been thinking the exact same thing since the shooting last night.

"I'm not butting out this time," he assured her. "You can come home with me now, or so help me, I'm calling your folks and telling them what happened."

Chapter One

TWILIGHT COVE, CALIFORNIA
FIVE DAYS LATER. . .

Another night. The same old nightmare.
The sorrowful sound of wind chimes. The roar of the surf. The tang of salt on the air. Dense, gray sheets of rain. The shimmering pavement. Tall stalks of sugarcane bowed by the storm, slick with moisture.
Her vision blinded by tears, she tries to blink against the light, to comprehend the blazing glare of headlights aimed straight toward her. The impact. The screech of metal on metal.

The never-ending scream that fills the silence afterward.

Kat awoke tangled in twisted sheets, sweaty, alone.

She shoved back the covers with her good hand, stepped out of bed, and walked through puddles of morning sunlight streaming through the windows. The unfamiliar house was cool and silent.

It had been a bad idea to agree to house-sit. She could feel it in her bones. She'd be better off in Long Beach working one-handed. At least her mind would be occupied.

The minute Jake had driven off with Carly and Christopher and their mutt, she started wondering how in the hell she ever let him convince her to take six weeks off. The peace and quiet were already driving her nuts.

She should have known her nightmares would come with her.

She paused by the window. In the distance, the Pacific sparkled like a polished aquamarine. The summer sun worked diligently to burn off the thin layer of morning haze that hovered over the tranquil California coastline.

Poised on a sandstone bluff a couple of miles away, the seasonal resort of Twilight Cove was a tourist stop for summer sojourners searching for old California with its golden, sun-drenched beaches and small-town atmosphere.

Downstairs, she found the damp chill of the night air still lingered in the shadows though it was already late morning. The cozy Craftsman style house Jake was refurbishing had absorbed his family's happiness. Photos of Jake, Carly, and Chris were on display in every room. Carly's stunning oil paintings, works that included ghostly white figures set against vibrant local landscapes, adorned the walls.

Kat picked up a framed photo of Chris in a baseball uniform and rubbed her thumb over the glass. It was still hard for her to believe that Jake, of all people, had a kid. Though she'd never told him so, she envied his newfound happiness, his pride in Christopher, the love he'd found with Carly.

She set the photo down. Beside it was one of Carly and Chris walking along the beach at Twilight Cove. The love in Carly's eyes was there for all the world to see, hopeful, fragile-as love always is-and yet constant.

Kat teased Jake, but deep down she was happy for him. He had a family now. Something she had once wanted.

She crossed the open, casual living-dining room, thinking it was just too damned ironic that Jake, who'd sworn off romance, had wound up married again and living on an out-of-the-way road named Lover's Lane.

She tried to flex her injured hand and winced. Getting along with a bulky bandage was a chore, but she'd already regained some mobility in her thumb and fingers.

Every time she looked at her left hand, she was reminded of just how far betrayal could drive a perfectly normal person to commit an irrational act.

It was also a brutal reminder of what happened whenever her feelings got in the way. Whenever she thought with her heart, her head stopped working and she wound up hurt.

The sun was already above the top of the eastern hills behind the house. She couldn't wait to make a pot of coffee and stretch out in one of the teak lounges on the back deck, lift her face to the sun, and make up some of the sleep she'd lost last night, but just as she reached the kitchen, the front doorbell rang.

She glanced down at the crumpled knit shorts and tank top she'd slept in, then up at the clock on the wall. It was later than she thought – already noon.

Jake's nearest neighbors were beyond shouting distance. The place was totally isolated.

Insistent, the bell chimed again.

She hesitated. Even with a bum hand, she was confident that she could defend herself. Still, she was wary. She'd definitely seen too many movies about fugitives stumbling across isolated homes in the middle of nowhere, heard too many news stories about home-invasion robberies.

And right now she really wished she hadn't stayed up all night to finish Edward Cain's novel An Even Dozen, the serial murder thriller that everyone was talking about.

Her purse was on a chair drawn up beneath the dining table, and as she passed it on her way to the front door, she slipped out her .380 automatic.

Get a grip, Vargas. You're not in L.A. County. It's probably just a Girl Scout selling cookies, someone out to save your soul, or the Avon lady. Lord knows you could use a makeover.

Nearing the front door, she glanced out the picture window and a Toyota Land Cruiser in the driveway. Black, newer model, parallel to the house. At this angle, she couldn't see the license

The stained-glass window set in the front door gave her a mottled glimpse of a tall, dark-haired man hovering on the other side. His image was blurred by rippling red, yellow, and green glass. He was alone.

Kat took a deep breath, refusing to let the incident in Seal Beach infect her courage. She cracked the door open, kept the automatic out of sight. Her attention was immediately absorbed by the man standing on opposite side of the threshold.

Khaki pants, black polo shirt open at the throat. Over six feet, wide shoulders. His blue eyes stared directly into hers. His lashes were , his brow smooth, his jaw strong. His hair was just as black as close-cropped.

She'd never laid eyes on him in her life, but he was smiling as if actually happy to see her.

He was mind-numbingly handsome. Definitely the kind of man she'd sworn off of a long, long time ago. Her mind was going blank.

She opened her mouth to ask what he wanted but all she managed was a very weak, embarrassing, "H-hi."

Great. He'd reduced her vocabulary to a fractured syllable.

"Hi." Impossible as it seemed, his smile intensified. "Are you Kat Vargas?"

She tried to focus, cleared her throat, and attempted not to stare.

"Who wants to know?"
"I'm Ty Chandler. You're a private investigator."

"I know."

"I mean, I'm looking for a private investigator."

"Oh, I get it." She relaxed and laughed. "Jake put you up to this."

She could imagine Jake and Carly playing Cupid. Especially after the "Don't you want somebody to love? You better find somebody to love" speech Jake gave her on the drive up.

The man shook his head. "No, actually. Selma Gibbs at the Plaza Diner suggested I look him up, then she remembered he was going out of town. She said another P.I. was house-sitting for him."

Kat knew Selma Gibbs. They'd met two nights ago when the Montgomerys took her to the diner where Carly used to work.

As she stared up at Ty Chandler, she figured the bad news was that he probably had a wife who was cheating on him, which meant either his wife was nuts, or that he was no prize in the husband department.

The usual rush hit her. It was the same when any prospective client called. She was curious to learn the details, but she could just hear Jake telling her to send the guy on his way, reminding her that she was supposed to be relaxing and sorting things out, deciding what she was going to do with the rest of her life.

"Sorry. I'm on vacation. You'll have to find somebody else. I'm sure there are some fine private investigators in San Luis Obispo." She kept her tone cool, firm, and waited for him to leave, but he didn't look discouraged. In fact, he didn't look deterred in the least.

"Selma had nothing but good things to say about Jake Montgomery," he said. "I thought you'd be more willing to help. Can I just come in and explain? It won't take long."

He was very charming. Certainly friendly enough. And he looked perfectly harmless. But then again, so had Ted Bundy.

"Sorry." He sighed. Frustration and disappointment were etched across his face, but he didn't budge. He obviously wasn't going to give up easily. She admired that in a person.

"Look, Ms. Vargas, I'm desperate. I've been searching for somebody on my own, but I keep running into dead ends." He shoved his hands into the pockets of his khakis and shrugged. "Just hear me out before you turn me down."

Surely Selma wouldn't have sent a total stranger to her door, let alone a serial murderer.

When she didn't answer, his gaze shifted out to the sea and then slowly back to meet her eyes. "If you can't take the case, is there any, one you'd recommend?"

Spending a few minutes listening to his story would give her so thing to do other than roam through the house wondering how to stay sane while being suffocated by peace and quiet.

What would it hurt to hear him out? Maybe give him some advice?

She opened the door a bit wider and with a wave of her hand indicated the two wooden rockers side by side on the expansive covered porch.

"You can have a seat out here."

His eyes widened when he caught a glimpse of her gun.

"Don't worry. I've never shot anyone who didn't deserve it." She set the handgun on the table by the phone and joined him outside. By the time she crossed the porch, he'd chosen one of the rockers. She leaned against the low porch wall.

Kat couldn't help but notice that his gaze swept the length of her bare legs before it slowly traveled up to meet her eyes.

"So, exactly who are you looking for, and why do you think you need to hire a P. I.?"

He stopped rocking, leaned forward, and rested his elbows on his knees. "You might as well sit down. This’ll take a few minutes.

“Whether you are reading at the beach or curled up at home on a rainy afternoon, HEAT WAVE will warm your heart.” America Online’s Romance Fiction Forum

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Ballantine Hardcover May 2004 ISBN 0-8041-2007-2 $19.95 U.S./$27.95 CAN	Heat Wave May 2005 Ballantine Paperback $6.99 U.S. $10.99 CAN	HEAT WAVE
“HEAT WAVE is the one book you want to be reading this spring and summer. It’s all about the things that touch our hearts the most, reuniting family, getting a second chance at love and dealing with tragic loss. Jill Marie Landis is a consummate storyteller whose works are treasures.” –ReadertoReader.com "Landis has created another masterpiece showcasing the difficulty of facing one’s past and learning to give love another chance. I highly recommend this follow-up to LOVER’S LANE. It’s another winner!" –Tanzey Cutter, Bestreviews.com “HEAT WAVE is riveting – a gripping novel that will pull at your heartstrings. What can be more compelling than finding a lost child . . . or a new love . . . This novel has it all!” –Joan Johnston, author of COLTER’S WIFE and TEXAS WOMAN