Silent Warrior: A Loveswept Classic Romance by Donna Kauffman Page B

that quality, but she did remember the coldness.
    They weren’t cold now.
    She cleared her suddenly tight throat and looked back at the binder. “Nothing but blank pages so far.” She flipped past another half dozen. “Why would he have gone to the trouble to set up a safety-deposit box just to keep an empty notebook in it?” She glanced at John. “Makes me wonder if the disks are blank too.” She shook her head and thumbed slowly through another couple of pages, careful not to tear them from the metal rings.
    Suddenly John slid the notebook from her. “Wait a minute.”
    Cali’s mouth dropped open in protest. He wasn’t paying any attention to her. “I was trying not to tear anything. They’re blank, but the edges are worn, as if he’s been through this binder a hundred times.”
    “Exactly,” John said, positioning the book in front of him. He slid his fingers about halfway into the book and carefully flipped the pages over. “Still blank.”
    She frowned. “Well, other than invisible ink, I don’t—”
    “You wouldn’t happen to have an ultraviolet light around, would you?”
    “I was kidding about invisible ink.” She paused, but when he didn’t respond, she added, “But you’re not, are you?”
    “Is there a greenhouse around here somewhere?”
    “The whole island is one giant greenhouse. Even Icould grow things here. But no,” she added when he sighed with impatience, “I don’t think there is a commercial one close by.” She looked at the supposed empty pages again, tilting her head and squinting. “Is there any other way to determine if there really is something on this page?”
    “Not without ruining the paper in the process.”
    “Why would he do this? Even ten years ago, the bad guys could figure out how to use ultraviolet light.”
    “But would anyone have given a blank book a second glance?”
    “One put in a safety-deposit box? It’s likely we aren’t the only ones who would figure it out.”
    “More than likely he did it as a safety measure while he was actively working on the journal. I doubt he intended to stash it away at the time. And once he did, there was certainly no reason to alter its form.”
    Cali snapped her fingers. “You know anything about processing film?”
    “What’s your angle?”
    “I was thinking about the red light they use in a darkroom.”
    “That’s just a safelight to keep the film from overprocessing while it’s developed.”
    “I know, but what about the chemicals used to develop the film? I took photography eons ago in high school. I don’t remember all the technical stuff, but I do know the basic principle. Prints are made on light-sensitive paper.”
    “You think the chemicals used in the process might bring up the print?”
    “Would that work?”
    Something that might have been respect lurked in his expression. She didn’t look too closely. It was easier to pretend she was right than chance being proven wrong.
    “That might do it. It’s a place to start.” He glanced around. “If we’re right, then whatever is on this paper is ten years old. It could ruin the notes altogether.”
    “We have to try. We’ll only have to lose one page to find out. There is a photo shop in the village.” She smiled dryly. “Their one concession to tourism, and a reluctant one at that.”
    “Charming place.”
    “Paradise can be hell.”
    His mouth softened into a brief smile. “I don’t suppose they’d let us borrow the darkroom for a couple of hours.”
    “I would imagine that will depend on how much money you’re willing to spend. They’re bigger on renting than lending around here.”
    “Ah yes, the heart of a generous host, but the soul of a slumlord.”
    “Why should paradise be any different than the rest of the world?”
    “You’ve grown cynical, Cali.”
    She eyed him. “Yeah, well, some of us are just slower on the uptake.”
    He didn’t say anything, and she thought she sawthe respect in his expression change to