Jake heard the sound of an engine outside and let himself get pulled out of his story long enough to wonder who was dropping by. Remembering that Hannah and his grandma were probably still outside in the garden, he started toward his door leading into the house. When he caught a glimpse of someone heading for the barn, he retraced his steps and left through his back door and started down the path.
When he entered, he had a flashback of the moment Hannah had seen Toby head for the barn, her voice claiming someone wanted her dead. In broad daylight, the redheaded man inside looked harmless enough, but that didn’t change the fact that he was standing in his barn right next to Hannah’s horse.
Adopting a casual tone, Jake stepped farther inside and asked, “Can I help you?”
The man turned around to face Jake, his expression showing mild curiosity rather than the guilt and uneasiness Jake had witnessed when Toby had been found in almost the exact same spot.
“I hope so. I wanted to ask you about a horse on your property.” The man looked down at his cell phone, presumably to read a note stored there. “A bay mare, nine years old. A young woman was riding her.”
Jake fought to keep his voice natural. “Yeah, I remember that. It’s the one right next to you. We bought her for cash about a month ago.”
“What happened to the previous owner?”
“I was heading to Richmond that day, and she asked for a ride. It wasn’t far out of my way to drop her off at the train station.”
“Do you know where she was heading?”
“She mentioned DC, but I thought I overheard her say Philadelphia when she ordered her ticket.” Jake feigned a look of concern. “Is she in some kind of trouble?”
“No, not at all. I just hoped she could give me some more background on the horse.”
“Sorry. I’m afraid I don’t know anything more than that,” Jake said and decided to push a little. “My foreman should be around here somewhere if you want to take Sahara out for a ride. I wasn’t planning on selling her, but I might be willing to field an offer.”
“Actually, I would be buying her as a gift for my sister, so she’d be the one who would need to take that ride.”
“Is she with you?”
“No, not today.” He took a step toward the door. “I thought I would take a look first and make sure the horse was available.”
Jake walked the man outside. “I’m curious. How did you know the horse was even here?”
“My sister saw the owner riding her a few weeks ago and was interested.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t catch your name.”
“Nathan Brown.”
“Good to meet you, Nathan.” Jake offered his hand. “Let me know if you want to bring your sister around to check out Sahara.”
“I will. Thanks.” He left Jake and walked to where his car was parked. Jake noticed he climbed into the passenger seat rather than getting in on the driver’s side. He waited where he was, watching as the SUV drove away, an Asian man behind the wheel. Even though he was anxious to tell Hannah about the men who had visited, he waited until he was sure they were gone before he pulled out his phone and called Max.
“Hey, Jake. What’s up?”
“I just had a visitor I’m not sure we want to see again. Can you send someone down to lock the main gate?”
“I’m heading that way now. I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks, Max.”
“Anything I should know about?”
“Probably, but I need to find some answers before I can share them with you,” Jake admitted. “Just make sure our men know to report in if they see someone on our property who doesn’t belong here.”
“You’ve got it.”
Jake hung up and headed for the house. Whether she liked it or not, it was time for Hannah to open up about her past so he could get to know the real her.
* * *
Charlotte helped Abigail settle into a chair in her bedroom, secretly relieved that the older woman had decided to read her book instead of work on genealogy. Reviewing funding trails and working on a phony database would be so much easier if she didn’t have to worry about any distractions. From past experience, she knew Abigail would likely stay in her room until lunchtime.
With two hours to herself and armed with the knowledge that Abigail’s nap would give her two more hours after lunch, Charlotte made her way to the office and opened her laptop. She hit a series of keys to open her search results, not surprised to find a long list. Her eyes scrolled over the first page of transactions, all of them appearing to be corporate-funding transfers of various kinds.
She was a little disappointed that nothing popped out right away. The thought that she would be the person to find the solution, knowing she had been with the guardians for the shortest time, was unlikely. Not that it really mattered who solved this problem as long as someone could find a way to put things back the way they were before.
She thought longingly of the days spent on the farm in Pennsylvania but pushed the images aside. The past couldn’t help her now. She had to look to the future and tread a path that would let her make her own choices.
Realigning the parameters of her search, she activated the program again and opened a new database. Creating a completely phony database wouldn’t be terribly complicated. The challenge would be in setting up sufficient security protocols to make it seem real and also coming up with names and details that would seem authentic without putting any real, live, breathing people in danger. Plus, inputting the data could very well take more time than she had available to her.
She looked over at the desktop computer Abigail used to research genealogy, a spark of an idea forming.
The front door opened, and she checked her screen guiltily to make sure no sensitive material was visible, even though the screen faced away from the door.
Jake walked in, a serious look on his face.
“Is everything okay?”
“I don’t think so.” Jake came to a stand across the desk from her. “We just had a visitor show up looking for you.”
“What?” Charlotte stood abruptly. “Who?”
“He said his name was Nathan Brown,” Jake said. “He was in the barn looking at your horse. Said he might be interested in buying it.”
Charlotte tried to put together the sequence of events. “But you said he was looking for me. Is it possible he was just here to look for a horse? Your farm does buy and sell horses, right?”
“Yeah, but he was looking for your horse specifically.”
Anxiety pulsed through her. “Does he know I’m here?”
“No. I told him I gave you a ride to the train station in Richmond a few weeks ago.”
She rolled the name Nathan Brown through her head, suspecting it was an alias. “What did he look like?”
“Reddish hair, early to midthirties.”
Her heartbeat quickened, and she moved to the window to look out. “Was anyone with him?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t get a very good look at him. He looked Asian though.” Jake circled around the edge of the desk and came to stand beside her. “Who are these guys, and why are they looking for you?”
Charlotte didn’t answer. Instead, she gripped his arm and spoke rapidly. “Jake, we need to get out of here. All of us.”
“I’m not leaving.”
“I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to us.”
Hannah cut him off. “You don’t know that, Jake.”
“Maybe you’re right, but I think I deserve to know what’s really going on.” He looked down at her, and she felt like his gaze could penetrate her thoughts. “No more secrets, Hannah.”
She knew he was right, yet how could she betray the trust of those she worked with? The thought crossed her mind: what would her dad tell her to do?
She pulled her cell phone from her pocket. “I have to make a call.”
Jake’s hand dropped from her arm, and she sensed his frustration and hurt in the way he stood rigidly beside her.
Ace answered the phone with a simple hello.
“Werthcamp and Xi showed up looking for me here.”
“What? Did they see you?”
“No. Jake told them he dropped me off at the train station in Richmond.”
“Where are they now?”
“I don’t know.” Charlotte shifted the phone and spoke to Jake. “When did they leave?”
“Ten minutes ago,” Jake said. “I told Max to lock the gate so we wouldn’t have any more unexpected visitors.”
“Did you hear that?” Charlotte asked, assuming Jake’s voice had carried enough for Ace to hear his answer.
“Yeah.” Ace paused for a moment before asking, “What are the chances that your friend would be willing to evacuate the farm for a few days?”
Charlotte looked at Jake, already suspecting the answer. Even if she could convince him to leave and take Abigail with him, this was a working farm. Max and Stella would undoubtedly stay behind to tend the animals, and she knew several of the men who worked here lived in the bunkhouse.
“Not very likely. I’ll try, but it’s a working farm. It’s not something that can be done quietly.”
“I’m coming to you, but it’s going to take me about two hours to get there.”
“I need to tell Jake the truth.”
Silence filled the line for a few seconds. Then Ace’s gruff voice responded. “It’s a risk.”
“I know, but I trust him.”
“Remember that we trust you. Only give him as much as he needs to know.”
Charlotte felt a sense of relief come over her despite the danger she knew could return at any minute. “Thank you.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can. In the meantime, set up a security perimeter and create an escape plan.”
“I will.” Her mind was already working through the logistics of what Ace had proposed when she hung up. Then she looked at Jake and felt her heart sink. What would he think of her once he knew the truth?