Eleven

The Jeep was a lot more crowded than the sedan. Leiann felt cramped and too close to Eric. Even though he had her best interests in mind, she didn’t want to be near any man right now. He turned on a radio station with music that grated on her nerves. He drove carefully, but faster on the winding drive than she would have. When they neared the site of her wreck, she clenched her fists and closed her eyes.

“Are you all right?” His voice sounded as if he cared.

Leiann glanced at him, but his eyes were on the road. “I’m fine.”

At the end of the drive, he headed the vehicle toward Boston.

“This isn’t the way we went last time.”

He smiled. “Herman likes to take the long way. I don’t.”

When they reached I-95, Eric went under the highway and hooked a left. Leiann had always had a good sense of direction, and she knew they were going in the opposite direction from Cape Cod.

After they merged onto the freeway, she studied Eric.

“Do you like what you see?” He grinned at her, then looked back toward the road.

“I’m just wondering why we’re not going the right direction.”

He laughed. “You’re smarter than I thought.” He shot a quick glance at her. “The Cape Cod story was a cover to keep Mays from knowing where we’re going. I’m just trying to protect you.”

Leiann didn’t like the fact that Eric had lied to her. She wondered if he had told Prudence where he was really taking her.

An uncomfortable feeling overwhelmed her. She gritted her teeth. “So, where are we going?”

“To the Johnson hunting lodge.”

She stared through the windshield. Everything felt surreal. Like something in a movie or TV show, happening to someone else, not her. Why was her life such a mess? Maybe she should have stayed in Texas and found an apartment.

“Where is this lodge?” Leiann tried not to sound as panicked as she felt.

“It’s in Maine, near the Canadian border.” Eric readjusted the mirror.

She didn’t want to go that far. The only reason she’d agreed to go to Cape Cod was because the Styleses would be there. She didn’t want to go anywhere alone with Eric.

She wanted to shriek, but she tried to keep her voice even. “If Gerome is Grandfather’s stepson, won’t he know about the lodge?”

He shook his head. “He’s been gone from here for a long time. Herman purchased this place maybe ten years ago. I don’t think they stayed in touch.”

Leiann couldn’t imagine the man she had spent the last several days with harming her. But what did she really know about him?

She longed to call Arlene and tell her what was going on. But she was worried that might upset Eric. The first time they stopped, she would call her friend on the cell phone, even if she had to do it from the bathroom. Maybe the two of them could come up with another plan.

❧

Gerome spent most of the day planting the flowers Leiann had chosen for the gardens. When he picked up each pot, he remembered her face when she saw that particular plant. Her laughing eyes. The way she didn’t mind getting dirt on her hands. Her smile. How interesting she was to talk to.

Shaking his head, he stood and picked up the empty wooden flat. The woman was getting under his skin, and he had a feeling that was what Herman wanted.

After he finished planting he went to his cottage to clean up. While he was there, Greg called.

“There’s no question that money is being siphoned off,” his friend said. “And the only person close enough to do it is Prudence Smith.”

“Are you sure?”

“I found several dummy companies, but the amounts that have been deposited into them were small enough not to arouse suspicion.”

Gerome had always teased Greg for being such a computer whiz. Now he was glad the man was on his side.

“I’ll fax you the names of the dummy companies, along with pictures of several documents and files pertaining to those companies. You might see if you can find a computer trail from that end.”

After thanking Greg for his thorough work, Gerome walked through the gardens toward the kitchen. No enticing smell met him at the door. Maybe everyone had already eaten. He’d just look in on them in the dining room. However, when he entered the hallway, he saw the room was dark.

He went into the kitchen, where Mrs. Shields was hanging up a damp dish towel. “Where is everyone?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. Mr. Johnson had an early dinner, and Miss Smith said her brother and Miss Hambrick wouldn’t be eating here tonight.”

Something about this didn’t feel right. He needed to talk to Herman.

When he headed toward his stepfather’s office, the man’s assistant came out. “Is Herman in there?” Gerome asked her.

“No. I was just finishing up some work he left for me.” Prudence held a few file folders in one arm. “He wasn’t feeling well, so he went to bed after dinner.”

Talking to his stepfather would have to wait until tomorrow, but tonight might be the time to check out the office. Thanks to Greg’s latest intel, Gerome knew exactly what kind of files to look for.

Was Prudence the only person involved, or did her brother also play a part? With Eric hanging around here all the time, Gerome had a gut feeling he was in it up to his eyeballs. They had to be the people who’d made the two attempts on Leiann’s life. But he needed solid proof.

When he went back to the kitchen, Mrs. Shields gave him a plate with a roast beef sandwich on thick-sliced homemade bread. He thanked her before wolfing it down, accompanied by a large glass of milk.

He took up his post at the back of the house, hidden in the dark shadows under the elm trees. He prayed and repeated memorized scripture verses while he watched the light in the window of Prudence’s office. After it was extinguished, he trained his eyes on the suite of rooms she occupied.

Gerome didn’t know what the woman did that took so long, but finally, all those lights went out. He made several reconnaissance runs around the mansion, looking for anything that might be out of the ordinary.

He went back to his cottage and changed into black clothing, even masking his face with black makeup. He rummaged through his duffel bag and took out the tools he’d use to help him quickly access the files. Before returning to the house, he whispered another prayer for protection.

Gerome moved from hiding place to hiding place as he once again checked out the grounds. He couldn’t go in through the back door, where anyone could see him. He carefully disconnected the security system and quickly picked the lock on the French doors to Herman’s office.

He checked all the files. Nothing seemed amiss. He went next door to Prudence’s office. At her computer, he plugged in his flash drive, which contained a software program for breaking passwords. Hers took longer than he expected, but the effort was well worth it. After downloading onto the flash drive all the files with the information he needed, he made sure everything in the room was back the way he found it.

While he reconnected the alarm, he thanked God for his special training.

❧

When Leiann told Eric she needed to make a pit stop, he frowned at her. But he left the interstate and pulled into a drive-in grocery with a small dining room. “Might as well get dinner while we’re here. What do you want?”

Leiann glanced at the lighted menu board. “I’ll have a grilled chicken sandwich on whole wheat.” She grabbed her purse from the counter and headed toward the door at the back of the dining room.

When she reached the hall, she found three women in line outside the door. That might be good. An excuse to take longer. She moved a little ways from the other women and reached into her purse for her cell phone. It wasn’t in the corner where she usually stowed it.

She hurried back under the light and pulled the purse open as wide as she could. After digging through everything in the bag, she still hadn’t found the flip phone. She looked again, even checking to see if it was in her wallet. The phone was missing.

One of the women in front of her went into the bathroom, so the line shifted. Leiann followed. She closed her eyes and tried to remember the last time she’d seen her phone. She’d used it to call Arlene back in her bedroom at the mansion. But what did she do with it after that? She thought she’d put it in her purse, but she couldn’t be sure.

Leiann didn’t want to panic. Maybe it had dropped out when they were leaving the house, or maybe she’d left it on her bed.

Another woman came out of the bathroom, and the two in front of her went in together. Leiann leaned against the rough, wooden-paneled wall.

Leiann didn’t want to upset Eric. But she desperately wanted to talk to Arlene. She didn’t feel like she was thinking straight right now. Frustration gripped her like a vise.