Depart the Darkness Page 17

  “Of course. After all, they’re Trix’s pups. They couldn’t possibly be anything else.”

  Ed chose that moment to howl his panic-stricken little head off. Miles quickly handed Lacey to me, and fished Ed out of the sleeve of the sweater he’d been playing tug with just a moment ago.

  Ed howled, and cried, and told Miles all about it. The whole thing was just horrible, he made sure to include every detail.

  “You’re fine, Ed,” Miles smiled. “You’re kind of undermining my claim, though.”

  “You’re telling the truth,” I laughed, setting Lacey down so I could give Ed a reassuring pat. “But you were telling the truth before, too.”

  “We all have our moments, don’t we,” Miles said to Ed, who whimpered and snuggled into the crook of his arm. Miles gently stroked his golden fur, and Ed’s brown eyes slowly closed. His whimpering stilled, then he was asleep.

  One by one, the rest of the puppies ceased their play and settled down for a nap.

  Miles glanced at his watch, then carefully lay Ed beside his sleeping siblings. I added Fidget and she snuggled in, then went back to sleep. We scooped puppies off of our laps, and in spite of a few minor protests, all of the pups were napping by the time we silently exited the nursery.

  “Is it dinnertime already?” I wondered.

  “Just about,” Miles said.

  By the time we were ready, it was time to go. We lost no time in taking the elevator to the first floor.

  We paused on the way past the gift shop, and I stopped in for a moment. It didn’t take me long, then I was back out again and we continued on our way to Elizabeth’s.

  Lucy was working the check-in counter. She didn’t see us at first, which was probably good. If she did, she’d be a nervous wreck, and I didn’t want that. But she didn’t see us, so instead, all of her attention was on the couple in front of her. She efficiently checked them in, chatting pleasantly all the while. Troy loaded our guests’ luggage, then they followed him through the entry toward the elevator. We greeted him and our guests on our way past, then continued to the check-in counter. Lucy looked up, and suddenly she looked nervous. And excited, and… nervous.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Bannerman!” she said.

  “Hi, Lucy,” I smiled, and so did Miles. “Here, we got you something.”

  I handed her the lidded travel mug. She looked grateful, nervous, pleased, and… nervous.

  “Thank you! That’s so thoughtful! And I’m so sorry about the coffee, and the keyboard, and...”

  “It’s fine, Lucy,” I said, wondering how much reassuring it would take before she’d finally relax. “Miles forgave me, when I did the same thing to his laptop.”

  “That’s true, I did,” Miles said.

  He also stopped my latte before it hit the keys, and returned it to my cup. There was no need to tell her that, though.

  “So it’s all good. Stop worrying over it,” I ordered her.

  “Okay. I will,” she said. She released a deep breath and looked relieved, but not relieved enough. Probably because that wasn’t the truth.

  “Lucy, Lucy, Lucy…” I said, shaking my head as I went around the counter and gave her a hug. “If you ever intentionally dump coffee on the keyboard, we’ll have a problem with it. But we forgive mistakes around here. And here, is where you are now. Alright?”

  She blinked back sudden tears, then nodded and hugged me hard.

  “Okay,” she said, and this time she meant it.

  “Good,” I replied, pleased at last. “We’ll see you later, Lucy.”

  “Have a good evening,” Miles smiled, as I rejoined him.

  We waved goodbye, then continued through the lobby on our way to the dining room.

  “I love how sensitive you are to the needs of others,” Miles commented.

  “Well… it’s about time someone was sensitive toward her,” I declared. “The girl has been deprived long enough.”

  “And you’re the one who is, and… I love that about you.”

  “Thanks,” I smiled, then smiled some more. “I love how gorgeous you are.”

  Miles laughed, and tightened the arm he had around me.

  “I never would’ve guessed, no more than you mention it… and you know that’s not the truth.”

  I laughed too, then he opened the door to Elizabeth’s and followed me inside.

  We greeted our maître de and the servers we passed on the way through the main dining area, then joined our friends who were already seated around the table in our private dining room.

  “Welcome back!” Xander said, as we walked through the door.

  “Did you see the sun while you were there?” Annette asked, with an apprehensive glance at the gray sky and snowflakes that gently fell outside the window. “What was it like? Was it as warm as they say it is?”

  I laughed, and had a seat in the chair Miles pulled out for me.

  “Yes, it was! Except indoors. They make up for it there. You would’ve loved the flowers, they were blooming like crazy.”

  “Did you see the ocean?” Jenny asked.

  “Saw, yes,” I said.

  “From the sky,” Miles finished for me.

  “Have you ever been to the ocean?” Xander asked suddenly, giving Miles a sharp look.

  “No, I haven’t,” Miles replied. “I’m looking forward to it.”

  Conversation turned to our island and progress on the fortress, although we didn’t call it that. The waiter was in and out, after all. The term summer home or vacation home made more sense to other people, so that’s how we referred to it when we were in public.

  “You’ll find this interesting, John,” Miles said, suddenly remembering a recent conversation.

  “Oh! Yes, you will!” I agreed, clapping my hands lightly and bouncing in my seat a little, as I realized what Miles was referring to. Miles smiled, but didn’t comment on my enthusiasm.

  “Now you’ve got me curious,” John said, looking intrigued.

  “Yeah, you’re not the only one, man,” Xander said. “What is it?”

  “Your great-great grandfather was a doctor, wasn’t he?” Miles asked. As if he didn’t know for certain.

  “Yes, he was a surgeon,” John answered. His curiosity was mounting, and so was everyone else’s.

  “Anika, would you care to elaborate?” Miles kindly asked me. He didn’t have to ask twice.

  “Dr. Max Turner and Lizbeth Edwards, who later married and became your great-great grandparents, were once shipwrecked on our island.”

  “Are you serious? Your island?” John asked, his eyes popping.

  “She’s telling the truth,” Miles said, and smiled when I squeezed him.

  “No way!” John said, amazed.

  “Are you serious?” Annette asked, clutching John’s arm in excitement.

  “That’s crazy!” Xander exclaimed, and Jenny laughed. He looked at her funny, and she rolled her eyes.

  “This is nothing compared to everything else we’ve learned about our friends in the past few months.”

  “You want to look at him,” I looked at Miles, “and look at me, and all the crazy stuff in our life, and then say this is crazy?”

  “You’re right, this is nothing,” Xander acknowledged. “I guess it just goes to show you can get used to pretty much anything. You guys don’t seem… weird at all, anymore.”

  “Thanks, Xander,” Miles smiled. “I’m touched.”

  We all laughed at that, and the next several minutes were spent answering John’s many questions, and listening to him recount stories his grandfather and great-grandfather told him about his ancestors who were stranded on the island in 1910.

  By the time that topic of conversation was fully satisfied, we were finished with our meals and working on dessert.

  The question foremost on everyone’s mind was… what did we learn on our trip? Our server was new though, in training, and frequently popped in to see that we had enough water, tea, or whatever the case might be. So no one asked, and
we didn’t bring it up ourselves. We did, however, invite our friends to join us in our suite after dinner.

  And so, established on the comfortable couches in our family room, we told our friends what we learned from Aaron. Our friends speculated just as we did the day before, and came to the same conclusion. We needed more information if we wanted to know the truth.

  “So what’s the game plan?” Xander wondered.

  “Jackson is compiling a report on Dillon Graves and his father,” Miles answered. “That will determine, in part, what questions to ask if we decide to arrange an opportunity.”

  “What about Phillip?” Jenny wondered. “Has he responded to your email?”

  “No, and if he was going to, we think he would have,” I replied. “I’d like to talk to him, though.”

  “He’s stretched to the breaking point,” Miles pointed out. “According to our investigators who are keeping an eye on him and his family, he’s more agitated by the day.”

  “We have to do something to alleviate his concerns,” I said.

  “Yes, we do,” Miles agreed. “We could orchestrate an opportunity to talk to him. Unless he refuses to talk, you’d know the truth and we’d know how to help him.”

  “He’ll probably be suspicious when two strangers try and strike up a conversation,” Annette said, her eyes filled with concern. “He might not say anything, then go home and be even more stressed out.”

  “That’s a definite possibility,” Miles acknowledged.

  “Yeah, but he wouldn’t get very far if you didn’t let him,” I pointed out.

  “True,” Miles admitted patiently. “Paralyzing the man isn’t likely to do anything to alleviate his anxiety though. He might be even less likely to talk. Although I can imagine the poor guy screaming a lot.”

  “Fine…” I muttered, and Miles pulled me closer and kissed the side of my face, which pacified me.

  “Yeah, and…” Xander said, thinking out loud. “Dillon could be blackmailing Phillip because he’s the one selling classified information, and Dillon caught on.”

  Miles and I had to mull that over for a second, and so did the rest of our friends.

  “You’re right, Xander,” Miles finally said. “That is a possibility.”

  “If that’s the case, you don’t want to go in and offer your assistance,” John added. “Even if he’s being blackmailed, if he’s guilty, he ought to answer for it.”

  I felt annoyed with John.

  But that wasn’t fair, I reminded myself. He was right, it was a possibility. I didn’t want it to be true though. And I didn’t believe it was.

  “You’re right, John,” Miles said. “But… when we offer assistance to the families of missing persons in the future, it will be contingent upon answering a few questions. So if we decide to approach Phillip, we’ll do the same thing.”

  I felt pleased with Miles—which was nothing new—and my annoyance dissipated.

  “I saw the toll this is taking on Lorna and the rest of the family when I learned the truth from her,” I said. “I saw how terrified Phillip is for them. I’m anxious to get this finished.”

  “Why not get rid of the bouncers Dillon hired?” Xander asked suddenly. “If Phillip’s family isn’t being watched and he’s not being followed…”

  “That would alleviate some of his stress,” I said, liking that idea. “But how do we do that? Offer to pay them more, if they don’t show up?”

  “Offer to have them arrested and slapped with a ton of lawsuits if they do,” John suggested.

  “Or offer to beat them up if they show their faces there ever again,” Xander said heatedly.

  “Xander!” Jenny exclaimed, giving him a disturbed look.

  “Well I’m sorry, Jenny, but this whole thing really ticks me off!” he replied, crossing his arms and looking irritable. “Terrorizing this guy, ruining his marriage and making the kids afraid of their dad…”

  “I volunteer.” John raised his hand, and Xander shot his in the air too, in spite of the horrified look on the part of his fiancé. Annette looked a little shocked, but more proud than anything else.

  “Okay…” Miles said slowly, no doubt feeling concern for our guy friends who were determined to go postal on the bouncers harassing the Edmunds family. “While that idea holds some appeal… Actually, it holds a lot.”

  Now Jenny was looking with horror at Miles, and the guys looked thrilled. Miles thought for a second, then waved the idea away.

  “While dishing back what they’re dishing out holds a lot of appeal, there’s a better way to do this. One that won’t raise questions, anyway. I’ll call the homeowner’s association and inform them of the guys who are hanging around the Edmunds’ street. They’ll call the police, and any warnings given or files charged, will be initiated by the HOA.”

  Miles made a call to the HOA. Then he made a call to our PIs to warn them to be extra stealthy!

  “What about the guy following Phillip?” Xander wanted to know.

  “These guys work together,” Miles pointed out. “If one guy gets taken in and questioned, the rest will hear about it.”

  “I wonder what their excuse will be for hanging out across the street,” John said.

  “Maybe they’ll tell the police what they told your investigator,” Annette suggested. “Then Dillon will have more to worry about than blackmailing Phillip, or whatever it is he’s doing. Maybe proof that he’s harassing Phillip outside of work, will somehow come back to bite Dillon at work.”

  “There has to be proof though,” John said. “I highly doubt Dillon paid these guys by check or credit card. He’ll deny it, and claim they’re making it up to hide their real reason for being there.”

  “Whatever Dillon has on Phillip, he’ll still have,” Jenny pointed out. “Phillip won’t say a word about it, for fear of repercussion.”

  “If we can just find out what he has on him, then we’ll know how to help him,” I said, feeling frustrated. “All Phillip has to do is say, ‘I don’t know,’ and I’ll know everything.”

  “He’s more likely to keep his mouth shut though,” Jenny reminded me. “He’s got every reason to be suspicious, and he’ll be even more suspicious if you try and talk to him.”

  I clapped my hands over my mouth and squealed, then looked at Miles with wide eyes. He raised an eyebrow.

  “Would you care to elaborate, honey?” he asked me, and I laughed. Partly because I thought he was funny, but mostly because I loved my idea!

  “Steve will win a trip to Cedar Oaks. Either a weekend at our hotel, or better yet, at the estate. Only we’ll call it a castle, and make it sound as amazing as it is. Anyway, Steve will give it to his sister. She’ll be determined to accept so she can get her family away from here, a weekend’s better than nothing, plus it’s super cool, who wouldn’t jump at the chance! With Phillip’s house no longer being watched, he may feel safe enough to leave. The trip will be in Steve’s name, we’ll make sure he stresses that, so Phillip won’t be afraid his name is attached in any way, meaning it will be very difficult for anyone to find out where he and his family are, meaning he’ll feel even safer and more likely to want to accept Steve’s offer.”

  “I’ll babysit,” Annette said, shooting her hand in the air. We all looked at her, and she looked back. “You need a babysitter! You can’t talk to Phillip with his kids around.”

  Jenny shot her hand in the air.

  “Chef can’t leave Elizabeth’s. I’ll do the cooking.”

  “Count me in,” John said. “After all, wherever my wife goes, I go.”

  Xander shot his hand in the air.

  “And I’ll—I’ll—I have no idea what I’ll do! But I’m coming.”

  Miles laughed.

  “Okay. The estate it is, then. And honey… I love your idea. Way to go.”

  There was admiration in Miles’ eyes, and pride in me, and… I started to melt, and he kissed me.

  “Aw, man!” Xander exclaimed. “What’d you have to go and loo
k at her like that, for. We’ve got work to do!”

  Despite the melting, that made me laugh, and Miles smiled.

  We put off further melting for later and focused our attention instead, on creating the perfect plan.

  Chapter 13

  It was a busy week for everyone.

  The Edmunds’ erstwhile intimidators rapidly disappeared from in front of their house. They ceased following Phillip, too. Being the curious people we are, we wanted details. I did, anyway. So Jackson’s nephew was coaxed out of isolation.

  The injuries from his previous case worked in our favor. Camaraderie was already established with one of the guys during their previous meeting, and he built on that. All the guys identified with Jack, who so obviously came out the loser in his own endeavor. He had no problem getting the story out of them.

  The HOA didn’t take kindly to their loitering. After inquiring along the street, those in charge were positively hostile upon learning that these guys kept a round-the-clock watch. Several homeowners were certain they were planning to rob the neighborhood, and a lot of theorizing went on, none of which painted the guys in a good light.

  So the tough guys didn’t feel so tough anymore, when the police showed up and demanded to know why they were staking out the neighborhood. Their confidence didn’t improve any by being taken in for questioning.

  In spite of it, they didn’t spill all. Not to the police, anyway. The two guys didn’t reveal who the other guys were, or that they existed at all. They denied everything. There was no proof other than the word of the homeowners who saw them there at all hours, and some of their stories grew more elaborate with each retelling. Taken altogether, they didn’t exactly look credible. So the guys were eventually released with a warning. They warned their buddies, and no way were any of them going back.

  On Wednesday they would be waiting at the club where the Intersect group met up, though. I didn’t envy Dillon and Jadon.

  I didn’t pity them, either.

  According to our own guys, who still kept watch so we’d know if Phillip tried to run, he looked a little less stressed. We were glad to hear that.

  Steve was more than happy to cooperate in our plan. The guy has a lot of faith in us—which we’ve earned—and believed if we could talk to Phillip, it would make all the difference. So we coached Steve on exactly what to tell Lorna, and Annette and John created a printout with a description of the estate, including photos and a little of its history. There would be no roses this time of year, but they included pictures of the grounds in spring, anyway. Anyone who saw the photos would be desperate to take this once in a lifetime opportunity to spend a weekend at the castle, no matter what the season.