Taking Stock (41 page)

“Not exactly.”

“The hard work starts tomorrow, sifting page by page.”

That job would be Sarah’s. She grabbed another stack of files from the bottom drawer. As she measured the gathering mass of work ahead, she fumbled and something heavy slipped from her hands and clunked solidly against the wooden drawer. When the manila pile lifted clear, she dropped everything, releasing a cascade of files that scattered at her feet. She wailed, frozen in place with two inches of papers covering her shoes.  

Herman jumped to her side urging her to keep quiet. He saw the black handgun lying at the bottom of the drawer and kicked it shut. He trained his eyes on the door, posing at attention nearly a minute, expecting someone to burst in, but no one did.

Sarah grabbed the phone and dialed, but before she could finish, Herman pressed the switch hook.

“Who are you calling
?
” he asked.

“The police. Last night in the parking garage – this is the gun.”

Herman held out his hand for the receiver. He dialed a number and spoke firmly, “Where is he
?
No. I need him now. Pull him out. No. Right now! Send him to
Eric
a Fletcher’s office on twenty-two.” And he hung up.

One minute later Marty Finch walked in.

Herman pulled open the drawer for him.

“Anyone touch it
?
” he asked.

“No,” they said in unison.

“You’ve got my attention,” Marty said. “Find anything else
?
”

Herman indicated the stack of boxes packed by the door. “It’ll take weeks to sift through all that.”

Marty nodded, his face darkening as he decided what to do.

Sarah still had the urge to pick up the phone and dial 911. “The police can match this gun to the bullets from the parking garage. They can tell us what happened,” Sarah urged. It was the right thing to do.

Marty eyed her a second then exchanged a sharp look with Herman.

“Herman, go find some plastic to wrap this thing up. We’ll stick it in the safe.” Marty rested a hand on her shoulder and waited for the door to close behind Herman. “Sarah, this is big news; the biggest news in this firm’s history. I don’t want this getting out until we’re ready to answer every possible question. Understand
?
”

“No police,” she said halfheartedly.

“Finish your work,” Marty said. “Then we’ll talk.”

Marty walked to the door and twisted the knob, inspecting the lock as he did. “This won’t do,” he said. He eyed the piles against the wall and the laptops on the desk. “I’ve got a secure room next to my office. I’ll have all this moved there. Your work will be safe until you’re done.”

Sarah wondered who he was protecting.

Eric
a’s horse followed Gregg’s off the trail and into a patch of tall grass by a small pond. The big brown Morgan held steady for her to dismount and seemed to know Gregg would leave her to graze nearby. Even if delivering young women to this romantic hideaway was routine for the horse, it was anything but for
Eric
a. A light breeze blew ripples over the water and sent downy white clouds drifting overhead.
Eric
a nearly forgot the terror of the last forty hours as she lay back in the grass and let the bright sun force her eyes closed. The breeze played in the grass and the horses munched and snorted. Her favorite bench in the park paled to this place. There were no voices, no pavement, and no cars. Something tapped in the distance, a woodpecker perhaps.
Eric
a homed in on the sound feeling her chest rise with each inward breath and then melt as she released it.

Gregg sat at attention next to her watching the woods for trouble. He had an understated power about him and he took to the role of protector without fanfare. He’d tried to hide the shiny revolver under his arm, but she’d felt it the first time they embraced. Being around men had always put her on edge, but everything about Gregg was comforting. Even the gun was reassuring in his hands, a powerful force he’d wield on her behalf. She reached for his hand without opening her eyes. She trusted Gregg without a hint of fear. His determined pursuit had been worrisome for a long time, but now his steadfastness had become contagious.

She lay at ease for the first time since her last visit to the farm. Gregg was upset that she was going back to the city, but she had no choice. Left alone, Brad would build an ironclad case against her and when she did return, she’d be headed for prison. She had to prove Brad’s guilt. The evidence she needed was in
Boston
and that’s where she needed to be. Gregg hated the idea, but she’d made her decision.

When it was time to go, Gregg prepared the horses and helped
Eric
a up into the saddle. They roamed down a wide section of trail among the pines and followed lush green fairways back up the slope toward the barn. They’d ridden five miles and never left the Turner’s farm.
Eric
a had never imagined a place so vast existed in
Massachusetts
. They emerged from the trees a half mile below the barn and she gazed off at the far edges of the fields as they dismounted and walked the horses the rest of the way up. Gregg showed her how to groom the horses and then they went inside to shower and change for the trip back to the city.

Gregg followed the flow of traffic back to
Boston
rarely passing anyone. He stayed centered in his lane, sternly focused straight ahead, eyes avoiding
Eric
a in the passenger’s seat. The slow driving was his protest. If he thought the delay would give her time to change her mind, he was wrong. She knew he was angry and that worried her more than anything she’d face in
Boston
, but she still needed to go.  

The impasse held for the final half hour of the trip. Gregg wanted her to go home with him and nothing short of that would do. He couldn’t understand that she wasn’t dainty and helpless like Claudia and Dianne. She might never be the kind of woman Gregg needed, but she wasn’t changing and she wasn’t letting go. He’d have to adjust.

Watching his sharp features she felt a new fear. Their relationship had changed radically in a short week. He was important to her now. She was clinging to him and anything that upset him, anything that pushed them apart threatened to make her crumble. The thing she feared most was telling him about her father. Her childhood would be so foreign to him after the storybook life he’d led. She couldn’t tell how he’d react. He might be incredibly compassionate or detached like he was now. She’d have to find a way to tell him eventually, but it wouldn’t be anytime soon.

The car stopped at the alley behind
Eric
a’s apartment. His eyes begged her not to go, but her door was open, her feet already on the sidewalk. She kneeled over the seat and brushed his lips with hers. The short goodbye turned into a dangerously long embrace in plain view. She took a long, melancholy breath and backed into the alley, her eyes following the car as it powered away.

Two hours on horseback had stiffened her muscles more than if she’d run the entire distance. A long, hot shower had relaxed her, but the uneasy ride with Gregg had magnified her tension and intensified the pain in her legs and butt. Three teenagers walked by and paused to look at her alone in the alley before moving on. When they disappeared, she pushed ahead, tuning in to every voice and footfall.

Each step to her back door was painful and she stopped on the landing to loosen up. She massaged her quad through her new running suit ever vigilant for any movement behind her in the alley. The apartments above were quiet, their occupants off at work this time of day. She rested a sneaker on the small concrete stoop and stretched. After a few reps on each side, her leg muscles felt flexible again and she stepped through the back door into the hall. The lobby was empty, the twisting staircase and the floors above quiet. Instead of going up, she passed through the corridor and out the front door for a quick run.

There on the sidewalk, she hoisted a leg to the railing for one more stretch and scanned the street. Down the block, a car came to life. The Corvette’s exhaust grunted mightily above the hum of the city. She began lifting her other leg to the railing, but suddenly broke off in a trot away from the Corvette coming toward her. She jogged at an easy pace. The traffic forced the Corvette to stop twice before the corner and she moved well ahead.

How long had he been waiting for her to come home
?
He’d made a huge mistake in the parking garage and he was trying to fix it now. The threat of losing everything made Brad desperate to catch her. He’d do anything to stop her from telling the truth about that night. Why had she let Gregg drive away
?
His gun would be comforting now.

She turned the corner toward the river and once she was out of sight, she broke into a full run and dashed across the street to the shelter of the parked cars on the other side. She ran down the sidewalk as Brad broke free of the traffic at the corner and pulled closer. A shot now would be difficult. He’d have to match her pace, shoot through the passenger’s side window, and avoid hitting the parked cars between them, all while driving. He wasn’t likely to hit her, but even a lucky shot could kill. She watched the Corvette creeping up behind and at the same time looked for places to hide. There wasn’t a cop anywhere on the street. Barely a soul was out.  

Her legs ached as she bounded faster down the sidewalk just several yards ahead of the car. She spurred herself through an intersection ahead of a blue pickup that lurched across behind her. The signal changed. The red light would stop Brad and give her a moment’s breath. Her strides shortened as she looked back. She’d almost stopped when the Corvette ran right through the red light, slowing only to let the pickup cross in front.

The passenger window was open and pulling even.
Eric
a darted for a van up ahead. When she reached it, the soles of her sneakers slapped the ground and she screeched to a stop, hidden by the boxy gray vehicle. She crawled to shelter behind the rear wheel and watched the Corvette stop opposite her and then move on, carried away by anxious drivers that honked from behind.

Eric
a squatted, breathing heavily.

She needed to get off the street. In this light traffic, Brad could be waiting up ahead or circling around from behind. She couldn’t know which. She jogged three more blocks then veered off into the park toward the river. Fortunately, it was late afternoon and the lunchtime crowds had headed back to work. If Brad was there, he’d be easy to spot. She watched the path up ahead for any signs of him as she jogged at an easy pace. The openness of the park gave her a great view of the wide river and
Cambridge
beyond. She was exposed, but Brad would have to leave his car to get near her.

*  *  *

Brad parked his car ahead of a delivery truck so
Eric
a wouldn’t see it as she came up the path. He picked a bench on her normal jogging route and waited, hidden by a newspaper.

The blue running suit appeared one hundred yards away. The short dark hair bobbed along the trail that led to Brad’s feet. He strained to see what he knew to be true. She was coming right to him. He slipped the .357 from under his windbreaker, cocked it, and laid it in his lap. He peeked around the paper again to check her progress. She turned away from him toward the river. Soon she’d disappear behind some trees. Too long a shot. Herman had screamed at him to get close this time, so close it was impossible to miss.