The Finding (14 page)

“Be that as it
may, he and Mrs. Teasdale were appointed by the courts as interim
caretakers and Franklin’s last medical report deemed him capable of
the job. We’ll just have to rely on your continued diligence to
ensure things don’t get out of hand.”

The woman
preened at his supposed praise while Aldrich kept his face neutral.
He recalled Swanson’s report about her stop at Albert Winter’s, the
antique dealer, last time she visited the Estate. There was little
doubt in Aldrich’s mind Miss Matthews was pocketing small items and
selling them, thus acquiring a tidy little nest egg. He admired her
ingenuity; it was something he might have done himself in the early
days.

As long as she
confined herself to the occasional bout of petty theft, he’d let it
go. Her activities were actually providing him with ammunition
should he need to use some leverage against her in the future.
Knowing deep, dark secrets about an employee could be so
useful.

“As always,
I’ll do my best.” She smiled at him and, not for the first time,
Aldrich noted her white, slightly longer than normal, canine teeth.
They had an unsettling effect on him when she smiled widely. He
briefly mused why she’d never had them fixed.

He gave his
head a minute shake and continued on with the business at hand.
“Swanson will be reviewing the Estate’s security system next week.
I’d like you to accompany him and make note of anything that needs
upgrading.”

“Yes, sir.” She
began making notes, then queried in a deceptively casual voice. “If
you don’t mind my asking sir, how are you progressing on the matter
of the missing heiress?”

“Cassandra?”
Aldrich flicked a glance at his computer and then at Marla. How did
she know that was the file he’d been reading? Coincidence or...?
Eyeing the surveillance camera mounted on top of the bookshelf, he
narrowed his eyes. Did Swanson get the angle wrong or did it
actually encompass his computer? Damn! He’d have to check the
footage tonight.

Marla
continued. “Yes. I was wondering if the latest batch of missing
person posters had yielded any results.”

“No, not yet,
but we’ll keep trying. She has to be somewhere. All it takes is for
the right person to see the poster and for her picture to jiggle a
memory.”

“And when you
find her?”

“I believe that
falls under lawyer-client confidentiality at this point. If you
ever need to be appraised of the situation, I’ll let you know.”

“Of course.”
She nodded and Aldrich wondered what was going on behind her demure
expression. Was she laying plans for when or if Cassandra
re-appeared? Perhaps planning on befriending the girl, becoming her
companion? Or possibly arranging an accident, should the girl ever
be located. The latter seemed more likely. Marla was probably
hoping he’d remain in control of the Greyson estate for some time
so the financial perks would continue to filter down to her. And
once the estate was settled… Well, a substantial sum would come his
way. She’d love to get her hands on that.

Well, no matter
what Miss Matthews was concocting in her head, he had his own
agenda where Cassandra Greyson was concerned.

Swiftly dealing
with the remaining items on his desk, he sent Miss Matthews on her
way, much to her obvious annoyance. The woman always wanted to
linger and fawn over him, making annoying small talk, finding
reasons to touch him. On occasion, he put up with her wandering
hands, but today he wasn’t in the mood. Once free of her presence,
he turned to his computer and thoughtfully studied the information
before him.

Cassandra
Greyson’s background puzzled him. From what little information he’d
garnered, the girl was the daughter of some woman named Luisa, with
whom Greyson had hooked up with briefly, though Greyson wasn’t the
father; that person was listed as an unknown. Upon Luisa’s death,
he’d raised Cassandra as his niece and made her his heir.

Aldrich pulled
at his lip, still impressed Greyson had managed to keep the child
hidden all those years. It had come as a shock when Greyson
suddenly announced the existence of a ward. In fact, the
announcement had been so startling it had aided the werewolf’s
attack. Staring at Greyson in amazement, Aldrich had been unaware
of the wolf until a streak of movement caught his eye. He’d swung
towards the wolf; in his surprise tightening his grip on the gun
and unintentionally shooting his boss, Anthony Greyson.

The incident
had been deemed an accident caused by the ‘wild dog’ attack—that’s
how the doctor at the hospital had listed the cause of the injuries
to his throat. Aldrich had done nothing to disabuse them of the
fact.

With Greyson
dead, Cassandra had become heir to a multi-million dollar estate.
Unfortunately, she’d gone missing the night of the accident and no
one seemed capable of finding her.

Originally
Aldrich was of two minds as to how to deal with the situation. Both
options had merit. In one, the girl was simply eliminated. If she
never returned as heir, he’d be in charge of dispersing the
estate’s funds. He already knew of several ways to ensure a goodly
portion ended up in his hands. Even now, as executor, he was able
to use his own discretion to access a percentage of the money. The
main drawback was the seven year waiting period for missing heirs.
It would be another four years before he had complete control.

The other
possibility was finding the girl and bringing her back. He’d have
her declared incompetent, which wouldn’t be hard, given her
background. She’d been raised in a figurative glass cage and had no
family or friends to vouch for her. There was even a nurse who had
worked with the girl just hours before Greyson’s death. According
to the woman, the girl was unstable, incorrigible and needed heavy
sedation for some mysterious condition. Pampered, alone in the
world, ill and a runaway... Having himself appointed guardian
should be easy.

Her ‘condition’
was of special interest to him. Based on her uncle’s declaration
just minutes before his death, Aldrich had his own suspicions as to
what ailed her. If he was correct, the girl would serve more than
one purpose if he kept her alive. He chuckled darkly. Yet another
pawn for him to use in the chess game of life.

*****

Las Vegas,
Nevada, U.S.A....

Cassie shifted
on her feet and rubbed her lower back. Standing at a cash register
all morning was tiring and she couldn’t wait for her lunch break.
She flicked a casual glance at the customers still waiting to check
out, while her present customer—an elderly woman named Mrs.
Mitchell—found the money to pay for her groceries.

Most of the
people in line were regulars, though the third man back was new.
Possibly, he was a tourist, though she didn’t see many of those in
the store; they usually stuck to the casinos and other attractions.
She smiled vaguely at the customers and turned her attention back
to Mrs. Mitchell.

“Three
dimes—that’s thirty. A nickel—that’s thirty-five.” Three more
pennies appeared. “Thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight! There
you go. Twenty-nine dollars and thirty-eight cents exactly.” The
older woman looked triumphant at having completed the task.

“The exact
change as always.” Cassie smiled back as she picked up the coins
from the counter and placed them in the till.

She didn’t mind
waiting as the older customers dug around for exact change. The
morning shift was slower paced and friendlier; the customers often
stopping to chat for a few minutes. Many of them were seniors and
more than a bit lonely; their time at the grocery store was a
social outing rather than just a necessity.

Cassie
understood about loneliness. Her family—Uncle, Franklin and
Cook—were all gone now. She just had Kellen. Some, like Mrs.
Mitchell, were almost family; the grandmother or great-aunt she’d
never had, but it wasn’t a real relationship, more just wishful
thinking.

“Do you need
help carrying those bags to the car, Mrs. Mitchell?”

The older woman
reached across and patted her arm. “No, but thank you for asking.
The doctor said it was good for my old bones to carry a few heavy
items; resistance I think he called it.”

“All right
then, just don’t do too much at once.” Cassie turned her attention
to the next person waiting to check out while Mrs. Mitchell moved
to the end of the counter and dug through her purse, most likely
searching for her car keys. The poor dear was always misplacing
them.

As she dealt
with her new customer—a young mother with a toddler in her
arms—Cassie experienced a prickling feeling, as if someone were
watching her. It wasn’t the first time this had happened. Several
times this past week, she’d found herself staring around the
grocery store looking for the source, only to find nothing.

At the time,
she’d attached no importance to the phenomenon. But now that Mr.
Bartlett had mentioned someone asking about her... Well, maybe it
was more significant than she thought. Could the beast inside her
be aware of danger on some level? Inwardly she rolled her eyes,
thinking the creature might have one redeeming quality after all;
though sensing someone was watching and knowing exactly who it was
and why, were two completely different things.

Shrugging her
shoulders, she tried to rid herself of the uneasy feeling, but it
didn’t work. Flicking a glance up from the bar code scanner, she
locked eyes with the man—the one she’d dubbed a tourist—and found
he was studying her, his eyes narrowed in concentration.

Quickly, she
looked away. Her mouth suddenly seemed dry and the air around her
was much warmer than just a few minutes ago. Inside her, the beast
stirred with excitement. Another quick peek revealed the man was
frowning now.

Was he upset
the line was moving so slowly? Cassie tightened her lips. Well,
there were only two checkouts open, so he’d just have to wait his
turn! She continued to scan the groceries while trying
unsuccessfully to ignore his presence. He had an arrogant look
about him, as if he expected everyone to notice him. Too bad, she
wasn’t going to try to speed things up just to keep him happy!

Seconds ticked
by. An uncomfortable feeling began to grow in her stomach. Her
heart rate sped up and her senses seemed to be heightened; the
brightness of the overhead lights and the beeping of the scanner
seemed to hammer inside her head. Scents she wasn’t normally aware
of assaulted her nose and she mentally identified them while trying
to concentrate on her job; baby powder, raw meat, cleaning
products, sweat... Something new was in the mix though. She sniffed
and wondered what it might be. An animal of some sort...? Weighing
a bag of grapes, she looked at the man through her lashes.

Damn! He was
still staring at her. She found her gaze locked with his and
couldn't look away. His eyes were hazel, his stare intent as if he
were trying to see inside her. A shiver swept over her, followed by
a heated feeling. Darting out the tip of her tongue, she wet her
lips and he followed the movement with his eyes before looking back
up at her. One corner of his mouth curled up and Cassie's
discomfort increased. A desperate need to escape was coming over
her; the wolf inside her was prancing; excited by the man's
presence yet at the same time wanting to run so he would give
chase.

Cassie
swallowed hard and wrenched her attention back to the task at hand.
Her voice tremored as she announced the total.

"That will be
forty-five, eighty-seven.”

The woman
handed over sixty dollars and Cassie took it. Her hand shook as she
made change, dropping the coins and cursing softly under her
breath. A chuckle came from the direction of the tourist and Cassie
wondered sourly what he found so funny.

Working on
autopilot, she commented to the mother about the baby, all the
while thinking that the man was next in line. She didn’t want to
deal with him; in fact she was almost light-headed at the very
idea. Little frissons of awareness darted up and down her spine at
the thought of him being just inches away, hearing his voice,
breathing in his scent, their fingers possibly touching as he
handed her some bills...

“Hey, Sandy!
Break time.” A cheerful voice sounded behind her and she almost
slumped in relief. Debra, her replacement cashier was there. Thank
heaven, it was break time! With more haste than dignity, Cassie
traded places with the other girl and moved to leave.

“Sandy,
dear?”

Oh God, Mrs.
Mitchell was still here! All Cassie wanted to do was get away
before that man came any closer. Forcing herself to pause, she
looked at the older woman. “Yes, Mrs. Mitchell?”

“I meant to ask
you how your little anniversary dinner went. Was Kellen
pleased?”

“Er...” Cassie
looked over her shoulder. The man was still watching her, a scowl
on his face. What was his problem? Obviously he was upset about
something, but what? She’d never met him before, so perhaps she was
being paranoid, though something was telling her she wasn’t....
Dragging her attention back to the older woman, she stumbled over
her response. “I’ll...uh...I’ll tell you about it next time you’re
at the store. I...er...need to use the washroom.”

“Oh, then don’t
let me keep you. I know what that’s like.” Mrs. Mitchell waved her
off, and Cassie walked away as quickly as she could, ducking down
the cereal aisle. As soon as she was free of the man’s gaze, she
started to feel better.

“Now that was
just...weird,” Cassie muttered to herself. Her heart rate was
calming, the sights and sounds around her were fading to a normal
level of awareness. Biting her lip, she cautiously peeked around
the corner of an instant oatmeal display. The man was still there,
only he’d moved closer to the door and was now chatting to Mrs.
Mitchell!