by Amy Saunders
Belinda didn’t care for either of those theories. Though what Victoria said was plausible. Bennett was in the dangerous shed while Belinda was throwing out newspapers from fifty years ago. That didn’t make it easy to set up something that was supposed to look accidental. And there was no getting around the fact that Bennett did try to protect her. Not that she made it easy.
“If there’s a new will,” Victoria said, “that could have something to do with all this.”
“Not if no one knew about it.”
“Just because no one was supposed to know doesn’t mean they didn’t know.” Victoria wagged her eyebrows. “Who knows? Maybe they were hoping to kill him before the new will was finished.”
Belinda folded her arms on the table. “If so, I guess they were too late. I wonder why Lawson asked Marie Sinclair for help instead of, let’s say, his daughter?”
“Maybe Camilla is affected by the changes in the will.”
On the one hand, it made sense to bring in a more objective person to hash out details of a will. On the other hand, it was strange that that person was your daughter’s closest adviser and friend.
“Marie Sinclair could also be good at that sort of thing,” Victoria continued. “Some people just have a knack for making decisions like that. Maybe he wanted a second opinion. Whatever the case, I guess he must have trusted her.”
So it seemed. Of course, Belinda thought, maybe his trust was seriously misplaced.
“So, what are you up to now?” Victoria said flatly. Belinda blinked. “Don’t give me those innocent doe eyes. I know you stopped by to tell me something.”
Belinda sighed. Even if she’d thought better of it, there was no point trying to fool Victoria. “I’m going to try and find Ginny at the country club.”
Victoria pulled a face.
“I know,” Belinda said. “It’s not my favorite place either. But Ginny spends time there from what I’ve heard.”
“I hope for your sake you can avoid my uncle.” Victoria made another face. “Bennett seems to run into him every time.”
Belinda smirked. “I won’t be out on the golf course, so I think we’re safe.”
Willa offered a big toothless smile at that. Maybe she didn’t like Victoria’s uncle either.
Chapter 21
Belinda entered phase two of her master plan when she drove up the hill to the country club. It wasn’t her favorite spot in the universe. Partly because she had little interest in things like golf and partly because she thought the building was awfully plain and ugly for a high society country club.
But it did offer a fantastic view of the ocean.
Belinda got out of her Mini Cooper, inhaling the salt air that blew across the street. The first couple of men she passed asked if Bennett was with her. That was a turnabout and Belinda smiled to herself as she walked on, leaving them disappointed. Bennett sometimes eclipsed her now and that was okay with her.
She searched, casually, for Ginny, finally wondering if it was all for naught. But she stepped outside before giving up, finding a golf cart buzzing toward the country club. A young woman with short, curly brown hair wearing a polo shirt and shorts stepped out of it.
Belinda smiled, striding toward her. “I was hoping I’d find you here,” Belinda said.
Ginny slid her gloves off, leaning into one hip. “Really?” Ginny laughed. “This is usually the one place no one comes looking.”
Belinda shrugged. “I’d heard this was a favorite haunt, but I didn’t know you were an expert golfer.” She pointed to Ginny’s accoutrements being hauled away by the staff.
“I’m definitely not an expert. At least, nothing close to your boyfriend.” Ginny winked, and Belinda followed her inside. “I just find it kind of relaxing.”
“And private?”
Ginny slowed her pace to walk next to Belinda. “I hate to say this, but my mom never comes here.” She lowered her voice, giving Belinda a knowing look.
Belinda nodded. “I understand. It’s nice to have some space sometimes.” And it could be tough living under the shadow of someone like Camilla Felton.
Ginny grabbed a bottle of water and led them into one of the side rooms, flopping onto a leather chair. “Why were you looking for me?”
“I just haven’t seen you since your grandfather passed away.” Belinda sat back, crossing her legs. “I wanted to offer my condolences.”
Ginny smiled slightly, playing with the bottle cap. “Thanks. I’m fine, though, really.”
“Were you close?”
Ginny relaxed into her chair, letting out a breath. “I’m not sure anyone was close to my grandfather, know what I mean? He was hard to get to know very well. But I did get along with him and I think he liked me. At least, he was always nice to me.”
“Families aren’t always straightforward.”
“Tell me about it.” Ginny rolled her eyes.
“Did you spend a lot of time with him?”
“I wouldn’t say a lot.” While they spoke, a server brought in a plate of appetizers. Either Ginny was telepathic, or she was at the country club a lot. “But I tried to visit every other week or so. It didn’t always work out.”
“Your mom seemed pretty upset about it.”
“Yeah…” Ginny picked up a fried shrimp, studying it in the light. “I think it was more the shock than anything. She saw him a lot less than I did.”
Belinda thought that made sense with what she knew about Camilla’s relationship with her father.
“However,” Ginny said, leaning forward conspiratorially, “Mom’s boyfriend seemed to be over at my grandpa’s a lot lately. I saw him coming in as I left more than once.”
Belinda tried to act innocent. “I didn’t know your mom was dating anyone.”
“Oh, not officially. But Vincent is around all the time and they don’t exactly pretend not to like each other.” Ginny waved a shrimp at her as Belinda raised her eyebrows in question. “You probably saw him at the fundraiser. He is all about playing with the big boys in the company–or girls, I guess.”
“I take it you don’t care for him.” Belinda tried to sound sympathetic instead of curious, though she was itching for more details.
“I don’t really know if I do or not.” Ginny shrugged indifferently. “He tries too hard to be nice to me, which is kind of annoying. At the same time, I don’t really dislike him, either. Not like other people do. I think what I mind the most is that he’s around all the time now.”
“Hence hiding out at the country club?” Belinda refused a shrimp extended to her.
“I’ll admit that’s part of it.” Ginny tore the shrimp apart that Belinda refused. “I try to get away whenever possible. But I do have another reason.” Ginny leaned forward again, and Belinda followed suit. Ginny whispered, “I think someone in the company is spying on all of us.”
Belinda blinked. “What?”
“I know it sounds crazy–and paranoid–but I’m convinced someone is watching us.” Ginny paused as someone passed the room. “Not long before my grandfather died, I heard him arguing with somebody in his study one day when I’d stopped by without asking. I never saw who it was, and I never heard them say anything. But later, my grandfather warned me that we might have eyes on us and wanted me to be careful.”
“You think your grandfather thought someone was spying on him?”
Ginny nodded. “He was acting paranoid for a while, but I didn’t know why until he told me that.” She dragged a shrimp through some cocktail sauce. “Maybe I’m imagining things, but I think he was right. Not that I’m doing anything exciting, but I’m still afraid to do what I want in the open.”
It might be Ginny’s imagination, but not necessarily. Of course, Belinda and Bennett had followed her, but they might not be the only ones. Who knows? Maybe the person following them had originally followed Ginny.
“Did your grandfather say who he thought was behind it?” Belinda said.
Ginny shook her head. “Either he didn’
t know or didn’t want to tell me for some reason. But I’ve wondered if it was the person he was arguing with.”
“Maybe it was Vincent?”
“Could’ve been.” Ginny looked up at the ceiling. “I’ve thought Grandpa might have been on the phone at the time. But I do think whoever is behind it is part of the company.”
Belinda didn’t want to say it, but it occurred to her the spying could originate with Camilla. At least, she may have been the one to initiate it. After all, she was shouldering a company in a rocky transition. Maybe she was worried about her father undermining her authority. Or, she might be suspicious of her close allies, especially Vincent and Marie. On the other hand, one of them might have been carrying out the spying and taking it to new levels.
“Do you have any investment in the company?” Belinda had never heard about Ginny in connection with the business, but you never knew.
Ginny laughed. “I definitely won’t be taking over, if that’s what you mean.”
Belinda half smiled. Even in her golfing outfit, Ginny still didn’t look the part of tough CEO.
“I’m not sure who Mom will groom for that,” Ginny said, her eyes drifting away. “I think for now they all want to bask in their power and make the most of it.”
“And you?”
“I have an internship with a fashion house in New York starting in the fall,” she said. “The farther away from all of this I can get, the better.”
Belinda couldn’t blame her on that front.
“In the meantime,” Ginny continued, “I’m trying to keep a low profile and sneak around to evade being watched.” She winked.
Belinda smiled, though she wondered if she should hint that Ginny needed to try harder. Following her around hadn’t taken a professional. And while that was interesting, it didn’t explain Ginny going to see Alex.
“I heard your grandfather’s house was being sold,” Belinda said. “Have you gone to see it again before that happens?”
Ginny shook her head no. “I doubt that woman…” She drifted off as if remembering the Warden was dead. “She was a little overprotective. I doubt I could have gotten inside no matter what.”
“Even though you’re his granddaughter?”
“Trust me, it didn’t matter. She had her instructions, I guess, and that was that. Nobody outside the staff was allowed in once Grandpa was gone. I tried.”
Belinda raised an eyebrow at that.
“I know it sounds nuts,” Ginny said in response. “And it was. But nothing of Grandpa’s went to us, according to the will.”
“Nothing?” Belinda couldn’t hide her surprise. She’d suspected personal items had been carried off to the family immediately.
“Nothing. I don’t know why, and Mom won’t give me an explanation. All I know is that she knew in advance that nothing was coming to us. I honestly can’t tell if she’s mad about it or not.”
Belinda wondered if Henry’s argument was with Camilla over his new will. “Well, you must be receiving a financial inheritance of some sort.”
Ginny shrugged. “Like I said. Nothing.”
Belinda’s forehead creased in bewilderment. It was one thing to ditch all possessions, but not even leaving something for his granddaughter? That smelled odd.
“It doesn’t matter,” Ginny said, waving it off. “I didn’t want him to die, so…who cares?”
Despite her chill tone and stance, Belinda detected some amount of irritation. Though it may have had more to do with her mother’s lack of explanation than the inheritance itself.
Belinda left Ginny to finish off her shrimp in peace, slowly making her way back to her car. Henry Lawson seemed to have blocked out his immediate family on purpose. But why? If he had something against his daughter, fine. But why shut out his granddaughter?
As she pulled out of the parking lot, she wondered what kind of trail to follow for that. She figured Lawson must have had a pretty good reason to do so. Or he was just angry about something that had gone down. It could have been pure vindictiveness. Whatever the case, Ginny had opened up some new lines to follow.
All things considered, Belinda felt pretty positive rolling out onto Ocean Avenue. It wasn’t the end of the matter, but it could lead there.
She swept onto a side street that cut across to her route home, bypassing the scenic, but slower, Ocean Avenue drive. As she coasted down a hill heading into the salt marsh, Belinda hit the brakes. But her car, instead of slowing down like she wanted, sped up. She pushed down harder on the brake as she zoomed to the bottom of the hill, turning onto a flat stretch of road that crossed right over the marsh.
The brakes weren’t doing a thing, and while that road was technically two-ways, the stretch over the water was not. One parked truck was out of the way, but the oncoming SUV was headed straight for her. In a panic, Belinda swerved hard to her right, diving through the grass into the water. Then everything went dark.
Chapter 22
Belinda’s eyes flickered open and she realized her face was smooshed into something. The car door was open, and she heard people talking. Then somebody yelled, “She’s awake!”
She felt for her seatbelt, aimlessly trying to get out of the car. But someone, maybe the same someone, put a firm hand on her shoulder and told her just to stay put, an ambulance was on the way.
An ambulance? Belinda thought, completely dazed. Why would they need an ambulance?
Police showed up first, but she was still too dazed to process what was going on. She was a little more with it when the paramedics arrived and finally carried her away to the hospital. But she was pretty sure she didn’t do a great job of answering anybody’s questions. She thought she asked if anyone else was hurt, but she couldn’t remember the answer.
When a figure finally appeared at her door in the ER cubicle she was stuck in, she expected it to be her mother, who was the only person she could reach. So her eyes nearly bugged out of her head when Colleen Maguire walked through the door.
“How did you–?”
“Now, Belinda.” Colleen wagged a finger, sitting next to her on the bed, the plastic mattress cover crunching under her. “You know a reporter never reveals her sources.” Colleen surveyed her, her eyes pinching up. “You look a little rough.”
Belinda wanted to say something snarky in return, but she felt too woozy to think of anything. Colleen looked the same. Her bottle-blonde hair was pulled back, pieces of it falling around her face. She was in a taupe pantsuit and blouse, her more official clothing.
“Did you come here just to say that?” Belinda managed to say, though her voice sounded rough too.
“Of course not. I came to check on you. And I was about to call you back when I learned you were here. So, I thought I’d snag you before they let you go.” She glanced behind her. “I figured this was more secure than your house or phone anyway.”
Belinda frowned. “What does that mean? What did you learn?” She’d almost forgotten she’d called Colleen to check up on the plate number she’d found.
“It wasn’t a cop,” Colleen said flatly. “I’ve used all my sources and if it is, I’m really losing my touch with getting information out of people.”
Belinda wished her mind was working fast enough to make a snarky reply to that too.
“Anyway,” Colleen went on, “it was a rental car. This is all the info I could get on where it came from and who rented it around that time.” She handed Belinda a printout.
Belinda blinked, the words all blurry at first. But she did manage to read the names, which weren’t familiar.
“I was told the renter paid cash.” Colleen pointed to the name on the sheet. “I’m betting this is a fake name.”
Belinda set the paper down. “Then it doesn’t do me a lot of good.”
“Maybe not.” Colleen smirked. “However, when one way doesn’t work, try another, right?”
“Yeah…” Belinda was always wary of Colleen’s ideas.
“I think they’re going to find someo
ne messed with your car, based on what I was told.” Colleen shrugged. “Once that happens, you have a legit reason to show Jonas what’s on your surveillance system. Then he can take this to the next level and get the rental shop’s security camera footage.”
“You think someone sabotaged my car?” Never mind the last part of what she said.
Colleen nodded confidently. “Coupled with everything else you two have been doing, I’m positive. You were on the marsh road, right?”
Belinda nodded.
“Cutting through from…?” Colleen said.
“Ocean Ave.”
Colleen’s eyes turned dark. “I think we can guess they were hoping this would be a lot more serious.”
Belinda’s face fell. Not that she felt good at all, but that only made her feel worse. When it was happening, she didn’t have a chance to consider why. And she’d only made up her mind to take the marsh road at the last second. If she’d stayed on Ocean Avenue with all its twists and turns and…cliffs…. Well, that was a truly terrifying thought.
“I don’t know what all of this is about,” Colleen said, maybe hinting she wanted to know. “But I do know your tendency for attracting trouble.”
Belinda slanted her eyes. “And your point is?”
“I don’t know how, but you find the most interesting stories.”
“Are we playing make a deal again? I give you the story, you divulge your knowledge?”
Colleen smiled. “I honestly don’t think I have anything to trade this time. I’m completely in the dark. But…that could change if a certain person let me in on the secret…” Colleen wagged her brows, her eyes sparkling.
Belinda was in no frame of mind to make that type of commitment right then. For one thing, her head felt like it was in a vice. Every thought hurt. For another, did she really want to get entangled with this woman again? Most of her screamed absolutely not! Then again, Colleen might be able to access other information Belinda couldn’t. Still, she couldn’t decide right then.
“Maybe,” was all Belinda would say.