No time to ask Jenna who she’d already seen for obstetric care. She was going to have the best obstetrician in England.
‘Have you always been so bossy?’ Jenna grumbled a half an hour later as Max insisted she lie in bed and eat a bowl of Mrs Parson’s chicken soup. ‘I’m not an invalid.’
Her protest eased his concerns. Jenna had never been one to take anything lying down. ‘Let’s keep you rested until the obstetrician checks you over and gives us the okay.’
The whip of her rebuke lost its sting as she gave a little smile. ‘Actually, it’s kind of nice to have you fussing over me.’
Shooting her a mock-stern look he warned, ‘I hope you’re not milking this for all it’s worth, Miss Sinclair.’
‘Maybe you’re not so much bossy as … masterful,’ she decided. ‘I think I like that quality in a man.’
She was flirting with him?
Playing along he told her, ‘When you regain your memory you’ll find I have a lot more qualities you like.’
Dimples appeared in her cheeks. ‘I can hardly wait.’
Good grief, she was either still in shock or the knock to her head had unlocked her inhibitions with him.
‘Finish your soup, woman,’ he half-growled.
She did as he commanded. When she’d finished, her playfulness had vanished. ‘Being here might be good for my memory. I mean, I’ve already fallen right back into horse training. It’s funny because I wasn’t even thinking about what I was doing yet, if you’d sent me into the yard and told me to give the rider tips, I don’t think I’d have been able to do it.’
‘You’ve lived here most of your life. It stands to reason if there’s any location to trigger your memory, it’ll be here.’
Her lips compressed before she said, ‘But, I don’t feel safe here, Max.’
He tried to pass off the incident lightly. ‘Not surprising after what happened in the stables, but I’m sure you’re not going to keep experiencing freak accidents.’
She shook her head and her mouth compressed in disagreement. ‘No. I tried to downplay the sense of danger I picked up on when I came here. After what’s just happened, my instincts haven’t relaxed. It’s not like I’m able to think, “Okay, it’s over now. The danger’s passed.” I really feel like I should be leaving—like there’s a threat here.’ One hand went to cover the swell of her abdomen protectively. ‘I know it sounds certifiable, and I can’t explain it, but there it is. I want to leave.’
He sat down on the bed and threaded his fingers through hers. At this stage he wasn’t entirely sure the incident in the stables had been a deliberate act to harm them, but it was highly likely.
He’d like nothing more at this point than to whisk her back to London and confine her to his much smaller home. It would make protecting her far easier. But Dr Gerber had spoken on the way back to the house about how Jenna had tapped into her memory and worked instinctively with Goliath and the young rider. She’d said how important it was for Jenna to be immersed in all the normal activities and routines that’d been part of her daily life prior to the accident.
Staying at Herlstone Park was the best course of action for her amnesia recovery.
The quicker her memory returned, the faster she might be able to shed some light on her crash. It was only when those who’d run her off the road were identified and behind bars, that Jenna would be safe. Until then, if she had been the target in the car crash and today’s near miss had been deliberate, she probably wasn’t one hundred per cent safe anywhere.
‘You and our baby are more important to me than anything else in the world. If you need protecting, I’ll see to it.’
‘You could’ve been killed too!’
‘Jenna,’ he started carefully, ‘are you telling me you believe the accident was deliberate?’
‘I …’ She looked away from him and trained her eyes on where their hands were joined. ‘No. I … I don’t know. You said yourself you wanted to go up and look at the winch to see how it happened.’ She looked at him with big, hazel eyes. ‘Are you sure I don’t have any enemies?’
‘None I know of.’
Her teeth worried at her lower lip. ‘When we arrived in the courtyard, I could’ve sworn someone was watching me with malicious intent.’
Shit! She’d been proven spot on with her instincts so far.
There was a knock at the door and Max stood to answer it, grateful he didn’t have to find some way of responding that wouldn’t increase her sense of fear.
‘Dr Fellowes is here, Mr Bennett,’ the housekeeper said. ‘Shall I show him up?’
‘Yes. Thank you, Mrs Staples.’
‘Will you stay with me while the doctor checks the baby is okay?’ Jenna asked him.
‘Of course.’ He’d actually intended to. ‘You haven’t had any pain, have you?’
‘No.’
‘I’m sure it’ll be okay, Jen.’
Dr Fellowes was of the same opinion. The middle-aged obstetrician was very thorough and had even brought a portable ultrasound machine with him.
‘Your little one is sucking its thumb quite happily,’ the obstetrician told them.
There was an unfamiliar pang in Max’s chest. He drew in his next breath sharply as he stared in awe at the small screen of the ultrasound machine. Even though he could see the swell of Jenna’s abdomen, and she’d shown him a small, grainy photo taken at her last scan, the reality of looking at their baby now made her pregnancy hit home even harder.
That was his son or daughter safely cocooned in Jenna’s womb and busy getting on with the business of developing. Completely oblivious to all the drama of the last few hours—and to the accidents which had already threatened his or her life twice—their baby was totally reliant on them for protection and would be for years to come.
For the second time in his life, Max fell in love.
Reaching forward he indicated an area on the screen. ‘Is that the baby’s heart beating?’
‘It certainly is,’ Dr Fellowes said. ‘Not only can you see the heart beating, you can also hear it.’ He turned a dial and the sound of the baby’s heartbeat filled the room through a speaker.
Max squeezed Jen’s hand and she squeezed it back. ‘That’s amazing.’
‘I take it you two don’t want to know the gender?’
Max looked at Jen. It was up to her.
‘I think I’d rather it was a surprise. Is that okay with you, Max?’
‘Whatever you want. Finding out at the birth is fine with me.’
‘Well, your little boy … or girl,’ Dr Fellowes teased, ‘is very healthy. I can’t see any problems caused by the incident. From now on, try to stay out of harm’s way please, Miss Sinclair.’
‘I’ll be doing my best to keep them both rested.’ Max’s phone rang and a quick glance at the caller ID told him it was Hans, the head of security. ‘I have to take this, sweetheart.’
‘I don’t believe the crash was an accident, Mr Bennett,’ Hans informed him the second Max answered. ‘You might like to come down and see for yourself.’
‘Will you excuse me for an hour or so, Jenna?’
The doctor was about to take some routine blood samples to make sure Jenna was in good health.
‘I think I’ll have a sleep when Dr Fellowes leaves.’ She stifled a yawn. ‘I’m starting to get a headache.’
‘I’ll give you something for your head and you should rest as much as possible.’ The doctor riffled around in his medical bag. ‘With all you’ve been through in the last few months, you need it.’
‘When should we see you again?’ Max asked.
‘We’ll do another ultrasound at twenty-eight weeks. Provided the results of all these blood tests come back fine and there are no other problems between now and then, I won’t need to see you until then.’
‘Thank you for coming at such short notice.’
‘You were fortunate I wasn’t in the middle of a delivery. I’d like you to base yourself in London during th
e last few weeks of your pregnancy, Miss Sinclair. I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to drop everything in London and hop on a helicopter when you go into labour.’
‘That won’t be a problem,’ Jenna said, but looked to Max for confirmation.
Max nodded, went back over to the bed and dropped a kiss on her forehead, pleased beyond words to be able to demonstrate his affection and his claim on Jenna now without her showing any discomfort. He was also enjoying being openly acknowledged as the father of their child.
When he reached the stable, Hans, who’d been hired at Herlstone Park ostensibly as a general handyman, was up in the loft. Bales of hay were again hanging suspended from the same winch. They were being raised up and down.
‘I’ve checked the cleat that held up the load, Mr Bennett,’ Hans explained. ‘I even tripled the weight it carried and there was no problem—no undue strain on the winch or the cleat. There was nothing to suggest any weak points.’
‘So why did the load fall?’
‘A more telling question is why was the load even suspended up there in the first place?’
‘Well?’
‘The stable hands have told me they only use the winch to get hay up into the loft. Usually it’s sent back to the ground via a slide out the rear of the stables.’
Yes. Max remembered that’d been the operational procedure when he’d worked here.
‘No pallet is ever left suspended,’ Hans said. ‘One of the hands told me they finished unloading the newest delivery of hay last week. He said he was personally overseeing the operation and every last bale was stored up here in the loft.’
‘The load that almost fell on you was hoisted from the loft. It should never have happened.’ Hans crossed his arms over his chest. ‘The guy said he’s certain no pallet was suspended from the winch this morning when he was in the stables. He said he would’ve seen it and definitely wouldn’t have left it hanging up there.’
‘You’re suggesting someone hoisted it out from the loft against all normal procedural routines?’
‘It seems that way.’
Max’s head drew back as he regarded Hans. ‘You think someone left it hanging there knowing Jenna was likely to visit the stables today and hoping there’d be an opportunity to drop it on top of her?’ It seemed an unlikely plan.
‘I do. Bear in mind, we’re not sure at this point whether it was Miss Sinclair who was the target. The target could still have been you. They may have run her off the road in an attempt to hurt you.’
‘Or they could’ve gone after her thinking she was somebody else.’ But, even as he voiced the alternate theory, he was convinced Jenna had been the target.
‘After today, we’re dismissing the mistaken identity theory.’
‘Because you’re sure this wasn’t an accident?’
‘We have additional evidence. It’s right here on surveillance video.’
Max’s heart rate kicked up as a surge of adrenaline charged through him.
Hans pulled out his phone and pressed a couple of buttons. ‘Sending the video surveillance of this stable through to your phone now.’
Max’s phone vibrated and he got it out of the pocket of his denim jeans and flipped open the case to check his mail. As soon as the video footage downloaded, Max sat on one of the bales of hay to watch it.
The time the video footage was recorded would’ve been about the same time Jenna had been out in the paddock with Goliath.
A man wearing a hooded jumper and baseball cap entered the picture. The jumper was unusual in itself given the warmth of the day. The guy looked furtively to his left and right and back over his shoulder before he climbed the outer stairs of the stables and entered the loft. The images cut out and then rolled forward half an hour. Max’s breathing stalled as the footage showed the guy running down the stairs.
‘Bloody hell.’ His grip tightened around his phone as anger pounded through him. ‘It was deliberate.’
‘The timing fits,’ Hans agreed.
‘Damn it!’ Max vented as he stood. ‘There are no good images of his face. Have you been able to zoom in and identify him?’
‘No. But we have run through all the other surveillance tapes and he’s been pictured entering the general staff quarters.’
‘You’ve got him then?’
Hans uncrossed his arms and ran one hand along his jaw line. ‘We haven’t.
‘Shit! Why not?’ No reason was a good excuse in Max’s opinion. ‘How did he get away? Didn’t someone notice a stranger on the grounds?’
‘I called in the local police while you were up at the main house. Obviously, as the maintenance man, I couldn’t go around questioning the staff.’
‘And?’
‘The police were very general with their questioning. We agreed that we weren’t going to reveal to the employees that surveillance was in place so they asked if anybody had seen a stranger on the property. Nobody remembered seeing anyone suspicious. One guy told me, however, that there was a way in and out of the property apart from the main gates. There are cellars under the staff quarters which date back to the eighteenth century. There’s still an underground tunnel leading off the cellars. The tunnel system was used—’
‘—to bring smuggled contraband such as kegs of brandy and gin onto the estate without the revenue officer finding out about it,’ Max finished. ‘He got out through the tunnel?’
‘We believe so.’
‘Shit!’ He rolled his eyes as he let out a breath of pent-up frustration. ‘I should’ve thought of it. My father used to work here and he told me stories of the tunnel. He warned me never to go looking for it because he thought it’d be in a dangerous state of disrepair—if not completely obstructed.’
‘Not so. I’ve been through it with the local constable. It’s definitely been used recently. When we emerged through a bush at the entrance of it, there were car tracks on the forest floor and evidence a car had damaged some of the trees to get there. I turned back to meet you but the constable kept going. He phoned me and said the car track led right onto the main road.’
‘Seal the damned tunnel up!’ Max exploded.
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Nobody in or out of this property without us knowing. Every single person entering the estate needs to be recognised by those manning the security cameras.’
‘Already happening, boss, which is why I’m convinced the guy came and left through the tunnel.’
‘I wanted this to stay covert because I didn’t want to cause panic in any of the staff. They were already upset when the news broke that someone had tried to run Jenna off the road.’ He ran his fingers through his hair. ‘I can’t believe anybody here would want to harm her but, obviously, the guy in the video knew she’d be home today and knew about that goddamned tunnel. He may not be a worker here, but someone who had inside information sure as hell passed it on to him.’ He took a few paces back and forward as he tried to figure out a way through this mess. Thinking aloud he said, ‘The question is, what do we tell the staff?’
‘Now the police have been here asking questions, there’ll be gossip,’ Hans said.
The news of Jenna’s crash had been over every bulletin with the police appealing to the public for help in their investigation. After her crash and today’s incident, most of the workers would understand if he revealed the presence of the security team here. But, he didn’t want to tip off the insider. Also, he didn’t want anybody letting the information slip to Jenna. The last thing she needed was confirmation of her fears that she was under threat. She had enough to cope with already.
‘Tell all staff I’ll be at the main dining room at six o’clock this evening and I want everyone there. I don’t want whoever the insider is to know we’re onto them. I’ll tell them the police wondered if there was a link between what happened today and the crash, but after their investigations, they believe today was an equipment malfunction. I’ll also say the police think that Jenna being run off the road was merely a case of her
being mistaken for somebody else.’ If he lulled the insider into a false sense of security, the guy might slip up. ‘Meanwhile, complete a background check on all the staff members.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Start with the newest employees and work your way back through to those who’ve been working for the family for years.’ Max clenched his teeth. He hated the need to investigate staff who’d been loyal to the Sinclair family and to Jenna, but with the threat hanging over her, and today’s incident, somebody inside was involved. It was surprising because the Sinclair family had always inspired loyalty.
Mendles … well Charles Mendles hadn’t been around here now for a long time. If anybody had a grudge against Mendles, Max didn’t believe they’d try to take it out on Jenna.
‘Do we look more closely into your associations as well, sir?’ Hans asked.
‘Yes.’ He gave the authority to investigate very grudgingly. ‘I know you’ve discounted James Mendles and David Curtain, but don’t scratch them off the list yet. Mendles still has more to gain than anyone else in the event of Jenna’s death because he’s her closest relative.’
‘Okay.’ Hans tilted his head in a gesture that said he thought Max was way off base, but he was the boss so he’d do it.
‘Find out if Jenna has a will and if so, to whom she’s left her fortune.’
Damn it all. Until the culprit or culprits were found, everyone in Jenna’s radius needed to be considered a suspect.
‘Anything else, Mr Bennett?’
‘Not right now. Thanks, Hans. It’s good to know you’re on this.’
He turned the idea over in his head about assigning Jenna a personal bodyguard. The problem was he didn’t want to let Jenna know she was at risk.
Although his corporate executives were doing a fine job and his friends had stepped up to the plate for him a couple of times these last months, Max would need to attend some regular meetings. He could hold video conferences rather than working from his corporate offices in London or Vancouver but, even so, the times he was in meetings would take away from the time he was physically with Jenna.
Seduced by the Stranger (Billionaires & Babies, #2) Page 15