Not This Time

by Vicki Hinze

  “Sara said that—at the club right after the attack. It makes sense, Joe. They’re driving home the point.”

  “Missing groom on the cake. Sara admitting she’s in trouble, keeping secrets, taking herself out of Quantico. Robert murdered …” Joe rubbed at his neck. “It all fits. The thing I want to know is, which of them isn’t giving NINA what it wants? Sara or Robert?”

  “Could it be either?”

  “It could.” Joe looked up at the Towers. “Or maybe it’s Nora.”

  “Nora?”

  “Raven is active in the village, Beth. Specifically from Nora’s apartment.”

  “Nora is not Raven,” Beth said. “No way.”

  “I pray you’re right.”

  Two patrol cars pulled in and stopped behind them between the two rows of parked cars. Kyle jumped out, yelled over. “Stay put. Don’t want you shot by mistake.” He ran into the building.

  Jeff’s Tahoe door stood open and he was nowhere in sight. Apparently he’d already gone into the building.

  Beth felt queasy. “You don’t think Nora’s there, do you?”

  Joe looked over. “If she were, the fake Thomas wouldn’t have come out without her.”

  Her chest went tight. “Unless he … hurt her.” She couldn’t make herself think killed much less say it. In her mind she imagined the imposter stealing Jeff’s Tahoe and taking off. “Are you armed?”

  “Always.”

  “Watch Jeff’s vehicle.” Beth began filling Joe in on events, and he shared his with her.

  They’d just caught up when Jeff came out and walked straight over to the driver’s window of Beth’s SUV.

  His face was pasty white. “Nora’s apartment’s been trashed. Clyde’s pocket watch was on the floor, and someone at some point was restrained in a chair in Nora’s bedroom. Under her pillow—”

  Beth couldn’t help herself. “Where’s Nora?”

  Jeff didn’t meet her eyes. “Gone.”

  NINA had taken her. She shot Joe a look of sheer terror. He’d known—and been right.

  “Stay calm, sha. We need clear heads.” Joe clasped Beth’s hand, held it on his thigh, then looked back to Jeff. “What was under Nora’s pillow?”

  “A scrap of paper—a note.” Jeff’s grim expression darkened. “It said, I’m sorry.”

  Beth frowned. “Sorry about what?” Couldn’t anything be straightforward and easy?

  Kyle sprinted up to Jeff. “He’s nowhere around, Detective. Units are still looking, but we’re coming up dry.”

  Joe interrupted. “He said an Angola con named Paul Clement had proof Robert is alive. He wants a million for it.”

  “You know anything about that?” Jeff asked.

  “Nothing. I think it was bogus. Just something he could confide to Beth.”

  “Run it anyway, Kyle.” Jeff looked at Joe. “If this guy is no longer in disguise, we could trip over him. If Clement exists, could he be testing the waters himself?”

  “Possible.” Joe looked back at Beth. “Did you find a full-face photo of Robert?”

  “No. I searched through everything at Sara’s, scoured the village, and even asked Miranda Kent if she had one on file.”

  “Who is she?”

  “A columnist for the local newspaper,” Beth said. “But nobody in Seagrove Village has a single photo of him that shows his whole face.”

  Joe’s eyes glazed. He’d expected that; it was clear in his expression. She turned to Jeff. “What can we do about Nora?”

  “I’ve put out an APB.” Jeff rubbed at his neck. “We found something else in the apartment. A pin—the kind you wear on a coat—was stuck in Nora’s pillow.” He touched a fingertip to his lapel.

  “Nora wears pins all the time on her coat—not that she’d need a coat in June.”

  Jeff’s eyes sparkled. “What’s on them?”

  “Flowers, swirls, different things like that.”

  “Have you ever seen her wear one of an animal or …”

  “No—wait.” Beth searched her mind. “She had a dove on her hat at the club.”

  “You’re sure it was a dove?”

  “I think so. It—oh, wait. That wasn’t on Nora’s hat. It was on Nathara’s.”

  “Jeff,” Joe interrupted, clearly out of patience. “What was on the pin?”

  Jeff hesitated as if debating whether or not to reveal that information.

  Joe pushed. “It’s a raven, isn’t it?”

  His eyes somber, Jeff nodded.

  Raven. “Like NINA’s Raven? But Nathara is at Sara’s. It couldn’t be her pin.”

  “It could, but either way, it doesn’t mean anything other than whoever trashed the apartment used it. You’re sure it’s Nathara’s and not Nora’s?”

  “Nora wouldn’t wear a bird,” Beth said. “When we’re on the balcony and the gulls get too close, she goes inside. She’s scared of birds.” Beth frowned, scanned her memory. “But there was definitely a bird on Nathara’s hat. I remember it.”

  Joe withheld comment.

  He said Raven was at Nora’s, and that could be true. “Nora isn’t Raven.” She looked to Joe and saw what she most feared in his eyes: doubt.

  “Hard to imagine, but Raven is ruthless and capable of anything.”

  “Nora’s not. Nathara, maybe, but never Nora.” Beth faced Jeff. “I’d ask for your opinion, but you don’t speculate.”

  “She took Nora, or had her taken.” Regret flooded Jeff’s face. “Or … worse.”

  Joe groaned and stared out the windshield.

  That petrified Beth. “What could be worse?”

  Jeff struggled to meet her gaze but didn’t utter a word.

  Beth pushed. “Answer me, Jeff. What could be worse? Nathara wouldn’t kill her twin. She does care about Nora.” She did, right? She was here to take her to an eye specialist.

  Still silent, he looked away.

  “Why won’t you answer me, Jeff?”

  Joe sighed. “Jeff thinks Nora is Raven.”

  Jeff barked orders into his phone, then turned to Beth and Joe. “I’ll go tell Sara and Peggy about Nora. Peg and Ben will mobilize the Crossroads folks to help search. Joe, can you do anything to save time on running down this Clement? Bogus or legit, we need to know.”

  Joe texted someone, then said, “If he’s authentic, you’ll have a file with photos on your cell in a few minutes. What about Nathara?”

  “We can’t keep Nora’s disappearance from her and run a respectable search.”

  “Confide in Peggy. She’ll watch Nathara and keep her from causing trouble.”

  “Good idea. Peg can spot a liar at fifty paces. I’ll brief Mark too, of course.”

  “Very good idea.” Joe nodded. “You know that we’re not going to get to the bottom of all this until we find out who Robert Tayton III really is.”

  “I know.” Jeff sighed.

  So Robert wasn’t Robert—or Joe doubted he was. “How are we supposed to do that? Sara knows next to nothing about him and she knows more than anyone else.” Beth looked at Joe. “Have you rattled every bush?”

  “All but one. Sam turned over a lead, but Masson’s murder interrupted checking it out.”

  Kelly Walker would be able to sleep peacefully again, knowing Masson wasn’t still stalking her. That’d make life easier for Ben and her.

  Jeff leaned closer to the car window. “Who do you think Robert really is?”

  “He could be Robert Tayton. It’ll take a fast trip to Georgia to know for sure. Beth’s coming with me. We’re taking Ben’s plane. Be back as fast as we can.”

  “Wait.” Beth put a hand on Joe’s sleeve. “What about the funeral? Sara will need—”

  Jeff interrupted. “There’s little sense in having a funeral for a man who could be alive. I don’t believe it—blood isn’t mutable evidence. But I’ll talk to Sara about postponing until we verify Clement.”

  “Watch her.” A few days ago, this news would have elated Sara. Now Beth had no idea how Sara
would react. “First sign of an attack—”

  “I’ll contact Harvey Talbot.” Jeff slapped the car frame at the lowered window, his neck crooked so he could peer in. “Roxy’s got the FBI tied up at the cemetery, but Mark and Ben will guard Sara. If she’s in trouble, odds are strong it’s NINA trouble. With her Quantico connections, they won’t mess around—and, yes, Beth, that’s a warning to you too.”

  “She’ll be with me,” Joe said again.

  Jeff stared at Joe a long second, took note of Beth’s hand on Joe’s sleeve. “Got it.”

  His reaction proved he wasn’t half in love with Beth anymore. Jeff had fallen—and, Beth feared, fallen hard—for Sara. Oh, but she hoped they didn’t both wind up brokenhearted again. Sara was either still married or a new widow. Neither boded well for Jeff and her, and she needed a break. Time to heal and restore. Time …

  Maybe she’d already had time. Her reactions had been strange for some time. She wasn’t in love with Robert anymore; Beth felt certain of that. Had Sara already mourned her marriage not being what she hoped it would be? Robert not being the man he professed to be? She did wish she could go back …

  Stop, Beth. You’re reading too much into this. Or you could be.

  “Call if you find Nora,” Beth told Jeff. “I don’t feel right about not staying here to search for her, but I know this is necessary.” Others could do anything she could do in the search, but she had special insights that could help Joe. “We’ll hurry.”

  “Try not to worry.” Jeff backed up a step. “She means a lot to me too.”

  “Sara or Nora?” Beth asked.

  “Both.” He didn’t hedge or look away.

  Regret speared through Beth, and she spoke before thinking and censoring herself. “I wish Sara had married you instead of Robert.”

  Jeff didn’t respond, but what could he say? Remorse flooded her. Jeff’s face went red and Joe’s lip curled. He was amused. Well, she shouldn’t have done it but she had. At least it’d been honest. “I’m sorry, Jeff. I was out of line.” Not perfect, as apologies go, but also honest.

  “No problem. Actually, I’m flattered. When it comes to Sara, you’re selective.” His expression softened. “Check in when you can.”

  “We will,” Joe said.

  Jeff left in his Tahoe and Joe backed out of the parking slot. “Did you forget for a second Sara has a husband and Jeff half thinks you killed him?”

  “I’m not used to being considered a suspect. I thought it and it spilled out before I could stop myself.” Beth sighed. “Open mouth and insert fo—leg, actually. Up to my kneecap.”

  Joe’s eyes twinkled. “But you meant it. Are you playing Cupid now?”

  “No, that’s Peggy’s specialty.” Beth snagged her sunglasses from their overhead holder and tapped them into place on her nose. “They’re good together. That’s all. Sara’s different around Jeff. She talks.”

  “She doesn’t talk otherwise?”

  “Not like she does with him. She used to be crazy about him. I didn’t know it until recently, but I think she still is.”

  “Because she talks to him?”

  “Because she looks at him like I look at you.”

  He rewarded her with a smile. Lifted their clasped hands and planted a kiss to her knuckles. “He’s a lucky man, then.”

  “Provided he doesn’t break her heart.”

  Curiosity replaced Joe’s smile. “Are you still worried I’m going to break your heart?”

  More than worried. To the bone scared of it—and even more afraid because he could. How had he gotten that kind of power over her when she knew from the first look he was a woman magnet like Max? It didn’t make sense. Actually, it did. He wasn’t like Max and he was perfect for her. Her heart knew it. Her head was just having trouble catching up. “Are you?”

  “No. Are you going to break mine?”

  “As if I could.” She resisted a snicker, biting her lower lip.

  “Oh, you can, sha. Trust me on that.”

  Truth shone in his eyes. She let it settle in. “In that case, no, I’m not. I’ll guard your heart, Joe. That’s a promise.”

  “I believe you.” The smile didn’t return, but such tenderness and gratitude filled his eyes that it left Beth breathless. He needed that assurance, her assurance. He needed to feel special.

  Too tender. She cleared her throat. “Where in Georgia are we going?”

  “Just north of Atlanta.”

  Robert met Sara in Atlanta. “Who’s there?”

  “I don’t know for sure.”

  “Joseph.” She put a bite in her tone.

  “Sorry, gorgeous. Keeping as much as possible to myself is in my genes—or I thought it was. With you, I’m different.”

  “It’s in your training, not your genes. I’m glad I’m different, but I’m not a potential enemy, and hazarding a guess, my clearances are probably higher than yours.”

  They weren’t, but they were close. “I think it might be Robert’s parents.”

  “If they’ve been estranged from Robert for years, what can they tell us?”

  “For one thing, they can positively identify their son.” Joe braked for a red light and looked over at her. “And for another, if he is their son, they can tell us if they think he is capable of murder.”

  Beth was totally confused. Robert was purportedly a victim. They had no hard evidence he was tied to NINA. “Who do you think he killed?”

  “Give me a minute and I’ll tell you.” Joe pulled out his ringing phone. “Yeah, bro.”

  Mark Taylor. He was the only person Joe called bro.

  Beth’s thoughts turned. Robert, a murderer? She couldn’t see it. First, he’d never get his own hands dirty—literally or figuratively; too highbrow for that. Secondly, at the time of the club attack and Clyde’s death, he had already been kidnapped. And he’d reportedly bled out on the mattress in Magnolia Branch before Karl Masson died. That wasn’t faked. It was his blood. Too much of his blood for him to still be alive. So how did a man who’d bled out, bleed out and live? And if he had lived, who was left to be his victim in a murder?

  Jeff walked into a crowd at Sara’s and approached Mark, Harvey, and Roxy huddled near the front window.

  Mark nodded. “I’ve briefed Roxy and Harvey.”

  “Good.” Jeff scanned the living room. Tack stood talking with Nathara in hushed tones. “Does Nathara know?” Someone had to tell Nora’s twin, and he shamefully hoped it wouldn’t have to be him. She wouldn’t take the news well. Movement at the doorway leading to the kitchen caught his eye—Darla coming in through the back door, her phone in her hand. Must have stepped out to make a call.

  “No.” Mark glanced at Nathara. “We weren’t sure how you wanted to handle that.”

  Figured. “Has to be done to get a search fully operational.” He swung his gaze back to Mark. “Where’s Sara?”

  “In the den,” Roxy said. “I don’t know on what, Jeff, but she’s holding back.”

  He respected Roxy’s instincts. “Did she say something?”

  Roxy shook her head no. “Cop’s gut.”

  Jeff had felt it himself. As he and Sara had grown closer, he’d hoped she’d open up to him on whatever she was withholding, but so far she’d kept her secrets. Did she suspect Robert was still alive? Or were her secrets worse? Jeff had no idea, and he wasn’t going to find out standing here. “I’d best get to it, then.” He resisted the urge to go straight to Sara and stepped over to Nathara.

  “You look like death warmed over, Jeff Meyers.” She looked up at him. A black rose bobbed at the base of her hat where it met the brim. “What’s wrong now?”

  “Nora is missing.” The room went quiet and everyone tuned in. “Her apartment was ransacked. Kyle will be in to get a statement from you on when you last saw her, who was there and—”

  “I was there with Nathara,” Tack said. “Everything was fine when we left.”

  “Well, things are not fine now.” Jeff didn’t mention th
e note or the fake Thomas Boudin. “The evidence is overwhelming that Nora’s been abducted.”

  “Hogwash. Who would kidnap an old, worn-out housekeeper?”

  Is that what Nathara thought of her sister? Nora was many things, but there was nothing worn-out about her. She kept a fine house and nurtured everyone who needed it. There wasn’t a stray in the village she didn’t watch over. If Nathara didn’t know that, she didn’t know her twin. Maybe she was as mean as a snake. “I’ll keep you posted on developments.”

  She frowned. “At least tell me if there were signs she was hurt.”

  Finally, a humane response. “No overt signs, no.” Jeff addressed the group. “An unidentified male was seen running from the Towers on foot. We’ll have a description and maybe photos shortly.” He frowned. “I need help on this. We have limited resources, and they’re already stretched to the max.”

  “An unidentified male?” Nathara stared at the floor. The color leaked from her face. Nora would have been in full swing, assigning everyone duties. How different they were …

  Peggy Crane stepped forward. “I’ll get Crossroads ramped up. Route the calls in to us. We’ll get teams organized to search. They’ll be ready to go when you give us the word.”

  Tack rubbed at his neck. “I’ll get down to Ruby’s and get the word out. Peggy, fax me the description over there. I’ll get us some recruits and disperse the information.”

  Darla stood beside Peggy. “I’ll call Hank. Peggy aside, no one spreads the word as fast as Hank Green.”

  Darla was wrong about that. Hank was no slouch, but Megan, the waitress at Ruby’s, was twice as quick as anyone else in the village. Jeff glanced at Roxy. She was already on the phone with the FBI team working the club attack and the thwarted cemetery attack.

  “Jeff?” Sara stood at the den door. “What’s going on?”

  Mark touched Jeff’s sleeve. “Go talk to her privately. I’ll handle things out here.”

  Jeff nodded, then joined Sara. His throat was thick. Her hair was pulled up and little wisps of it trailed down her neck. “You were resting?”

  “Pretending to.” She stepped back into the den. “I just needed a few minutes alone.”

  After he told her what they’d learned, she’d need far more than a few minutes. Man, but he hated bringing her more worries. “Sit down, Sara. We need to talk.”