"Emma sounds like an amazing person."
"She's amazing enough to consider helping us, too."
"What do you mean? How could she help?"
"Emma's husband is a police detective in San Francisco. Since they're in Ireland right now and not too far from Waterford, I asked if her husband Max could find out from the local police what they know about your father's attack."
"That's a great idea, especially since the detective there hasn't called me back yet."
"He might do that today. But maybe Max can get more information than we can. Sometimes police officers will talk more freely to each other, but I don't know if that kind of relationship exists between police officers from different countries."
"It can't hurt. I'll try to call again during morning recess. And I'll check in with the hospital, too." She sighed. "There is a part of me that wishes I had called a sub for today."
"Don't worry," he said, getting to his feet. "You go to school. I'll do some digging around the conference, see if I can come up with any more theories and rumors or put some of them to bed."
"Okay." She walked over and kissed him on the mouth. "I don't know how to thank you for helping me through this, Ian."
He smiled. "I'm sure we could both come up with a few ideas."
She gave him a playful punch and then headed back into the bathroom to dress.
* * *
After he walked Grace to her car and kissed her good-bye, Ian went into the hotel restaurant and grabbed breakfast. Then he wandered into the conference area to see what was going on.
Harry Ferguson was standing alone at the coffee bar.
"Morning," he said as he reached for a coffee cup.
"Ian," Harry said with a nod. "Are you enjoying the conference?"
"I am. Your speech was very informative and entertaining."
"Thank you. Westley tells me that I missed seeing Grace Donelan last night in the bar."
"You did. She was hoping that someone might be able to tell her why her father was attacked last week."
Harry's lips tightened. "I've been asking similar questions, but everyone is quite stunned by what happened."
"But there's no love lost between you and Seamus."
"That's true, but there is a part of me that remembers a man who was once a friend," Harry said smoothly.
"What happened between you two?" he asked, deciding he didn’t have time to beat around the bush. "Grace told me that you and her father had a falling out."
"We had a disagreement over some proprietary information that he took with him after he left my company."
"Did you take him to court?"
"No. It's a personal matter." Harry cocked his head to one side. "Why are you so interested? Do you believe I had something to do with the attack?"
Apparently, Harry had no problem with bluntness, either. "I have no idea. But Grace is looking for information on who would have a reason to dislike her father, and because of your earlier words to her, you did come up."
"I won't apologize for what I said to Grace, but I did not attack her father. Our problems go back over a decade. Believe me, if I had wanted to hurt him, I've had plenty of time to do that."
"Then what's your theory? You've known Seamus since he was a young man. You've had mutual friends, a close relationship. Who do you think would hurt him now, so many years after he went back into academia?"
"I suspect it was someone who recently discovered that Seamus had betrayed him in some way. I always thought there was more to Seamus's renewed interest in academics than just a desire to bring more balance to his life. He worked on numerous government projects, some of which could be altered to have a negative impact rather than a positive one."
"You're talking about weaponry."
"And genetic mutations and many other things that Seamus dabbled in."
"You mentioned government projects. I've heard a rumor that Seamus was personally involved with Senator Barrows."
Harry nodded. "Yes, I've heard that, too. Connie is quite vague about their relationship, but she's definitely spent some time in Ireland in the past few years."
"I understand she left the conference rather abruptly, abandoning her panel."
"I heard it was a personal emergency."
"Any possibility she's rushing to Seamus's bedside?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," Harry replied. "I'm a little surprised you're so invested in this, Ian. I thought you just met Grace a few days ago."
"I did," he said, seeing the gleam in the other man's eyes.
"I can't quite see her settling down with a scientist, not after watching her parents' marriage disintegrate. Her mother couldn't stand all the time Seamus spent at work. She'd complain and complain and complain. A broken record, I used to say. I didn't blame her. I could see she was lonely, and she confided as much in my wife, who, of course, felt much the same way. It's not easy to keep a woman happy and bring innovative change to the world. You're a young man, Ian, with a bright future. I'd concentrate on that. When you reach for the stars, sometimes you have to leave someone behind. You have to let go of their hand, so they don't hold you back. I don't think Grace could take another man letting go of her, and I hope she doesn't have to."
He heard the underlying warning in Harry's voice. "You sound like you care about her."
"I do. Probably more than she could imagine. She and her sister were like daughters to me. I'm sorry I lost track of them after they left Seamus. Seeing her the other day brought back a lot of memories." He cleared his throat. "So, changing the subject, what's next for you, Ian? Your product will be heading into manufacturing soon; I would assume that would be someone else's focus, leaving you free to move on to something else."
"I have various options I'm considering."
"Why not consider Draystar? We could use a man with your vision."
"I have never worked in stealth technology."
"We're a multi-divisional company. We're involved in many other disciplines: robotics, artificial intelligence, space exploration…we're growing at a rapid rate, and we're going to be one of the leading companies moving forward. We could use a brilliant mind like yours. You could write your own ticket."
"I'm flattered."
"Don't be flattered; be interested. Give me a call next week. We can go into more depth about how we could each benefit from the other."
"I will think about it."
"Do that, but don't wait too long." Harry gave him a brief smile and then walked away.
He took a sip of his coffee, watching as Harry joined another group of men. While Harry had told him nothing about Seamus, some of his advice had resonated. Harry had said that when you reach for the stars, you have to leave someone behind; you have to let go of their hand…
He did want to reach for the stars. But he didn't want to let go of Grace. So where did that leave him?
But why did he have to make a choice? Why was he listening to two men who'd screwed up their marriages with ambition? That wasn't the way it had to go. He could have everything he wanted, couldn't he? For the first time in his life, he really wanted to believe that. But it was also the first time in his life he wasn't being at all logical. That wasn't a good sign.
* * *
Grace spent the school day veering between exhaustion due to a sleepless night and exhilaration at the thought of seeing Ian again. She would have loved to spend the day savoring the night they'd had together, but worries about her father and her students demanding her attention kept her too busy for that.
At morning recess, she called the hospital and was told her dad's condition was unchanged. She left another message at the police station in Waterford as well as with her mother, hoping that her mom had gotten an update from the police. It seemed odd that they wouldn't be talking to someone in the family.
As the day wore on, she forced herself to think about her work, but she had to admit that she didn't turn in her best performance as a teacher. She just couldn't seem to stay fo
cused. Random thoughts kept derailing her attention.
Thankfully, her students didn't seem to notice. Tyler, in particular, was in a great mood, telling her all about his grandparents and their plans to pick out a Christmas tree after school. His comment reminded her that the holidays were quickly approaching. She needed to think about a tree and decorations as well as holiday projects for the students, but that wasn't going to happen today. She didn't want to look too far ahead. In fact, time was moving a little fast for her right now.
After school ended, she spent the next two hours in a staff meeting, then returned to her classroom to get her art project ready for the next day. She had just finished when she got a call back from her mother.
"Mom, thanks for calling me back."
"I'm sorry I missed your call, Grace. I had a luncheon. I was actually going to tell you I didn't have any more information, but the hospital just called me."
"And?" she asked impatiently.
"Your father woke up."
"Oh, my God!" She was shocked by the news. "He's going to be okay?"
"They're cautiously optimistic. They don't know if he's suffered any brain damage. They're taking it slow. They don’t want to press his memories. They said they'll know more tomorrow, but it's certainly a positive sign."
"I'm so glad. This is great news."
"It is," her mom said in a rather lukewarm tone.
"Have you spoken to the police again? Do they have any leads on Dad's attacker?"
"No, I haven't spoken to them since the first time they called. They said they'd be in touch when they knew something, so I assume they don't know anything."
"Well, if Dad's awake, then he might be able to tell the police who attacked him."
"I'm sure that's the hope, but the nurse did say he's confused right now, so it may take a few more days before we get to the bottom of everything."
"I hope it clears up sooner than a few days. I really want whoever hurt him to be found." She didn't tell her mother about the break-in at her house or at Ian's hotel room, but both events still bothered her. Danger was lurking, and they needed to figure out where it was coming from.
"I have to go, Grace. I have a function tonight I have to get ready for."
She was a little disappointed in her mother's coolness, but she didn't want to get into a big discussion that would almost certainly lead to a reiteration of her father's faults and betrayals. "Thanks for letting me know."
"I told you I would. I hope you can stop worrying about him now. And certainly there's no need for you to rush to his side. Can we agree on that?"
"I suppose. I'll talk to you tomorrow." She set down her phone, feeling better about her dad's condition, but also worried that the police didn't have any leads. Hopefully, her dad would be able to tell them something that would help.
Her phone buzzed again—this time a text from Ian that he was heading over.
She texted back that she'd see him soon, a little thrill running down her spine at the thought.
She smiled to herself, thinking it had been a long time since she'd felt this giddy about a man.
She grabbed her computer and put it into her bag, then turned off the classroom lights, locked the door and headed outside. It was a little before six, but the sun had already set behind the tall mountains, leaving the parking lot and surrounding wooded area in dark shadows. The days were definitely getting shorter.
As she walked toward her car, she was suddenly aware of the fact that her vehicle was the only one left in the lot, and it was parked at the far end, by the patch of trees that stood between the school and the road. She'd been one of the last teachers to arrive this morning and now she was the last one to leave.
It was a very safe neighborhood she reminded herself; it was just the recent break-in at Ian's hotel room and her house that made her jittery.
She was a few feet from her car when she reached into her bag to get her keys. She heard the crack of a branch. Just an animal, she told herself. But her heart started to pound. Taking her keys out of her bag, she flipped the locks and hurried toward the vehicle, suddenly feeling like there was someone watching her, someone behind her.
She was almost to safety when an arm came crashing down on her shoulder and around her neck, stopping her in her tracks. She was hauled up against a solid male chest.
"Stop! Let me go!" she screamed.
His arm around her neck tightened, until she felt herself struggling to breathe. He was dragging her backward…away from her car…toward the woods, and she couldn't seem to stop him.
Fifteen
Grace tried to dislodge the man's arm, to kick his feet out from under him, but she was off balance and couldn't find any traction. Her feet slipped on the dirt, and she knew she was only minutes away from being hidden in the trees and probably unable to escape. She used all the strength she had to jerk her body forward.
He stumbled slightly with the transference of her weight. She used an elbow to jab into his chest. He grunted but started dragging her again. She tried to yell, but her air was almost gone. She was starting to feel dizzy.
Lights suddenly blinded her eyes. Was she losing consciousness? She felt like she was slipping out of reality.
And then a horn blared.
It was a car turning into the lot. Ian!
She struggled again. The guy suddenly let go. She fell to the ground, gasping for breath.
Ian jumped out of the car, running toward her. She turned her head toward the woods, seeing the back end of a shadowy figure.
Ian dropped to his knees next to her. "My God, Grace! Are you all right?"
She nodded, unable to find her voice. She pointed to the woods.
He nodded grimly, then took off into the trees. She suddenly wanted to call him back. What if the guy had a gun or a knife? What if he attacked Ian?
She had to call for help.
The sound of an engine revving drew her attention.
Had her assailant had a car on the road? She hoped Ian wasn't in it.
She stumbled to her feet. Where was her phone? She looked around the ground, then remembered she'd dropped her bag by the car. She was about to move when she saw a man coming back through the trees. Her heart caught in her chest until she realized it was Ian.
"I lost him," he said unhappily.
She ran into his arms, and he held her tight.
"I've got you," he said. "You're okay now."
She closed her eyes and drew in deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart after the unthinkable had almost happened. It seemed surreal, like it couldn't possibly be true. She was a second-grade teacher. She lived a normal life—a small, boring life, some might say. But tonight, she had the terrible feeling she'd come very close to losing that life.
She pulled back slightly so she could look into Ian's eyes. "Did you see his face?"
"No. Did you?"
She shook her head. "He grabbed me from behind, and I couldn't turn around. He felt big. He was really strong. I tried to fight, Ian."
"I know you did. I saw you struggling when I turned into the parking lot." His lips tightened. "My heart stopped when I realized what was happening." His chest heaved as he let out a breath. "We need to call the police."
"My phone…my bag—it's by the car, I think. Or did he get it? I felt it come off my shoulder. I can't remember."
"Let's find it." He put an arm around her shoulders as they walked back to her car.
Her keys were on the ground, along with her shoulder bag. She picked it up and looked inside. "My wallet is here."
"So we know this wasn't a typical mugging. They didn't want your money."
"No." She'd known that the second the guy had grabbed her.
"I'll call the police."
She zipped up her bag as he did that, feeling somewhat relieved that the man hadn't taken her wallet or her keys, although he could have taken her life, and that thought sent another wave of terror through her.
"Police are on their way," Ia
n said a moment later.
"Okay." She let out a breath. "I keep thinking I'm going to wake up, and this is just a bad dream."
"I wish that were true. But the important thing is that you're all right."
"He had a car waiting on the road, didn't he?"
"A dark SUV. I couldn't see the make. I think the license plate started with a 7, but that's not going to get us very far."
"Did he get in the passenger side or behind the wheel?"
Ian's gaze narrowed. "The passenger side. There was someone else driving."
"So there were two of them." Her stomach rolled at the thought of two men taking her God knows where.
"Don't think about it."
"I can't think about anything else. Why did they want to grab me?"
"I don't know. Maybe to get you to tell them where something is—whatever they're looking for."
"But I don’t know what that is."
"They may not realize that. Where's the puzzle box your father sent you?"
She had to think for a second. "My overnight bag is still in the trunk. I haven't been home since I took Tyler to his house a few days ago." She walked over to her car and opened the trunk, and there was her bag. "It's still here, but we know there's nothing inside the box beyond my old necklace. I don't have what anyone is looking for."
"They're obviously not convinced," he said grimly.
A car turned in to the parking lot, its beams pinning them in light. She instinctively moved closer to Ian, even though she could see it was a police car.
A male officer got out of the car. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties with a stocky build and dark-brown hair.
"I'm Officer Stanford," he said. "Can you tell me what happened?"
"I'm a teacher here. My name is Grace O'Malley." It actually felt a little odd not to use Donelan at this moment. She shook that thought out of her head. "I came out to my car a few minutes ago, and as I was getting my keys out of my bag, a man grabbed me from behind. He was trying to drag me into the woods when my friend here drove into the lot. The man dropped me and took off through the trees."
Closer To You (Callaways Book 11) Page 19