Beautiful Storm (Lightning Strikes Book 1)

by Barbara Freethy

"Sandbury quit MDT two months ago," she told Michael. "Now he's working at the university. It feels like a weird circle. Professor Bryer was at the university then MDT. Paul Sandbury goes the other direction."

  "And Sandbury quit the company around the time Liliana goes missing. That's a hell of a coincidence. Looks like we're going to the university next."

  As they walked back to the car, she said, "What do you think about the ex-husband?"

  Michael shrugged. "I'm not sure. But we should talk to him, too."

  "So basically we're going to follow Liliana's trail."

  "It's the only way we'll figure out what she knew."

  "You do realize that if we follow her trail, we could end up—"

  "The same way she did," he finished, a hard expression entering his eyes. "It's a risk I'm willing to take, but once again, any time you want out, just say the word."

  "Not yet." She fell into step with him as they proceeded to the car. "The other thing I find odd is that Lieutenant Hodges hasn't really gotten into the case. She told us that it was being reassigned to her, and Cheryl had the same information. So why isn't Lieutenant Hodges working on the appeal? Is she leaving it for Liliana? Is she gun-shy? What? And I keep going back to the fact that she's the only one who knew what hotel we were staying in."

  "We can't worry about that now. Let's go to the university and see if we can find Paul Sandbury. After that, we'll hit up the bar and then look for a hotel for the night. We can talk to Lieutenant Hodges tomorrow if we need to."

  "Okay." As they got into the car, she couldn't help thinking about how many days more she could possibly give to this search. "I hate to bring this up, but I need to be back at work by Thursday at the latest."

  "Then we'll get you back. If we're not done here, you can return to Miami without me."

  She knew that; she just didn't want to go back without him. She didn't want to go anywhere without him and that was a scary thought for a woman who'd been very comfortable on her own—until now.

  Nineteen

  When they got to the university, they stopped in at the admissions department. Joanna looked surprised but also happy to see them. She got up from her desk and came over to the counter.

  "I wasn't expecting to see you again, Alicia."

  "Unfortunately, we didn't come here just to see you," Alicia said. "We need to talk to Paul Sandbury. He's a teacher in the engineering department."

  "Yes, he started a few months ago. Is he involved in this case, too?" Joanna asked, worry entering her eyes.

  "He used to work at MDT," Alicia replied. "Do you know if he's here today? We really want to talk to him."

  "I can look up his schedule," she said, stepping up to the computer on the counter. She punched a few keys then said, "He's finishing a class at four o'clock."

  Alicia glanced down at her watch. "We have about twenty minutes, probably just enough time to get across campus."

  "What are you doing tonight?" her mother asked.

  "We're not sure yet," she said, seeing the hope in her mother's eyes. "But I have been seriously thinking about coming back for Danielle's party next month, and I think I can do it."

  "That would make me so happy. You come, too, Michael."

  "Thanks for the invitation," he said. "I'll do my best."

  Alicia appreciated that Michael hadn't said no, because maybe always worked better with her mother. "By the way, Mom, did you ever speak to Debbie?"

  "Not yet. I'm going to go by on my way home. But I did talk to Lauren, who said the house was as you described, and that Debbie was quite hazy about what was going on."

  "I spoke to TJ earlier. He told me he has a cleaning service come in, but that his mom junks things up almost immediately after they leave. He's pretty stressed out about it, but he has to work to pay for help, and he doesn't seem to have much time available for his mother."

  "I'm going to put together a group to help," Joanna said. "All the moms who have known Debbie over the years will surely be willing to lend a hand. I won't take no for an answer."

  Alicia smiled, believing that her mother had the situation completely under control. Joanna loved to be the boss, and she was extremely capable when it came to managing people and getting things done. "I'll see you later, Mom."

  "That wasn't so bad," Michael commented. "Not a speck of family drama."

  "That's because I headed her off at the pass."

  "I thought you volunteered a return trip fairly quickly," he said with a knowing grin.

  "There's still time to back out."

  "You shouldn't back out. You should go to the party, wish your sister well."

  She nodded, itching to ask him if he might really be interested in coming with her, but the future was looming in a shadowy void, and this was not the time to make plans.

  They made their way across the campus. Alicia pointed out some of her old classrooms and told Michael a little about the history of the university. They ended up in the engineering building with about ten minutes to spare. They decided to wait in the hall until the class ended.

  "Did you ever take any classes in engineering?" Michael asked, as he leaned against the wall.

  "Not a chance. I stayed as far away from this building as I possibly could. I didn't see much of the science lab, either."

  He smiled. "I like math and science. Math comes in handy in my job."

  "I rarely hear anyone say that math comes in handy in their job," she said with a laugh.

  "Construction uses a lot of different math skills—estimating costs, measuring rooms, calculating angles—and that's just the beginning."

  "Well, I'm glad to hear that there's an actual reason for anyone to learn geometry," she said dryly. "But to each his own. I'll stick to creative pursuits." She paused. "You said you'd once thought of being an architect. Did you take any classes in drafting while you were in school?"

  "As many as I could without actually declaring it my major."

  "What do you want to design one day? A building, a house, an apartment complex, a park? What?"

  "I'd start with a house."

  "Ah—your dream home. Do you already have it planned out?"

  "I have some thoughts," he admitted, "but nothing in detail."

  "Why haven't you gone further with the plans?"

  "It seems ridiculous to build a huge house for myself to live in."

  "One day you'll marry, have children, maybe get a dog. Or are you a cat person?"

  "Whoa, slow down," he said putting up a hand. "You're getting way ahead of me."

  "Don't you want a wife and children?"

  "I haven't thought that much about it. What about you?"

  "I've thought about it, but I'd have to find a man as crazy as I am to take me on, and he'd obviously have to like lightning."

  He grinned. "Obviously. What other requirements do you have?"

  "He'd have to be really attractive, incredible in bed, and completely adore me. That shouldn't be too difficult to find, right?"

  "Not for you."

  "What's your dream woman?"

  "Uh…" Before he could answer the door opened, and students began to file into the hallway.

  "Saved by the bell," Alicia joked.

  "If you want to know what I want in a woman, just look in the mirror," he said pointedly.

  Warmth rushed through her face at his words. "Michael."

  "What? Don't ask the question if you don't want the answer."

  She stared back at him. "Okay, that's fair. Just so you know, when I described my dream man earlier, I was talking about you."

  A light jumped in his eyes.

  "So we're even," she said. "Are you ready to talk to Paul Sandbury?"

  "I'm ready to take you to bed."

  His words sent a jolt through her body. "Well, that can't happen now," she said, really wishing it could.

  "Maybe later."

  "Maybe." She cleared her throat. "Let's do this."

  * * *

  Paul Sandbury was
a short, thin man with glasses and a beard. Focusing on Sandbury brought Michael's mind back into focus, to what they needed to accomplish here. Messing around with Alicia would have to wait.

  "Paul Sandbury? I'm Michael Cordero. This is Alicia Monroe," he said as they joined Sandbury at the front of the classroom. "Do you have a moment? We have a few questions for you."

  "What's this about?" Paul asked warily.

  "The death of your former colleague, Connie Randolph."

  Paul started shaking his head even before Michael got his entire statement out.

  "I'm done with all that. I talked to the police. I testified at the trial. I even spoke to that other attorney a few months ago. I have no more information to give."

  "The other attorney you spoke to—was that Lieutenant Liliana Valdez?"

  "Yes."

  "What did she ask you?"

  "All the questions I'd answered before. Please, just go. I have another class in a few minutes."

  "This won't take long," Michael said.

  "I can't help you. I'm sorry. I've done everything I can do. I've tried to help. I told Lieutenant Valdez that there was more going on between Bryer and Connie, and look what happened."

  "What do you mean?" Michael asked.

  "I heard the lawyer I talked to disappeared. Isn't that true?"

  "Yes, she vanished about two months ago—about the same time you left MDT. Why did you leave the company?"

  "I wanted to teach. I have nothing bad to say about MDT." He crossed his arms, then uncrossed them, nervousness emanating from every pore. "I have three kids and a wife in poor health. I need this job, and I need to be alive to take care of them."

  Michael tensed at Sandbury's blunt words. "You think you're in danger?"

  "Since the last person I talked to is missing, yes."

  "Then you don't think the professor's wife was the killer, do you?" Michael asked.

  Paul's fidgety gaze jumped at the question. "No, but that's all I'm going to say."

  "We're trying to find Lieutenant Valdez," Alicia put in. "You need to help us."

  "I can't. I'm sorry. You need to drop this. You ask questions of the wrong people, you're going to end up missing, too." He let out a breath, looking relieved when students for his next class entered his classroom. "Please, leave."

  Michael was frustrated by his refusal to help, but he also knew they weren't going to get anything more out of him now.

  As they left the classroom, he said, "Sandbury knows something important."

  "And it sounds like he told Liliana what he knows," Alicia said.

  "Should we stick around until after this class ends? See if we can press for more information?"

  "We could, but he seemed pretty scared, Michael. I don't think he's going to tell us anything."

  "If he's scared, then…" He couldn't finish the thought. Sandbury's behavior had made the danger surrounding Liliana even more real. "I need to talk to him again. I'll shake the information out of him if I have to."

  "Well, you can't do it right this second and I'm not sure he's going to crack. He's not just protecting himself. He made a point of saying his family was all he cared about."

  "Then what do we do?"

  "I think we should get a drink."

  Her pragmatic answer left him without words. "Alicia…"

  "Michael, we can't do anything now. He has a class for at least the next hour. Let's go to the Flight Deck. Hopefully, we can speak to the bartender who testified at the trial. Then we'll figure out what to do about Paul Sandbury."

  "All right, but I hope Sandbury doesn't disappear on us."

  Worry entered her eyes. "I hope so, too." As they walked out of the building, she added, "One thing bothers me."

  "Only one thing?"

  "One of many. I wonder why Liliana is missing and Paul isn't. If he knows something, if he gave her information, why is he still living a normal life two months later?"

  He didn't have an answer for that. "You make a good point. Maybe Sandbury gave Liliana a piece of something that she put together with something else. He didn't know everything but enough to help her complete the puzzle."

  "We have to figure out what he gave her."

  "Well, it would be easier if he just told us."

  "It would, but he's scared, Michael, and that makes me wonder if someone at MDT is involved in this. If he needs money to take care of his wife, why would he quit a job that had to pay more than being a university professor?"

  "You have to stop asking me questions I can't answer, dammit," he snapped. When Alicia stopped abruptly, he blew out a breath and said, "Sorry, I'm pissed off."

  "I get it. Maybe I was wrong to suggest that we leave. If you want to wait until his class is over, then we should do that. It might be the smart move. We surprised him before. He might tell us more if we try again."

  He didn't know if Sandbury would tell them more, but he did know he wasn't ready to walk away. "Let's go back. We'll sit in the classroom and wait for him to finish."

  When they got back to the classroom, Michael opened the door and stepped inside. He was prepared to take a seat in the last row, but what he saw made him stop in his tracks. A young man stood at the podium now, and there was no sign of Paul Sandbury.

  "Where did he go? Where's the teacher?" he asked the nearest student.

  "He had an emergency," the young man answered.

  His stomach turned over. Sandbury had run. How the hell were they going to find him now?

  * * *

  Alicia felt guilty for her part in encouraging Michael to leave Sandbury's classroom. If she hadn't said they should leave and come back, maybe Sandbury wouldn't have been able to take off. But there was no going back. He was gone, and they had to figure out what to do next. Unfortunately, Michael didn't seem eager to start the car. They'd been sitting in silence for a good five minutes.

  "We could try to get his home address," she said. "Maybe my mother would help." When Michael just gave her a shrug of defeat, she took out her phone and called her mom. "It's me again. I need one more favor."

  "What now, Alicia?"

  "I need Paul Sandbury's home address."

  "I can't give that to you, Alicia. It's personal information. I could get fired."

  "It's really important, Mom. I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't."

  "You're putting me in a really difficult position. It's not that I don't want to help you, but I just don't see that I can."

  "We need to go to his house and make sure he's okay," she said, trying a different tactic. "I can promise you that I will not say where I got the address, and I will not do anything that will reflect badly on you. You have to trust me, Mom."

  It was a lot to ask someone who'd rarely trusted her, and Alicia waited nervously for an answer. It came a moment later.

  "532 Hawker Drive. Don't make me sorry."

  "I won't." She set her phone down. "I have his address. Do you want me to drive?"

  He looked over at her in bemusement. "You really don't give up, do you?"

  "I told you—Monroes don't quit."

  He started the engine and backed out of the space.

  They made it to Sandbury's house in ten minutes. The modest one-story house showed evidence of kids, with a bike leaning against the porch steps and a doll abandoned on the lawn.

  They got out of the car and walked up to the front door. Michael rang the bell, and Alicia moved across the porch to look through the living room window. There was no sign of anyone inside.

  "I don't think they're home," she said.

  Michael knocked and then twisted the doorknob. He gave her a shocked look when it swung open.

  "You can't go inside," she protested, but he was already halfway through the door. She followed him over the threshold, and then stopped abruptly when she saw the chaos inside. "Were they robbed?"

  "Or they left in a hurry." He went into the kitchen and then quickly returned. "There's food on the table, a glass of milk and half of a sandwich. T
he trash can was knocked over, and the back door is ajar."

  She moved down the hall and looked into the master bedroom. The drawers were open and empty. The closet revealed dozens of empty hangers. "I think they left," she said, when Michael came up behind her. "That was so fast. How long has it been since we spoke to him? Thirty—forty minutes?"

  "Not more than that."

  "We terrified him, Michael. Just by showing up, we sent him running." She couldn't fathom that she and Michael had had the power to send a man into hiding with his wife and three children.

  "I don't think he was scared of us, but he's scared of someone." Michael shook his head with frustration and anger in his gaze. "He definitely knew something about Liliana, or MDT, or the murders, or hell, I don't know."

  "We can go to the police here in town, tell them what we've found out so far. Maybe they can find him and get the truth."

  "The way they did before?" he asked cynically. "The cops spoke to Paul Sandbury. He testified at the trial. They didn't get any information then."

  "He was still working at MDT at the time of the trial. Liliana hadn't disappeared. Things have changed." She paused. "If you don’t want to go to the police, perhaps Lieutenant Hodges can help us. If she's taking over the appeal, she will soon be following the same trail we're on. In fact, we should be working together on this. I don't understand why we're not. I actually don't understand why JAG isn't already working the appeal where Liliana left off."

  He put up a hand to stop her ramble. "I know you're trying to help, Alicia, but I need to think for a minute."

  "I'm sorry. I'm trying to make this better. I blew it back there. I shouldn't have persuaded you to leave Sandbury's classroom. If we'd stayed, he couldn't have gotten away from us. We wouldn't be in this position."

  "You don't have anything to apologize for. You didn't know he was going to run; I didn't know that, either."

  "You knew he was hiding something. You knew that we shouldn't leave."

  "Well, there's no point in rehashing it. We can't change it."

  She was happy he wasn't blaming her, but she was just as discouraged as he was by the recent turn of events. "We should at least go and do our thinking elsewhere, Michael. We don't want the neighbors to see us inside the house. With the way Detective Kellerman thinks about you, if he finds out you were here, he'll probably spin it in a really bad way."