In front of him stood the faint outline of a small form. He lifted his gun and aimed. “Police. Put your hands where I can see them.”
The person startled, and the lights flickered on. He squinted and shouted. “Stop. Hands in the air.”
The hands lifted away from the barn’s fuse box. The woman turned, her eyes blinking in the glare. With her hands raised, she tilted her head to the side. “Brady?”
He blinked twice. The voice came straight out of the past, the face one he’d only seen in his imagination for years. It couldn’t be. He studied her another moment and was about to speak when she beat him to it.
“Are you going to shoot me, or can I put my hands down?”
He lowered his gun without taking his eyes off of her. Reagan McAdams looked even better than she had in high school. Her eyes were hazel in this light, but he remembered how they seemed green sometimes, almost gold others. Those long eyelashes flicked over bloodshot eyes. She lifted a hand to push her too-dark, long hair out of her face, and a giant diamond glittered on the ring finger of her left hand. One big diamond. Lots of little diamonds on the wedding band. He forced his gaze back to her face. Pale and freckled. Her eyes were bright and studying him just like he’d been studying her. Reagan. Not a word from her for twelve years, and here she was, in the flesh.
Two weeks too late.
She eyed the gun and half-smiled. “What’s new?”
He holstered his gun slowly, forcing his voice to remain neutral despite the rush of rage. “We got a call about some lights on. I was looking for a prowler. Looks like I found one. What are you doing here, Reagan? Looking for valuables?”
Her smile faded. “I was just turning on the lights, and—”
“You had to have the lights on in the barn? In the middle of the night? Couldn’t wait a couple of hours ‘til morning? Or did you figure you’d take what you wanted and leave before anyone discovered you?”
He knew Rae well enough to know he’d hit a nerve. If he weren’t so angry, he’d back off.
She stuck her hands on her hips, and he had a flashback to high school. To Rae in her cheerleader outfit on the sidelines. The girls had always stood just like that, hands on their hips, big smiles on their faces. Nothing like the scowl he saw now.
“What are you talking about? Why would I have to steal from my own grandmother?”
“What do you need so badly that it can’t wait ‘til morning?”
Her gaze slid downward and landed on something out of his line of vision. Then she looked up and glared at him. “I don’t know what you’re so mad about, Brady, but—”
“You don’t know? You take off and don’t come back for twelve years.”
“I’ve been—”
“You aren’t here for birthdays or holidays. You couldn’t bother to show up when your grandmother had surgery last year—”
“I was—”
“You can’t even manage to get here to bury her, but ten days later...”
Brady’s words trailed off as her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She placed her palms on the desk in front of her, then collapsed into the chair behind it.
Brady rushed across the room, skirted the desk, and knelt in front of her.
She covered her face with her hands. Her sobs filled the silent barn, and she spoke into her palms. “It can’t be.”
“I’m sorry, Rae. I thought you knew.”
“How would I have...? What happened? How could I not...?”
He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned into his chest.
He stroked her hair. “I’m so sorry.”
After a few minutes of sobbing, she managed a barely audible, “When?”
“Monday it’ll be two weeks.”
For some reason, that information made her cry harder. Deep, gut-wrenching sounds that seemed to come straight from her soul. Minutes passed before she settled into quiet weeping. He rubbed her back and waited another minute more before speaking. “I’m sorry, Rae. Dorothy told me you kept up with the local news. She said you read the paper online, so I made sure they ran a pretty big obituary. I know how you are about newspapers. I figured you saw it.”
She shook her head. After a few sniffles, she said, “I’ve been away from my computer for a while, and...” She stopped mid-sentence and sobbed again. “I was so close. So close.” Rae wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her sweatshirt and pulled away from him. She stood, so he did too.
“I’m sorry, Rae. I never would’ve told you like that if I’d known—”
“Doesn’t matter. What happened? How did she...?”
She stopped, apparently unable to say the word, as fresh tears dripped down her cheeks.
“It was her heart.” He held out his arm. “Here, let me walk you inside.”
“I know the way.”
Typical, stubborn Rae. Couldn’t do anything for her. “We’ve had some prowlers around here the last two weeks, so I’d feel better if I knew you were safe.”
She scanned the barn, seemed to settle on something on the far side. Who could tell what in that mess?
She took a deep breath, stifled a sob, and hooked her hand around his arm. “Okay.” She walked to the barn door, and after he stepped out, she turned out the lights and locked it behind them. How was it that just a half hour earlier all he’d wanted was his own bed? Funny how priorities change.
At the front door, she paused. “Would you do me a favor?”
“Maybe.”
“Don’t tell anybody you saw me. I’m not ready for visitors.”
“On one condition.” He waited for her nod, then smiled. “I bet you don’t have anything to eat in there.”
“No idea. I just assumed...”
When she didn’t finish the sentence, he cleared his throat. “Well, I know you don’t, because I cleaned out the fridge and cabinets myself. Figured it’d be easier to do before everything spoiled. I donated what wasn’t opened to the food pantry.”
She swallowed hard. “Gram would have liked that.”
“Yeah. I know.”
She tilted her head again, studied him. “Why you?”
“We got sort of close these last few years.”
“She didn’t tell me. I knew you were back, knew you were a detective here, but I got that stuff from the newspaper. She never said anything about you two being friends.”
“Maybe she didn’t think you’d care.”
A look crossed her features, and she nearly smiled. “What was your condition?”
“I’ll bring over breakfast tomorrow. I’ll tell you what I know about Dorothy, and you can fill me in on...” His eyes flicked to her wedding ring before he forced them back to her face. “On what you’ve been up to.”
For a moment, he worried she might refuse. But then she nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”
“See you in the morning.”
Five
Julien spun the mobile hanging above his son’s bed and watched until the jungle animals stilled. He pulled the phone from his pocket, stared at the screen, and willed it to ring.
Aside from the noises on the street below, his apartment remained silent.
If only he hadn’t gone to that meeting.
Meeting. That’s what he called it. In truth, he’d flown his private jet to a remote landing strip in the middle of the African desert to work out one of the largest deals of his life. His people would procure the weapons and complete the deal in the next few weeks. It would take him that long to get the volume of munitions his clients desired.
When he completed the sale, he’d be richer than he’d ever been. His father would be pleased.
Julien should be pleased as well. But with Rachel and Jean-Louis gone, no amount of money could please him.
And if his father found out Rae was missing? Or God forbid, his brother? No, he had to keep that circle small.
Why hadn’t Rae called? He understood why she’d gone to be with her grandmother, but why the note? Why not at least a text message?
And it didn’t make sense that she’d slipped past her guards. Usually, she waved to them whenever she went anywhere. This time, they hadn’t seen her leave.
So had they been complacent? Or had she eluded them on purpose?
Had she left today, or the day before?
Was she traveling right now, or was she already sitting at the old lady’s bedside?
He imagined his wife and their tiny son in a germ-infested hospital. If anything happened to either one of them...
But Rae could handle herself, and in California, she should be safe from Julien’s enemies.
And his family.
He smacked the mobile again, and it dislodged from the crib and toppled to the hardwood floor.
He had to find Rae and bring her home, sick grandmother or not. He returned to his office and dialed Farah. She answered in heavily-accented French. “Bonjour, Julien.”
He forced his voice to sound casual. “I need you to do me a favor.”
“Oui. Of course.”
“Rae’s gone to the States to see her grandmother.”
“Is she ill?”
“Apparently, quite so. I’m having trouble getting in touch with her. I assume that phone I gave her doesn’t work in the States. Could you find out what flights she took? I want to make sure she made it safely.”
“But of course. Her family is in California, no?”
“San Diego area. I forget the name of the town, though. Maybe if we look on her smartphone? Do you have it?”
A pause, then, “I believe it’s with the things I brought from Tunis. I will check.”
“Good. Maybe you could get her grandmother’s phone number off her smartphone. And those flights.”
“I’ll get right back to you.”
“Merci. And Farah? This stays between us.”
“Mais oui.”
Of course. He could always count on Farah. He ended the call and sat back in his leather chair. It would be all right. Rae wouldn’t leave him. She loved him, and he her. And their child.
He lifted the photograph from the corner of his desk, traced his son’s image with his finger. He’d once believed it was Rae who’d taught him to love, and indeed, he’d never truly known love until he met her. When Jean-Louis was born, it was as though Julien had grown a new heart, just for the boy. He loved them, loved them enough that he would never let them go.
The phone rang, and he snatched it, but it wasn’t Farah.
“Bonjour, Papa,” Julien said.
“How did it go?”
“Successfully, of course. We made the deal for more than we’d hoped.”
“Tres bien. When do they take delivery?”
“Soon. Hector is managing the details. We should know more in the next day or so.”
Julien tapped his fingers on the desk while his father went on about his own latest deal and the family business. Papa was heading to Washington, D.C., to visit with some of his contacts there.
“I expect you here for your mother’s birthday,” his father said.
Julien navigated to the calendar on his laptop. Maman’s birthday was three weeks away. Rae would be home by then. He would make sure of it. “The baby is still too young to travel.”
“Your mother is counting the days until she can meet her grandson. Surely you won’t put us off again.”
The warning behind his father’s words was unmistakable. “Of course not. Rae and I are looking forward to it.” Julien’s call waiting beeped. “I have to go, Papa.”
After saying au revoir, Julien switched to the other call. Farah.
“What did you learn?”
“Rachel has hundreds of contacts in her cell phone, none called grandmother.”
“She called her Gram.”
“Nobody with that name, either. Why don’t I start with the California phone numbers?”
“Okay. What else?”
“She flew out yesterday morning. She changed planes in Boston on her way to San Diego. The flight landed last night.”
“Will her phone work internationally?”
“I do not think so.”
“Her last phone worked everywhere.”
“Oui. But the one you made her—”
“Yes, yes, I know. I’m a terrible man because I wanted her to rest.”
Farah paused. “No, monsieur.” Her voice sounded timid. “You only want what is best. I just meant perhaps she isn’t getting your calls.”
“Perhaps.”
He hung up the phone knowing Farah’s explanation would make perfect sense—if Rae had called him before she’d left. Or since. But she hadn’t. So something was wrong. And he had to find out what it was and get her back before his father found out she was gone.
Six
Sunlight penetrated Rae’s eyelids, and she blinked them open. Her first thought was that she was home. Her second thought, Gram’s gone.
Tears stung, but her third thought had her gasping. Johnny hadn’t eaten in hours. She glanced at the clock. Quarter ‘til nine. She jerked upright and leaned over the baby, who was lying beside her on Gram’s bed. She touched his chest to make sure he was breathing. His eyes popped open, and he scrunched up his tiny face and wailed.
She scooped him up and rested him against her chest, calming them both. He’d never slept so many hours straight. Poor baby. He’d been exhausted. She knew how he felt. The last two days had beaten them both.
“It’s okay, baby.” She patted his back. “Let’s get your breakfast.”
She fixed his bottle, then settled on the sofa to feed him, tears filling her eyes yet again. All those years she’d rarely seen her grandmother. What kind of person neglected the only person in the world who truly loved her? And when Rae had finally been able to come home, to talk Gram into going with her, it was too late.
Johnny finished his bottle and looked at her with a curious expression.
“We’re okay, baby. We’ll figure it out. We have each other. That’s all we need.”
She changed his diaper and clothes and tried to decide what to do next. She’d planned to stay no longer than a week, and only because she’d figured it would take her that long to convince Gram to join her. But now she had little reason to stay at all. After Brady had left the night before, Rae’d returned to the barn for the baby monitor she’d left there. She’d stood in the barn a long time, staring at the cradle before deciding she didn’t have the energy to move it. Then she’d walked to the foot of the steps that led to the loft and remembered the conversation she’d had with her father, all those years ago.
“This is the best hiding space.” He’d held the brown metal box in his hands and looked at her with a twinkle in his eyes. “By the time you go off to college, this will be enough to pay your way.”
She couldn’t remember exactly where they’d been when he’d hidden the box, but she remembered stairs, and she thought she’d been in the barn. The memory was so fuzzy, crowded out by the events of the next few days. The accident and the funeral and the insane things that followed.
The night before, she’d stood in the barn and thought, if she could just find that box, she and Johnny could be gone before Brady ever returned.
But then she’d yawned, and tears had filled her eyes, fatigue and grief blinding her. She hadn’t been able to think straight last night. And it wouldn’t hurt to visit with Brady one last time before she left for good.
In the harsh light of day, Rae could admit that even if she’d been well-rested, even if she’d found the box, she’d still be here. Seeing Brady again, being in his arms again, had dredged up memories she’d thought long buried.
Rae carried Johnny upstairs and laid him on the single bed in her bedroom, so she could change her clothes. Johnny was discovering his voice, and his little baby squeals made her smile, though the tears still fell. Ready to face Brady, she held the baby until he fell back to sleep, then laid him in the center of Gram’s bed and surrounded him with pillows, just in case.
B
ack in the kitchen, she searched for any scrap of food, but Brady’d been thorough. Just when she didn’t think she could wait another minute, a car pulled down the long driveway.
She swung the door open to find Brady with a cup of coffee in each hand and a plastic bag dangling from his arm. He looked even better in the light of day. Dark hair, shorter than it had been in high school. A little gray showed on the temples, which somehow made him look sexier than before. His eyes seemed darker, his face more chiseled than she remembered. In high school, he’d had boyish good looks. Now, he was all man.
She forced her gaze to the items he carried. “Thank God.” She swung the door wider, and he stepped inside.
“I’d like to think that greeting was about me, but I have a feeling it was this you wanted.” He held out a cup, and she snatched it.
The warm, bitter liquid slid down her throat. Needed some cream, but she couldn’t wait. “Like a little sip of heaven.”
She stepped into the kitchen. He followed and set the bag on the counter. “I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I bought a blueberry scone, a lemon scone, a bagel, and two egg sandwiches.” He laid the items on the counter as he mentioned them.
She pulled two plates from the cabinet, set one in front of Brady, and reached for an egg sandwich. “I’ll start with this and go from there.”
“Hungry?”
“Very.” Rae noticed the name on the bag. “McNeal’s?” Place had been little more than a dive bar when she’d lived there. “Since when do they serve breakfast?”
Brady took the second egg sandwich. “You’ve been gone a long time, Rae.”
The thought brought fresh tears to her eyes. She sat at the round kitchen table and indicated a chair for Brady. The chair he’d always sat in when they were kids.
Brady sat and his expression changed. “Hey. You okay?”
Rae nodded and wiped her eyes with her fingertips.
Brady looked around, then jumped up and grabbed a handful of napkins out of the McNeal’s bag. He handed one to her. “I know it’s a shock.”
Convenient Lies Page 3