“Yes. Can I help you?” she asked.
“My name is Stewart Duvall,” said the older man. He looked to be about the same age as her father, though nowhere near as fit. “This is Kieran Black.” He indicated to the younger man next to him, who looked to be in his late twenties.
“Nice to meet you. I’m sorry, but I’m in a rush to get to class. How can I help?”
The older man fidgeted a little. “We’re with CSIS, and we need to talk.”
Diana’s eyebrows climbed into her scalp. “The Canadian Security Intelligence Service?” When the older man nodded, Diana’s heart froze. What if they had discovered Teddy’s hacking? Or were working for whoever killed her mother? “Do you have IDs?” She wasn’t taking any chances.
The two men nodded and pulled out their identity cards. Diana looked at each one closely.
“What can I do for CSIS, gentlemen?” she asked.
“That would be a conversation best held in private, Ms. Hunter. Is there anywhere we can go?”
Diana thought quickly. She didn’t really feel comfortable taking two men she didn’t know to her dorm room, especially if they worked for the government. Then she got an idea.
“We can go to the gardens,” she said, referring to UBC’s Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research. “There are benches there and it will be quiet at this time.
The older man nodded quickly. They followed her to the gardens where she chose a bench and took a seat. “Well?”
Duvall sat next to her. “Ms. Hunter, you have come to the attention of my superiors.”
“I have?” she asked, her voice a little strangled.
“Yes, my superiors have tasked me with recruiting you to the agency.”
Diana’s jaw practically hit the ground. “You’re offering me a job?” she squeaked. She had been terrified that they were about to arrest her and Teddy and they’d never be seen or heard from again.
“Yes,” Duvall responded.
“Why?”
“All I can tell you is that my superiors feel you have certain skills and qualities that would make you an asset.”
“And what would this job entail?”
Duvall hesitated. “I’m not at liberty to say. My superiors, though, will be more than happy to answer all your questions.”
Diana hesitated for a moment and then made a quick decision. “Thanks. I’m flattered. I really am. But I’m not interested.” She made to go.
“We understand that this is a big decision,” the man cautioned. “Here’s my card. Why don’t you think about it for a bit longer and then give me a call?”
She took his card but shook her head. “I won’t change my mind, but thank you for the offer. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get to class.”
“Of course. It was nice to meet you Ms. Hunter. Oh, and it would be preferable if you kept this conversation just between us.”
“Certainly. And it was nice to meet you, too. Goodbye.” She turned and walked quickly to her class without looking back, her mind clamoring with thoughts about what the visit from the two men could possibly mean.
Diana was sitting on her bed, staring at the ceiling. They were on summer break. She and Teddy had moved back into her childhood home so they could help with the investigation. Her father hadn’t been happy about it at first, but Diana warned him that if he didn’t give in, she would go off on her own. Her father had caved immediately.
They still had squat. Nothing. Not even an idea of why someone might have wanted her mother dead. All they had was the name of a shell corporation, a dead therapist, and a clerk who had disappeared. It was madly frustrating, especially since their hands were tied fast. Had it been an official investigation, her father could have interrogated witnesses and suspects. As it was, however, they had no official status, no access to police databases, and no idea whom they could trust. They had to work stealthily and sometimes illegally so that no one found out. It was slow going.
Just then, the door to her bedroom burst open and Teddy ran in, his face flush with excitement. “I did it!”
“You did what?” Diana asked.
“I found a lead!” he said excitedly.
Diana jumped out of bed. “What are you talking about? Show me!”
She followed him back to his room where he showed her his laptop. “I’ve finally managed to find a connection to that damned shell corporation. It’s only the address of a warehouse owned by a company that is very indirectly connected to the shell corporation but…”
“But it’s a lot more than we had before. You’re a genius, Teddy,” Diana said as she kissed her friend on the cheek. “I’ve got to call Dad.”
She ran back to her bedroom and grabbed her phone. “Dad, Teddy’s got something,” Diana said excitedly into the phone.
“We’re on our way.” This case had become an obsession for all of them, so Diana wasn’t surprised her father would drop everything. Fifteen minutes later, her father arrived with Liam in tow.
“Tell me,” he said before he was even through the door properly.
Teddy quickly explained how he’d managed to locate the warehouse. “Great job, Teddy. You’d make a great cop,” Liam said with a grin.
Teddy blushed at the praise. “I don’t think I’m cut out for it, but thanks.”
“Okay, let’s go check this place out and see what we can find.” John was anxious to leave.
Diana glanced outside. It was already dark. “Shouldn’t you wait until tomorrow?” she asked.
“We’ll be fine, Didi,” her father soothed.
Diana wasn’t so sure. “I’d rather you not take the risk. It’s dark out, and that’s not the best part of town.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. I promise,” John said with a smile and a hug for his daughter.
As she watched her father walk out of the house, she had a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. She ran after her father. “Dad, wait!” He turned around and she launched herself at him, hugging him tightly. “I love you, Dad,” she said.
Her father hugged her back just as tightly. “I love you too, baby.” And then he was gone.
Two hours later, Diana was pacing back and forth. “They’ve been gone too long, and they’re not answering their phones. I’m telling you something has gone wrong.”
“I’m sure they’re fine. Maybe they don’t have cell coverage in that area.”
Diana sighed, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands. “You’re right. I’m just being paranoid.”
Another two hours later passed. Diana was still pacing. Teddy was trying to trace her father’s cell phone with no luck.
“Damn it,” he said as he slammed his fist against the table. “Their phones are off.”
Diana went white. Her father would never turn his cell phone off. Especially not when he knew she was worried about him.
“Something’s wrong,” she whispered.
“What shall we do?” Teddy responded, fear etched on his face.
Diana looked up at him, determination shining in her eyes. “We follow them,” she said.
“Are you crazy? They are seasoned police officers with guns. If they’re in trouble, what do you think we can do? Shouldn’t we call the cops?”
“And alert whoever is behind my mother’s murder to the fact that we might be onto them? I’d rather not, thank you very much.”
“Diana, we can’t just go charging into a situation like this. We could get them killed!”
Diana glared at him. “So what do you expect me to do? Just sit around and do nothing? Well, that’s not going to happen. Either come with me, or I’ll go on my own.”
“Like I’d let you go off on your own. Crazy woman,” Teddy muttered under his breath.
Before Diana could give him a suitable retort, there was a knock at the door. Diana gasped. Her father wouldn’t be knocking. She rushed to the door and wrenched it open. A uniformed officer stood in the doorway with another man.
“Ms. Diana Hunter?�
� the man asked. She nodded. “I’m Superintendent Steven Michaels. I work with your father.” She remembered him vaguely. They’d met a few times when her father had taken her into the precinct as a kid.
Teddy moved up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. “Is something wrong?” She asked the question, but she knew what the answer would be.
He sighed for a moment. “I regret to inform you that while answering a 911 call, John Hunter and his partner Liam Gregson were ambushed. There was a shoot out. They were both killed. I’m so sorry.”
“No,” she whispered and closed her eyes, tilting her face upward. She crumpled to the ground, sobbing her heart out. This couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t have lost her father, too. And Liam. Oh God, no, no, no! She was rocking back and forth when she felt a pair of strong arms come around her.
“Teddy, they’re gone. Everyone’s gone,” she cried into his chest.
“I’m so sorry, Didi,” Teddy’s voice broke. “I’m so, so sorry.”
She’d lost everyone. Her mother. Her father. Even Liam, who had been like her younger, cool uncle. She’d lost them all.
Diana walked into her bedroom, throwing her purse on the bed. She had just come from her father’s funeral. It had been a wonderful funeral. It had seemed like all of Vancouver Police Department had shown up to pay their respects. They’d handed her a flag. She’d almost laughed. They thought a flag would ease the pain? That it would make her feel better?
She could hear the voices downstairs and knew she had to go back down and entertain a slew of people who barely knew her father. The hypocrisy of it all made her skin crawl, especially since she was convinced that someone in the department had had something to do with her father’s death.
The policeman at the door had been lying. Or been lied to. John and Liam had gone to the warehouse to follow up the lead Teddy had uncovered, not because they’d been answering a 911 call. They weren’t killed in the process of carrying out their police duties. As she stood there in the middle of her childhood bedroom, it seemed to Diana that there was a good chance that someone among all the people at the funeral today knew more than they were saying about her parents’ deaths.
She sighed and squared her shoulders, getting ready to go back downstairs. That’s when she noticed it. A manila envelope on her bed. It had her name printed on it. She picked it up and looked at it curiously. She opened it and dumped its contents on her bed. She froze. They were pictures. Dozens of pictures of her and Teddy over the past year. And there was a note. She picked it up gingerly as if it was a poisonous snake.
Back off or he’s next. Tell anyone about this and he dies.
Diana’s heart began to race. They were threatening to kill Teddy. She couldn’t lose him too. He was all she had left. She had to protect him. But why were they threatening him? Why not just kill her as well, like they had her parents? Wouldn’t that be a more logical route to assuring the outcome they obviously wanted?
Now her mind was racing as well as her heart. Something didn’t add up, but she had no idea what. And she didn’t have time to figure it out. Not immediately. Not without giving herself away. Not without putting Teddy in danger. No, first she had to make sure Teddy was safe. Then, she’d deal with whoever thought they could scare her into dropping the investigation into her parents’ deaths.
She quickly picked up the pictures and the note, stuffed them back in the envelope, and put it in the bottom drawer of her dresser. That they had gone into her room creeped her out and demonstrated their audacity. These were people willing to stop at nothing and no one to get what they wanted. Her mind continued to whirl with thoughts. She didn’t know whom she could trust, and she couldn’t show the pictures and the note to Teddy. If she did, he’d never agree to back down and stay safe. No, this was for her to do alone.
She went back downstairs and pretended everything was just fine. She put on the brave face everyone expected of her, even though she wanted to curl up in a fetal position and shut out the world. She had made a decision and she had to carry it through.
That night, she sat Teddy down. “Teddy, I’ve decided to go to Europe,” she said.
“What?” he squawked.
“I need to get away from all this. I need to forget for a little while. I feel as if I’m falling apart, and that if I don’t get away, I’m going to explode.”
Teddy nodded. “Fine, when are we leaving?”
Diana shook her head sadly. “Not us, Teddy. Just me.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. If you think I’m letting you go off on your own, you’re insane.”
“It’s not your choice to make. I have to leave, and I’m going alone.”
The sullen look on his face told her he was ready to start arguing. She cut him off before he could even begin. “Don’t you get it, Teddy? Every time I look at you, I remember what I’ve lost. I can’t do it anymore. I can’t be your friend anymore. We need to part ways.”
She knew she sounded unkind, and she was dying inside with every word she said. But keeping him safe was more important than anything. He was all she had left. She’d rather he be out of harm’s way but far from her, than end up like her father, her mother, and Liam.
“Diana, you can’t do this. I loved them too, you know.” Tears filled Diana’s eyes at the broken look on his face. But she had to be strong. She was doing this to keep him alive.
“I know, Teddy, and I’m sorry, but I’ve lost my entire world, and I can’t be reminded of it every day. I need some time. Please, you have to understand.”
“But I can look after you, protect you. God knows, you need it.”
Diana said nothing, her eyes pleading.
Teddy looked back at her for a moment, his eyes moist. He took a deep breath, “Okay, I’ll give you some space because you’ve been through more than anyone should have to in a lifetime, but if you think I’m giving up on our friendship, you are sadly mistaken, girlfriend.”
“Please, Teddy, just leave,” she begged. “I need to be alone.” If he didn’t go now, she might not let him go at all and he’d end up like everyone else she cared about.
“Fine,” he said. He stomped up to his room. Fifteen minutes later, he came back downstairs. He stopped in front of her and hugged her, though she held herself stiffly. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but I will never give up on you. I love you, Di. You hear me? I love you, and I always will. You’ll always be my baby sister.”
“Please, just go,” she whispered. Jaw clenched, he nodded. Turning on his heel, he walked out of the house and out of her life, slamming the door behind him.
Diana crumpled to the ground and began to sob. She really was all alone now. She cried for what seemed like hours, but when she was done, she felt almost as if she had been reborn. Getting to her feet, she started wandering through the house, looking over the family photos from happier times. With every photo, her determination grew.
She was a Hunter. She was not some weakling they could intimidate into doing what they wanted. And now? Well, now they had no one they could threaten her with. She would find out who had killed her parents and why. She just had to come up with a plan. And then she remembered.
She rushed up to her room and dug through the bag she used in school. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found what she was looking for. It was a white card with a name and number printed on it.
She dialed the number. After a few rings, a man answered.
“This is Duvall.”
“Mr. Duvall, this is Diana Hunter,” she said.
“Hello, Ms. Hunter. I heard what happened. I’m very sorry for your loss.” Diana wasn’t surprised he knew about her father’s death. It had been all over the news. And Duvall was CSIS, after all.
“Thank you.”
“How can I help you?” he asked.
“Is that job offer still open?”
“Of course. Have you reconsidered?”
Diana hesitated for a moment but she’d made her decisio
n. “Yes. I’ve reconsidered.”
“That’s very good to hear, Miss Hunter.”
“So, what do I do now?” she asked.
“I will pick you up tomorrow at 8am and bring you in to meet my superiors.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“I will see you tomorrow, Miss Hunter.”
“Good-bye,” she said softly. She terminated the call.
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DIANA HUNTER WILL RETURN…
Want to know how life unfolds for Diana as she moves on from the death of her parents? Find out in the next book in the Diana Hunter mystery series, Snatched. You’ll find an excerpt on the following pages.
SNATCHED
Chapter One
DIANA HUNTER BENT over, taking deep breaths of the salty air. She’d pushed herself hard on her run today. She’d felt the need to after being stuck behind her desk almost around the clock for the past seven days.
Standing up, she began to stretch her muscles. That’s when she saw him. A man sitting under a tree right outside her apartment. Usually, she wouldn’t have taken any notice. He looked engrossed in the book he was reading, and it wasn’t unusual for people to come out and sit by the ocean.
But there was a problem. First of all, it was seven in the morning. No matter how much you loved reading, being out at this time was odd. Yes, it was beautiful, but then Royal Bay Beach always was. The sun sparkled off the deep blue water, the grass was lush and green, and the pale sand looked as inviting as always. Diana had spent many an afternoon enjoying a good book curled up under a maple tree or admiring the flowers and shrubs that dotted the promenade running right alongside the beach. But not so early in the morning, when it was still pretty chilly.
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