“She must be at her grandfather’s ranch.”
“We believe she is with her grandfather, but he sold his place yesterday. We aren’t sure where he went.”
“How can you be sure she’s safe?”
“Because we checked the airport security feed and saw her get into the car with her grandfather. His truck was full of furniture, and he was pulling a trailer. Looks to us like he was moving and she went with him.”
Another wave of relief swept through him but was paired with urgency. “You have to find her.”
“If we find her, we might lead someone to her.” Ghost took a bite of his dinner.
A waiter approached, and Devin ordered his meal at random.
As soon as the waiter left, Ghost spoke quietly once more. “Until we know why you’re being targeted, we won’t be able to keep her safe.” He took another bite. “What did Fai want?”
“He wants me to meet with my father in Tokyo in a few weeks.”
“Your father?”
“My father,” Devin confirmed. Sickness threatened to rise up in him at the thought of the dangers facing him as well as his family. “Why in the world would the Chinese care about my dad? He’s a businessman. That’s it.”
“Tell him you’ll do it.” Ghost pulled out his wallet and dropped some bills beside his plate.
Before the man could push back from the bar, Devin said, “Even though we believe Grace is safe, there has to be some way to let her know I’m okay. She has to be worried sick.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” He fell silent and then added, “Give me something I can send her that only she would recognize as coming from you. We can’t risk another security breach.”
Devin lowered his voice. “You do think I’ve been compromised.”
“I’ll be close by.” He stood and walked out without looking back.
* * *
“Do you think he’ll cooperate?”
“He’ll cooperate,” Qing insisted. “You were right about the girl. I think he’ll do anything to keep her safe.”
“Has anyone been able to locate her?”
“Not yet. We traced her to Grand Central Station in New York, but we haven’t been able to figure out where she went from there. We couldn’t locate any reservations for Grace Shanahan on any bus, train, or plane within a week of her disappearance.”
“What about rental cars?”
“We checked those too. Either she is still in New York, or she is traveling under another name.”
“At this point, it doesn’t matter where she is as long as Devin doesn’t know either. If he believes she could be in danger, he’ll fall in line.”
“How long do you think you can use her safety as a motivator?”
“As soon as we have him in place, we can put her back in his life. Having her with him will make it easier to monitor her and to keep him in line.”
“And if we can’t find her?”
“We won’t need to. Eventually Devin will lead us right to her.”
* * *
Grace washed two dinner dishes and set them on the table. She was filling their water glasses when her grandfather walked through the back door with the three hamburger patties he had just grilled.
“Those smell good.”
“Hope so.” He set the plate of burgers on the table and took his seat. As soon as they started eating, he asked, “Have you called the police back to find out what’s going on with their investigation?”
“No. I received an e-mail from them when I was in the airport in Phoenix. They don’t have any clues as to who the other men were or why they were at my apartment.”
“You know, they could show up again when you go back to New York.”
That thought had been circling around in her mind since she had spoken to the police department. She considered her tiny apartment, the roaches, the crowded sidewalks, the cubicle in her office, and the busywork she processed every day.
“I’m not going back.”
“What?”
“How would you feel about me staying here and working as your business manager?” Grace asked. “I can help set up your website and handle your bookings. I can also take over managing your financial assets.”
“I’d love that, but I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to pay you much.”
“All I really need is room and board and enough to cover the cost of health insurance.”
“I’m sure we can do a bit better than that. For one thing, I never took you off my health insurance. You can stay on it until you turn twenty-six.” He paused and seemed to consider her proposal. Then he gave a resolved nod. “If you want, you can take over the office in the front of the house. Maybe in your spare time, you can design websites or do some financial planning. You used to dabble in that during college.”
“That’s not a bad idea.”
“Are you sure this is what you really want?”
She thought through her options again. “More than anything, I want to be with Devin again, but until he’s done with this job in Hong Kong, I’m kind of in limbo.”
“You said you haven’t talked to him since last week. Maybe you should call him,” Quentin said.
“I don’t have his number anymore. I had it programmed in my cell phone, but the guys who broke into my apartment stole it,” Grace said. “The police said I can come in and claim it, but quite honestly, I’m afraid to go back. I feel like I’ve walked into some kind of spy movie.”
Her grandfather remained silent, and Grace let herself voice her suspicions. “Do you think it’s possible Devin is a spy?”
“That’s a stretch.”
Though she knew her assumption sounded ridiculous on the surface, she laid out the facts. “When I called his office in Hong Kong, they put me through to his voice mail, but other than that, he’s been really secretive about a lot of things.”
“Like?”
“He always insisted on calling me. The couple of times I did call him, even when it was late at night for him, he was always busy and said he had to call me back.”
“Maybe he was busy.”
“And these Chinese guys who showed up at my apartment and work—why would they be looking for me unless it has something to do with Devin? The only person from China I’ve ever met was Devin’s nanny.” She stood to pace the room. “And how did they find my apartment in the first place? I only sublet it for six months. The lease isn’t even in my name, yet the guys who showed up at my work asked for me by name.”
“Okay, I’ll admit, this does sound pretty fishy,” Quentin admitted. “Unfortunately, the only way you’re going to get answers is to talk to Devin.”
“Yes, but he isn’t taking my calls. I left a message for him at work and on his cell phone, but I haven’t talked to him since last weekend.” She swallowed hard and forced herself to voice her fears. “I’m starting to wonder if maybe he doesn’t want to talk to me. His parents weren’t happy when they found out about our marriage. Maybe Devin decided he doesn’t want to be married to me anymore.”
“I saw the way he looked at you at Christmas. I can’t believe he wouldn’t fight for what you have together.” The certainty in his voice helped push away Grace’s doubts. “You’re welcome to borrow my phone to call his work again. You said you found that number on the Internet?”
“Yes, but within a day, my apartment was invaded,” she said. “I hate to say it, but I’m feeling pretty paranoid. How do I know whoever showed up at my apartment wouldn’t somehow trace my call back here?”
“Let me ask you this—if he comes back to the US and finds you aren’t in New York, where would he look for you?”
“He’d either ask Molly where I am, or he would go to your ranch.”
“I can ask the new owner to tell me if someone comes looking for you.”
“What if someone shows up looking for me and it’s not Devin?”
“I’ll have them take a phone number from them and then they can call and let us know. If you wan
t to be really careful, you can get one of those disposable cell phones to use to call him back when he does show up.”
“This is all so complicated.”
“You can also let Molly know where you are.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Why wouldn’t you want your cousin to know where you’re living? I thought you two were close.”
“We are, but she’s also a reporter. I’m afraid she’ll start digging and get us all into trouble,” Grace said. “Besides, Molly doesn’t even know Devin and I are married.”
“How did she miss that?”
“She moved across town after she got married, and I was spending all of my free time with Devin or trying to get ahead on homework so I wouldn’t have any when we were together,” Grace said. “With Devin not talking to me at the moment, I don’t think I can handle her speculation. I already worry enough on my own.”
“I’m sure he was just caught up with work and by the time he tried to call you, you’d already lost your phone.”
“He could still e-mail me.”
“I don’t know, honey.” He patted her hand with a twinkle in his eye. “Maybe he really is a spy.”
“How in the world did I get into this mess?” Grace asked. “I’m too paranoid to reach out to him again, but I’m going crazy not knowing if he’s okay.”
“I’m sure he’s fine. You would have heard something if that wasn’t the case.” He took a sip of his water. “It sounds like leaving a message with the new owners of my ranch is your best bet.”
“I think you’re right.”
“And since you’re going to stay here, I think it’s time we find you a doctor. You have a few months yet before Devin should be showing up.”
“I hate not being able to talk to him.”
“I know, but this will all be over soon enough. For now, let’s get this place up and running and see what we can do about making sure you take proper care of yourself and those babies.”
Grace laid her hand on her stomach. Three more months, she told herself, refusing to believe Devin had abandoned her. Three more months and he would come looking for her, and they could finally be a family.
Chapter 25
Devin sat at his kitchen table, the same place he used to sit each morning when talking to Grace. His phone in hand and a ball of lead in his stomach, he dialed the number and tensed the moment his father’s voice came over the line.
“Hello?”
“Dad, it’s Devin.”
“Well, hello there.” A combination of surprise and cynicism sounded in his voice. “I got your e-mail and was wondering when you’d get around to calling.”
“Sorry. With the move and work, things have been pretty crazy.” The memory of the way his parents had left graduation weekend surfaced despite his efforts to suppress it. He reminded himself he had a job to do. “I was thinking of taking a week off in the next month or so. I thought maybe if you were traveling, we could meet somewhere. London. Paris. Wherever.”
“Actually, I’ll be in Tokyo next week.”
“That would work out great. When do you get there?”
“I fly in Tuesday, and I fly out a week later. I have meetings the first few days, but I should be free over the weekend.”
“Okay. I’ll look into flights today.”
His dad hesitated briefly before asking, “Will you be alone?”
“Yes,” Devin forced himself to say. “It’s just me these days.”
“Good. It will be good to catch up.”
“Yeah, it will,” Devin said, wishing he believed his own words.
* * *
Grace didn’t know how her grandfather managed to do it all, but in the space of a week, he had worked miracles.
He e-mailed her letter of resignation to a friend in Indiana, who then forwarded it on to her boss. The precaution to keep her location hidden seemed ridiculous in the daytime hours, but late at night, she wondered if she was being careful enough.
He also bought her a new cell phone under his plan, again keeping her name hidden. Tomorrow she would have her first appointment with her new doctor, and since the insurance information was still under her maiden name, she felt safe about going in.
Using her grandpa’s truck, she had gone into town and managed to replace most of her wardrobe.
Thankfully, her first trimester was behind her and so was her morning sickness. If it weren’t for her constant concern for Devin, she would be feeling great.
The first guests at Oasis Ranch would arrive in two weeks, and she knew her grandfather was getting antsy to get his new business started. She could admit that the numbers looked promising for this venture. She also appreciated that it wouldn’t be so physically taxing on her grandfather, who had been struggling to keep up with the heavy demands of raising cattle.
She looked over the upcoming bookings for a few minutes before checking her e-mail for the sixteenth time today. Grace considered today an improvement. Yesterday she had checked it twenty-one times by now.
Three new messages. The first two were confirmation e-mails for payments she had made to buy out the rest of her apartment lease in New York and settle her utility bill. The third appeared to be an advertisement from a hotel website.
She nearly deleted it without opening it, but she decided it wouldn’t hurt to see how the competition was advertising their locations.
She clicked on the e-mail, and her eyes widened. This wasn’t an advertisement for just any hotel. This was the hotel where she and Devin had stayed for Molly and Caleb’s wedding and their own wedding night.
She blinked several times before her eyes looked beyond the photo of the hotel to the advertisement below. Honeymoon suite special $1,219.
She read the price again. That couldn’t be right. Devin had insisted on upgrading their rooms to the honeymoon suite the night they’d been married, but she was certain it hadn’t been nearly that much. She looked over the advertisement again and opened a new tab. She went to the hotel’s website and looked up the various rooms. She found the honeymoon suite and clicked on it to retrieve the price. $429.
“What in the world?” She clicked over to the e-mail again and read the price. “Twelve nineteen,” she said aloud, only now the numbers had new meaning. Twelve nineteen. December 19. The day she and Devin had gotten married. Could this be a message from Devin? And if so, what did it mean? And why was he being so cryptic?
She thought of the odd job offer she’d found in his things and the inconsistencies in what he had told her over the past many months. As implausible as it was, she didn’t see any other explanation. She was married to a spy.
* * *
Devin doubled back four times before he finally made his way to the safe house. Ghost must have had some kind of surveillance equipment in place because the moment he approached the apartment door, it swung open.
“Were you followed?” he asked as soon as Devin was safely inside.
“No, and I left my regular cell phone at home like you told me.”
Ghost motioned him inside. He anticipated Devin’s next question and said, “We sent the e-mail to Grace and verified that she did open it.”
“I hope she understood.”
“I’m sure she did. One of my colleagues monitored the activity for her IP address. Right after she opened her e-mail, she did a search of the hotel’s honeymoon suite. She obviously realized the price was wrong.”
Devin took a seat at the table in the small kitchenette and faced the unlikely truth. Someone was leaking information about him from the CIA, and he didn’t know whom he could trust. He looked up at the man across from him. Though Ghost appeared to be only a few years older than him, he carried a sense of confidence and wisdom. Devin hoped trustworthiness was another trait inherent in the man.
“I’ve been replaying that first conversation with Fai in my head,” Devin began.
“When he showed up at your apartment?”
Devin nodded. “He said a co
uple of things I think are important.”
“Such as?” Ghost prompted.
“He had a copy of my employment contract with the CIA.”
“What?” Ghost stood and paced to the window before turning back to face him. “Any idea where he got it?”
“None. The only thing that makes sense is that someone within the agency leaked it to him.”
“I agree.” Ghost raked his fingers through his hair, which seemed out of character for the normally calm man. “Your file is highly classified. Only a few people would have access to it.”
“I’ve only met with a handful of people from the agency. You, Chee, Jalen, the people who interviewed me. I’m not sure who else on the inside would have access.”
“Except for me, everyone else probably had access to your personnel file.”
“I might be able to help you narrow it down a bit further.”
“How so?”
“Fai also knows I’m married. Only you, Chee, and Jalen know that.”
“You can trust me and Chee.”
“I hope so.”
“Chee is the person who reached out to me and insisted you needed a guardian. He wouldn’t have done that if he was involved. I’ll start using my resources to see who else would have access to both pieces of information. Unfortunately, if Jalen followed proper protocol, he would have informed the agency of your marital status as soon as he found out about it.” Ghost lowered himself back into his chair. “I assume you had something else you wanted to tell me.”
Devin pulled out his emergency cell phone.
“I went out to dinner with Fai last week. Here’s a photo of what he gave me.” Devin showed him the picture of the modified flash drive. “I was afraid to bring it with me in case it has some kind of tracking device on it.”
“Smart.”
“He wants me to plug it into my dad’s laptop. He said it would only take a minute or so to copy the hard drive.”
“This drive is probably encrypted to keep you from being able to edit what you give him.”
“That’s my guess.” Devin ran his fingers through his hair. “I still don’t know why my father is of any interest to him and whoever he’s working for.”
Kept Secrets Page 15