He swept the stone-and-dirt room with his gaze. “This is the old sewer system.”
Jordynn nodded. “The guy who kept getting out of the care home was doing it through here. He somehow managed to cut a hole in the wall in the back of his closet. And that wall shared one with an unused utility room. And this guy figured out that the room had a removable floor, and under that was an opening and this weird ladder.”
“Let me guess,” Donovan said. “It turned out to be an old manhole.”
“Exactly. How’d you know?”
“I remember my dad telling me how bits and pieces of the system were left all over the city, and that they had to leave in a few access points. I just never realized it was on a scale this big.”
“I’m not sure many people realized it,” Jordynn replied. “When the staff at the care home finally caught on to what the guy was doing, they got curious and followed him all the way through, just to see how he’d managed it.”
“By ‘they’ do you mean ‘you’?”
“Maybe.”
He grinned and nudged her. “Uh-huh. And what did ‘they’ find out?”
“That the manhole led under the building, under the road, then under this parking lot.” She shrugged. “When all was said and done, the care home fixed the guy’s closet and nailed down the floor, and everyone kind of forgot about it.”
“The city didn’t do anything about the rest of it?”
“They said it would cost the taxpayers a mint to close it off permanently. I guess they have someone who comes down and checks on the structural integrity regularly, but that’s about all they care about.”
Dono scanned the room again, then held out his hand. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so thankful for fiscal responsibility and magical grates in my life. Let’s go.”
And less than fifteen minutes later, they were standing in front of a rickety-looking ladder that Jordynn assured him led straight to their destination.
Chapter 16
Jordynn stared up, pursed her lips and said, “I think I’m going to retract my claim that ladies should go first.”
“In the name of women’s lib, or in the name of you’re a big chicken?”
“In the name of only one of us is strong enough to climb the ladder and smash his way through that panel.”
“Is that a compliment? Or an insult?”
“You can pick.”
“Guess I’ll take the former, then.”
As she watched him reach for the ladder and start to climb, a sudden rush of worry hit Jordynn. What if she was wrong? What if the plan went wrong?
“Dono?”
He paused and turned toward her, one hand on a metal rung. “Yeah, honey?”
At a loss for words, she grabbed ahold of his shirt and pulled him back. She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. She tasted his mouth, careful to memorize it all over again. She ran her fingers over his wide shoulders, committing the feel of him to memory, too. And as she pulled away, she could feel tears form in her eyes.
“If we die—”
He cut her off. “We’re not going to die.”
“But if we do,” she insisted, “I want you to know I’m glad anyway.”
“Glad about what?”
“That you came back. I’d trade my life for this time together.”
He touched her cheek. “You’re a bit crazy, you know that, right?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“I love you, Jordynn.”
“Me, too.”
She lifted her face for another kiss, then let him go.
But her anxiety only grew as he tapped lightly on the boards above and the barest sliver of light pushed through.
“I think luck is on our side,” he said. “The moisture down here’s rusted these bolts pretty good. If you grab me a rock—preferably roundish and palm-size—I might actually be able to work them free without too much noise.”
Jordynn scoured the ground until she found one suitable. When she lifted it up, her hands were shaking. And Dono noticed right away.
“You okay?”
She tried to laugh it off. “I’m just really nervous, and I don’t know why.”
He lifted the rock, and Jordynn watched as he pressed it to one of the bolts and turned. It squeaked once, then came loose in his hand.
He dropped it down to Jordynn and as she caught it, he asked, “Bad guys threatening our lives isn’t a good enough reason to be nervous anymore?”
“No. It is. But I feel like it’s something more.”
“Hmm.” He moved to the next bolt—which came off quickly—then the next. “Is it because we’re heading into your work and you’re afraid we’ll get caught?”
Jordynn reached out to take the pieces from his hand as he finished unscrewing them, and she sighed. “Maybe. I just can’t shake the feeling that something’s not right.”
“Nothing’s right. That’s why we’re doing this.”
He worked at the final bolt, dropped it down, then pushed up the manhole cover slowly, lifting the wood on top with it. And Jordynn held her breath, waiting for something bad to happen. Instead, the sliver of light just grew, framing Dono’s body into a rough silhouette, the full strength of his upper body on breathtaking display. Then he heaved the cover aside, pulled himself up and disappeared. It immediately filled Jordynn with an even greater sense of foreboding.
“Dono?” she called in a whisper.
His head reappeared above her. “You coming?”
Jordynn took a breath, then grasped the rungs and followed him up the ladder. As she pushed through the manhole into the closed quarters, her toe caught on the edge of the opening. And before she—or Dono—could halt her momentum, she stumbled forward. She smashed into the door, then burst straight through it. And with a yelp she couldn’t quite contain, she found herself on the floor, staring up at one of the other care attendants.
“Jordynn!” the girl gasped.
“Hildy.”
“What are you doing down there?”
“Um. I fell.”
“Out of the closet?”
Jordynn forced herself to keep from turning around, then made herself laugh. “What? No. I was already falling when I got to the closet. I grabbed the door handle and it just flew open.”
“Oh.” Hildy looked puzzled, but she just shrugged. “Actually, I didn’t even know you were working tonight. I ran into Reed a little while ago, and he asked if I’d seen you. He seemed kind of worried. I told him you weren’t here.”
Jordynn frowned. “Reed? Like, our boss, Reed?”
“What other Reed is there?”
“I just...” She trailed off, confused. “Are you sure it was him? In person?”
“Of course I’m sure. He was with some angry-looking guy.”
Jordynn swallowed, willing herself not to panic. “Did Reed look...hurt?”
“Hurt? No. What’s going on, Jordynn?”
Deepening worry tickled at Jordynn’s brain, making her lips tingle. “The guy he was with...what did he look like?”
“I don’t know. Reed’s age. But kinda big? Gray hair. Regular clothes. I really didn’t look at him too hard.”
Was it Ivan?
Jordynn exhaled, wishing her coworker had been a little more observant. But no matter who Reed was with, that fact that he was there at all was a good cause for concern. Did that mean Sasha and the kids were in trouble? She tapped her thigh nervously, wondering if she and Dono should rethink their plan.
“Are you all right?” the other care aide asked.
“I’m fine,” Jordynn lied quickly. “Is Reed still here?”
“I’m not sure. He sounded like maybe he had somewhere to be, and—Oh! His office was dark when
I walked by, so he’s probably gone?” Abruptly, the girl’s emergency pager went off. She glanced down and offered Jordynn an apologetic look, calling over her shoulder as she hurried away, “Sorry! If I see Reed again, I’ll tell him you’re here.”
Jordynn waited until she was out of sight, then leaned against the wall beside the utility closet, and called softly, “She’s gone.”
A heartbeat later, Dono was at her side. “Everything okay?”
Jordynn tucked away her worry and nodded. “Let’s go.”
Dono’s brow wrinkled, but she didn’t give him a chance to argue. She turned and stepped up the hall, giving him little choice but to follow. She sped through the familiar corridors, careful to keep quiet, and careful to stick to the least-used route, too. She didn’t want to run into Hildy again. Or any of the other staff for that matter.
She didn’t even let herself breathe properly until they finally reached the office. Quickly, she flicked on the light, then snapped shut the blinds and moved toward the computer. But before she could hit the power switch, one of Dono’s hands landed on her arm.
“Hey,” he said. “You do realize that I could hear you out there in the hall, right?”
“I know. But it was nothing.”
“You always get that worried when your boss is looking for you?”
Jordynn breathed out. “You heard Hildy say Reed was with someone?”
“Yeah.”
“That someone didn’t sound familiar?”
“She said an old guy with gray hair. Could’ve been anyone.”
“Or it could’ve been Ivan.” Her voice broke a little, and Dono reached for her.
He smoothed back her hair. “Why would your boss be with Ivan?”
“My boss isn’t just my boss. He’s Sasha’s uncle, and he was at the house with her and the kids when you and Ivan showed up. And you know I sent them as far away as I could. But...what if Ivan got to them first?”
“Will it make you feel better if we go looking for him?”
She thought it through quickly, then dismissed the idea. “No. It’d just waste time. Between the medical offices, the long-term-care patients and the ones in the assisted-living quarters...there’s almost a hundred rooms in the building. We could search for an hour and not find him. And paging him would draw too much attention.”
Dono leaned back. “This could be nothing, too, right? Something as simple as he needed something from his office and brought a friend along. He doesn’t know how dangerous the situation is. And he does own this place, right?”
“Yes...” She shook her head, contradicting her affirmation. “But if that’s true, then why did he ask for me? He knows I’m not supposed to be here.”
“I don’t know, honey.” Dono nodded toward the phone on the desk. “You want to give him a call? Or Sasha?”
She shook her head again. “I’d still rather leave Sasha in the dark about everything, as much as possible, anyway. And if Ivan does have Reed...well, he won’t hurt him unless he can use it to get to us. And none of it really changes anything about what we need to do right this second, does it?”
He studied her face for a moment, then reached under his shirt and pulled out the red folder. “Can I ask you a question?”
She took a breath. “Sure.”
“Has the bad feeling you had back there in the tunnel gotten any better?”
“Worse than ever,” Jordynn admitted.
He held out the folder. “Then we’d better get this done.”
Jordynn stepped over to the computer and switched it on as she sat at the desk. “What do you want to start with?”
“The list of names.”
She plugged the first one in, and was immediately rewarded. A picture and a link popped up. She clicked, then read aloud from the new page.
“Reggie L. White, CEO of Fryer Developments, inherited the company from his father-in-law.”
Dono bent down behind her, resting his chin on her shoulder as he scanned the rest of the bio. “Nothing new there.”
“He doubled the net worth, though.” Jordynn tapped the screen. “Look at these numbers from thirty years ago versus the ones from today.”
“But Fryer still doesn’t touch Haven as far as dollar bills are concerned. Go to the next one?”
She glanced at the open file, then typed in the name. “Harold Stepford, COO of Fryer Developments.”
“Appointed shortly after White took over. Nothing new there, either.”
“Next?”
“Uh-huh.”
Jordynn moved down the line. “Janine Elwood. CFO. Appointed nine years ago when the former CFO, Lance Ranger, abandoned his position.”
“Abandoned?”
“That’s what it says.”
“How long before Elwood took over did Ranger abandon his position?”
Jordynn looked back at the screen, and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. “One year earlier.”
“One year earlier,” Dono repeated, then he leaned across to angle the keyboard his way and clicked on the former CFO’s name.
Lance Ranger.
The article that popped up at the top made Jordynn’s throat tighten.
Ranger was a single man, with no extended family to speak of. It had taken the police weeks to notice his disappearance. And when they did, their search left them puzzled. The CFO had a nice apartment in Portland, and he’d left it as if he was going to come back any second. Computer on. TV set up to record his favorite shows. Housekeeping service still in place. Not a single thing amiss in his life.
“So why did he walk away?” Jordynn wondered aloud.
“He didn’t.”
Dono’s voice was low, and the grimmest she’d ever heard it. When she tilted her head to look at his face, she saw that his expression was the same as his tone. He was thin-lipped and pale. And his eyes were fixed on the computer. Trained directly on the photo of Lance Ranger.
“That’s him,” he said. “The man I saw Ivan shoot, ten years ago.”
* * *
Donovan breathed in and out, trying to steady his mind. He wasn’t having much success. Seeing the man’s face...putting a name to it... Donovan wasn’t prepared for it. Anger and sadness mixed, and the combination momentarily floored him.
“Dono?” Jordynn’s soft voice brought him out of the haze. “Are you sure that’s him?”
“I’m sure, honey. I’ll never forget him. Or the look on his face when he took that bullet.” He ran his fingers over his hair, trying unsuccessfully to shake out the buzz of the bad memory. “But at least we know who he is.”
“And it confirms that the rivalry between Haven and Fryer is real.”
“But we still don’t know why.” Donovan hit the back button on the keyboard, then scrolled through the list of articles attached to Lance Ranger’s name.
“That one,” Jordynn said, pointing.
He clicked and scanned the text. “It looks like the police dropped the case after Fryer Developments revealed that Ranger had been skimming funds and officially stated that they weren’t pressing charges. The police decided he’d simply skipped town and chose not to pursue.”
“But look at the date on the article. It’s almost a full year after he disappeared. Why would Fryer wait so long to release that info? Why not go to the police right away?”
“Maybe they needed more proof. Just like us. Because if your theory about the sabotaged properties is right—and I’m guessing it is—then Haven’s been chasing Fryer for years. Over something personal, probably.”
“Then that’s what we need to look for—a personal connection.”
“I’m sure it’s here. And once we have it...”
She smiled. “We can go to the police ourselves.”
“Ex
actly.” Donovan lifted his gaze as an alternative occurred to him. “Unless it’s not true.”
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe Ranger wasn’t skimming at all. And maybe the reason Fryer didn’t contact the police is because whatever was going on was something they preferred the police not to know.”
“You think so?”
“When did Fryer win the bid on Greyside Mountain?”
“I’m not certain.”
“Could it have been nine years ago?”
“Possibly,” she said. “Your dad kept things pretty tied up, but I’m a hundred percent sure Fryer had already purchased it before he really started throwing up the red tape.”
Donovan reached around her to get to the computer again. He opened up a second browser window, then typed in, Fryer Developments, Greyside Mountain, date of acquisition.
A list of suggested articles popped up, and Donovan selected the one at the top. He scanned through it quickly.
“Nine years ago,” he confirmed. “They put in a very high bid on the property. Twice what the Haven Corporation had previously offered. Probably took out the competition without even blinking.”
He could hear puzzlement in Jordynn’s reply. “Where did they get that kind of money? And why did it happen right after Ranger died?”
“I dunno. But it can’t be a coincidence.”
“Do you think that someone at Fryer figured out what happened to Ranger and they needed a plausible reason for his disappearance, then used the story about the missing money as a cover-up?”
Donovan tapped his thumbs against the keyboard, tossing the idea around in his mind. Something about the explanation didn’t quite ring true for him.
“Could be,” he said. “But let’s see what else the internet has to say about Lance Ranger.”
He typed in the man’s name and title, then scrolled through the links. There were a few about his disappearance, a few about the end of the police investigation and not much else. He scrolled further.
Last Chance Hero Page 20