‘It is not always pleasant or convenient, but I have found attention to security to be necessary on occasion,’ Lewis said, watching her closely. ‘You will need to become accustomed to it.’
‘I understand,’ she said. ‘An aspect of my new life.’ She didn’t like the way Lewis was looking at her—he wasn’t convinced. Not yet. ‘Thank you for thinking of my safety.’
That seemed to mollify Lewis somewhat. ‘Your visit to Keith?’ he prompted.
‘A friend and I went yesterday. To his house in South Yarra.’ She fought to keep her tone light, her face open and smiling. Lewis probably knew all that already, but she would attempt to maintain trust by being open. ‘It’s a beautiful home. Lovely views.’
Lewis studied her, taken aback maybe by her easy-breezy manner. ‘Friend?’
‘Well, not friend exactly. Someone I met around the hotel.’
‘And what was the purpose for your visit?’
‘I set the appointment up at the beginning of the week. Before I met you,’ she lied. Lewis didn’t need to know the whole thing had been Jack’s idea. She had to keep Jack out of it as much as possible. ‘I have a passing acquaintance with Keith through work. When I realised he’d gone to school with you and Andrew, I thought if I talked with him, I might pick up some clues about where Andrew hid the necklace. Nonna thought she knew where it was, but I wasn’t sure how reliable her information was, and as it turned out, it wasn’t terribly useful. I thought a different angle, more background couldn’t hurt.’ Lewis was inscrutable, truly inscrutable. She had no idea whether he believed her, and she didn’t know what else to do except keep talking. ‘Unfortunately, Keith wasn’t able to tell us all that much. Andrew loved sports. The two of you spent a lot of time working here at the hotel while at school. That sort of thing. Nothing that will help locate the necklace.’
A pause as he considered that, considered her. ‘Keith Turnbull never liked me,’ he said finally.
‘That doesn’t surprise me. He doesn’t strike me as a particularly nice person.’
Another pause. More considering.
Please, please be buying it.
‘You’re still looking for the necklace?’ he asked at last. ‘I thought we’d agreed that’s no longer necessary.’
‘I’m not looking for myself. But … it seemed important to you. You’ve been so generous, Lewis. I wanted to find it for you. As a token of my gratitude.’
Was that laying it on too thick? But her answer seemed to please him. There was a lightening in his face, a slight relaxing at the edges. ‘A lovely thought. But I think perhaps from now on, you should focus on your new role at Holloway Industries.’
‘Of course,’ she demurred.
‘Good,’ he said.
She breathed out. She’d done it. She’d kept Lewis on side, and at any moment, she’d be able to leave. In her head, she was halfway out the door.
‘There is one other thing that concerns me.’
No. She was wrong. Lewis wasn’t finished after all. She looked at him, waiting to hear what he had to say and desperately hoping she could hold it together just a little longer.
‘Your … association with that man.’
Her heart just about froze in her chest. Jack. He must be talking about Jack.
‘I had some background gathered. You may not realise this, but he is a private investigator.’
What to say? She had to keep Lewis’s focus off Jack. She’d have to downplay everything. ‘I did know. He’s been hired to find the necklace, but he doesn’t have a clue where it is. I let him tag along yesterday. He was grateful for that much.’ She paused. Was that enough? ‘You needn’t worry about him. I’ve been keeping an eye on the situation.’ If Lewis was having her followed, did he know they’d spent last night together? What a revolting thought. She shut down her reaction. She couldn’t lose it now. She had to stay calm, get through this conversation, and then find Jack. ‘He’s … amusing, but that’s about all I can say for him.’ She let her tone turn serious. ‘I’m no romantic, Lewis. My priority is to learn how to run Holloway Industries, to follow in your footsteps.’
‘I’m pleased to hear you say that, Selina. In any case, Jack is no longer part of the equation.’
The cold blade of fear scraped a deep line up her back.
What had Lewis done to Jack?
Chapter 14
Lewis was watching her intently. Selina forced a smile to curl her mouth upwards. ‘Good,’ she bit out. ‘He was starting to get annoying.’
‘He won’t be troubling you anymore.’
She didn’t know how she managed to force the next words out of her mouth. ‘Well, Lewis, if that’s all, I should get back to it. Do we still have a meeting with the architects tomorrow?’
‘I can see we have an understanding,’ he replied slowly. ‘I’m so glad. I have such high hopes for you.’
‘I hope to meet them,’ she replied automatically. She rose, ready to bolt, but forced herself stand patiently, to say a calm and cordial goodbye. Hard when all she wanted to do was find Jack, sight him so she knew he was okay.
He had to be okay. He had to be okay.
She extended her hand to Lewis and he took it. But when she went to withdraw, she found it trapped.
Her breath caught as Lewis leaned in towards her, so close she could see the fine lines around his eyes, the pores of his nose. He was gripping her hand hard. ‘Don’t disappoint me, Selina,’ he said with deceptive quietness. ‘Andrew disappointed me.’
The threat, the implications, were clear.
Her face was numb but she forced a smile, a sick, grotesque contortion, as she turned from him. Her legs were stiff as a pirate’s wooden stump, but she made it through the door, and started the long journey across the lobby. She felt like everyone was watching her, like the hotel itself had eyes. And given that Lewis had had her followed, the paranoia was not unjustified.
The toilets. She just had to make it to the bathroom. Just a few more steps.
On the other side, she almost fell into a cubicle, doubled over, shoved her fist in her mouth to keep the sound in, screaming silent cries that wanted to rip through her throat, rip through her body.
Andrew had disappointed Lewis, and wound up dead.
Jack?
No, no, no, no, no. Not Jack. Please God. Not Jack.
She drew in great rasping breaths, tried to push the initial horror from her system, to think past it. There was no point losing her cool. No point crying over what might have already happened. It wasn’t that long since she’d seen Jack. Mostly likely, he was fine. That was the assumption she had to work on.
She needed a plan of action. The first thing she had to do was to find him, warn him.
The logical place to start was his room.
Calmed somewhat by a renewed sense of clarity and determination, she strode across to the lift, took it to the third floor, and knocked assertively on Jack’s door. No response. She knocked again, in an identical burst to her previous bout, as if she could will him to be there, to answer.
But he wasn’t and he didn’t.
Grabbing her phone from her bag she called him. Message bank.
She didn’t bother leaving a message, just shoved the phone back in her bag and willed herself not to succumb to panic. She would not panic; she would focus on finding Jack.
Next place to look? She’d try downstairs again. He hadn’t wanted her to meet with Lewis. Maybe he was waiting for her.
The lobby was practically empty. She walked it, peering into every corner, into every room, as if Jack might be hiding somewhere. He wasn’t. She didn’t want to check the dining room on the off-chance that Lewis was still in there, but she forced herself to look in quickly. Empty.
Where else could Jack be? She made her way to the corridor that housed the linen room. Maybe he’d gone back in—that made sense right? Another search? Using her master key, she let herself into the linen room. Empty.
Picking up pace, she climbed the
stairs to the first floor. To the dumbwaiter shaft, where they’d met on that first evening. Empty.
Headed up to the penthouse suites, walked through quickly, calling his name, but no one answered.
With every passing second, her anxiety built. Where was he?
She returned to the lobby and stood for a moment, hands on her hips, trying to think of a next move.
Hailey. Hailey had a crush on Jack. If he’d been in or through the lobby, she would have noticed. She forced a smile on her face and approached the desk. ‘Sorry to interrupt, Hailey. Has Jack Tierney been through here recently?’
‘Um, no. I haven’t seen him in a while,’ she replied, brown eyes wide as if she sensed the urgency.
‘Okay, no problem,’ Selina said in reassuring tones. She could worry Hailey later if need be.
‘If I see him, should I tell him you’re looking for him?’
‘That’d be great. Thanks.’
Shit, shit, shit. He wasn’t in his room, wasn’t anywhere she could think of in the hotel. Hailey hadn’t seen him leave through the main entrance.
The back door, leading to the car park. Of course, Jack’s car! If it wasn’t there, she could assume he’d gone somewhere. Maybe he couldn’t answer his phone because he was driving. Yes, that made sense.
Almost running, she headed out the back entrance, convinced she’d see an empty space in the parking lot. But there was his dark blue beat-up Maserati, exactly where they’d left it last night. No joyrides for Jack along the Yarra today.
Her hands came to her cheeks. Pressed. She refused to think that he was at the bottom of some well. He was safe, somewhere, she just had to find him.
Think, Selina, think.
Work. Maybe he’d gone to work. What was the name of his company again? Something French sounding … Her brain reluctantly coughed up the name de Crespigny and she searched for the location and number on her phone. An East Melbourne address popped up. Close to here. Very close to here. He could have walked. That was logical. That must have been what had happened. And his phone? God knows. Out of juice, maybe. Hope and anticipation washed over her as she dialled the de Crespigny office number.
Right foot tapping the concrete of the car park, she waited for someone at de Crespigny to answer. She was just about to give up when someone picked up.
‘De Crespigny.’ A deep, cultured voice. Not Jack.
‘Is Jack there?’ She tried to mimic her normal in-control self, but was appalled to discover that she sounded exactly like she felt. Scared shitless.
There was a long pause in which she almost thought the man at the other end wasn’t going to answer. ‘Am I speaking with Selina?’ he asked, in cool, well-modulated tones.
‘Yes.’ How had he known?
‘This is Charles de Crespigny. Jack’s mentioned you,’ he replied, answering her unasked question.
Jack had talked about her? Tears welled.
‘Is he there?’ She couldn’t help her voice cracking on the last word, because she knew what the answer was. If he’d been there, Charles would have transferred the call already.
‘No.’
She pressed a hand to her mouth to keep from crying.
‘I think you should tell me what’s going on,’ Charles instructed calmly.
Maybe she should, but that would require removing her hand, and if she did that, she would surely lose her mind and start screaming. Ridiculous. A fist didn’t keep one sane. She removed it. ‘I don’t know where he is,’ she blurted. ‘I’ve looked everywhere and I can’t find him. His car is still here. I thought he might have walked to work. Maybe he’s walking somewhere else …’ She paused, aware of the fact that she was babbling. Worse, not telling Charles what he needed to know. ‘I’m afraid … My uncle … My great-uncle, he … I’m scared Jack’s hurt or …’ She broke off, unable to complete the sentence.
‘Where are you right now?’
‘In the car park. The Empire Hotel.’
‘Go to the lobby. Stay visible. Wait for me. Do not leave under any circumstances. I’ll be there as soon as I can.’
‘Okay.’ She dragged in a breath, let it go shakily. ‘Okay.’
Once back inside, she positioned herself on the edge of a brown leather sofa near reception. She could see Hailey and she could see the door. Prime position. This was good. If Jack had gone for a walk, she would see him the second he came in.
Foot still tapping, she perched, eyes glued to the doors.
Waiting was agony. The work day had just ended, and the lobby seemed full—too full—of people passing through. They talked too loudly, they smiled too broadly. Somewhere near, there was a ticking clock, and it reverberated around her head. Maddeningly loud. Her eyes were glued to the door. With each person to walk through, her heart would rise on the expectation that it would be Jack, and then plummet when it wasn’t.
Panic was riding her, pressing its spurs deep into her ribs, her belly. She was trying to stay calm, trying not to allow her mind to wander, to imagine where he might be, what he might be going through.
It didn’t work.
And along with the panic came the feeling of responsibility. Guilt. Not long ago, she’d defended Lewis to Jack. How could she be so stupid? She’d believed what she’d wanted to believe, she’d seen what she wanted to see, and now Jack was gone.
And Lewis … Lewis was still very much at large. Watching.
What was she going to do now? What came next?
She shut the thought down. One thing at a time. She and Jack would figure that out together. Once he was back.
The doors were moving again. She could make out a presence on the other side. A tall broad male presence. Jack. Her heart leaped in her throat, then fell.
It wasn’t Jack.
Charles. It had to be. Tall, dark and handsome could have been made for him. Eyes surveyed the lobby in methodical sweeps, then he spotted her.
She was already standing, walking towards him.
‘Not here,’ was all he said as he guided her out through the doors to where a black limousine was parked in the loading zone. He opened the door, waited. Selina found herself hesitating. She didn’t know this guy.
She didn’t know this guy, but Jack trusted him. There was nothing to be gained by holding back. She climbed into the front seat, eyes flicking over the luxurious white-leather interior.
Moments later, Charles joined her in the driver’s side. ‘What’s going on?’
She found herself looking into grey eyes as icy as an arctic winter. Something about those eyes, the cold, calm steel of them, made her snap back into herself. ‘It might be nothing, but I can’t find him and my … Lewis—Lewis Holloway—implied that he … I think Jack might be in trouble.’
She summarised the week as well as she could.
‘So, Lewis Holloway, who happens to be your great-uncle, had you and Jack followed yesterday. You believe he’s responsible for your grandfather’s death fifty years ago, and you’re worried he’s now harmed Jack.’
She nodded. That was it, in a nutshell. A calm, succinct nutshell. Wasn’t Charles one of Jack’s closest friends? He looked no more disturbed than if she’d just recited the daily specials to him.
‘Jack has nine lives. He’ll turn up,’ he said as if he knew what she was thinking.
She nodded compulsively, determined to believe Charles’s words, willing them to be true. ‘What should we do?’
He frowned, then put his hand on the door handle. ‘Do you have any sense of whether someone followed you in person yesterday or whether you were tracked electronically?’
She shook her head. She hadn’t noticed a tail, but she hadn’t been looking for one. The possibility of something like that hadn’t even been on her radar yesterday. ‘No. I didn’t notice anything, and Jack didn’t mention anything like that either.’ She frowned as it hit her that there was a lot Jack had known and not shared with her. Maybe that was one of them. ‘But I’m not sure.’
‘You might have been
tracked via your phone.’
She started. ‘Yes! Lewis gave me a phone. He said we needed a private, secure line.’ She reached into her bag and took out the phone Lewis had ‘gifted’ her with.
Charles took it. ‘Okay. We’ll get it assessed later. For now, let’s leave everything at the hotel.’
They returned to the lobby and deposited her handbag with Hailey, who seemed as awestruck with Charles as she had been smitten with Jack.
‘Now what?’ Selina asked when they’d returned to the limo.
‘We find Jack. We’ll check his apartment. We’ll check the offices again. We’ll return here regularly. We’ll keep trying his phone. He’ll turn up.’
‘Okay. That’s good. You check his apartment and the office. I’ll wait at the hotel, keep looking here.’
‘You’ll stay with me.’
The words and the glance that went with them were full of undisputed authority. Selina felt shaky, but not shaky enough to docilely go along with some guy’s orders. ‘No. It’s more efficient if we split up. One of us stays at the hotel, the other checks his apartment, the office … Hospitals.’ Damned if her voice didn’t crack on that last word too.
Was that a glimmer of empathy she saw in his artic eyes? ‘It might be more efficient, but given everything you’ve told me, I’m not convinced it’s safe. If anything were to happen to you, I’d have to answer to Jack.’
She wanted to argue, wanted to insist on staying but … Maybe Charles was right. Maybe she should stick with him.
She didn’t know anything anymore. All she cared about was that Jack was okay.
She gave a shaky nod and he started the engine, pulled out slowly onto the street.
Ahead of them, her eyes were drawn to a figure limping around the corner. A strange huddling form, drawn in on itself to protect itself from pain. A crab without a shell.
She knew at once who it was.
Charles had seen too. He slowed the car, but she couldn’t wait for him to come to a stop. She leaped from the car, slammed the door behind her, and ran full pelt on her high heels towards the man she loved.
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