Holiday Mountain Conspiracy

by Liz Shoaf

  His shoulders finally relaxed, but when he glanced at her, she saw something that resembled guilt in his eyes, but he quickly recovered. She was an excellent observer and didn’t try to talk herself out of what she knew she had seen.

  “Uh-huh. You’re giving me grief, but you’ve also done something. I take my apology back.”

  His lips bloomed into a full smile, but Mary Grace knew she’d probably never see that smile again if her PI came back with proof against Finn.

  “You can’t take back an apology.”

  Humor laced his words and her heart fluttered, but she ruthlessly buried the feeling.

  “Can, too.”

  He actually laughed. “You sound like a three-year-old.”

  She laughed back and added, “Do not.”

  They both sat there for a minute and the camaraderie faded away.

  “I recruited my brother to help before we touch down in Washington.”

  Now that piece of information got Mary Grace’s attention. “And your brother’s name?”

  “Not important. What is important is that he has a lot of contacts and he tapped into the rumor mill. He spread the word that I’m dating a journalist who is very interested in what happened to me and Finn.”

  She gave him an incredulous look. “And you think I shouldn’t have contacted Hensley? Your brother just painted a bull’s-eye on both our backs.”

  But then her journalist’s brain started churning out possibilities. “Actually, this might work into my plans. If your brother’s information hits Washington pretty quick, maybe Hensley will get wind of the rumors and be more willing to meet with me.”

  “With us.”

  “Huh?” she said, jerked out of her musings.

  “If he wants to meet, it’ll have to be with both of us. You don’t leave my side.”

  She almost smiled at his rough command, but before she had a chance to say anything, Ned told her to buckle up, and not long after that the plane’s wheels ground against the asphalt. They were in Washington, Mary Grace’s home turf.

  FIFTEEN

  They deboarded the plane and Ned strode toward a parked car waiting for them on the tarmac. Mary Grace started asking questions the minute he put the vehicle in Drive. Her job suited her well. He didn’t doubt that everyone she interviewed eventually just gave her the answers she wanted to stop her from badgering them. But on the other hand, he was getting used to her constant chatter. The peaceful solitude he’d enjoyed on his mountain didn’t seem quite so enticing any longer.

  “Is this a private airport? I assume it’s private and that’s why you didn’t have to go inside and do any paperwork. And who handles leaving the cars that have been waiting for us at the airports?”

  She didn’t wait for him to answer, but kept talking.

  “I’d like to swing by my place first.” She gave him the address.

  He drove the car into a business parking lot, put the address into his phone, then pulled back onto the street. “We’ll have to be careful. The people after us may have your place staked out.”

  “I thought about that, but it’s worth the risk because Bobby may have been able to slip into my house and leave us some kind of information. Maybe Hensley will have responded to my email by the time we get there, and we can set up a meeting.”

  “I doubt Bobby would hang around Washington while he’s hiding. He’s probably all the way across the country by now.”

  She shrugged. “It’s worth a shot and Bobby has a key.”

  Her eyes lit with determination and something else, something he saw reflected in his own mirror at times: the thrill and excitement of the hunt. His heart flipped and it brought a mix of emotions. The longer he was around Mary Grace, the more he didn’t want her to get hurt, but all he could do was his best to protect her. He had to remind himself that as a journalist, she was likely exposed to danger. Maybe not the kind they were facing, but certainly disgruntled and angry people whose crimes she had exposed.

  He turned right onto her street and scouted the area. No odd-looking vans or cars parked on the street. Then he noticed the place had an urban feel. It sat just outside DC, the type of place large cities were revitalizing, catering to young professionals. She pointed at two parking places, one of which had a used upscale car parked in it.

  “That’s my car. I took a cab to the airport when I flew to Jackson Hole, so I wouldn’t have to deal with airport parking. Park next to mine. I’m allotted two spaces.”

  Ned pulled into the spot and cut the engine, searching the area for anything that looked out of place. They appeared to be in the clear. Maybe the people after them never dreamed they’d come to her place. It wasn’t logical that they would return. Sitting in Mary Grace’s lap, Tinker Bell whined. Mary Grace reached to open her car door, but Ned laid a hand on her arm.

  “Wait.”

  She froze and jerked her head around. “What is it?”

  Ned scanned the area one more time. The patio homes were built close together with a small strip of grass in between. There were twelve houses lining the street. He peered over his shoulder at the small playground across the road. He still didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but for some reason his gut told him something was off. It wasn’t screaming a warning, but something was going on. It could be that they were just being watched from a distance.

  Tinker Bell whined again and Mary Grace spoke with urgency. “She has to be let out and a double whine means it’s serious.”

  “Okay, I’ll come around to your door and you stay close while your dog does her business. Then we’ll go inside.”

  Constantly scanning the area, Ned got out of the car and rounded the hood. He huddled her forward in front of him. As soon as they hit the grass, she put TB down and he almost heard the dog heave a sigh of relief. Krieger followed suit and relieved himself, as well.

  Ned chuckled when he realized what he was doing. If his old comrades could only see him now. Traveling with a journalist and her rat dog was a unique experience, but one he was enjoying more with every passing moment.

  He shielded Mary Grace as they moved toward the tiny front entrance and waited while she unlocked the door. He pulled her close to his side and stopped in the foyer after they entered. He closed and locked the door after his dog followed them in.

  “Krieger, check it out.”

  It was one level and Krieger was back in minutes. He sat in front of Ned—the all-clear signal—and Ned released Mary Grace.

  Knowing they were safe for the moment, he became curious about her personal living space. In the past, he found that you could gather a lot of information by studying a person’s environment.

  In the foyer stood a corner coat tree with a bench seat. He moved forward and prowled through the living/ kitchen area. There were three bedrooms, two small and one master. The master had a private bath and one of the smaller bedrooms had been converted into an office. He estimated about fifteen hundred square feet. Everything smelled and looked new.

  He grimaced at the huge Christmas tree and all the decorations peppered throughout the place, but became very interested in the framed pictures lining the mantel on the fake fireplace. After being at her grandmother’s house, he’d have thought Mary Grace would be the type of woman who’d want a real messy fireplace.

  She came and stood beside him. “I wanted a real fireplace, but they aren’t allowed here.”

  Ned picked up a picture of a teenage girl wearing braces and standing on a bicycle. Beside her, a young boy was straddling a banana seat bike. They both wore wide grins.

  She took the picture from his hand and stared at it. “This was right after my mother married Bobby’s dad. I was so happy to have a sibling. I was thirteen and had been an only child for all those years, spending most of my time at Gram’s.”

  Ned’s heart hammered against his chest as he heard the s
adness in her voice. He couldn’t help himself, he placed a finger under her chin and lifted her head. Slowly, ever so slowly, telling himself he was all kinds of a fool—but not able to stop—he lowered his lips to hers and the warmth of the kiss began melting the frozen, cynical wall he’d built to protect himself.

  He pulled away and gazed into her soft golden eyes, wanting to believe in her with every fiber of his being, but he reminded himself of the item she had found in the shack that she hadn’t shared. He retreated instantly. As he stepped back, he didn’t miss the hurt in her eyes, but she recovered quickly and took several steps away and cleared her throat.

  “Yes, well, I’ll look around and see if Bobby left any clues and check my email for a response from Hensley.”

  She disappeared into her small office. Ned took one step forward, but stopped himself. He shook off the kiss and tender feelings she evoked. Until she came clean, he couldn’t trust her and he had to keep his mind clear. He had a job to do.

  * * *

  Hands trembling, Mary Grace slipped into the chair behind her desk and started booting up her computer. Leaning sideways, she peeked into the living area. Ned had his back turned to her and was once again studying the pictures on her mantel.

  She stared blankly at the computer screen while it was booting up and thought about that kiss. It had been so warm and precious until he pulled away, mistrust flickering in his eyes. She slumped in her chair. He had every right not to trust her because she was withholding information, even if it was for his own good. Maybe she should just tell him about Bobby’s letter, but even if she did, it would probably make matters worse. Mistrust was better than accusations in her opinion.

  She typed in her password, went straight to her email account and there sat an email from the private investigator she had hired. She stared at it for a moment, then closed her eyes and prayed not only that God would show her the truth, but that both she and Ned could handle the fallout in a worst-case scenario.

  Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and clicked the email. She read it twice before closing her eyes once again. It was definitely a worst-case scenario and she had to tell Ned. Now, before things went any further. She briefly wondered why Bobby hadn’t been able to find the information himself, but maybe the place where he was hiding didn’t have internet service. She swallowed hard and quickly pushed aside the thought that maybe he wasn’t alive and able to do the search himself.

  Feeling like an old woman, she pushed herself out of her chair and walked into the living room. Ned turned at her approach and lifted a bushy questioning brow. She motioned toward the sofa.

  “Let’s have a seat.”

  He moved toward her and stopped so close she could feel his breath on her face. Gently placing both hands on her arms, he demanded softly, “Tell me.”

  Mary Grace gazed into those intelligent green eyes of his and wondered if this would be the last time they would be together. Would he leave after she told him what she’d discovered?

  “I—I found something at the shack that I haven’t shared.”

  To her surprise, Ned’s lips curled at the corners and his expression softened. He led her to the sofa and pulled her down by his side. She felt the warmth emanating from his body, but she shivered in spite of it.

  “I’ve been waiting for you to tell me the truth. I knew you found something at the shack, but I wanted you to tell me on your own, because you trusted me.”

  “You knew?” she whispered. “Ned, Bobby left me another letter for my eyes only in a place where no one would look. A secret hiding place we used when we were kids. It was behind a loose board in the wall of the shack.”

  She swallowed again, forcing the words past her lips. “I didn’t tell you because I wanted to check out what he had to say before I shared. And after I read it, I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

  His eyes narrowed, but she forced the words out. “Bobby named a second person that he highly suspects is connected to what happened to you and Finn.”

  Ned was a smart man, and she could almost see his brain churning out the possibilities.

  “Go on.” His words weren’t quite as soft now and his eyes had narrowed.

  With tears in her eyes, she lifted her chin and told him straight, with no embellishments. “Bobby suspects Finn of being involved in selling the state secrets you two were trying to uncover.” Before he could explode, she talked fast. “On the plane, I emailed a private investigator I’ve used in the past. I trust him implicitly. He ran a deep search on Finn. Half a million dollars was placed in an offshore account in Finn’s name two days before the failed mission. Another half a million was deposited into the same account two days after the mission.”

  Her heart in her throat, Mary Grace found that she couldn’t breathe while she watched a drastic change come over Ned. He didn’t make a sound, seemingly frozen into place until his intense green gaze landed directly on her.

  “And you expect me to believe something your brother wrote in a letter to his sister? A brother probably trying to save his own skin? You expect me to believe that Finn, a man I grew up with and have known all my life, betrayed me? You think he planned an event that would place him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life?”

  Mary Grace shivered. Ned didn’t sound like the gruff, exasperated mountain man she’d come to know. The affable Scottish guy was long gone, too. She didn’t recognize the man sitting beside her, staring at her with accusing eyes. He had kept this part of himself hidden from her: the intelligent warrior willing to die for what he believed in, and he didn’t believe in Mary Grace and Bobby. He believed in Finn.

  Mary Grace hardened her resolve, fell back on her professionalism and stared him in the eye. “I have proof. My PI found the deposits made in Finn’s name.”

  Ned’s lips curled into a cynical smile. “Let’s see. What is it you made me promise about Bobby? That someone could have set him up and I should wait to make sure before I go after him? Don’t you think the same thing could have been done to Finn?”

  Mary Grace had to concede the point, but her reporter’s gut was screaming that Finn had betrayed Ned.

  She gave a stiff nod. “Fine, I agree. It’s possible that Finn could have been set up. We’ll have to follow all the leads and see what shakes out.”

  She softened her voice. “Listen, Ned, I know it’s hard to believe that Finn could do something like this—”

  His words sliced into the air, effectively cutting her off. “Finn did not do this and I’ll prove it.”

  Mary Grace peered into his beautiful eyes, eyes that had previously warmed her heart, but the only thing reflected back at her now was a green as hard and brittle as colored glass. He was lost to her, if they even had a chance to begin with. Even if they found Finn innocent, she doubted Ned would ever forgive her for putting him through this. But she knew, deep down, that for some unknown reason Finn had betrayed his best friend, and it was something Ned might never recover from. Ned had trust issues and this would place him out of her reach forever. He’d crawl back to his mountain and hibernate for years.

  Gram had always taught her to keep moving forward, no matter what was going on in her life, and Mary Grace did just that. She’d had plenty of practice with her mother and stepfather. When she was a teenager, she sometimes wanted to crawl into a hole and stay there, but Gram always pulled out her Bible and reminded Mary Grace that God loved her, and stood beside her, no matter what.

  She wrapped her mind around those old scriptures—they gave her strength—and straightened her shoulders.

  “Do we stay together, or would you prefer we handle our investigations separately?”

  He smiled, and it wasn’t a team-player smile. Mary Grace almost laughed at the thought. Ned definitely wasn’t a team player. She briefly wondered how he would fare at one of those team-building conferences that companies made their employees attend. He’d p
robably scare the daylights out of everyone there.

  She stopped her semi-hysterical train of thought, knowing from the past it was a coping mechanism unique to her.

  “Oh, we’ll stay together. You aren’t leaving my sight until we find your brother.”

  And wasn’t that just nice? But she had to remind herself this was hard on Ned, too.

  “Fine, but, Ned? I really do hope both Bobby and Finn are completely innocent in all of this. I’m sorry I had to tell you what I found out about Finn, but it had to be done.”

  Calling herself all kinds of silly, Mary Grace felt the waves of pain coming off him and she found herself still wanting to soothe the heartache he was experiencing due to the information she had unearthed.

  But Gram had taught her to be practical, and no matter her feelings for Ned, she had to find Bobby, make sure he was alright, and then she would expose the person, or persons, responsible for what had happened to Ned and Finn, and if Finn was involved, well, God would have to take care of the rest.

  SIXTEEN

  Ned refused to believe that Finn was in league with traitors to the country and had betrayed him. Finn hadn’t had the best family life growing up, but they had saved each another’s lives on more than one occasion when they were in the army. Someone had to have set Finn up. The alternative was unthinkable.

  He counted himself fortunate that he hadn’t completely fallen for the woman sitting next to him. Or had he? No, he wouldn’t even allow that possibility to enter his mind. He had to remember her main goal was to prove her brother innocent, and if she could point the finger elsewhere, it was to her benefit.

  It felt like a giant fist was squeezing the blood from his heart, but he focused his mind on the mission ahead and compartmentalized all other emotions.

  He ruthlessly ignored the sadness on Mary Grace’s face. “Did you receive an email from Hensley?” He almost winced as he heard his own voice, so similar to his brother’s clipped, terse tone.