Undercover Protection

by Maggie K. Black

  Long story short, I’m trying to determine if one of the wealthiest men in the world is a cold-case serial killer. My only source was your late father, and he passed away insisting there was evidence on this farm.

  “I don’t know what you want me to say,” he admitted.

  “Tell me those men didn’t just kidnap and blindfold me because of some trouble you’re in,” she said.

  “They didn’t,” he said. “That much I can promise. Did they say anything?”

  “They asked me where to find everything in this house that can be traced to Franklin Vamana.”

  Jay felt his heart stop in his chest. He’d been meticulously careful to keep the fact he was heading to the Dukes farm tonight need-to-know only. Seemed Walter had been right to worry that if he spoke to police Vamana would somehow find out and send hired mercenaries after his family.

  And I promised to protect them.

  “What did you say to them?” he asked.

  “That they’d come to the wrong place,” she said.

  He blew out a hard breath. So, despite the fact he’d urged Walter to tell his four daughters the truth before he died, it seemed that he’d stubbornly stuck to his plan to keep them in the dark until the very end. Why would he do that? What could be so terrible in there that he never wanted his daughters to find? He just prayed he found the files before they did. “How many hostiles are we dealing with?”

  “Three hostiles that I know of,” she said. “All in the living room.”

  More than he could apprehend himself, at least until he isolated each of them. Also, he couldn’t help but notice her lips had quirked at the word hostiles, like she was teasing him. So much for worrying she’d figured out he was a cop.

  “They took my phone along with my wallet and keys,” she added. “Tell me you called the police.”

  I am the police. Not that he was authorized to tell her that at the risk of compromising the investigation or any evidence it might turn up.

  “I don’t have a cell phone signal,” he admitted.

  “Must be the storm,” she said. “The tower goes down intermittently when the wind’s bad.”

  “I’ll keep checking,” he said. Even then, the closest cops were in the small town of Kilpatrick. Backup would take at least an hour to arrive. The question was what to do until then? They couldn’t hide in the hidden passage forever. “What do the intruders look like?”

  “No idea,” she said. “I was blindfolded. But going by handgrip and footsteps, at least two of them are pretty big. They could be dressed up as clowns or wearing gorilla masks for all I know.”

  Despite himself, he snorted. It was no wonder he’d initially fallen so hard for this woman, before he’d been smart enough to shut those feelings down. Yes, she was impossibly stubborn and strong-willed. But her sense of humor and bravery rivaled that of the best fellow officers he’d served with. There were far worse people to be stuck in a tight spot with, and he’d been in his share of them. Even if she’d never forgive him when she found out the truth.

  Now, to find a way out.

  “Well, here’s hoping it’s not clowns,” he said. Banging noises rose louder from the other side of the wall, like the intruders were trying to rip the mounted bookshelves clear off the studs. The secret hatch rattled futilely against the padlock. He stepped back and pulled Leia even deeper into the passage. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

  “And warn Sally,” she said. “She’ll be driving up in the morning, unless Mabel wakes up early and she thinks a drive will put her back to sleep.”

  That much he knew. Sally’s estranged husband, Vince, was a mechanic and amateur race-car driver who had a record for drag racing. But besides that, he had been eliminated as a suspect in connection with anything to do with Vamana or the Phantom Killer.

  They started down the hidden passage, back the way he’d come. Their shoulders bumped against each other.

  “Have you heard of the Phantom Killer?” he asked. “Almost a dozen people disappeared from downtown Toronto when I was a little kid and before you were born. Their bodies were never found.”

  “Vaguely,” she said. “My dad treated anything that happened in the big city like it was a distant and foreign world.”

  “Rumor is that Franklin Vamana is the killer,” he ventured.

  “Really?” She sounded genuinely surprised.

  “Did you know that before your father married your mother, he had a close friend who worked for Franklin Vamana?” he asked. “A woman. He said she was his best friend and they were so close he once drove through the night to save her life.”

  “What?” She stopped short. “No, he didn’t. Mom and Dad were high school sweethearts, and she was the closest person in the world to him. They were married a few months after graduation, and I showed up just shy of ten months later.”

  Yes, that was the story Walter had wanted his daughters to believe. Jay still had no idea why.

  “That doesn’t mean he didn’t have another female best friend who he was that close to,” he said, “who worked in downtown Toronto at the time.”

  “I don’t know what you’re implying,” Leia said. “Or why you’re even bringing this up now. But that doesn’t make sense. My dad hated all cities and avoided them at all costs. You should’ve seen how he balked when we tried to talk him into even taking us to Niagara Falls when we were little. He never once mentioned having a friend who lived in Toronto. Let alone a best friend. In fact, Dad was always really opposed to my moving and working there. He was kind of paranoid about stuff like that. I mean, look—he built a house with hidden tunnels in it.”

  And couldn’t she see that was saving her life now?

  Just because somebody was paranoid didn’t mean that nobody was out to get them.

  Forgive me, Lord. Maybe if I’d taken Walter more seriously and pushed a little harder in my investigation we wouldn’t be in this situation now.

  “What’s her name?” she asked. “This secret best friend of my father?”

  “He never told me,” Jay said. “But he did tell me that she was dead and what she knew about Vamana put you and your sisters’ lives in danger. Your father thought your family had enemies.”

  “My father thought a lot of things,” Leia said. “That didn’t mean they were true.” She stopped, and he realized they’d reached the hidden door leading outside that he’d used to sneak inside the house. “I get the fact that the criminals in there mentioning Vamana Enterprises is weird, but if this friend existed I’ve never heard of her. We can talk all that out once we get out of here and call the police. But for now, we’ve got to make sure Sally and the baby don’t drive up early.”

  He turned off his phone’s flashlight. Leia eased the door open a crack and they looked out. Darkness lay on the other side, thick with the smell of summer rain.

  The cop in him did a quick calculation. It was essential that he got Leia to safety, warned her sister not to return to the farm and found a way to call in the cavalry to arrest the home invaders before they got away. But could he really risk the criminals getting ahold of the information about Franklin Vamana’s crimes that Walter thought were hidden somewhere in the farmhouse?

  Especially if he was a cold-case serial killer?

  “You go,” he said. “Drive as far away from the place as you can, call the police and warn your sister.”

  “I told you,” Leia said, “they took my keys and I don’t have Sally’s mechanical knack for hot-wiring cars.”

  He reached for his keys and heard them jangle in the darkness. “Take my truck. It’s in the garage and I’ve already detached it from my camper.”

  He tried to press them into her hand, but she pulled her fingers away.

  “And just leave you here in danger?” Leia’s voice rose. “Are you insane? Look, I don’t care how big and strong you are, Jay, there ar
e three of them and one of you. You might not be my favorite person in the world, but I’m not just driving away and leaving you here to die.”

  The sound of banging and crashing inside the house grew louder. His jaw clenched. There was no time to argue about this now.

  “Listen to me,” he said. “I’ll be fine. You need to go, now.”

  “Again, I’m not leaving you here to die.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “I don’t believe you.” She pushed the door open and stepped out into the rain. “And don’t tell me Dad would want you to defend the house, because I don’t care if they burn it down to the studs.”

  Even if it meant destroying any chance of proving a rich and powerful man was the Phantom Killer?

  “Leia, listen!” he said. “I’m an undercover cop!”

  She turned back and her face paled. “You’re what?”

  Jay heard the faint click of someone taking the safety off a handgun.

  “Leia! Get down!” he shouted as gunfire shattered the night.

  TWO

  No matter how much time she’d spent with her father and sisters on the range getting used to the explosive sound of gunfire, nothing had prepared her for the way her body froze at the sound of a bullet whizzing past her head.

  Then she felt Jay throw his arms around her and pull her into his chest. They hit the ground together and rolled, his body protecting hers like a shield. For a second, they lay there in the wet grass, his panting breath mingling with hers, surrounded by the familiar scents of the man she’d once thought she loved and the falling rain. The sound of bullets ended.

  “So, that makes at least four bad guys,” she said. “Tell me you’re armed, Cop Boy.”

  “I’m not,” he said. “Come on, we’ve got a second while he reloads.”

  He eased her out of his arms and grabbed her hand. They crawled back across the ground to the door and tumbled inside. He slammed it shut and bolted it behind them as a fresh clatter of bullets rang outside, along with what sounded like someone shouting for backup.

  “But you really are a cop?” Leia asked.

  “Yeah.” Jay ran one hand through his damp hair. “Sorry.”

  “Sorry that you’re a cop,” she asked, “or that you didn’t tell me?”

  “Neither,” he said. “I’m sorry that my service weapon is locked in the glove compartment of my truck, as per OPP regulations. I saw your car pull up, honestly thought you were the only one in here and didn’t stop to get it. Figured the conversation would be tense enough without risking you realizing I was packing. Because, honestly, even if I strapped it to my ankle under my jeans I wouldn’t put it past you somehow noticing. Which I now get was a huge mistake on my part. And apparently my second one of the night, as I also somehow missed the arrival of at least four criminals. I actually love being a cop. And while it killed me not to tell you, I’d have been risking my job and investigation if I had.”

  “But pretending you liked me didn’t?” The words flew out of her mouth before she could bite them back, yet somehow still left a bitter taste in her mouth. This man had held her hand and kissed her. When he’d abruptly called it off and she’d demanded to know why, all he’d said was he was messed up in something he couldn’t talk about and then ruefully said if it’d been up to him he’d have married her.

  She’d thought he’d meant he’d been flat broke or in some kind of minor trouble with the law.

  She’d never guessed he was the law.

  “It wasn’t pretend,” Jay said curtly. Like the bitterness on her own tongue infected his, as well. “I more than liked you. But as you can see now, there are way bigger things going on than what two people used to feel for each other. Now, come on.”

  Used to. Right. Good to know he’d apparently gotten over her just as easily as she’d gotten over him.

  He grabbed her hand and turned back toward the hallway as if to lead her somewhere, like this was his childhood home, not hers.

  “Hang on.” She pulled him back a step. “I still don’t actually have a clue what’s going on.”

  “I’m a cop, and bad guys are after us,” he said. “That’s all you need to know for now.”

  She dropped his hand and crossed her arms.

  “No, it’s not,” she said. “Now, I get that at last count there were three bad guys in the living room, another one outside and we’re trapped in the middle. Plus, the storm’s probably cut out your cell phone signal, and you’re the big impressive Cop Man—”

  “At least that’s a step up from Cop Boy—”

  Her lips quirked and she almost laughed at that before she caught herself.

  “But this is my home and my family we’re talking about,” she went on, “and I daresay I know both a whole lot better than you. So, if you want us to get out of here alive...”

  “Fine,” Jay said. “But I’m not arguing with you and you’re not going to repeat any of this to anyone.”

  “Except my three younger sisters—” she interrupted.

  “Including Sally, Quinn and Rose.” A faint growl rumbled in his voice, mingling with the thunder outside. “As I’m not authorized to tell you, I’m not about to give you permission to tell them.” She didn’t answer and guessed he’d taken that as agreement a moment later when he continued. “Last year, the body of a John Doe turned up encased in cement in the foundations of a Toronto office building during construction—”

  “Yeah, we covered this—”

  “Your dad called the police tip line saying his best friend witnessed Franklin Vamana murder this John Doe over thirty-five years ago—”

  “Which I’m not sure I believe—”

  Again, he went on like she hadn’t spoken.

  “And that this corpse was one of several bodies hidden around the city, making him a cold-case serial killer,” Jay said, “better known as the Phantom Killer.”

  “And also that this mysterious best friend of my father, who I’ve never heard of, hid proof of this in the farmhouse,” she added. “I’m sorry, I just can’t believe it.”

  Could she? She’d always suspected her father was keeping something from her and her sisters, but this? She shuddered a breath.

  “I told you, I’m not about to argue with you,” Jay said.

  Well, that was easy enough for him to say, she thought. It wasn’t his life that had just been tossed inside out. Leia pressed her hand against her solar plexus and tried to calm her heartbeat.

  Jay stepped closer to her in the hallway and something softened in his voice. “Look, the way you’re feeling right now is perfectly normal, and once we get out of here I’ll help connect you with the kind of people who can help you process all this. Thankfully feelings are temporary and don’t need to control our actions. Right now, we have to focus on getting out of here safely and warning Sally not to drive up early.”

  “We agree on that much,” she said. After all, her father had taught his four girls how to fight, hunt, shoot, escape danger, forage and survive. Whether she liked it or not, it was like she’d sort of been preparing her entire life for this.

  The sound of a rhythmic pounding rose from down the other end of the hallway, like someone was taking a makeshift battering ram to the living room wall. Bullets clanged on their other side against the reinforced door leading outside. It was only a matter of time before somebody found a way in.

  “Let’s go,” Jay said. They ran down the passage and started up a flight of stairs. They’d reached the second floor when she realized she’d let him lead the way. Then again, there wasn’t really anywhere else for them to go. He eased the door open to the upstairs hallway. It was empty and so silent she realized just how soundproof the house must be, considering the chaos she knew was happening on the main floor.

  The bedroom Quinn and Rose had shared lay to their right, along with the one she’d shar
ed with Sally. Her father’s bedroom and study were to the left. Staircases headed back downstairs at opposite ends to the hallway.

  But somehow her eyes latched on to the picture straight ahead of her. It was a framed family portrait taken almost a decade ago when she was sixteen. Sally was fourteen and a half and twins Quinn and Rose were twelve. It was a picture that had always irked her. Her sisters were all wide smiles and bouncy hair, all in various shades and waves of honey to taffy blond. And there she was, rail-thin in a blazer and jeans, her jet-black hair falling straight to her shoulders and her violet-eyed gaze piercing the camera. Like someone had cut and pasted her into a family where she didn’t quite belong.

  Jay paused and shone his cell phone’s flashlight on the ceiling above them. The light lingered over a hatch.

  “Your dad was convinced that this friend had hidden something in the attic,” he said, “and if anything ever went wrong to take you and your sisters there. Not that I could find anything there but brick walls and cobwebs. It’s just a small empty space.”

  “I wouldn’t know,” she said. “We were never allowed up there. He kept the trap door to the attic locked. I climbed onto the roof once when I was twelve just to get some space from my sisters, and he seemed more upset I might be trying to break into the attic through the window than that I could fall to my death if the shingles might tear loose.”

  Footsteps sounded up the stairs to their right. They spun to see a short and balding man, with a wide forehead and narrowed eyes, dressed in a black shirt and jeans. “Hey, you!” he yelled.

  Loud Voice by the sound of it.

  Without even thinking, Leia yanked the family portrait off the wall and hurled it at the intruder like a sharp-edged discus. Then she darted into Rose and Quinn’s room, with Jay one step behind her.

  He slammed the door and bolted it shut, but she stared at it as if seeing it for the first time. Why did her childhood home have so many locks on interior doors? For that matter, why did her childhood home have so many back passages and hidden hatches? And why had her father insisted on homeschooling them until high school and run them through so many survival drills?