Endangered: A Delecoeur Mystery #1

by Harte, Jenna

  "I know. I just wonder if I'd been more patient and waited for you-"

  Max shook his head. "You did the right thing."

  She didn't look convinced, but he knew she was smart enough to know that if she pushed the issue he'd be forced to tell her the truth; that he'd have never made a life with her.

  "Madeleine is a lucky woman," she finally said.

  "No. I'm the lucky one."

  ~~~

  Max checked his watch again….8:15. Madeleine's call was nearly 2 hours late and he was quickly moving from concerned to worried. He’d already tried her cell phone and hotel room without luck. It wasn’t like her to miss a call.

  "Where is she, Oscar?" he said to the dog sitting next to him on the couch. Oscar looked up at his master, but his eyes held no answers. "I can't wait any longer." He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and arranged for a private flight to San Francisco. Then he dropped Oscar off with the neighbor as he headed to the airport.

  During the flight, Max called Marie to cancel his appointments for the rest of the week. Then he called Lieutenant Springer of the San Francisco Police Department to report Madeleine missing. He knew Springer would help him not because Max had money and power, but because they had lived in the same foster home for several years as children and over time remained friends. Max was sure that people who'd known the two of them as mischievous boys would be surprised that they weren't sharing a jail cell. Somehow they'd managed to survive without parents and make something of themselves. It was the bond they'd formed as children that had Springer walking toward Max as he departed the plane in San Francisco. They greeted each other with a hug.

  "I haven't found anything yet," Springer said. "We know she checked into the hotel around nine this morning and left a little before ten."

  “Did you talk to anybody from the conference?”

  “Yes, a few people.”

  Max shook his head trying to keep panic from clouding his thinking.

  “I've got someone checking the hospitals around the city. And we have monitors on the hotel phone and her cell phone. So far, you’re the only one calling.”

  “Where the hell is she?”

  Springer and Max got into the waiting police car. “Do you know of anyone who wanted to harm her?”

  “No.” Then Max remembered Alan. But he wouldn’t hurt her, would he? And she seemed concerned about a participant at the conference.

  “Looks to me like maybe there is someone.”

  “We discovered some money is missing in the wildlife foundation’s books. I've been trying to reach the man who's in charge of managing the accounts.”

  “You think he might hurt her to hide embezzlement?”

  “Normally no, but I can’t rule anything out now.”

  “What’s his name, I’ll call it in.”

  “Alan Granger. He is…or should be in Los Angeles.”

  “Anyone else?”

  “Madeleine mentioned that someone gave her hard time during her talk today.”

  Springer nodded, “Yes, a few witnesses mentioned a man who confronted her outside the conference room.”

  Max looked at him in surprise. He realized that Madeleine had minimized the incident when she called him. “She mentioned someone gave her a hard time, but she didn’t tell me he’d confronted her.”

  “No one knows who he is, but we're doing what we can to figure it out.” Springer pulled out his cell phone and called one of the detectives on his team to let him know about Alan and get an update on the investigation. When he hung up, he turned to Max. “I’m taking you to her hotel room so you can see if anything is missing. The hotel staff don't think she returned tonight. She hasn't used the keycard. And there is no sign of struggle in the room. But maybe you can see something that we can’t. I’ll stay there with you in case she or someone else-”

  “Like kidnappers?”

  He nodded. “Like kidnappers call.”

  Madeleine's hotel room didn't give any clues as to where she was. The police were looking all over the city, but not finding anything. Springer told his men to expand their search to areas surrounding the city. But nothing was coming of it. It was as if she fell off the face of the earth. Max couldn't let his mind go to a place that involved Madeleine being hurt or worse. That kind of panic clouded the mind and made it difficult to make decisions. So he forced himself to focus on the task at hand, find her. But as the hours ticked by, the fear gained a foothold. By five in the morning, Max worried that his happiness was a thing of the past.

  He heard Springer's phone ring and immediately went to him.

  "We need to talk,” Springer said.

  “Madeleine?"

  “No word yet. Here, have some coffee. You look like you're about to fall over.”

  “Did you find Alan?” Max took the coffee, but ignored the comment.

  “No. We need to talk about something else.”

  Max noted the serious tone in Springer’s voice. “What? What is it?"

  Springer tapped on his phone, pulling up the morning edition of the Los Angeles Daily News social section. Max looked at the screen and then to Captain Springer.

  “You know Max, in the case of a missing wife, the husband is always the first suspect.”

  Max’s eyes narrowed. “Because of this?” he jerked his hand toward the phone that showed a picture of him and Julia having lunch the day before. “You think I did something to Madeleine?”

  “Not me, no. I know she's your life. But other detectives... well..."

  “I’d never harm her.” The thought of it, the idea that others would think it, made Max sick. Didn't they know his life started and ended with her?

  “I know that, but this makes my men suspicious.”

  Max looked at the pictures again. He had to admit, Julia had invaded his space on several occasions during their lunch. She never missed a chance to touch him. He read the caption that suggested indiscretion without quite saying it. Somehow the author of the article already knew that Madeleine was missing. Even though everyone who knew Max knew he would never cheat on Madeleine, a tabloid wouldn’t miss out on the titillation and scandal that would sell papers.

  “Julia Devlin of all people. I thought you rid yourself of her when you left for college. She looks chummy with you while your wife is out of town,” Springer said.

  “This is nothing. You need to tell your men they’re wasting their time.”

  “It's not that simple. If I tell them to back off on this, it’ll look like I’m in your pocket. It looks bad for everyone.”

  “Meanwhile resources are being wasted while my wife is who knows where?” Desperation grew. He launched his coffee cup across the room. It hit the wall shattering in to a million pieces, just like his heart.

  Springer ignored the outburst. “I have men covering other bases too. We've done a complete search of the conference building and are now re-interviewing people at the conference.”

  It was all of the same, Max thought. And all the same was producing nothing.

  Springer’s phone rang. He stepped away, but Max studied his face to see if he could glean any information from the call.

  “When? … Is she okay?….Yeah, go ahead and talk to her….We’ll be right there.”

  “That was about Madeleine. Where is she?” Max demanded.

  “Across the bay in Menlo Park.”

  “Menlo Park?”

  “There was some sort of accident. She’s in the hospital. One of my men is with her now, waiting to question her.”

  “No doubt about me,” Max said as he grabbed his coat and headed out the hotel door.

  Chapter Four

  Madeleine knew the minute he was there without having to open her eyes. She could feel him, his strength, his love. She opened her eyes wanting to see him; his beautiful deep blue eyes and mischievous smile.

  “Hey you,” he said.

  “Max.” She looked up into his tired face. He was unshaven. She knew he had probably been up all night. T
he worry was still etched in his face even though she was fine. She reached a hand up to him.

  He took her hand, kissed it and then held it against his heart. “You gave me a hell of a scare.”

  “Me too.”

  “Do you need anything? Are you in pain?” he asked.

  “I’m sore, but I don’t want anything. I don’t like feeling like I have cotton in my head. Besides, you're all the medicine I need.”

  “The doctor says everything is okay. No permanent damage.”

  She touched her head with her free hand and saw the bandage around her arm. “I’ll take your word for it.”

  "You have a minor concussion and bruises. You'll be sore, but you'll live. What happened?”

  “Somebody drove me off the road.”

  “On purpose?”

  “It seemed like it to me.”

  “Did you get a look at him?”

  She shook her head. “No. He was in a truck, like a moving truck. That’s all I could see through my rear view mirror.”

  “What were you doing out here?”

  “Some people at the conference told me about a wildlife reserve out here. I wanted to see it. On the way back, by the Dumbarton Bridge, this truck came up and rammed me until I went into the bay.” The shock of it and the fear as she hit the icy water still rocked her. “I remember breaking glass and water, really cold water. I remember getting out of the car through the passenger side window, but the car must have drifted because the bank seemed so far away. Next thing I know I’m here and a police detective is asking me questions.” She looked at him. “About you and Julia.”

  His eyes darkened in annoyance.

  “I see they questioned you too,” she said. “I told them you wouldn’t have done this to me. In case you were wondering.” She gave him a gentle jab to lighten the mood. She didn’t like seeing the darkness that fell over his face. She knew him well enough to know that it was like putting salt on a wound to suggest that he'd done something to her.

  He smiled sheepishly. “I walked into that one didn’t I?”

  Madeleine shrugged. “You know how it is with people and gossip.”

  “I don’t see how anyone would ever question my love for you.” He kissed her hand again.

  “You have to admit, Julia is a beautiful woman. A beautiful old flame. And your wife was out of town.”

  Max grinned. “At least the photographer caught my best feature.”

  “Not quite,” Madeleine said waggling her brows, then wincing from the pain.

  “I didn’t want to go to lunch with her. It just seemed rude not to. I wanted to strangle Springer. He didn’t feel he could call off the investigation of me without looking like I was getting favors.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  He nodded. “As long as you're okay, that’s all that matters.” He pushed an auburn curl off her forehead. “I should have been here with you. I’m sorry-"

  “No, Max. You had work you needed to do. There’s probably nothing you could have done anyway.”

  “If this wasn't an accident, that means someone tried to kill you.”

  “It was no accident. He was gunning for me. I just don’t know who’d want to kill me.”

  “Alan?”

  Madeleine looked at him with surprise. “I still can’t believe he’d be stealing from the foundation much less trying to kill me.”

  “I thought that too. Maybe it was Julia?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “She came on pretty strong at lunch.”

  “Are you trying to make me jealous?” Madeleine teased.

  He smiled sheepishly. “No, but the Julia I knew had a way of getting something in her head and doing whatever it took to make it happen.”

  Madeleine thought for a moment. “I have no doubt that she’d enjoy having an affair with you. Especially if it meant stealing you from your wife. But, someone like Julia doesn’t want to be in second place. If I were dead, I’d still be with you, first in your heart. She knows that and would never settle to live in my shadow.”

  Max nodded. “You may be right.”

  “So, who does that leave us with?”

  “Actually, your heckler is at the top of my list. You didn't mention that he cornered you.”

  Madeleine could hear the accusation behind his statement. “I didn’t think it was important. He was intent on making me out to be a bad person for starving families, but I thought he was just caught up in the moment.”

  “Who was he?”

  Madeleine shrugged. “I don’t know. He didn’t seem to fit in.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Most people there are supporters of conservation and environmental efforts particularly the ones his age. He couldn’t have been more than 25. And he was in a business suit.”

  “Twenty something corporate type?”

  “Yes.”

  “Springer is trying to hunt him down.”

  “You think he wanted to kill me because of my views?”

  “I don't know. But don't worry about it. Right now you need to focus on getting better.”

  "You look tired. You should get some rest." She ran her finger along the dark shadows below his eyes.

  "I'm not leaving you here alone."

  "Well, then," she said lifting the edge of the bed sheet. "Why don't you join me?"

  One dark brow lifted, then he grinned. He removed his shoes and climbed into the bed with her. "What a scandal we'll cause."

  "I like a good scandal." He pulled her close and Madeleine sunk into his warmth, drew from his strength. Her heart went out to him. It was bad enough that she'd been missing, but to have people think he was involved in her disappearance would have made him crazy.

  She leaned in, kissed his cheek. It was still amazing to her that they'd found each other. She'd always thought she'd never get married. Not that she had anything against marriage. She knew love and lasting happiness existed because she saw it in her own parents. But Madeleine had always longed for adventure. Her dream was to become a journalist and travel the world. A modern day Martha Gellhorn. And that kind of life didn't include marriage and family. Martha had married once and it ended badly. Of course, she was married to the mercurial Earnest Hemmingway, which may have been part of the problem.

  When Madeleine met Max, she was instantly drawn to him and as it turned out, he was to her as well. But she resisted. Why fall in love only to leave that love in tatters because he couldn't handle how much she traveled? But Max was persistent and helped her realized that she didn't need to pick between love and her career. With Max, she could have both.

  Of course she had to compromise. She didn't travel as much as she used to, but Max had shown her how easy and satisfying compromise could be. It meant she had someone to share her adventures with. She also discovered that spending time in one spot and having a home could be equally as adventurous, if Max was around.

  However, she could do without the adventure she endured the night before. It wasn't the first time she'd been in danger, but it was the first time she felt as if she were the specific target of someone's anger. She shook the thought out of her head and instead focused on being back in Max's arms.

  "You need to rest too," Max's groggy voice said. She rested her head on his shoulder and let sleep come.

  Chapter Five

  “Madeleine! You look fantastic considering your ordeal.”

  “Julia, what a surprise.” Madeleine knew Julia was being nice. She’d been home two days, but was still sore and had black and blue spots all over her body not to mention the scrapes.

  “I hope you don’t mind my stopping by. Max said you still needed to take it easy and I remembered that you didn’t like to cook, so I thought I’d help you out. I brought clam lasagna.” She held up a large pan covered in tin foil.

  “You didn’t have to do that,” Madeleine said wondering when Julia had talked to Max. “Please come in. I was getting ready to make some tea. Will you join me?”

&nb
sp; “That sounds lovely.”

  Madeleine led Julia through the living room to the kitchen.

  “Max was right, you have very nice taste in décor.”

  “Thank you." Madeleine put the tea kettle on the burner and Julia’s lasagna in the refrigerator. She couldn't decide why Julia was visiting. Did she want to be friends? Was she being nice to get on Max's good side? Then Madeleine decided she should give Julia the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she was just being nice.

  "I'm so glad Max found someone like you," Julia said.

  "I'm glad too," Madeleine said wondering where the comment had come from.

  "I knew I wasn't good enough for him, but I always wondered if there was anyone out there who was. I guess it was you."

  "I like to think so."

  "Are you planning on having children?"

  Madeleine frowned, but since she was reaching for her teapot, Julia didn't see it. "Not at the moment."

  "Does Max not want children? He used to say that when we were kids. He was afraid he wouldn't be a good parent since his own parents had abandoned him."

  That was news to Madeleine. She knew about Max's childhood spent in foster care, but he never dwelled on the negatives about it. Of course, they hadn't talked much about children. The few conversations they did have, always put the decision off in the future.

  "Max and I are happy the way things are now. We're not in a rush to start a family."

  "He'd make a great father."

  "Yes." Madeleine agreed. "Would you mind getting that tray by the stove?" Madeleine hoped the change in subject would help Julia understand that gossip about her and Max's life was off limits. Julia retrieved the tray and Madeleine set the teapot and cups on it.

  "What a beautiful teapot," Julia said.

  "Max bought that for me. One day I was complaining about not having any good tea and the next day we were in China. The pot and cups are a souvenir."

  “I don’t remember him being so romantic.”

  How could Julia miss Max’s romantic streak? His picture was next to the word ‘romantic’ in the dictionary.