He shrugged. “I doubt handing it over will make those after me go away, but since I don’t have a clue what all these numbers mean, I’m willing to give it a try.”
“I think you should go to the police. They can protect you.”
“Us.” He gripped her by the shoulders, forcing her to keep her gaze on him. “We both need protection. The break in of your store was proof of that.”
She paled. “Okay, us.”
“I need to think.” He gathered the ledger and the journal. “Let’s get back to your place.”
He parted the curtains to make sure no one waited for them, then opened the front door. “Stay behind me.”
“You think someone will shoot us?”
“I don’t know what they’ll do to get their hands on this ledger.” After ten years, you’d think they would have stopped looking. Surely, if Cade had known about the ledger earlier, he would have turned it in…or his father would have. What was he missing?
He quickly held the car door open for Susan, then dashed around to the driver’s side. After tossing the ledger and journal into the backseat, he glanced under the car.
“What are looking for?” Susan asked, leaning over the gearshift.
“A bomb. In the movies and thriller books, the bad guys plant a bomb under the car in these type of situations.” Not finding anything, he felt a bit foolish, especially after seeing the incredulous look on Susan’s face.
“Are you serious?” She sat up slowly and reached for the door handle.
“I didn’t see anything.” He got in and closed his door. Closing his eyes and holding his breath, he slowly turned the key in the ignition.
7
Once they returned to Turn A Page, Susan made sure all the shades were drawn and the door locked. She wasn’t taking any chances of being interrupted by anyone, good or bad, while her and Cade tried to decipher the ledger.
While she secured the store, Cade spread the ledger out on one of the café tables. “You alright?” He asked.
“I’m fine.” She grinned. “I can’t help but feel a thrill about all this. I feel as if we’re living within the pages of a book.”
“Let’s hope the end doesn’t come too soon.” He pulled a chair next to him. “Let’s do this.” He pointed to a line of numbers. “These look like they might be bets. Do you have a calculator?”
She grabbed one from under the counter before joining him. “Maybe they were laundering money.”
He jerked upright. “I hadn’t thought of that.” He tapped a pencil on the table top. “Through what business? What was here ten years ago and is still here? Something that doesn’t look as if it should have survived hard times.”
“Harvey’s Diner. It’s a greasy hole in the wall that rarely seems to have customers. You must pass it on your way into town every day.” Susan shuddered, remembering the one and only time she’d gone inside the place. “If any food place should have closed a long time ago, it’s Harvey’s. Dirty, limited menu, worn out waitress.”
“How do you feel about having lunch?” Cade wiggled his eyebrows. “Do a little investigating?”
“I said I felt thrilled, not stupid.” They weren’t police officers or detectives. If someone was tipped off that they had the ledger and were snooping, the danger to their lives would escalate. “I vote for turning it over to the authorities.”
“I thought so, too, at first.” He reclined in the chair, his dark eyes fixed on hers. “But, the more I think about it, the more I believe we need some kind of leverage over these people. Dad had it or they would have killed him. What’s to keep them from killing us after we hand it over?”
He had a good point. “What’s to stop them from killing us at the diner. If that’s where they’re laundering the money.”
“Another if. What if we’re on the wrong track, no pun intended?”
“Well, those figures in the columns are correct. Which means, if something shady is going on, it would have to be that they’re bringing in more money than they’re showing.”
His smile widened. “I’d forgotten you were a human calculator.”
Embarrassed, Susan ducked her head. “Once a nerd, always a nerd.”
“You’re the most beautiful nerd I’ve ever seen,” he said, his voice deepening. “Are you ready?”
Face heating, she nodded. “I’ll let you do the talking. I’ve never been good at lying.”
“Ouch.” He frowned.
“I didn’t mean it that way.” She stood.
“Since you don’t have control over your words, I guess I should do the talking.” He walked ahead of her, hurt showing in the line of his shoulders.
She deserved his retort. Sighing, she grabbed her purse and followed him. Now that they were back to snapping at each other—her fault—she didn’t have time to do what she really wanted to do. Dwell on how she felt about the kiss.
Since Cade still seemed put out at her, she indulged in dwelling on the driver to the diner. Turning her head, she rubbed her finger lightly over her lips. She’d liked his kisses ten years ago, but they came nowhere close to his kiss today.
She smiled, her face heating again. She cut him a sideways glance, wondering how she might possibly get another of his kisses.
“Do I have something on my face?” Cade gave her a quick glance.
“Uh…no.” She turned back to the window. She was as bad as some of the Victorian heroines in the old romances. Shooting barbed words at the hero one minute, then swooning the next.
“Don’t leave my side,” Cade said, parking in a spot close to the front door of the diner. “From the amount of Harleys, I think this is now a biker bar. It may not be at all what we thought.”
Susan had no plans of leaving his side, which was confirmed the moment they stepped through the doors of Harvey’s. Cade was right. It was no longer a diner.
Several leather-clad men turned to stare when the two of them walked in, then returned to their drinks or game of pool. Susan relaxed with their lack of attention and followed Cade to the long counter that stretched along one end of the room.
“What can I get you and the sexy librarian?” The bar tender tossed Susan a wink.
“Diet soda?” she asked.
The bar tender chuckled and fixed her drink, tossing in a lemon. “For you, dude?”
“Coffee.”
“Okay, it doesn’t take a scientist to know the two of you aren’t here to drink. What do you want?” The bartender’s smile faded.
“Do you know anything about the diner that used to be here?”
“Yeah, old man Harvey died. His son inherited and opened a new place on the outskirts of Conway. I haven’t seen or heard anything about him for at least two years.”
They finished their drinks and Cade tossed a twenty-dollar bill on the counter. “Thanks.”
“Sure, anytime. Your girlfriend pretties things up.”
Susan’s face seemed to be perpetually hot that day between the bartender and Cade. She put her hands to her face and took a deep breath when they stepped outside. “So, do we try the new Harvey’s?”
“If you’re up to it.” Cade opened her car door.
“I’m actually famished, but not sure what the food will be like there.” She got in and buckled her seatbelt.
Cade closed the door and loped to the driver’s side. “Buying something won’t make us stand out as much. Can you risk it?”
She nodded. “They’re bound to have something I’ll try.”
He laughed and pointed his car south. “You always were a picky eater.”
“I am not.” She glared. “I’m a healthy eater.”
“Right. Remember that time I tried to get you to eat black-eyed peas?”
“They taste like dirt, which I know, because I tried them.” She crossed her arms and tried to look angry, but laughed instead.
Regardless of her original opinion, it was good to have Cade back in her life.
~
If not for the threat o
f danger hanging over their heads, laughing while driving around the country with Susan seemed like old times. They’d spent many hours in his beat up Chevy driving up and down country roads for the best out of the way places to swim. He’d give anything to go back to those days.
Instead, they drove down the interstate toward a potentially dangerous situation. He reached over and grabbed Susan’s hand, happy she didn’t pull away. Instead, she turned her head toward him and smiled.
“It’ll be alright,” she said. “Maybe not easy, but we’re strong, smart people. We’ll figure this out.”
“Thank you for coming with me. It means a lot.”
She shrugged. “It’s the least I could do after you set the shop to rights.”
“It was my fault it got trashed in the first place.” Although he could never have guessed the real reason behind all that was happening. To think his mother was the one who had started it all…well, a person never knew, did they?
“There!” Susan pulled her hand free and pointed to a shiny diner that looked like a silver bullet. “It sure doesn’t look like the first one. It definitely doesn’t look like a place that launders money from horse races.”
“Looks can be deceiving.”
They exited the car, then, Cade’s hand on the small of Susan’s back, entered the diner. “Cute,” he said.
Red vinyl booths, black and white checkered floor, sock hop music playing on an old-fashioned jukebox.
“I bet they have great burgers here,” Susan said.
“Let’s find out.”
A perky waitress in a poodle skirt led them to a booth by the window. “Menus are in that rack. I’ll give you a few minutes before I take your order.” She blew a bubble and bounced away, ponytail swaying.
“Wow, we’ve stepped back in time.” Susan reached for a menu. “How do you intend to dig through the fifties charm and clarify the real reason we’re here?”
“I’m going to flat out ask. After we get our food.”
“Good idea.” She smiled over the top of her menu.
His heart leaped. He couldn’t think of any place he’d rather be than right where he was, unless it was sitting next to her on her side of the booth.
“Y’all ready?” Miss Perky Waitress stood by the table, pencil poised over a paper pad.
“I’ll have the bacon mushroom cheeseburger, fries and a strawberry milk shake.” Susan replaced the menu in its holder.
“I’ll have the same,” Cade said, wondering where Susan planned on putting that much food.
“Got it. We’ll be right out with that.” Miss Perky grinned and bounced away.
“She must hate smiling by the end of the day,” Susan said.
By the time the waitress returned with their baskets of burger and fries, Susan’s face was rosy with laughter and her eyes twinkling. He hated to ruin the mood, but they were there for a reason.
“Could I speak to Harvey Junior, please?” Cade took a wild guess that the son was named after the father.
“He’s not here, sir.” The waitress tilted her head. “He works out of his office downtown.”
Of course, he does. “Do you have his contact information?”
“Are you happy with the service?”
“Very much so. This is just business.” He pasted on his most congenial smile.
The girl relaxed. “I’ll be right back with that.”
“You almost scared her to death,” Susan said, pointing a French fry at him.
“That wasn’t my intention. If she gives us a phone number, we’ll call the man and set up an appointment.”
“Perfect. I really do need to get some work done today. Not everyone has a full staff under their command.”
“I’m more than willing to lend you help.”
“Lynette will return tomorrow. We’re planning a grand event in a week and need to get the final details finished.”
Cade bit into his burger just as the waitress approached their table.
“Here’s his card. Please be sure and leave good remarks if he asks. Thank you.” She grinned and left again.
Cade glanced at the card. Sure enough the man’s name was Harvey Larson. His phone number and business address was listed. He swallowed his bite and fished his cell phone from his pocket.
“Mr. Larson’s office.”
“Yes, ma’am, my name is Cade Akin. I’d like to set up a time to speak with Mr. Larson. The sooner the better.”
“Regarding what, sir?”
“Our fathers did…business together. I assure you, he will want to see me. Tell him I have something he’s been looking for.”
“Hold a moment, please.”
Cade held Susan’s worried gaze as elevator music played on the phone. Cade put his hand over hers and squeezed. “It’ll be fine,” he whispered.
“Sir, Mr. Larson will see you at nine a.m. tomorrow. Will that work for you?” the receptionist asked.
“No, I’d prefer something today.”
She sighed. “Five o’clock.” Click.
“She needs to work on her phone skills,” Cade said, sliding his phone back into his pocket. “We’re meeting the devil at five.”
Susan took a deep breath and gave a definitive nod. “Good. I want this all behind us.”
Cade hoped she didn’t include him in what she wanted finished. He had hopes for the two of them. The hard part would be convincing her that his hope could be hers, too.
When he returned home later that night, he phoned the police, explained about his parents, and outlined a plan to bring down the gambling ring.
8
Susan stared through the windshield of Cade’s car. Her heart thumped like a jackhammer. “I’m nervous.”
Cade took her hand in his. “We’ll be together the whole time. He won’t try anything in an office full of people.”
The reception area was empty when they entered the building. No one sat behind the desk or in the waiting chairs. The clock on the wall showed five o’clock.
Susan glanced at Cade. “There is no office full of people. This place closes at the stroke of five, it seems.”
Cade leaned over the desk and pressed a button on the phone. “Mr. Larson? We’re here.” He straightened and grinned. “He said come on back.”
“How did you know which button to push?”
“I got lucky. One was marked Larson.” He put his hand on her back.
The thick carpet muffled the sound of their footprints as they headed down a short hallway. The door at the end held a gold placard stating Harvey Larson II.
Taking a deep breath, she waited while Cade knocked, and a gruff voice demanded they come in.
“Ready?” Cade glanced down at her.
“Not really, but here goes another step closer to putting this all behind us.” She entered the office while Cade held the door open.
There was no other word for the man behind the cherry wood desk but square. A square bald head, square shoulders, wide nose. Susan wasn’t sure what she had expected, but it definitely wasn’t him.
“I see you brought a lady friend,” Larson said. He waved a hand toward two leather chairs. “Please, have a seat and tell me what you think you have that I might want.”
Cade crossed one ankle over the other. “I’ve recently discovered my mother had a gambling problem. Because of that problem, I’m guessing she owed someone a lot of money. Not a problem. I’d pay if I knew who the money was owed to. But then, my father stole a ledger full of interesting numbers. Am I ringing any bells here?”
Susan sat, barely moving, her gaze flicking from Cade’s speech to the darkening face of Larson. She’d never seen Cade’s business side and wasn’t sure she liked it. She much preferred the fun-loving, irresistible man who wouldn’t leave her alone. The man who sat beside her was a cold as any New York Wall Street shark.
His dark eyes stared unblinkingly at Larson, who stared back with eyes as gray as steel. One young and handsome, the other middle-aged and plain, yet they bot
h had the confidence to stand up against each other. Susan pushed her glasses further up her nose and watched for signs of an escalating threat.
Larson leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I think you do.” Cade leaned forward. “Your father ran a bar once upon a time that laundered money from the tracks. You’re doing the same thing with your shiny new diner. Someone broke into Miss Turner’s bookstore, looking for something. They did quite a bit of damage, scaring her needlessly.”
Larson’s eyes flicked to Susan.
She stared wide-eyed, giving a tiny nod. The last thing she wanted was for the other man’s attention to be on her.
“She looks fine to me,” Larson said. “So, let’s say this ledger does exist… now what?”
“I lock it away in exchange for you and your men to leave me and Miss Turner alone. Until I returned to Woodsbrook, I didn’t know it existed. I don’t care what happened in the past. All I care about is reclaiming the life my parents stole from me.”
Larson thought for a moment. “I would need some leverage to make sure you keep your part of the bargain? How do I know you won’t turn me in, if I really were laundering money, which I’m not saying I am?”
“You don’t. Either you leave us alone or I hand the ledger over to the police.” Cade stood, holding out his hand to Susan.
She put her hand in his and he pulled her to her feet. “Are we finished?”
Cade nodded. “I think so. Let me know of your decision, Mr. Larson.” He shoved open the office door and led Susan out of the room.
“I can make it to where you are no longer a threat, Mr. Akin.” Larson’s comment rang behind them.
“What’s he saying?” Susan trotted to keep up with Cade’s long stride. “That sounded like a threat to me.”
“It was a threat.”
“Then, what do we do?” She grabbed his arm and spun him to face her. “Cade, I’m scared. Tell me what to do.”
He cupped her cheek. “It’s going exactly as planned, sweetheart, but we can’t talk here.” He put his arm around her shoulders and hurried her to his car. Once inside, he turned. “I’m going to make copies of the ledger for the police. Then, I’m going to give the ledger to Larson. Yes, he’ll probably come after us to get it and we’ll need something to exchange for our freedom.”
Love Draws Near Page 28
