Whisper of Revenge (A Cape Trouble Novel Book 4)

by Janice Kay Johnson

  Which was why it hurt so much to realize she had to send him away when he came back from his errands. Not much was penetrating her all-encompassing terror, but a niggling awareness last evening had become certainty this morning.

  He didn’t want to be here.

  She’d seen the same retreat other times. However courteous his voice, even when his mouth curved, his eyes had a way of becoming chillingly remote.

  And how could she blame him? He’d been supportive, taken her out to dinner, kissed her. Now he found himself compelled to prop up a hysterical woman and probably bankrupt himself to ransom her kid.

  No matter what, she was taking his money. If she’d thought she could get away with a couple hundred thousand dollars, Hannah would have robbed a bank. Because of him, she wasn’t sitting here frantically concocting schemes to achieve the impossible. For that, he had her eternal gratitude. Asking any more of him…no.

  *****

  Elias knocked lightly then, without waiting for a response, let himself in the house. Futile to hope Hannah would be napping after what he knew full well had been a sleepless night, but he didn’t want to be the one to wake her if he was wrong.

  Futile was right. She sat in the same spot on the sofa where she’d been when he left almost two hours ago. Her head turned slowly, her expression blank, her gaze incurious. She had crawled deep inside. No one, nothing but Ian mattered. If he never came home…Elias wondered how she would survive.

  “I’ll be able to pick up the money as soon as the bank opens tomorrow morning,” he told her, giving her that measure of relief. “Up to three hundred thousand dollars.” Much of that would be from hastily approved loans, as selling stocks and closing out other investments took too much time. He’d been lucky to reach both his broker and the bank manager on a Sunday to set this up. Of course, he had told them as little as possible, and sworn them to secrecy on the transactions and his need for cash. If there was a leak from either – he’d find a new bank or a new broker, and they knew it.

  “Thank you.” She paused, as if pulling together thoughts had become difficult. “Grady called. He has seventy thousand. He said he’d drive over this evening to bring it.”

  Big of him, Elias couldn’t help thinking.

  “I’ll heat some soup,” he said. “You need to eat.” He’d scrambled eggs this morning and watched her push them around on her plate.

  Her brown eyes met his. “Elias, you should go home.”

  A squeeze of panic had him staying very still. “You shouldn’t be alone.”

  She didn’t even blink. Maybe she’d forgotten she was supposed to. “I want to be alone. And if I change my mind, I have friends. Or…my parents want to come.”

  The panic developed sharp-tipped barbs. This was his fault. Retreating to his customary solitude was the smartest – maybe safest – thing he could do for both of them, but right now she needed him. He’d tried so damn hard not to let her see what had been a different kind of panic.

  “I appreciate what you’ve done more than I can ever tell you,” she said. “But…we both know you need to go.”

  He had done this. Let her think he didn’t want to be here. “You’re wrong.”

  “I’m not.”

  He had to tell her at least a part of what he feared. “This could be my fault. If I hadn’t started something with you—”

  “You always did have mixed feelings, didn’t you?” Her voice was soft and a little sad, her eyes still…distant. “I’ll see you in the morning, because I’m not a good enough person to refuse the money that may save Ian’s life. Until then, please go.”

  “Hannah,” he said. Begged, in an unrecognizable voice.

  She didn’t say anything, didn’t even look at him again.

  He went.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Daniel leaned back in his desk chair. He didn’t like phone interviews, but if Randall Bresler was here in town, he wasn’t showing his face. The timing of this absence was interesting. It would have been more so if several of the other men on Daniel’s short list hadn’t also been hard to pin down.

  “You mind my asking where you are?” Daniel tried to sound no more than mildly curious. It was too soon to antagonize a man as powerful as Bresler. “I’ve been trying to track you down.”

  “Seattle. I have a condo here.” There was a momentary pause. “I needed to talk to some money people.”

  Daniel had assumed Bresler had investors or had taken out massive loans. Elias had been right in pointing out that extensive delays in getting the resort open had to be costly, putting Bresler under pressure. Enough, apparently, to demand face-to-face meetings.

  “Is this about the kidnapping?” he asked.

  “I’m afraid so.” Get it out of the way. “Can you tell me when you left for Seattle?”

  “You’re really asking,” he said, incredulous.

  Daniel wasn’t a man to be cowed by the dangerous edge in Bresler’s voice. “Are you aware someone has been giving Hannah anonymous gifts?”

  Silence. Then, “A secret admirer? Are you serious?”

  “Very. The gifts became…threatening. Right before her son was snatched.”

  The guy swore. “I left town on Friday. Had dinner at my parents’ on Friday evening. Met Saturday with one of my backers. Does that satisfy you?”

  “If I can verify those facts.”

  “You really think I—?”

  “No.” Daniel rolled tense shoulders. He’d guess $300,000 was a drop in the bucket to Rand Bresler. The man could be brutally direct, besides. Anonymous gifts were hardly his style. “No,” he said. “I don’t. But I had to ask.”

  “Because I’ve let her know I’m interested.”

  “I won’t apologize, Mr. Bresler.”

  “You don’t need to.” He gave names and phone numbers. Tone altered, he asked, “Is she all right?”

  “No. Her five-year-old son has been gone for twenty-seven hours now.”

  The silence had his skin prickling. What Bresler said caught him by surprise.

  “The resort is empty.”

  The tension gripping Daniel redoubled. “The thought has crossed my mind.”

  “My foreman can let you in. You have my full permission to search the place, top to bottom.”

  Daniel had had dealings with the foreman, a middle-aged man named Kurt Freeman.

  “I’ll send a couple of officers to pick up Freeman and have him let them in and wait while they conduct a search. Thank you, Mr. Bresler. The resort is unlikely, but...”

  “You have to look everywhere. I understand, Chief Colburn. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do. I should be back in Cape Trouble Wednesday.” He paused. “I hesitate to call Hannah right now. If you have a chance to express my sympathy…”

  “I’ll pass it on. Thank you, Mr. Bresler.” Daniel ended the call, not letting himself take even a minute before he reached Sean Holbeck, who agreed to take a deputy along and conduct the search. Daniel trusted Sean. Given the owner’s permission, it wouldn’t have mattered, but the resort was outside the Cape Trouble city limits and therefore in the sheriff’s department jurisdiction. “Let me know,” he said, but knew Ian wouldn’t be there.

  They wouldn’t find one small child until they knew who had taken him and why.

  One phone call later, he’d verified Bresler’s alibi. Looking down at his list, he drew a line through the name. Then his gaze strayed to his wall clock.

  Fueled by desperation, he dialed Patrick Fletcher’s mobile number.

  *****

  Hannah had no reason to notice occasional traffic on her residential street, but the rumble of a truck stopping in front of her house was unexpected enough to stir minor curiosity. A moment later, her doorbell rang.

  Feeling stiff and old, she went to the window and peeked out to see Arlo Castaneda on her doorstep.

  Whatever Daniel and Elias thought, Hannah didn’t believe Arlo had been especially bothered when she refused his single, casual invitation
.

  She opened the door and saw the shock that appeared on his face. Because I look so bad, she realized, without caring.

  An inch or two taller than her and strongly built, Arlo had dark, curly hair, hazel eyes and had an easy-going manner that, she suspected, was a cover for energy and ambition. He had already expanded his father’s truck garden business until it was something completely different.

  “I shouldn’t have bothered you,” he said, body language giving away his discomfiture. “It was…that is, my father insisted I tell you how sorry we are. He asked me to bring you a basket.”

  Hannah’s gaze dropped to the rustic basket in his arms. It brimmed with fresh produce, including some she vaguely thought should be out-of-season. Greenhouses, she remembered. Rows of them, where Arlo produced what his restaurant customers demanded year around.

  “Dad wants to believe good food mends all ills,” Arlo said apologetically. “But even he knows better.”

  His eyes met hers, and she saw that he, too, had suffered a loss. His mother? She had a vague memory that didn’t surface.

  Of course, this wasn’t the same, she told herself fiercely. Ian wasn’t dead. He couldn’t be.

  Still, she nodded.

  They both turned when a car swung into her driveway. Elias got out and slammed the door. Staring hard at Arlo, he cut across the lawn.

  The two men greeted each other tersely.

  Arlo took the opportunity to thrust the basket of produce at Elias. “From my father and me.” He looked back at Hannah. “I’m sorry for intruding. If there is anything either of us can do…”

  She tried to smile, suspected the effect was ghastly. Her response came by rote. “Thank you.”

  He nodded and returned to his truck. Hannah stood where she was until it rounded a corner and was out of sight. Then she looked at Elias.

  “Why are you back?”

  “Because you need me,” he said huskily. “And because I need to be here.”

  “You have no obligation—”

  He only shook his head. “No. You misunderstood me.” He nudged her. “Let’s get inside.”

  “But…”

  His pale gray eyes no longer held that remote look. Determination burned in its place. “I’m not going anywhere. No argument, Hannah.”

  Her vision blurred. Elias moved swiftly, finding someplace to deposit the basket of produce and returning to wrap her in his arms.

  Surrounded by his heat and solid muscle, Hannah felt the dense fog enclosing her retreat. No longer muffled, her pain sharpened – but so did her anger, and her determination.

  *****

  After Hannah kicked him out, Elias hadn’t gone five miles before he knew he was turning around. Not yet – he could use a change of clothes, and might as well shower while he was home. But he wasn’t letting her try to get through this alone. He knew her well enough now to be sure she’d find a reason not to ask any of her many friends to stay with her. She didn’t seem to want her parents – and they’d take too long to get here, anyway. Part of it was how far she had pulled inside herself. Interacting with anyone new required a huge effort. Because he’d been pushy from the start, she’d become used to his presence, until he had been stupid enough to let renewed panic find a toehold.

  This time, he hadn’t been afraid of enraging her secret admirer. Colburn was right about it being too late to worry about that. Last night, this morning, had more to do with the years he’d spent alone. He had intended to move cautiously with Hannah, be sure he didn’t wake up one morning wondering what in hell he had been thinking. But then he realized she had a stalker, and some powerful impulse had taken over. There he was, telling her without words that she could depend on him, when they’d barely dipped their toes into a relationship. He couldn’t even label how he felt about her, and all of a sudden he was offering her everything, the money being the least of it.

  Last night, holding her as they sat on the couch, he’d suddenly frozen and wondered what he was doing. During his mother’s frightening bout with cancer, he’d discovered how awkward he felt comforting her, emotionally and physically – and she was the one person in his life Elias could safely say he loved. How could he possibly be the best person for Hannah to rely on?

  The clench of panic came when he asked himself if he could live with another failure. The familiar chill had crawled over him. If Ian was miraculously restored to her tomorrow, what then? Was there any way for him to back away?

  But then came this morning, when she looked at him without expression and told him he should leave.

  We both know you need to go.

  That was when he discovered how idiotic his fears had been. Hannah needed him. And if he’d learned anything in the last week, it was that he wouldn’t be backing off.

  By the time he reached her house again, all he knew was that her smiles, offered with coffee and truffles, had woken him up. It had been a very long time since he’d felt much of anything except what he sometimes thought of as phantom pains. Hannah was earthy, warm, real – and hurting.

  Yeah, and one more thing – the sight of another man on her doorstep had his hackles rising.

  *****

  “Is this a vendetta, Chief Colburn?” Ron Campbell snapped. “Having you question me about Doreen Steadman’s murder was bad enough, but now you’re suggesting I’d kidnap a little boy? I’m a respected man in this community, but because I’m not impressed with you, you’re determined to drag me down, aren’t you?”

  “Mr. Campbell—”

  “I’ll be speaking with my fellow city council members, you can be sure. You might want to start job hunting, Chief.”

  Daniel squeezed the bridge of his nose until he felt confident he could keep his temper. “Mr. Campbell, your name came up only because of your relationship with Ms. Moss. I have to be thorough. Given the gifts she’s been receiving, I am obligated to interview any man who indicated romantic interest in her.”

  Cop speak. Maybe he should try it on Sophie some night.

  “She told you I invited her out?”

  Hearing the sharpness, Daniel raised his eyebrows. “Actually, your interest in her has been observed by other people.”

  “Who?”

  “I’m afraid I can’t tell you that.”

  His back up, Ron couldn’t say exactly where he’d been during the relevant period. He had been at his store in Rockaway Beach from early morning yesterday, but had no idea what time he’d left. No, he didn’t know if employees had noticed his departure, as he went out the back. He’d bought a burger and fries to go and pulled over to eat. Had he kept the receipt? Of course not. He kept a neat car. He’d balled bag, wrappings and receipt and thrown it away. He wouldn’t apologize for not having paid attention to time.

  Still furious, Campbell had no sooner cut Daniel off than his phone rang. Not Hannah’s number, but Elias Burton’s. Adrenaline kicked in.

  “Elias?”

  “Two things,” he said, his voice as hard as any cop’s. “The kidnapper called again, not fifteen minutes after Arlo Castaneda stopped by to express his sympathy.”

  “Arlo.” Greenhouses, sheds, parked trucks… Daniel didn’t even want to think about how many hiding places the now-extensive Castaneda farming operation offered. He had met the father a few times and liked him, but knew Arlo only because of a vehicular accident within the city limits caused by one of the delivery drivers employed by the Castanedas. What he’d learned so far was that Arlo had no criminal record, and people spoke positively about him. Daniel hadn’t found even a hint that the Castanedas had suffered any kind of financial hit.

  “Brought a basket of produce. Supposedly at his father’s insistence.”

  “What does Hannah think?”

  “She believes him. Said he was clearly uncomfortable and apologetic.”

  “Seems like the kind of thing the dad might do. He’s…old-fashioned.”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t like having him pop up now.”


  Elias didn’t have to say anything. They were no closer to identifying this bastard than they’d been when they first watched surveillance footage of him using the puppy to lure Ian into the alley.

  He shook off the frustration. “Okay. Tell me about the call.” He’d be able to hear the recording of the conversation himself, but wanted Hannah’s and Elias’s impressions first.

  “The exchange is to be tomorrow.”

  “Was she able to knock down the total?”

  “She told him the most she could come up with was two hundred thousand.” Elias’s tone was wry. Daniel had suggested she start lower, but wasn’t surprised she hadn’t been able to follow his advice. She probably wasn’t much good at bargaining in any circumstances, and right now she was operating on a desperate need to offer up anything at all that would increase the likelihood of her child being returned to her.

  “And?”

  “Sounded like a snarl to me. ‘Two hundred fifty thousand or nothing.’” Elias sounded suddenly thoughtful. “There was almost something there for a second…” He let out a breath that expressed frustration at his inability to pin down the hint of familiarity. “Hannah said she’d find the money somehow.”

  “And have you?” Daniel had thought of a couple people he could ask if push came to shove. One was Emily Drake, Sean Holbeck’s wife. She’d received a sizeable settlement as well as life insurance after her husband and son were killed by a driver speeding away from police pursuit. If anyone could understood what Hannah was going through, it was Emily.

  “Yes,” Elias said, ending that worry. “Her ex-husband is delivering what he can tonight, and I’ll have the rest in the morning.”

  “Okay.” Daniel braced himself for the hard question. “Are we sure Ian is alive?”

  *****

  This night might be even worse than last night. Hannah hadn’t known that was possible.

  They should have guessed the kidnapper was too smart to give instructions yesterday for the ransom drop. “Wait for my call,” was all he’d say.