Resemblance

by Y. L. Stokes

  He opened the safe, finding what looked like a couple thousand dollars. Peter took all the money then left the house to scout out the building that held his meal ticket.

  Nicholas called Charlie’s secretary to let her know what was needed for the current project. Just before the call ended, Charlie’s secretary, Sylvia, stopped Nicholas. “Um, Nicholas, how’s Charlie doing?”

  Nicholas picked up on the hesitation in her voice and frowned. “I haven’t talked with him since everything happened, but I’m sure if you want to call Mom’s or go by there, I know he’ll be glad to see you.” The frown on his face lifted as realization dawned. “You know, Sylvia, I think you might want to go by there just to have him look over the paperwork that we discussed today. Not that I have any doubt about your abilities, but I think it’ll make him feel that he’s kept in the loop.”

  “Oh, okay, if you don’t think he’ll mind me coming by.”

  “I’m sure of it. Besides, he’s probably going stir crazy thanks to my mom.”

  Nicholas smiled up at his wife after he disconnected the call.

  “Did I hear what I think I heard? Is Charlie’s secretary hot for him or what?”

  “It sounds that way,” Nicholas said. “Come on, let’s get out of here and get home. Maybe we’ll be able to have a nice quiet night at home, just the three of us.”

  As luck would have it, that wasn’t the case. Arriving home, Nicholas sighed at the sight of Jack’s car in the driveway, along with a car he wasn’t familiar with. He didn’t have a good feeling about this. As soon as they walked through the door, Jack met them, Rick in tow.

  “Nicholas, we’ve got a problem.”

  “Honey, why don’t you go ahead upstairs and give Marcus his bath? I’ll start dinner while I talk to Jack and Rick.”

  Ashley shook her head before he finished. “I want to know what’s going on, Nicholas.”

  “I know you do, honey, and I promise I’ll tell you everything later.”

  Ashley hesitated for a moment, but left the room with Marcus.

  Jack waited, making sure she was gone before he took his brother into the study to give him the news. Nicholas’ bad feeling was just the tip of the iceberg.

  “Okay, you guys, tell me what’s going on?”

  “Earlier today, a parking lot attendant stated that a guy was sitting in a car and appeared to be watching the building across the street. When he approached the car, the guy sped off. Luckily, the parking lot guy got the license plate.”

  Nicholas looked at Rick expectantly. “Well?”

  Rick took a seat across from Nicholas. “Well, we ran the plate and came up with the name of Raymond Davies, with an address off of Park Street. At the same time we were able to identify the guy in the pictures with Peter, and low and behold, it turned out to be the same guy.”

  “So when are you guys going to go there and get him?” Nick asked.

  “They did go, Nick, but what they found was scary,” Jack said.

  “What are you talking about, Jack? What, was he not there?”

  “Nicholas, like your brother said, we went to the house, and we can tell that Peter had been there because his fingerprints were everywhere, including the safe, which was left wide open.”

  Nicholas opened his mouth to speak.

  Rick held up his hand. “What we did find was Raymond Davies’ body.”

  Astonished, Nicholas stared at Rick.

  “Apparently he’d been strangled to death. The way Peter cleaned out the safe and tore the house apart…we’re almost sure that he won’t be returning there anytime soon.”

  Nicholas stood and paced the room. “Jack, what is it that you guys aren’t telling me?”

  Jack cleared his throat. “Nick, the parking lot where Peter was parked just happens to be across the street from where Maggie goes for her aerobics class.”

  Nick froze.

  “We think that maybe he followed her there thinking that she was on her way to pick Marcus up.”

  “That son of a bitch!” he yelled, so incensed he shook all over.

  “He was probably waiting at Maggie’s house for Ashley to drop your son off,” Rick said from the couch.

  Nicholas felt as if he’d been kicked in the gut. Just the thought of that sick bastard waiting for his wife and son to arrive to grab them…. “What are we going to do to protect my family?” he said, turning to face Rick.

  “Nick, before we make any plans, I think you need to bring Ashley in here to let her know what’s going on.”

  After they had brought Ashley up to speed, they sat down to decide their next course of action.

  “I think you should continue taking the baby to the office with you, and I’ll have some of my men work in shifts with Jack’s people at the office. No one will be allowed up to the office that isn’t a current client,” Rick said.

  Nicholas nodded in agreement.

  Jack turned to his sister-in-law. “Ashley, I know how hard this is going to be for you, but you’re going to have to be extremely careful, and we’re going to help you be careful.”

  “Jack, I’m not a child, so stop talking to me as if I am.”

  Jack accepted the rebuke with a smile.

  “Basically, with the security system that you guys have here, I’m sure there’s no danger of him getting into your home, but I’m going to ask for your agreement that you won’t go anywhere alone.”

  Ashley nodded. “I’ll do whatever you guys think is best.”

  “I think we need to call Mom and everyone. Have them come over here so that we can let them know what’s going on,” Nicholas said as he held his wife in his arms. He wasn’t sure if he was comforting her or if it was the other way around.

  After Jack left to make the phone calls, Rick following him, Ashley took Nicholas’ face into her palms and pulled him down for a kiss.

  By the time everyone had arrived, Nick and Ashley had showered and had dinner. Nicholas noticed again how pale his wife looked and made a note to himself to talk to her about it after everyone had left. Everyone listened as Jack and Rick explained the plans.

  “We’re going to need all of you to keep your eyes open and pay attention to everything that’s going on around you at all times.”

  “Mrs. Remington,” Rick began.

  “She’s Mrs. Hill now, son,” Phillip said.

  “Excuse me…Mrs. Hill, do you have any idea where your grandson could be?”

  “No, I don’t have a clue,” Mary said, sadness in her eyes. Rick squeezed her hand reassuringly.

  After everyone left, Nicholas went up to check on Marcus. When he came out of the baby’s room he found Ashley lying across the bed. He walked over and sat next to her. As soon as his hand touched her back, she immediately sat up, came into his arms, and buried her face against his neck.

  “I don’t know why I can’t seem to stop crying,” she said between sobs.

  “It’s okay, honey, you’re probably worried about everything that’s going on. We just have to hang in there. I’m sure it will be over soon.”

  Nicholas’ prediction proved totally incorrect. The wait turned into weeks, running into a month. She felt as though under house arrest and snapped at everyone around her, especially Nick. Everything he said and did irritated her to no end. At the end of the fourth week, she wasn’t able to take any more.

  She and Nicholas had just walked into the office when a wave of nausea hit her. Quickly handing Marcus over to Nicholas, she bolted for the restroom.

  Nicholas frowned upon her return to his office. “Ashley, what’s going on?”

  The softly asked question was her undoing. “I’m sick and tired of this looking over our shoulders all the damn time. Hell, I can’t even take our son to the park or even outside in our yard to play for fear that this nut will try to grab me or whatever. And I’m sick and tired of playing this cat and mouse game.”

  “Honey, calm down.”

  Ashley continued on as if he’d never spoken. “I want th
is ended now!”

  “What do you want me to do?” Nicholas yelled back and asked the question again in a calmer voice.

  “I want you to call Jack and that guy Rick, and I want them here within the hour.”

  Nicholas stared, dumbfounded. She strode from his office with Marcus on her hip. Later, while Marcus slept in his playpen and Ashley hung over the toilet bowl, she heard Jack, Rick, and Nicholas come into her office.

  “Where is she?” Jack asked.

  “She must be in the restroom. I know she wouldn’t have gone too far without telling me,” Nick said.

  Finished, Ashley stood, washed her face, and swilled her mouth out. She froze in the doorway of the restroom at the sight of the three men frowning at her.

  “Sis, are you okay?” Jack asked, his concern evident in his voice.

  “No, Jack, I’m not. I’m not handling this situation at all, so I’ve come up with a way to bring this mess to an end.”

  “What’s that?” Nicholas asked suspiciously.

  “I want to be used as bait.”

  All three men shouted their refusals. Ashley waited for them to calm down and stop talking all at once. Marcus turned over, and Nicholas motioned for his brother and Rick to lower their voices.

  “There is no way in hell I’ll let you be used as bait,” he said.

  She took a step closer to him and glared back. “Look, I’ve been snapping at you and everyone else in the vicinity. I’ve been sick to my stomach with worry, and I’m damn tired of it.” Stepping past her husband, she faced Jack and Rick. “You two think that Peter’s only after me, but that day he was waiting on Maggie…what if he decides to go after someone else in the family just to draw me out? I’m not willing to risk that happening, so you’ll have to come up with some way to protect me. Hell, I don’t know…maybe let him think that Mary and Phillip will be out of town for a couple of weeks on their honeymoon. That way he’ll take me there until he can get the money from Nick.”

  Nicholas shook his head.

  A gleam settled in Jack’s eyes. “That could work. I think Grandma said something about secret passageways in the house and that Peter didn’t know anything about them.”

  “No!” Nicholas growled again.

  Jack turned to his brother.

  “I’m not going to let this happen, Jack.”

  “It’s not your choice, Nick. Besides, can’t you see how she is? Hell, man, she’s worried herself sick.”

  Nicholas’ jaw tensed.

  “Look, I promise that I’ll be right there to protect her. What do you say?” Jack waited for his brother to answer and opened his mouth to speak again when Nick’s voice stopped him.

  “Like you said, Jack, it’s her decision.”

  Jack watched as his brother and best friend walked past him and out of the office.

  Chapter Thirty

  At Nicholas’ house, Jack had brought the drawing plans for the Remington Estate. Phillip had taken the time and noted the location of each of the secret passages.

  “Where’s Nick?” Jack asked.

  “He’s in the playroom with Marcus,” Ashley said.

  “Oh, I see. He didn’t want to be in on working on the plan?”

  Ashley shook her head, not willing to trust her voice. She sensed Jack was going to try and talk her out of it, so she held up her hand to stop him. “I have to do this. It’s best for me and my family, and I’ll do any and everything to protect my family.”

  “I know, sis, I know, and I’m not going to try and talk you out of it. I just wanted to let you know that you have nothing to worry about. Rick and other police officers will both be there.”

  “Okay, so how are we going to let him know that Mary and Phillip are going away?” she asked.

  “We figured that we’d put the announcement of the marriage in the paper along with a little tidbit about them honeymooning in Paris,” Rick said from the couch. “We guess that as soon as Peter sees it he’ll watch the house to see when they leave.”

  “Okay, what about me?”

  Both men stared at her. Uneasy, Ashley had the feeling that they knew their plan wouldn’t be accepted by her husband. Before they could continue, Nicholas came out of the playroom with Marcus. Marcus saw his uncle Jack and let out an excited squeal.

  “Hey, I’m going to take Marcus over to Mom’s for a while,” Nicholas said. “Call me when you’re done.” He stalked from the room.

  “Let’s get this done so that I can go and collect my family,” Ashley demanded.

  Charlie was going over the permits at Saundra’s when the front door opened. Nicholas strode into the den, Marcus in his arms.

  Surprised, Charlie said, “Hey, Nick, what’s up? I take it by the look on your face it’s not going so good.”

  “That’s an understatement. Where’s Mom and the twins?”

  “I’m not sure, but I suspect that she should be here any minute now.”

  Charlie watched Marcus wiggle out of his father’s arms to the floor. “Look, Nick, I know that our friendship is kind of strained right now, but if you need to talk I’ll be glad to listen. Hell, I’m kind of bored talking to myself.”

  Nick hesitated for moment. “Man, Ashley has this idea to use herself as bait in order to draw Peter out.”

  “But you don’t want her to do that?” Charlie inquired.

  “Hell, no. I want her with me where she’ll be safe but—”

  “But what?” Charlie prompted.

  “She says that the wait is making her sick to her stomach and irritable.”

  Charlie waited a bit before he asked his next question. “What do you think?”

  “I know that she’s been looking a little pale, and yesterday after she ripped me a new one she threw up. I don’t know, maybe she’s not over that flu bug.” He stared out the window.

  A thought popped into Charlie’s head, and he smiled. His friend had no idea. The symptoms he’d described sounded like morning sickness. His smile further tugged his lips as he stared at Nick’s back. “Look, Nick, I guess that if I were in your shoes I’d feel the same way, but as someone on the outside looking in, I can see why Ashley wants to do this, and I have to say that I can’t blame her. It’s obvious that this is causing a strain between the two of you.”

  “It’s my job to protect her, Charlie. I’m her husband.”

  Charlie smiled at the frustration in his friend’s voice. “My friend, we’re in present time now, where wives are sometimes head of the household and protector. In the past the husband did it all, provided for and protected the family, but things have changed.”

  Nicholas closed his eyes and leaned his head against the window. He turned at the sound of Marcus banging on the coffee table. “Marcus, don’t mess with Uncle Charlie’s papers.”

  So surprised at Nicholas referring to him as Marcus’ uncle, Charlie’s hands froze in midair, and a lump formed in his throat.

  Later, Saundra arrived. Nick played on the floor with Marcus, and Charlie worked on his papers.

  “Young man, what do you think you are doing?”

  Charlie and Nicholas both looked up. Her gaze rested on Charlie, and he cringed.

  “I-I’m just going over some permits that Sylvia brought to me. I promise I haven’t left the house. She came by here about two hours before Nick got here.”

  “Mom, the man has a business to run, and he needs to make sure that his people are doing their jobs,” Nick said, coming to his rescue.

  “I have the utmost confidence in that young woman Sylvia,” Saundra stated.

  “I do too, Mom, but I was going stir crazy sitting here with nothing to do,” Charlie said.

  “Have you been going over those papers since Sylvia left?” Saundra asked.

  Again, Nick came to his rescue. “Mom, Marcus and I have been here for about thirty minutes, and Charlie and I talked some and played with Marcus. He just went back over there five minutes ago.”

  Saundra turned to Charlie, “I’ll give you five mo
re minutes then you’ll have to put them up. Now,” she said, turning to Nick, “why are you here without my daughter-in-law?”

  Charlie scooped Marcus up and headed out of the den. “Come on, Marcus, let’s go and find us something to eat.”

  Saundra took a seat on the couch and waited for Nicholas to explain.

  “I know that I can’t stop her from doing this,” he said, “but it doesn’t make it any easier for me to accept it. What if something goes wrong and she gets hurt? I don’t know what I’d do without her, Ma.”

  “Look, son, I know what Ashley is feeling. It’s the same way I felt when I lost your father. Right now she’s feeling as if she’s floating in limbo, unsure of which way to go or what to do because someone else is pulling the strings. You know that your wife is a very strong and confident woman, and when someone is threatening that confidence and strength, you have to fight back. What you’re going to have to do is support her, give her your strength to draw from.”

  Nicholas closed his eyes. “I’ll try, Mom, but I know it’s not going to be easy.”

  Ashley stood in the doorway of Saundra’s den and stared at her husband.

  “How in the hell did you get here?” Nicholas regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. “I’m sorry—”

  “How in the hell do you think I got here?” Anger weighted her voice and blazed in her eyes. “I’m sick and tired of you acting as if I’m doing this just to go against your wishes,” she yelled.

  “Tell me, then, why in the hell are you doing it?” Nick asked, his voice rising. “Is it because I specifically asked that you be careful?”

  Ashley shook her head, obviously frustrated. “There’s no talking to you about this. I don’t even know why I bother.” Ashley turned to exit the room and staggered.

  Nicholas jumped over the coffee table just in time to catch her before she hit the floor. Nicholas let out an anguished cry, and everyone in the house came running. He carried Ashley over to the couch and gently patted her face, trying to wake her. His heart stopped for a few beats then started again when her eyes fluttered open.