CHAPTER 28.
Devon punched the end b.u.t.ton on her cell phone and shifted in the pa.s.senger seat of Blake"s Jag.
"I gave Monty the information we dragged out of Larry Aymes - what little there was." She made a frustrated sound, turning to stare out the window. "Aymes was useless."
"Not entirely." Blake stepped on the accelerator, speeding toward Devon"s house. "We know the kidnapper spoke only Spanish. We know he had his instructions written on a slip of paper, and that he read them to Aymes when he gave him that hundred-dollar bill."
"Great," Devon said grimly. "So we know our guy"s a hired hand. Did we honestly think your cousin or your grandfather would do the dirty work himself?"
"Point taken." Blake turned onto Devon"s street. "Are you going to open up to me now?"
She tipped her head toward him. "Open up about what?"
"About whatever your father just told you. About whatever you"ve been keeping from me." Blake paused. "I think we"re past the point of secrets, don"t you?"
"You mean because this whole situation"s unraveling."
"Yeah. And because I"m in love with you."
Devon"s breath caught. She stared at Blake"s profile, feeling his declaration sink into her gut. She"d known this was happening. But she hadn"t antic.i.p.ated the impact that hearing the words would have on her.
"Are you in shock?" Blake asked, still staring ahead.
"No. I"m overwhelmed, and on emotional overload. How can the most wonderful experience of my life happen during the most harrowing crisis of my life?"
A wry smile tugged at Blake"s lips. "I guess that"s how love works. We don"t get to choose the time or place."
"Obviously not. So much for candles and moonlight."
Blake reached over and took her hand, bringing it to his lips. "We can have those later."
"I know." Devon interlaced her fingers with his. "I love you, too," she added softly.
"Enough to trust me?"
"Yes." She was amazed at how much she meant it.
"Good. Then tell me where your mother is and how"s she holding up."
Devon"s brows arched. "You figured it out?"
"It wasn"t hard. You and your father were much too calm for your mother to be MIA. I a.s.sume he stashed her away somewhere safe."
"He did. But she"s not there anymore. Not with Merry kidnapped. She"s on her way home. Monty"s meeting her. Together, they"re going to confront your grandfather and company."
Blake"s expression turned grim. "That should be quite a party." He pulled into a parking spot and turned off the ignition. "I still can"t believe someone in my family is a killer. White collar crime, even what"s going on with Vista - all that I can envision, even if it turns my stomach. But murder? Kidnapping? Never. Never in a million years."
Devon squeezed his hand. There was nothing she could say to make his disillusionment go away. All she could do was be there.
ROD GARNER"S BLUE Ford Explorer rumbled down Sally"s driveway, pulled around, and stopped.
Leaning against his Corolla, Monty straightened and walked toward them. By the time he reached the pa.s.senger side, Sally had climbed out. Without a word, she went into his arms.
"It"s okay," he murmured, gripping her tightly. "Everything"s going to be fine." He gazed past her as Rod ambled over with her bag. "Thanks," Monty told his friend. "I owe you one."
"Nah." The solid, ruddy-cheeked man grinned. "Sally"s a pleasure. Molly and I loved having her. Plus, she makes a mean chicken Savoy and was decent enough to share the recipe. So, if anything, I owe you. So, tell me, what else can I do?"
"You can head home. I"ve got it covered from here."
"You"re sure?"
"Positive. If things change, I know where to find you."
Sally broke away from Monty"s embrace and turned to Rod. "What can I fix you for the road? A snack? Coffee?"
"Not a thing." He gave her arm a rea.s.suring pat. "Just take it easy. Your ex is a pro. He"ll find your girl."
"Thank you." Sally clasped his gloved hands. "Thank you for everything. Tell Molly I"ll call as soon as we know anything."
"Will do." He strode back to his car and jumped in. "Hang tough, you two." He drove off.
Sally turned back to Monty, her lashes spiky with tears. "I"m ready. Go ahead and prep me. The sooner I"m up to speed, the sooner we can confront the Piersons."
EDWARD WAS ON the phone with Vista when there was a knock at his office door.
"What is it?" he barked.
Albert stepped into the room. "Pardon me, Mr. Pierson, but Detective Montgomery just called. He"s pulling through the farm gates. He says it"s urgent that he see you. He asked that James be included, as well."
A hard swallow as warning bells sounded. "All right, Albert. Find James. Then show Detective Montgomery in." Edward waited until his butler had exited. "Now what?" he muttered into the phone. "What did you let slip this time?"
"Nothing," Vista snapped back. "I haven"t spoken to a soul. Not since yesterday when your grandson and Devon Montgomery invaded my privacy. I have no idea what her father"s there to see you about."
"That better be true. I"ll get back to you." Edward hung up.
A minute later, James knocked and strolled into the room. "You need to speak with me?" he asked his grandfather.
"No." From behind James, Monty grabbed the door, preventing it from being shut. "We do." He gestured for Sally to enter.
"We?" Edward had begun. The word died on his lips as he spotted Sally.
"h.e.l.lo, Edward." She walked over and sat down in a chair, her back ramrod straight. "You can call off your posse. I saved you the trouble of hunting me down."
It took Edward a moment to recover his composure. "Clearly, you"re alive and well."
"I"m alive," she agreed. "But far from well."
Edward started to rise. "I don"t understand - "
"You don"t need to." Monty cut him off. "We"re here for explanations, not to give them. Where"s our daughter?"
"What?"
Slowly, Monty advanced to the desk, slapped his palms down. "I"m not asking again. Where is she?"
"What is he talking about?" James demanded, turning to his grandfather. "Did something happen to Devon?"
"Not to my knowledge. I don"t know what he"s talking about." Edward was clearly unnerved.
"Then I"ll enlighten you." Monty"s eyes were glittering with anger. "You hired me to flush out Sally. You bugged Devon"s house and had her followed, not to mention having your grandsons try to seduce Sally"s whereabouts out of her. Now she knows too much. So you arranged to get her out of the way. Ring a bell?"
"No." Edward gave an adamant shake of his head. "Your daughter was here with Blake last night. I haven"t seen her since."
"And the threatening note?"
"What threatening note?"
"The one shoved under Sally"s front door last night warning Devon to back off. Still not ringing any bells?"
"No," Edward repeated, waving his arms in a frustrated gesture. "You"re not making any sense."
"How about it, James?" Monty turned. "Am I making sense to you? Are you running the show here, or are you just paying off doping control officers for advanced notice of the drug-testing schedule so you can time things right? You know, drug the compet.i.tion when they"re sure to be disqualified?"
James went sheet white.
"That"s right, I know all about Paterson. And soon, so will the cops. I"m sure he"ll be happy to strike a deal to avoid jail time - one that includes sharing the details of your arrangement. Smart move, picking someone with a gambling problem. Someone between a rock and a hard place. He lets you know the who and where so you can make sure to add diuretics to the right drinks before the right events."
"s.h.i.t." James dragged a hand over his face.
"What about the phony blackmail scheme?" Monty continued. "Was that your idea, too? Very clever. You made it look like someone had a vendetta against your whole family, not just Frederick. It helped when you framed Rhodes. The poor guy figured out you were siphoning off money into all sorts of things. Paying off Paterson. Vista"s illegal research. Rhodes must have flipped out when he realized what you were doing. And you couldn"t have that. So you got rid of him and framed him for Frederick"s murder all at once."
"Stop it, Montgomery," Edward ordered over James"s sputtering protest. "He had nothing to do with any of that. You"re way off base."
"Then straighten me out. You purposely misled me into thinking Frederick was suspicious of Rhodes. The truth was, it was James he was suspicious of. He found out what Golden Boy was up to and he wanted to toss him out on his a.s.s. You couldn"t have that. It would screw up everything you"d been planning for - what you and James have been planning for."
Edward opened his mouth to refute the accusation.
Sally cut him off.
"A few days before Frederick died, I heard you two arguing at the stables," she said, gripping the arms of the chair. "I remember it, and so do you. Frederick was worried about a loose cannon at Pierson & Company. Someone committing criminal acts that could destroy everything your family had worked so hard to achieve. That someone was James. He was the person Frederick wanted out. Not Philip Rhodes."
"Sounds right to me," Monty agreed. "So, Edward, how far would you go to make sure Golden Boy stayed golden? Would you kill for it?"
"My own son?" Edward lost it. "You think I killed Frederick to keep him from firing James?"
"Did you?"
"Absolutely not."
"But you did steer me in Rhodes"s direction, purposely leading me on a wild-goose chase."
"Fine. Yes." Edward rose again, this time pacing around behind his desk. "I diverted you away from James. I made up the blackmail scheme. And I told you it was Rhodes who Frederick mistrusted. Rhodes wasn"t family. James is. I was protecting my grandson."
"Wait a minute." James looked like a cornered rat. "I didn"t know about any of this. And I sure as h.e.l.l didn"t kill anyone."
"Yeah. You"re innocent as a lamb." Monty glared at him. "Next you"ll be telling me you don"t know about Vista and his genetic testing."
James"s apprehensive gaze darted to his grandfather.
"Ah, so that"s your grandfather"s project, too." Monty pounced on the opportunity to find out what Vista"s research was about. "Experimenting on horses is bad enough. But human beings? Illegal aliens who are too poor and too desperate to refuse? That"s criminal and immoral. But you already know that, don"t you, Edward? That"s why you"re paying Vista through an offsh.o.r.e account - the same account Rhodes found an electronic record of the night he died."
A muscle began twitching at Edward"s jaw. "I hired Vista as a genetic consultant. Anything else he might be involved in has nothing to do with me."
"I doubt he"d see it that way. In fact, I"m sure he"d be very put off by your lack of loyalty - enough to spill his guts to save his own a.s.s." Monty reached for the phone. "Should I call and invite him over?"
"Put down the phone, Detective." The voice came from the doorway, and Monty turned to see Merry being shoved in at gunpoint. "And while you"re at it, put down your weapon, too. You won"t be needing it."
DEVON LEANED BACK against the sofa, slapping the cordless phone onto the cushion beside her and rolling her eyes.
"That"s the third time I"ve been disconnected," she muttered. "Well, I"m not giving up." She punched up the number again, waiting while the tinny connection went through.
At last, she was rewarded with a mumbled, "Dgame."
She sat up straight, signaling to let Blake know she"d gotten through.
"Esta es Senora Pierson." She spoke in the older, throatier voice of Anne Pierson, launching into the simple, direct speech that Blake had prepared and she"d translated into Spanish. "Tenemos un problema con nuestro banco. El prximo pago quizs ser tarde."
The response she got was a sharp intake of breath, followed by some mumbled words of surprise and then a clarifying: "Senora Pierson?"
"S."
"Un momento."
Devon covered the mouthpiece while she waited. "I told him there"s a problem with his next payment," she hissed. "He"s getting someone."
Blake nodded, standing rigidly and waiting.
More background shuffling. Then a different male voice addressed her. "Quen es?" he demanded.
Devon"s stomach lurched. He wanted to know who she was. The previous guy had asked for her name twice. Had they figured out she wasn"t Anne Pierson?