Читать книгу Front Page Affair - Jennifer Morey - Страница 13

Chapter 4

Braden sat with Arizona inside the busy hotel restaurant. The first missing woman’s sister had called Arizona’s cell number when she’d landed and asked to meet them here. Braden didn’t want to put the woman in danger, but he was curious to see if one of the hotel staff would say or do something. The manager, perhaps.

A short, plump woman in her early thirties appeared, her peppered dark hair cut above her ears.

“That looks like the woman in the picture Lincoln sent.”

“That’s her.” Braden lifted his hand.

Charlene Andrews nervously approached. “Mr. McCrae?”

Braden stood and shook her hand. “Thank you for coming all this way.”

“I’ve been looking for Courtney for weeks. I’m glad to help in any way.”

“This is Arizona Ivy.”

“Yes. Ivy.” The woman took her hand in polite greeting and then sat. She made no show over her obvious recognition of the name.

Putting her purse on the floor, she changed her mind and hung it over the back of the chair. She removed the light sweater she wore, letting it drape over the handbag. Sliding the roll of silverware over, she curled her hand around the glass of water on the table. Nervous.

Braden reached over and put his hand over her wrist. “We’re very sorry about your sister.”

“I can’t believe she’s still missing.” Tears glistened in her eyes.

“Mine is missing, too,” Braden said. “We’ll find them both.”

“Oh.” The woman covered her mouth with her hand, stopping herself from crying. When she regained her composure she straightened with a few blinks of her eyes. “The kind gentleman who called me explained about Tatum. I’m sorry, as well, Mr. McCrae.”

“Can you tell us what happened to your sister?” Arizona asked.

“She told me that she went on a trip to Tortola to see a man. She met him online. Which I always thought was strange. Courtney isn’t the type to do that sort of thing. But she’d been complaining that she wasn’t going on many dates and she was ready for a relationship. The fact that she found someone long distance bothered me. But she claimed to like this man very much.”

“That’s when she went missing,” Arizona helped her.

“Yes,” Charlene replied with a quiver in her voice.

“Can you tell us anything about him?” Braden asked.

“His name was Julian Blake. My sister said he was a retired high-risk insurance underwriter. She never said anything bad about him. He must have fooled her well.”

“Can we have copies of their email correspondence?” Arizona asked.

“Her computer was stolen shortly after she disappeared. The police haven’t been able to find anything. My sweet sister.” She wiped her eyes. “Our mother died a few years ago and she’s all I have left.”

“Was anything found in her house? Any evidence at all?”

Charlene shook her head. “She was living with me. Nothing else was out of place. Only her computer was taken from the guest room.” She looked from Arizona to him. “She just lost her job and was looking forward to going to the Caribbean. She even thought she might move there. To be with him.” Her face soured with the injustice. “That evil man. I don’t know what he did to my sister. That’s the worst part. Not knowing. Is she alive? Is she dead? It’s torture not knowing. I want to believe she is alive, but too much time has passed. She’d have called by now. If she could call, she would.” Then she looked imploringly at Braden. “Have you learned anything? Did Julian kidnap your sister?”

“She was seen getting into a taxi that took her to his house. It appears she was willing.”

“At first. That monster is up to something. He lured my sister, and now he’s lured yours.” She breathed through her anxiety. “Lord only knows what he’s done with them.”

Braden saw Arizona slump with empathy. “We’ll do everything we can to expose him.”

She definitely was a crusader for victims. She may be offering a false promise. Julian was evil, all right. But he was also dangerous.

* * *

Arizona watched Charlene leave the restaurant. She wasn’t staying here. She had a room in Road Town and was flying out in the morning. She passed the hotel manager. Only then did Arizona notice him. He’d been watching them.

She glanced at Braden and saw he’d noticed, too.

He stood and she stood with him, trailing him out of the restaurant. The manager saw them, his face going deliberately blank, faked nonchalance and then he strode toward the reception desk. The clerk wasn’t there.

“Do you think he’s working for Julian?” she asked Braden when they emerged outside.

Charlene had gotten into an unmarked cab.

“I don’t know. Let’s not take any chances.” He flagged a taxi, this one marked.

“Follow that car,” he told the driver when they climbed into the backseat.

“This isn’t the way to her hotel,” Arizona said as they passed the turn.

In the backseat of the car ahead, Charlene began talking to the driver. She then tried the door handle, or searched for one, her hands going over the doorframe and lower. She twisted in the backseat, looking through the rearview mirror with stark eyes and an open mouth to accommodate for what must be frightened breaths.

“What’s he doing?” Arizona whispered, eyeing their own driver. He didn’t appear to notice anything unusual, or if he had, he kept it to himself.

The car ahead approached Julian’s driveway and turned.

Their driver didn’t slow.

“Turn!” Arizona shouted.

The driver glanced back at her. “This is Julian Blake’s home. We do not go there.”

“Turn, damn it!” Braden shouted.

Flustered, the man turned onto Julian’s driveway. “We are not to go to this home. I take you to gate and that is all.”

“Fine.” Why was everyone so afraid of Julian?

Maybe that was a stupid question. Tatum had disappeared and the last time anyone saw her, she was on her way to see him.

“Look.”

She followed Braden’s point. At Julian’s gate, several men stood. One of them was Julian Blake. The unmarked taxi had stopped just before the gate.

Julian noticed the second car approach and didn’t seem surprised. In fact, he seemed to have expected this, for Arizona and Braden to follow.

The driver stopped the taxi behind the unmarked one containing Charlene.

None of the men at the gate were armed, or so it appeared. They wore stylish dark suits, contrasting with Julian’s pristine white. The man had a thing for white. Did he enjoy how it made him seem pure? A cloak to his inner darkness.

One of the men moved forward to open the rear door of the other car and reached inside. He dragged a struggling Charlene from the backseat.

Arizona climbed out of the cab with Braden. And stood beside him, watching Charlene being manhandled while Julian moved closer.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Charlene shrieked at Julian. “What have you done with my sister?”

“Let her go,” Braden said.

With a wicked grin, Julian took hold of Charlene and shoved. Braden caught her.

“You’re an animal!” Charlene choked out as she regained her balance and stood beside Braden.

Julian kept his gaze on Braden. “Maybe I didn’t make myself clear before. I don’t like trespassers.”

“You forced me here!” Charlene retorted.

“According to whom?” He glanced behind him.

The driver of the unmarked car had gotten out and was now leaning against the closed driver’s door, taking cash from one of Julian’s henchmen.

Julian leaned to look through the windshield of the taxi she and Braden had ridden in. That driver put up his hands and said through his open window.

“I want no trouble.”

In other words, he’d lie if he had to. He’d lie to protect himself and his family. Everyone feared Julian that much. It was appalling.

“We just want our sisters,” Charlene said. She’d likely done this before, pleaded with Julian for her sister.

“I don’t have your sister. How many times do I have to say it?”

“Liar!” Charlene yelled. “What have you done with her?”

Julian moved his look back to Braden. “Leave this island, or next time I won’t be this generous. Next time—” he stepped closer “—I won’t let her go.”

While Arizona’s stomach churned in disgust, Charlene slapped him. Two of the suited men reached into the folds of their jackets and stepped forward.

Julian raised his hand and they stopped, just like in one of her father’s movies. Except this was real.

Seeing Braden’s fists clenched at his sides, Arizona decided it was time to go. She slid her arm on the inside of his.

“Let’s go.”

“The voice of reason,” Julian taunted.

“We’ll be back,” Braden said, unafraid. “If you have Tatum and Courtney, I’ll find out.”

“You won’t find her here. If you were smart, you’d look closer to home.”

What did he mean by that? The man in the white BMW flashed in Arizona’s mind. Did Julian know him? Was Tatum being held somewhere in the States? Were they wasting their time looking here? That couldn’t be. Why drag Tatum all the way back to the States?

Julian walked to the driver’s window of their taxi and leaned down. “Take them to the airport. If they don’t leave, let me know.”

“Yes, sir,” the driver answered as though he worked for the man.

“We’ll be sure and tell the police all about this,” Arizona said. Did he think he could get away with anything?

“Go right ahead,” he said with confidence. “I will simply tell them you were trespassing.” He spread his arms to indicate the people around him. “I have witnesses.”

This was ridiculous. The taxi driver would lie for him? Lie to police?

“If you value those close to you, you will not return.” To the taxi driver, he repeated, “Make sure they leave the island. If I don’t hear from you, I will send someone to your home.”

“I’ll take them to the airport. You have my word.”

“Very good.” Julian clapped his hands together, moving back to where he had stood in front of them. “Then we have no issue. We all can go on with our lives and you will leave me to my privacy.”

If it weren’t for Charlene and the taxi driver, Arizona would refuse to go. She and Braden could stay and continue their search, but innocent lives were at stake.

She looked beyond the gate, wishing they could get inside the villa. There had to be a way.

“Let’s go,” she said to Braden and Charlene.

She urged Braden back to the taxi. They had Charlene, which was enough for now.

“Have a safe trip home,” Julian called, accentuating the word safe.

If they stayed, they’d no longer be safe.

Inside the taxi, Charlene sat in the back with Braden, who stewed with anger. He’d kept quiet, but she could feel him brimming on the edge of control.

What Arizona didn’t understand about all of this was that if Julian wanted something from Braden, why hadn’t he asked for it when he’d had Charlene? Wouldn’t he have used Arizona for the same purpose? Unless Julian wasn’t linked to the arms deal.

Then why had Tatum gone to see him?

Braden’s cell phone rang and he answered, displeasure changing his frown.

“Serena.”

Who was Serena? His ex, judging from that look.

“I told you I was going to be out of town for a while.” He sighed after a few beats. Arizona could hear the elevated tone of a woman’s voice coming from his phone.

“Can’t your parents watch him?”

This was about his son. More high-pitched arguing resounded from the phone.

“All right. All right,” he cut the voice off. “We’ll be there tomorrow night.” And then he said as though in answer to her question, “Me and...a friend. But it can only be for one night, Serena. I can’t risk any more than that.”

Risk? He was afraid of exposing his son to this. Arizona couldn’t blame him. If whoever had followed him would try to take Arizona, they’d certainly try to do the same if they knew he had a son.