Investigating 101 Page 11

  The chloroseptic smell was very nearly overpowering. Obviously the cleaning had started already.

  Todd slowed the door as it shut behind him to ensure it made no sound, then he ushered her through the first door they encountered. Complete darkness folded in around them as the latch clicked, sealing them inside the tiny room. She didn’t need any light to recognize their hiding place. A storage room. Her olfactory sense immediately recognized the varied scents of medical supplies. Even gauze had a particular smell if one paid attention.

  Another click and the flame from a handheld lighter cut through the blackness. Todd surveyed the shelves lining the walls to get a handle on their surroundings.

  “Supply room.”

  “Looks like,” he agreed before relaxing his thumb, allowing the flame to die.

  “I didn’t know you smoked,” she said, letting him hear her distaste.

  “I don’t. But the lighter comes in handy from time to time.”

  Okay, so he had a point there.

  “How long do you think this will take?” she whispered since being overheard would be bad, really bad.

  “Couple of hours tops.”

  She wished his optimism was contagious, but she was too nervous to feel anything but scared to death. What would they tell the police if they were caught?

  Dr. Landon would definitely fire her for interfering with the investigation. What if her good intentions somehow made things worse for Molly?

  Serena squeezed her eyes shut and blocked those kinds of possibilities. She couldn’t bear to think that way. None of this was fair. Both she and Molly had been through enough in their lives. Maybe Molly had been a little luckier since she’d happened into a good family the first go-around, but God only knew what she’d suffered before that. Serena had only been two when her mother abandoned her, but Molly had been four. She might very well have vivid memories of that painful time.

  If she were honest with herself Serena would admit that at times she’d sensed that Molly hid a number of bad memories. But she couldn’t say that for sure. Molly was the epitome of an optimist. As soon as she’d found out she was having a girl all discussion of boy babies had ceased and she never looked back, despite having been determined that her first child had to be a boy.

  She never complained about how late her husband had to work. Never fretted about anything. Molly Landon had lived the proverbial fairy-tale life. She loved her husband, loved her home, volunteered in the community when needed. She had the perfect life.

  How could this happen?

  It just wasn’t fair.

  Serena bit down hard on her lower lip. Who was she feeling sorry for here, Molly or herself?

  Flashes from that awful past flickered like a bad movie across the screen of her mind. Every time she’d been moved to a new home, she’d felt hope. That maybe things would be different this time. That someone would really love her…that someone would care if she lived or died.

  But it was always the same. The first mistake she’d made was the end of any hope at all. Yelling always signaled the end. Much yelling and sometimes the throwing of things, usually things she had managed to hang on to. Then the tension would escalate and she’d get slapped. The little slaps would eventually turn into shoves and full-fisted jabs at her body. Never her face. No one wanted to be accused of hitting a child. Abdominal bruises or the ones on her back could be explained by her clumsiness.

  Clumsy, hardheaded Serena. She never listened and always got into trouble.

  With the first hot, salty tear that slipped down her cheek, Serena wanted to scream. How could she let this happen? Especially now! She hadn’t let herself wallow in self-pity like this in…in forever. She shuddered. Just cold, she told herself. Her clothes were a little damp.

  But that was a lie.

  As hard as she tried, a tiny sound issued from her throat. Not exactly a gasp, not exactly a whimper. Just one of those pathetic, helpless sounds that any other human within hearing range would recognize.

  His hands wrapped around her shoulders as unerringly as if he could see perfectly in the dark.

  She didn’t want him to touch her…tried to pull away, but he was too strong.

  He pulled her against his chest and wrapped strong arms around her. She told herself to resist but she just couldn’t. She needed someone to hold her right now and he was all she had. He pressed his lips close to her ear and murmured, “It’ll be all right.”

  How could he make a promise like that? He didn’t know any more than she did what would happen…what may have already happened. That thought sent defeat twisting through her. He held her tighter, let the fingers of his right hand venture into her hair and cradle her head.

  She didn’t want to feel this, but there was no stopping the betrayal of her body.

  Need quivered deep inside her…a need so long ignored she could scarcely bear the awakening.

  The fingers of his left hand spread against the small of her back and her body instinctively understood. She melted against him. She heard his breath catch and the sound made her heart skip traitorously.

  She clung to him, her arms wrapped around his powerful body as if letting go would surely mean the end of her existence. She wished she could reach up and touch his hair. She wanted to feel it in her hands but she didn’t dare let go of him. Didn’t dare do anything but let the sensations wash over her…over and over.

  He held her that way on and on…just held her. She couldn’t ignore the changes in his body, but somehow they felt secondary to the other respite he offered.

  Somewhere beyond their cocoon the sound of a vacuum cleaner reminded her of reality and why they were in this dark supply closet.

  He was the first to pull back, but not too far. He kept his arms draped loosely around her, pressed his forehead to hers. “You okay?”

  His voice was like tattered silk dragging across her skin, smooth but with just enough roughness to pump up the friction, making her shiver.

  “Yes. Thank you.” She lifted her head, wished she could see his eyes. “I’m sorry I fell apart on you.”

  “No sweat.”

  His hands fell away and she felt suddenly cold, but one of them had to pull it back together. She couldn’t blame it on the rain anymore since her damp clothes had dried. He moved to the door to listen. She took a moment to shore up her defenses a bit more firmly and took a step in that direction, as well.

  The vacuuming had stopped and she could hear the crew talking and laughing. The anxiety she’d felt earlier that they might be trapped in here reemerged.

  He’d said he had a plan.

  She had to trust him.

  His body tensed. Even though she wasn’t touching him, she felt the change. And this tension had nothing to do with the hug they’d just shared.

  The voices grew louder. They were close. Serena held her breath.

  She heard the side entrance door whoosh to a close behind voices that started to fade.

  Todd pushed the supply closet door open and bounded into the still lit corridor. Shielding her eyes, Serena followed. They’d waited in the dark so long her eyes were sluggish about adjusting.

  Insistent beeps from the security system echoed from the keypad hanging by the exit.

  They were going to be locked in here…with no way to deactivate the security system.

  Todd stabbed a button and the noise ceased.

  Serena stared at the readout, which read Cancelled.

  “How’d you do that?”

  Incredible. How had he done that?

  He pointed to the cancel button on the keypad and grinned. “You just have to cancel it before the selected mode kicks in.”

  She rolled her eyes and cursed herself for giving him far too much recognition.

  “Which door would you suggest?”

  The question snapped her back to attention. He was asking her for a recommendation?

  She stared down the long corridor. Half a dozen doors flanked each side.

  Wit
h a defiant lift of her chin she announced, “This way.” She strode toward the center of the building to where she had decided the reception desk would be. An exit sign hung above the door that led into the lobby. Another door just beyond that provided access to where the clerical personnel signed in patients and pulled records.

  Feeling triumphant, she grabbed the knob and gave it a twist.

  The door was locked. Her victorious expression fell.

  “I got it.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out two pairs of gloves. “But first things first.” He tugged on a pair, offered the other to her. She did the same. Smart thinking. Fingerprints not belonging to authorized personnel found anywhere else in the building wouldn’t be suspect. But in and around the files was a different matter.

  He stepped in front of her, another card in his hand. This one a credit card.

  With a twist or two of the knob and a couple slides of the plastic card, the door opened. Wearing a confident grin, he stepped back for her to enter the area authorized for clinic personnel only.

  She rolled her eyes and walked past him. That was a cheap trick. Probably anyone could do it.

  Like the door, the file cabinets were locked, as well.

  They were going to get caught. “We should just give this up while we’re ahead.”

  He held up a hand. “Not so fast.”

  She crossed her arms and watched as he pilfered through one desk drawer after the other. “It’s not going to be that easy, Thompson. No one leaves their file keys just—”

  At that precise moment he dangled a ring of keys in front of her.

  As hard as it was, she kept all her comments about incompetence to herself. What was the point?

  “I’ve got the Ls,” he said, reaching for one of the drawers.

  She couldn’t hold his resourcefulness against him. “Here’s the Ns.”

  They withdrew pink folders simultaneously.

  Serena knew instantly that something was wrong. She snapped the folder open.

  Empty.

  “Looks like someone beat us to the draw.”

  Molly’s folder was empty, as well.

  “How could this happen?” Serena shook her head. “When I called this afternoon, wouldn’t the woman with whom I spoke have mentioned this sort of thing?”

  “She didn’t know.” Todd shoved the file back into its slot. “Whoever took the contents of these two files did it last night before—” he shot her a look “—or after he or she had killed Dr. Wright.”

  “Wait.” She didn’t want to believe this. Who would murder for a couple of files? Why would anyone see the contents as valuable? “You can’t be certain. Maybe they’re here somewhere?” She shrugged. “Or maybe there are other files missing.”

  “There’s nothing preventing us from checking out your theory.”

  More than an hour later she learned another hard, cold fact about Molly’s disappearance.

  Someone wanted to hide information about her pregnancy. And that someone might very well be Delia Neely.

  The only question was why.

  Chapter Ten

  Todd didn’t dare even breathe as Victoria considered his penalty for failing to follow the rules. She’d ordered everyone else from her office, including Braddock, and now she stood behind her desk, her hands resting on the back of her elegant leather chair.

  When he’d called Braddock two hours ago, he’d expected a meeting, but he hadn’t anticipated a tribunal. He’d been ordered back to the Colby Agency, with his charge in tow. Braddock, Victoria and her two right-hand men, Ian Michaels and Simon Ruhl, had been waiting.

  Things had gone downhill from there.

  While Victoria’s secretary, Mildred, entertained Serena, Todd had been interrogated unmercifully. But he could handle it. He’d been in the hot seat before. He had to admit, however, that the stakes were a little higher this time than the last.

  “Do you understand the risk to this agency’s reputation your actions may have precipitated?”

  He swallowed, reminded himself that this was not a rhetorical question. “Yes, ma’am. I take full responsibility for my actions.”

  She lifted one eyebrow speculatively. “Admirable, Mr. Thompson, but hardly acceptable.”

  Maybe this wasn’t going to be as simple as he had hoped.

  “Mrs. Colby-Camp, you assigned me to watch Miss Blake,” he offered. “In the course of my assignment I learned certain information that I felt compelled to check out.”

  Those dark eyes searched his and, to his surprise, she smiled. “Mr. Thompson, don’t attempt to use your considerable charm on me. Better men have tried.”

  He blinked, reevaluated his position and opted to keep his mouth shut until she’d finished whatever she had to say. Clearly, he wasn’t going to talk his way out of this one. At least not today.

  “This agency works as a team, Mr. Thompson. We keep each other informed and no one goes off half-cocked. No one. If you discover intelligence that you believe impacts your case you share it with your colleagues, unless, of course, you’re working alone, which you were not.”

  He nodded, felt a trickle of sweat slip down his back. “I understand.”

  Her analyzing gaze narrowed. “Do you really, Mr. Thompson?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I should have called Braddock immediately so that he could assess what steps needed to be taken.”

  “Instead,” she countered, “you chose to do this on your own, without proper backing and while ignoring the experience of your assigned colleague.”

  He started to offer another excuse, but that wasn’t going to change her opinion.

  “The bottom line,” she went on, “is that you were less than satisfied with your assignment so you took it upon yourself to follow the first lead you discovered.”

  “Yes, ma’am, that’s exactly what I did.”

  “Don’t ever let it happen again, Mr. Thompson, or you will find yourself visiting job fairs again.”

  He pushed to his feet, determined to restate his case. “I’m certain Serena is holding back something relevant to Mrs. Landon. I can’t be sure just what, but there’s something more there. I need her to believe I’m in this with her…the whole ‘us against the world’ scenario.”

  She pretty much ignored his attempt at an excuse and stated for the record, “Certainly the fact that both her medical file and Ms. Neely’s were missing may suggest a connection, but that alone isn’t conclusive. We have no evidence that Charles Landon has continued his affair with Delia Neely.”

  “But you have to admit,” Todd urged, unwilling to give up, “that Delia’s abrupt disappearance and then the missing files is surely a lead that needs to be followed.”

  “Anything less would be unacceptable,” she allowed. “But we have protocol, Mr. Thompson. You broke that important boundary. Without it we would not be where we are. Again, I warn you that we won’t permit risks of this nature.”

  Victoria pressed her intercom button. “Mildred, send Mr. Braddock back in, please.”

  Time for more reprimands. He’d be lucky to get out of this with any of his hide intact.

  A. J. Braddock strode into Victoria’s office, his usual military bearing failing to displace the fury he apparently still felt at being left in the dark.

  Victoria settled back into her chair and both Todd and Braddock followed her lead. Todd didn’t have to look at his colleague to know he’d made a serious mistake going around him.

  “Since you’ve studied this case more in-depth than anyone, A.J., what are your conclusions on how we should proceed?”

  “Thank you for asking, Victoria.” The older man shot Todd a pointed glare before laying out his game plan. “If I had to form a final conclusion on Landon at this point, I’d have to say that I don’t have anything that would implicate him. If he’s involved with his wife’s disappearance, he’s keeping it covered exceedingly well.” He flared his hands in a noncommittal expression. “That said, I believe we need to prod our conta
cts at Chicago P.D. Considering the fact that Neely and both women’s medical records are missing, our friends in blue may have details they don’t realize are relevant.”

  Todd jumped in with both feet at the man’s first hesitation. “Anything they discover regarding Wright’s murder could be useful, as well.”

  Braddock acknowledged Todd’s suggestion with a curt nod. “Any way we can shake that tree could prove useful to our case.”

  Never one to wait to be asked, Todd forged ahead with that line of thinking. “As I told you earlier,” he reminded, “I believe that Serena Blake is keeping secrets pertinent to her relationship with Molly Landon. I think I can handle getting that information, but what I need is more information on her background as well as Molly Landon’s.”

  “The background profile we provided,” Victoria countered, “is as thorough as can be gotten on her life since the age of eighteen.”

  “That’s my point,” Todd explained. “I have a feeling this goes back further than that. I need to know more than the fact that she was adopted by the Blakes and handed her future on a silver platter. The same goes for the missing woman.”

  Victoria shifted her attention from him to Braddock. “How do you feel about this, A.J.? He is closer to Miss Blake than you—shall we loosen the reins to a degree?”

  Braddock assessed Todd for a moment. An intimidation maneuver. The man already knew his answer before he bothered with the arrogant perusal.

  “Only if he keeps me apprised of his every move,” he qualified. “I’ll stay on Landon and attempt to open up the communication lines a little more deeply with Chicago P.D.”

  “Excellent.” Victoria appeared pleased, but that pleasant expression waned when she fixed her full attention back on Todd. “Bear in mind, Mr. Thompson, that Miss Blake is our client. I will not have you taking your persuasion tactics too far.”

  “I understand, ma’am.”

  “If Molly Landon is still alive, we must do everything we can to find her alive, but unnecessary collateral damage is unacceptable, Mr. Thompson. Don’t forget that, not even for a moment.”