Investigating 101 Read online

  She climbed back into bed and lay there staring at the ceiling, or what she could see of it in the dark.

  What felt like hours passed. She refused to look at the clock. When the heaviness of sleep settled on her, she relaxed and felt immensely grateful for the relief she knew would come.

  Her eyes closed and images played through her groggy mind. Molly as a little girl only four years old. Serena toddling, a mere two-year-old, alongside her. But it was only a dream. She had no memories from that time. Then another image pushed aside all others. Todd Thompson and his unorderly appearance. Tousled hair, untucked shirttail, that ancient leather jacket and those worn soft jeans. He was watching her…wanted to know her secrets.

  But she couldn’t let him see.

  Molly had made her promise never to tell anyone.

  She couldn’t let Molly down for any reason.

  SERENA LISTENED TO every word Dr. Landon said in the briefing that morning. She watched his expression and his every gesture as carefully as possible. She couldn’t understand why she didn’t note any concern about the future of certain research studies. She’d been waiting for weeks to see some sort of reaction to the bottom line. At first she’d chalked up the oversight to Molly’s disappearance. But she knew that wasn’t the problem. He’d pretty much put the whole ordeal behind him.

  The only time he brought up Molly and the baby anymore was when the newspaper or some television news channel ran a piece about the still-missing pregnant Molly Landon. Her case hadn’t gotten nearly the coverage of similar cases of the past. Of course that was most likely because of the conclusions made by the local authorities and the FBI.

  Serena studied Charles Landon. He was a relatively handsome man. If one didn’t know about his womanizing, one would likely consider him quite handsome. But Serena knew him too well. He was a class-A jerk with an ego to match his self-inflated image.

  She wondered briefly where Todd Thompson had gotten off to this morning. He’d been long gone when she got up. He hadn’t left a message, not that she’d expected him to.

  She hadn’t seen Mr. Braddock around, either. According to Landon’s calendar, the two were having lunch together at noon. Not in the cafeteria, either, as she and Nolan had yesterday. Downtown at a ritzy restaurant.

  The kind of place Landon used to take Molly in an effort to impress his colleagues.

  Serena clenched her jaw and held back the hate. She couldn’t let it eat at her like this. One way or another she had to hang on to her professionalism until she knew exactly what had happened to Molly. If Landon got even a hint of her mutiny, he would fire her lickety-split. She couldn’t let that happen.

  Thankfully the briefing ended and she gathered her material to head back to her office. She could do with a break from listening to his voice.

  “Serena.”

  Speak of the devil. “Yes, sir?”

  “I’d like to see you in my office.” He glanced at the Rolex Molly had gotten him for Christmas. “Say, in ten minutes. Give me time to finish up here.”

  A stab of ice-cold fear went through Serena, but she managed an acknowledging nod. She wasn’t exactly afraid of Landon. Not really. Not in the presence of so many colleagues, anyway. But the idea that he wanted to speak to her alone conjured up all kinds of other scary scenarios.

  What if he wanted to fire her?

  What if he’d figured out that she blamed him for Molly’s disappearance?

  Her heart pounding, Serena went straight to her office and put her report in the appropriate file and checked her messages. She took several deep breaths in an attempt to slow the thundering beneath her sternum.

  The phone in her pocket vibrated. She jerked with a start, placing her hand to her chest to calm herself. She fished out the phone and pressed the talk button.

  “Serena Blake.”

  “Good morning, Miss Blake.”

  Todd Thompson.

  She’d recognize that rumpled voice anywhere. The sound and sexy quality exactly matched the man.

  “What can I do for you, Mr. Thompson? I’m very busy this morning.”

  “I just wanted to make sure you were all right. I followed you to work this morning and you looked a little jumpy.”

  Her mouth gaped in astonishment. How dare he!

  “I’m perfectly fine. I don’t need you watching me, Mr. Thompson.” The very idea. Last night was one thing, but this was different. She was safe at work. There was always security in numbers.

  “I was hoping you might be able to get the afternoon off so that we can do a little extra investigating.”

  She stilled, but her anticipation surged. Had he learned something that lent credence to her accusations? “I don’t understand.” She was almost afraid to hope.

  “Dr. Landon said that you could assist me any way I needed you. I thought we’d take advantage of that offer and do some snooping.”

  That mounting anticipation started to thud against her temples. “Do you have new information?” God, that would be great. Every minute that Molly was unaccounted for lessened the likelihood of finding her safe and sound.

  “Just meet me outside at half past noon if possible. We need to talk.”

  “Okay. I’ll try.”

  He disconnected and Serena stared at her phone a long moment before slipping it back into her pocket. She’d been waiting for weeks to have someone on her side—to have help. She prayed it wouldn’t be too little too late.

  The intercom on her desk buzzed. “Serena, I’m waiting.”

  She jumped. “I’ll be right there.” She had to get hold of herself. Landon would surely suspect something if she continued to behave so out of sorts and jumpy.

  She smoothed her hands over her jacket and cleared her throat. Landon was waiting. She had to get this over with.

  Not bothering to knock since he was expecting her, Serena swiped her badge and opened the door to Landon’s office. He looked up from his computer screen and motioned for her to take a seat.

  Her back rigid, she settled into one of the upholstered chairs flanking his desk and waited for him to begin. She struggled to slow her galloping heart, but nothing did the trick.

  Landon suddenly turned to her and reclined in his tufted leather chair. “I want to make a few things clear before we proceed further with this Sun Publishing business.”

  Her breath evaporated in her lungs. Was he suspicious? Did he know something wasn’t right?

  “I’ve looked into the offer and it’s legitimate.”

  Her suddenly still heart stumbled back into a clumsy rhythm. “That’s wonderful,” she choked out, underscoring the statement with a wane smile.

  Landon pursed his lips for a long moment before continuing. “My only concern is that the details will somehow wander off into the territory regarding my wife.” His gaze bored straight into hers. “I don’t want that to happen. This business with Molly is off-limits. Do not answer any questions where she is concerned. Do you understand me, Serena?”

  “Yes, sir.” She gritted her teeth to hold back what she wanted to say.

  “I know how journalists can be. One or both will want to venture into that aspect of my life. I can handle Braddock, but I need to be sure you can stay out of trouble with Thompson.”

  “No problem, sir,” she assured him, almost light-headed with anticipation now. “I won’t talk about Molly. You don’t have to worry.”

  Incredibly, Landon managed to look sad. “There’s always the chance any outside interference could somehow damage the investigation the police are conducting. I can’t take that risk.”

  Serena barely restrained the demand hovering at the back of her throat. What damned investigation? The police had made their conclusions. End of story.

  “In any event,” he said with a sigh of finality, “I don’t want my personal life to get all tangled up with my work here. The past few weeks have been distracting enough. The media doesn’t care how painful a subject is, their only concern is with selling papers or ra
tings.”

  For the first time since Molly went missing, Serena wondered if she had misjudged Landon. Was he really in pain? Had she so completely misinterpreted his feelings?

  That just didn’t seem possible.

  “I understand, Dr. Landon,” she assured him. “We all want Mrs. Landon and the baby back safe and sound. I won’t do or say anything that will jeopardize that.”

  To her disbelief he smiled. Not the big, wide, toothy one he reserved for an audience of his colleagues, but a genuinely trusting one.

  “I know I can trust you, Serena. You and Molly were friends. Of all the people here, I know how much you miss her.”

  Too flabbergasted to speak, Serena just sat there.

  “I have a luncheon meeting with Mr. Braddock,” he went on, moving out of sensitive territory. “I may not be back this afternoon.”

  She remembered the call from Thompson. “Mr. Thompson requested that I spend some time with him this afternoon. Is that all right with you, sir?” She braced for an outburst. Landon didn’t want anything interfering with work. He wanted his employees focused and on the job.

  “That’s fine.” He nodded. “Just remember what I said.”

  “Of course.” She stood. “Is there anything else, Dr. Landon?”

  He shook his head. “That’s all.”

  When she would have turned away, he held up his hand as if he’d just remembered something. “Forward a copy of this morning’s briefing notes to Arthur. He couldn’t make the meeting.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Serena left Landon’s office far more confused than when she’d entered. At least she wasn’t fired. But he had given her second thoughts about her investigation.

  She couldn’t back out.

  What she’d witnessed just now could have been a big act designed for that very purpose. He knew her well enough to know what she wanted to hear.

  She’d made a decision based on a series of events, not one moment in time. By the same token, she couldn’t let one moment of sympathy change her mind.

  She knew what she had to do.

  Back in her office with the door closed, she forwarded a copy of the minutes one of the clerks had taken, along with hers as well as Landon’s report to Dr. Miles. It was unusual for him to miss a briefing of this level, but it wasn’t entirely unheard of. Right now she had enough on her mind worrying about Molly. Whatever was going on between Landon and Miles was not her problem.

  For a second or two she considered whether she should call Thompson back, but then she opted to do so. How would he know whether to pick her up if she didn’t call? She knew the reason for her hesitation. She was a sucker. All the way to the core. A part of her wanted to believe that Landon was telling the truth. That he hadn’t had anything to do with his wife’s disappearance. That he cared…that he hurt.

  And maybe all those things were true. But there was only one way to find out for sure.

  She checked her received call log on her cell and selected the number from which Thompson had called.

  “Thompson.”

  “I can meet you at twelve-thirty. Will you be in your car?”

  “Yeah. I’ll park near your BMW.”

  “Okay.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  Her pulse skipped. Surely he couldn’t tell from those few words that something was wrong. “Nothing. I’m fine.”

  “No, you’re not. What happened?”

  Oh, this man infuriated her. “Landon called me into his office.”

  “For what purpose?”

  She hated the way he could ask those pointed questions in such a cold, unyielding tone.

  “To tell me not to talk about Molly to you.”

  There, she’d said it.

  Silence.

  She stared at the phone, wondered if he would tell her that she’d made a mistake and that she should back off.

  How could two minutes in the man’s office have her feeling so uncertain?

  “He’s just protecting himself, Serena. Don’t let him get to you.”

  “But what if he’s telling the truth?” The ache of uncertainty tightened in her throat. “He said he missed her. That he didn’t want to do anything that would jeopardize finding her.” The burn of tears at the backs of her eyes made her all the more angry at herself. “What if I’m wrong, Thompson? What if I’m wrong?” She rested her head in her hand and let the tears rise over her lashes. As if she could have held them back. And why was she saying this out loud to one of the people she’d hired to prove she was right?

  “Then there’s only one way to find out.” He exhaled, the sound somehow—stupidly—reassuring. “If Landon is telling the truth, we’ll find he has nothing to hide. He won’t be hurt by our investigation because we’re going to be the epitome of discreet. You have my word on that.”

  He was right. If Landon was innocent, he had nothing to hide. Nothing she did would injure him.

  “I’ll see you later then.” She pressed the disconnect button before he could respond. She didn’t want to hear his voice, didn’t want to think about how good it felt to have someone to lean on.

  She didn’t know Todd Thompson.

  She didn’t know anything.

  Except that the Colby Agency was the very best in the business.

  She had to hang on to that.

  Chapter Seven

  Todd showed his ID to the guard at the gate and was waved through without hesitation. The cover profile Victoria had selected provided instant VIP status with no glitches. Todd admired her instincts and boldness. He was definitely going to like working for Victoria.

  The Milestone Laboratories facilities sprawled in front of him like the Pentagon. Tucked away amid more than a thousand acres of untouched forest land, and a mere twenty-five miles from Chicago’s Loop, the facility employed approximately two thousand people, including hundreds of award-winning scientists and their assistants. Like Serena Blake.

  Todd parked next to her black BMW. Nice car. Sleek but conservative in a sophisticated way—like the woman. Managing to land a position at Milestone was no small feat. Serena had done well for herself considering where she’d started. He’d read the background information on her twice.

  Serena Blake had come into this world as Serena Horton. At the age of two she’d been abandoned by her mother. No father had been named on her birth certificate. From two until sixteen she’d bounced from foster home to foster home. The kid got into more trouble than you could stir with a stick. Not a happy story. At sixteen she’d cut and run, but the authorities had caught up with her a few days later. That was when Serena’s luck changed.

  A well-to-do older couple had taken her in and eventually adopted her. They set her up for life financially and gave her the opportunities most kids today took for granted. Serena hadn’t taken a single day for granted and not once had she let her new parents down. She’d allowed her brilliance to shine through, graduated from high school a year early at the top of her class, then gone on to college and performed with the same amazing thirst for knowledge.

  Milestone had recruited her straight from the university and was poised to pay her to continue her education toward a Ph.D. Dr. Landon had nominated her for the program just two weeks ago. Serena didn’t even know yet. Braddock had learned this in his meeting with Landon yesterday. Landon claimed this program was the reason he’d passed her over for promotion.

  That Charles Landon would carry on with his routine activities as if nothing had happened to his wife and unborn child seemed to indicate his innocence in any involvement with his wife’s disappearance. But Todd knew that looks could be deceiving. Landon was practically a genius and he would understand exactly what he had to do to pull off his part, if any, in the crime.

  On the other hand, his ability to move on also gave the appearance of indifference.

  But if he had nothing to do with Molly Landon’s abrupt disappearance, then where the hell was she? Serena was convinced she wouldn’t have left of her own voli
tion. Who had taken her? Why hadn’t there been a ransom demand? The police suspected she’d simply taken off on her own. A rather large cash withdrawal made shortly before her disappearance seemed to point in that direction. According to the bank’s security videotapes she had walked up to the teller all alone and appeared completely calm. There simply was no reason to believe she’d made the withdrawal under duress.

  Her Land Rover was still unaccounted for, as well.

  A very pregnant Molly Landon, the money and her vehicle had simply vanished. No one had seen or heard from her since. Not her obstetrician, not her husband, no one.

  Todd cleared his head and sat up a little straighter as Serena Blake approached his car. She’d left her white lab coat behind. The navy skirt and jacket she wore covered every inch of her from knee to neck as usual. The matching low-heeled pumps added only an inch or so to her height.

  “Sorry I’m late,” she said without looking at him as she opened the door and lowered her fine-looking backside into the passenger seat. “I had to pull a report at the last minute for Dr. Landon.” Her dark eyes met his. “Projections for the research he’d like to do if private funding becomes available.”

  “Advanced embryonic stem cell,” Todd suggested.

  She nodded. “I can’t help wondering if Molly’s disappearance has something to do with whatever he’s up to. Enough private funding is crucial and very difficult to achieve. He can’t afford for anything to go wrong. What if Molly had threatened him somehow?” She held his gaze a moment longer before looking away. “I know I’m reaching here. But the research is so controversial, it makes me wonder how far Landon would be willing to go to make it happen. He can’t afford anything that makes him look bad.”

  He understood that she didn’t want him to see the worry and desperation in her eyes. That was why she wouldn’t look at him. Molly Landon meant a great deal to her. He wondered how the two women could have grown so close in the past fifteen months.

  “Do you have any tangible reason for suspecting her disappearance could be related to his work? Did she indicate to you that she was upset or prepared to confront her husband in any way?” Maybe raise a ruckus about illicit affairs? He didn’t have to say.