Ring of Lies (77 page)

‘
What the—
’

T
wo bullets slammed
through his chest into his heart
.
He collapsed to the ground,
shuddering, his last thoughts of his daughter, fearing, as the blackness took him away, that someone would tell her the truth about how he died.

Jack
pushed his
chair
back from the table
as Grace entered the kitchen.

‘
Pancakes or
w
affles for breakfast?
’
he asked
, as he took
eggs and milk out of the fridge
.

‘
Neither thanks. I’ll just
have a bowl of
c
ereal and a banana, and a cup of
that delicious smelling
coffee.
’

Jack placed a mug under her nose,
slid
the jug of milk across the table
,
and
sat down in the chair opposite
.

‘
You and Catherine have an argument
last night
?
’

Grace shrugged
, and took a sip of coffee.
‘
Just the usual sisterly difference of opinion. I sometimes think I expect too much of her
,
’
she
said bitterly.

‘
How so
?
’

‘
I wish Cat was more dependable and considered her family, instead of always thinking of herself. Perhaps I shouldn’t have indulged her so much after our parents died.
’

‘
She was young. She had to grow up quickly.
’

‘
That’s the trouble. I don’t think she did. Whatever she asked for, I gave her, but it was never enough. I never asked for anything in return. But it would have felt good if she’d put my needs above hers just for once.
’

‘
D
on’t
you
believe
the
story about her cell phone being stolen?
’

Her face clouded with uneasiness. The spoon paused halfway to her mouth.
‘
I’m not sure. A cell phone is like a fashion accessory to Cat.
I just don’t see her being without one for very long.
’

Jack
glanced
at her pale cheeks and dark-ringed eyes, and wished he could scoop her up and take her some place far away. Instead, he settled for wrapping his arm around her shoulders and giving her a hug.

‘
From what I understand, Rome is a pickpocket
’s
paradise. But yeah, it does seem odd that it
took
so long
for her
to get in touch
with you
.
’

Suddenly
, t
he
door to the garden
creaked
open.
Jack
leapt to his feet and
reached for his gun
.

‘
Shit! What is wrong with you? Are y
ou determined to get yourself killed, Anderson?
’
He slipped the gun
into the
holster
at the small of his back.

‘
Sorry to
disturb
you
, Jack, but I thought you should know Kennedy is missing
.
He asked me to cover
part of
his shift last night. S
aid he was meeting an informant and would be back in a couple of hours
. He
never showed
up
.
’

‘
And you waited until now to tell me?
’
Jack
stared at
Anderson.
He’d
never seen
him
so worried.
There was nothing of his normal calm, easy-going manner.

‘
I
followed
protocol
and kept the house under surveillance.
’

‘
What the hell was
Kennedy
thinking following up a lead at that time of night? Have you tried
his cell phone?
’

Anderson looked down.
‘
It just
runs
to voicemail, so it’s switched off or the battery
’
s dead
, or—
’

‘
—
L
et’s not go there
right
now
,
’
Jack said, casting a glance in Grace’s direction
.
‘
Did
he
give any indication who this informant was or where they were meeting?
’

‘
No. But he seemed jumpy, on edge.
’

Jack blew out one long breath.
This
went against Kennedy’s reputation for being ice-calm in any situation.

‘
H
ere’s how we’ll handle it. You
get
a trace
put
on his car.
Could be he got tired and pulled off the road
for a nap
, so make sure they check the parking lots at the state parks.
’

Anderson cleared his throat.
‘
You know
,
t
he night before Pete Jacobs died, a couple of residents
saw
a black Saab driv
e
past Jacobs’ office a few times.
Unfortunately
,
none of them got details of the license plate. But one resident,
a
n
old guy with two poodles
,
recalls
a young man
in black, carrying a
gym bag
at around ten-thirty
.
He thought it was
strange
because the community
centre
gym
closes at six.
Then we got a report on
a black Saab convertible
being
stolen from Miami airport that same afternoon
.
’

‘
Where is it now?
’

‘
A
bandoned
the next morning
in Tampa. You think there
’s
a connection?
’

Jack nodded slowly.
‘
Good work, An
derson. Contact the local cops and
see if they managed to pull any prints off the Saab. Then get some rest.
’

Anderson turned to leave.
‘
Okay.
Any news on
Mike’
s condition?
’

Jack shook his head.
‘
Still in intensive care, last I heard.
’

Anderson left, and Grace looked at Jack for a long moment.
‘
You think something bad has happened to Kennedy, don’t you?
’

Jack laid a hand on her shoulder.
‘
I won’t
lie to you, Grace. I think the bad guys are
escalating their efforts
,
hoping to
scare
you into handing over the money
. This
is
exactly
why you should let me
put you on a plane to Hawaii with a couple of muscle-bound bodyguards
.
’

Grace covered his hand with hers.
‘
We’ve been through this before. I’m not going anywhere, Jack. I will not be bullied by these people.
’

‘
Not even if your life
is
in danger?
’

‘
Daniel
put me in danger
the day he died
.
Maybe even before then, come to think of it.
It doesn’t
mean I’m not afraid
.
I am. B
ut
I don’t see that Kennedy’s apparent disappearance makes any difference
, do you?
’