The Christmas Clue (10 page)

He took the binoculars to the window, zoomed in on the garden room and focused the lens. He spotted Annette in her wheelchair right away, and behind her was a dark-haired man dressed in a crisp black suit. His back was turned, and he appeared to be examining a large flowering plant in a terra-cotta pot.

“You see him?” Cass asked.

“He’s there, just where Hollis said he would be, and he’s talking to Annette.”

“You think this guy is legit?”

“Don’t know yet. Go ahead and do a computer search on him to see what pops up.” Matt was about to add that he would search, as well, once he had a good look at him.

But the guy turned around, and Matt got that good look he’d wanted.

His stomach clenched into a knot. Because the man was someone that Matt knew all too well.

It was his boss, Gideon Tate.

Cass kept watch out the window—something she’d been doing on and off most of the night, though she’d managed to get a few hours sleep.

She wasn’t sure Matt had done the same.

Their “cozy” time in bed had been pitifully short indeed because the moment Matt spotted Gideon getting chummy with Annette, bedtime, rest and even basic conversation was over. Matt had spent most of the night either doing surveillance or trying to call Gideon and Ronald to see what was going on.

And he still didn’t have answers.

Matt hadn’t been able to reach Gideon. That wasn’t exactly a surprise. And Ronald claimed to have no idea why Gideon was at Dominic’s estate. Cass wasn’t sure she believed the man, but then she’d been skeptical about trusting Ronald right from the start.

Gideon, however, was a different matter.

Cass
had
trusted him initially. Because of the old ties to her father. But that last time she’d called him, it’d only confirmed the breach in communication. She didn’t know if Gideon was responsible for that or if someone else was. Still, it didn’t look good for Gideon, especially since he was now at Dominic’s estate pretending to be Annette’s pen pal.

What was he doing?

Cass and Matt had followed the man with infrared until he retired for the night in one of the estate’s many guest rooms. According to the monitor, he was in the breakfast room now, and he appeared to be with Annette.

“No sign of Molly?” Matt asked.

She glanced over his shoulder. He was still pounding away on the laptop keyboard. Still searching for answers, and judging from his scowl, he wasn’t any closer to those answers than he had been hours ago.

“No Molly yet, just guards, but I’ll scan any incoming vehicles with the infrared.”

“How many guards?” Matt asked.

“Four, maybe five. They appear to be checking the perimeter of the house. In other words, it’s not a good time to try to get into the estate.”

Matt nodded. “But I want us to go in as soon as Molly arrives,” he insisted. “Even if the guards are still there, we’ll have to bluff our way in. And we can bring the infrared with us and hide out until we can take her from the nursery.”

Cass waited for him to add more about Gideon’s presence. When he didn’t, she said what they were both no doubt thinking. “Gideon could be using Annette to get to Dominic.”

“Perhaps. In part, anyway.”

She hadn’t expected that. Nor was she certain she would like what it meant. “You have a different theory?”

Matt stopped, lifted his head and met her gaze. “I don’t doubt that someone in the department has been cultivating a relationship with Annette or Dominic. Any number of agents could be doing the actual e-mails as Timothy St. Claire, and Gideon could have stepped into the role because he felt it was the right time to do that. It could even be related to Dominic’s new business partner.”

Cass gave that some thought and watched on the infrared monitor as Gideon walked from the breakfast room, leaving his companion, Annette, alone.

“Gideon’s on the move,” she relayed to Matt. And she continued to mull over what Matt had just told her. “Since Gideon is a director in the department, is it normal for him to go into an actual undercover assignment?”

“It’s never happened the entire time I’ve worked for him.”

“Oh.” She watched the images as Gideon went down the hall toward the garden room. “So, what does this mean?”

Matt shook his head. “I hope to hell he’s not here because of Molly. Because he wants to help me by getting her out of the estate.”

“Wouldn’t that be good?” she asked.

“Not for you. Because then it’s my guess that Gideon will want to deal. I’ll get Molly if I turn you in.”

That required Cass to take a deep breath. “I see.”

“Don’t worry. My goal is to get Molly before Annette and Gideon do.”

That was Cass’s goal too, but maybe Gideon wouldn’t cooperate with that. It certainly complicated things that Gideon might be involved in the worst kind of way.

“Gideon just went outside,” she told Matt. She switched from the infrared to the binoculars. “And it’s not exactly the weather for a morning stroll. He’s making a call.”

And in the seconds that followed, Matt’s phone rang. He immediately reached over, grabbed his phone from the nightstand and looked at the screen.

“Libby,” he said answering in a whisper.

Not Gideon. Cass didn’t know whether to be disappointed or not. She wished she could read lips so she would know whom Gideon had called.

Matt said little to his fellow agent, so Cass couldn’t tell what had precipitated the call. Instead she focused on Gideon. He was walking now. Away from the estate. She lost sight of him when he disappeared into the formal gardens, and she switched back to infrared.

Matt’s profanity caught her attention. “I don’t want any of you coming here to the cottage.”

Matt cursed some more, stabbed the end call button and hurried to the window. He brought his gun with him.

“Please tell me they’re not all here,” Cass whispered.

“Libby says Gideon bribed Hollis to get Ronald and her onto the estate. The three of them want to come here and talk to me.”

Good grief. Just what they didn’t need. “How did they even know you were here?”

“Ronald decided to confess all. They know Molly is my daughter.”

“And do they know I’m here?” she asked.

“You’re not here. Get your things and go into the bathroom.”

It seemed too little too late. “They’ve probably already scanned the cottage with infrared.”

“That doesn’t mean they know you’re the one who’s here.” He took her shoulders. “Cass, they’ll try to arrest you if they see you.”

“They might try to arrest you, too.”

“That’s not going to happen. They’re not going to want to cause a scene on the estate. And if they’d already ratted me out to Dominic, then we’d be under attack from his guards.”

Cass hoped that was true. But Matt was right. There was no sense flaunting her presence. Besides, Matt might get them to say more if she wasn’t around. And she could intercede if their nonarrest theory failed and if the trio tried to haul Matt away.

She took her phone, jacket and gun and raced into the bathroom, but Cass left the door open just a sliver so she could hear the encounter that was about to take place.

She didn’t have to wait long.

Matt kept a firm grip on his gun, and he opened the front door. By using the reflection in the bathroom mirror, Cass could see Ronald, Libby and Gideon as they approached the cottage. She could also see Matt’s stiff, defensive posture. If Matt had had any trust left for them, he wasn’t showing it.

“What are you doing here?” Matt demanded.

“I’m on official business,” Gideon answered.

“By pretending to befriend Annette Cordova? And don’t bother to ask how I know. I know.”

Gideon was equally defensive and stiff. “You’re aware of departmental policy regarding Dominic. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep his trust.”

“We’re here to help you, Matt. We want to talk you out of doing something that could get you killed,” Libby added. It sounded to Cass as if she was playing the “good cop,” and her boss was going for “bad.”

“You’re not going to talk me out of anything,” Matt returned. Cass watched as he shifted his position. “Ronald, I can’t believe you of all people did this.”

Ronald lifted his shoulder but had the decency to look apologetic and even sorry. “I thought I was helping.”

“Well, you’re not.”

“Ronald was doing what any agent sworn to duty should do,” Gideon said. “You’ll do the same. Leave with Ronald and Libby now, or I’ll put you on suspension.”

“Then put me on suspension.”

That didn’t surprise Cass one bit. Even though he’d yet to meet Molly, Matt was totally committed to her and her rescue.

“I’m not leaving without my daughter,” Matt continued, his voice low and dangerous now. “But you are.”

Gideon took a step closer to Matt. “What does that mean?”

Matt stepped closer, too, and Cass figured he was aiming one of those lethal glares at his boss. “It means you’re going to put off your plans to befriend Dominic and especially Annette. And you aren’t going to help her take my daughter. You’re going to come up with some plausible excuse to leave the estate, and then you’ll do just that—
leave.
”

“And if I don’t?”

“I’ll tell Dominic who you really are and that you’re trying to manipulate his sister.” Matt’s inflection never changed. He didn’t raise his voice. He stayed calm. But he obviously got his point across.

Gideon didn’t say a word for several moments, but he did some serious staring at Matt. “You wouldn’t do that. Dominic would have me killed if he thought I was working behind his back.”

“Yes, he would. And that’s the reason you’re leaving. Because if I have to choose between you and my daughter, you’re going to lose, Gideon.”

Cass’s phone buzzed.
Great!
What lousy timing. But she had no choice but to answer the call so that the buzzing sound wouldn’t alert the trio out front. She expected to hear Hollis’s voice.

She didn’t.

“It’s me, Annette,” the caller said.

Cass was so stunned that it took her a moment to respond. She certainly hadn’t expected Dominic’s sister to contact her. She debated what to say and settled for, “I’m glad you called.”

“You might not feel that way when you find out what I want.”

Oh, that did sound ominous. “What do you want?” Cass asked cautiously.

“I’d rather not tell you over the phone. That probably wouldn’t be a good idea. I want to meet with you, but I don’t know if I can trust you. I thought I could trust someone else. Now, I’m not so sure. He’s nowhere to be found, and I have to have someone.”

Annette was likely talking about Gideon, aka Timothy St. Claire, the man getting a tongue lashing from Matt. And Annette was right to be suspicious of him.

“You can trust me,” Cass assured her. “I can help you. What do you need me to do?”

Silence. Well, on Annette’s part. Outside, she could hear Matt still trying to get his point across to Libby, who was pleading with him to go with her.

“Are you and Bill willing to meet with me?” Annette asked.

Were they?

Cass knew there’d be a risk. All right, a
huge
risk. But it was also a chance to get Molly. “I’ll meet with you. Just tell me when and where.” And she prayed that she wasn’t making a fatal mistake.

“Molly’s trip home has had a bit of delay. The roads are icy, and even though I’m desperate to see her, I made the driver promise not to rush. So, we have some time. Can you two meet me at the wheelchair ramp at the service entrance of the kitchen at eight o’clock?”

“Sure,” Cass said with absolute confidence that she certainly didn’t feel.

“Can I really trust you?” Annette asked.

“Yes.” Cass knew that wasn’t true. She wouldn’t do anything to hurt the woman, but one way or another, she did intend to help Matt take Molly. Ultimately, that would betray Annette. It would also get Matt’s daughter away from Dominic.

“The real question is—can I trust you?” Cass asked.

But she was talking to herself because Annette had already hung up.

She opened the bathroom door, ready to do whatever battle necessary to get past Gideon and the others, but the only person in the doorway was Matt.

“They’re gone?” she whispered. Though a whisper wasn’t necessary. If there was eavesdropping equipment aimed at the cottage, then after the argument Matt had just had, Dominic likely knew he had federal agents or at least suspicious people on the grounds.

“They’re gone,” Matt verified. She could see that he was still all knotted and riled from the confrontation with Gideon. “But we can’t stay here. We’ll have to stay in the car. I can move it into the woods—”

“Annette called. She wants us to meet her at the estate. She didn’t say why, but she asked for our help.”

The tension and anger drained from him, but it was quickly replaced by hope and extreme caution. “When does she want to meet?”

Cass checked her watch. It was 7:45 a.m. “In fifteen minutes.” She swallowed hard. “I said yes.”

Matt grabbed the jammer, binoculars and the infrared monitor and shoved them into the box of Christmas decoration. Cass knew the box would need to serve as their cover again in case someone stopped them en route to the meeting.

“I’ll move the car to the woods before we go,” Matt told her. What he didn’t add was any speculation about what would happen after that.

“Did I do the right thing by agreeing to this?” Cass whispered.

“We’ll know soon enough.”

And with that he headed out the door.

Matt had a really bad feeling about this meeting with Annette.

But then, he’d had a bad feeling about their entire plan from the beginning. This was just one more bizarre twist.

“I probably shouldn’t have agreed to see Annette, especially in broad daylight,” Cass mumbled.

Because they were supposed to meet the woman in less than five minutes, they hurried across the estate lawn, avoiding the shrubs where they’d left the gunman’s body. What they couldn’t avoid was the brutal wind. No more gray drizzle—yet. Just Arctic blasts from the north. Matt was betting there’d be snow by nightfall. He only hoped it didn’t interfere with Molly’s rescue.

“Maybe we should have just gone with our original idea of waiting until Molly arrives,” Cass added.

“We can still do that.” And they might have to. “You do know we aren’t just going to go walking up to that kitchen service entrance, right?”

Cass stopped when he did, and they looked at each other. Matt could see the massive concern in her eyes. “It’ll be okay,” he said, though they both knew that was possibly a lie. “We’ll see what Annette wants,” he explained. “And then we’ll go to the vault to get the security disks.”

“How will we get past Annette to do that?”

He shook his head. “I’m not sure yet, but we’ll find a way to get inside.”

Matt kept the infrared monitor in the box of decorations, but he adjusted it so that it would scan the kitchen service area. The kitchen itself was bustling with activity. He’d expected that, what with the start of Dominic’s party less than ten hours from now.

And then he spotted Annette.

He used the binoculars to verify that it was indeed her. Bundled in a thick gray coat that was nearly the same color as the sky, she sat in her wheelchair alone. No sign of Dominic or Gideon. Matt only hoped his boss had heeded his warning and that Libby, Ronald and he were on their way off the estate. He had enough to handle without three federal agents in the mix.

Matt handed Cass the box of decorations. “Keep a close watch on the infrared,” he explained. “I don’t want anyone ambushing us.”

Cass nodded, came up on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss. “For luck,” she said.

Matt hoped they didn’t need it. He also hoped he was wrong about the kiss. It didn’t feel as if it was only for luck. It felt as intimate as it could get. But then, a lot of things felt intimate with Cass.

He pushed that uneasy feeling aside, and they walked toward Annette. The woman lifted her hand when she spotted them. Her reaction looked innocent enough, and she seemed genuinely pleased to see them.

But appearances could be deceiving.

“I wasn’t sure you’d come,” Annette said. “I’m thankful you did.” She looked around them while the wind whipped at her dark shoulder-length hair. “We should talk out here, because I don’t want Dominic to hear us. He has eavesdropping devices in parts of the house.”

“What happened, Annette?” Cass asked.

“Too much. I had a friend who was going to help me, but when he showed up and I was able to meet him in person for the first time, I wasn’t sure I could trust him. Truth is, he might even be working for my brother.”

Matt was afraid of the same thing.

She glanced at both of them. “My brother has a new business partner, and he’ll be arriving tonight for the party. Dominic wouldn’t do anything to physically hurt Molly or me, but I believe this man would. I had him checked out, and he actually kidnapped his former partner’s son and forced the boy’s father to hand over some money that was in dispute. The man is dangerous, and I don’t want him to get the opportunity to kidnap Molly.”

Matt didn’t doubt that about Sylvester Marquez, and if all went well with Molly’s rescue, he made a mental note to do more checking into this guy.

“I’ve tried to talk to my brother about this,” Annette continued. “He won’t listen. He says he can keep his new partner under control, that I should trust him. Well, I might trust Dominic on most things, but I can’t turn a blind eye while he brings that man into our lives.”

“How can we help?” Matt asked. He glanced at the infrared monitor to make sure they were still alone. They were.

Annette paused, and her forehead bunched up. “I’m taking a huge risk just by telling you these things. And I’m going to take an even bigger risk with what I’m about to ask you to do. I want you to help me get Molly away from the estate.”

Other than the howl of the wind, everything went silent. Matt’s heart started to pound. This could be the answer to some prayers.

Or the start of a deadly nightmare.

“You’re positive your brother has no idea you’re planning this?” Matt asked.

Annette shook her head. “He doesn’t know.”

Matt hoped like hell that was true, but the reality was that Dominic might indeed be aware of it.

“I want to leave with Molly tonight while the party is going on,” Annette continued. Her lips were trembling now, and he suspected the rest of her was, too. “I’ve arranged for a car to be waiting out back, but I can’t get her out of the house by myself. Nor can I drive. And I can’t risk using the chauffeur because he’s loyal to my brother.”

Matt had so many questions, but one topped the list. “Who helped you arrange for the car?”

She shook her head. “I’d rather not tell you. But he knows you. I talked to him about you last night, and he says I can trust you.”

It was no doubt Hollis. At least, he hoped it was Hollis rather than Gideon, even though Matt didn’t trust either of them.

Of course, the car was a moot point. He didn’t plan on helping Annette steal his child.

“Since you work here, you can already get into the estate, of course,” Annette continued. “But I can give you access codes to bypass the security system just in case you have to enter or exit through a monitored door. I can also show you where you can hide until it’s time for you to leave.”

“Hide?” Cass asked. Matt had the same question.

“There’s a panic room off the nursery. It’s exactly like the one Dominic has in his office. I had it added for security reasons, in case someone broke into the estate. I wanted a safe place to hide with Molly. There’s an underground tunnel that leads from the panic room outside. And that’s where the car will be waiting.”

Cass lifted an eyebrow and silently asked him—what do we do now?

Matt wasn’t sure. He couldn’t tell Annette no. If he did, she might think he would go to Dominic and rat her out. Or she might beef up security to the point that they’d never get inside.

“I’ll pay you well,” Annette added.

Matt pretended to think about it before he nodded. “We’ll help.”

She flattened her hand on her chest, and it seemed as if the anxiety and fear drained from her body. “Thank God—you’re the answer to my prayers. Now, let’s get in out of this weather before we all catch pneumonia.” She took a slip of paper from her coat pocket and handed it to Matt. “Those are the security codes to get into the house. Come at exactly 8:00 p.m. and go into the nursery panic room. Wait there until I can get away from the party.”

“What about the guards and the nanny?” Cass asked.

“I’ll tell the guards they won’t be needed in the nursery area. As for the nanny, I plan to slip her some of my sleeping pills. I know, that sounds terrible, but she’s also very loyal to Dominic, and I can’t risk her trying to stop us. Now, come with me so I can show you where you’ll need to hide. But once we’re inside, please don’t mention any of this.”

Even though they obviously weren’t going to carry on a sensitive conversation and even though they were being escorted into the house by Annette, Matt didn’t take any chances. Once Annette was ahead of them and unable to see what he was doing, he reached in the box and pressed the jammer. He didn’t want Cass’s face and his showing up on any of the surveillance disks.

“This way,” Annette instructed, leading them through the servants’ entrance.

They passed at least a half-dozen workers, all of whom never gave them a second glance. Then Annette led them through the maze of hallways.

Cass cleared her throat, garnering his attention, and she pointed to the infrared thermal blobs that were headed their way. A moment later Matt heard the voices associated with those blobs.

Two men.

“It’s Dominic,” Cass frantically whispered.

Ahead of them Annette didn’t have a panicked reaction. She kept on moving her motorized wheelchair toward the nursery. Judging from the sound of the voices, the men were close. Too close. And if Cass and he turned and ran, it might alarm Annette to the point that she would send guards after them. But they couldn’t just come face-to-face with Dominic, either, because he would recognize Cass.

And he would almost certainly try to kill her.

Matt caught onto Cass’s arm and shoved her into a bedroom just as Dominic and Hollis rounded the corner. Both men stopped. A surprised and concerned Hollis nailed his attention to Matt, but Dominic’s gaze landed on his sister.

“You were outside,” he said to Annette, obviously noting the coat and her wind-reddened face. “You shouldn’t have been. You’ll catch your death from cold.”

And with that ominous warning still on his lips, Dominic walked closer and turned that scrutinizing gaze on Matt.

The departmental reports about him had been accurate. Dominic was six-foot-three, with black hair and piercing amber-brown eyes. What the reports hadn’t said was that the man had a formidable presence. But then that didn’t surprise Matt. Dominic was as powerful as he was lethal.

What did surprise him was his gut reaction to the man. He despised him, yes, because for all practical purposes, Dominic had stolen his daughter. But Matt had another reaction to him, too. He was jealous. Not the sentiment Matt wanted to feel, but it was there.

Cass had obviously been attracted to this man.

And jealousy was a dangerous emotion that had no place in this rescue mission. It only confirmed his fears that his feelings for Cass were making him lose focus.

He couldn’t do that, not with so much at stake.

Matt didn’t dare check over his shoulder to make sure that Cass was hidden away. He knew she would be. His bigger concern right now was that Annette would notice Cass missing and ask where she was. Cass and he didn’t need questions, nor did they need to deal with what Dominic’s response would be. Matt needed to make this impromptu meeting fast and hopefully painless.

“You are?” Dominic demanded.

“Bill,” Annette calmly provided. “I want some Christmas decorations in the nursery, and he’s going to help. Hollis, you don’t mind if I borrow him for a while, do you?”

For a petite, wheelchair-bound woman, she had some authority in her voice, and she practically dared Hollis to object to her
request.
Annette had backbone, and that concerned Matt. Because she certainly hadn’t shown that backbone in situations with her brother.

So, was her weakness all an act?

Dominic took another step toward Matt, and he met him eye-to-eye. It was a war of sorts. Dominic was likely waiting for him to cower or look submissive. Matt tried to do his best, for the sake of ending this encounter, but he was certain that he failed. He wasn’t the cowering or submissive type.

“Do your job fast,” Dominic warned. “I don’t want you in the house any longer than absolutely necessary.”

Matt stepped to the side so that Hollis and Dominic could get by. He also blocked the doorway of the bedroom just in case one of the men looked in and spotted Cass.

“This way,” Annette said once the men were out of sight and earshot.

Cass peeked out of the room, checking to make sure it was safe before she came out and fell in step alongside Matt. “Close call,” she mouthed.

Oh, yeah.

It might be days before his stomach unknotted.

Annette led them into the nursery. She didn’t comment at all about what had just happened. Instead, she moved in her wheelchair to the right wall. There was no sign of a panic room door and no decorative object that could have hidden the mechanism to open it.

So, was this some sort of trick?

Matt checked the infrared to make sure they weren’t about to be attacked in a trap of Annette’s making.

But Annette meandered around the room as if looking for the right place to add those holiday decorations. She touched her index finger to the corner, about three feet from the floor. And the wall began to slide apart.

“Oops, I didn’t mean to do that,” she said, no doubt for the sake of anyone listening. “My brother and I have these rooms for security purposes. I’m sure you understand.”

Matt caught just a glimpse of the panic room on the other side before she tapped the spot again, and it closed.

“You know, I don’t think I want this room decorated after all,” Annette said as she pretended to study the walls. “Molly is just at the right age to grab things she shouldn’t. I’m really sorry to have brought you all the way in here for nothing.”

“No problem,” Matt insisted. “If you change your mind, just let us know.”

Annette nodded. “Eight o’clock,” she whispered.

Matt returned the nod, and Cass and he got out of there. Once they were away from Annette, he checked the infrared and saw they had a clear path to the end of the hall.

But not to the vault.

They had to take a detour to avoid the trio of figures near the kitchen. Matt couldn’t take the chance that one of those figures might be Dominic.

“You think Annette is leading us into a trap?” Cass whispered.

“It’s possible, but we knew she was planning on trying to escape with Molly. Maybe she’s more desperate than we thought.”

At least, that’s what Matt hoped, because he didn’t care for the alternative.

They hurried through the halls and down the stairs that led to the vault.

“I won’t be long,” Cass mumbled, handing him the box.

She used Hollis’s codes again to open the vault, and she went inside. Matt stood watch and kept his attention on the infrared. But he’d barely begun his watch duty when he heard Cass curse.

“What’s wrong now?”

When she didn’t answer, he glanced inside to see what’d prompted her response. It didn’t take Matt long to figure it out.