After the Fire (10 page)

“Don’t you dare lecture me.” Jason shook his head at her, straightening up. “That is exactly what I am doing. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t. Protocol is there for a reason and has to be followed.”

“If we call the boss and/or the police, you know what will happen. The police will take over the case and the boss will send us home. Plus, when he finds out I’m here when I’m not meant to be, he’ll sack me. You promised me a week.”

“That week was under advisement. This changes everything. And that’s assuming I don’t sack you myself. I’ve already warned you once about your flippancy and your attitude.”

Freddie reigned in her annoyance. Sniping at Jason wasn’t going to help. “I’m sorry, Jason. I want to find Rafferty—or at least be able to tell his wife what happened to him. It’s personal, now.”

Jason stood and paced to the window, his hands clasped behind his back.

Freddie smiled faintly. She could almost see the cogs whirring in his brain as he paced.

He always did think best on his feet. After a minute, he gave voice to his thoughts. “Fine. Work with me here. Someone broke into our rooms last night. Trashed them, went through everything, yet nothing of value is missing. The camera, laptop, case notes, contents of the box—all still here. It must have made a lot of noise so why didn’t we hear them? My theory is they drugged us.”

“Drugged us?” Freddie pushed her hands through her hair. “Where’d you get that idea from?”

“I’m a light sleeper. I didn’t hear a thing. They even pulled the covers off of me. You crashed out dressed, not even taking your glasses off...assuming you don’t sleep in them.”

“I get red marks on my nose if I do that.” She pulled off her glasses and rubbed her nose. “See?”

“We also both woke with terrific headaches, which can be the aftereffects of a massive sedative, as well as sleeping too heavily. And I don’t mean terrific in a good way, before you say anything.”

“How would they have drugged us?”

“Wish I knew. Sleeping draughts in the cocoa? Perhaps we know too much or got too close?”

“Too much?” Freddie got to her feet and crossed over to the small sink. She filled it with water and splashed some on her face. “We know nothing, apart from the fact that Rafferty owned the mine. How can that be too much? Unless someone already knew who we are.”

“Who? The only person we’ve really had contact with is the old man in the shop. You suspect him?”

“Hardly. Though he does hate outlanders.”

“Oh, it’s definitely him, then.” Jason started pacing again. “How did you pay for the shopping?”

“I used my debit card, same as always.”

“Which one?”

“What do you mean which one? The same one I always use.” Her eyes darted to his reflection.

“Show me.” The eyes in the mirror narrowed, sending chills through her.

Drying her hands, Freddie crossed the room and picked up her purse. She pulled her card out and showed him. “This one.”

Jason rolled his eyes as he read the card. “Great…that’s just great. Nice job, Ms. Flynn,” he said sharply.

“I’m sorry?” She looked at him in surprise. “What did I do?”

“Read out the name on the card to me.” He thrust it into her hand.

“Ms. FJL Flynn…Oh…” Her voice trailed off and she closed her eyes, her face flaming. She felt sick. How could she have been so stupid? This was her fault. She may as well have written ‘Freddie was here’ on the harbor wall with the tin of black paint from the bag.

“‘Oh’ is an understatement. I ought to send you home, myself. How could you have made such a fundamental error? I’d expect that from a cadet, not from you.”

“I’m sorry.” She looked down at the floor as he tossed her words back at her.

“But if you promise you’ll not make the same stupid mistake again, I won’t send you home. This time.”

“I promise.” Freddie crossed back over to the sink, gripping the edge of it firmly. “I really am sorry. I meant to leave that one at home, just left in such a rush…”

She studied her reflection. Something wasn’t right. She dipped her hands in the water and rubbed the back of her neck and throat. Her hands froze.

“It’s gone.”

“What’s gone?” Jason was at her side in an instant.

“My new pendant. It’s not there.” Her hands patted her throat in a pointless exercise, needing to confirm what her eyes were telling her.

“Did you take it off last night?”

“No. Didn’t even take off my glasses or watch, remember? Never mind anything else.”

“Are you sure the chain didn’t just break?”

Freddie rolled her eyes. “Jason...We’d’ve found it. It would have been on the bed and it wasn’t.” She shuddered, bile rising in her throat. “It means he touched me.” Her eyes met Jason’s in horror. “What else did he do to me? You’re right, we should leave here, find someplace else to stay.”

Jason wrapped his arms around her, his physical presence radiating calmness and safety.

Freddie stiffened for a moment, and then let herself lean against him, trying to rein in the panic threatening to spill inside her.
Come on, you’re stronger than this
.

“He didn’t do anything, all right. When I found you, you were fully dressed. You’re fine.” His calm voice spoke softly, as his hands moved over her back, comforting her. “Just take a couple of deep breaths. You’re all right.”

Freddie closed her eyes, doing what Jason said. After a minute, she looked up at him, reluctant to move, but not wanting to give him the wrong idea. “Sorry.”

“It’s all right. And we need to compromise on this. I’ll hold off on calling this in on the condition we stay here. They know who we are, or at least who you are, but it’s going to look very suspicious if we just high-tail it out of here. We’ll stay for now, but if anything else happens we move and regroup. Right?”

“Right.” She paused. “I’m, uh, gonna go take a shower.”

“Sounds like a good idea. It’ll make you feel better.” He let go of her and smiled, the smile sending her weaker at the knees than she already was. “I’ll go change and come back in a few.”

9

The hot water gave Freddie some semblance of normality and control. She went back into her room and hung her towel to dry over the back of the chair. She jumped at the sharp knock at the door. She opened it and smiled at the tall figure, smelling wonderfully of shower gel, standing there.

“Hey, Jace.”

“You look better. How’s the head?”

“Last time I checked it was still on my shoulders, but as for feeling better...Meh. How are you?”

“I’m ignoring the headache. I was standing in the shower, trying to work out why the only thing taken was your pendant. You were lying face down on the bed. Whoever took it would have had to have known it was there. Plus you’d had it less than a day.”

“Yeah, well, if I knew that, then...’Sides the only other people who knew I had it were the Steeles. And I hardly think the shop owner would have broken in to get it back.” The breakfast bell sounded. “I’m not hungry.”

“We need to eat something, Freddie.” His eyes bored into hers. “Right?”

“Yeah, I know, it’s just...”

“No ifs, buts, or justs.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “We agreed to carry on as normal. That includes eating every meal and smiling inanely at the bloke at the next table.”

“I—” Freddie looked at him.

“I mean it. Either we stay and act normal or we leave and send in someone else. What’s it to be, Ms Flynn?”

“Stay and act normal, sir. I’m not going to let them win.”

“I knew you’d say that. Now, let’s go downstairs and show the world we’re not spooked, even though we are on the inside. Show me some of that spunk that I know you’ve got.” He winked and his eyes crinkled as he smiled. “You know, the kind that lets you walk into the boss’s office and tell him you don’t care if I’m the vice president or the King of England, you have no intention of working with me. Not now, not ever.”

“Oh.” Color filled her cheeks. “He told you that?”

“He liked that. Not everyone has the courage to do that. It might just sway the partnership in your favor, you never know.” He paused and grabbed her hands. “Let’s pray before we go down.”

Before Freddie could say anything, Jason’s eyes were closed and his head bowed.

“Lord, we’re both more than a little freaked out here, right now. We don’t know why this happened, or what’s in store today or the next few days. It’s beginning to look as if we stirred up a hornet’s nest here, and we need Your protection. What we do know, Lord, is that You have this whole situation, and us, within Your hands. We ask that You be with us now and give us the strength we need to get through today. Amen.”

As Jason spoke, Freddie shivered. He found it so easy to bring God into everything. He always had. And if she were honest, she’d always been jealous of that, and felt like the other woman at times, despite her faith. She watched his face. He looked like he was talking to a friend, someone he loved very much. Jealousy filled her and she fought to bury it.

As he opened his eyes she forced a smile and tugged her hands free of his. “I’m still not hungry.”

“Then come watch me eat. And if that doesn’t make you hungry, I’ll make it an order.”

“You don’t give up, do you?”

“Never have and never will.” He held a hand out. “After you.”

****

Jason watched as Freddie pushed her toast and marmalade around her plate. Although she was brushing him off, he was worried—more than worried. Freddie loved her food and for her not to want to eat something was wasn’t right. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing—I just feel sick.”

“Kill or cure.”

“Huh?”

“Eating will either stop you feeling sick or make you throw up. Either way you’ll feel better. And yes, that is an order.”

“All right.” She lifted the toast and took a small bite.

Mrs. Bowman brought over a tray of tea. She looked at Freddie. “You look a tad peaky this morning, Miss Price. Are you all right?”

“Not really. I didn’t have a very good night. Did you hear loud noises or someone walking around?”

“No I didn’t.” Mrs. Bowman glanced around the room. “Did anyone else hear anything?”

Jason watched everyone shake their heads.
I don’t like the look the Steeles just gave each other
.

Mrs. Bowman turned back to them. “Perhaps it was people outside. Your room does face onto the main road.”

“Yeah, maybe.” As Mrs. Bowman left, Freddie put down her toast. “I’m going to go lie down for a while. Do you mind if we do the zoo this afternoon?”

“Of course not. Would you like me to walk you upstairs?”

“Please.”

Jason got to his feet. His worry escalated into full blown concern. It wasn’t like her to be so thrown by something like this. She was one of the best PI’s the company had. Should he insist on getting her checked by a doctor? He stood behind Freddie, his hand lightly resting on her back. He justified both reasons for doing this. The first was to make sure she knew he was there for her and the second? He was proving a point to Nick Steele, who was watching them like a hawk.

What was Nick’s interest in them? Had he broken in? Or was it simply Jason’s own dislike of the man that made him suspect ill of him?

In the hall, he saw Mrs. Bowman about to disappear into her part of the house. “Can I have a word, Mrs. Bowman?”

“Of course, Mr. North. How can I help you?”

He led Freddie over to her and lowered his voice. “Who else has a key to the rooms here?”

“Just me. Why?”

“Both our rooms were broken into last night and all our stuff gone through and trashed.”

Mrs. Bowman’s hand shot up and covered her mouth, in a futile attempt to stifle a gasp. “Oh, my! Are you both all right?”

“Aside from the fact we both have splitting headaches, and are shaken by this, yes, we’re fine. Now I haven’t rung the police yet, as I wanted to speak with you first and hoped we could sort it out between us.”

“I hope you’re not suggesting that I...” Indignation filled Mrs. Bowman’s voice.

“No, I’m not,” Jason said. He didn’t want to get on the wrong side of her if this truly wasn’t her fault. “The thing is, when we turned in last night, we locked our doors as always. This morning they were both unlocked, the rooms trashed and a couple of things broken. The doors show no signs of forced entry, which means whoever broke in, used a key. Now, Miss Price is all for moving out today. I, on the other hand, want to stay until we’re due to leave on Monday.”

“I really am very sorry about this. How can I...Nothing like this has ever happened before, I can assure you. Was anything taken?” Mrs. Bowman wrung her hands, flustered and flushed.

“I lost nothing, but what I’d like are the spare keys to our rooms until we check out on Monday.” Jason pressed his hand firmly against Freddie’s back, hoping she’d stay silent.

“But, Mr. North...”

“The police would assume it’s an inside job, make things hard, maybe even shut you down. I don’t want that any more than you do.”

“But, how can I clean if I don’t have the keys?”

Freddie looked at her. “I’m not afraid of a little dirt, Mrs. Bowman. I just want to feel safe in my own bed. If I can’t do that, then maybe we should let Mr. North contact the police. Please, could we have the spare keys?”

“Very well. I’ll go get them.” A resigned expression coated the landlady’s face as she left.

“Thank you.” Freddie looked at Jason. “What do you mean nothing was taken? What about my pendant?”

“I said
I
didn’t have anything stolen. I didn’t say anything about you. I was hoping you’d do just what you did and keep quiet.”

Mrs. Bowman came back and Jason thanked her for the keys before leading Freddie upstairs.

Freddie unlocked her door and went inside, sitting on the bed.

Jason headed into the study and pushed the desk in front of the door leading to the hallway. Going back into the bedroom, he looked at Freddie with concern. Crossing the room in four quick strides, he knelt in front of her. He placed a gentle hand on her leg to get her attention. “Freddie, are you sure you don’t want me to get someone to check you over?”