Ring of Lies (72 page)

He staggered across the room
into the hallway. His outstretched hand gripped the banister, but
the
effort was too much. His semi-consc
ious body slumped to the
floor;
his wife’s name an unspoken whisper on his lips.

Grace woke with a rush of adrenaline. Muffled sounds came from downstairs.
Wide-awake
, she lay still, hardly daring to breathe.
A rustle from the other side of the bed told her that Jack had heard the noise too.

His lips brushed her ear.
‘
Stay here,
’
he breathed, and reached for the gun he’d left on the bedside table.
‘
I’ll check out the house.
Call Anderson—speed dial two on my cell phone
—and tell him we have an intruder
.
’

Grace bit back her scream, and watched him pull on his jeans. She wanted to protest, but knew she wouldn’t win the argument, so merely nodded her agreement.

Semi-naked, Jack flipped the safety
off his weapon
, then crossed silently to the closed bedroom door and listened.

A
nother
muffled thump came from below.

Sweat slid down his spine.
His pulse kicked
. He opened the
door a mere inch
. The light in the hall was on.

He hadn’t left it that way.

Jack weighed up the risk of staying put versus facing the intruder and decided he didn’t like the odds either way. He glanced briefly over his shoulder. Grace sat on the side of the bed, her arms folded across her chest, her breathing ragged. He gesticulated toward the bathroom, hoping she’d take the hint and lock herself in
,
do anything
except sit there waiting for whatever fate would befall them.

He put his ear to the door once more.

Silence.

He opened it a fraction. When no one slammed it into his face, he stepped onto the landing. His fingers tightened around the stock of his gun. He leaned over the banister and peered down into the hallway below.

Empty.

Keeping his back to the wall, he crept down the stairs. The marble floor tiles felt ice cold under his feet as he moved stealthily through the hall to the kitchen. Another muted noise came from inside. His heart rate picked up, sharpening his senses.

The door was ajar, a thin ribbon of light showed through the crack.
A suitcase stood on the floor next to the counter.
He rammed into
the door
with the full weight of his body.
‘
FBI,
’
he shouted.
‘
Don’t move!
’

The
woman
stood
next to the sink screamed. The glass slipped from her fingers, and shattered in
to
vicious shards
.

‘
Keep your hands where I can see them, and turn around slowly.
’

For a long moment, Jack stared
at
her
. Slender
,
and of medium height, with
wavy
blonde hair
and
brown
eyes, she held her h
ands out by her side
.
As he approached, s
he lifted her chin, and boldly met his gaze.

‘
Let’s see some identification
,
’
he ordered.

T
he woman
stiffened at the challenge
.
‘
In my purse on the table. I’m
—
’

Grace appeared in the doorway
, eyes and mouth wide open
.
‘
Catherine
?
Catherine!
Oh, thank God
!
’
She rushed forward and
seized
her sister
in a shuddering embrace
.
‘
I’ve been worried sick. Didn’t you receive any of my messages? How did you know where to find me?
’

Catherine almost sobbed with relief, hating herself
for being pleased to see
her sister
.

Jack put his gun on safety and tucked
it
into the waistband of his jeans.
‘
I’d still like to know
how you got in here.
’

Catherine turned her mind over and over, struggling to
remember the name of her
sister
’s friend
,
the one
Grace
always confided in.

‘
Olivia,
’
she said at last.
‘
I phoned Olivia and she told me you were here.
’

‘
Then you know about Daniel,
’
Grace said, her face
sombre
.

There was silence, during which Catherine sucked in a breath. Every nerve in her body erupted with spasms of alarm.
Something was wrong. Horribly wrong.
She jerked free of her sister’s arms and gripped the edge of the counter for support.

‘
What
…
what
about Daniel?
’

‘
You’d better sit down, Cat,
’
Grace said, using her sister’s childhood nickname.

‘
I don’t need to sit down. Just tell me what you mean.
’

‘
There’s no easy way to say this—
Daniel’s dead.
’

‘
Oh, God, no! No! You’re lying. It’s not true.
’
Catherine covered her face with her hands. Her heart was beating too fast, making her head spin, her skin damp. She would have fallen had it not been for t
he counter supporting her back.

‘
Daniel’s fit, healthy, and young. He can’t be dead.
Why are you saying this?
’

‘
Because it’s the truth.
’

Catherine
’s
brown
eyes showed the tortured dullness of disbelief. She
sank to her knees.
‘
H-how did it happen?
’

Grace slid a supporting arm around her sister’s shoulders
and helped her to her feet.
Catherine staggered
across the room to the table, and
flopped
down in a chair.
Nausea churned in her throat, tears streamed down her face.

‘
Jack, fetch the brandy,
’
said Grace.

Jack thrust a glass into Catherine’s hands. She tossed it back and held
it
out for a refill.

Grace handed
her sister
a tissue and waited for her sobs to subside, then explained how Daniel had died.

Jack leaned against the kitchen
counter
, and watched the
interaction between the
two sisters.

When Grace finished
speaking
, Catherine dug in
to
her purse for her cigarettes. Her hand shook as she struck the match. She drew in smoke, the nicotine made her lightheaded, adding to the side effects of the drug she’d taken hours before. Confused, she
struggled to concentrate.

‘
Dear God.
’
Catherine blinked hard and gulped,
fighting the
tears. She lifted a hand to her sister’s cheek.
‘
I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry
,
I was away at a sales conference when you needed me most.
’

Grace squeezed Catherine’s hand.
‘
You’re here now, that’s all that matters. Hearing about Daniel
’s death
like this must be a shock. I know you loved him too.
’

A quick glimpse at Grace’s dishevelled state and heightened colo
u
r made
Catherine
think
there was more to her sister’s relationship with
Jack
. Maybe, just maybe she could turn that to her advantage
.
She drew a long breath and chose her words carefully.

‘
I can’t believe my brother-in-law was some sort of criminal. He provided a home for me after Mum and Dad died. He paid for my education, taught me to drive. He paid attention to me. Yet the man you describe
,
he seems so alien, so different, to the Daniel I knew.
’

‘
He deceived us both.
Did you know he kept a mistress?
’