The Keeping (54 page)

Yes, Greyson was a
suspicious bastard, but then he wouldn’t have gotten where he was
any other way. It was a cut-throat world and Aldrich had a grudging
respect for his employer in that regard. On the other hand, the man
was cold-hearted, arrogant, and likely to turn on you the minute
you let your guard down. At present he was in Greyson’s good
graces, but it was a tenuous position at best. Greyson made a bad
enemy, so Aldrich had sucked up, kowtowed, and carried out every
task the man had set before him.

But not anymore.
Melody Greene was going to be his ticket out. She was a werewolf
and if Greyson was interested in werewolves then there had to be
money in it somehow. Money was the only language Greyson
understood. Some even rumoured that his heart was a bank vault.
Well if that was the case, Leon Aldrich was about to make a
personal withdrawal. He’d take the girl and tuck her away in his
cottage—after all, he wasn’t getting to use the place for
relaxation as he’d planned that weekend; he might as well make some
use of the expensive piece of property. Once she was secured, he
could start putting out feelers among his old contacts, people
associated with the black market who would know where he could get
the greatest profit from her sale. Private collectors,
scientists... Who knew where there might be a market for such a
specimen?

Alternatively, he
could keep her. Put her on display, charge admission, even rent her
out... Briefly he’d considered the idea but then decided against
it. A quick turn over would be the easiest way. Aldrich had a
feeling that Greyson would be less than pleased when he realized
Ms. Greene never returned with a report. If he had the money from
her sale stashed away, he could leave at a moment’s notice if it
appeared Greyson was going to lay the blame on him.

A less clever
person would try to disappear along with Ms. Greene, but Aldrich
knew if he suddenly quit, Greyson would be suspicious. It was
better to stay around for a few months and then hand in a carefully
worded resignation before slipping away to enjoy the fruit of his
labours.

Aldrich smiled as
he parked the car, noting it was about an hour until sunset.
Greyson wanted him gone by then and he would be. He’d planned
everything down to the last detail; had all the angles covered. Now
he just had to get rid of Taylor, collect the woman, and be on his
way. He stepped out of the car, the little tool box in his hand,
and casually looked around. Excellent. No one in sight.

Pulling out the
key, he unlocked the door, keeping his gun at the ready. He
suspected they would try to attack the minute he entered the room.
Ha! He was no fool, he was ready for them. Flexing his fingers on
the gun, he took a deep breath, turned the handle, and then in a
rush shoved the door open.

Muscles tensed, he
braced himself for the attack. Somewhere in his mind he registered
surprise that it wasn’t happening immediately. His gaze quickly
skimmed the room as he wondered from where the ambush would occur.
Suddenly, the sweep of his eyes came to an abrupt halt. There was a
gaping hole in the floor. Dropping his arm to his side, the gun
dangled useless from his fingers. Damn! They found the escape
tunnel.

Aldrich pocketed
the gun and ran his hands agitatedly through his hair. This wasn’t
part of his plan! For a moment he let his fury get the better of
him as he slammed his fist into the wall then kicked the table.
Then, exerting the self-control he’d cultivated all his life, he
pulled himself together and considered the options while rubbing
his sore knuckles. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, forcing himself
to focus on the end goal... He narrowed his eyes as his thinking
came into sharp focus. They hadn’t won yet. There were always other
options if one was just clever enough and persistent enough to find
them.

He widened his
eyes as a possibility occurred to him. The route through the sewers
was convoluted, involving crawling through sludge and pulling open
a series of grates. There were also a few dead ends if one took the
wrong turn. However, the above ground route to the culvert where
the sewer ended could be traversed in but a short length of
time.

Smirking, Aldrich
exited the safe house and locked the door before taking off through
the woods to the drainage ditch where his werewolf would be
emerging.

*****

Cassandra rolled
over in bed, cautious to not make any sounds that would indicate
she was awake. She eyed the crack of light that appeared beneath
the door that connected her bedroom to the sitting room. The faint
sound of voices let her know that the nurse was engrossed in her
favourite television show. In the week that the woman had been
employed by her uncle, she hadn’t varied in her routine, always
watching the latest craze in reality shows at this time. Since the
program lasted an hour, Cassandra calculated that she had plenty of
time to sneak out, check the small hut at the back of the property,
and be back in bed without anyone noticing her absence.

While it was still
light outside, her room was dark due to the heavy curtains on the
windows. This would work to her advantage on the off chance that
anyone peeked inside to check on her. Climbing out of bed, she
arranged her pillows to mimic the shape of a body. Then she drew
the covers over them and stood back to admire the effect. It was a
juvenile trick, but since everyone insisted on treating her as a
child, she had no other recourse.

After giving the
covers a final twitch, she hurriedly pulled on jeans and a T-shirt,
slid her feet into her running shoes, and peered out the
window.

She analysed the
view. The trees cast long shadows in the late afternoon light;
Cassandra’s attention was caught by the vehicle parked on the
gravel near the hut. Hmm... There was Mr. Aldrich’s car. And he was
exiting the hut and heading off through the woods. Now that was
peculiar. Perhaps she’d follow him first rather than checking out
the hut. Casting a final glance at the door to the sitting room
where the nurse was likely still engrossed in watching TV, she
exited her room and stealthily crept down the hallway.

There was an old
dumb-waiter at the end of the hall. No one ever used it. In fact,
its existence was almost forgotten. Cassie had used the fact to her
advantage several times. Despite its age, the miniature elevator
worked smoothly due to her application of baby oil to the pulleys
and gears. With practised ease, she climbed in and lowered herself
to main floor, just inside the kitchen pantry. Holding her breath,
she listened as she heard Franklin speaking to Cook.

“Mr. Greyson will
be eating by himself tonight.”

“And Miss
Cassandra?”

“He said you could
send a light meal up to her room, though he doubts she’ll be eating
much.”

“Poor dear,
plagued with such dreadful headaches.”

“Indeed. Oh, and
don’t forget to send something up to the new nurse.”

Cassie heard the
cook tsking in what sounded like disapproval.

“Some nurse. She’s
just here because she thinks it’s a cushy job. Hardly good enough
for our young miss.”

“I believe Mr.
Greyson might be inclined to agree with you. I overheard him
chastising her just half an hour ago. Apparently, Miss Cassandra
changed all the clocks on her and the woman didn’t even notice.”
Franklin spoke in a conspiratorial tone and Cassie clapped a hand
over her mouth to stifle a giggle. For all his supposed dignity,
the man loved a good gossip and was nothing but a teddy bear
inside.

Cook laughed.
“Serves her right. You have to be on your toes around our little
miss. She’s a sneaky one.”

With that the two
servants could be heard walking away.

Cassandra opened
the door a crack and peeked out. Seeing that the coast was clear,
she jumped down, landing lightly on the balls of her feet. After
closing the door of the dumb waiter, she quickly headed towards the
rear exit.

Knowing exactly
where all the sensors and security cameras were, she began the
careful process of avoiding each device as she made her way towards
the woods where Mr. Aldrich had disappeared from sight. It was the
long way around and would give him a considerable head start, but
it couldn’t be helped if she wanted to avoid detection.

*****

Greyson put down
the financial reports he was trying to read and rubbed the back of
his neck. He always got a strange feeling there when something was
wrong. His mother had said it was the fairies trying to warn him of
danger. At the time, he’d scoffed; his mother’s old Irish tales had
meant nothing to him. Yet, over the years, he’d learned to trust
that tingling feeling. It had kept him from bad business deals and
at least one attempt on his life. The last time he had ignored the
sensation, his beloved Luisa had died.

Pushing back his
chair, he stood and concentrated on the feeling. On occasion, he’d
get some indication as to where the trouble might be coming from,
but usually it was just a sense of unease that made him extra alert
to those around him and their possible motives.

Nothing, he
thought, was happening tonight. No business deals. No guests.
Hmm... Perhaps he should check on Cassandra. Maybe the little minx
was up to something. As he climbed the stairs, a horrifying
possibility crossed his mind. Had she only pretended to take her
pill earlier on? Was she on the verge of transforming?

Greyson quickened
his pace. The nurse was with her, but had no idea as to the girl’s
true condition. He wasn’t about to trust such sensitive information
to a temporary employee, and all the nurses were temporary. If he
kept one around too long, they might become suspicious of the
medication...

He gave the
briefest knock on Cassie’s door before pushing it open, without
waiting for a response. A sigh of relief escaped him when he saw
the lump in her bed. Turning to go, he noticed the window curtain
had been pulled aside. Now that’s strange, he mused. Hadn’t he
watched the girl close it? Pivoting on his heel, he studied the bed
again, then stalked over. The lump was too large, to uniform... He
yanked back the covers and found a row of strategically arranged
pillows.

“Damn that girl!”
He exploded, contemplating what he’d do when he finally got his
hands on her. Didn’t she realize the danger she was putting herself
in? Logically, he knew she didn’t, since she believed she merely
suffered from migraines. But the part of him that was scared to
death for her wellbeing wasn’t yet willing to acknowledge calm
reason. He threw the covers to the ground in fury.

On the off chance
that she was still in her suite, Greyson barged into the sitting
room, surprising the nurse who was biting her thumb and hugging a
pillow as she watched TV.

“Where’s
Cassandra?” The barked question had the nurse jumping to her
feet.

“In her room,
resting. Just like always, sir.”

“Like hell she
is!” Grabbing the woman’s arm, Greyson dragged her into Cassie’s
room and shoved her towards the bed. “Look. Pillows! Dammit woman,
when did you last check on her?”

“N-n-not too long
ago.” The nurse stammered, nervously twisting her hands
together.

“Well it’s been
long enough for her to slip out on you!” Greyson fumed as he tried
to figure out where his young ward might have gone. Remembering the
crooked curtain, he strode to the window and looked out. Cassie had
been staring at something earlier today, but what? He studied the
view and realized the small safe house was visible from this
window. Had she seen him and Aldrich talking earlier on? If so...
He rubbed his chin. Aldrich’s car was back. Could Cassie have gone
to investigate? It was worth checking.

Turning he saw the
nurse still hovering near the bed. The woman was useless. “You’re
fired. I want you out of here in less than an hour.
Understood?”

The woman nodded,
then burst into tears and ran from the room.

As Greyson hurried
down the stairs, he considered calling the security guard that had
remained on duty to help in the search for Cassandra. When he
reached the main floor, he hesitated. What if she had transformed
into a wolf? No, it was too dangerous. It was better that he looked
himself. She’d listen to him, no matter what form she was in.

*****

Mel and Ryne
crawled on their hands and knees through the sewer pipe. To Mel, it
seemed like they’d been doing this for hours. Her knees were
complaining from the unaccustomed use and her palms were screaming
for mercy as tiny nicks and cuts abraded their surface. The bottom
of the pipe was covered in a sludgy substance that hid rocks, twigs
and other sharp bits of debris. It also made disgusting sucking
sounds each time they moved as if it was trying to keep them from
escaping its slimy clutches. Ryne insisted it wasn’t a sanitary
sewer, but rather one that was used to collect runoff from rain
water. Mel dearly hoped he was right, but had her doubts given the
stench that permeated the air.

At least they were
no longer commando crawling on their bellies like they had been
initially. After making their way through a series of mesh gates,
the pipe had widened to a more comfortable height and they were now
on their hands and knees. Finally off her belly and able to open
her mouth without fear of ingesting the disgusting muck that
splashed in her face, Mel made her feelings known.

“Ryne, if we ever
get out of this pipe, I’m never listening to another idea of yours
again.”

“I didn’t hear you
come up with a better one.” He paused in his crawling and looked
back at her over his shoulder. The lighting was almost nil, but Mel
managed to make out his filth splattered face.

“Well, if you’d
listened to me, we wouldn’t have turned left at that last
junction.”