The Widow and the Will (25 page)

Chapter 46

On a whim, Tess had decided to drive over to Hudson’s office. She couldn’t stand being in the apartment a minute longer. Even her beloved cats were driving her crazy with their incessant need for attention. She stood in the doorway to Hudson’s inner office, and her breath stopped when her eyes met Ford’s. He actually looked happy to see her and almost smiled. She could tell he stopped himself at the last moment by the way the smile died and then faded away.

“What are you doing here?” Hudson turned around to see her.

“I needed to get out of the house. What are you guys talking about?”

Hudson pulled a chair from the other room so she could sit next to Ford. Tess was glad he didn’t notice when Ford shoved his own chair back a little bit, creating more distance between them.

“Do you want some coffee or water?” Hudson asked as she sat down.

“Water would be great.”

Hudson turned to the minifridge to get her drink and she looked quickly at Ford. He was staring at his folded hands resting in his lap. Tess smiled, but he didn’t see it. She wished she could be alone with him for five minutes. Unfortunately, Hudson was there and handing her a bottle of Aquafina.

“So what’s going on?”

Hudson looked at Ford and then smiled at her. Tess didn’t know whether to feel hopeful or sick.

“We have some good news. We may have traced the poison back to some plants that Ford found in the Kingstons and Andrews’ front yards.”

Hope soared through Tess’s body. “That’s great! Right?”

“Yes. We’re having it confirmed with an expert. Ford and I want to speak with Andrews, but we can’t do it on the work premises. And we think if he sees Ford, he might bolt.”

“Okay.” Tess crinkled her brow as she listened, wondering what they wanted her to do. She didn’t have to wait long for an answer.

“My thought was to have you reach out to Andrews for a meeting or something, and then we feed you some questions to ask. You could wear a wire and a camera so we could get a sense of his answers.”

“And my thought is you should stay out of it,” Ford said quietly, still not looking at her.

“Well that’s not going to happen,” Tess retorted. “If there’s any chance we can get me out of this mess, I’m all in. You just tell me everything you want me to do.”

Hudson quivered with excitement. “Good, now that it’s settled, let’s work out the logistics.”

Ford glared at Hudson and it wasn’t lost on Tess.
Now that’s interesting
, she thought.
I really need to get him alone
.

“Maybe you could show up to the doc’s office on Monday and ask him out to lunch or something?” Hudson suggested.

“Under what pretense?” Ford interrupted.

Hudson glared at him.

“He’s right.” Tess gave them both a sympathetic look. “But it just so happens I have the perfect excuse to stop into the office.”

The men stared at her, waiting for more. “Well?” Hudson asked after a few seconds. “You gonna tell us or make us play charades?”

Tess gave him a sour face, but then smiled. “I finally finished the last of the transcription I had. Usually I email it, but I could hand deliver it just to say goodbye to everyone.”

“Brilliant!” Hudson shouted. “Then, while you’re there, you can think of a way to get near him or talk to him. Maybe invite a bunch of them to lunch? Or drinks after work?”

Tess shrugged. “That might work. Those gals love to go to the Blue Goose Inn on Jefferson on Tuesdays for Mexican. Maybe he’ll come along, but I can’t guarantee it.” The hope she felt earlier dampened just a little. She couldn’t remember Mike ever having joined them before.

“Is there anyone there you’re particularly close with?” Ford asked. “Maybe you could tell her to make sure he comes or something?”

“I could try, but I’m not sure I trust anyone. Especially now that you’ve been there asking questions. They’ll be suspicious of me.”
Great, more funny looks
.
First a widow and now a murderer
.

“All we can do is try. Head over there Monday around lunch time and see what you can do. Then give me or Ford a call and let us know how it went. I’ll have my brother get started on getting the surveillance equipment together so you can be wired up.”

“What if they want to go to lunch right then?” Tess asked. “I could use my phone to record stuff, I guess.”

“If that happens, be prepared. Otherwise, set it up for whatever night and then we’ll make sure you have everything you need. And we’ll be listening.”

Chapter 47

Lilly wasn’t keen on Tess going alone to the doctor’s office. When she found out about the half-baked plan Hudson had convinced her sister to carry out, she had insisted on joining Tess on the mission. If this Mike person was really involved and capable of murder, then Lilly wasn’t about to let her only sister walk into a situation without some form of backup.

Sure enough, when they got to Dr. Guildford’s office just before lunch time, most of the staff was milling around, wondering where they would go and what they would do. When they saw Tess, they all surrounded her with supportive hugs and good wishes, leaving only polite nods and smiles for Lilly. She watched carefully to see if she got any sense of unease from the staff, but her internal radar wasn’t cut out for that kind of thing. Still, she kept her eyes and ears open just in case.

Lilly knew that Hudson was hoping the staff would be open to a night out for drinks after work so that he and Ford could follow along and listen in on whatever happened. But she knew that the abrupt appearance of Tess on the premises would likely encourage them to want to spend time with her right then, and not wait for another night. When Tess tried to suggest the Blue Goose for the next night, it was Molly Kincaid who insisted they all go out for lunch right then. El Charro was just down the street and they could all go there. Luckily, Molly cornered and convinced everyone to go, even Mike Andrews. Lilly expected him to be reluctant, but he seemed as excited as everyone else. She didn’t like the looks of him from the moment she saw him, with his excessive muscles and hipster ponytail.

Not knowing what else to do, Tess agreed and she and Lilly went out to the car to head off for the restaurant, promising to save enough spaces at the tiny eatery on Harper. “I told you this would happen,” Lilly admonished as they walked up to the car. “I’ll drive and you text Hudson and Ford. Let them know what’s going on.”

“Okay. Don’t sound so worried. It’s broad daylight on a Monday. What do you think’s going to happen?” Tess blew off her sister’s concern and Lilly wanted to smack her upside the head for it.

“And you don’t take things seriously enough. The fact is, we don’t
know
what might or might not happen. You need to be on guard, sis.”

“
Okay
, sis.”

Lilly drove them to the restaurant and parked in the closest spot she could get to the door. Tess was busy sending text messages when cars carrying the staff of Dr. Guildford’s office began to arrive, taking all the surrounding spaces. Mike Andrews’s little red Prius pulled in on the driver’s side in the only handicap space available. Lilly gave him a stern look as she exited her car and he shrugged his enormous shoulders.

“I had knee surgery a couple of months ago. I have a temporary tag.”

Lilly nodded but didn’t say anything. He hadn’t been limping earlier and he wasn’t now, but the red temporary handicap flyer was displayed predominantly from his rearview mirror.

All through the meal, her former coworkers peppered Tess with questions about everything under the sun while Lilly sat quietly beside her, eating her lunch. Tess did a good job of answering the questions and playing the part of grief-stricken widow and stunned suspect in her husband’s homicide. It wasn’t really that big of a stretch. Her phone was recording everything going on, just as Hudson had told her to do. Lilly kept her eye on Mike Andrews but he did nothing to set himself apart from the group. He didn’t ask any questions of his own though, but just listened and ate. He laughed when appropriate and shot Tess looks of sympathy when it was the right thing to do. Still, Lilly had glommed onto him because there was no one else she could put in her cross hairs besides Roger and David Kingston.

When almost an hour had gone by, Daphne Moore announced that it was time to get back to the office. There were groans from some of the nurses, but they knew they had patients to see. A hoard of bodies dressed in scrubs floated toward the door with Tess and Lilly behind them. Outside in the parking lot, Tess received hugs from everyone and they all filtered into their cars, departing in a line. Only the red Prius remained.

“Where’s Mike?” Lilly whispered, looking around to survey the area.

“I don’t know.” Tess was busy looking at her phone, which had blown up with messages from Hudson.

Lilly frowned. “Get in the car. We’ll head over to Hudson’s.” She stepped off the curb and opened the car door. As she stepped around to sit down, the door was shoved hard, catching her head in between it and the frame of the car. Bright white spots of light filled her vision and she slumped to the ground. Her last thought was
Fuck
!

Chapter 48

Mike Andrews grabbed Tess by the arms from behind and wheeled her toward his car before she even knew what was happening. Her phone clattered to the pavement and she yelled, “Hey!” as it shattered and the pieces scattered all over the place.

He arced an arm around and punched her squarely in the side of the head. She slumped and stopped struggling, and he was able to dump her into the passenger side of his car.

Running around to the driver’s side, he hopped in and started the vehicle. He peeled out of the parking lot and headed north on Harper Avenue.

Chapter 49

“Something’s not right.”

Ford paced back and forth in the office, staring at his phone. “Tess isn’t responding to any of my texts. She said they were finishing lunch and would be here within ten minutes.”
This is not good
.

“Maybe she and Lilly stopped for coffee or something.” Hudson was watching his phone too, waiting for a message from his client. He didn’t sound convinced.

Just then, Lilly burst through the office door, blood pouring down the side of her head. She staggered toward Hudson, who caught her in his arms before she went to the floor. “He took her,” she whimpered. “Mike Andrews took her.”

“
God dammit
!” Ford roared. He knew the whole thing had been a mistake. He hadn’t wanted Tess involved in anything like this and he could have beaten the shit out of his brother for coming up with the stupid plan to begin with. “Call 9-1-1!” he yelled as he ran out of the office. He pulled up the app on his phone to see if he could find Mike Andrews as he ran to his motorcycle, grateful as hell that he’d put the tracking device on the Prius. Hopping on, the engine screamed to life. Ford pulled his blue tooth earphones out of his saddlebag and turned on the device. With shaky hands, he paired it to his phone and made sure they were working.

Anxious to get on the road, he forced himself to follow all the necessary steps it took to get his phone into voice activation mode. He wouldn’t have two hands available to manipulate it as he drove the bike. He tested the necessary apps for texting and calling by shouting commands to open, close, and operate them. Satisfied that he could keep in contact with Hudson by text and voice, Ford gunned the engine and took off. His phone beeped and a bubble popped up with the location of the car. He was on I-94 West heading toward the Port Huron area.

Zooming down Harper toward the freeway on-ramp, Ford clenched his teeth and forced himself to take deep breaths. The last thing Tess needed was for him to let his rage get the best of him.
Focus
.
Stay calm
.
You will catch up
.
You will find them
. He repeated the words in his head over and over, even though his vision was clouded with fear and anger.

It wasn’t just a crush or some nostalgic infatuation anymore. Ford couldn’t lie anymore. He was falling in love with Tess. The thought of her being taken by force and suffering only God knew what at the hands of the possible killer just about made him crash the bike as he whizzed between cars, racing along I-94 West.

Chapter 50

Lilly refused to let Hudson take her to the hospital. He wanted her head looked at and felt it might need a stitch or two, but there was no way in hell she was leaving his office. Police officers milled back and forth, alternately stopping to ask her questions. She answered them as best she could, but couldn’t focus on anything but the fact that her sister was missing, taken by a lunatic who probably had a hand in killing her brother-in-law.

“Ma’am,” said the latest uniformed cop, “you really should be looked at.”

“I’m
fine
,” she snarled. “Don’t worry about me, go and find my
sister
!”

Hudson arrived by her side and shooed him away. Sitting down beside her, he put his arm around her shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Lilly. This is all my fault.”

“You’re goddamn right it is,” she snapped. “This isn’t some television crime drama. This is
real life
, asshole.”

Hudson took her recriminations in silence and she was glad. Had he said anything to defend himself, she would have punched him in the throat. Logically, she knew he hadn’t intended for Tess to be hurt or in any danger, but it didn’t matter now. She
was
in danger and Lilly wasn’t there to protect her.

“Can I get you anything?” he asked softly, his arm still around her and Lilly took a moment to realize how much she appreciated the weight of it there.

“My sister.”

Hudson sighed. “They’re doing everything they can. Ford’s tracking him and they’re tracking Ford. We’ll find her.”

“They better. And she better not have a scratch on her or else Mike Andrews won’t see the next sunrise.” The hard edge in her voice even gave
her
a slight chill. Hudson felt her shiver and squeezed a little tighter.

“I haven’t called your parents yet. Do you want me to?”

Lilly hesitated. That was the most difficult decision she could be faced with. “I don’t know. Part of me wants to not worry them, but when they find out I didn’t call them, I’m going to be toast.” Turning her face toward his, Lilly realized they were within kissing distance and it shocked her. She tried to pull back, but Hudson refused to let her go. “What would you do?”

Hudson shook his head and pulled on her so that her head rested on his shoulder. “I don’t know, Lilly. I don’t have any parents who worry about me, so I don’t know what that’s like. They seem like strong people, though. I’d probably call them.”

Lilly sighed and reached into her pocket for her cell phone. “Okay. I’ll do it. Just promise you’ll stand between me and my dad so he doesn’t kill me.”

Hudson gave a weak chuckle. “You got it.”