Red After Dark: A Romantic Thriller (Blackwood Security Book 13) Read online

  Okay, detective work was back to being exciting. This was like a roller-coaster ride. I had to tell Alaric. Lisa was nowhere in sight when I hurried back to our table, and somehow, Alaric had managed to polish off half a portion of pancakes in my absence as well as clearing his own plate. Where did he put it?

  “We need to leave,” I whispered.

  “Why? What happened?”

  “I’ll tell you in the car.”

  To give him his credit, he didn’t question me further, just left enough cash to pay for our meal plus give the waitress a handsome tip and steered me outside.

  “Don’t keep me in suspense,” he said once we were safely ensconced in the SUV.

  “There’s a witness. Well, maybe. She saw Piper and Kyla on the afternoon Piper disappeared.”

  “Who?”

  “Lisa, uh, Handley, I think? I’ll need to check the list. I saw her at a house on Lakeshore Drive, and just now she was in the bathroom.”

  “The redhead?”

  “How did you guess?”

  “Because she ran out of there like her heels were on fire. What did she say to you?”

  I recounted the conversation to Alaric, careful not to leave anything out. I should buy one of those digital recorders like Dan had. Funny how easy it was for my brain to get confuddled in the heat of the moment.

  “That’s everything?” Alaric asked.

  “I believe so, yes. What should we do to help that poor girl? Call the police?”

  “It’s not that simple. She’d most probably deny everything, and then she’d be in even more trouble.”

  “We can’t do nothing. What if her father hurts her badly? Or worse?”

  “I didn’t say we’d do nothing, but we have to watch our steps around here, and until election day, Kyla’s our priority.” Alaric stared over the steering wheel, talking almost to himself. “Piper and Kyla drove towards town, fast, but why? What was so important? A manicure? We know Kyla got there, but what happened to Piper?”

  Laughter wasn’t quite the answer I expected.

  “What? What’s so funny?”

  “It’s been staring us in the face. We must’ve driven right past her a dozen times.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “The lake. Piper’s in the damn lake. They weren’t late for class—the pair of them had a fight and Piper took off. Kyla chased her. One little tap, that’s all it would have taken, either on purpose or by accident. Either way, she covered it up. I bet someone repaired a dent in Kyla’s BMW not long afterwards. A fender bender. Fifty bucks says she claimed a scumbag ran into her car in the mall parking lot and didn’t leave a note.”

  “But…but… No. You really think she ran her best friend off the road and then went to get her nails done? Only a psychopath would do that.”

  “That’s exactly what I think.”

  I considered the logistics. In many places, Lakeshore Drive ran right next to the water, rocky drops interspersed with clumps of trees and the occasional grassy picnic area. I’d seen fishermen trying their luck, sitting on the banks late in the afternoon with cans of beer beside them. The houses on the other side of the road were set back among the trees, and traffic was light.

  “I guess it could have happened. But how will we find out?”

  I feared I already knew the answer.

  “There’s only one way—someone’s gonna have to go down there and look.”

  CHAPTER 25 - ALARIC

  THE SUN WAS kissing the horizon when Alaric climbed out of the water with Knox, one of Blackwood’s new recruits, trailing behind him. Knox was a former Navy SEAL, and Alaric’s air consumption was embarrassingly poor in comparison.

  Emmy and Nick were waiting on the shore, already changed into civvies.

  “Anything?” Emmy asked.

  Alaric shook his head. “Not unless you count a shopping cart and the remains of a bicycle.”

  Looking for a black Honda Civic along three miles of dark shoreline was never going to be an easy task. A storm on Wednesday had stirred up silt, and there were times when Alaric could barely see his hand in front of his face. He was beginning to understand Beth’s reluctance to go near open water.

  “Then let’s call it a day. We’ve lost the light now.”

  Nick nodded. “I agree.”

  Nick was also a former SEAL, as well as being a director of Blackwood and another of Emmy’s exes. This trip was turning into something of a reunion. The good news was that Nick made better company than Black, and the better news was that Black wasn’t in Kentucky anymore.

  The slightly worse news? Black had taken off to search for Ridley, who’d been keeping a low profile since news of his possible involvement in the Afghanistan massacre hit the headlines at the weekend. Although Kyla was standing by her man. At her last rally, she’d made a touching speech explaining that Ridley had merely defended himself against terrorists trying to kill him. He was a hero. Members of the opposition just didn’t support American troops and were determined to smear an honourable man in any way possible, and wasn’t that the real tragedy? Her words went down well with her audience, and now sound bites of Kyla pledging allegiance to the military while standing in front of the Stars and Stripes with her palm on her chest were circulating on social media.

  They were losing the battle. Devane was far better at PR than her opponents.

  After that day, one might have expected to see Ridley standing proudly by her side, basking in glory, but no. He’d gone to ground. Why? As far as Alaric could ascertain, there were three possible reasons.

  The first was that he’d gotten wind of what they were doing at the lake. He had to know Kyla played dirty, and maybe he was trying to distance himself from her? Or—another plausible scenario—he was on a spying mission. Several times over the last four days, the team had spotted people watching them from the road or occasionally creeping closer through nearby trees, curious about what they were doing.

  They weren’t publicising their purpose, of course. In fact, they’d done quite the opposite. Blackwood had supplied a panel van to use as a base, complete with logos for the non-existent Freshwater Eco-Survey. Whoever painted it had done a nice job. Inside, it was set up with comms equipment and an area to change, plus seating for the team to rest between dives. No bathroom, though. Emmy hated peeing in her wetsuit, so she was making regular trips to the trees and moaning like hell about it.

  But despite the subterfuge, they’d had to come clean with the local sheriff. They’d been worried he wouldn’t cooperate, but on the contrary, he seemed only too happy to wash his hands of the case and hand it over to someone who gave a shit while he focused on the important things in life, such as the department’s annual summer barbecue. Smoked mutton, anyone? Alaric trusted the man when he said he wouldn’t mention their intentions to Devane, but he didn’t have quite the same faith in the deputies. According to Harriet, some of them were relics from the days when Daddy Devane’s crony ran the department. Probably bought and paid for.

  Hence the members of the dive team were constantly on their guard, and Alaric hadn’t complained when Emmy insisted Beth stay at Lone Oak Farm with Harriet and Barkley.

  And the third possible reason why Ridley had made himself scarce? That was to do with Syria. Alaric didn’t yet know the full story because a nurse had confiscated Judd’s phone, but the upshot was, the witness had arrived in the US with Logan yesterday while Nada and Judd were back in the UK. Their roles had been reversed, and now she was sitting at his bedside in the hospital while the doctors sewed his arm back together. Apparently, Logan had offered Nada a job, but Judd said Sirius was keeping her and he’d marry her for real if necessary. Damn.

  And the best part? Following a preliminary interview with the witness, the NCIS was very keen indeed to talk with Ridley and his men. The three still on active duty had been rounded up already, and it was possible that word had gotten out to Ridley that he was a person of interest. Even though he’d left the Navy, he was still
subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice because he received retirement pay from the government.

  Emmy took the weight of Alaric’s air tank while he wriggled out of his BCD. The lake water smelled vaguely fishy, and duckweed clung to his regulator.

  “Fuck, it’s cold down there.”

  “There’s coffee waiting in the van. I might see if I can get us drysuits if we’re gonna be here much longer.”

  If only. Kentucky wasn’t known for its scuba diving. They were having to get their tanks refilled in Lexington, but the centre there only had a basic range of equipment. In early June, the water temperature was in the mid-seventies near the surface, which meant wetsuits were fine for recreational diving but got damn chilly during a time-consuming underwater search.

  “After that dive, I deserve bourbon.”

  “I need a beer,” Knox said. “Did you see that fish?”

  “What fish?”

  “Was it a catfish?” Emmy asked, flicking the duckweed away. “A massive one came out of nowhere earlier, and let’s just say I’m glad I’ve got a knife.”

  “You had to use it?”

  “No, I punched the damn thing and it swam away, but I felt better knowing the knife was there.”

  “And you didn’t think to warn us?”

  “I was worried you might chicken out if I did.”

  Seriously? “It’s a damn fish, Emmy, not a great white,” Alaric said.

  “Don’t you watch River Monsters? A catfish can kill a man, and they grow to ten feet long. Oh, and sometimes they’re venomous.”

  “You’re not really selling tomorrow’s outing.”

  “Ah, yeah, sorry.” She pulled a vicious-looking knife from a scabbard strapped to her thigh. “Want to borrow this?”

  “Thanks, but I’ll pass.” Alaric had his own knife, albeit a smaller folding one. “Have you seen my towel?”

  Nick appeared with towels for Alaric and Knox. “Here you go. Look on the bright side, we’re halfway done.”

  Halfway done with the lake, but they only had three full days until the election. Alaric wouldn’t need a knife at this rate, he’d need a flashlight, because those promised to be very long days indeed.

  “I thought you were never coming back,” Beth said. “You look exhausted.”

  Alaric tried not to let on how tired he was. “I’ve had better days. Did Harriet bring you home?”

  “No, Dan picked me up. She was on her way here from Lexington.”

  “Where I…” Dan gave them jazz hands. “Found the dude who fixed Kyla’s car.”

  “Really? He remembers?”

  Alaric had been convinced that lead would pan out to nothing.

  “Yup. And you know why he remembers?”

  “Why?”

  “Because Kyla complained about the cost. Said there was no way a new bumper should cost that much, but it was a German import, and those things are never cheap. Plus he had to knock out the dents and respray the hood, and the cherry-red was a custom colour.”

  “He’s certain it was Kyla?”

  “He recognised her from the TV. Said he and his wife are voting Republican no matter what Mr. Carnes says.”

  “Did he get curious as to why we’re asking about Kyla?” Emmy queried. “We don’t want the news getting out too soon.”

  “I told him my dad recognised her on the TV too, and he swears she was the woman who ran into his beloved truck all those years ago. Even now, he grumbles about it every Thanksgiving, and he’s determined she’s gonna pay for the damage. Walt recalls Kyla claiming a moron drove into her BMW outside the mall…” It was satisfying to be right, Alaric thought. “And he’s promised to go through the boxes of papers in his basement to see if he still has the original invoice.”

  Emmy gave Dan a high five. “Nice work, slut.”

  “Thanks, bitch.”

  “Slut?” Beth whispered. “Bitch?”

  “Terms of endearment.”

  “Right.” Beth didn’t seem convinced. “Do you want dinner yet? I didn’t have time to cook, so Dan and I stopped off on the way home and picked up Mexican. Everything’s keeping warm in the oven.”

  “I need to take a shower first.”

  Beth crinkled her nose. “Thank goodness. I didn’t want to say anything, but…”

  “I stink, I know. Give me fifteen minutes. Actually, make it twenty—I want to check in with Judd.”

  “How is he? Have you heard any more from England?”

  “Just that he’s out of the hospital.” He’d texted Alaric on the trip back to Curzon Place. “To tell you the truth, I’m more worried about Nada. She’s been through a hell of a lot this week.”

  From the Bellsfield Estate to a war zone via the emergency room. That was enough to shake anyone up, and she still had Stella Millais-Scott to contend with.

  Alaric took a quick shower, although he’d have preferred to stand under the hot water for an hour or two, then towelled off. Sweats were the order of the day. He rarely wore sportswear outside the gym, but he didn’t have the energy left to button a shirt. If he lay on the bed, he’d never get up again, so he sat at the desk in the corner of the room to call Judd.

  “And? What’s the story? Start at the beginning.”

  “Nada’s Wonder Woman and Xena Warrior Princess rolled into one. I think I’m in love.”

  “You’re in lust. That’s different. And you’d damn well better keep your hands off her.”

  “Don’t worry, I will. She still misses her husband. Plus she told me if I made a move, she’d cut my balls off.”

  Yes, Alaric was definitely a little bit in love with Nada too.

  “What happened?”

  “It was all going swimmingly. The Brits choppered us in, then we tagged along with a group of US Marines until we got near our destination. Nada had a driver lined up to meet us, an asset of hers from the old days, and he took us to get Nada’s documents and then on to the witness. The hardest part was convincing Hanifa to come with us. She was terrified, and her family didn’t want her to go, but they were living in rubble. In Syria, they could never stop running. What future did she have there?”

  “Not much of one, unfortunately.”

  “Precisely. And they want Ridley to pay.”

  “So what went wrong?”

  “You know Murphy’s Law, mate. We drank tea. Hanifa packed a bag. The driver took us to the pickup point, and the Americans came by on patrol as scheduled. Then a mile up the road, the fucking convoy drove into an ambush and all hell broke loose. It’s been a while since I got into a proper gunfight.”

  Same for Alaric. And he had no desire to get into one again.

  “What happened to your arm?”

  “The other guy ran out of ammo, so I went in for the kill, only my gun jammed, and it turned out he had a knife. Nada clubbed him with her fucking cast, then shot him in the head.”

  “Hot damn.”

  “Exactly what I said. Be still my beating heart.”

  “How’s Nada holding up now that you’re back?”

  “She says she’s never leaving London again. My mother promised this would be a straightforward trip—no drama—so Nada’s pissed off with her, and that’s an understatement. And Mother’s due here any minute, so I have to go and mediate.”

  “Good luck with that.”

  “I don’t need luck, I need body armour.”

  When Judd hung up, Alaric closed his eyes and took a long breath. He hated this part of the job. Yesterday, he’d almost lost two friends, one old and one new. Sirius was supposed to be a safe venture, trading in information rather than bullets, in secrets rather than body parts. Technically, Judd had been freelancing for MI6 on the Syria job, but still… They were playing a dangerous game.

  At times, Alaric wanted to flip the board and walk away, but he’d already done that once, and trouble still found him. He didn’t choose this career. It chose him.

  “You okay?”

  He looked up to see Emmy standing in the
doorway, wet hair hanging over her shoulders.

  “Yeah.”

  “You seem pensive, that’s all.”

  “It’s this damn job.”

  “The diving?”

  “No, all of it. Sometimes, I wish I could quit again. Go back to the beach and bum around for the rest of my life.”

  “Then why don’t you? As long as you leave an email address this time, I won’t kick your arse.”

  “I’ve come to the conclusion that the job won’t let me quit.”

  Emmy’s cocky expression faltered, and a second later, it was replaced by a sad smile. When she spoke, her words were so soft Alaric could barely hear them.

  “Welcome to my world, Prince.”

  CHAPTER 26 - ALARIC

  “WHERE’S BLACK?” ALARIC asked on the way to the lake on Saturday morning. “Any new leads on Ridley?”

  Emmy took a sip from her family-sized mug of coffee. “One of Mack’s alerts pinged. Ridley got a speeding ticket on the way to Memphis two days ago.”

  “Memphis?”

  “He’s got family there, but so far, he hasn’t shown up near any of their homes. We’re watching them.”

  “We’re watching them, and they’re watching us.”

  The onlookers had been up by the road again yesterday, hovering from dawn till dusk. A local reporter had approached the dive team after lunch, wanting photos and an interview for a story on local ecology, and a fisherman complained they were scaring the bass away, but apart from that, their unwanted audience stayed silent. At times, it felt as if Piper’s spirit were watching them too. Alaric got the same prickly feeling every time he looked at Dominique in Red After Dark.

  Had Ridley’s men been among the crowd? Dan had mingled, taking photos for Mack to analyse. If Beth had been on the shore, Alaric wouldn’t have wanted to leave her alone, just in case, but Dan could take care of herself, as could Emmy and Nick. They knew the score. He had to take comfort in that.

  “Mack hasn’t identified any known adversaries so far, and she’s good at what she does.”

  “I know.”

  Still, having Ridley lurking in the background was concerning.

  “Maybe we should get a couple of extra people here? To keep an eye on things?”