Bones of a Feather - Carolyn Haines [42]
Guilt hit me like a sledgehammer. My fiancé was in a city where beautiful young women were a dime a dozen, yet he was alone. Not to mention I’d conveniently forgotten Graf was completely unaware I was on a case. The truth had to be told.
“I’m in Natchez. Cece is here, too, but she’s down in the Eola bar.”
“And you’re safely in your room,” he said, teasing me gently.
“Absolutely. Cece is a free agent, but my heart is taken.” Even as I said the words I felt like a cad. I wouldn’t betray Graf with another man, but was taking a case deception enough?
“Is Cece working on a story in Natchez?” Graf jumped to the best possible reason for my presence in the river city.
“She’s keeping me company. Tinkie and I took an insurance case. Stolen necklace.” Well, maybe not the whole truth.
Billie wailed about her lover man, and time ticked by in silence.
“This is what I do, Graf.”
“I know,” he said. “I do understand. It’s just that I want you to be safe.”
“And I love that.” We weren’t on different pages, we just had different needs. “This won’t be dangerous.” The skin on the back of my neck prickled. I turned around, expecting to see Jitty behind me, but no one was there. Aunt Loulane would say someone had walked over my grave. It was a disturbing thought.
“I’ve given this a lot of thought,” he said, “and it isn’t right for me to ask you to give up what you love, but I can’t promise I can endure a lot more. When you put yourself in the line of fire, you take my heart along with you. If you keep getting hurt and scaring me … if I feel I’m going to lose you to some crazed individual, I’m afraid I’ll make myself stop caring, Sarah Booth. Not because I want to, but because I have to protect myself.”
“I don’t want to be hurt, and I don’t want to hurt you. I love you, but I have to feel free to live. I promise I’ll be careful.”
“Keep yourself safe. If it looks dangerous, promise me you’ll walk away.”
My relief was immense. Graf wasn’t going to issue an ultimatum or ask me to change my life. He would try to accept it, and it was up to me to safeguard his heart. Even though I was tired, I wanted to dance around the room. “You have my word. Now, want to hear about the Levert sisters and their blackguard ancestor, Barthelme Levert?”
“Tell me a story,” Graf said.
And I did. We talked for nearly an hour. I filled him in on Natchez history and the things I’d learned in my short stay there. I hung up happy.
When my cell phone rang again, I thought it was Graf with another good-night kiss. “Forget something, baby?”
“It’s Eleanor. I got another call from the kidnappers.” She rushed on. “I heard Monica crying in the background. The man said they would hurt her if I didn’t get the insurance money.”
My good mood evaporated. “Was the voice familiar?”
“It sounded like the same person who called before.”
“Eleanor, please reconsider calling the police. They can tap your phone and trace these calls. They might be able to locate Monica.”
“No!” Her will was iron. “I will not endanger my sister over mere money. I’ll collect the insurance money tomorrow. I’ll give it to him. Every cent of it.”
“Will Langley Insurance pay out that fast?” I’d never actually worked an insurance case, but I’d assumed it would take months to get a company to fork over so much money.
“They will, or they will suffer the consequences. My sister’s life hangs in the balance. I can cash out some stocks, but I can’t raise enough to free Monica without the insurance settlement. Monica and I … aren’t liquid.”
So without the insurance money, she couldn’t ransom her sister. The kidnapper was someone who knew the sisters’ business far too well. Not a coincidence, I was willing to bet. “What else did he say?”
“He’ll call tomorrow with instructions for the drop. Have you and Mrs. Richmond found anything useful?”
I should have informed her about Barclay, but I wasn’t certain he was truly related. “Did Monica ever live in West Palm Beach and