Golden Lies - Barbara Freethy [18]
Which brought David again to her mind. He'd postponed a trip to China when that old woman had discovered the dragon statue in her attic. David never postponed trips to China, which meant the dragon was special. She didn't know why it was different from any other artifact that had come to light, but something about it had filled him with barely restrained energy. He knew something about that dragon, something he had not seen fit to share with her and she didn't like it. Nor did she like the fact that he'd been out of the office all day.
A knock at her bedroom door cut into her thoughts. For a moment, the quiet tap reminded her of other times when the loneliness had grown too keen, and David had come to the door. A shiver ran down her straight, stiff spine. What would she say if he'd come to her tonight?
The knock came again, followed by a voice. "Mother? Are you awake?"
Paige. The disappointment was not as annoying as the anger Victoria felt at herself. She didn't need David. She had everything she wanted in life.
"Come in," she said. "What are you doing here so late on a Wednesday night?" she added as Paige came into the room wearing running shoes, tight-fitting navy blue leggings, and a short matching warm-up jacket. "What on earth do you have on?"
"I came from my gym," Paige replied. "I'm sorry it's so late, but I need to speak to you."
"Why? What's wrong? And you know you can work out here in the house. The gym downstairs is state of the art and completely private."
"I like to be around other people when I exercise. It's inspiring."
"It's unsanitary. All that sweat on the machines after people use them. Heaven only knows what you might catch."
"I wipe the machines down with a towel, but that's not what I came to talk to you about." Paige sat down on the chaise next to the bed. "Have you seen Dad today or tonight?"
"No." Victoria picked up her brush and ran it through her hair, watching Paige through the glass. Her daughter was biting her nails, a nasty little habit Victoria had never been able to break her of. She remembered when she'd painted Paige's hands with a bad-tasting black polish just to make her aware of how many times she put her fingers in her mouth. It had worked for a while, but apparently the fix had not been permanent. Why was she surprised? Paige had a lot of her father in her.
"Dad didn't show up for an important meeting this afternoon," Paige said. "He's also not answering his cell phone, and no one seems to know where he is, not even Georgia."
Victoria's lips tightened. She hated the fact that David's secretary was more up-to-date on his whereabouts than she was, but she didn't particularly want to waste her time keeping track of him, so she'd allowed that to slide.
"I can't imagine where he is," Paige muttered.
Victoria heard the worried note in Paige's voice and tried not to let it concern her. Paige was a natural-born worrier. David's unexplained absence meant nothing, absolutely nothing. He was always missing. She'd spent too many hours to count waiting for David to show his face, to be where he'd promised to be, to support her when times got tough. All that had gotten her were more lines on her face. "He'll turn up. He always does—sooner or later."
"This isn't just about Dad. The dragon is missing, too."
Victoria's hand paused in mid stroke. "The dragon he was so eager to acquire?"
"Yes, but he never made an evaluation or an offer. He must have taken it somewhere for some reason. Mrs. Delaney is being incredibly patient. Her grandson is another matter. If Dad doesn't bring that dragon back to the store tomorrow, Mr. McAllister will be a huge problem."
That would be bad publicity for the store. Damn David. He never thought before he acted.
"Do you have any idea where he might be?" Paige asked.
Victoria