Page 53 of Safeguarding the Witness

“Just do it.”

Youngblood had probably been working for Madison when he supplied Dad with the many burners. All along, Madison had the means to contact him. Or me. She could have used Youngblood as a messenger.

For some reason, she’d chosen to remain silent. Waiting for…what? Giving her the benefit of the doubt, Mollie tried to believe her sister had been protecting and shielding their father and her.

“Can I call back to Madison?” he asked.

“You can only talk to me and Spence,” she said. “Now tell me where you are.”

“Do you remember Oliver Cameron, Spence’s grandpa?”

“Yes.” Had her father been in the house when she was there yesterday? Why was he hiding from her? What had Madison told him?

“I’m staying with his housekeeper, Anita Hernandez, in her cottage on Oliver’s estate.”

“How in the world did that happen?”

“I’ve known Anita for years. Don’t you remember going to Oliver’s house for dinner? Chinese-Mexican fusion? Anyway, I thought she might be a good person to stay with. It’s pleasant and gratifying to be back in Oregon where I have such wonderful memories.”

“Have you spoken to Spence’s grandpa?”

“Not yet. I wanted to lay low and stay out of sight.”

“Good decision, Dad.”

During their conversation, he’d settled down. Mollie had five years’ experience handling her sometimes moody, artsy father—a man who had witnessed a Peligro drug transaction and two brutal murders but could still work himself into a frenzy during a visit to an art museum. “Mollie, while we’re here, I’d like to go to the beach. Your mother and I loved to watch the waves in Manzanita.”

She murmured an assent. “Now, what did you call to tell me?”

“This is what your sister told me. And she has no reason to lie, right?”

Mollie couldn’t begin to list all the reasons her twin might lie. “What did Madison say?”

“Much to my chagrin,” he said, sounding like a nobleman in a cheesy, Victorian novel, “she is still involved with that scoundrel Julio Flores.”

“What else is new?”

“Julio is angry with you. Something about pepper spray. In any case, he has decided to take his revenge. You should leave the place where you are staying immediately. Julio has planted a bomb.”

“A bomb.” Mollie bounced to her feet so quickly that she might have fallen down the staircase if Spence hadn’t caught her. “Here? He planted a bomb here?”

“That’s what your sister said. She told me to warn you, and she sounded serious.”

While running back up the stairs and diving into Spence’s bedroom, Mollie repeated her instructions to Dad about getting rid of the phones provided by Youngblood and staying safely hidden in the cottage belonging to Mrs. Hernandez.

She ended the call, turned to Spence and pointed to his computer. “Contact Jamison right away. Madison told Dad that Julio had planted a bomb here. At this house.”

“I don’t believe it,” he said. “This safe house has intense surveillance and motion-activated sensors that cover every angle of the house and the property. There’s an electronics room downstairs, which is constantly monitored. Nobody got in here unnoticed. Also, there are keypad locks and deadbolts on the doors. More sensors on the windows. An unauthorized person would trigger a blast of noise.”

She was glad to see he was wearing his shoulder holster. “We can’t ignore the warning. Can we go downstairs and check the electronics?”

“We’ll make sure everything is okay. And we’ll look at the separate garage, as well.” He folded her into his arms. “It’s possible that your sister was using the threat for another reason.”

His logic felt too easy to believe. “Like what?”

“She or Julio might have wanted to drive us out of the house in a panic. We already know Julio has a sniper in his employ. A sharpshooter could be hiding in the trees, waiting to pick us off when we come out the door.”

“Not much of a choice,” she said. “We can be blown up or shot down.”