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“Attempted murder?”
“He implied as much,” Ashley admitted.
John ran unsteady hands over his chin. “I can’t believe that Claud would be involved in anything like that.”
“Not only Claud, but my father as well.”
“No way!” But the pale accountant didn’t seem convinced.
“I have to prove that they’re innocent.”
John looked at the incriminating memo and invoices. “I only hope we can.”
“If we can’t, then we’ll have to face up to the problem, won’t we?” Ashley asked the stricken young man.
“Nothing else to do.”
“Good. Then we’re both of the same opinion.” She strode across the room and stared out at the black drizzly night. The city lights of downtown Portland twinkled in the distance. “What I want you to do is request a leave of absence. Use any excuse you want to, maybe a medical reason, too much stress on the job, that sort of thing. Then you can come here and work. You’ll be paid just the same, and you can work without Claud staring over your shoulder.”
“Just in case we find something incriminating.”
“Exactly.”
John took in a deep breath before cracking a nervous smile. “All right,” he agreed.
Ashley smiled. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”
“Why not? Because it might get dangerous?”
She sobered. “I don’t think so. At least I hope not. If I really thought there were any danger involved, I wouldn’t ask you to be a part of this. It’s just that there aren’t many people I can trust at the company.”
“I know. And I like being one of the few.”
“I do appreciate it, John.”
The accountant smiled. “Then keep it in mind the next time I’m up for a raise.”
Ashley laughed. “It’s a deal.”
John gathered his coat and briefcase and left a few minutes later.
A thousand questions filled Ashley’s mind. Was Claud involved in a plan, as Trevor had claimed, to keep him out of the primary in May? And what about the accident and bribery charges? Could Claud or Lazarus have been part of such a deadly scheme?
Ashley picked up her suitcases and began to trudge up the stairs. What about the disappearance of Robert Daniels? All these years Trevor had maintained that Lazarus had been involved in a plot which had led to Robert’s . . . Ashley shuddered. If Robert Daniels wasn’t dead, why had he abandoned his family? And where was he now?
“I’m too tired to think about any of this,” she told herself as she reached the upper floor, deposited her bags in her room and went into the adjoining bath. She turned on the water to the sunken tub and began removing her clothes.
Could all of the wicked rumors be true? Had she hidden her head in the sand to avoid facing the truth about her father? She stared at her image in the mirror. She was a mature woman today, worldly wise, slightly cynical, and she wasn’t afraid to face up to the truth. She only wished that she had been wiser when she was younger and hadn’t been so blindly trusting of her father or Trevor.
After peeling off her clothes and pinning her hair loosely on her head, she settled into the hot tub and moaned as the water covered her body. “Dear Lord, what a mess,” she whispered to herself. Closing her eyes, she wondered vaguely where Trevor was, and with whom.
* * *
Trevor paced between the cedar walls of the Lambert cabin like a caged animal. He alternately stared out the window and glanced at the telephone. The argument with Ashley this morning had been a mistake and all day long he had half expected Ashley to call or drive over seeking amends.
Maybe that was asking too much of her. If he knew anything about that woman it was that she had inherited her father’s stubborn pride.
His hands clenched and relaxed at his sides as he swore, walked across the room and picked up the telephone. He dialed the number of Ashley’s cabin angrily and waited with impatience as the flat rings indicated that Ashley wasn’t there.
