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Everything was going as planned. John Ellis had requested a three-week medical leave, which Ashley had granted. Claud had muttered unhappily when he heard that the head of the accounting department was taking an unscheduled leave of absence, but hadn’t made too big a deal about it.
“Why now?” Claud had grumbled.
“Because he’s ill—stomach problems. Probably too much stress on the job,” Ashley had answered with a patient smile,
though her throat constricted with the lie.
“Lousy timing, if you ask me,” Claud had pointed out. “Year-end is always a bitch for the accounting department. Ellis couldn’t have picked a worse time if he’d tried.”
“Give the man a break, for crying out loud. He’ll be back soon. I’m sure that the rest of the staff is perfectly capable of pulling his weight, at least for a couple of weeks.”
Claud had glared unhappily at Ashley for a few uncomfortable minutes. Then, with a sound of disgust, he had snapped open the morning edition of his favorite financial journal and turned his attention back to an article dealing with mining rights.
Ashley, displaying professional aplomb despite the fact that her knees were shaking, turned on an elevated heel and walked briskly out of Claud’s office. Deception had always been difficult for her, even with her slightly underhanded cousin. It had been difficult hiding the fact that John Ellis was working at her house in the West Hills. So far, no one knew that he was there other than Ashley, John’s wife and Mrs. Deveraux, who were all sworn to secrecy.
This cloak-and-dagger business will be my undoing, she thought ruefully as she entered her own suite of offices. I’m just not cut out to be a spy.
She sat down wearily in the chair her father had occupied for so many years, closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. The nagging headache behind her eyelids began to throb.
In the last week, neither she nor John had found any other incriminating evidence against either Claud or Lazarus. Even if her father had been involved with Beau Watkins of the Watkins Lumber Mill in Molalla, that didn’t necessarily mean that he instigated the bribery charges. So far, the evidence was only circumstantial at best.
But the invoices represented the first set of concrete facts indicating that Trevor’s charges against her family might be more than the idle speculation of a wronged son.
Thoughts of Trevor, his eyes narrowed suspiciously and his chin set in ruthless determination, invaded her mind. His charges against her father and Claud couldn’t be ignored. What about the spraying of the pesticide near Springfield? Did Lazarus understand the health hazards involved and then just go ahead with the spraying, neglecting the welfare of the public? Ashley couldn’t find it in her heart to believe that her father would do anything so cruel. Though not a particularly warm individual, her father had taken care of her when Enora, Ashley’s mother, had died.
Ashley didn’t hear Claud open the door. She was so wrapped up in her own morbid thoughts that Claud had advanced upon the desk before she realized he was in the room.
He slapped a magazine down on the polished walnut desk. The glossy periodical was open to the current events section. Accompanying a short article on politics in Oregon was a snapshot of Trevor. Ashley’s heart nearly skipped a beat as she looked at Trevor’s intense expression and the glitter of determination in his eyes, The bold letters of the headline were a question: TREVOR DANIELS, OREGON’S NEXT SENATOR?
“We’ve got to stop this before it turns into popular opinion,” Claud stated. One of his short fingers poked at the snapshot of Trevor.
“Stop what?”
“Daniels, for God’s sake.” Claud dropped into a chair near the desk. His dark eyes were clouded in disgust. “Read the article. The reporter acts as if Daniels is a shoo-in in the primary!”
“The latest polls show that—”
“The hell with the polls. It’s the election that counts.”
“And you’re afraid that Trevor will win.”
Claud let out an angry gust of air. “Damn right. If he does, we may as well close down.”
Ashley’s arched brows pulled together as she studied her cousin. Her heart was pounding warily in her chest. “Why?”
“He’s out to crucify us.”
“By us, do you mean you and me, or the company?”
“Same thing.”
Ashley gathered her courage and met her cousin’s furious glare. “Why does Trevor Daniels threaten you?”
Claud looked at her as if she were insane. “You still don’t understand, do you?”
“Understand what?”
