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Adam Conover had responded to Bliss’ email with friendly curiosity, and given her his number. They’d spoken on the phone the next day.
“My father did talk about Gault a few times. The Blue Drake, right? That’s some place. I’ve seen many shows there.”
“How far are you from Lake Bittersweet? Maybe we could meet in person.” Would he look like Granger? She wanted to see for herself before she mentioned anything to Granger.
“Actually, I’m going to be in that area for a sales call,” he’d said. “I’m scheduled to meet with the volunteer fire department next week.”
That did it. The serendipity was incredible.
Just to be a hundred percent safe, she’d looked him up online and discovered that he was a successful distributor of medical supplies and a respectable married father of two. Then she’d called the fire department and confirmed that they knew Adam Conover and could vouch for him, and that he did indeed have an appointment next week.
Once she’d set her mind at ease, she invited him for coffee at the Mason house. Then all she had to do was make sure Granger had lots of grocery shopping to keep him busy.
She waited for Adam Conover on the terrace in the spring sunshine, lazily picking up her knitting now and then. If Adam turned out to be the key to locating Granger’s father, how would that change things for them? Would knowing the identify of his father free Granger to be more emotional?
“Hi there, you must be Bliss.”
The pleasant voice interrupted her reverie. It must be Adam Conover. How had he gotten in? Where was Moses? Even though he wasn’t much of a barker, he didn’t care for strangers.
She tried to sit up, to turn her head to see the man, but he took a step to the side, out of her sight. Alarm shot through her.
“Are you Adam Conover?”
“Yes, that’s me. I’m really happy you reached out to me. This is fantastic!”
He sounded so enthusiastic, almost exuberant.
She wasn’t buying it. She recognized an act when she saw one. She reached for a knitting needle. As soon as she wrapped her hand around the smooth aluminum, she felt a tiny bit better. “How did you get in?”
“Oops, my bad,” he said cheerfully. “Did I set off an alarm? I bet I did. Earl has it on his phone, right? That’s what I’d do. Perimeter alarm! Gah! Panic city.”
Earl? No one called him Earl. How did he know Granger’s name, anyway?She’d deliberately avoided mentioning him when they spoke on the phone.
She finally managed to drag herself into a sitting position and turned to face the man. A chill froze her blood as she recognized him instantly.
The last time she’d seen him, he’d pushed her against the wall of the elevator of her New York co-op.
He was dressed in slacks and a dark blazer, as a sales rep would. In the elevator, he’d been wearing a baseball cap, but now his head was bare. He had thick dark hair ruthlessly combed into a side part. “You.”
“We have to stop meeting like this, am I right?” His too-friendly tone put her on edge. He flicked his eyes down to her belly. “If you ask me, you’ve got twins in there. Have you had an ultrasound lately?”
She hugged one arm around her stomach, keeping her other one out of sight, holding the knitting needle. “What do you want? Who are you?”
“I’m Adam Conover, like I said. Are you really that brainless? I’m not here to hurt you.” He sounded almost irritated, as well as insulting. “I didn’t mean to hurt you before, either.”
“Then why did you attack me? I thought Congressman Linde was busy with his trial. I already testified, so what are you trying to accomplish?”
“What are you talking about?” His confusion seemed genuine. Also, he looked twitchy, as if this whole encounter was way out of his comfort zone. Maybe he really was a sales rep instead of a hardened criminal. Hadn’t Granger called him an amateur? She sure hoped he was right.
“Congressman Linde? The corruption case?”
“I hate politics. You’d understand why if you weren’t such a dumb ditz.”
The insult barely registered because suddenly all the puzzle pieces were shifting around her. All this time, she’d assumed that the attacker in the elevator had been afterher, but now she realized that she hadn’t been the target at all.
She’d been…bait.
“You were after Granger,” she exclaimed. “You grabbed me because you knew he’d come after me.”
