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“So Bethany can stay in the house tonight, and of course Ellie will be with Noah.”
“What do we do about Michael Aiken?” Tom asked. “At the very least we need to know where he is.”
“He’s stayin’ at the River Hotel.”
“How do you know?”
“David followed him there. I’ll ask him to call you when he gets here and he can fill you in. As far as the briefcase goes, I’ll take it with me. I live in the forest and I have the perfect place to hide it until it’s time to turn it in.”
“Ellie’s mother and I will be flying In as soon as we can, and I look forward to thanking you in person for all the great work. Now go home to your family.”
“Thanks, Tom. Bye for now.”
* * *
Walking back into the living room, Matt found Eleanor had finished speaking to her mother and was busy gathering up the supplies she needed to take back to Noah’s. Bethany was sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace gazing at the flames, and Noah was in the kitchen. The briefcase, still sitting on the coffee table, had been closed.
“Hey, Bethany, David’s on his way back so you’ll be safe up at the house tonight. I’ll be takin’ care of this briefcase until it’s time to hand it in. But I need a quick word. Can you join me for minute?”
Letting out a sigh, she wordlessly nodded, rose to her feet, and followed him into the bedroom.
“I need to ask you a question,” he said solemnly as she settled on the edge of the bed. “You don’t have to be afraid, but you do have to answer honestly. Have you been drugging Tom?”
“Just sleeping pills,” she admitted. “Michael gave me some vials of other stuff as well, and I told him I was slipping it into his cakes—Tom loves cake—but I wasn’t. I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
“Ah, I see. Do you know why Michael wanted you to drug him?”
“The sleeping pills were so I could search around the house at night. Tom’s bedroom is close to where Jay Whittaker’s office used to be, and Michael is convinced the briefcase would be somewhere around there.”
“What about the other vials?”
“I’m not sure, but I know Michael is crazy jealous of Tom. Maybe he just wanted to see him sick and incapacitated. Uh, Matt, speaking of being sick and incapacitated, I think something has happened to Michael.”
“Why?”
“He’s a control freak and he always checking up on me. I was supposed to stay in touch with Tom today, record the conversations and forward them. Well, I didn’t, and I haven’t had one text or call from Michael badgering me, and his phone goes straight to voice mail.”
“Is that unusual?”
“Very unusual, but that’s not all, he’s staying at the same hotel as me, and he would have found out I left. Normally he’d be texting and calling demanding to know where I am. Honestly, Matt, something’s wrong.”
“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it right now,” he replied thoughtfully. “With the storm, anything could have happened. Maybe his car broke down and he doesn’t have cell service.”
“Um, excuse me,” Noah said, knocking quietly, then opening the door and poking his head in. “Ellie and I are headin’ home.”
“And we’re goin’ up to the house,” Matt said, rising to his feet. “Be careful drivin’, especially across that bridge.”
“Okay, dad,” Noah replied with a chuckle.
“Hey, shoot me, I care!”
“I really am sorry about everything,” Bethany murmured. “I had to do what I was told or…”
“I know, and we’ll get the bastard,” Noah said gravely, a dark frown crossing his brow.
“Hey, Noah, how would you feel about takin’ a short trail ride up the mountain tomorrow?” Matt asked. “I need to check on something.”
“Stetson would love it. You can take Blaze. He needs to get out.”
