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“What about personally?” Harper hated to have to push this, but she didn’t have a choice. As much as she thought Susan was short-sighted for all the sleeping around she did, that was her business. As a grown-ass adult, she didn’t need anyone’s approval. Susan started to protest. Harper cut her off. “No pictures? No incriminating letters or the like?
“Absolutely not.” Susan was firm.
Some of the nagging pressure in Harper’s chest eased. Maybe Susan wasn’t as naïve in this area as she’d feared. “You’re sure? No one could have taken any video or pictures secretly, maybe even while you were asleep?”
“No, I don’t…” her voice petered out and all the color drained out of her face.
“What? What is it?”
“I— I usually bring men back to my place. I like to control the environment. I can kick them out when I want…” She stared sightlessly at her desk. When she met Harper’s gaze again, her eyes were bleak. “Last night, he insisted we go to this hotel. The Ocean Walk Inn. I thought it was odd but went along with it. He insisted on… other things too. They were…” she stopped speaking altogether. Her skin had gone gray and she’d aged twenty years. “Oh God. Harper, what am I going to do?”
The door behind them burst open and Brenda hurried in. “Sorry, but we have an emergency. All of the stuff is being delivered to the Manor and there’s no one there to help the delivery people.”
“What about Mrs. Carruthers or Gina?” Harper asked.
“That’s what I’m telling you. No one knows where they are.”
Susan stared at Harper. “I need you to go there and see to this. You too, Brenda. This has to go well. You two need to pull this off. Take whoever else you need. We’ll deal with the other stuff later. I think it won’t happen today, so we have some time.”
Harper stood. “Okay, but let me know if it changes. Don’t do anything rash either. We’ll figure this out.”
Susan nodded but Harper knew she wasn’t listening. This was turning into a nightmare. She could only hope Susan wouldn’t do anything stupid. She couldn’t protect her boss if the lady killed someone. There were limits to what she could solve.
Thirty minutes later, Harper pulled up to the gate. “Hi. It’s Karl, right?”
The guard nodded.
“I hear we have a crisis brewing. I’m here to get things sorted. Can you let me in?”
He offered her a smile. “Of course. And good luck to you. You’re gonna need it.”
Harper tried to smile but failed as she pulled away from the gate. She was pissed that she hadn’t been able to continue her conversation with Susan. She needed the name of the man in question. He was the one who held all the answers.
She pulled off and parked near Flynn’s SUV. Relief breezed through her just knowing he was here. It was a comfort to her to know he was close by. The knots in her stomach eased slightly. Crazy how only having known him a few days, she found strength in his presence. She longed to go inside and find him and then throw herself into his arms for a big hug. Hell, she wanted to take him upstairs and spend the rest of the day in bed with him but a hug would be a good start.
Unfortunately, seven people were standing by the edge of the driveway all waiting for her to sort everything out. A hug would have to wait. Disappointment rocked through her as she waded into the crowd. “One at a time,” she said and turned to a man holding a clipboard.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
“And you’re sure Payton left last night?” Flynn asked Shah.
“Yeah, around nine p.m. She went out through the back door. The same one Astrid came in. She got into a car and drove off. No one has seen her since. The members are worried. She had an appointment to play golf with some of the ladies today.”
“Where’s Gina?” Flynn asked.
“That’s the other thing. No one has seen her, either.” Shah shook his head. “I haven’t located any video of her leaving so she’s got to be here somewhere. But I have no clue where.
Flynn had an idea or two but as long as Shah was monitoring the exits, then Gina could wait. He needed to concentrate on Payton. It was far more likely that she was in danger than Gina. “Put up Payton’s car on the camera. Get the plates.” He glanced around the foyer, but they were alone. He dropped his voice anyway. “Call the guys in New York. Have them see if they can hack into the GPS on the car or into any traffic cameras that are around. Do the same with her cell. See if they can hack that. We need to find her ASAP.”
Shah nodded. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to find Gina.” He strode toward the kitchen at a fast clip. Making sure no one was around, he slipped into the pantry and then into the secret passage. He moved quietly, keeping his gun out in front of him. Gina had to be desperate at this point if she’d gone into hiding. That meant something had changed. She’d been confident last night but today she was missing. Either someone had taken her out and her body was stuffed somewhere or, more likely, something had happened to Payton and Gina was cutting her losses to be sure she wasn’t next.
He reached the passageway outside of the small room and listened. No sound. He was pretty sure the room was empty. He moved quietly up to the doorway and took a quick peek. Unoccupied. He moved into the secret room and looked around. It was tight, no bigger than ten feet by ten feet. The walls were green. The same shade as the library. A table with four chairs was positioned in the middle of the room. A portable cart nearby had doors. He was sure if he opened it, he would see liquor. This was a meeting room.
Maybe this was where Astrid got the paint chips on her. He hadn’t found the spot in the library, and he didn’t see one where the paint was missing. His cell went off and he quickly silenced it. He moved swiftly over to the small holes in the wall and looked through but the library was empty. He declined the call. Archer wouldn’t like that but he’d have to wait a minute until Flynn got back outside.
Retracing his steps, Flynn headed toward the tunnel that opened in the basement. He came out in the unfinished section but again, no sign of Gina. Where the hell was she? His phone went off again. He answered this time. “Archer.”
