Good Deed Bad Deed, Marcia Morgan [summer beach reads TXT] 📗

Ben was relieved that Ana didn’t seem too disturbed by the whole thing, and she commented that Freddie had been the one to provide the day’s break from boredom. Yet he felt an underlying discomfort about the whole thing and decided to call Freddie in from whatever sunny spot he had found for an afternoon nap. Ben stepped outside the pantry door and called to the dog. It was several minutes before he appeared, trotting around the corner of the house and coming to a stop at Ben’s feet. He was very wet. He shook hard, giving Ben a good dousing before charging into the house.

“He’s been in the fountain again.” Ben found a kitchen towel and began to dry himself off. Then he addressed the dog while trying to dry him off a bit as well. “Must have thought it was warm enough for a swim— huh, pal?”

Ana laughed and ruffled Freddie’s damp fur before he flopped under the kitchen table, ready for that nap. Ben finished making the sandwiches and they ate in relative silence. When she could see that Ben had finished, she said, “Shall we retire to the sitting room and get our project underway?” He nodded yes, and they left the kitchen, Freddie tagging along, never letting them far from his sight.

CHAPTER NINE

The McKinnons maintained a brisk pace as they walked the short block from the car park to the museum. It was early, and a carpet of gray mist still clung lightly to the manicured lawns of the museum grounds. The entrance to the suite of offices where Paris worked was still locked, so she opened her bag and fumbled for the key. Hugh was always amazed that a woman could find anything in the dark recesses of this requisite female accessory. They entered to find all completely quiet. When they reached the door to her office, Paris turned and walked across to the office adjacent, that of Lyle Brett. Through the door’s opaque glass inset she could see only darkness. Lyle was not yet in attendance. She tossed her office key to Hugh, and he opened the door, waiting for her to precede him into the room. She turned on the lights and found the long pole that she used to open the high window, the only one in the room. Hugh took it from her and pulled the glass pane open, letting in the fresh morning air.

“That’s better,” she said. “The stuffiness in here could put one to sleep, given the boring nature of so much of my work.”

“Well, evidently there’s something coming up that isn’t boring, or we wouldn’t be in the middle of a mysterious situation. Let’s go through all this paperwork and see if there’s anything new, something that might give us a hint about what possible power you might have that could facilitate a crime—and also be manipulated by a kidnapping.”

“I got through less than half the stack last time I was here. There was quite a pile-up after my being gone.”

“Do you have any phone messages?”

Paris glanced at her phone and saw the light flashing. There were two messages. She pressed the button and they began to listen. The first message was from her superior, head of the antiquities division, who expressed an urgent need to speak with her about a special situation. He revealed nothing further. She made a note to call his secretary for an appointment as soon as they organized the work ahead of them. Then she pressed the button to hear the second message.

Several seconds passed before they heard a voice, muffled through some kind of device to make it unrecognizable. “We’re still watching you and your family. If you don’t cooperate, we have a bargaining chip that just might tip the scales in our favor.”

Paris paused the message and looked at Hugh. “What could he mean—a bargaining chip? He’s speaking in riddles. We know they don’t have Ben—he’s safely at home with Ana. He is safe, isn’t he?”

“Yes. Perfectly. I didn’t tell him, but I have a man watching the house—very discreetly of course. If it will make you feel better, we can call them now, or a little later, after we get some work done here.”

“No, it’s fine. I trust you know what you’re doing. But I would like to call later. For now let’s see what else this man has to say.”

Paris started the message from where it had been paused. Hugh reached for her hand and held it while they listened once again to the muffled voice. “You’d better be in your office tomorrow. A package will arrive, and inside you’ll find a tape. Everything you need to know will be there. You’d better take good care of it. Failure to comply will bring you more trouble than you can imagine.” The call ended, and Ben’s parents just stood still, looking at each other with disbelief.

“I don’t even know what day this message was left. Let me check the call log.”

Paris scrolled through the call log and saw that the message from her department head had come in the previous afternoon. She then saw that the threatening message had come very early that morning, probably before dawn. There would be another day to wait before they would know what had to be done. From the hallway they heard a door squeak open and then close hard. They both assumed it was Lyle Brett arriving at work. Paris decided to take a minute to poke her head in and force a greeting from him, but more so to ask if there was anything extremely important—imminent—that they should attend to together.

A quick knock triggered a rather harsh sounding permission to enter, and she did just that, forcing a smile and a few kind words. As usual, he was less than receptive. She asked her question and was met with a questioning look.

“I’ve been waiting for you to tell me what’s imminent,” he said.