Love Inspired Suspense June 2015 #1 (2 page)

“About five minutes then I came straight here.” He spoke to Security through his invisible headset. “Miss Chick needs to be found and detained.” He quickly described her costume. “She attacked Selena Barrow in her office.”

Shortly, two security guards came into the room as well as Secret Service agent Dan Calvert. He took one look and said, “Fill me in.”

Selena sat all the way up, trying to ignore the light-headedness swarming her. “I came to get the visitor list for Nicholas. That's when I discovered my keys were missing and the door was unlocked. The next thing I know, Miss Chick is grabbing me and yanking me inside then hitting me with a vase. She ran out after that. I don't know anything else.”

“Your keys were stolen? Any idea when?” Nicholas asked, helping Selena to her feet and guiding her to a chair nearby.

She eased down, gripping the arms to steady herself. “I know exactly, but at the time I didn't realize it. Miss Chick bumped into me outside a few minutes before you and I talked. I had my keys until then.”

Dan directed the security officers to stand guard outside the office. “What keys were taken?”

“To this office, my file cabinets, a storeroom around the corner and my house. I keep my car keys separate in my purse, which is locked in the top left drawer of my desk.”

“Was that drawer key taken, too?”

“Yes.”

Nicholas peered behind the desk. “Everything has been emptied.” Donning a second glove, he moved toward the purse on the floor and held it up. “Check to see if anything was taken. We'll get to the bottom of this.”

She took the brown Coach bag Erin had given her for her birthday. All her life Selena had fought for everything she had, so it was nice to have a champion for a moment, especially with all the tension of her cousin Erin named a person of interest in her boyfriend's murder and the shooting of Congressman Jeffries. That day, when they'd met to celebrate her birthday, her cousin had seemed so happy. Just a few weeks later, Michael was murdered...and Erin had disappeared.

Selena intended to help prove Erin couldn't have done it. Erin cared for Michael and wouldn't hurt anyone.

Then why did she disappear the night of the murder?

Selena refused to dwell on that nagging question and instead focused on what might be missing from her purse. She dumped the contents on her lap, her car keys falling out, and went through her wallet, then looked up. “No, everything is here.”

The doctor arrived with his black bag. He quickly examined her, asking how she felt.

“My head hurts, but I'm all right. I've had worse headaches than this one.” She couldn't leave the White House in the middle of the biggest affair she'd put together.

“Do you have any nausea?”

“No.”

He checked the movement of her eyes, then the bump forming on the side of her head. “You'll have a knot, but there wasn't a cut, so no stitches. You should at least go to my office and let me do a more extensive evaluation in case you need to go to the hospital.”

“I will later. I want to check and see if anything is missing from my office.”

The doctor frowned but nodded. He looked toward Nicholas. “Make sure she does.”

“I will.”

The doctor turned back to Selena. “If you get dizzy or your vision is affected, blurry, bright-light sensitive, let me know immediately. Please rest as much as possible, and you can take over-the-counter pain meds for the headache. If it gets worse, let me know that immediately, too.”

“I understand. If anything changes, I will.”

When the doctor left, she swung her attention between Dan and Nicholas. “I want to see if anything has been taken, though Miss Chick didn't appear to have anything on her.” Selena had to check a few files in particular to see if they were intact.

“If you're feeling up to it,” Nicholas said, “Dan and I need to know that, too.” Behind her desk, Nicholas bent over and picked up a straw hat with a daisy on it. “I'm assuming this isn't yours.”

“No, it's Miss Chick's.”

“Good. I'm going to use it to see if I can find where she went while Dan stays here with you.” Nicholas covered the distance to his K-9 partner, waiting near the door.

Taking hold of Max's leash, Nicholas showed the straw hat to the rottweiler, and the dog sniffed it. “Find, Max.”

Nicholas and Max disappeared out into the hallway. Previously, when she'd seen Nicholas working with his K-9 partner, she'd always been amazed at Max's abilities. She hoped they'd find Miss Chick—whoever the costumed intruder really was.

* * *

Nicholas followed his dog through the crowds and out the door to the West Colonnade. Max headed east, stopping every once in a while and pointing his nose in the air, then charging forward. The dog entered the Rose Garden and headed to the lawn area bordered by flowering plants and boxwoods. The tulips were in full bloom, adding a brilliant splash among the greenery. Max came to a halt near the cluster of white furniture under a large magnolia tree and barked.

Nicholas checked the area, wondering if Miss Chick had sat here sometime recently. He moved behind two white chairs and inspected the bushes, plunging his hand into the middle. When he grasped a feathery material, glimpsing yellow, he tugged it free.

Miss Chick's costume—discarded.

“Good boy.” He gave Max a treat.

He placed a call to Dan. “I found the costume in the Rose Garden minus Miss Chick. Are you still with Selena?”

“Yes. Do you want to talk to her?”

“Yes.” When Selena came on, Nicholas asked, “Who's Miss Chick?”

“Just a minute. I'll have to look on my list of employees.” A moment late, she answered, “Tara Wilkins.”

“When she bumped into you earlier, could you tell if it was Tara Wilkins?”

A long pause—he could imagine her forehead creasing with a frown while her blue eyes darkened—then Selena said, “No, not for sure. Her voice was low and husky, but I'm pretty sure it was a woman.”

“When was the last time you saw Tara Wilkins without the headpiece on?”

“When I talked with the costumed characters in the East Wing entrance before the event started. That was seven this morning.”

“What do you know about Tara Wilkins? Is she trustworthy? Could she have given the costume to someone so the person could break into your office after the morning briefing?”

“She was Miss Chick last year and did a good job. The Secret Service vetted her as they do for all the people I use as costumed characters for this event, but I suppose it's possible.”

“I'll have the police check her residence.” He didn't have a good feeling about this.

“I don't see her putting her reputation on the line like that.” Selena's worry came through the line.

“One good thing is that all the people who are here are on a list. You don't get in here without going through checkpoints.”

“Please let me know what's happening. I'm responsible for the employees I hired for this event.”

“I will. Anything missing from your office?”

“No.”

“Let me talk with Dan again.”

When Dan came back on the phone, he said, “I'll let Security know what's developing.”

“Tara Wilkins needs to be found. Her residence checked. We don't have any idea what's going on. I'm not even sure it was Tara Wilkins in the costume, but I'm going to see if Max can follow the scent from the clothing. I'll let you know what I find.”

“Good. In the meantime, I'm escorting Miss Barrow to the doctor's office.”

Nicholas heard a protest coming from the background, and he smiled. Dan was going to have his hands full getting her to go. “Have fun. I'll check in later.”

“Chicken,” Dan whispered. “You left me with the toughest job. Anyone can follow a dog around.”

Nicholas chuckled and disconnected the call, then let Max smell the yellow feathery costume. “Find.”

As Max sniffed the air, Nicholas couldn't get the sound of Selena's voice out of his mind. What he had seen of her around the White House only reinforced the image of a woman dedicated to doing a good job. Did she think she had failed at her job by hiring Tara Wilkins?

As Nicholas followed Max through several areas of the Easter Egg Roll, he scanned his surroundings, wondering if the person who had discarded Miss Chick's costume was still here. If so, Max would find her—or possibly him. He had a photo on his phone of the volunteer who was supposed to be Miss Chick. If she wasn't the one who ran into Selena, then where was she?

Passing the Storytime Stage, Max dodged around the adults and children attending and finally came to a stop at the entrance to the women's restroom on the west side of the lawn.

Was the person still inside?

Nicholas started to look for a female security officer, but before he could, his rottweiler sniffed the ground then the air and took off toward the nearby exit to the event. When Nicholas emerged onto West Executive Avenue, Max halted in the middle of the road then trotted toward E Street. Near the Souvenir Egg Pickup, his K-9 came to another stop then wandered around the area but never picked up the scent again.

“Sorry, boy.” Nicholas petted his dog. “She must have gotten into a vehicle. At least we know how she left and an approximate time.”

Could that woman also be the same one who had gone through General Meyer's office? The intruder couldn't have picked a better day, with thirty thousand visitors and over a thousand volunteers. He'd have to watch a lot of security tapes to see if he could pinpoint who had ransacked the general's office and who had stolen Selena's keys. And why her keys? To rob her? Nothing was missing from her office.

Was something else going on here involving Michael Jeffries's case? That could be the connection between what had happened in General Meyer's office and in Selena's. Selena was a first cousin to Erin Eagleton—a person of interest in Congressman Jeffries's shooting and the murder of his son. When the Capitol K-9 Unit had begun investigating, Selena had been questioned to determine if she had helped Erin Eagleton disappear. They couldn't find anything to indicate she had assisted her cousin. Yet.

Did someone think Selena knew something? Did she? Had she helped her cousin somehow? He hoped not. He would hate to have to arrest her if he discovered she had.

Security had been breached with the two break-ins —likely by someone who had been at the White House before, possibly a frequent visitor or staff member. This probably wasn't a spur-of-the-moment theft, and he would have to let General Meyer know about this latest development just as soon as he spoke to Selena again.

Max barked, interrupting Nicholas's thoughts.

“Come on, boy. Back to the party.” Nicholas shortened the leash as they headed to the White House to find Selena.

A voice came over Nicholas's earbud. “We've found Tara Wilkins.”

With Selena's keys in her possession? Or, had someone hurt Tara and taken the costume?

TWO

“W
here is Wilkins? Is she all right?” Nicholas asked Security as he neared the White House.

“She was found drugged in the ground-floor restroom of the West Wing. The last time she was seen was in the Situation Room where kids were playing video games. Someone must have caught her in the restroom, and then stuffed her into a stall. One of our Secret Service agents found her. She talked to Tara, but the woman doesn't know who grabbed her. She's with the doctor in an examination room.”

“I'm on my way now.”

“I let Agent Calvert know about Miss Wilkins. He's already at the medical office with Miss Barrow. He's going to talk with her.”

“So am I,” Nicholas said to the man who manned the communication in the security office at the White House.

“Since he's working with you on the break-in at General Meyer's office, I'd like him to be included on anything concerning Selena Barrow. There could be a connection between what happened in her office and General Meyer's.”

“I agree.” Nicholas ended the call and moved inside.

He entered the Diplomatic Reception Room on the ground floor of the main-residence part of the White House. With Max beside him, he crossed the oval-shaped room of pale blue and bright yellow dominating the decor. Over the mantel hung a portrait of George Washington.

The doctor's office was located next to the Map Room off the central hall. When Nicholas went inside, Dan stood near the entrance into the examination area, with Selena sitting in a chair in the reception room.

Nicholas immediately went to her and took the seat next to her. She looked tired and frazzled. He couldn't blame her. It wasn't even noon and a lot had occurred in a few hours. He took her hand. “Are you still okay? No slurred speech, double vision or stumbling.” He glanced toward his friend then Selena.

“No. I'm fine. Just angry. Dan said I could talk to Tara when you two finish. She's here because of me. I need to make sure she'll be all right. I want to find out what happened to her. Who did this? In the White House?”

“I understand. I want to find out the same things.” His gaze locked with hers. “And I will.”

“I appreciate it.” Her eyes slid closed for a few seconds before connecting with his again.

Rising, he gestured toward Selena and said to Max, “Sit. Stay.” When Selena glanced from his K-9 to him, he added, “I thought he could keep you company.”

She petted Max. “Thanks.”

Before he could head into the exam room, Dan pulled him aside to a private area. “Security is concerned about the link to the break-in at Margaret Meyer's office, although I'm not sure what the connection would be.”

“It could be the Michael Jeffries case. Erin Eagleton is Selena's cousin. Maybe someone thinks she knows where Erin is. My unit has speculated she might know.”

“Maybe Selena is someone you should get to know better.” Dan winked.

“Yeah, sure, because Selena will take me to see the cousin she's hiding. If she does know where Erin Eagleton is, do you think she'd let it slip? Selena is sharp. Anyone who can coordinate this event and retain her sanity has to be.”

“Personally, I wish they'd drop the tradition. It would make my life as a Secret Service agent tasked with keeping the president safe much easier. I get nervous with so many strangers around here.”

Nicholas slapped Dan on the back. “Your life is easy. You usually stand around watching people go by. Not too strenuous, if you ask me.”

“I didn't,” Dan grumbled as they walked back over to the exam room. He rapped on the door before they entered.

The nurse left as Dan introduced Nicholas to Ms. Wilkins. “I know you can't remember much, but he has a few questions concerning what happened to you.”

“I could use your help, Ms. Wilkins. The person who drugged you and took the Miss Chick costume deliberately bumped into the White House tour director to steal her keys, so anything you can tell me will help me find the perpetrator. Please describe what happened and where you were.”

The young woman scrunched her forehead and stared down at her hands. “Everything is hazy. I remember leaving the Situation Room and going to the restroom. I was the only one inside. I was surprised because so many people were attending the event, but while I was in the stall, I heard the door opening and someone coming in.” Closing her eyes, she lowered her head for a few seconds. “The last thing I recollect is leaving the stall, a sound behind me, then a prick at my neck. Nothing after that until I was found.”

“Anything about the person who drugged you. A glimpse? A scent?”

She massaged her temples then shook her head. “My mind is foggy. I...”

“How tall are you?”

“Five feet ten inches. Why?”

“It gives me an idea how tall the fake Miss Chick is.” Nicholas removed his business card and handed it to her. “If you remember anything, even if you think it won't help, call me and let me know.”

“I will, but I didn't see who it was.”

Nicholas rose from the chair. “Thank you, Miss Wilkins. Miss Barrow is outside and wants to make sure you're all right.”

“I feel so bad. This was a big gig for me.”

“She's only concerned about your welfare.” Nicholas left with Dan, and in the reception room motioned to Selena that she could talk with Tara Wilkins.

Selena passed him, giving him a small smile, but it didn't wipe the weariness from her expression. While Selena disappeared into the exam room, he waited out in the empty reception area with Max. Nicholas stared at the closed door.

“I told you Ms. Wilkins didn't know anything,” Dan said, breaking the silence.

“I saw Miss Chick approach Selena, and from a distance it appeared the costume fit her well, so the assailant is about the same height. Selena thinks it was a female.”

“Is she sure?”

“No, but that will be easy to find out. A male going into a woman's restroom will probably stand out on the security tapes.”

“That area of the hallway won't be on tape. It's a dead end, but the hallways leading to it are on camera. So any male seen turning the corner could be going to the men's restroom. It's taken me years to learn every area that's covered and the ones not.” Dan grinned. “And then the powers that be change things around.”

Nicholas paced the room. “Oh, joy. You and I get to watch hours of tape, and we might come up with nothing.”

Dan shrugged. “You know how investigations go. Most take a lot of legwork.”

“I've contacted Security about changing the lock on Selena's office and storeroom. Did you check it to see if it was searched?”

“Yes, on the way here, but it didn't appear to have been.”

“What did the doc say about Selena's injury?”

“The doctor checked her again and gave her instructions about what to watch for, but he thinks the concussion is a mild one.”

“When this is over with, I'm escorting Selena home.” Nicholas stopped in front of Dan. “I want to make sure everything is all right. With her head injury and the fact someone has her keys, I won't rest well if I don't see for myself that she'll be okay and safe at her house.”

“And that's a great opportunity for you to get closer to her. I can see why you've been with her today. I still think she could lead you to her cousin. They're about the same age. They're related and friends. The things we do for an investi...” Dan's voice trailed off into silence, his eyes growing round as he stared behind Nicholas.

He swung around and found Selena glowering at them, her face pale, her hands trembling.

She charged across the office. “I need to get back to work.”

“Wait up.” Nicholas gripped Max's leash and hurried after her, the sound of Dan's chuckles irking him.

Selena kept going, her free hand fisted at her side.

Outside the ground-floor entrance, Nicholas caught up with her. “I'm sorry about what Dan said.”

She whirled toward him, fire shooting out of her eyes, her jaw set in a fierce line. “Is it true? You've talked to me more in the past couple of months than the whole year before. You can tell your team I don't know where my cousin is, but Erin is innocent. She could be dead or kidnapped and all you think is she murdered her boyfriend. She cared for Michael and wouldn't have hurt him. She wouldn't have hurt anyone.”

He let her storm away because what she'd said had a ring of truth to it. He had started talking to her more because of the case. Although there was no evidence to support that she was helping her cousin, he and other members had to follow all leads. He'd learned in this profession to be distrusting and question everything. At this moment, as Selena vanished in the crowd near the Easter Egg Roll, he regretted that aspect of his job.

* * *

By the end of the event in the early evening, anger still roiled in Selena's stomach whenever she glimpsed Nicholas in the crowd or thought about him. She liked him—a lot—but overhearing him and Dan talking about her concerning Erin's disappearance, all the feelings she'd been fighting since her cousin went missing had surged to the foreground.

She'd caught a couple of Dan's earlier remarks—his voice a little louder than Nicholas's—before they'd gone in to see Tara Wilkins and then again later. She hated being the topic of conversation and especially the fact that the Capitol K-9 Unit had suspected her of assisting a fugitive—still did. Not that she wasn't trying to help Erin. She was. But by trying to prove she couldn't have killed Michael. If Selena could gather evidence her cousin hadn't shot anyone, then if Erin was alive and in hiding, she could return. But her greatest fear was that Erin wasn't alive. All she knew—via the Capitol K-9 Unit—was that back in February, an elderly couple in rural Virginia had taken in an injured young woman matching Erin's description, but she'd left a few days later, her appearance dramatically altered. Weeks later, two thugs had terrorized the couple for information on Erin's whereabouts. Who were they? The killers? Bounty hunters?

And where was Erin? Reports had come in last month that someone in rural Virginia was using public computers to research bills introduced by Congressman Jeffries. Could that be Erin? If so, what was she looking for?

One angle Selena was following involved a case Michael Jeffries had been very passionate about. Michael had been working pro bono on a murder case for convicted killer Greg Littleton, a man who Michael believed was innocent. Perhaps the real killer wanted Michael off the case permanently and killed him. Maybe the killer had trailed Michael to his father's house, murdered him there, and when his father, the congressman, appeared, the killer shot him, too.

Lots of maybes and not a lot of answers. Selena hadn't had the time in the past few weeks to work on anything except the Easter Egg Roll, but she had managed to interview Greg Littleton in prison, convicted of murdering Saul Rather. Michael had been fervently working to prove Littleton was innocent. Those who believed in his guilt weren't happy about that. As a crusading attorney, Michael had made himself some enemies.

Now that the Easter Egg Roll was over, Selena intended to devote more time to looking into the Littleton case and any others that appeared promising. Someone had killed Michael Jeffries and left his father for dead—and that someone wasn't Erin Eagleton.

As Selena approached her car in the staff's underground parking, she discovered Nicholas lounging against her white Ford Mustang with Max sitting next to him. How dare he look so innocent with those big brown eyes and cocky grin. He'd removed his ball cap and stuck it in his back pocket. His thick, dark blond hair was cut short but not military-style. Knowing his Navy SEALs background, that had surprised her when she'd first met him last year.

Her anger began to soften as she took in his casual stance, as though nothing was wrong. She quickly shored it up. She would not be used. Her mother had tried to get back in her big brother's graces by using Selena. It hadn't worked. Her uncle had recognized that his sister wasn't serious about not drinking, that all she needed his money for was to support her while she drowned herself in alcohol, leaving her daughter to fend for herself.

Selena had learned one thing growing up. She was the only one who would look out for herself. She ignored Nicholas as she unlocked her car and tossed her purse on the passenger seat.

“Max, what do you do when you're in hot water?” Nicholas said to his K-9.

The sound of the dog's bark echoed through the underground garage.

Selena pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. He was going to charm her. She'd seen him charming the women at the White House, and she wasn't going to buy into it. She'd watched her mother fall for one man after another, thinking he would take care of her.

But her current man had never stayed around long.

He tapped the side of his head with his palm. “Max, what a brilliant idea. I'll try that.”

Nicholas sidled along the body of the car until he was half a foot from her right arm. The hairs on it tingled.

“I'm sorry. Nothing I did today had to do with your cousin. I was trying to point out to Dan the error of his suggestion with sarcasm.”

Selena squeezed her eyes closed, her heartbeat accelerating at Nicholas's nearness. Finally she turned slowly toward him, backing away a step. “Be honest. Have you ever considered I might have been helping Erin stay hidden?”

“Honestly—yes. I'm not going to lie to you. My team has looked into all the possibilities while searching for Erin, so being a friend and a family member, you would obviously be on that list. And if I was perfectly honest, at first that is why I initiated several conversations with you lately.”

She tensed, flexing her hands. “I knew it. At least I appreciate your honesty. Now I need to leave. I'm tired, and I pray I don't fall asleep driving home.”