Poor Jim Mercer didnt have any idea what kind of mess he was about to walk into.
Her cell phone rang, a jarring note in the bucolic peace of the isolated farm. She checked the display and grimaced when she saw the name. Hi, Royce.
I heard youre hiring a nanny.
Whered you hear that? she asked, wondering which employee of Elite Employment Agency had let that information slip to the wrong person.
Oh, around. You know.
Maybe it had been Jim Mercer himself whod spilled the news. Maybe hed decided to do a little background checking on her, as well. She couldnt really blame him if he had, she realized. He had a right to know just what sort of mess he was walking into if he took the job. You called to find out whether or not Im hiring a nanny?
No, Royce said in a tone of long-suffering forbearance. I called to find out whether your decision to hire a nanny meant you were coming back to work.
Not yet. You said I could take a few months. Have you changed your mind?
If I said I had, would you come back to work?
No, she answered flatly. I need this time off, Royce. If you cant give it to me, Ill turn in my notice. Then when Im ready to return to work, Ill give one of the other networks a call.
No, Royce said quickly. I said you could have the sabbatical. Im not going to renege.
I really do appreciate your understanding.
I hear the cops still dont know who set the bomb or why. Do you think it had something to do with that piece you were doing on al Adar?
I dont know, she admitted. Not long before the car bomb that had killed Marianne and Toby, Lacey had spent several months in Kaziristan, a Central Asian republic fighting for its very existence. A terrorist group known as al Adar had risen from the ashes earlier in the year, after several years of near dormancy, taking advantage of an economic downturn in the nascent democracy to stir up trouble and violence. Her exposé on the troubling rise of the terrorist group had just been nominated for a Murrow Award for investigative reporting.
But al Adar hadnt yet made a name for themselves outside of Kaziristan. They hadnt really started exporting terrorism on a regular basis, despite a few aborted attempts a few years back.
Or had they?
I want to hire security for you and your niece.
Royce, weve talked about this. If I make a big deal out of what happened, the press will do the same. Theyll start publicizing where I am now, something that only a few people know about at the moment. Since Id like to keep it that way, noIm not going to hire a bunch of bodyguards thatll start tongues wagging all over the East Coast.
Youre a target, Lacey.
Ive taken a sabbatical. Im not reporting on al Adar or anyone else. Maybe thatll be enough to appease whoever it was who came after me. She wasnt sure she believed it, but the last thing she wanted right now was to live under the watchful eyes of a bunch of muscle-bound security contractors whod try to watch her every move and keep her from doing what needed to be done.
Regardless of who had set the bomb under her car, she was the one who felt responsible for her sisters death.
She had to be the one who figured out who hated her enough to kill her. And stop him before he could take another shot at killing her.
Do you really think itll be enough to appease someone who wants you dead? Royce asked.
I dont know. But its better than living in a cage until the cops finally figure out who set the bomb.
Royce was silent for a long moment before he spoke in a hushed tone. Tell me youre not thinking about tracking down this killer yourself.
She didnt respond.
Damn it, Lacey. Youre a reporter. Youre not a cop.
I tracked down the head of al Adar when the US government thought the man was dead.
Different situation. You werent his target, for one thing.
There was a knock on the front door. I have to go, Royce. Ill call you later.
She hung up the phone and walked to the front door, sneaking a peek through the security lens. Jim Mercer stood on the other side of the door, dressed in a brown leather bomber jacket, his hair ruffled by the cold wind moaning in the eaves outside.
She unlocked the door and opened it. Youre early.
His eyebrows lifted slightly. Is that a problem?
No, of course not. I just mean, youre not late. She forced a smile, acutely aware that the past two weeks had done a number on her social skills. Come in. Ill show you your room and you can get settled before I have to leave. She closed the door behind him, careful to lock the dead bolt.
He stopped in the middle of the foyer and looked around. This place is great. How old is it?
I think it was built in the eighteen nineties. Something like that. It was updated in the sixties or seventies, I think, but Marianne and Toby were planning to renovate the place with its history in mind. You know, try to match the styles of the Folk Victorian era even while they updated the plumbing and electrical. She led him into the large family room. They did take down a couple of walls to make this place more open concept, but the hardwood floors are all original, and so are the window trim and the crown molding.
Its beautiful, he said.
Katie turned at the sound of his voice, staring at him with a look of sheer delight. Hey!
Jim grinned back at her. Hey there, Katiebug!
She ran toward him, her chubby legs churning, and tugged on his jeans until he put down his duffel bag and picked her up. She patted his cheeks and again said, Hey.
Shes usually so shy, Lacey murmured, not sure her nieces crush on her new nanny was such a good idea. What if Jim didnt work out? What if another person disappeared from Katies life?
But what could she do? She needed help with her niece, someone to take care of the little girl while she continued her investigation into her sisters death. Better that it be someone Katie liked than someone she didnt, right?
Jim tucked Katie into the crook of one arm and picked up the duffel bag with the other. Kids like me, he said with a shrug, nodding for her to continue the tour of the house.
She took him through the kitchen to the narrow hallway that led to the first-floor master bedroom. She had been staying there because it was close to the nursery, although for the past two weeks, Katie had been sleeping in the bed with Lacey.
She thought it might be better for her to move to one of the other bedrooms downstairs and let Jim have the bedroom suite. Katie could move to the nursery next door, and hed still be close enough to go to her in the night.
This is your room, she told him as she opened the door and led him inside.
He looked around the large room, his brow furrowed. This is a nice room.
Its technically the master suite, but its next door to the nursery, so...
He nodded, understanding. Youll be upstairs?
No, the upstairs hasnt really been renovated yet. There are a couple of other bedrooms on the first floor. Ill take one of those.
Of course. Whatever you want to do. He turned to look at her. How are you doing? After the ambush, I mean.
Im fine, she said with a firmness she didnt quite feel. Despite her determination to show no fear, the most recent attack had rattled her nerves almost as much as the car bombing had, despite the fact that neither she nor Katie had been hurt. Maybe because it had come out of the blue, in a place she hadnt expected to face danger. She had almost convinced herself that the bombing had been a onetime act of violent rage. A venting of hate and anger, perhaps, emptying a twisted soul of the unspeakable darkness inside him.
No, the upstairs hasnt really been renovated yet. There are a couple of other bedrooms on the first floor. Ill take one of those.
Of course. Whatever you want to do. He turned to look at her. How are you doing? After the ambush, I mean.
Im fine, she said with a firmness she didnt quite feel. Despite her determination to show no fear, the most recent attack had rattled her nerves almost as much as the car bombing had, despite the fact that neither she nor Katie had been hurt. Maybe because it had come out of the blue, in a place she hadnt expected to face danger. She had almost convinced herself that the bombing had been a onetime act of violent rage. A venting of hate and anger, perhaps, emptying a twisted soul of the unspeakable darkness inside him.
Much easier to deal with the idea of a psychotic outburst than to contemplate the idea that someone had deliberately set out to kill her in cold blood, driven not by emotion but rational if diabolical intent.
Jim set the duffel bag on the floor by the bed, bouncing Katie lightly in the crook of his arm. Ill unpack after you get back home, he said, turning to look at Lacey. Any idea how long youll be out? So I know whether to start calling around to find you if you dont show up on time.
She couldnt decide if she found his words irritating or endearing. As shed told Royce Myerson, she didnt want a bodyguard. She didnt want her movements tracked or to be trapped inside this farmhouse, afraid to stick her head out the door for fear of having it lopped off.
At the same time, she couldnt deny a sense of relief that she now had someone around who cared whether or not she came back home safely. Someone to call in the cavalry if things somehow went wrong.
I should be home by eleven at the latest.
If Katie and I need you, we can reach you by phone?
If its an emergency.
Listen, I know youre not looking for a bodyguard, and I dont imagine you care to tell a virtual stranger where youre going and who youre seeing, so Im not going to ask you to tell me that. Katie had started wriggling in his arms, so Jim set her on the floor, not missing a beat. But could you leave that information somewhere here in the house so that I can find it if you dont get back on time and I cant reach you?
She narrowed her eyes. You mean so the cops will have somewhere to start looking when you call it in?
His brow furrowed. Well, I hadnt planned to put it quite that bluntly.
She smiled. Its a smart idea. Ill leave the address where Ill be on the message board in the kitchen. Will that work?
That works. He returned her smile, and she felt an unexpected twisting sensation in the center of her chest. Damn, he was awfully cute when he smiled. She didnt need to start thinking about him as a tall, attractive man instead of her nieces nanny. Definitely needed to nip that in the bud.
There are some jars of peas and carrots in the cabinet, she told him, leading him back to the kitchen. And some creamed chicken in the fridge. She likes her food lukewarm. Not hot, not cold.
And she liked to throw her food around and make a mess, which Jim would find out soon enough.
Shes still eating food from jars? he asked, sounding surprised.
Marianne used to cook, and I think Katie was eating some regular table food, but Im not quite that domestic, she admitted, guilt tugging at her chest. I guess Im going to have to buy a cookbook or something.
I can cook, he said. I dont mind.
I dont expect you to be a housekeeper and chef, as well as a nanny.
I like to cook. I like to eat. Youll be buying the groceries, so its not like youll be taking advantage. He crouched as Katie toddled up to him, smiling at the little girl. Well see if we can find the fixings to make a chicken potpie tonight. How does that sound, Katiebug?
Pie, she said in a tone of approval.
Damn it, Lacey thought. Great body, adorable dimplesand he cooked?
Even Mary Poppins couldnt touch that.
Should I save you a plate? Or will you be eating out?
I was planning on grabbing something while I was out, but youre making this potpie sound tempting.
He slanted a smiling look at her. Dont get too excited. Were talking about canned vegetables and crumbled-cracker topping here.
She really needed to get out of here before he tempted her to change her plans and stay. Save me a plate. If I dont eat it tonight, Ill eat it tomorrow.
She grabbed her purse from one of the hooks in the small mudroom off the kitchen. Dont start calling the police and hospitals until after ten, she said, keeping her tone light, even though she knew her safety wasnt really a laughing matter.
But she couldnt afford to live in fear. She had to find a killer before he struck again. She had to do it for Marianne and Toby. For her orphaned niece.
For herself.
Outside, night had fallen completely, and the first grains of sleet peppered her windshield as she started Mariannes Chevrolet Impala. With Katie still small enough to fit easily into a car seat buckled to the sedans backseat, Marianne and Toby hadnt yet seen the need to upgrade to an SUV or minivan. But it wouldnt be long before Lacey would have to start thinking about getting a more family friendly vehicle.
Stopping at the end of the long driveway, Lacey rubbed her temples, where the first signs of a headache were beginning to throb. How was she supposed to be Katies mother? Katie had had a good mother. A great mother. A mother Lacey didnt have a hope of emulating. Marianne had been a natural. Chock-full of maternal instincts and glowing with the joy of motherhood.
And now she was gone, and all Katie had left were memories that would fade with time and an aunt who had no idea how to be a mother.
Stop, she said aloud, gripping the steering wheel tightly in her clenched fists. Youll learn what you need to know. Youll do your best.
And youll start with finding the son of a bitch who killed Marianne and Toby.
A call had come early that morning from Ken Calvert, a source in the State Department, an analyst in the departments South and Central Asia division. Shed dealt with Calvert several times following up on the stateside elements of her investigative report on the rejuvenation of al Adar. Calvert claimed to have new information about a possible domestic al Adar connection, but he didnt feel comfortable telling her about it over the phone. He wanted to meet her at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at seven.
Maybe she was crazy to go out there alone. But she needed to know if it was possible that al Adar had put out a hit on her here in the United States. At least the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was a public place. It might not draw hordes of tourists on a snowy night in January, but Lacey had never been to the sleek reflective memorial wall when there werent plenty of visitors around. She should be safe enough.
She went east on River Road, heading for the highway that would take her into the capital. It was an hours drive from Cherry Grove to DC. She hoped Ken Calvert really had come across something useful for her. She didnt look forward to driving home in the snow.
For the first third of the drive, traffic was moderate and, at times, light. But the closer she got to DC, the heavier it got. Headlights gleamed in her rearview mirror like long strands of Christmas lights stretching out along the highway behind her.