Alana Candler, Marked for Murder (21 page)

Brad sighed with relieved caution. “That sounds perfect. What about access from the lake?”

Jaydn shook his head. “There’s a swimming beach about a mile from the lake, but it’s secluded, and there’s no boat entrance.”

Brad tapped his chin and nodded. “That sounds perfect.”

Jaydn reached for the phone. “I’ll call for the company helicopter and take her up there myself until you get this figured out.”

Brad leveled a thoughtful gaze at Jaydn. “One of my men said . . . that is . . . what company do you work for? Is it International Enterprises?”

Jaydn closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. After a moment, he nodded.

“Are you related to the Ross Holbrook who owns International Enterprises?”

After a glance at Alana, Jaydn responded in a low voice. “He was my father, but he died about two years ago. I run the company now.”

Brad whistled. “Man! The kids in school were right when they voted you ‘Most Likely to Succeed.’ I can’t believe it.”

Jaydn felt Brad staring at his lowered head. Discomfort grew in the pit of his stomach.

Brad finally spoke. “Does my knowing bother you?”

Jaydn hung up the phone and looked again into the living room where Alana was flipping channels. He shook his head. “People treat me like I’m from outer space when they find out I own the biggest company in the state. So, I don’t mention it. People tend to think wealthy men are . . . well . . .” He shrugged, and his focus strayed to the blonde sitting on the couch, “arrogant and demanding tyrants.”

The conversation with Alana had stung—her exact words opening a raw wound. For the first time in his life, he felt his money was a liability. Jaydn watched Alana. He could tell from the look Brad gave him that Brad understood more than Jaydn wanted him to. He was sure Brad knew of Alana’s views about people with money—especially bosses and company owners.

“Jaydn, I think you’re a great guy. Rich . . . poor . . . owner of a company or not. I’ve always thought you were. I’m sure when Alana gets to know the real you, she’ll think so too. But, if it means that much, I’ll keep your secret.”

Jaydn’s spirits soared in the light of Brad’s honest praise and promise. “Thanks, Brad. You don’t know how much I appreciate that.”

“Let’s get back to this house you’re talking about. How far is it from here, anyway?”

“Almost two hours—probably thirty minutes with the helicopter.”

“Is anyone up there now?”

“I have permanent staff that live on the property. A man and his wife keep up the grounds and the housekeeping. Naomi will probably come later. She usually goes with me when I travel.”

“Bo will really flip when I tell him he was right about you,” Brad said as he shook his head.

“Who’s Bo?”

“One of our detectives. He was asking me the other day . . .” Suddenly, Brad froze in mid-sentence.

“What’s the matter?”

“I told Bo where Alana was staying,” he announced quietly.

“Do you think he might have leaked it?”

“I don’t know, but I intend to find out.”

Brad picked up the phone receiver again. His dialing was interrupted by Jaydn’s exclamation.

“Brad! The news!”

Brad turned to see what had captured Jaydn’s attention. Spread across the TV screen in front of Alana was a picture of Chet Fabian, and the newscaster was repeating the facts of his death.

Alana stood up shakily, still wrapped in the quilt. Her face—bleached a frosty white—turned from the television screen to meet her brother’s gaze with a dazed look. “Brad . . .” she whispered. Then, she grabbed for the back of the chair before the world around her collapsed and she slid to the floor.

FORTY-ONE

A WET WASHCLOTH WAS PRESSED
to Alana’s forehead. Her head felt as if it had been pounded with a meat tenderizer. She lifted a shaky hand and touched her numb lips. “Can I please have some water?” she whispered.

Naomi appeared suddenly with a glass of ice and water. “Here you go, dearie. I put a straw in the glass.”

Alana sipped the water and looked around at the three concerned faces hovering above her head.

“What happened?”

“You fainted, munchkin.”

Brad’s face was strained as he knelt beside her—his hand patting her own.

“Brad, the news! Why didn’t you tell me about Chet?”

“You didn’t need something else to deal with right now, Lane.”

“But, they said he committed suicide. That can’t be true, can it?”

“They said ‘apparent’ suicide, Lane, and you’re right—it wasn’t suicide.” He left the rest unsaid.

“Oh, Brad! Poor Chet.”

Jaydn turned to Naomi.

“Would you mind getting Alana’s things together? We’re moving her tonight.”

Naomi nodded in complete agreement as she started up the stairs. “I’ll only be a minute.”

Brad sat down beside Alana on the couch and picked up her hands. “Alana, whoever tried to kill you tonight knows you’re here, so we’re moving you to another location.”

She lowered her head to hide the tears as she shivered with a ripple of fear. “Brad, I’m scared.”

“Hey,” Jaydn chided softly as he perched on the end of the couch, “What about that God of yours? Didn’t you say He was protecting you? He brought Brad and me here tonight at just the right time, didn’t He?”

Shame circulated through Alana’s body. Some testimony she was showing. She nodded her head. “Where are we going?’ she asked meekly.

Brad rubbed her back in a soothing motion. “Jaydn has a house in the mountains. It’s off by itself, away from other houses, and no one knows about it but us.”

Alana looked up into Jaydn’s eyes. “Does it belong to your company too?”

Something inside him turned his eyes a deep shade of blue as he glanced at Brad and said, “It belongs to me, Alana. And, you’re welcome to stay there as long as you need a safe place. There’s a nice couple who stays there and keeps the house and grounds. Naomi will fly over later.” His eyebrows were raised—waiting for her approval.

They sat staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Alana nodded in assent.

Jaydn stood up abruptly. “I’ll take Alana tonight. Naomi will come tomorrow. She’ll have to close up everything before she can leave here. Brad, will you go back to Landeville tonight?”

Brad shook his head. “No, I’ve done what I can there until some of the lab results come in. I’ll probably stay here, if that’s still okay?”

Jaydn nodded. “Stay as many nights as you like. If you need to come back to Ross for something else, use the apartment, okay?”

“Thanks, Jaydn.” He turned a pointed look at Alana. “For everything.” Alana blushed and lowered her head. Embarrassment flooded through her. Protecting her was consuming the time and energy of so many people.

Naomi came trudging down the stairs with a small bag in her hands. “This is all I could find. You didn’t bring much,” she said to Alana as she handed her the small bag and her worn leather Bible.

Alana took the bag and the Bible and closed her eyes tightly, as if doing so could shut out the frightening circumstances of her life.

“I didn’t have much to bring. Most of my clothes were trashed along with my apartment.”

She tried to hide the thread of tension in her voice as she sat on the sofa and hugged the Bible close. It was her lifeline.

Jaydn turned to Naomi. “Stay with her, Naomi, until we get all the details worked out.”

Jaydn pulled Brad into the kitchen and picked up the phone. “Let me know if there’s something I forget.”

Jaydn’s conversation lasted only minutes. He watched the surprise in Brad’s eyes as he forcefully gave instructions to several men on the other end of the line.

When Jaydn hung up the phone, he turned to Brad.

“I think I have all the bases covered. If you see any problems, let me know. The helicopter will land at the Ross airport, about ten minutes from here. Someone might follow us from here, but it’s a cinch they won’t be prepared to follow a helicopter once we get to the airport. Naomi will follow tomorrow or the next day. You’re welcome to ride with her if you want to see Alana, and please feel free to use the apartment for any reason if you have to come back to Ross. I’ll let the apartment manager know you might be coming back. He has an extra key. When we get to the cabin, I’ll have Alana call you. I’m sure she’d like to hear your voice by then, anyway.”

Brad stared at him. “Wow, Jaydn. I’m impressed with the way you’ve handled everything. Every little detail is taken care of. It seems safe enough. I th—”

The doorbell interrupted his sentence.

“That must be the police.” Jaydn guessed.

“Wait!” Brad whispered loudly as Naomi rushed to answer the door. He pulled his gun from his holster and stood in front of the door. Jaydn carefully pushed aside the closed curtains to peek out at the serious face of two Ross policemen. The street lamp illuminated their cruiser parked on the street behind them.

Jaydn nodded to Brad—a wave of relief relaxed his stance. Brad put away his gun and reached to open the door.

Jaydn headed to the stairs. “Okay, then. I’ll pack a few things while you fill them in. By the time they leave, the helicopter should be waiting at the airport.”

When Jaydn came back into the room, Brad was sitting beside Alana—her hands in his, and she was answering questions the police detectives asked them. She was shaky and weak, but she answered the questions with more calm than Jaydn thought possible. When the detectives had taken all their statements and left, they gathered her belongings and helped settle Alana in Jaydn’s car.

It wasn’t until after Jaydn packed his bag in the trunk and sat in the car on the way to the airport that he remembered his promise to pick up Patricia two hours before.

FORTY-TWO

THE TRIP ON THE HELICOPTER
was a new experience for Alana. After she was buckled in, she sat up straight to see as much as possible. Part of her was excited to undergo her first helicopter ride, but the rest of her felt numb. Long hours of insomnia wrapped her head in a cotton sea of make-believe, and the emotional stress of the last few days seemed like a dream.

The question of who owned the helicopter flashed through her mind but was soon forgotten as she watched the moon reflecting across the tops of the clouds. The airport lights disappeared, and the mountains loomed tall and stately on the horizon.

She felt a sense of satisfaction as her arm touched Jaydn’s in the close confines of the small cabin of the aircraft. He turned to her with a smile that made her heart melt like hot wax. It was so amazing that she felt such a peace in the presence of someone she had known for only a few days. Their personalities seemed to fit together like apple pie and ice cream—as if they’d been friends for years.

Jaydn turned his head to glance out the window when the helicopter made a sharp turn to the left. He pointed out the window. “That’s where we’re going.”

Alana looked out the window and gasped. Even in the middle of the night, the lights around the cabin highlighted a massive lake nestled in the middle of four dark mountains.

The log cabin, surrounded by manicured lawns and trees, sat in the middle of an island encircled by an oblong-shaped lake and towering mountains—like a throne in the middle of its loyal subjects. Floodlights from dozens of utility poles illuminated the area and made the scene as bright as daylight. The dark green of the trees almost enveloped the roof of the picturesque cabin and sent a surge of calm through her veins.

Her exhausted mind hoped and prayed this would be a safe haven. That whoever was hunting her down like a deer in season would never find her in this obscure setting. She sat back and waited for the helicopter to land.

Jaydn opened the door and hustled her down the sturdy steps, pushing her head low to clear the swirling motion of the overhead blades as they walked a short distance away. She turned to watch Jaydn pull their bags through the gaping hole of the helicopter, then observed with awe as the metal bird flew away into the night sky.

Jaydn threw the straps of their bags over one shoulder and held out his other hand, inviting her to walk hand-in-hand with him to the house. Alana turned toward the picturesque setting and thought how nice it would be if this place could erase the trouble in her life, at least temporarily.

The walk to the cabin was short, but each step became labored for Alana. It was well past two a.m., and her legs felt like lead. The pains that shot through to her temples from either side of her head pounded harder with each step she took. By the time she reached the door of the wooden structure, all she wanted was a bath and a bed.

Alana was vaguely aware of a short, round woman, introduced as “Sam,” who led her up the stairs to the first bedroom on the right. The kind woman showed her through one of the bedroom doors to a bathroom and a tub filled with warm soothing water. Alana’s clothes slipped to the floor, and she reveled in the peaceful warmth of the water as it covered her body.

When she slipped into bed later that night, a blanket of peace covered her completely, and she thought of nothing but peaceful, refreshing sleep.