Defending the Duchess (15 page)

“Sure thing. But if these are the same guys who broke into the palace this morning, they’re already in Lydia. They’re not going anywhere near the borders until they have their hands on what they came for.”

“My laptop?” Julia shrank the browser, apparently unwilling to look at the pictures of her attackers any longer. “Or the
file that’s on it, anyway.”

“What’s so important about that design?” Linus wanted to rehash what they knew in hopes of gaining some new insight. “Nothing was wrong with it when Pendleton designed it, but it was tampered with to cause a malfunction that resulted in injuries and the deaths of Balfour and Chen, who made the changes to the design in the first place.”

“But why?” Julia stood
and faced him.

Linus wished he knew the answer. “Roland and Klein were the only witnesses to Balfour and Chen’s ‘accident.’ But what if the engineers weren’t testing the engine at all? What if they weren’t even conscious—maybe not even alive at that point? The real cause of death may have been destroyed in the fire.”

Julia grabbed his arm. “You think Roland and Klein may have set up
the test to cover up their murder?”

Linus nodded. “If Balfour and Chen tampered with the design so that it would malfunction, they’d know better than to test the engine themselves, or at least not to go faster than 75 mph when doing so.”

“Roland and Klein may have killed them to keep them quiet about the engine alterations,” Julia concluded. “The same way they murdered Fletcher to keep
him from revealing the change from his original design.”

“But who are Roland and Klein? And why do they care so much about this engine?”

Julia reached for the computer again, and enlarged the tab that held her search results. “My guess is they’re a couple of hired hit men. Someone else is behind this—someone with enough money to buy silence, and a very strong reason for wanting the SE323
to fail.”

“Motormech?” Linus whispered.

Julia met his eyes. “Motormech is a highly respected company in the Seattle area. A lot of people would consider them above suspicion.”

“They’re the only other name on the file.” Linus turned to the burnt paper photographs he’d been spreading out on the table. “Motormech’s name appears on these pages. It’s about the only significant thing
I’ve been able to pick out, other than a bunch of spotty filler words that don’t make any sense.”

Julia moved closer and peered down at the pages with him. “What other words did you find?”

Linus pulled out his notepad with its senseless scrawlings and read off the meaningless mess of letters. “Squigg. Envirotek. EEGS.”

“Seriously?” Julia tugged the notepad closer and stared at the
words herself. “Those are companies, Linus—companies Motormech bought up when they were on the brink of bankruptcy and failure, then turned them around to become highly profitable businesses. EEGS stands for Elite Engineers of Greater Seattle. Half their elite engineers died when their experimental aircraft crashed in the desert of New Mexico. By the time their bodies were found...” Julia closed
her mouth and looked at him, confusion warring on her face. She dropped her voice to a whisper. “They had to use dental records to identify them.”

Linus watched Julia’s face as the realization sank in. He couldn’t bring himself to speak out loud, but he could guess exactly what she was thinking. Motormech had bought up the other companies after they’d failed under suspicious circumstances.

Motormech wasn’t above suspicion after all.

FIFTEEN

J
ulia scoured the internet for everything she could learn about Squigg, Envirotek and EEGS. Sure enough, all three companies had experienced a nasty incident that had decimated their value and put them on the brink of ruin. Motormech had scooped them up for pennies on the dollar and saved the day.

Except that, as Julia was now nearly certain, Motormech hadn’t saved
the day at all. They’d caused the disaster that had ruined their smaller competitors, then bought out what was left for next to nothing and made an astronomical profit. And conveniently, it seemed anyone who might have blown the whistle on them met with an unfortunate accidental death.

Of course, as Julia realized when she read through Motormech’s brochure, not all the companies they’d acquired
over the years had come to them under duress. Some of them appeared to be legitimate acquisitions—enough to divert suspicion, she supposed. And anyway, Motormech could afford to make legitimate purchases now and then, with all the profit they were raking in from the lives they’d ruined.

The new knowledge burned inside her, and she wished she had someone to tell, but Linus had gone off to
report what they’d learned to Jason, and hadn’t returned.

“Miss Miller?” An unfamiliar voice spoke from the doorway.

Julia recognized Sam, who’d been appointed to guard her before.

“Your sister is asking for you. I’m to escort you to lunch?”

“Sure. Thanks.” Julia tried to ignore the twinge of disappointment she felt at heading off with Sam at her side instead of Linus. Anyway,
she had more important things to worry about, like getting through lunch without letting on to Monica all that was on her mind.

Her sister rose from the table and greeted her with a hug.

“I’ve got it!” the queen exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.

“Got what?”

“Your dress for tomorrow’s ceremony. You’ll need to have it fitted this afternoon. It’s gold, to complement your topaz jewels.”

“Jewels,” Julia echoed. She hadn’t realized there would be jewels involved. She hadn’t even given any thought to her dress, since Monica had assured her she was taking care of it. “I thought it was just a title.”

“Every titled royal needs royal jewels,” Monica said as she floated back to her place at the table, still beaming. “Are you surprised? I wanted it to be a surprise, but you’re
always so good at figuring things out, I never can seem to surprise you.”

“I
am
surprised,” Julia assured her sincerely as she took her place at the table. Surprised, and a little bit humbled that her sister had been planning such a gift for her, and Julia hadn’t even thought to be suspicious.

* * *

“Where are you?” Jason wanted to know. Linus thought his boss sounded impatient,
and maybe even a little angry.

“I’m on my way home from church. I had my phone turned off for the service.”

“What time are you planning to be here?”

“You said all hands report at one. It’s not even noon yet.”

“Yes, but we need to see if this tuxedo fits. You were supposed to try it on yesterday before you left.”

“Tuxedo?”

“To escort the duchess.” Jason sounded more
than just impatient now.

“I thought I’d be wearing my dress uniform.”

Jason growled something incoherent, and it occurred to Linus that the head guard was under a tremendous amount of stress trying to keep Julia and the rest of the royals safe under particularly trying circumstances.

“Just get yourself over here as fast as you can, and pray this suit fits because I don’t want the
royal guard to look bad.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Linus promised, and turned off the route home, heading instead directly to the palace.

* * *

Linus straightened the bow tie and studied his reflection skeptically. The tuxedo wasn’t a perfect fit—it was plenty large around the waist. They must have ordered it with extra room to accommodate his body armor, not realizing
how thin the steel plates he wore really were. But the tailor had shoved sturdy safety pins into the pants so they wouldn’t droop, and the jacket covered the pins, so he figured it would have to be good enough. Linus still wasn’t clear on why he couldn’t just wear his royal guard uniform—something about the formality of the occasion, the international image of the royal family, and looking nice for
pictures.

Whatever. Jason had told him to wear the tux, and he knew how to follow orders.

“Linus.” Nick trotted up to him and whispered discreetly. “Scott Gordon died this morning.”

Though the news didn’t surprise him, Linus nonetheless felt his heart give a mournful twist. He knew they’d done all they could for the man, but he still felt guilty they hadn’t been able to save him.

“Scott’s mother is here,” Nick continued. “She wants to see Julia.”

“Is that okay?”

“Jason cleared it. Can you take the woman to the throne room and introduce them?”

“I guess.”

“Give her ten minutes, then move her out. We’re on a tight schedule.”

Nick was halfway out the door as he spoke, and Linus followed to find Nick speaking to a small, graying woman who clutched
something that looked like a photo album. “Phyllis, this is Linus Murati. He’ll take you to see Julia,” Nick explained before departing quickly.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Linus said as he took the woman’s hand and felt his throat swell. He didn’t know what else to say.

The woman seemed to be in a daze, anyway. “Thank you.” She took his arm and he led her down the familiar hallway toward
the throne room.

The large hall felt cool, though the chandeliers above were all lit and the room bustled with activity. A photographer occupied the center of the room, orchestrating the placement of royals on the raised dais where King Thaddeus and Queen Monica sat upon their thrones.

Julia stood down one step near her sister, her body turned at an angle.

Though he’d expected to
see her, Linus nearly stumbled at the sight of the lovely duchess, her hair all done up and topped with a tiara, her graceful figure draped in a flowing golden gown. Had he ever seen anyone so beautiful?

“Who is this?” The photographer asked as they approached.

“Phyllis Gordon,” Linus explained. “She needs to talk to Julia.” He looked at Julia, overcoming his awe to explain, “Scott’s
mother.” Suddenly he wondered if Julia had heard that Scott was dead—if she even knew his death had been pending. Last he’d told her, Scott had come out of surgery but had yet to awaken. If she didn’t know, it was too late to tell her now.

“Fine, we’ll take a short break,” the photographer announced as Julia lifted her skirt just high enough to reveal jeweled slippers as she stepped down
the last dais steps and approached Phyllis, sympathy on her face.

Phyllis held out the album. “Scott wanted me to give this to you. He had been trying to reach you for days. I think he knew...” Her voice drifted off slightly, but then she called her attention back to Julia. “I looked through these papers. I think they’re the reason Scott was killed, but I don’t understand any of it. Could
you—” the woman’s voice broke for just a moment before she regained control “—could you sort it out? I want my son’s killer brought to justice.”

Julia’s eyes glimmered, and though Linus sensed she hadn’t known of Scott’s death until then, sympathy poured from her. She accepted the album and embraced the woman.

“Thank you. I think I know why those men were after Scott, and you’re probably
right. If he gave you these papers, they’re sure to help us. We won’t let his killers go free.”

“That’s all I can ask.” Phyllis looked up at Linus. “I’m ready to go now.”

Linus led the woman toward the palace entrance, where her daughter had been waiting. After offering his condolences and feeling reassured that a member of the palace staff was seeing to their needs, Linus left them
and hurried back to the throne room.

Julia still stood in the same spot where he’d left her, pouring over the contents of the binder Phyllis had given her. She looked up when he reached her side. “I think these are copies of the papers that were burned. Scott must have left a copy in Seattle with his mom, before he came to Lydia to try to find me.”

“I’m glad he did. I spent my afternoon
on the phone with detectives from the Seattle police yesterday. They were glad to have information on Fletcher’s murder, but they insisted we’d need solid evidence before they could go after Motormech.”

“This binder should give them some of that evidence. I don’t have time to sort through it now, but everything fits together. I’d been hoping to talk to you sooner—I looked into those other
companies, and I think I see a pattern. We might have enough evidence to make a case, but we need to know who’s been giving Klein and Roland their orders.”

“And we’ll have to catch whoever’s behind it. It’s not enough to just take out Klein and Roland, or the real brains behind it all will only hire more hit men.”

Julia nodded solemnly. “You’re right. Motormech seems determined to cover
up anything that might link them to the crime. When Fletcher started asking questions, they altered my files so he couldn’t get his hands on any solid proof against them.”

“And when that only aroused Scott’s suspicions, they felt they had to take more drastic steps.”

“I don’t know what Scott had to do to get his hands on all these documents, but he clearly drew enough attention to his
actions that they decided to eliminate him, too.”

“And that led them back to you.” Linus scowled with frustration. “It’s not fair that they know so much about us, and we know nothing about the real party behind all this.”

Before Julia could speak, the photographer returned to the center of the room and clapped impatiently. “Let’s get back to our places!”

“I should get going.” Julia
handed him the binder. “Can you take care of this?”

“Sure thing. Then I’ll be right back.”

* * *

Julia watched Linus hurry away and prayed God would watch over the evidence, as well as the man who carried it. Linus looked even more perfect than usual in his tuxedo.

Julia took the spot at her sister’s arm and smiled for the camera as instructed, but on the inside, she was full
of doubts and questions. Had she pushed Linus away by getting too close the morning before? He’d explained to her why he couldn’t get involved with her, and she understood that. Was he keeping his distance in order to ensure they didn’t cross any lines? Or was he having second thoughts about his feelings?

No matter how much she longed to learn how he felt about her, there always seemed to
be other pressing matters to discuss. Until they found out who was behind everything, she doubted she’d learn how Linus really felt.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur of flashbulbs and pomp. Julia tried to enjoy the events, but armed guards hovered on the periphery, a constant reminder of the danger that wasn’t afraid to breach the palace walls. Though she knew the ceremony would
have been rescheduled if the royal advisors had thought it necessary, nonetheless, Julia couldn’t shake the fear that something might happen at any moment.

The ceremony, as she might have predicted, was a moving, emotional affair. The members of the royal family proceeded in ahead of her, looking radiant in their formal wear. Princess Anastasia, the youngest sister of the current king, entered
first, with her fiancé, Kirk Covington, on her arm. Julia had heard the story of how Kirk, a rogue guard, and Anastasia had survived the attacks earlier in the summer, by hiding out on one of the islands off the Lydian coast. No one seemed to know which island, though. When asked, she and Kirk simply winked at one another and smiled secretively.

Anastasia was followed by her sister, Princess
Isabelle, whose adventures during the attacks had included escape via the catacombs of Charlemagne beneath the city. Her fiancé, Levi Grenaldo, escorted her in.

Next, the king’s only brother, Alexander, the soldier prince, entered with his fiancée, Lillian Bardici, who’d saved his life during the attacks. Behind them, the royal parents, the former King Philip and Queen Elaine walked in slowly.
Julia was surprised to see the former king walking without any assistance, save for his wife’s supporting arm. Philip had nearly died after being shot defending his daughters and still used a walker to get around the palace.

Finally, the orchestra changed its tune, and trumpets blared as King Thaddeus took his place in the doorway with Queen Monica on his arm. Their son, five-year-old Peter,
walked in just ahead of them, looking uncertain for just a moment before he spotted his grandparents up ahead. Then he beamed and walked confidently toward them.

Julia’s throat caught as she watched her beloved nephew, his pale hair combed almost flat, his miniature tuxedo making him look like a little man. Monica shimmered under her royal jewels, but Julia couldn’t shake the thought that
her sister looked fragile, almost dwarfed by the richly inlaid crown atop her head.

Then it was her turn to proceed. Linus held her arm steady as they approached the thrones where her sister stood next to the king. The music ended and the crowd was seated, though Julia remained standing as the service continued with solemn readings from the ancient annals of Lydia’s royal history.

After
King Thaddeus settled the tiara into place on her head, Monica stepped forward. The plan had been for her to place one hand on Julia’s shoulder and offer a few words of blessing, but they ended up embracing and using the formal scarlet kerchief from King Thaddeus’s pocket to dry their happy tears.

The familiar notes of the Lydian national anthem filled the ballroom, and all those assembled
sang the ancient song together. Julia was glad she’d taken the time to learn the words, memorizing the lyrics by singing along to a video she’d found online. The royal siblings looked pleasantly surprised to hear her singing confidently with them, and when Julia glanced at the former king and queen, Elaine winked at her.

Julia nearly faltered then and felt her throat swell with tears. But
Linus held one hand over hers where she grasped his arm, and he gave her hand a slight squeeze, reassuring her.