Seven Days Grace (A Grace Rose Novel Book 1) (18 page)

‘
She is nothing if not a legend
,’
Kate said.

‘
You know
,
if I ever get married
,
I wonder if she will still bring food over for me and my husband.
’
Grace laughed.

‘
Probably
,’
Kate laughed
,
too.
‘
That works for you
,
you won
’
t have to cook. You know how much you love it.
’

‘
Sure
,
almost as much as I love gardening.
’

The pair spent the evening together laughing and reminiscing about the dates they had survived and relationships they had endured as they watched a chick flick
,
ate chocolate ice-cream – after dinner of course – and drank wine. Two peas in a pod
,
they could tell each other anything and were content in each other
’
s presence. As the night rolled on and the yawning began
,
the chatter faded and the friends decided it was time for bed. Kate had to prepare for her trip and Grace waved her goodbye.

As she picked up the remote to turn off her television she noticed there was a news bulletin on. The man who was in the photographs The Voice had given her was on the television. The same man she had run into at JJ
’
s. She sat on the couch
,
fully alert and turned up the volume. Her eyes widened as she stared at Minister Sleen on the screen.

THURSDAY

19

‘
Grac
e
,
I
need you to attend a press conference at Richmond RAAF. They
’
re making changes to their fleet of Hercules aircraft. Some of the old ones are being retired and they
’
ve received half a dozen of the new fleet already. Plus there
’
s some new technology in the cockpit. Media from all over Sydney will be attending and there
’
s a joy flight afterwards
,’
Nick said.

‘
Isn
’
t Joe covering it?
’
Why did I answer the phone at 7:30 A.M.?
As was the routine
,
she gazed out her kitchen window to check the weather. She noted a cloudless sky as she salivated for her first coffee of the day.

‘
He called in sick and asked if you could do it. He has the flu that
’
s going around. The one you had that you
’
ve recovered from so quickly.
’

‘
I didn
’
t say I had the flu.
’

‘
Anyway
,
you have a knack for coming up with unusual angles for these standard stories. What else did you have on today?
’

Did Nick give me a compliment?
She was going to do research into the story The Voice wanted her to uncover. She didn
’
t tell Nick that Jake was about to arrive. He
’
d already told her to back off from investigating Sleen.

‘
Oh
,
this and that
,
you know. What time do I have to be there?
’
Now she would have to change into something more comfortable for the flight.
There goes the sexy black suit with my new heels I
’
d planned to impress Jake with this morning.

‘
Around noon. What
,
no smarmy remarks
,
cute quips or derogatory comments?
’

‘
No
,
I
’
d be happy to go
,
Nick. The thing is I don
’
t have a car as mine
’
s being serviced today.
’
Now I
’
ll be able to get out of it.

‘
You can borrow mine if you do me a favour.
’

Darn.
‘
Why am I not surprised there
’
s a catch? I
’
ll see you about 10ish.
’
             
 

20

‘
At you
r
service
,’
Jake said as he stood on Grace
’
s threshold with two large cappuccinos in hand
,
full to the top with froth and smothered in shaken chocolate. It threatened to spill over without warning. He held one out to her as she opened the door.

‘
Thank you
,’
she said as she took the cup from him.

‘
I thought you might want the biggest size as you said you
’
d need the caffeine
,’
he smiled widely.

He
’
s been here less than half a minute and already I can
’
t concentrate on anything.
 
‘
I see you need one
,
too. And you
’
re early
,
come in.
’

‘
Ten minutes early
,’
he said as he looked at his phone.

‘
I was up early this morning anyway. You can drop the worried expression
,’
Grace had run around like a woman possessed tidying her messy home before Jake arrived. She could have used those extra few valuable minutes.
‘
How did you manage not to spill it without putting a lid on?
’
she asked.

‘
I bought it from the little shop on the corner and walked down from there
,’
he smiled.

I cannot help but like this man.

She threw dirty cups in the sink and wiped the bench on her way through to the living area. His presence took up half the living space. She invited him to sit down on her couch. He raised his right ankle to rest it on his left knee. She also noticed how good he looked in her house
,
as if it was where he belonged. He wore a casual pair of tan pants with a blue chambray business shirt. His brown belt matched his leather boat shoes. It was a timeless look. Grace soaked in the sight of him from head to toe and wondered if there was a fan in the room to cool her down.

‘
What a great place
,’
Jake said as he took in the view out of the large windows.

‘
Thanks
,
I keep it simple. There
’
s not a lot of room as you can see.
’

‘
And views of the harbour
,
wow.
’

‘
If you stand on one foot and hold your tongue to the right side
,
you might see some water
,’
she said.

‘
It suits you. You look as if you
’
re dressed for the office.
’

She had sensed his gaze on her and wondered whether he liked what he saw. Grace wore flattering
,
tailored black pants and a pair of boots with a medium-sized heel. A crisp
,
white collarless shirt completed the outfit. She aimed for comfortable yet pleasing after having to rethink her outfit.

‘
I
’
m taking a flight in a Hercules later today. I
’
m hoping I get the chance to sit in the cockpit for part of the flight. This particular aircraft comes with the latest and greatest technology. I
’
m not a techno person so I couldn
’
t tell you anything about it
,’
she said.

‘
You
’
re kidding? Can I come?
’

‘
I
’
d be happy to send you in my place if I could.
’

‘
That sounds like a whole lot of fun. How
’
d you score such a trip?
’

‘
It
’
s who you know in this game.
’

He stared at her
,
waiting.

‘
Another journalist was meant to go. Lucky for me he can
’
t make it now.
’

‘
You don
’
t sound thrilled about the idea.
’

‘
Nick asked if I would cover it for him. I could hardly tell him I was working on this story with you as he
’
s already told me to stop my research on Sleen. Obviously
,
that
’
s what I
’
d prefer to be doing. What could I say? Anyway
,
I love flying so I need to adjust my attitude.
’

‘
Up in the air with a bunch of good-looking pilots
,
hey?
’

‘
Probably
,’
she chuckled.
‘
It
’
ll be a hard day
’
s work.
’

‘
Ah
,
I see
,’
Jake said
,
nodding.

‘
What do you see?
’

‘
These pilots are going to love you.
’

‘
What?
’

‘
I
’
m a man
,
I know how we operate.
’

Grace displayed a quizzical expression.

‘
I
’
m kidding. I
’
m sure it
’
ll be a blast for you. Be careful.
’

What was that about?
‘
Anyway
,
let me show you the information I have from The Voice and see if you can make more sense out of it than I can. By the way
,
I appreciate your help with this
,’
she sipped at her coffee.
‘
I don
’
t think I
’
ve ever had a coffee this large
,
I
’
ll be wired all day
,’
she wanted to pat his arm though refrained from such an obvious display of affection. She had to remain focussed as the day was going to be a busy one.

‘
You
’
re welcome. Where
’
s the information from your mystery man?
’

‘
I
’
ll be back in a second.
’
Grace got up and retrieved her lap top from her bedroom. She found it under a pile of clothes on her bed. She had tried to look at the second memory stick last night after seeing Sleen on TV though the computer was dead. She closed the door behind her as she returned to the living room. She felt Jake
’
s eyes on her again. Although
,
her next thought made her wonder if she had imagined it.
I
’
m being overly sensitive.

‘
Oh
,
there
’
s my charger
,’
she said as she picked it up off the living room floor and stuck the power cord into the computer.

‘
Right
,’
she said as she found the first memory stick in her bag. She hadn
’
t looked at it since Monday morning.
‘
Have a look at this.
’
I have to get more organised before I lose something.

Jake spent a lot of time asking questions about what Grace knew. He needed details as to the exact conversations she had with The Voice
,
when and where they had met
,
had she noticed anyone else lurking around the same area as their meetings
,
could she describe him or would she recognise him without the disguise and when was their next meeting?

‘
I don
’
t know when I
’
ll hear from him. He calls when I least expect it from a private number and he keeps his chats short and then hangs up without so much as a goodbye
,’
she said.

‘
He did say during his first phone call
,
before our meeting on Monday morning
,
it
‘
involved politicians
’
and
‘
it was corrupt
’
.
Those were his exact words. Then he said
,
‘
this will catapult your career
’
.
’

‘
W
hen I met him the first time in the gardens
,
I wanted to laugh. He looked like he belonged in a vaudeville show. His whole outfit was not something you would normally wear and it was sloppy. Plus he was nervous. But when he told me lives would be at stake
,
I was immediately interested. Too many people die needlessly. I wanted to get involved as soon as I knew about the casualties. It
’
s unjust and riles me up on the inside until I
’
m furious. Sorry. Anyway
,
at our second meeting
,
the atmosphere turned more serious. He said his life was in danger and mine was
,
too
,
solely by talking to him.
’

Jake closed his eyes and put his face in his hands. He opened them as his hands cupped his lower chin and held his head up. He sighed. He looked worried to Grace.

‘
I don
’
t want to scare you
,
Grace. However
,
from my experience with all sorts of shady characters
,
I think this guy means what he says. I don
’
t think he would harm you
,
yet
,
the people he
’
s hiding from
,
who knows what they
’
re like? The bad disguise is enough to say he doesn
’
t know what he
’
s doing. However
,
he is trying to hide so they don
’
t know it
’
s him. Meeting as the sun comes up
,
playing a game as if he
’
s in a TV crime show and keeping you guessing. You have to be careful. I wonder why he hasn
’
t told you everything.
’

‘
He said he didn
’
t have all the information yet and when he did he
’
d call.
’

‘
Grace
,’
Jake turned to face her and held her hands. The warmth of his hands felt like she was sitting in front of a cosy fire.
‘
Grace
,
I care about you and I want to help you.
’
He stared deeply into her eyes.

This is definitely business not romance. Shame.

‘
The next time this guy sets up a meeting
,
I want you to call me and tell me when and where. I
’
m going to be there in my van watching and I
’
ll take some photographs so we can work out who he is and get to the bottom of this
,’
he let go of her hands and scanned through a number of the photos on the computer.
‘
I think The Voice could be right. Your life could be in danger and there
’
s no point in being a martyr and not accepting my help.
’

‘
I
’
m sure I
’
ll be –
’

‘
Grace
,
I know you
’
re a strong
,
independent woman
,
however
,
my gut instinct tells me these people cannot be messed with. Please.
’