Lib Novel Page 63
She nodded slowly. “Don’t rub it in. I told you it’s not going to happen again.”
“Absolutely not. So run along and grill Williams. Harley and I will be fine dozing here on the porch.”
“I shouldn’t be long.” She was already heading for the front door. “I’m sure Harley will keep you entertained. But neither one of you really likes to do much dozing, do you?”
“Life’s too short,” Lynch said quietly. “I hate to waste the time. But then I’ve noticed, neither do you.” He waved her toward the door. “Let’s get this over with. Harley is getting restless.”
“Heaven forbid,” she said as she knocked on the door. “We wouldn’t want that to happen.”
Apparently it wasn’t going to happen, because Todd Williams was impatiently throwing open the door. “Ah, there’s the dog,” he said as he peered out on the sunporch. “Rather strange-looking creature, isn’t he? One blue eye and one brown eye? Is he a competent guard dog?”
“My friend believes he’s very competent, and I haven’t heard any complaints,” Kendra said. “He’s very loving, and that’s what is important to her.”
“But it might not be the most important thing for you to consider,” Williams said grimly. “In the brief time I’ve known you, you’ve appeared to be surrounded by violence. That was why I asked a few of my friends in the police force to keep me informed if you appeared to be having any more problems. I admit I was relieved when you told me about the dog.”
“Relieved?” Kendra repeated. “Lending me Harley was my friend’s idea, but it’s not as if I go around asking for trouble. It’s just been a very upsetting time in all our lives. But while we’re talking about it, when I first met you it was clear that even you were frightened by the fact that Chloe and Sloane Morgan were missing. Isn’t that true?”
He didn’t answer for a moment. “I can’t deny I was concerned.”
“Why should you deny it?” Kendra asked. “You cared about them. They seemed to be wonderful young women. I wanted to do everything I could to bring them home to the people who cared about them. I thought we were on the same page.”
“We were,” Williams said. “But you can understand that I didn’t want to involve anyone else in my personal business. I certainly didn’t want to involve you in that madness, too. Particularly when you were displaying signs that you might be a little too impulsive for my taste. I was beginning to feel guilty.”
She shook her head in bewilderment. “Why? I’m a professional. I’ve made it my job to try to find them. My problem was that I wasn’t sure you were telling us all we should know about their disappearance.” She looked him in the eye. “Were you?”
Williams hesitated. “I tried to keep you safe just as I always tried to keep them safe. I learned from experience that that sometimes means not telling quite everything I know. It’s not always safe.” He shrugged. “Because it’s a world full of secrets and you don’t want to try to look too deep into them. You can never tell when you’ll stumble over one that’s particularly dangerous.”
“That’s not really an answer.”
“That’s all you’re going to get from me right now.” He smiled. “I’ll let you know more when I believe it’s safe. I like you and I trust you. I promise you’ll be one of the first I’ll go to.”
“I don’t like this.” She was frowning. “I want to know more and I don’t like the fact that you’re not really telling me anything.” She had another thought. “Will you be safe?”
He chuckled. “I’ve spent most of my life taking care of myself. Yes, I’ll be safe.”
“One more question.”
“Yes?”
She told him about her attacker’s deleted DNA file, and he suddenly became very quiet. “What do you think of that?” she finally asked.
“Don’t know,” he said, obviously still thinking about it. “That might be something for your friend Mr. Lynch to look into.”
She wrinkled her brow. “What makes you say that?”
He opened the front door. “Now go out on the porch and collect your dog and Lynch and take care of both of them. That’s the only thing you have to worry about at the moment.” He gave her a gentle push toward the porch. “And tell Lynch to keep an eye on you and not rely solely on that huge dog.”
“This isn’t the end,” she said impatiently over her shoulder. “I’m going to get those answers, Williams. It’s not fair for you to keep silent. Once you think about it, I hope you’ll agree with me.”
“Well, I know you’ll persist until I don’t have a choice.” He added gently, “Be safe, Kendra.” He shut the front door.
CHAPTER
13
Kendra sat silently in the passenger seat of Lynch’s Lamborghini with her fists still clenched. Lynch looked over at her as he turned off Williams’ street. “No good?” he asked quietly. “You look a bit frustrated.”
“In spades.” She looked out the passenger side window. “He knows something. He probably knows a lot but he gave me some balderdash about not revealing secrets and taking care of the people close to him. He even included some protective nonsense about taking care of me. He wouldn’t listen when I told him I was a professional and didn’t need his help.”