Part 42 (2/2)
”I'll continue working from this angle,” Sarah said.
”No,” Meredith said in a tone sharper than she'd intended. ”The practice needs your attention. Let me take care of the other.”
”Whatever you say, boss.”
”I'll see you in an hour then?”
”Yes. And Meredith, I am so very, very sorry about your mother.”
Meredith set the receiver back into place.
The two men met in the older man's library. Dusk shadowed the magnolia trees outside.
”We've lost the Rawson woman,” the older man said.
”I thought you hired good men. They can't even find the stupid b.i.t.c.h that you talked me into marrying.”
”I seem to remember a different scenario,” the older man reminded him. ”You wanted her.”
Randolph glared at him. ”Hire more men.”
The older man looked at Randolph like he'd just grown two heads. ”You want the world to know your wife has run away from you because she discovered you were going to have her killed? That would do a lot for your image among women. I trust the men who are looking for her now. They're the best in the business. And they know how to keep quiet.”
”They can't be too good,” Randolph said.
”They'll find her. And Meredith Rawson. As soon as she returns, we'll find a way to eliminate her as well. Perhaps a fire. Too many sedatives. A little carelessness after everything that has happened.”
”Dammit, we have other problems. The police have found Carrick's body.”
”They don't know who he is. They'll soon lose interest.” The older man poured a gla.s.s of good brandy from a decanter, sat back and took an appreciative sip. ”If you could have controlled your wife better, none of this would have been necessary.”
”She's your daughter.”
”The h.e.l.l she is.”
They glared at each other, each concentrating on the other's failings.
”Perhaps Meredith Rawson will lead us to Holly,” Randolph Ames said.
”I made sure we covered all those tracks. I doubt she can discover who Holly is, much less find her. Charles can't help Meredith Rawson now. I thought he was frightened enough not to say anything, but I knew from our last conversation that he was becoming even more concerned about his daughter than for himself. We were lucky to recover those letters. I just don't know how much he told her that last night.”
”We should have had her killed in the first place.”
”We couldn't while Charles was alive. He would have sent us all to prison. His daughter was the biggest hold we had on him.”
”But now ...”
”Now all bets are off. But it needs to be an accident.”
”You think anyone will believe an accident now?”
The man behind the desk shrugged. ”Probably not, but it will be hard as h.e.l.l to prove. Just as in Charles Rawson's death it is impossible to prove the perpetrator was anything but a drunk.”
”And if Gaynor doesn't accept it?”
”Some planted evidence. People already think he's dirty. Killing that officer didn't help.”
”He'll be exonerated on that. Too many witnesses.”
”But it all adds up to trouble. I've already planted a few seeds.”
”I hear Gaynor is no fool.”
”He has enough problems with that shooting last night. That call telling Fuller that he was going to be bounced from the force because of Meredith Rawson was one of my better ideas.”
Randolph chuckled. ”Remind me not to get on your bad side.”
”You're too valuable to me. I have plans for you.”
They both had a second gla.s.s of brandy.
'MEMPHIS'.
Meredith reached the outskirts of Memphis by midafternoon. She'd spent the night in Baton Rouge.
She appreciated the anonymity of a hotel room after all that had happened.
She'd taken precautions. She'd packed a good pair of slacks and silk blouse in her briefcase along with a few necessities and her laptop. No suitcases to signal that she was leaving town.
She took some obscure roads leading out of New Orleans that she'd learned years ago, always keeping an eye on the rearview mirror. She stopped at a diner where she had a wide view of the road.
When she felt as if she had thrown off any potential tail, she started to relax. Driving always relaxed her. Something about the road and the rich green of Louisiana and Mississippi helped her clean the cobwebs from her mind.
Unfortunately, none of that diverted her thoughts from Gage.
She'd left a message with his office that she would be out of town for several days. She did not want to involve him in her personal quest any longer. It was too dangerous for him. Not only for him personally, but for his job.
She also knew he needed to stay in New Orleans while the shooting investigation continued. He needed to be available to answer questions.
She had caused him enough grief.
But he'd established a firm place in her consciousness. In her mind and in her heart.
She cared about him in a way she'd never cared about any man before. There was excitement and sensuality and physical pleasure, but he also attracted her in so many other ways. He did things his way, but he did them with an unconscious integrity.
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