Childfinders Inc - Hero For Hire Part 24

"Could be," Chad allowed, stepping on the accelerator again as the light changed to green.

"The kidnapper must have seen you. To call you hunky," she explained. "What do you think? Could he-or she-have been watching us at the park?"

"A very distinct possibility," he agreed. "The kidnapper's no fool. He-or she,"

he tagged on, giving her theory its due, "picked that place deliberately. There were any number of places to watch from. By the time we found which one, he'd have disappeared again, taking Casey with him."

So near and yet so far, she thought, trying not to let the desperate feeling take

root again. They were moving this along. They knew the kidnapper's demands, knew that Casey was still all right and knew where and when to make the drop. By this time tomorrow, it would all be over, she promised herself.

She looked down at the small device Chad had pa.s.sed to her. "Did this really record the conversation?"

"Should have, unless I did something wrong."

Though it wasn't likely. Megan had made it sound pretty simple. "We'll find out soon enough. I'll drop it off at the office after I take you home."

Veronica nodded, steeling herself for the ordeal of returning home. The thought of being there, knowing Casey was still somewhere out of reach, made it difficult to bear.

As Chad pulled the car into the circular driveway, he saw the other vehicle that was already parked there. "Expecting anyone?"

"That's Neil's car." She frowned and got out. She was no more up to seeing her brother-in-law today than she'd been yesterday. "G.o.d, I hope she's not with him."

"Josephine?"

Veronica nodded, taking out her key. "She's a little more of an airhead, a little more annoying than his other girlfriends. He's been with her for two months, which for him is a record. I think it's the novelty."

Taking the key from her, Chad opened the door. "Novelty?"

She found herself smiling at the gallant gesture. "She fronts a band. Plays guitar. Neil likes the idea of being on the fringe of show business."

"Ever hear her play?"

She shook her head. "No, just talk about playing."

When they entered the living room, Neil was sitting on the sofa, thumbing through one of the magazines on the coffee table. He was on his feet the instant he saw them. To Veronica's relief, Josephine didn't appear to be with him.

''Where's your lady?" Chad asked.

Neil looked affronted at the familiarity of the question. "Rehearsing." He addressed his answer to Veronica. "Been doing a lot of rehearsing lately. She has a gig coming up," he added proudly.

Veronica didn't want to talk and she certainly didn't want to talk about Josephine and the new-wave music Neil had raved about the other day. "Neil, what are you doing here?"

"Angela let me in." His tone was almost defensive. When he looked at Chad, there was distrust in his gaze. "I thought I should come by in case you'd heard something. Have you?"

There didn't seem any point in hiding this from him. After all, she'd told the bank manager, and the only vested interest that man had was the bank. "The kidnapper made his demand. Three-quarters of a million dollars."

Neil whistled in awe. "They don't mess around, do they?"

"No, Neil," she said wearily, "they don't."

Chad found himself disliking Veronica's brother-in-law, disliking the way the man almost mourned the amount that was leaving the confines of the family. He might care about his nephew, but he obviously cared about money more.

"So what are you going to do?" Neil was asking.

Veronica stared at him, wondering why he would even ask. "Give it to him, of course."

Neil looked appalled, and then he brightened, as if suddenly understanding. "Top layer the real stuff, newspapers underneath, right?"

"Wrong." Was he really saying what she thought he was saying? Did money mean that much to him? "Neil, this is Casey we're talking about."

"Yeah, right." He looked miffed at the implied rebuke. "But you've got to admit that's an awful lot of money to throw away without any guarantees, Veronica." He took a step closer to her, driving home his point. "Just because you give him the money doesn't mean you'll get Casey back."

Chad fisted his hands in his pockets. It wasn't up to him to tell the man what kind of sc.u.m he thought he was. He hadn't been hired to lay hands on undesirables

who had nothing to do with the kidnapping. But his palms itched and he chafed against his own set of unspoken rules. This was personal, he reminded himself, and he didn't have the right to say anything.

He didn't have to, for Veronica did. "Get out," she ordered, her eyes blazing.

Uneasy, Neil stole a glance at the briefcase. "Hey, now, I'm only thinking-"

"-of yourself," Veronica finished for him. "You think that if I give that money away, you won't be able to ask me for it." She knew him too well to listen to any feeble denials. She'd closed her eyes to his weaknesses because he was Robert's brother. But this time he had gone too far. "Your only concern is the money. Get out, Neil. Now."

Panic had entered his eyes. He attempted to grab her arm to make her listen. "But -".

Chad moved in front of Veronica, blocking Neil's reach. His eyes were cold.

"You heard the lady. She's not going to ask you again. And neither am I." His voice was hard. When Neil made no move to leave, not out of defiance but out of sheer surprise, Chad grabbed the front of his shirt. "I'm guessing that maybe you're the type who needs to be shown..."

Fearful, Neil raised his hands before him in complete surrender. "Okay, I'm going, I'm going." He let out a sigh of relief as Chad released his shirt. In a last-ditch attempt to save face, he looked at Veronica. "But think about what I said, Veronica. Make the guy give you some kind of guarantee that Casey's alive, for G.o.d's sake."

Her brother-in-law had said more than enough to upset Veronica, Chad thought.

Taking hold of the man's arm, he briskly escorted him to the door.

"You used to have better taste," Neil shouted to Veronica over his shoulder.

"If you know what's good for you," Chad informed him as he pushed him out the door, "you'll leave her alone." Striding back into the house, he met her stunned, slightly amused expression with a question. "Used to have better taste?"

"He's referring to Robert," she answered.

"Oh. I thought maybe he was talking about someone you went out with after Robert."

She shook her head. "There hasn't been anyone since Robert. I just haven't left myself open to anything." She was getting maudlin, she realized, and this was not the time to let her guard down. She didn't want him feeling sorry for her because she was inadvertently saying that she was turning to him. She was, but that was her problem to work out, not his. Veronica lightened her tone. "Besides, I've been too busy."

He accepted the excuse, seeing it for what it was. She was protecting herself.

Not from him, but from pain. He understood that. Chad glanced toward the door.

"It's none of my business, but I don't see how you put up with Neil."

"I do it because he's Robert's brother." She took off her shoes, leaving them where she stepped out of them. "He's not really a bad sort, just shallow. Besides, Casey likes him."