“ What? You told her?”
“Guilty. But I watched her all the time she was on the beach. And she came in from her walk and went straight to bed.”
“ For God’s sake, you weren’t suspicious?”
“Of course I was suspicious. I opened the door and looked in on her four times in the past couple of hours. The last time she threw a book at me. Five minutes later I heard the van start. She must have crawled out the window the moment I closed the door. I ran out, but she was already gunning it down the beach.”
“ I’m going to murder you.”
“ I may commit suicide. It was most humiliating. Now I’m relegated from being a mighty warrior to being a lowly nursemaid for Cassie.”
“ You should never have told her. We don’t know what the hell is happening with Danielle Claron.”
“ I wouldn’t have appreciated being kept in the dark.” He paused again. “And she’s not totally without protection. You did give her the gun.”
“ That’s the only weapon she has. She’s out of her depth. She doesn’t know—”
“ That’s what I tried to tell her. She wasn’t listening. In her place, I don’t know if I would have listened either. Call me when you get to St. Ives.” He hung up.
Travis glanced at his watch. At least three hours to get to St. Ives from here.
His foot stomped on the accelerator and the car leapt forward.
21
St. Ives
The ancient church on the hill had to have been built centuries ago, and the graveyard stretching behind it looked like the resting place of generations of villagers. The building itself had no windows, and the stone steps leading up to the massive oak doors were splintered.
Melissa was not about to go up those steps. She would be a clear target in the bright moonlight. Her hand closed on the gun in her jacket pocket as she stepped deeper into the shadows beneath the oak tree.
She couldn’t just stand there all night. She moistened her lips and called, “Danielle. Danielle Claron.”
No answer.
“ I’m Melissa Riley. Michael Travis sent me.”
No answer.
“He wasn’t sure he could make it in time. But I can authorize any money you might need.”
No answer.
“ For God’s sake, would he have sent a woman if he’d wanted to harm you?”
“ If he was clever.”
Melissa whirled to face the woman coming around the church from the direction of the graveyard. She was petite, dark-haired, and in her middle thirties, wearing a purple sweater and long print skirt. “My husband was never that clever. He never listened. He always underestimated me.”
She was pointing a gun at Melissa.
“ That’s how that bastard managed to kill him. I don’t underestimate anyone. I’m not going to die. Put up your hands.”
Melissa slowly raised her hands. “ I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to give you what you want.”
“Can you give me my husband back?”
“ No, but I can give you the money to keep you safe.”
“And what do you want in return?”
“Edward Deschamps. Do you know where he is?”
Silence. “Maybe.”
Melissa’s heart leapt. “Either you do or you don’t.”
“Maybe,” she repeated. “ We’ll talk again when I see some money. And it better be soon. Do you think I’ve liked hiding out here all these weeks?”
“ Will you put away that gun? You can see I’m no threat.”
Danielle stared at her appraisingly before saying finally, “ No, you’re too soft.” She lowered the gun. “ I wasn’t sure you weren’t hired by Deschamps to trick me into coming out in the open.” Her lips twisted. “ The bastard has a history of using women. Like that bitch Jeanne Beaujolis. That’s how I got into this mess.”
Melissa put her hands down. “She told you about what was going to happen at Vasaro?”
“ No, only that Deschamps was going to help her strike it rich. I put the rest together when I heard what happened there.” Her face hardened. “She was crazy about him at first, and then she was crazy only about the money she was going to get.”
“Did you meet him before Vasaro?”
“Once or twice.”
“ Where?”
She shook her head. “ The money.”
“How much?”
“ Travis offered my husband five hundred thousand dollars. I want seven.”
“ It may take us some time to get that amount.”
“ I don’t have a lot of time. I have to get out of here. I’ll give you until tomorrow night to — What’s that?” She lifted her head to gaze at the woods behind Melissa. “Did you hear it?”