Page 33 of Nick
“No worries, mate, I’m fine. Nothing to worry about. Anyway, Cassandra Bishop, she’s been a bit trickier to confirm alibis for because she’s in and out of the country all the time. Get this, she’s a travel writer for an online magazine. Goes to places, takes lots of photos, then writes up what she liked and didn’t like about the place. In the last six months, she’s been to Greece, South Africa, Iceland, Hong Kong, and the States. Specifically, Texas.”
Nick sat a little straighter, a tickle of excitement spreading through him. “Where in Texas?”
“Dallas and Fort Worth. But that’s not that far from Shiloh Springs, is it?”
“About three, three and a half hours by car.”
“That’s what I figured. I’m still looking at the dates, checking flights and destinations. You know the drill. But what’s to say she didn’t sashay over to the U.S. while she was supposed to be in one of those other places? Seeing as she’s Norville’s kin, and she works on computers every day, she might be savvy enough to fake a second identity for traveling from point A to point B.”
“Cassandra Bishop. Name doesn’t ring any bells for me. But if she wasn’t directly involved with Norville’s criminal activities or the trial, it wouldn’t.”
“So far, most of her trips align with dates you were in Texas, which, if we can verify them, would eliminate her from the suspect pool. Supposedly, she was in Athens during the period Antonio Boudreau was shot.”
“You sound like you’re not convinced.”
“I’m not. She’s too squeaky clean. Every T crossed, every I dotted. She’s either the biggest OCD person I’ve ever seen, or she’s got something to hide.”
Nick smiled because he knew his old friend well. Calvin was suspicious of everyone, didn’t trust easily. And ninety-nine percent of the time his instincts were spot on. If he suspected Cassandra Bishop, chances were good there’d end up being a good reason for his following his gut.
“Keep digging, I trust your judgment. What about the other niece?”
Grant chuckled. “Now here’s where things get interesting. She’s Cassandra Bishop’s sister. Her twin sister.”
“Twins?”
“Yep. Alexandra Bishop. Spitting image of her sister too. Identical twins. Now do you get why I’m suspicious of Cassandra? How simple would it be to switch places with her sister? Say Alexandra uses Cassandra’s passport, goes to Athens while Cassandra, under an alias, follows you on your jaunts to America to visit the Boudreaus?”
“Any activity on Alexandra Bishop’s passport for the last six months?”
“Nope.” Nick heard papers flipping in the background. Not surprised because he knew Calvin was old school, loved printouts where he could make notes and mark things up. “Alexandra lives in Geelong, has a small place by the beach. There are no records of her leaving there. From what I can tell, she’s a bit of a homebody, and rarely ventures far from her home.”
“Except she did visit Norville in prison.” A picture was forming in Nick’s head, but it seems so outrageous as to be impossible.
“Yes, she did. Several times, in fact.”
“We have Cassandra, who’s a bit of a globetrotter and has been in multiple places in the past six months. Alexandra hasn’t left the country at all. Jesse made one trip. London. Have I got that right so far?”
“You do. What are you thinking?”
“That one plus one plus one doesn’t equal three. I’ve gotta go. Keep checking into Cassandra’s alibis. Something doesn’t feel right.”
“Will do. I meant to ask, how are you doing? Gemma keeps pestering me to check in with you. You know how she is, she worries. You’re her baby boy. I had to stop her from buying a plane ticket to America when she heard about the car bomb explosion.”
Nick smiled at the thought of the woman who’d been such a part of his life for a long time. “Tell Gemma I’m fine. I promise I’ll video chat with her soon, so she can see for herself. I was lucky; it could have been a lot worse.”
“Keep your eyes open, Nick. Something about this whole situation feels…off. I can’t put my finger on it, but my gut’s telling me things are about to come to a head, and we better be ready.”
“I’ll be careful. Talk to you soon.”
Disconnecting the call, Nick stood and stretched, the muscles in his back protesting being still for so long. Walking out onto the front porch, he looked around, taking a deep breath. He might have lived in Australia for more than half his life, in between jobs, but there was something about Texas that made him feel like he’d come home. A good part of that was the Boudreaus and this ranch, because he had memories tied to it. But it was something more than the family’s ranch. More than the dirt beneath his feet or a sense of nostalgia.
No, it was a beautiful brunette bombshell who had snuck into his heart and soul. Who stole his breath every time he saw her. Made him forget everyone and everything. He wanted to snatch her up and sail away to a secluded paradise where it was just the two of them, with nobody threatening or bullying or trying to kill them. Where they could simply be themselves and be together.
Because wherever Gracie was, that was home.
Nick waited impatientlyon the porch. He’d knocked a couple of times, but nobody answered. Too bad he knew they were home. He’d seen them drive past the Big House about twenty minutes earlier, and their truck was parked in front of the old foreman’s house. After his talk with Calvin, he couldn’t stop thinking about the twins, Cassandra and Alexandra Bishop. They were connected with Norville through blood, though he didn’t know how deep that connection ran. Sometimes family was close and other times distant familial bonds were easily broken.
“Hang on, hang on, I’m coming,” Dane groused before swinging the front door open. “Nick. Is something wrong?”
