Page 17 of The Highland Heist
“We’ll need to mention this to Johnson tomorrow.” Frederick nodded grimly. “Whether he likes our help or not.”
Miss Cox, who had been hovering by the window, broke into the conversation. “Does this”—she hesitated, waving vaguely at the room, her face still pale—”happen to you often?”
“This?” Frederick asked, his lips twitching as though holding back a smile.
She gestured more emphatically. “Murder.”
“Well, not very often.” Grace smoothed a hand over Zahra’s hair. “Sometimes, it’s only theft. Or mannapping.”
“Mannapping?” Miss Cox’s voice shot up an octave.
“Kidnapping,” Frederick corrected dryly.
Grace waved her hand dismissively. “But we’ve been fortunate—no children have ever been taken. Only adults. Frederick was kidnapped right off the front steps of our home in England. I was napped …” She paused on the word.Nappeddidn’t fitkidnappedat all. “Taken during an antiquities heist in Egypt, which is where we found Zahra. Our dear friend, Detective Miracle, was nap—abducted from a boat in Venice, but thankfully, no children.”
“I am good at hiding.” Zahra sat up straighter, offering a rare smile. “And I can climb and run very fast.”
“But we hope you won’t have to hide, little one.” Frederick took a seat beside Grace, his arm sliding in behind her to offer the slightest support. “You’ve already been through enough danger for a lifetime.”
“I am not afraid,” Zahra said, lifting her chin with a bravery that tugged at Grace’s heart. “I am the right daughter for you, Sayid, because I am brave and I run fast.”
Grace gave the little girl another hug. “You are very brave, and if we do stumble into trouble, Zahra, I’m glad you are fast.”
“Indeed, and clever,” Frederick added, tapping Zahra lightly under the chin. “Because it seems our quiet visit to America has taken a darker turn than I’d hoped.” His gaze locked on Grace, his tone growing serious. “Whoever planned this didn’t do so on a whim. They came here with purpose when everyone was out of the house—and it seems that purpose was to kill Tony Dixon.”
A chill, equal parts fear and intrigue, threaded through Grace. She tightened her arms protectively around Zahra. “And if they’re willing to make such a meticulous plan to kill Tony, who else might they wish to harm?”
Chapter 5
Frederick didn’t like leaving Zahra behind, but he refused to let Grace travel to Louisa Steen’s house alone—not with a murderer on the loose. At least with an officer stationed outside Lillias’ house, he felt marginally better about Zahra’s safety.
Marginally.
As Grace maneuvered the car through Harrington’s streets, however, he began to wonder if Zahra, Lillias, and Miss Cox were actually safer than he was.
After securing their own car, Grace hadinsistedshe drive to Miss Steen’s, citing her greater familiarity with Harrington. It was true, of course—but familiarity hardly compensated for experience. She’d taken a grand total of three driving lessons before their honeymoon, and the results were … Well, they were currently testing his faith. After nearly mowing down a man on a bicycle, taking a corner at what felt like breakneck speed, and clipping a tree so closely the leaves brushed the side mirror, Frederick began to think he’d have had better odds fending off the counterfeit Officer Clark.
“I’m certain Miss Steen’s neighborhood is just down this street.” Grace grinned as she took another turn with alarming gusto. Frederick’s fingers dug into the doorframe. “We used to visit a church member here when I was younger. She had the most glorious pink dogwoods—truly, they looked like something out ofThe Secret Garden.“
He smiled. Despite it all.
How could he help it?
In the span of a single day, his wife had faced her father’s deception, the loss of her childhood home, and her brother-in-law’s violent death. And still her smile cut through the murky weight of it all, just as it had since the first day they’d met. He prayed that, even with tragedy closer to her heart this time, she’d cling to that inner sunshine. Over the months of their marriage, he’d come to realize he couldn’t keep her safe—not entirely. So he’d learned to trust God for both their hearts.
Or at least, he’d gottenbetterat trusting God.
The houses on either side of the street formed two neat rows, each small and unassuming but tidy. Quaint, yes—and proving Miss Louisa Steen came from a working-class family.
Grace stopped the car on the street near a house with the number matching the address on the envelope Lillias had given her, but his bride didn’t immediately exit the car. Instead, she looked over at him, brow creased.
“What’s wrong?” Frederick asked.
Her lips pressed into a thoughtful line before she leaned toward him. “Do you think we should open the envelope first?”
Air burst from Frederick’s throat. “What?”
“No, of course not. We shouldn’t.” She shook her head and reached for the door handle, then turned back to him. “But—”
