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“Better. I think.” Lilly returned the hug while staying seated. “It’s good to be among the living.”
Corinne pulled back and the sadness crept into her blue eyes. “What happened to you was horrible. I still can’t believe it.”
Corinne glanced at Jason’s unholstered gun, the file folder and finally at the computer screen that, thanks to Jason, was now spewing stars and other celestial objects. Corinne’s bottom lip quivered. Not an unusual gesture. Lilly had experienced lots of Corinne’s lip-quivering when they’d been embroiled in the police investigation. The woman wasn’t very good at hiding her nerves.
Corinne clamped her teeth over her bottom lip to stop it from quivering and waited a moment until she’d gotten control of herself. “You think you’ll be reopening the office any time soon?”
“I’m not sure,” Lilly answered.
In fact, she hadn’t given it much thought. What with getting acquainted with Megan and the near-smothering, Lilly was still trying to find equilibrium. According to her financials, she had more than enough money to keep the business closed for another year or two. It might take that long to resolve the custody issues and find the person who wanted to kill her. Getting back to work definitely wasn’t high on her list of priorities.
“What about you?” Lilly asked. “What have you been doing for the past nineteen months?”
“Well, after I tied up some loose ends around here and after the police were finished with their search, I went to work for an investment firm over on St. Mary’s. Still, I like to drop by here every now and then to check on the place.”
“And you decided to check on it tonight?” Jason couldn’t keep the cop out of his voice.
“Because I saw the lights on. Usually I just stop by during regular business hours because I no longer have a key to get into the building.” She blew out a nervy breath and turned her attention back to Lilly. “What about you? Where are you staying now that you’re out of the hospital?”
“A police safe house,” Jason volunteered before Lilly could answer for herself. It wasn’t exactly a lie, but it was obvious Jason didn’t want Corinne to know where she was. “It has lots of security,” he added. “Someone tried to hurt Lilly while she was in the hospital, and we don’t want anyone coming after her again.”
“I see.” Corinne’s breath quickened, and she made a vague motion toward the door. “Well, it’s obvious you two are working, and I need to get home. So, I’ll just be going.”
They exchanged goodbyes. Hasty, polite ones. And Corinne headed for the door with the police guard following right along behind her.
“Do you trust her?” Jason asked.
Lilly opened her mouth to say yes, but the one-word response stuck in her throat. Yes, Corinne had been a great secretary. Loyal. Efficient. Not from Lilly’s father’s regime, either. Once Lilly had discovered the discrepancies and the illegal activity, she’d wiped the slate clean. All employees had been let go, and she’d started fresh with Corinne. A woman who had no ties to her father.
But that didn’t mean Corinne couldn’t be bought.
There were a lot of riled people who’d been burned by her father’s business practices, and maybe one of those riled people now had Corinne on their payroll.
“I really don’t know if I can trust her,” Lilly admitted.
“Then we’re not staying any longer. Let’s get out of here.”
Lilly didn’t argue. Corinne’s visit might have been legit, but it had rattled her. She grabbed the file she’d been reading and tucked it and several others beneath her arm. Jason took the remaining folders from the drawer and took her arm to get her moving.
Despite her limp and the cane, they made it out of the building in record time. Corinne was nowhere in sight, but Lilly immediately spotted the two officers in the dimly lit parking lot. One was near their vehicle, which was as close to the building as possible without parking on the sidewalk. The other cop was at the far end at the entrance. The two were definitely guarding the place as much as they could, considering the office building was sandwiched between other buildings.
And that wasn’t the only security concern.
At the front of the parking lot there was a semi-deserted street. At the back stood a row of eight-foot-high blooming mountain laurels. Fragrant and beautiful. But they’d also make a great hiding place. She hoped the officers had thoroughly searched that area because Jason and she still had to make their way down a long stretch of the sidewalk.
“Keep walking,” Jason insisted.
She heard the concern in his voice and realized something wasn’t right.
Lilly could feel it, and it was bone deep. A warning that speared through her until her breath was racing right along with her too-vivid imagination.
She continued walking, faster though, her cane and her flat sandals thudding like heartbeats on the pebbled concrete. She glanced over her shoulder. No one was following them. No one was lurking in those mountain laurels or in the shadows of the buildings.
So maybe she’d been wrong about things not being right.
It was, after all, coming up on midnight, the proverbial witching hour. Someone obviously wanted to kill her. That was a solid enough reason to get a case of the willies. That was probably all there was to it. A good old-fashioned case of frayed nerves and willies.
Lilly had convinced herself that all was well.
