Heart of the Night by Barbara Delinsky Read Free Book Online

managers.”
    Will’s eyes widened in alarm. “They’re all good men!”
    â€œI know,” she soothed, “but I’d like to put them to work for us. They would know, or be able to find out, whether there’s been any trouble—”
    â€œThey would have reported it to me.”
    She tried again. “Maybe trouble is the wrong word. What I’m looking for is different—strange behavior, something out of the ordinary, a change from the norm, like unexplained absences by a regular worker, a sudden grouping of two or three workers who hadn’t been friends before, any recent complaints that seemed particularly strong or out of order.”
    Will remained skeptical. “I don’t think it’s anyone from the plant. I told you, aside from the layoffs, my people are treated well. Maybe too well. If I were stingier, I wouldn’t be losing money. My workers have a good deal.”
    Choosing her words with care, she said, “That may be so in your opinion and mine, but a worker may see things differently.”
    â€œThen he’s crazy.”
    â€œAnyone involved in kidnapping usually is.” With that, Savannah could see she’d made her point. “I have to consider every possibility, Will. Look at that note; we won’t learn much from it. Sammy and Hank can dust this house from top to bottom, but if the kidnappers wore gloves, we won’t get fingerprints. If they were careful about where they stood and moved, we may not learn anything from the lab reports. I may be groping around in the dark, but all I need to do is graze the light switch, and we’re on.”
    Will looked deflated. “But I wanted this kept quiet.”
    â€œIt will be. We’ll be totally discreet in our inquiries.”
    â€œYou’ll be doing the asking?”
    â€œNo,” Savannah said, then went on, taking the offensive quickly and confidently, if gently. “Time is of the essence. I can’t do the asking myself and still coordinate things, and we need as much information as quickly as possible. Ideally, I’d take a dozen detectives and feather them through the state, but since I didn’t think you’d go for that, I’ve called in two other people. Just two. They’re like Sammy and Hank. They work full-time for us. They happen to be wonderful people, a married couple, very effective. No one ever knows they’re law enforcement officers.”
    Will’s frustration overwhelmed him. Slamming a fist on the oak tabletop, he cried, “Damn it, I didn’t want this, Savannah! I didn’t want the police brought in at all! You knew that!”
    Savannah refused to be cowed. “We need information, Will. Ginny and Chris will be strictly in the field. They won’t come anywhere near the house. They’ll be asking questions, that’s all.”
    â€œIf they’re asking questions, they’ll be making everyone and his brother suspicious. People will wonder what’s going on. Before long, rumors will be flying, and then we’ll have no hope of keeping a lid on this thing.” He drove a hand through his hair. “I shouldn’t have gone to you people. Someone’s going to blow it.”
    On the one hand, Savannah understood Will’s position. In his social circle, questions sparked gossip, and on the tongues of the idle rich gossip was lethal. Yet she doubted Will’s rich friends were going to be at the center of the investigation. They wouldn’t need three million dollars. Nor would they risk the electric chair. There were easier ways to commit suicide—most of which the idle rich knew.
    â€œNo one is going to blow anything,” she vowed. “As of this minute, there are seven people who know about this case—Paul, Anthony and me, Sam and Hank, Ginny and Chris. We’re all professionals. Paul will be in touch with you and me; he’ll do what we ask and only what we ask,