Lost & found by Jayne Ann Krentz Read Free Book Online Page A

lights. The dark water greeted her with the quietly exhilarating embrace of an old, familiar lover, one who knew the past and shared the memories.

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    She swam three laps before she sensed that something was wrong. She paused, treading water, and peered into the shadows of the garden that surrounded the pool.
    "Is anyone there?"
    No response.
    It was the anxiety, she thought. She would not allow it to win tonight. She would do battle with it and defeat the panic attack before it took hold.
    With grim determination she struck out for the opposite end of the pool. She would not give in to the nameless fear.

Six
    She's trying to screw us." Mack did not take his eyes off the computer screen as he spoke into the phone. "My fault. I'm the one who picked her as a consultant."
    Why was he so surprised? he wondered. It wasn't like this was the first time he'd made a mistake of this magnitude. There was always some risk involved in using a freelancer who was well connected in the business. The temptations were great.
    Still, he had been so sure of Cady Briggs. She really had caught him off guard with this maneuver. Hell, off guard didn't cover it. He felt as if he'd been kicked in the gut.
    It occurred to him that for some reason he was taking this bit of treachery a little too personally. This is business, he thought. Act like a businessman. Cady Briggs was just another consultant gone bad. It happened. No point sitting here staring at the evidence. Get over it and do something businesslike about the situation.
    "You okay, Mack?" Dewey asked uneasily on the other end of the line. "You sound like you just ate something that don't agree with you."
    "What's wrong?" Notch demanded from the extension he was using in the office of Military World. "We got a problem?"
    Mack roused himself from his morose contemplation of the data on the glowing computer screen.
    "Yeah, we've got a problem. Cady Briggs just bought a ticket to San Jose." He studied the data arrayed before him. "She's made arrangements to pick up a car there. When I talked to her assistant a few minutes ago, I was told that Miss Briggs would be out of town for a couple of days. She's on her way to see a client who lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains."
    "Who?" Notch sounded bewildered.
    "Ambrose Vandyke. Retired computer mogul. Made his fortune designing software that sends robotic programs out onto the internet to retrieve data."
    "Well, shit," Dewey muttered. "You mean she's workin' on another job when she's supposed to be tryin' to find our helmet?"
    "I don't think this is an unrelated job," Mack said. "I believe the lady has located your missing armor."
    "Hey," Dewey said, sounding far more cheerful. "You really think so?"
    Mack stared at the screen. "Almost positive."
    "All right," Notch chortled. "You hear that, Dew? She found the damned thing. We're gonna be rich."
    "In that case," Dewey said, "why the hell does Mack sound like he's getting ready to attend a funeral?"
    "If I sound somewhat less than enthusiastic," Mack said, "it's because I think Miss Briggs has plans of her own for your helmet. Plans that don't include either of you."
    "Huh?" Notch asked. "What's he talkin' about, Dew?"
    "Don't know yet but it don't sound good," Dewey growled. "Fill us in here, Mack. This ain't no time to get secretive on us. We're your clients, remember?"
    "The problem," Mack said, "is that, contrary to standard Lost and Found procedure, Cady Briggs did not notify me that she had a lead on the helmet."
    "So what? Maybe she just wants to check out her information first," Dewey offered. "You know, make sure of things before she tells you she's onto something'."
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    could have done that on the phone. That's what I pay her to do. I made it clear