The Waiting Game by Unknown Read Free Book Online

tough enough to find just the right gift for a special couple like you and Sara. I didn’t realize it would be even harder to protect it. Do me a favor and don’t bother the local cops. This is a personal matter. Oh, and Adrian, Sara tends to have a rather vivid imagination and she doesn’t handle waiting very well. A distinct lack of patience in that woman at times. I heard her message on the tape when I phoned to leave my own. I know she’s on her way here and when she doesn’t find me she’ll probably look you up. Which, of course, explains why you’re standing there listening to this tape. Aren’t you impressed with my wondrous logic?" There was a rough chuckle. "Take care of her for me and keep her out of trouble until I get back. I’ll see you as soon as I can."
    The tape wound on into silence while Sara stood utterly still, staring at the machine in astonishment and dread. "Wedding gift?" she finally got out very weakly.
    Adrian punched the stop button. "I told you Lowell had plans for us," he reminded her dryly.
    "Adrian, none of this makes any sense!"
    "Yes, it does." Adrian turned to look at her. His light eyes were unreadable, but the set of his harsh features was intently serious. "Lowell says that whatever’s going on is private business. He’ll take care of it. He doesn’t want any help or he’d ask for it. And he wants me to keep you from getting involved.
    I’m supposed to take care of you. It all seems clear enough to me."
    "Don’t be ridiculous. There is nothing clear about this mess." Sara spun around and stalked back into the living room. "Damn Uncle Lowell anyway. Why couldn’t he have left a simple straightforward message or called you and told you exactly what was going on?" She headed toward the rifled desk.
    "Just like him to leave a lot of questions lying around for us to try to answer."
    "He says it’s a private matter. He doesn’t want us involved. He probably didn’t call because he didn’t want to alarm us unnecessarily. On the other hand, he figured if we got this far he’d better leave some sort of message." Adrian followed her on silent feet, stopping to examine the stack of books that had been stripped from the bookcase.
    "If it’s such a personal matter, what was that business about protecting our wedding present?" Sara shot him a scathing glance as she began picking up the scattered magazines that had been spilled from an end table. Lowell Kincaid was an inveterate magazine reader. Sara had frequently teased him about the number of subscriptions he maintained.
    "You know your uncle. There are times when he simply can’t resist throwing out a teaser." Adrian seemed unconcerned.
    "It’s his unfortunate sense of humor, I suppose." Sara sighed and shuffled a stack of insurance papers.
    "Adrian, this whole thing is going to drive me crazy. How are we going to know he’s all right?"
    "We won’t until he gets back. But I’ve told you before, Sara. Your uncle can take care of himself."
    "I don’t like that comment about ‘unfinished business,’ " she went on unhappily. "It sounds dangerous.
    Like something from his past coming back to haunt him."
    "Lowell was right. You do have an active imagination."
    "Well?" she challenged. "How would you interpret that message?"
    "Like something from his past that has come back to haunt him," Adrian admitted in resigned tones. He picked up a stack of books and put them back on the shelf. "The real problem is that food on the walls in the kitchen. That’s going to be a mess to clean. It’s going to take quite a while, too."
    "Stop changing the subject! This is important. We have to figure out what’s going on." Sara frowned intently down at the papers in her hand. Predictably enough, many of them, even the most important-looking ones, contained small sketches and doodles. Lowell Kincaid was forever covering books, papers and notepads with his drawings. He did them almost unconsciously, Sara knew. He could be talking about one thing