Czytaj książkę: «No Safe Place»

ONE

Today was a good day to die, as far as days went.

Beth Greenwood focused on the steady blink-blink-blink of the cursor on her screen. One click and her life changed forever, possibly even guaranteeing her death unless she disappeared indefinitely. As her trembling index finger hovered over the mouse button, she glanced at the single photo perched on the bare expanse of her desk. Her dad’s unwavering stare gave her courage.

Her heartbeat stuttered, and her palms grew damp.

A Chicago cop, he’d suffered a debilitating stroke two months before his retirement. His death had been shattering, but knowing he was no longer suffering gave her a modicum of peace. Never much for talk, Officer Greenwood had lived his faith and had led by his example. Though his job had exposed him to temptation, he’d seen his dedication to truth as a higher moral calling. For what shall it profit a man, he’d quote the Bible, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

What, indeed? She checked the email attachment and then clicked the option to schedule the message for arrival the morning after the bank holiday. A muffled thump startled her upright, and her pulse thrummed in her ears.

She whipped around, shooting her mouse off the side of the desk, searching for signs of a lingering coworker. The building usually emptied early on the Friday afternoon before a holiday. She leaned out of her cubicle, and her shoulders sagged. An overflowing trash bin sat in the center of the aisle. Probably the cleaning crew getting an early start on the weekend. She retrieved her battered mouse and set it beside her keyboard.

She logged out of her computer with a few rapid clicks, then stood and reached for her dad’s photo. She’d supplied the FBI with the evidence she’d discovered about the money laundering. It was time to disappear from Quetech Industries for good.

Not that she’d miss the place.

Her job as a forensic accountant was transient by nature, and she’d worked in plenty of office buildings over the years. Quetech Industries had earned the dubious title of being the worst. It was like drowning in a sea of gray. The walls were medium gray. The carpet was dark gray. Even the cubicles were fashioned from light gray plastic.

She turned and ran into a solid male chest.

Stifling a shriek, she stumbled backward. “Clark, I mean, um, Corbin. What are you doing here this late on a Friday?”

She smoothed her hair with quaking fingers.

“I could ask you the same, Beth,” he said, his voice low and intimate, like the romantic strains of a cello.

The ladies in the building had dubbed the new financial consultant “Clark Kent.” The office nickname suited his darkly handsome good looks. His coffee-colored hair was cut in neat, almost military, precision, and his eyes were ice-blue behind his black-rimmed glasses. Though he wore a suit and tie, someone claimed they’d seen a sleeve tattoo on his left arm. There was even talk that he was ex-military. Special Forces.

“I was just leaving.” Hiding her unsteady hand, Beth reached for her bag. “Had to finish up some work before the weekend.”

Corbin had loosened his tie and unbuttoned his collar. He rested his elbow on the top of the cubicle wall, and she caught a hint of ink at his wrist. Her mouth went dry. In another time and place, she’d have been curious about the rest of the art. She had no trouble believing he’d once been in the military.

“You up for a drink?” he asked. “The finance department is meeting at O’Malley’s tonight.”

“I don’t drink,” she said, casting a surreptitious glance at the blank computer screen.

She certainly didn’t have time to socialize. Someone was laundering money through Quetech Industries to an offshore account. As a forensic accountant, she’d sent white-collar criminals to federal prison in the past. People who laundered money didn’t frighten her. Greed and cowardice mostly went hand in hand.

The name of the offshore bank listed on the company’s balance sheet, Cayman Holdings Limited, had struck pure terror into her heart.

She could have walked away. She probably should have walked away. She couldn’t. The words of Mark 8:36 prevented her: For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

“I don’t drink, either,” Corbin said. “Janice, Matt Shazier’s assistant, promised to sing karaoke. We can be the sober witnesses.”

Matt was the company CEO, and she couldn’t imagine his buttoned-up assistant belting out a tune on a Friday night.

“Sorry.” Trying to appear casual, Beth slid this afternoon’s department store purchase into her bag. Escaping the building for a little shopping this afternoon had been a welcome respite from constantly looking over her shoulder. “I have other plans.”

Two years before, she’d noticed some odd transactions concerning Cayman Holdings on an account she was auditing for another company. Her mentor, Timothy Swan, had offered to review the files. After studying the case, he’d warned her against pursuing the matter further. He’d contacted the FBI, but Beth sensed he was frightened. They’d found his dead body a month later.

The coroner had ruled the forensic accountant’s death a murder by poisoning. Not even the FBI had been able to protect Timothy. Which meant the sooner she disappeared, the better. Except Corbin’s tall frame and broad shoulders were currently blocking her exit.

“Maybe we can meet tomorrow?” Corbin shrugged. “There’s a new coffee house on Fifth Street.”

His words gradually penetrated the fog of her anxiety. She was a temporary contractor. Coworkers didn’t ask her out for drinks.

She narrowed her gaze. Corbin was a new hire, and he’d been awfully curious about her work. Had he been sent to spy on her?

“Like a date?” she asked.

“Whatever you want to call it.”

Adrenaline coursed through her veins. This was bad. This was very bad. Men like Corbin did not ask forensic accountants on dates unless they wanted something. She’d learned that lesson the hard way.

Beth neatly sidestepped around him. “I’m b-busy tomorrow.”

And for the foreseeable future. The message she’d sent was time-stamped for delivery on the Tuesday morning following Columbus Day. She had the three-day weekend to disappear before the FBI received the evidence. Three long days before the men who poisoned Timothy discovered they’d been exposed and started looking for her.

She had no illusions about keeping her part in the whistle-blowing quiet. There was no way of turning over the evidence without tipping her hand.

Corbin’s brow furrowed above the bridge of his glasses. “Is something wrong?”

“Just anxious to start the weekend.”

She spun on her heel and promptly struck the trash bin blocking the aisle. Stumbling, she scattered the contents of her shopping bag over the floor along with the papers from the trash bin.

“Are you all right?” Corbin was by her side in an instant. “Let me help.”

Rubbing her bruised shin, she frantically searched the deserted maze of cubicles. Where was the cleaning crew?

“I’m fine.” Her cheeks heated. Even in a getaway, she was clumsy. “Just embarrassed.”

They both crouched before the mess. Corbin sure was laying it on thick. His charm was clearly an affectation. Her first year out of graduate school, she’d fallen head over heels for the chief financial officer of the company she was auditing before she’d discovered his part in the fraud. He’d thought he could romance her away from turning over the evidence.

Sixteen months in federal prison had corrected his thinking.

Corbin shook his head. “Makes me crazy when people don’t recycle.”

“Should be a crime,” Beth said, then cringed. If she didn’t get ahold of herself, she’d wind up zipped in a body bag with a toe tag marked murder by poisoning. “Or not.”

As she stuffed the papers back into the bin, her heart thumped against her ribs. She grasped her shopping bag and checked the contents. Nothing broken. Considering the price she’d paid for the small makeup compact this afternoon, she was grateful it had survived. The cosmetics were a treat to herself as she embarked on her temporary new life.

Her fingers brushed Corbin’s arm, and she recoiled. She caught a hint of his spicy aftershave and held her breath. She’d always been a sucker for aftershave.

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

“Not a problem.”

What was wrong with her? She was Officer Greenwood’s daughter, not a frightened extra in a horror movie. Even if Corbin was involved, he wasn’t the person she needed to fear. As a cop’s daughter, she had certain instincts about people. He didn’t strike her as a cold-blooded killer.

Straightening, she brushed at her pencil skirt and eyed the exit at the far end of the aisle. Why had she worn sling-backs today? Because today is just a normal day, she reminded herself. She wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary that might draw attention to herself. Proper planning meant peak performance.

Clutching her leather bag against her chest, she backed away a few steps. “I’d better get going. Traffic.”

“Let me walk you to your car.”

“I’ll be fine. This building is full of security cameras.” She let the implication hang in the air between them. Every move she made left a cyber trail. Her gaze swung between the elevator door and the stairwell. She turned toward the stairs. “See you Monday.”

“Tuesday,” Corbin corrected. “Don’t forget Monday is a federal holiday.”

A flash of disappointment surprised her. She wouldn’t be seeing him after today. Better she was leaving now before he directed the full, potent appeal of those ice-blue eyes on her. There was something about Corbin that had her feeling like a giggling schoolgirl with her first crush.

He adjusted his glasses on his nose. “I can’t believe we get Columbus Day off. Any big plans for the holiday weekend?”

“Thought I’d organize my taxes.”

“It’s October.”

“I work on a fiscal year.” She cringed inwardly. “See you Tuesday.”

“Enjoy your taxes.” He quirked an eyebrow. “Don’t worry. I can take a hint.”

She opened and closed her mouth, then turned. If he was working for Cayman Holdings, he was an excellent undercover operative. If he was innocent, she’d just turned down her first chance at an actual date in over a year.

Who was she kidding?

He was up to something. There was no reason for him to zero in on her when Karli from marketing had been raising her hemlines and lowering her necklines since Corbin had taken up residence in the corner office.

Beth paused. Should she take the stairs? Corbin always took the stairs. They both did; that’s how she knew his habits. Don’t deviate from the routine. She wasn’t any safer stuck with Corbin in the elevator than being alone with him in the stairwell. When she reached the end of the aisle, she glanced over her shoulder.

Corbin had disappeared.

A chill snaked down her spine. No one of his size should be able to disappear that quietly. Did they teach that sort of thing in Special Forces? Probably.

A new coffee house on Fifth Street. She snorted softly. She wasn’t a complete fool.

Her heart racing, she took the stairs two at a time and pushed open the door to the parking garage. Only a couple other cars remained. Keeping her back straight and her gait purposeful, she crossed the distance.

The sound of her heels striking the concrete echoed through the cavernous, empty space. Pausing beside the car, she dug in her purse for her keys. Normally she kept them at the ready when exiting a parking garage. Corbin’s unexpected appearance upstairs had distracted her.

As she fumbled with her purse, she dropped the bag. “Calm down, Beth.”

She took a deep, relaxing breath. Everything was fine. She was overreacting. No one knew anything, least of all Corbin. Whatever suspicions he may have, she’d done nothing to confirm them. Not yet. She scooped up her purse and stepped back. Glass crunched beneath her feet.

The hairs on the nape of her neck stirred, and she tipped back her head. The security camera hung from a single electrical wire. The glass lens was shattered.

A hand clamped over her mouth, stifling her scream.

Corbin raced down the stairs, the soles of his shoes squeaking over the tile surface.

He should be able to catch her. Petite and classily beautiful, Beth Greenwood’s daily uniform consisted of a pencil skirt and blouse, her blond hair in a neat bun, and a sensible pair of pumps to complete the look. Not the best outfit for a speedy getaway.

Until now, her reputation had been impeccable, rendering his evidence circumstantial at best, but the coincidences were adding up. Her name had come up twice in connection to a fraudulent account. The first time she’d appeared on his radar, she’d switched jobs right in the middle of his investigation, and the trail had gone cold. She’d resurfaced yet again when she’d inquired about an offshore account he’d flagged for suspicious activity. Now it appeared as though she was going to perform another disappearing act before he could gather further evidence of her involvement.

Working on a hunch, he’d had her followed. Last week she’d deviated from her regular routine. She’d been seen with two men in a part of town known on the nightly news for drug deals gone bad. The pair of men she’d met in the seedy bar were known in the criminal underworld for helping people disappear. While Corbin couldn’t prove she’d done anything but order a soda water, that meeting was too big a coincidence for a man who didn’t believe in happenstance.

The train ticket protruding from her bag when she’d tripped over the trash bin had confirmed his suspicions. He’d tucked the revealing evidence deeper into the pocket before she’d noticed, but not before he’d memorized her departure. Tomorrow. 5:45 a.m. One way.

The accountant was running. Innocent people didn’t run. She’d been his first suspect since her name had come up in the previous audit. Didn’t help that she’d spent the past week behaving like a textbook example of a guilty person. She was edgy and jumpy—rarely leaving her desk—even for meals. She didn’t want anyone messing with her computer. She didn’t want anyone to know what she was doing. Innocent people had nothing to hide.

Strike one.

Corbin pushed open the door to the garage, and his blood froze.

A man had his arm clamped around Beth’s waist, the other hand covering her mouth.

His adrenaline surged. She kicked and clawed. Her heels scuffed along the cement, and one of her shoes tumbled free. A car idled opposite the exit, a shadowy figure in the driver’s seat, presumably the getaway vehicle. Ducking behind a pillar, Corbin rapidly scanned the garage. He’d backed his nondescript sedan into the spot opposite Beth’s. The proximity was purposeful. If she was planning on disappearing, he wanted to know. He crouched and crossed the distance, then fished out his key fob and hit the button twice, remotely starting his car.

The man holding Beth spun toward the noise. The next instant he yelped and stumbled backward, clutching his face.

Beth held her arm extended, a canister of pepper spray in her outstretched hand. Writhing in pain, the man lurched away from her assault. He groped blindly in the direction of his waiting vehicle. Corbin dove into his car and slammed the transmission into First. He roared out of the space, positioning the passenger side before Beth.

Her face pale, she glanced up from her crouched position.

He leaned over the console and pushed open the door. “Get in!”

She scooped up her purse, her frightened gaze swinging between him and her car.

The pepper-sprayed man had reached the getaway vehicle. Still blinded, he fumbled with the handle.

Beth shook her head. “No.”

“Get in!” he ordered. “There’s no time.”

A bullet ricocheted off the hood.

The getaway driver had a gun. The noise propelled her forward. She leaped into the passenger seat and slammed the door. Another bullet shattered the windshield of her car. Beth threw her arms over her face and crouched behind the dash.

Corbin shifted into Reverse and braced his hand on the back of the passenger seat. Looking over his shoulder, he sped down the garage ramp in reverse. When they reached the next level, he spun the wheel. The tires squealed and smoked, circling the car forward.

“Put on your seat belt,” he ordered gruffly.

Her fingers fumbling, Beth complied. The parking-garage gate was open, and he raced through the exit. He didn’t live in the city, but he’d gotten to know the layout over the past two weeks.

Glancing at the rearview mirror, he caught sight of the car following them. “Hang on. This might get bumpy.”

He couldn’t get a good look at the men driving. Average height and build. Sunglasses despite the cloudy sky. One of them was wearing a dark ball cap with lighter lettering. He squinted into the rearview mirror. Maybe a Bears hat. It was too difficult to discern.

The sky was overcast, creating an early twilight. He wove through the Friday afternoon traffic and turned on to a side street packed with orange cones and graded for resurfacing. He only needed a few twists and turns. The men following them were liable to give up easily. Traffic was heavy, and there were too many witnesses. A Friday evening in downtown Chicago meant extra police patrolling the tipsy happy-hour crowds.

He took a corner and then another. Cars filled in behind them, and he drove toward the freeway ramp. Soon they were caught in the rush of traffic. Concentrating on the road and keeping a watch for a tail kept his attention focused. Beth remained silent; her hands braced against the dash. He raised an eyebrow. Though she had her phone, she hadn’t dialed the police. A cop’s daughter who didn’t call the police after an attack.

Strike two.

Once he was confident the men following them had given up, he exited the freeway and drove toward a park near his rented house. The lot was empty save for a single vehicle. A young couple played Frisbee in the distance, oblivious to the darkening sky.

He turned toward Beth and came face-to-face with her container of pepper spray.

Lifting his hands, he said, “Easy there. Don’t shoot.”

He’d been pepper-sprayed in the army, and he’d prefer not to repeat the experience.

“Who are you?” she demanded.

“Corbin Ross. You might remember me from the finance meeting this morning. The one with the stale donuts and the endless PowerPoint.”

His joke lifted one edge of her mouth.

“Sam must have had over a hundred slides,” she said.

“And half of them were charts.”

Her blond hair had come loose from the severe bun she wore at the nape of her neck and tumbled over her shoulder in a gilded wave. Though her hands shook, she stared him down with a steely determination in her leaf-green eyes. Her words were light, but her intentions were deadly serious. His heartbeat kicked. This wasn’t personal. This was business. The first rule of undercover work was never get involved with your subject. Fraternizing with a suspect was a surefire path to the unemployment line.

The container wavered. “Take me back to my car.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said, soothingly. “Someone may be watching your car. Your apartment isn’t safe, either. I’ll take you to the police station.”

“No.” Her gaze narrowed. “No police.”

“You can’t run from this,” he said. “Whatever you’ve done, it’s time to own up.”

A series of suspicious transactions with Cayman Holdings had brought Quetech Industries to the attention of the Cyber Division of Homeland Security. Two years before, Corbin had worked with the FBI on a case involving the same bank. A forensic accountant, Timothy Swan, had claimed to have evidence against Cayman Holdings, Limited. Beth Greenwood’s name had come up during the investigation. With no suspects in Swan’s death and insufficient evidence to pursue the fraud, the case had languished.

When the bank had come to the attention of Homeland Security once more, Corbin had volunteered for the undercover assignment. Beth Greenwood’s employment at Quetech Industries had been too much of a coincidence. She’d worked with Timothy Swan before. She’d spoken to the accountant about the case before his death. This was the second time her name had been linked to Cayman Holdings.

For the past two weeks, Corbin had worn a suit and tie and gossiped over the water cooler. Two weeks hadn’t given him enough time to unravel the complicated financial dealings. All he had were his suspicions, but they were adding up quickly.

“If you tell the truth,” Corbin said. “I’ll do what I can to help you.”

He wasn’t lying to her. Not exactly. As long as she turned over state’s evidence, he’d put in a good word with the prosecutor.

“What are you saying?” Beth rapidly shook her head. “I didn’t do anything wrong. Those men attacked me.”

“What did they want?”

She ducked her head. “How should I know?”

“Then why aren’t we going to the police station?”

Since he’d left the army for stateside government work, he’d seen plenty of embezzlement scandals. In his experience, white-collar criminals didn’t hire killers when they were caught red-handed—they bought boats and disappeared in the Caribbean. Beth and Quetech Industries were involved in something far more sinister than simple embezzlement.

She shook her head. “It’s complicated. The less you know, the better.”

“Look, I’d rather be listening to Janice’s rendition of ‘Total Eclipse of the Sun’ than having this conversation, but those men had guns. They used bullets.”

One of them was embedded in the hood of his car. Evidence he’d check later.

The dark gray clouds overhead gave way, and a steady drumming of rain tapped against the car roof. The couple playing Frisbee dashed toward their vehicle, giggling and holding hands. The man held the Frisbee over the woman’s head in a poor attempt to shield her from the rain.

Beth’s distress tugged at Corbin, cementing his resolve. He had to keep his distance, both mentally and physically. He’d seen how her sort operated. Once she knew she was caught, there’d be a sob story, a tearful plea for clemency.

Except he wasn’t in the business of providing sanctuary. “Do people just randomly kidnap you, or is this Friday special?”

The canister of pepper spray shook violently, and her breath came in quick, sharp gasps. “What about my car?”

As the shock penetrated her defenses, her bravado slipped.