Allison Brennan - Killing Fear

Isabelle was also one of the only women Robin had grown close to since Glenn killed her friends, and even now Robin kept her at arm’s length. As much as she could with Isabelle’s natural exuberance and enthusiasm.

Did Glenn know about Isabelle? That she was someone important to Robin? How much did he know about the art show? Could he really be planning something for Sunday?

She rubbed her forehead and opened her payroll. She clocked everyone in at their normal time.

The knock on her office door startled her. “Come in,” she said.

It was Will. Alone, though she heard voices in the bar. “I didn’t expect to see you until later,” she said.

Will closed the door, sat on the edge of her desk, his hand reaching for her face. Caressing her in a casually intimate gesture that gave her butterflies.

“I don’t know how to say this, so I’m just going to tell you straight.”

The butterflies turned to lead. “Wh-what?” she asked.

“Two hours ago a phone call was made to Sara Lorenz.”

“Is she one of the women you’re following who might be helping Glenn?”

Will nodded. “We haven’t been able to locate her. The call came from here.”

“Here?” she repeated. “The Sin?”

“Yes.”

“That’s not possible. I don’t know anyone by that name.”

“Mario said that you called your staff this afternoon.”

“I closed the Sin until further notice.” Her head was swimming. “You’re not saying-I don’t know Sara Lorenz!”

“She may have changed her name or appearance or both. I need you to look at her picture. It’s not a very good image; it’s from her driver’s license about six years ago.”

Robin looked. The woman in the photo was a mousy blonde with brown eyes. She gave the camera a half smile. She looked normal. Not like someone who would help a killer.

“I don’t recognize her.”

“What if she went blonder? Darker? She’s five foot three, one hundred ten pounds on her license. Picture her with makeup.”

The picture swam in front of her, beginning to look familiar. She remembered the last time she’d identified someone off a picture-in that case, off a rough police sketch. She’d seen Theodore Glenn. Not because the sketch looked specifically like him, but the shape was his. She’d just known.

The shape of Sara Lorenz’s face was familiar. Her cheekbones. Her eyes.

Dear God, someone she trusted had been spying on her for a killer. Watching her. Talking to her. Her blood ran cold. She’d never suspected her assistant manager was working with Theodore Glenn. How could anyone help him? How could a woman trust him?

Robin frowned, the paper rustling in her shaking hands. “I-what if I’m wrong?”

“Who do you think Sara is?”

“She might be my assistant manager, Gina Clover. Gina runs banquets and special events during the week. You met her earlier this week.” She handed Will the picture and rubbed her temples.

This was not happening.

“Can you grab her personnel file?”

Robin crossed her office to the filing cabinet as if she were out of her body and watching the scene unfold in front of her. Detached. This was unreal. That Glenn had been watching her even while in prison. That a woman, knowing he was a killer, would help him.

Hands still shaking, she handed Will Gina’s folder.

He flipped it open to her original application. “Rock and roll.”

“What?”

“Same post office box as Sara Lorenz.”

“She’s supposed to put down a home address,” Robin said, grabbing the file. There was a notation. Moving. “I remember now,” she said. “She said she was living with her parents until she found a place of her own and would give me her address when she moved. But I never thought to follow up.”

Will pushed her chin up, forced her to look at him. His eyes gave her strength and confidence. “We’re going to get through this. We will find her, and she will lead us to Glenn. Don’t blame yourself. Carina and I both met her earlier this week and neither of us realized Gina Clover and Sara Lorenz were the same person.”

“How could she do this? To me? Why? I’ve never done anything to her. She was a good employee. I didn’t think he’d have someone spying on me! What about my neighbors? Are they spying on me, too? How many people are helping him, Will? When is this going to stop?”

Will wrapped his arms tightly around her while she shook with unshed tears. Taking a deep breath, she pulled herself together. She was tired of acting like a victim, tired of feeling like her life was spinning out of control and all she was doing was waiting for Glenn to come and kill her.

“What’s the next step?” she asked.

“You’re going home with Mario. Agent Vigo and I are going to continue trying to locate Sara Lorenz. Carina is overseeing the stakeout at the post office Lorenz uses.”

“I can’t sit around and do nothing.”

“I know this is hard, but-”

“You don’t know!” She forced herself to calm down. She shouldn’t take her frustration out on Will.

He ran a hand through her hair, held her at the neck, tilting her head to look at him. “I do know. I’ll come by later tonight, okay?”

He kissed her, then led her from the office. “Gina Clover,” he told the federal agent and Mario who were talking in the bar. “Mario, please take Robin home until further notice.”

“Find them,” Robin told Will. “And please, be careful.”

Sara had stolen from him.

Theodore stared at the evidence right in front of him. Sara was smart, shrewd in fact, but even she couldn’t hide her tracks.

He’d suspected something funny when she got jumpy about the corporate funds. But since he had the quarter million sitting right there in his offshore account, and another seven or so million in his personal account, he wasn’t concerned. But when he checked his own funds, he realized she’d moved money from his account with the power of attorney he’d given her. Over the last year she’d moved nearly five million dollars to a variety of accounts both in and out of America.

And she hadn’t told him.

That meant she planned to leave. Leave with his money, but without him.

Or was this another one of her “good ideas,” like faking an identity and working for Robin McKenna? Something “smart” that she’d insist would be “just fine.” The bitch was crazy to play games with a master.

He noted all the accounts, but left them alone. If the Feds had figured any of this out, he didn’t want to alert them. He’d only have one chance to transfer the funds, and he had to make sure he had a clean account for the money to go into, an account he controlled and not Sara Lorenz.

Not that it would matter when she was dead.

He’d get the plans out of that bitch before he killed her. Take that to the bank.

“I can’t believe we’ve hit another dead end!”

Will slammed his fist on his desk. They were so close-they had Sara’s cell phone, two of her fake identities, the names of the two major corporations Theodore Glenn was using to funnel money, the P.O. boxes, and now nothing.

His phone rang and he snatched it up. “Hooper,” he snapped.

“Detective Hooper?” The voice was suspicious.

“Yes?”

“This is Brian Varadian with San Diego Bank and Trust. You spoke with my manager this morning about a corporate account.”

Will grabbed his notes. “Right, North Bay Law Offices.”

“I cannot give you any information without a warrant, you understand.”

“I have a warrant.” Or he would and made a note to call the D.A., Andrew Stanton.