When Lightning Strikes Read online

  “What other foods can’t you stand?” he asked with a grin.

  She chuckled softly. “Eggplant, Brussels sprouts, and chile that’s too hot. It sets my mouth on fire.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, I know what you mean,” he said, offering her a can of soup to replace the beans. “When the chile kills the taste of the food, and you need a fire extinguisher, it’s too much.”

  Smiling, she looked up at him, and the impact of those guileless eyes slammed through him once more. Swearing that he was going as loco as she was rumored to be, he looked down at his plate and took another forkful of beans.

  “I have an idea that might give us some answers,” Hannah proposed, opening the soup and pouring it into a microwave-safe bowl. “But it’s risky.”

  Daniel shrugged. “At this point, everything we do will entail risk. What’s your plan?”

  “I want to go to my office at the church. I did some of their bookkeeping, mostly balancing the modest funds in their operating budget, but maybe something there will trigger my memory.”

  Daniel nodded slowly. “Yeah, that thought occurred to me too, but we can’t just walk in there. You’ll be recognized. The only way we can go is if I can come up with a really good disguise for both of us. Fortunately, I have some background in that. One of my summer jobs when I was in college was working for a film company that had come to New Mexico to shoot on location. With Silentman’s help, we can get the supplies we need together, and then get going.”

  “What kind of disguise do you have in mind?” she asked, setting the control on the microwave to heat her soup.

  He reached past her to set the machine on, then turned her to face him. “Let me surprise you.”

  IT WAS SHORTLY AFTER TEN the next day when they approached the church on foot, leaving Wolf in the SUV. “Stoop more,” he said quietly.

  She did as he asked, knowing it would enhance the role they were playing—that of an elderly couple. “You put so much talcum powder in my hair to make it gray that if anyone sneezes, a cloud will lift into the air,” she muttered.

  “Good. A cloud is good. Think of it as a smoke screen.”

  Her loose skirt was so baggy it would have fallen to her ankles if it hadn’t been for the cloth belt she’d fashioned from the curtain tie-backs. “I feel guilty about having taken this skirt from someone’s clothesline.”

  “Don’t. I left a hundred-dollar bill clipped to the line. They’ll be thrilled.”

  “Those baggy pants don’t do much for you,” she said, “but I’ve got to say that the way you’re walking, in that halting style with the cane, you really do look like an old man.”

  “Which is why I keep telling you to imitate me. They won’t look at our faces, believe me. Even if they do, that dark makeup will convince them. Just look down to the floor, and avoid catching anyone’s eye. Two old Navajos just stopping by a church won’t be noticed.”

  They entered through a side door, and she led the way down an empty hallway to her office. No one was usually around this wing of the building in the middle of a weekday. The staff all had day jobs. But, farther down the hall, they could hear a cleaning crew busy inside the chapel, polishing the floors.

  “That’s just the caretaker and his wife,” she whispered. “They clean when no one’s around.”

  Once they were inside her office, Hannah closed the door behind them. There was an open adjoining door to another, similar office, but no one was there and the light was out.

  In Hannah’s office were two swivel chairs, a multifunction fax and printer, two file cabinets and a supply cabinet. The desk surfaces were relatively clutter free, containing only a stapler and tape dispenser. She looked around for several minutes, then just shook her head, discouraged. “Nothing. I still can’t remember a thing.”

  “Do what you normally do in here.”

  She sat down behind the computer. “You better make sure no one comes in. It’ll blow our charade if they see me at my desk.”

  “I’ll listen and keep an eye out. In the meantime, I want you to check and see if there’s anything different about the church accounts.”

  “You mean tampering, like embezzlement? The ones I handle have—at most—a few thousand dollars.”

  “Check anyway.”

  It didn’t take her long. “Something’s very strange. The missing two thousand dollars had to come from one of these accounts if they were part of the operating funds, but there’s no indication that a withdrawal in that amount was ever made. Does the agency check the claims of a client? I mean maybe my uncle got things mixed up.”

  “We assume that no one is going to come to us and pay us the kind of fees we charge to investigate bogus claims. We’re not the police department. We’re a high-priced private investigations agency. Since Riverside Mission Church is footing the bill and it’s their money that’s missing, there’s no reason to believe your uncle got the figures wrong.”

  “I just don’t know where the cash could have come from then.”

  He gave her a quick look. “Can you print out what you’ve got on file?”

  “I could, but it would take too long, and the printer makes the lights in the chapel dim for a second when it comes on. It could throw a breaker while the floor polisher is being used. The wiring is very old.”

  “What about copying to disk? Or e-mailing everything?”

  “The files are too large for disks, e-mail would take too long, and I didn’t bring a blank CD.”

  “Forget I asked then.” He looked out into the hall as the hum of the floor polisher was drowned out by organ music.

  “The organist must have arrived to practice. He’ll play for an hour, then leave. It’s his regular routine.”

  “Okay. Let’s go to your uncle’s office next. I want you to go through his computer records as well.”

  “My uncle would cut off his arm before he took one dime from this church. You don’t know him.”

  Daniel bit back the response that came naturally—that it was possible she wasn’t the only one with secrets. “Let’s take a look anyway,” he said, closing the door to the hall.

  She led the way into the adjacent office. “Going through Uncle Bob’s computer will take longer. I don’t know his password or whether he encrypts his files.”

  “Are there accounts that only he handles?”

  “No. The Church committees work alongside him. If you’re thinking of misappropriated funds, I can tell you that it would be an extremely difficult thing to do. This is not a wealthy church. Every penny matters and has to be accounted for.”

  Seeing an architect’s blueprint on the corner table along with an artist’s conception of what the finished church addition would look like, Daniel went to study it. “This is quite an ambitious project.”

  “It’s taken years and years to raise the funds to start construction, and we’re still short of the full amount we’ll need,” Hannah said joining him. “But we’re closer now than we’ve ever been.”

  Suddenly they heard someone turning the knob and opening the office door leading to the hall. Daniel grabbed Hannah and pressed her to the wall, then covered her mouth with his. Too stunned to resist, she melted against him. With their mouths locked together, he suddenly couldn’t think. Her surrender made his body turn to fire, something he hadn’t expected. He’d meant to confuse whoever was coming in, not add fuel to his insane desire to make her his.

  His body became as hot as a furnace. He deepened the kiss, greedily taking from her all the sweetness she had to offer him. For a moment he very nearly forgot where they were and why he’d kissed her in the first place.

  “What’s going on here?” a man’s firm voice demanded.

  Daniel didn’t turn around. Trying to shut out the carnal demands spreading through him, he took a step back from Hannah, careful to block the man’s view of her face with his body. “We’re hoping to talk to the minister. We want to get married,” he said in a creaky voice. “Are you Reverend Brown?”

>   “No, I’m the organist, but the reverend should be stopping by in about an hour. You’re welcome to wait.” He paused for a moment. “I know you’re not exactly teenagers, but keep the door open, for propriety,” he said, then chuckled. “I hope I have half your enthusiasm for life when I’m your age,” he said, reaching onto a nearby shelf for a folder of sheet music.

  The second the man left, Daniel eased his hold on Hannah. Her lips were moist and partly open, ready for another kiss. Moving away just then was one of the most difficult things he’d ever done.

  He heard her sigh, a soft disappointed sound filled with a sweet longing he was man enough to recognize. Had she drawn her hands down the length of his naked body, she couldn’t have affected him more.

  “Let’s get out of here while the going’s good,” he said, surprised his voice sounded so steady.

  “Mr. Jackson, the organist, will wonder where we went,” she said, her voice trembling slightly.

  “Maybe he’ll assume we just couldn’t wait any longer,” Daniel suggested, then realized how that could be taken two ways.

  Fighting to keep his mind on business, he urged her toward the door with a gesture. Under different circumstances, he might have reached for her hand, but right now any contact between them was just too dangerous.

  Chapter Five

  Daniel kept Hannah next to him as they made their way outside, walking quickly, but not fast enough to attract attention. They’d almost reached the SUV when Hannah stopped in midstride and looked back toward the road.

  Every muscle in his body suddenly tensed, ready for action. “What’s wrong?” he asked, unable to see anything out of place.

  “It’s the mailbox,” she said.

  It was light blue, shaped like the church, a custom job probably done by a parishioner. But he could see nothing particularly troublesome about it.

  “I mailed a package recently and used that box.”

  “Do you know what was in the package?”

  Her forehead furrowed as she struggled to remember. “I just don’t know. I can’t remember.”

  “Do you recall who you addressed it to?”

  She paused, then shook her head. “No.”

  “When did you mail the package?”

  “It had to have been the day before yesterday,” she said slowly. “I came out to the street from the church, put the package in the mailbox, and raised the red flag. I remember thinking it was the safest way.”

  “To do what?”

  She paused. “I don’t know. But I know that it was important. I recall being afraid at the time.”

  “You’re making headway. Stay with it.”

  Hannah stared at the mailbox. “It’s like trying to fasten together bits and pieces of a broken videotape, hoping that you can see it again and nothing will be left out.” She shook her head. “But it’s no use. Whatever flash I was getting is gone.”

  “For now,” Daniel finished for her. “You’ll try again another time. Let’s go.”

  Soon they were in the SUV that Daniel had parked a block away from the church. Hannah patted Wolf affectionately and he seemed to enjoy it. “You’re just a big old puppy,” she said to him.

  Daniel expected Wolf to growl, scaring Hannah out of her wits, but the animal did absolutely nothing but groove on the affection. For a dog who was convinced he was part wolf, that was nothing short of a miracle.

  “Don’t fuss over him too much. He needs to keep his edge,” Daniel warned.

  She said nothing for a long moment, then shifted in her seat to face him more squarely. “And is that the way it is for you? Do you need to keep an edge?”

  “In my job, you tend to live longer if you do.”

  “You seem to know quite a bit about me, but I know virtually nothing about you, Daniel Eagle. And it’s hard to trust a stranger—at least it is for me. Will you tell me a bit about yourself?”

  “What would you like to know?” He kept his voice cool, hoping to discourage any truly personal questions.

  “How did you get into this business?”

  He breathed easier. At least this was something he didn’t mind Hannah asking. It was tantamount to wanting to look at the credentials of a bodyguard before entrusting him with your life. “I was a cop for eight years. When I left, I knew I wanted to continue doing something where I could use the skills I’d learned. Being a P.I. seemed the answer because I wouldn’t have to follow all the rules cops do. Those usually end up giving the criminals a huge advantage.”

  “Is that why you stopped being a policeman? You thought the rules were unfair?”

  “It was more than that. Sometimes you just know it’s time to move on.”

  “Does that all have something to do with your not carrying a gun?”

  Hannah was sharp. He should have known she’d get there. “Yes, but I don’t want to get into that now.”

  “All right.” She paused, then continued, taking her questions in a new direction. “You’ve chosen to get into this mess with me, and there’s no telling how long it’ll be before we can uncover the truth. Isn’t there someone who’ll worry about you? As far as I’ve seen, you’ve never contacted anyone but the man you call Silentman.”

  Daniel smiled. “Are you asking if I’m involved with someone, or married?”

  “Are you?” she pressed.

  “No to both questions. I’ve never been married, and I haven’t been in a serious relationship in years. And that’s the way I like it. I enjoy the freedom to come and go as I please.”

  “Then what you need is the kind of woman who’ll give you plenty of personal space.”

  “In that case, I guess you could say that I’ve never found the right woman.” He shrugged. “With my job, I’m constantly on the go, so the reason I don’t have a steady girlfriend is perfectly understandable. But the same isn’t true for you. You’re a beautiful woman and, even if you’ve discouraged it, there should be a guy in your life, and a bunch more lined up hoping you’ll get bored with the one you have.”

  “Thanks for the compliment—such as it was,” she said, chuckling. “But the truth is I don’t find it easy to get that close to people. The men I’ve met usually want things I can’t give them. I don’t want to lean on anyone and I won’t be treated as if I’m defective or damaged because I was ill when I was growing up. All in all, I’ve found it’s a lot easier for me to just keep my dates casual and infrequent.”

  Hannah sure didn’t sound like someone whose elevator didn’t reach the top floor. She understood who she was, which was more than a lot of sane people knew about themselves.

  “People with troubled pasts like to keep a barrier around themselves. It makes them feel safer,” he said, thinking out loud.

  “Are you talking about me—or you?” Hannah asked.

  “My past isn’t troubled,” he answered a little too quickly. One look at her told him she’d noticed. “There are things there that changed me forever, but I know what I want.”

  “And you think I don’t?” she countered, suddenly annoyed.

  “Do you?”

  “Yeah,” she snapped. “I want to stay alive. And I want to get to know you because you’re my best hope of staying ahead of the people after me.”

  He said nothing for a long moment, then spoke. “Why are you angry?”

  “Because I’m tired of dealing with people who think they know more about what’s going on inside me than I do. I’ll let you in on something. You can explain feelings six million ways, but what’s hurtful will still hurt.”

  “Do you think that’s why you’re suppressing the memory of what happened at the church? Are you trying to avoid something that hurt you?”

  She stared at him wide-eyed, and he suddenly felt like a heel. “Look, I’m no shrink, and I’m not trying out my own form of psychoanalytical babble on you. It was just a shot in the dark. But think about it, okay? We both know that triggering your memory could provide us with some answers we really need.” He paused, then added
, “Come to think of it, there’s something else we can try. How do you feel about hypnosis?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think I can be hypnotized. Several doctors at the hospital tried it, even with drugs, as part of my therapy.” She shrugged. “I think it’s wrong to let someone manipulate your thinking that way, so I automatically shut myself off from it. I can’t let my guard down enough to let it happen, not even now.”

  He decided not to press the matter for now. Besides, from the little he knew, if she was prone to resist, it could harm instead of help her.

  “I know you lost your parents when you were young. Was it difficult for you to move in with your uncle, or were you already close?” he asked, changing the subject slightly.

  “To be honest, I was a little afraid of Uncle Bob. My dad and he were always arguing and I didn’t like him because of that.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “And talk about someone who’s hard to get close to. My mom and dad were warm people, but Uncle Bob is very different, and always was.”

  “How so?” Daniel was glad he had Hannah talking about herself.

  “It’s his whole outlook on life. I’ll give you some examples. When I was a kid, I remember wanting to take ballet lessons, but he thought that was a waste of time because it wasn’t likely to lead to a career. He said the same thing when I wanted to join the Girl Scouts. Uncle Bob always told me that one could either earn money or spend money, and it was better to occupy one’s time doing something productive like earning it. So, as soon as I could, I worked part-time and used the money to pay my own way. I was able to buy most of my own clothes, and whatever else I needed.”

  He didn’t say anything, disapproving of the way she’d been raised, but admiring Hannah for her loyalty to her uncle. From what he’d seen of the deacon, he wasn’t sure that loyalty was reciprocated.

  Then again, that was just another element in a case where nothing fit. The woman seated in the SUV next to him didn’t fit the profile of the deranged woman he’d been sent to find or the skilled manipulator he’d been worried about.