Thorns of the Past Read online

  “Yes. Excuse me, Ms. Flynn. Darcy. This is Sabrina Hawk.”

  Darcy straightened even more fully. “Sabrina? You okay?”

  “Yes. Of course. Yes.” As a matter of fact, Darcy thought Sabrina sounded almost foggy. Was she even sober?

  “What can I do for you?” Darcy paused the movie and pulled her legs up again, tucking the blanket in around her.

  “I…I’m not sure. I—well, since you were so accommodating regarding the surveillance footage and seemed interested in finding out who broke into my office, I thought…I mean, I figured you’d find what happened after I left of interest as well. Perhaps.”

  Now Darcy’s radar for impending trouble was in the red. Sabrina had displayed several emotions earlier. Disdain, annoyance, loathing, apprehension, etc. This one sounded like fear.

  “I’m absolutely interested.” And not just from a professional point of view, Darcy admitted to herself. Yes, her investigative mind was curious, but most of all, she truly cared what happened to this enigmatic woman. “Tell me, please.”

  “Maybe not over the phone, though. I understand that cell phones can be bugged or monitored quite easily.”

  “That’s true.” It was, depending on what technology the curious party had access to. If the people behind the break-in could jam the surveillance equipment at the office, it wasn’t a far stretch to imagine them with bugging technology as well.

  “Can you join me at my condo this evening, or is it too late?” Sabrina spoke so quickly that it was hard to make out what she said.

  Darcy checked the time. Seven thirty. “Where do you live? I’m on Walkerton Street.” Darcy turned off the TV completely and scanned the living room for her car keys.

  “The condominiums on the corner of Main Street and Danvers.”

  “Ah. Got it. I can be there in fifteen minutes.” Darcy glanced at her reflection in the mirror next to her front door. Her hair was still wet after her shower, but her black leggings and light-gray, long T-shirt were some of her newer clothes. When not on the job, she liked comfortable ones like these.

  “Sounds good. I’m in condo four, and I’ll buzz you in when you get here.”

  Darcy blinked at the abrupt disconnection from Sabrina’s end but then merely grabbed her leather jacket. She hesitated only for a moment and then tucked her Glock into the jacket’s large inner pocket before locking the door and dashing to her car.

  East Quay by night or, as in this case, evening, was a serene picture for the most part. While on the force, Darcy had learned about how even a quiet town like East Quay had its fair share of drugs, organized crime, and violence. Every summer when guests rented houses, arrived with campers, and visited the long beaches, the crime rate went even further up, but that was mainly due to traffic violations and domestic disturbances. Having something elaborate like this morning occur, with erased surveillance videos, wasn’t commonplace. And what else had happened to rattle the otherwise so cool and collected Sabrina Hawk? Not even this morning, once she was away from the police, who she clearly disliked, had she sounded like this.

  The streets were semi-busy with people going home from late-evening shopping, but Darcy had a special permit allowing her to park anywhere in town due to her security-personnel status. She found a spot close to the entrance to Sabrina’s condominium building. After walking across the street, she found the understated entrance to the courtyard and pressed the button next to the number four.

  “Yes?” It was Sabrina’s voice, and she sounded even more cautious than before.

  “It’s Darcy.”

  “Take one step back so I can see you, please.” Sabrina spoke curtly now and Darcy did as she asked, her curiosity growing with each passing minute. “Number four.”

  The tall cast-iron gate buzzed, and Darcy pulled it open and walked inside. She waited for it to close behind her, as she understood this entryway must be vital to Sabrina’s safety here, and making sure nobody snuck in with a visitor was rather basic. Although Sabrina’s Ford Focus was bland, Darcy was sure Sabrina’s condo was a lot more elegant and luxurious.

  Standing in a square where a covered-up pool was surrounded by small gardens, each with paths leading up to oak front doors, Darcy spotted number four and walked up the short path. Sabrina’s door opened as she approached it. Dressed in a light-blue sweatshirt dress and leggings much like Darcy’s, she still managed to look as if she wore high-end, classic garments. Perhaps it was her posture, shoulders back, and the guarded way she kept her head high with her chin set. Sabrina’s strawberry-blond hair was down, a style Darcy had never seen her wear before, and it reached just past her collarbones.

  “Hi,” Darcy said and stepped closer. Now she could see how Sabrina’s pupils had pushed her blue irises into thin rims. If she had to guess, something had happened apart from the break-in at the office. Sabrina looked rather stunned. “Came as fast as I could as you—it—sounded urgent.”

  “Not urgent, exactly, but…” Sabrina shrugged and motioned for Darcy to enter. The foyer was small and quite barren, as it held only an umbrella stand, clothes rack, and a mirror. “Please come upstairs,” Sabrina said and motioned for Darcy to follow her up the stairs to the first floor.

  Darcy figured it was her turn to feel stunned, walking behind the woman she’d had more than one heated dream about. Sabrina’s hips moved in a delicious way as she climbed the stairs. Darcy felt slightly guilty for ogling her when she was there to help her, but, God, she wasn’t made of stone.

  “The living room is just through there.” Sabrina pointed farther down the foyer. “Can I get you anything to drink?”

  “Some juice or hot tea would be great.” Darcy looked around the foyer as she passed it and liked the marble floor and eggshell-colored walls. A large Persian rug was centered on the floor, and a full-length gold-framed mirror dominated the wall to her right. On the other side, a massive painting, whose motif escaped her, hung over an antique chest of some kind. Entering the living room, she saw a fire burning with energetic flames in the open fireplace. Turned toward it, two leather armchairs with matching footstools sat with a triangular table between them. A modern lamp with several shades made it possible for two people to enjoy reading by the fire. Perhaps Sabrina’s husband or boyfriend was the lucky person?

  Another sofa group stood by the window, where Sabrina had closed the blinds. Farther into the room, white and blue chairs surrounded a white dining-room table with a crystal swan-vase centerpiece.

  Paintings that breathed good taste and investments lined the walls, and behind the table at the far wall, four tightly packed bookshelves suggested Sabrina truly did love to read.

  “Here you go. Do sit down by the fire. The weather is getting increasingly colder, isn’t it?” Sabrina entered with a tray holding a steaming mug and what looked like whiskey on the rocks. “Green tea all right?”

  “Sure, thank you.” Really? They were talking about the weather and beverages? Darcy furtively studied Sabrina, easily detecting the tension around her eyes and the way her normally fluent movements now appeared jerky and imprecise. Sitting down, Darcy sipped her tea, which of course wasn’t the type she bought at Stop and Shop, but obviously an exclusive kind from a high-end grocery store. Darcy wanted to give Sabrina time to get to the point in her own pace and leaned back in her chair with a contented sigh. It was a beautiful fireplace, and the flames were so hypnotic she felt close to being in a trance.

  “I was followed while driving to my beach house today and nearly subjected to a home invasion.” Sabrina spoke so quietly that Darcy was sure she’d misheard.

  “What?” Darcy placed her mug on a coaster on the triangular table. “What happened?”

  “Three men, claiming their client sent them to give me a message, followed me all the way up to my front door. I have good security and managed to perform a lockdown of my house…but the incident was still disconcerting.” Sabrina sat rigidly straight on her armchair.

  “What did the police do?” Darc
y could barely imagine how having to call the cops twice in a day would affect this woman, as she disliked Darcy’s former colleagues with a passion.

  “I never called the police. I called Karimi Security.” As if waiting to be criticized for not taking the more normal route and calling the authorities, Sabrina raised her chin in a clear challenge.

  “Al Karimi? As I mentioned earlier, I’ve met him a couple of times. He’s a true professional.” Darcy thought fast. “Good thing you use someone like him. He probably reached you a lot faster than the cops would have.”

  “I’ll say.” Sabrina drew a line in the condensation on the side of her glass. “He took care of everything, and his crew scanned the exterior of my beach house and drove me back to East Quay. I—I couldn’t stay out there alone. It’s too far to the nearest neighbor, and this time of year some of them have returned to New York or Boston. Not a lot of locals staying in the beach houses all year these days.”

  “What kind of message did they want to leave you?” Darcy carefully monitored Sabrina’s expressions. This was her strength. She noticed things about people, and Meghan claimed she had a sixth sense. Now, watching Sabrina, it wasn’t hard for Darcy to pick up on the emotions flickering over her pale face. Sabrina’s lips were tense, and she squinted as if the muted light hurt her eyes. Stiff, she looked ready to bolt if Darcy asked the wrong question.

  “Something about taking me to the client. It frightened me.” Sabrina winced and seemed annoyed at having shared something so personal. “But now I feel more secure here. The building management has its security staff, and Karimi has put together a foolproof system for me personally. Unless someone drops a bomb directly on my roof…” Sabrina shrugged and took her glass again, sipped from it, and closed her eyes briefly as she swallowed.

  “What can I do?” Darcy asked without pretense. She truly wanted to help Sabrina, and she wasn’t about to lie to herself as to why. Something about this irritable, beautiful woman pulled her in. As much as she never thought she’d ever go for a stunning businesswoman, Sabrina Hawk possessed something impossible to resist. Darcy didn’t harbor any illusions that Sabrina could ever be interested in someone like her—not to mention when she learned that Darcy used to be a cop. Sabrina was classy, to put it mildly.

  “I want to hire you. Privately. I trust Karimi, but I need someone to do some research. Someone I can trust with potentially sensitive information.” Sabrina rapped her fingernails against the glass in her hands. “You have handled yourself very well over the last week. You seem trustworthy, and Karimi has actually worked with you and your…um…sister?”

  “My cousin. Meghan.”

  “Yes, of course.” Sabrina nodded. “Karimi claims that after your cousin employed you, her business took off exponentially.”

  “Could be a coincidence.” Not wanting to take anything away from her cousin’s hard work, Darcy shrugged. “We do work well together as we go back since birth—my birth, that is.” She smiled briefly. “Launching new investigations takes much less time when you don’t have to second-guess each other. You know, cutting to the chase and no bullshit and so on.”

  “Sounds good. I need your skills, but I’m not sure how you would be able to manage with all your duties at the business center and your ongoing matters at the private-investigator firm. Can you handle a potentially time-consuming case?”

  “Make it official with Meghan, and I’ll be able to shift some of the routine stuff I do over to one of our temps. I can always cut back on my security duties. I pretty much decide my own hours.” Darcy didn’t want to sound as if she was bragging, but her career had veered off and done a complete nosedive three years ago, and now she was trying hard to find her footing and apply her skills and talent to her current job, even if she felt overqualified for the security part of it.

  “Very well. I will, however, insist on total confidentiality. I do not want to be a point of discussion at morning meetings with any of your ‘temps.’” Sabrina’s stark, decisive gaze caught Darcy’s and kept it. “That requirement is nonnegotiable.”

  “We wouldn’t do that. The temps only carry out legwork we don’t have time for. They’re never informed more than absolutely necessary. If you don’t want us to utilize them in your case—we won’t.” Darcy calmly met Sabrina’s eyes, trying to exude confidence and professionalism.

  “Very well. You’re hired, in a manner of speaking.” Sabrina shrugged, and even that gesture was elegant and feminine to such a degree that Darcy had to shift in her chair and place her left leg over her right. “I will contact your cousin tomorrow.”

  “Do you have time tonight to tell me why you need our firm?”

  “Of course. The short version, at least.” Sabrina tilted her head, and the strawberry-blond locks tumbled onto her right shoulder. The warm glow from the flames in the fireplace illuminated her skin, and her scent, something sweet, yet dark and musky—quite the juxtaposition to her light hair and complexion—surrounded Darcy and exposed her to more of Sabrina’s allure.

  “I don’t need to be anywhere else for a while.” Darcy almost confessed she had all the time in the world but caught herself as those words suggested something of a desperate tone.

  “Excellent.” Sabrina pulled her legs up and sat almost sideways in the large armchair. Much like a young girl, she tugged her sleeves down over her hands as if to warm them. “I’ve always been reluctant to share anything of my past or ask for assistance. This is still true, but I’ve concluded that I can’t handle this problem alone.”

  Darcy pulled out a small notepad and pen, hoping Sabrina wouldn’t see this as yet another “trying to work like a cop” move. Ivers’s scathing words still echoed in Darcy’s mind and, annoyed at her own sensitivity in that particular case, she said, “Go on. You have my undivided attention, Sabrina.”

  Sabrina drew a deep breath. “When I was twenty years old, something happened to me in college, and I can’t shake the feeling that it’s linked to what’s happened today.”

  Chapter Six

  After telling Darcy about the anonymous emails and the note left in her office after the break-in, Sabrina took stock of the woman next to her by the fireplace. Darcy had a triangular face, almost heart-shaped, emphasized by her impossibly big, multicolored eyes. She spotted blue, amber, and green in a kaleidoscope-like pattern in her irises. Her shiny hair was a chocolate shade of brown with golden highlights. Either a skillful colorist had been at work, which Sabrina doubted, or it was a natural occurrence. Her own strawberry-blond hair had originally been a bit more toward a coppery tone, and Sabrina had asked her stylist to lighten it ever since she graduated from college.

  Darcy was not a tall woman, but she was wiry and strong. Sabrina could tell from the way the woman moved that she was fit and toned. She walked almost like a dancer, with an easy spring in her step. Proportionately built for her height, she was curvy enough to turn heads, but Sabrina had a feeling that nobody cat-whistled at this woman and got away with it.

  “Sabrina? You all right?” Darcy leaned forward and lightly patted Sabrina’s hand, making her flinch.

  “Yes. Yes, of course.” Sabrina drank some more of her whisky and forced herself to focus.

  “May I see copies of those emails?”

  “They’re quite short. More like tweets. I’ll forward them to you.”

  “Good. Now, can you just give me the gist of what the emails alluded to?” Darcy made some notes as she spoke and then raised her calm gaze to Sabrina’s. She wasn’t sure how, but the way Darcy looked at her, not probing and with no sign of being judgmental, made Sabrina’s heart rate slow down. Darcy seemed so calm, so unassuming in this moment that Sabrina’s words dislodged from her vocal chords easier than she ever thought possible.

  Sabrina fetched her cell phone and pulled up her account. Finding the emails, she handed Darcy the phone. “As you can see, they started in late June. The first email was very short.”

  “I see it here. We’re keeping track of you.�
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  Darcy looked back from the phone, raising her eyebrows. “Any ideas what that might refer to?”

  “No.”

  Darcy was quiet for a moment, then placed her hands on top of Sabrina’s. “I know you’re frightened. Having a stalker is scary. I’m here to help, and you just hired me to do so. You may not fully trust me yet—at least not like you trust that whiskey to calm you—but I’m good at what I do, and I’m on your side.”

  Sabrina swallowed hard and placed the glass back on its coaster. “I do find you trustworthy. It’s just that I lead a very quiet life—completely by choice. I don’t party. Nor do I socialize in my parents’ circles. Clients and subordinates, of course, but only at work or when I need to entertain. I don’t do much of that unless I’m forced to in order to land a coveted account.” Sabrina shrugged and gripped an armrest with her left hand. “I can’t understand what’s happening.”

  “Do any parts of the emails remind you of how anyone has spoken to you—choice of words, that sort of thing?”

  Sabrina closed her eyes briefly. “No, I don’t think so. They seem to center around the idea that I’ve done something or am about to. Something the sender doesn’t like.” She thought about the emails and couldn’t stop a shiver from erupting along her spine. “One said something like, ‘Don’t get any creative ideas. We can always find you.’”

  “That sounds like it might have something to do with your job, but you couldn’t recall any especially disgruntled customers earlier.” Darcy bit into the back of her pen as she seemed to talk to herself.

  “Not that I know of. My subordinates are meticulous and well liked, and the accounts I handle myself are pretty straightforward, even if some of them entail a lot of money. I mainly handle private money, although a few companies seem to trust a smaller, local accounting firm more than a big, impersonal one. We handle Karimi Security’s accounting, for instance.”