Page 11 of Defending Love

Chapter Ten

Dani

I rushed to the attached bathroom, calling for my mother. The room was empty. With my body quaking, I made a mental inventory of what I’d seen during my earlier visit. “Her walker is gone.” I turned to Jack. “Was she in here when you came to us?”

“Yes,” he said as he rushed from the room.

Eli and I followed as Jack made his way to the nurses’ station. While we couldn’t hear his words, as his body visibly relaxed, our steps slowed.

Jack turned to us. “A nurse’s aide came and took her to physical therapy.”

Eli and I were now close to the desk. I turned to the woman in scrubs. My heart sank as I read her name tag for the second time in the same day.

Becky feigned a smile. “It’s you.”

I tried for my nicest tone. “Where is physical therapy?”

“I’m sorry, miss. Only patients are allowed to access the therapy room. You see there can be multiple patients receiving treatment at the same time. It’s for our patients’ privacy.”

Inhaling, I straightened my shoulders. “Becky, my father was murdered. My mother was also shot. At no time is she to be without a member of her security team.”

“We have rules.”

“Mr. Webb stepped away for only a moment. The three of us will go to where she is. Once we’re certain of her safety, Mr. Webb will remain outside the room.

If that isn’t in her chart, put it in there.

My mother’s life could be in danger.” I didn’t let her reply.

“I will ask you once again. Where is physical therapy?”

“Ms. Sinclair?—”

“Doctor,” I said, correcting her. “My name is Dr. Sinclair. If you don’t understand a matter of security, we will have my mother transferred to a more competent facility.”

Becky picked up a telephone from the desk and pushed a few buttons. I imagined that she was calling security to have us thrown out.

“Todd,” she said, still giving me the side-eye.

“This is Becky on two. Did Gina retrieve the patient from 215 down to you for her physical therapy evaluation?” She nodded.

“Yes, Marsha Sinclair. Thank you.” Her eyes met mine.

“Mrs. Sinclair’s security will be down in a few minutes.

I explained that they are to remain outside the treatment room.

A Mr. Webb will wait at the door.” She nodded again.

“Thank you.” As she hung up the phone receiver, she stood straighter.

“First floor, west wing. There are signs to the physical therapy department. Todd, one of our therapists, is expecting you.”

I managed to thank her as the three of us made our way toward the elevators.

Once we were inside, Eli whispered, “There’s the feisty assignment I remember.”

His comment released a bit of the tension growing between my shoulder blades. “I should have reached for the pepper spray.”

On the first floor, we made our way down a long hallway, past the entry, and past the dining area. Signs pointed to the direction of physical therapy. There was a man in scrubs waiting for us at the door.

“I’m Todd. Mr. Webb?” he asked.

“I’m Mr. Webb,” Jack said, “Mrs. Sinclair’s security.”

I stepped forward. “Todd, I’d like to see my mother.”

He reached for the door handle. “No other patients are in therapy right now. You may all come in.”

A gust of breath came from my lungs at the sight of my mother. She was sitting on a contraption, moving her arms and her legs and talking to a woman in scrubs. “Mom.”

“Dani.” Her eyes widened. “Everyone is here.”

I went closer. “Mom, you shouldn’t be transported from one place to another without Jack or another member of your detail.”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Sinclair,” Jack said. “I shouldn’t have stepped away.”

Mom leaned back, stopping her motion. “Jack, I’m fine. They said it wouldn’t be long. They’re still evaluating me.”

I leaned over and kissed her cheek. “You scared me.”

“I’m sorry, dear.”

I looked at the woman with her. “Could I speak to her for a moment?”

The therapist looked as if she were about to argue and wisely decided against it. Briefly, I wondered if Becky had called this department again after we stepped away and warned them about me.

I lowered my voice. “Mom, do you know the combination to Dad’s safe?”

She closed her eyes. “Yes, it’s 1983.”

A smile curled my lips. “The year you were married.”

“Yes.” Her brow furrowed. “What do you need from there?”

Not wanting to tell her about the missing papers, I came up with a reason. “We’re looking for his insurance policies. We couldn’t find them in the desk.”

“Oh, you wouldn’t. Your father kept his journals, the ones from his and your grandfather’s time at Sinclair Pharmaceuticals, in his desk. I would often find him sitting in there and rereading your grandfather’s notes and scribbling in the margins.”

She had my attention. “What kind of notes?”

“You could look at them. There were notes about the company and different strategies they had. There were some about the original formulas and speculations on ones Sinclair never chose to manufacture.” She shook her head. “All outdated, I’m sure.”

“Had Dad ever showed them to Damien?”

“Excuse me,” the therapist said. “We only have a few more minutes.”

The large clock on the wall read 5:15.

I took a step back. “Mom, call me if you need me. I dropped the things you wanted in your room. Eli and I are going to head back to your house and then to the villa he rented. I have some work.”

“Are you leaving tomorrow?”

“No. I’ll be here until Sunday.”

Her smile returned. “It’s good to know you’re close. After this, they’re supposed to bring me my dinner.”

“Mrs. Sinclair…”

Backing away, I watched Mom resume her therapy. I met up with Eli and Jack in the hallway. The two were talking.

“Guardian’s cameras were taken out of the house the day after the shooting,” Jack said. “Ben didn’t want them discovered by other investigators.”

That accounted for some of the people Carol saw.

Eli pressed his lips together. “According to the neighbor, there were many different people in and out shortly after the shooting. The curious thing is what else she told us. Last…” He looked at me. “Wednesday?”

I nodded.

“Last Wednesday, two days ago, a team of people in dark clothes removed boxes of papers from the house.”

Jack shook his head. “Our interior cameras are gone, but I’ve been watching the outdoor ones. I didn’t receive a notification.”

“Did you receive one this afternoon?” Eli asked. “We were there.”

Jack pulled out his phone. “No.”

Eli inhaled. “We’ll get that fixed.”

“According to Carol,” I said, “it would have happened on Wednesday morning. She remembered because she said she saw the people when she came home from pickleball.”

“Send me the link to access the doorbell and backyard cameras,” Eli said. “I’ve got an idea to access other cameras in the neighborhood. Let’s see who we’re dealing with.”

“Why would law enforcement disable or block the doorbell camera?” I asked.

Both men turned my direction. “It happens sometimes if they expect to conduct an interview. They can scramble the signal, so it isn’t recorded.”

“But no one was there.” I thought about the timeline. “It was the day before the funeral. It could be assumed that we’d all be in Indianapolis.”

They both nodded.

Eli spoke, “Law enforcement aren’t the only ones with the technology to scramble video feed.”

A cold chill peppered my flesh.

“Did your mother tell you the combination?” Eli asked.

“She did.” I turned to Jack. “Were you aware of Dad’s safe in his office?”

“Yes, ma’am. He never shared his combination. Told me that all men deserved to protect their secrets.”

I scrunched my nose. “My father said that? He had secrets to protect.”

“That’s a direct quote.”

“How about his old journals, the ones in his desk?”

“What about them?” Jack asked.

“Did you ever read them?”

He shook his head. “I know for a fact they weren’t all in his desk. There were some in his safe as well.”

My gaze met Eli’s. “Let’s go check it out.”

As we turned, Eli’s hand went into the small of my back.

The more he touched me, the greater my craving for him increased.

It wasn’t just the way he wordlessly directed me.

It was an overwhelming sense of safety I felt when he was near.

Whether it was the warmth of his hand, the scent of his cologne, or the sound of his deep voice, they all had a calming effect.

On our drive back to Mom’s house, I told Eli what Mom said about Dad’s old journals. “Why would anyone want old journals. My grandfather’s notes would need to have been written over fifty years ago.”

While he was listening and nodding, Eli was unusually quiet.

“What are you thinking about?”

He exhaled. “I want to do some research. If Guardian has me set up with the needed technology, I should be able to access not only your parents’ cameras, but also those of their neighbors.

Once I find out what time Carol plays pickleball on Wednesdays, I’ll have the timeline for when the people came to take the journals and whatever else they took. ”

“Should we ask the county sheriff’s department if they were the ones who did it?”

Eli shook his head. “If they didn’t, they’ll want to open an investigation.

I’d rather do my own investigation.” He hesitated.

“Dani, I don’t want to frighten you any more than you already are.

” His sunglass-covered gaze went to the rearview mirror.

“It was good to hear your determination when speaking to Becky.”

“Well, she’s had it in for me ever since I went through that door. I sure as hell wasn’t going to let her stop me from making sure Mom was safe.”

His lips curled in a smile.

Even though I couldn’t see his green eyes beneath the sunglasses, I somehow felt them even through the mirror. Or maybe it was wishful thinking.

“I’m concerned about what we may find,” he said.

“What secrets did my dad have?”

Eli pulled the SUV onto the driveway. “We’re about to find out.”