Page 38 of Child In Jeopardy

As expected, the drive took only a half hour since it was on the outskirts of San Antonio and not directly in the city. Sonya followed the GPS to the massive wrought iron gates that fronted the twenty-acre estate. Every acre and every building on the grounds had been designed to impress. That included the sprawling three-story house that sat at the end of a tree-lined private road.

The gates were already open, letting Lana know that despite her not returning her father’s call, he wasn’t going to deny them entry. Then again, it was possible he kept them open these days since this wasn’t a high-crime area.

Sonya pulled to a stop behind a shiny silver Jag that was already parked in the circular drive, and after taking a couple of deep breaths, Lana looked at Slater, and when he gave her a go-ahead nod, they got out. Like the rest of the house, the porch was massive and spanned all the way across the front of the house. Again, it was meant to impress with the nearly dozen steps leading up to it.

They went to the double doors to ring the bell. The doors opened, though, before she could do that, and she met her father’s steely, narrowed gaze head-on. Yeah, he was not happy.

Her father was dressed in one of his pricey suits, a pale gray one that was nearly the same color as the expertly placed threads of “salt” in his salt-and-pepper hair. She doubted he’d groomed himself for their visit, either. This was his norm.

“This visit wasn’t necessary,” he grumbled. “You could have told me this over the phone.”

Lana opened her mouth to argue that, but then she spotted the woman standing in the foyer behind her father. Taylor.

“What’s she doing here?” Lana asked.

“I came to warn him about Marsh,” Taylor spoke up before Leonard could answer.

Her father huffed, and while he didn’t roll his eyes, it was a close enough gesture to let Lana know he wasn’t happy about Taylor’s visit. Or maybe he was objecting to her accusations. As far as Lana knew, Marsh was still the golden boy.

“Marsh is up to something,” Taylor went on. “I just know it.”

They stepped into the foyer, and Taylor came closer, moving to her father’s side. Really close to his side. So that their arms were touching. It was a little thing, but it seemed...big. And Lana immediately wondered if something was going on with these two.

Were they having an affair?

But she rethought that. Until Marsh had ended things with Taylor only the day before, Taylor had seemed completely obsessed with the man. Still, that didn’t mean Taylor hadn’t had a relationship on the side.

Her father turned to Taylor, and again, it seemed to Lana that something passed between them. Something too intimate for this to be a visit for Taylor to gripe about Marsh.

“Taylor, I need to speak to Lana and Slater,” Leonard said, clearly not inviting Taylor to be part of that conversation. No surprise there, since it would be a chat about things his wife had claimed.

“But I haven’t finished telling you my suspicions about Marsh,” Taylor protested, sounding like a pouty brat. “You need to hear them, Leonard. You need to understand that Marsh could be a dangerous man.”

“I want to hear what you have to say,” he assured her, “but I have to talk to Lana and Slater first.”

Her father’s words didn’t match his expression. Leonard seemed to be ready to get rid of Taylor. However, he didn’t spew out one of his usual tirades that he likely would have to most people. That could be yet more proof they were having an affair.

“I’ll wait for you then,” Taylor insisted, not heading for the door but into the formal living room that was just to their right. The moment the woman flounced in, a housekeeper came in to offer her a drink.

Sighing, her father gave Taylor one last glance and then motioned for Lana and Slater to follow him. He headed in the direction of his office, and along the way, Lana saw a man in a suit who was no doubt one of Leonard’s assistants or lawyers. Maybe even a PI. She didn’t know his name and was thankful when her father didn’t invite him into the massive office with them.

“Where’s your mother?” Leonard demanded the moment they were behind closed doors.

“Someplace safe,” Lana settled for saying.

Her father cursed. “Did you convince her that she wouldn’t be safe here, right here in her own home?”

“No,” Slater and Lana said in unison. It was Lana who continued. “Mom said she was afraid and she wanted to go where she wouldn’t be at risk.”

Leonard stared at her as if she’d just told him the most unbelievable lie he’d ever heard. “What exactly did she say?” he demanded, and now he wasn’t just glaring, he’d also clenched his teeth so tight that Lana was surprised he could even speak.

Lana glanced at Slater, and while they’d already discussed what to say, she wanted to make sure he hadn’t changed his mind about being so direct. His nod indicated he hadn’t.

“Mom believes you might have had some part in Stephanie’s murder—”

“What?” her father howled before Lana got a chance to finish.

“Were you Buck’s accomplice?” Slater came out and asked.