"Your house!I can't! He's going to call--"
"We'll be here for the call. But I called yesterday to have a security system installed. My place will be safer."
"I don't know. The boys..."
"The boys will love it. It's huge, and it has a pool."
"But..."
"I'm right, Bryn. You know I am. Please don't argue with me."
Bryn fell silent. Lee began to talk again.' 'I think we should do something else. That Dirk Hammarfield--the politician I find so sleazy--asked the group to a political dinner this Saturday night. I think he wants us to play, and I think we're going to do it. You and Barbara will come, and maybe, just maybe, we'll find something out."
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"No! It could be dangerous when Adam is still gone. Lee, you're crazy!"
"No, I'm not, damn it, Bryn. Look, we're not going to fool around with the pictures until Adam is back.
We're doing everything that we're supposed to. But eventually we will need to know what's going on.
Think, Bryn! Do you want to go through your life like this, constantly worried that this guy could strike again? And if Hammarfield is the culprit, do you want a kidnapper in public office? Besides, it will be something to keep you occupied and sane on Saturday night."
Bryn was still looking for excuses.' 'What about Brian and Keith? I can't leave them, and if you want Barbara andI both to go..."
"They'll be at my house and I can get my housekeeper to come in and stay. Marie is a doll; they'll love her. And I've known her for years; she's responsible, gentle and totally reliable."
Again Bryn fell silent. Why not? It would probably make sense to go to the dinner. But could she carry it off? Could she see Hammarfield and act as if everything was normal? No, more than that! Lee wanted her to keep her eyes and ears open, to seek out evidence. Could she do it?
Yes...she could. She was learning that she could do what she had to do. She was managing to get through these days....
Bryn gazed covertly at Lee. At his profile, then at the hand that wound around his cup. She thought suddenly about his anger when she had found his song, but then she realized that she didn't want to think.
He had helped her so much. He had been there to hold her and give her strength and security, never pressuring her.
She needed him.Wanted him very badly...tonight.
She set her teacup down and his eyes met hers. "I'm--I'm going up to bed," she told him, then hesitated just slightly. "Are you coming?"
He stared into her eyes for a long time,then nodded slowly. He stood and put an arm around her.
Together they walked up the stairs.
And that night Bryn made love to him with a fierce and desperate passion.
So this is a political dinner, Bryn thought, looking around as she sat beside Barbara at their assigned table in the grand ballroom of theMountain Viewhotel. The chandeliers gleamed like diamonds rather than cut glass, and the footsteps of the uniformed waiters were deadened by theplushness of the maroon carpet. The tableware glimmered and gleamed; women dressed to the nines in jewels and furs clung to the arms of men decked out handsomely in tuxedos.
It could have been interesting to be here.Intriguing. If only she weren't so overcome by nerves. If only Adam were at Lee's house with his brothers...
But this was it, she told herself. Tomorrow, tomorrow, she would have Adam back. After all the waiting, the end at last seemed close. That she had only one more night to endure was a promise of happiness, and despite her nerves she felt a rush of adrenaline something like excitement. Occasionally that excitement dropped and she was beset by nerves again. Something was going to happen--soon. She would find something out tonight... and if she didn't, she had only to awaken in the morning and events would be set in motion for her to get her nephew back....
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She stared around again, suddenly very tense. Was Dirk Hammarfield--the ever-smiling politician--a kidnapper? She had looked through the prints today, but at five by seven they were too small to show much in the background. Once Adam was back she would use the negatives to enlarge the backgrounds until...
Her mind began to move in circles...Hammarfield...the Sweet Dreams motel...pictures...politics...Adam!
Barbara jabbed her with a toe beneath the table. "Stop staring, Bryn!" she commanded. "We'll look suspicious."
Bryn looked at her friend, and new thoughts filled her mind. That afternoon she and Lee had returned from his house to her town house so that she could choose something dressy for the night. When Bryn and Lee had left on Friday, Andrew had suggested that he stay there--to keep an eye on things. Bryn hadn't thought much about it. Not until she had gone there today and discovered Barbara's things--as well as Andrew's-- all over her bedroom.