“Why the hell is there a massive castle in the middle of Toronto?” Owen asked, glancing around the balcony at the grounds below. It was another gloriously beautiful day, with powder blue skies and fluffy white clouds that made a stunning contrast to the vivid green of the gardens below.
And the ultra-modern buildings all around them. He would have expected this gothic mansion in the middle of London, but not here.
Becca stared out at the fountain and the large trees. “It was built by Sir Henry Pellatt before World War I. He was the financier who brought electricity to the city.”
She said the words but there was a distance to her tone. He hated that.
He moved in, putting his hands on her shoulders. “If you’re nervous about this, we can leave right now. I promise we can figure out who sent that note to you without having to face him or her down.”
He wasn’t particularly happy about this mission of hers, but he’d seen the stubborn gleam in her eyes when she’d asked him to go with her. The fact that she’d asked him and not simply gone off on her own had made him reluctant to argue with her.
Still, he wished they were here to do nothing more than take the place in like the tourists milling all around them.
“I think this place is cool. I’ve been here all morning, and you should go down to the stables. They were the first thing Pellatt built, and during World War II, they were used to conceal Canada’s research for sonar devices that could detect U-boats,” a voice only he could hear said.
He touched his earpiece, the one he’d concealed even from Becca, and wished Robert wasn’t listening in. It was one more betrayal, but he couldn’t help it this time. If this was some kind of trap Levi Green had set, he couldn’t be here without backup. Becca hadn’t questioned the small device in his left ear, so he was fairly certain she hadn’t noticed it.
“Well, I’ve seen nothing of any interest,” a deeper voice said. Sasha was here as well. They’d decided Becca wouldn’t recognize him when he wasn’t wearing his janitorial uniform. He was walking the grounds with a camera. Sasha would be the one on the third floor when the time came.
“I have to do this.” Becca had turned and stared up at him.
It was hard having two completely separate conversations going on. Becca had zero idea he had another one going on in his ear, and she would likely be pissed as hell at him for bringing in his crew. He focused on her as Sasha and Robert argued in his ear about how interesting this place was. “You don’t. I told you I’ll handle this.”
“If this is a whistle-blower, then I need to be strong enough to face whoever it is,” she said resolutely.
They’d had this argument over breakfast. She had a theory that whoever had anonymously left the note requesting her meeting here was some kind of whistle-blower who’d discovered something nefarious going on at Huisman. There was definitely something going on, but he wasn’t at all sure they were dealing with a person of good intent. “Why not simply come into your office and tell you what they need to say? Why all the subterfuge?”
She glanced down at her watch. She’d been doing it all morning. Only ten minutes to go. He’d convinced her they shouldn’t simply stand around at the meet-up spot.
“Because whoever this is, he or she is afraid,” Becca replied. “It’s the only explanation.”
He could come up with another couple of explanations, none of them good. “They posed it as a riddle. A person who was scared wouldn’t want to confuse you.”
She waved off the argument. “It’s a little dramatic, but it was easy enough to figure out. A million dollars is missing, Owen. What if someone from one of the other teams is siphoning money off my accounts and hoping I wouldn’t notice? I do have one of the biggest budgets at Huisman, and I’m not known for being that great about keeping up with spending.”
“Because you’re a brilliant brat and people throw money at you all the time.” He’d definitely learned that about her. She was one of the single most sought after researchers in the world. He’d seen all the events she turned down, the numerous speaking engagements and offers to host her at various universities and hospitals around the world.
“The money isn’t important.”
“You can say that because you’ve always had it,” he replied, his stomach clenching at the sensation of being hungry. It wasn’t so much a visual memory that stroked across his brain but rather a feeling of pure guilt that came from knowing his mum was hungry while he and his sister were eating. He could feel himself pushing a plate toward her, trying to get her to take his portion because he would get food at school.
“Are you okay?” Her hands were suddenly on either side of his cheek. “You went pale.”
Something was definitely happening in his brain. The sensations came more and more often, that feeling of déjà vu that had started to make up his memory. Or rather replace it. He couldn’t trust it.
“I’m fine,” he replied. “And we’re going to have to work to help you pay closer attention to detail so this can’t ever happen to you again. Phoebe told me she’ll have something for us by the end of next week. She thinks she can figure out where the money went. She might not be able to give us a definitive who, but she’ll point us to where we should look.” Another lie. He was piling them on. He’d lied to her about work just this morning, saying it was his day off. He didn’t bother to tell her she was his work. “And that’s an excellent reason we don’t need to be here.”
A stubborn look hit her face, and he knew he wasn’t going to win this. “I want to look this person in the face and let them know I’m here to help. I’m not afraid. If someone thinks they can get away with this by stealing from my funds, I have to handle it. I’m already going to have to deal with Paul, and that’s not going to be a fun conversation.”
Yes, he was interested in Paul Huisman. Huisman had met with Levi Green. Green had disappeared after that first day, but that didn’t mean he was gone. Showing up in front of the Huisman building felt like an announcement of intent to him. The question was what was his intent. The fact that they hadn’t managed to find Green again meant the game was definitely afoot.
He really hated Levi Green.
“This would be an excellent time to feel out her relationship with Huisman,” Robert pointed out, his voice coming through loud and clear over the earpiece.
It was a reminder that he hadn’t done that before now. He should have pressed her for information over the last couple of days, but he’d been too busy making her scream out his name to gather useful intel. He slid his hand into hers as they started to walk back into the majestic house. “Do you think he could have anything at all to do with this?”
“Why would he?” Her arm rubbed against his as she walked close to him. “He’s rich all on his own. The Huisman family is incredibly wealthy. He lives in this massive house, and here in the city that means something.”
“For some people there is never enough money,” Sasha said. “By the way, I’m in position. You’ve got five minutes to the meet. I’m in a good place. She can’t see me, but I should be able to hear, and that means you should as well.”
It was good to know they were ready. He wasn’t. He wasn’t at all ready to step back and let her walk into this without him right at her side. “Does he like you?”
“I wouldn’t say like,” she admitted. “I think he respects me. At least my research. He’s always picking at me about how I run the team. He thinks I’m sloppy about admin duties, but then we all know he’s right.”
It wouldn’t matter if she could do what she said she would, but it was something a man like Huisman might use if he wanted to get rid of her. “Would you consider yourself rivals?”
“We don’t work on the same things.” She followed him as they rounded the corner and found the stairs that led up to the third floor.