Heart of the Night Read Online Free PDF Page B

Paul said. “Whatever equipment they need will be suitably disguised. Once they arrive at the house, they’ll be there for the duration.” He hesitated. “I take it no one’s there now?”
    â€œYou’re the first people I’ve told. I was afraid to call anyone. Word spreads too quickly. If this gets out to the papers, Megan will be in trouble. Everything has to be kept quiet.”
    â€œIt will be,” Paul assured him, and turned to Anthony. “Agreed?”
    Anthony, who would have liked nothing more than to call a press conference there and then to announce that the attorney general’s office was taking charge of the Vandermeer kidnapping case, agreed, in spite of himself, that immediate publicity would have to wait. There would be plenty of opportunity for grandstanding when the case was solved.
    â€œAgreed,” he said.
    Paul reached for the phone. “Let me put in a call for Shanski and Craig. I want them over there ASAP.”
    Savannah stood, as did Will. He was looking bewildered again, as though he still didn’t know what he was supposed to do. “You should have someone with you,” she advised gently. “Is your sister around?”
    He shook his head. “She’s in Paris with husband number three, but even if she weren’t, she wouldn’t come. She never liked Megan.”
    Not caring to belabor that point, Savannah moved on. “Is there someone else you’d feel comfortable having over?” She thought back to the people with whom the Vandermeers were most closely associated. “How about the Brogans? Or Carter and Julie West?”
    But Will was shaking his head. Darting an uncomfortable glance at Anthony, who was fidgeting by Paul, he took several steps away. Savannah followed him toward the door, out of earshot of the other two. Still, he spoke under his breath, barely moving his mouth. His head was bowed. He remained visibly uncomfortable. “We haven’t been seeing many people lately. Things have been difficult.”
    Savannah had guessed that, based on hints Megan had dropped the last time they’d seen each other, which had been two weeks before. “Financial things?” she asked.
    He nodded and looked up to make sure neither Paul nor Anthony had heard. Then, tucking his chin low again, he said, “I’ve had some setbacks. Nothing that can’t be remedied, but this couldn’t have happened at a worse time.”
    Something that had been niggling at the back of her mind took that moment to come forward. “Answer me honestly, Will. Do you have three million?”
    He took a shaky breath, raised his head, and looked her in the eye. “No, I do not have the money, but I can get it. I’m insured for this kind of thing.” He tossed a pleading look skyward. “God, it’s ironic. Megan thought I was crazy when I told her about the policy. She laughed. She said that she wasn’t worth enough to be kidnapped. It was hard for her to believe what she was marrying into.” He gave a bitter snort. “And look what she got. Her husband isn’t worth much more than a hill of beans, and she’s been kidnapped.”
    He eyed Savannah in dead earnestness. “I don’t give a damn about the three million. I honestly don’t. I mean it when I say that if it were up to me, I’d sit home, make the payoff, and get Megan back. She didn’t ask for this. She didn’t have more than a couple of thousand dollars in the bank when she married me. It’s because of who I am and where I come from that her life’s in danger.” His voice rose in emotion. “To hell with the kidnappers. I just want Megan back.”
    For a split second, Savannah was taken out of time and place and overwhelmed by a rush of envy. She had not often envied Megan over the years, but she did now. To be married to a man who felt so fiercely about his wife was truly