If so, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that I was leaving.

Chapter Eleven.

"Ms. Goldstein's office."

"Hey, Mellissa," Rawn's voice said warmly in my ear. "Is Aurora around?"

"She's in a meeting, Mr. Jackman. Can I take a message?"

He must have heard the coldness in my voice because he cleared his throat in a nervous way I had never heard from him before.

"Listen, Mellissa, I know this whole thing with Conrad looks bad. But we have to check out every little piece of evidence-to make sure we're doing everything we can to find the people who took Madison, the people who thought they were kidnapping you."

"I'm aware of that."

"Chances are good that this thing with Conrad won't go anywhere."

"And there's a chance that he'll be charged with kidnapping. Is that something you can live with?"

There was a long silence on the other end of the line.

"I guess he told you about Dallas."

He hadn't. Another thing I didn't know about Conrad. But I wasn't about to let Rawn know that.

"Some."

"Well," Rawn drawled, doing a good impression of Conrad, "I can imagine what he told you. But the truth is, if he hadn't given me the opportunity to help him with his gambling addiction, I might not have faced some truths about my own character and I wouldn't be in the position I'm in now. He saved my life as much as I saved his."

"And yet, you're the reason he's facing jail time."

"The truth will come out, Mellissa. It always does."

"I hope so," I said quietly.

My mind spun with what he'd said, even hours after I hung up. Conrad had a gambling problem. I should have known that from some of the things he'd said the night we played poker. And his relationship with my uncle...why else would he visit a bookie?

It made me wonder what else I didn't know about Conrad.

Madison The day before Thanksgiving and the house already smelled like nutmeg and fresh bread and turkey. My mother always spent the week up until the holiday baking, and then she made a meal with a needy family in the area who would have gone without otherwise. It was nice, having something to keep my hands and mind busy.

"We're out of sage," my mother suddenly groaned, as she searched through her extensive collection of herbs and spices.

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure."

"I can go get some," Annie volunteered from where she was sitting at the table, peeling carrots for my mother's famous carrot cake.

"No, I'll go."

I hadn't been out of the house alone since the day of the kidnapping. It would do me good to give it a try. Besides, what could happen? I was over a hundred and fifty miles from Portland.

I grabbed my mom's car keys and headed out, telling her, "Text me if you think of anything else you need."

I wasn't even out of the driveway before my notifications lit up with two text messages. Both from my mother.

The store was crowded, and it took me quite a while to find everything she asked for. Who knew that condensed milk was in the baking aisle and not the dairy case? By the time I found everything, my mom had texted me nearly a dozen times.

I was walking to the car, three plastic bags dangling from my fingertips, when a man suddenly brushed up against me.

"Madison?"

My heart stopped beating in my chest, stuttering to a standstill as I began to scream in my mind. On the outside, I was just a girl, standing in the middle of a crowded grocery store parking lot. But inside, I was dead. I was the girl who was so frightened she died with half a Thanksgiving feast dangling from her fingers.

Mellissa I was exhausted when I headed out at the end of the day, and I still had to make a trip to the grocery store to try to find a precooked Thanksgiving dinner for Memaw and I to share tomorrow, and then the scheduled tours with the three assisted living centers. All this and what I really wanted was to crawl under the covers on my bed and hide from the world for the next five days.

"Night, Charlie," I called to the security guard, as I headed for the front doors.

"Happy holiday, Mellissa."

"Everyone seems to know who you are," a warm voice said close to my ear.

I turned on the marble steps and Conrad was there. Just there.

"What are you doing here?"

"We had an appointment to check out some assisted living centers."

"I didn't think..." I stumbled back a step or two. "I didn't think you still wanted to do that."

"Why? Because we both said a few unfortunate things last night?"

"Is that what it was? I was thinking it was more like a tiff."

"Tiff?" He smiled, laughter dancing in his eyes. "I haven't heard that term in ages."

"Ah, of course."

I turned and continued down the steps, trying to remember if the next city bus came in ten or fifteen minutes. It only took Conrad a second to realize I had no intention of climbing into his fancy sports car with him. He chased after me, catching my arm just as I reached the last step.

"We have one tiff and that's it?"

"It's for the best, don't you think?"

"No." He forced me to turn, his hand immediately sinking into the hair at the back of my head. "No, I don't think anything that keeps us apart is for the best."

"I'm leaving in five days," I said, even as I relaxed and let him pull me into his arms. "We won't ever be able to see each other again."

"Then, we better spend those five days enjoying each other as completely as we can."

And then he kissed me in a way that made it impossible for me to deny him.

"We have a pool that is only three feet deep. The seniors find it easier on their joints to take their aerobic classes there. There are four instructors on staff here and two personal trainers who come once a week to work with those who want it. Exercise, as I'm sure you know, is good for older patients."

I nodded, trying to pretend I was following everything the woman-the administrator of Summer Oaks Assisted Living-was saying. But I was a little busy watching the group of seniors working on a skit they planned to put on for the monthly talent show. I could so easily imagine my grandmother in the middle of all that creativity, bossing everyone around and insisting that things be done her way.

It sure beat her current situation, lying in bed watching her shows all day long.

"What about medical staff?" Conrad asked.

"We have three doctors on call twenty-four-seven. And we have a nurse practitioner, seven nurses, and a contract with the local hospital that allows us to transfer a patient at any time for any reason."

"Her medications will be administered to her?"

"We have two programs. She can either have a nurse bring her medications each day, or, if she prefers a little more independence, she can keep the medications in her room and a nurse will simply stop by and make sure she took them on time."

"If she had a medical setback? How will that be handled?"

The woman stopped walking, clearly understanding that these questions were important to us.

"A lot of our patients have extensive medical needs. It is our priority to make sure each is taken care of in the manner they might require. When your grandmother is brought in, we will have you fill out paperwork that will outline exactly what should be done under specific conditions. That way, should she have a medical setback and if you are not available, we can still follow your-and her-wishes."

I wrapped my arms around myself, trying not to think too much about my grandmother living under this roof without me there to guide her care. I was slowly accepting the fact that this type of facility might be ideal for her current condition. But the idea that she would be alone once she checked in-that was one stipulation I could not wrap my mind around.

Conrad slid his hand down my back before wrapping his arm around my waist.

"I think we need a moment."

The woman smiled. "Of course. Take as long as you wish."

As soon as she was gone, I turned and buried my face against Conrad's chest. "Can't we just disappear?" I asked. "Can't we just get on a plane, fly into the sunset, and not have to deal with this stuff?"

"Just say the word."

I sighed. "I wish it were that easy."

He ran his hands up and down my back, rubbing lightly with his fingertips. "I think this is the best of the three we saw. Your grandmother will be very well taken care of here."

"I know."

"Do you want to sign the papers, or do you want to wait until Friday?"

"I don't want to sign them at all." I sighed again, then I slowly pulled back. "But I guess it has to be now."

Conrad held my hand, as we walked back to the main offices and stood behind my chair while the administrator explained everything and showed me where to sign.

"We will have her room ready on Monday. You can bring her by any time between nine and one," she said when we were finished.

I nodded. That worked perfectly with Richard's plan to pick me up at four for my relocation.

It was all set in motion. All I could do now was go along for the ride.

Madison "Madison? It's me, Billy Gardner?"

The voice was familiar. And suddenly I remembered little Billy Gardner, the boy who lived two blocks over that I once babysat for every Thursday night so his mother could go to her book club.

My heart slowly began to beat again.

"Hey, Billy," I said, my voice a little weaker than I would have liked.

"I didn't realize you were back in town."

"Just for the holiday." I gestured with the bags I still, somehow, held. "Mom ran out of a few necessities, so I came to get them for her."

"Cool." He rolled back on his heels. "My mom says you work for Cepheus Scientific now."

I nodded. "I do."

"That 3D telescope they have is something. I think I'm going to get one for my cousin for Christmas."

"It is very cool. You should do that."

He smiled as he jammed his glasses into place. As he did, a flash of memory burned through my mind.

Shadows. A man's whispered voice. And that...that gesture.

The mystery man wore glasses.

Mellissa "Did you call the nurse?"