Covert Reprisal: Warfield's Landing, #4

By Adeara Allyne and Cadence Bonder

Those misogynistic a**holes killed her client, but Janelle got away.

Now? She has a plan.

To. Take. Them. Down.

Waiting tables and serving pie at the Riverside Cafe, she sets up the end game.

She's ba'ack...

.  

A good read for fans of Melinda Leigh and Kendra Elliot.

This is a complete novel. In the series, books can be read out of order with only minor spoilers.

Also by Adeara 

The Det. Lonnie Mae Moberly Mysteries
In quiet Maybe, bad things happen...

Close Deception - Book 1
Obscure Deception - Book 2
Cryptic Deception - Book 3
Grim Deception - Book 4
Maybe Alone - Book 5
Maybe Forgotten - Book6
Maybe Betrayal - Book 7

A Slice of Life in Maybe, Kentucky

Driving Miss Reba

The Warfield's Landing Series

Silent Caller - Book 1
Hidden Peril - Book 2
Double Secrets - Book 3
Covert Reprisal - Book 4

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Adeara Allyne
• Release date: Aug 5, 2016
• ISBN: 9781536594553

Book preview

1

Lexington, Kentucky

She'd been antsy all evening... On edge, but not sure why. Now, Roberta Clay sat behind the wheel of her car, watching the tiny screen in her hand... and saw her life end.

She was viewing video footage on a receiver the size of a cigarette pack. The footage came from a hidden video cam she'd placed in her office. The tiny camera picked up three men entering the room. According to the time stamp, this had been recorded only an hour ago.

The motion activated camera had been triggered when her office lights came on. The men were talking as they entered, so she heard the voices first.

Ever practical Josh, her law partner and former law school lover, said, If we can do this all in one trip to the cabin, it'll be better. We need to get to Bobbie tonight... I don't want to dig two holes.

Josh led the way, but it was clear Franklin Rivers, her client's estranged husband, was in charge. Deputy Douglas Johnston, known by the three old friends as Deputy Doggie, entered last.

The camera caught all three men together. Each was handsome, and as a group... well, they were pretty amazing... unless you looked into their eyes.

She'd always thought of Josh as Handsome-Cold, Franklin as Handsome-Cruel and Doug as Handsome-Mean. Now it seemed as if she had been too kind when it came to her law partner... maybe he was more like his friends than she had wanted to admit.

Josh headed to her desk and opened drawers, looking for something.

Hold on, guys. There was command in Doug's voice, despite the fact he was the most easy going of the three longtime friends. Well, well, well. What have we here? A nanny cam? Doug lifted the toy bear off the bookcase shelf and examined it closely.

I need to find the receiver. Move over, Josh. I'll bet it's in her desk.

Roberta watched on the monitor as he searched efficiently. From the sounds, the hunt was heavy handed. Obviously, no one was concerned about hiding their search.

Not good.

Ha! Got it. So much for being smart... I guess, once a blonde, always a blonde. Doug's smug voice reflected his long held animosity.

Camera? Franklin's voice boomed. The bitch had a camera?

Doug was quick to mollify Franklin. It's okay. I've got the camera and receiver. We're fine.

She could see all three men from the second camera... the one they hadn't looked for.

Make that one point for the blonde.

Ever competitive, she smiled slightly, eyes glued to the tiny screen.

The dynamics among the three told her a lot. She was aware that information gleaned here could save her life. Franklin was in charge, Josh was upset but steady and Doug... well, Doug was amped up...

We need her dead and it needs to happen tonight. You took care of Heather, now you need to finish the job... it's what I pay you for.

Yeah, yeah. Doug was confident. And, I'd like to point out how clean it was... one zap with the taser and two quick bullets to the head. No fuss, no muss.

Josh laughed and added, Yeah. No muss, but no fun either.

She felt the hair stand up on the back of her neck.

Josh spoke again. I can't believe Bobbie put a camera in her office. Are you sure we're okay?

We're fine. We'll finish the search here and I'll go over to her condo and take care of things. Oh, and I have dibs on her car... As he spoke, he swung the stuffed bear back up and fumbled with the back of the toy.

He grinned into the nanny cam. Bye bye, Bobbie. He reached into the bear and pulled the battery.

We're fine. Doug held up the battery and displayed it for the other two men. Bobbie's smart, but not that smart. His tone was spiteful.

Let's get back on track here. Josh broke into Doug's posturing. Roberta caught him give a quick glance at Franklin. He held up a slip of paper and Roberta knew what was coming next...

I have the combination to her safe. If Heather gave her anything, it'll be there.

Roberta took a deep breath. She looked around the dark side street where she was parked. It was a cool spring night. Most of the houses in the cul-de-sac were dark and all was quiet, a direct contrast to her chaotic thoughts.

They'd killed Heather... like squishing a bug on the sidewalk. And, like the women they'd supposedly raped and killed since college. Now Heather's wild story had gained credibility, but at a high cost.

Roberta felt her quick anger rising and tried to tamp it down. She hadn't liked Heather, mainly because of the poor woman's husband, Franklin Rivers, to be truthful. She also hadn't been sure that she believed Heather's story and, most important, she hadn't seen the pictures or video Heather claimed to have.

She and Heather had argued earlier in the day.

They'd met at a fast food restaurant. Roberta had made arrangements for Heather to disappear. Heather was to be part of a domestic abuse underground railroad... with an anonymous car provided for transportation, directions to a safe place, and even a job waiting at the other end... but this all took time. Things wouldn't be in place for almost a week.

Considering Heather's initial contact had been just two weeks ago, Roberta thought things were moving pretty fast, although, grudgingly, she had understood Heather's impatience.

Now Heather was dead... without giving Roberta the pictures that proved Heather's husband and his best friends -- Josh Harvey and Doug Johnston -- were serial killers.

To complicate everything further, Josh Harvey was Roberta's law partner.

Sometimes, life just sucked swamp water.

Roberta sat, trying to fight through her initial anger. She calculated that she'd missed Doug at her condo by minutes. Thank goodness for midnight errand runs.

She'd been nervous when she couldn't reach Heather on the phone and keeping busy had made sense at the time.

With that thought, her hot anger was washed away with the icy cold of extreme fear.

The phone!

She let the small monitor drop to her lap and grabbed her handbag. Working to stay calm, she searched for her phone. She checked the phone pocket in her large designer purse, but it was empty. A brief scrabble in the main compartment was a waste. She took a deep breath and dumped the purse on the passenger seat.

She ran her hand through the jumble of pens, notebooks -- she was old school -- her make-up case, sunglasses, the list went on, but still no phone.

She picked up the purse again and started searching the many outside pockets. Then she found it, in the very last pocket. Of course.

Tossing the purse aside, leaving the contents scattered, she turned the phone off, then flipped it over and removed the battery. She knew that it would ping the nearest tower as she turned it off, but she planned to be far away before Deputy Doggie accessed her phone records and got this location.

Now that Heather was dead, she was next... unless she took action.

She folded her arms across the steering wheel, resting her forehead on them, and formulated a plan. It was only one step, but it was an important one. She needed to call Merry.

Moving quietly, she scooped the contents back into her purse and zipped it closed. She placed it on the floor in front of the passenger seat, easy to reach but out of sight.

Climbing out, she grabbed a big tote bag from the cargo area of the vintage Chevy Suburban. Back in her seat, she opened an inside pocket in the tote and pulled out a prepaid cell phone that had been intended for her client.

She manually dialed a familiar number, and took note that her hand was shaking.

It was late, but she was confident Merry would be able to help her.

She shook her head. To think she'd taken all of these precautions just to humor Merry, and because she'd figured they'd be good fiction fodder when she started her book.

Now it looked like they were going to save her life...

She hoped.

The call rang through. After a short wait, Merry answered. Roberta could hear male voices rumbling in the background.

Merry McDermot?

Merry? It's me, Roberta.

What happened? Merry wasted no time with niceties. She'd been on high alert from the moment Roberta had contacted her about Heather's circumstances.

Heather's dead. Roberta cleared her throat.

Merry gave a soft gasp, then she was asking questions.

Roberta wiped a hand across her eyes and started answering them. They found the nanny cam but not the other camera. I didn't see anything -- about Heather, I mean -- they were just talking about her and how Doug killed her.

She took a breath and started over, aware that her story was disjointed. I tried all evening to contact her, but she didn't answer her phone. Finally I ran out on an errand and stopped by the office to check on things. Sheer dumb luck, I parked around the corner and I didn't go in to our offices. I went to the floor below and grabbed the surveillance DVR from the restroom where I'd hidden it.

Not dumb luck. Merry's voice was firm. You were following your instincts. Remember Gavin de Becker's The Gift of Fear? That's how it works... So, they found the nanny cam but not the other one?

In spite of her fear, Roberta laughed. It worked just like you said it would. They found the obvious nanny cam and stopped looking.

Merry chuckled, then came back to focus on the problem. So you know they're looking for you?

Oh, yeah... it was pretty clear. Josh only wanted to dig one hole.

There was a brief pause, and Merry said, Oh, honey. I'm sorry.... But okay, I'd agree that was pretty clear.

The silence was heavy. Roberta realized that she was gripping the small phone tightly and consciously relaxed her hold. She angrily wiped another tear with the heel of her hand. No time to cry... not if she wanted to survive.

You can't go home. It was a statement, not a question. Had you made arrangements for Heather to get out?

Yes, that was why I was calling her.

Alright... so, we need a plan. Merry's voice was calm and soothing.

Merry would figure it out.

Roberta repeated it like a mantra...

Merry would figure it out.

When was Heather due to leave and where was the car going to be waiting?

I thought we had plenty of time, so the car won't be available until Thursday. It'll be here in Lexington.

Well, this is Saturday night. So... Sunday... Merry counted out the days and ended with, Thursday is about five days away, right. There was an amused rumble in the background and Merry laughed...

To Roberta's surprise, the little byplay on the other end of the line calmed her... Yes, it's five days.

That's good. That'll give us five days or so to come up with a REAL plan. Now, I don't know what you drive, but does it have a built-in GPS? Or do you have Onstar or anything that will mean you can be tracked?

No GPS or Onstar. Roberta was certain about that, at least. The thought drew a small smile from her and she patted Miss Daisy's dashboard affectionately.

Could Deputy Doggie have put a tracker on it?

The slight degree of confidence she'd just had was gone. Roberta's visceral reaction was like a splash of cold water down her back. I have no idea.

Alright... Merry was soothing. Where are you now?

I'm parked on a residential side street a few blocks from my office.

Do you have a good flashlight?

Yeah, I do. I was packing stuff for Heather.

Okay... if you climb around your car, will anyone see you?

No. She'd parked at the end of a cul de sac... there were