"No, but--" she huffed into the phone "--you don't think straight when it comes to Zoe."
"I'm willing to fulfill the promise I made you in the car yesterday. I'm asking if you'll do the same."
"I would, but...if we let Zoe know your father's missing, it could make her take a closer look at us. And no matter what you think it's not stupid to worry about that," she added, still peeved.
He grappled for patience. "Except that they're already taking a look at us, Tiff. We need to distract them with a likely scenario, deflect the attention. If Zoe hears about my dad from someone else she'll wonder why we never mentioned it and won't believe a damn thing we say ever again.
This is the only way to retain some credibility."
She groaned. "Really?"
The resignation in her response made him feel as if the world was no longer off kilter. "Really. Then life can return to what we've always enjoyed.
They'll never find Sam or Paddy, so it's not as if they'll be able to prove we're lying. And the damage to Paddy's reputation can't hurt him at this point."
"It'll hurt Sheryl," she said in a sulky voice.
He stifled the impulse to complain about her sudden loyalty to Sheryl.
It drove him crazy, but they didn't have time for an argument. Tiffany had to call Zoe before Jonathan checked in with her. If they hurried, they could whisk her away, right out from under his nose. Otherwise, he'd insist on going to the cabin with her, and Colin preferred to avoid a direct confrontation.
"It can't hurt Sheryl," he insisted. "She won't believe it."
"She'll hate us."
"We don't need her!"
"What happens when Zoe tells the police what I said about Paddy?"
she asked.
"It'll send them on a wild-goose chase."
"Except that wild-goose chase might lead right back to us! It'll lead to the cabin, at any rate, because that's the most obvious place to look."
"Tiff, Sam will be long gone by then. As soon as Misty goes to lunch, I'll slip out and head up that way. Tell Zoe that Paddy owns a cabin and you think that might be where he's keeping Sam. Then take her up there. I'll be waiting."
"I can't leave work in the middle of the day."
"Sure you can. Tell Hargraves that you're sick."
"What about you? You won't be able to get back before Misty returns from lunch."
"I'll tape a Do Not Disturb sign on the door. She won't even know I left."
"What if she comes in to deliver a message? The moment she sees you're gone she'll run straight to Mr. Scovil."
"I've made it clear to her that she's not to come in when I don't want her to. I'll say I'm going to be working all afternoon and don't want to be interrupted for any reason." When he didn't have the work done, he'd be in trouble. But that would happen later. After the meeting he'd just had with his boss, he doubted he could save his job, anyway. Although Scovil had been one of his biggest supporters, he'd become disenchanted over the past few months. Drawing out the end, forcing the firm to fire him instead of walking out, was the most Colin could hope for.
"They could still catch you...somehow."
"I'm not worried about my job. I'm sick of working here. I can find something better."
"I thought you loved it!"
He loved the image it gave him, but he could maintain that without them, if necessary. "This firm isn't my style. It's too restrictive. Maybe I'll open my own practice."
This met with stunned silence. Then she said, "You're changing, Colin."
"No, I'm not."
"It's the drugs, isn't it?"
"It's not the drugs. I haven't taken anything today. Will you calm down?"
"How will we get by without your paycheck?"
"We'll manage."
"But you just bought me this diamond ring!"
"Didn't you hear what I said? I'm sick of having my every move monitored. I hate it here. Do you care more about that than me?"
No response.
Pulling a hand mirror out of his desk drawer, he checked his hair and smoothed it down. He'd let Scovil and Stivers upset him, but he shouldn't have. He could get away with anything. His mother had always hated that about him. "Tiffany?"
"What?"
"Will you help me or not?"
"I don't think we should kidnap Zoe."
"Why not?"
"It's too...bold."
"We can pin it on Paddy. It'll be easy. You wait and see."
"Colin, please...I want to solve our problems, not make them worse."
He stopped the skier and sprang to his feet. "We had a deal, Tiffany.
After this, it'll all be over, like we agreed. But you have to trust me. I can't get us out of this if you won't work with me."
"We can't go to the cabin. Zoe will call the police and they'll head right up there."
"Doesn't matter. Giving them one wrong turn will get them lost for at least an hour. You know what it's like. By the time they reach the cabin, I'll have Sam and Zoe and be outta there."
"Where will you go?"
"I'll talk Tommy into getting me his cousin's rental house in Chester."
"And where will I be?" she asked.
There was that jealousy again. He was getting tired of it. How many times did he have to reassure her? "You'll be waiting to relate the terrible tale of how you arrived at the cabin to find my father with Sam. You'll say he pulled a rifle on you, forced Sam and Zoe into a car you didn't recognize and took off."
"No! We can't get away with it!"
"Sure we can. We'll muss your hair, scratch you up a bit, make it look like you fought to save them. You'll be a hero. And I'll have what I want, too."
"What you want," she said.
He ignored the bitterness he heard in that comment. "It's perfect. So, will you call her?"
"Now?"
"Of course."
"Tell me again why I'm doing this?" she said.
He smiled. "Because you love me."
Chapter 33
Jonathan stood inside Colin Bell's living room and turned off his cell phone so it couldn't surprise him when he least expected it. He knew Colin and Tiffany were at work--he'd spoken to each of them--but there was no guarantee they wouldn't come home for lunch. Or that Colin wouldn't get himself fired from Scovil, Potter & Clay and be asked to pack up his desk and leave.
Slipping the tool he'd used to break in via the back door into his pocket, he donned a pair of latex gloves and looked around. He was taking a risk by being here. If he got caught, he could be charged with breaking and entering. But he had little hope that going the legal route would work at this particular moment. There wasn't enough evidence to justify a search warrant.