Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
On Monday morning, Danica’s driver stopped the car in front of the museum.
“Are you sure you don’t want to pull around back, ma’am?” Rosie asked. “Go in that way?”
After a brief stint of calling her “Dani,” the bodyguard was back to formality. Danica wasn’t sure what accounted for the change, but it hardly mattered.
Her biggest concern at the moment was that knot of reporters and cameras waiting outside the natural history museum. No doubt waiting for her.
She took a steadying breath. “Nope, I’m all good.” Tomorrow, she could slink in the back entrance. Today? She was proving to the world that she wasn’t afraid.
She’d woken early that morning to go over her day’s agenda, but she’d decided to skip her run. After the emotional roller coaster of the last few days, she’d needed some time to think and refocus.
Time without Noah there to distract her from work. She did want to see him again and catch up more. But maybe tomorrow, once she’d gotten back on track.
The car door opened when she pulled the handle, and she swung her legs out.
She could almost see the collective inhale go through the crowd of reporters. Like they were getting ready. Sharpening their blades.
Rosie got out of the other side and raced around to join her. Pushing her shoulders back, Danica marched up the steps.
A microphone shoved into her face. “Ms. Foster-Grant, how did it feel to almost be abducted? What do you think their intentions were?”
“Danica, what do you want to say to your would-be kidnappers?”
She dodged out of the way. “No comment.” Her expression battled to remain serene, though her pulse was thrumming at her neck. The sun was bright in her eyes, forcing her to squint.
She’d almost made it to the entrance when a platinum blond in a red blazer blocked her path. “Danica, what do you have to say to claims there was no threat at all? That your kidnapping was actually a hoax?”
“What?”
Rosie stepped forward. “Clear the way, please.”
But the blond reporter wasn’t listening. “Aren’t you planning a gala here in a few days? Are you using the supposed kidnapping attempt to get publicity?”
Danica looked to the side, hoping for another means of escape. If only she could make use of her pepper spray again, but macing a reporter might be frowned upon.
Then she spotted a dark shape across the street. A man in a coat.
What the hell?
Instantly, her heart rate tripled. She couldn’t see his neck tattoo, but his frame, his jawline—it was all the same.
It was him, the man who’d been inside the museum just before the kidnapping attempt.
Danica grabbed onto her bodyguard’s shoulder. “Rosie, call the police. Now. One of the men who tried to kidnap me is here.”
She’d tried to keep her voice down, but these words set off a frenzy among the reporters. Which was only making this scene worse. People were swarming around her. Danica couldn’t see the man in the dark coat anymore. Where was he?
Microphones kept being shoved at her face. Arms, reaching for her. She couldn’t breathe.
Within moments, Rosie had hustled her inside the museum, across the lobby, and into the executive director’s office.
Lindley Colter stood up from her desk chair. “Dani? What’s going on?”
“Can you tell me exactly what you saw, ma’am?” Rosie asked.
Danica sat in a chair, struggling to keep herself calm. “Man in a dark coat,” she said haltingly. “He’s got a big tattoo on his neck. Just call the police, Rosie. Please.”
The bodyguard took out her phone and stepped out of the office.
Danica sat at the small conference table. Lindley rushed over to her. “Are you okay?”
She could hardly breathe, but still nodded. “I’m fine.”
“You thought you saw that man again? The one who was visiting the museum at the same time as you last Friday?”
“Yes. Do you remember him?”
“Vaguely,” Lindley said. “I don’t remember a neck tattoo, though. That sounds distinctive. Anderson didn’t mention it, either.”
“It’s a two-headed eagle symbol. But he had his collar up, and I only saw it at a certain angle. I don’t know for sure he was involved in the kidnapping attempt, but I just had this gut feeling. You know?”
“Yeah. Of course.” But Lindley didn’t look convinced.
An idea occurred to her. “Do you have access to the museum’s camera footage? I could show you how he was acting.”
“A patrol officer came to download the video clips, but she ended up deleting our originals from the cloud. I think the police have their copies, though. You’d think they would’ve found that man by now.
Or the rest of those assholes who went after you, right?
If a billionaire can’t get the police to deliver results, I don’t know what hope the rest of us have. ”
Danica refused to demand special treatment in these kinds of situations. But Lindley had a point.
“Did you know there are reporters outside?” Danica asked.
Lindley grimaced. “We’ve been getting a lot of media inquiries. Outside, it’s public property. But I could request more police presence.”
“I just don’t want this nonsense to scare our donors away.”
“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. But nobody would blame you if you’d rather get out of West Oaks. I know the museum revamp is your baby, but…”
Danica’s stomach twisted. “You think it would be better if I’m not at the gala?”
“No. Not what I’m suggesting at all. I just want you to feel comfortable.” Lindley sighed, sinking into the chair beside her. “I barely slept this weekend, and those kidnappers weren’t even after me. How are you not falling apart right now?”
“I’m not letting anyone scare me away from doing my job.” Especially terrorists in ski masks. Or with creepy neck tattoos.
Run from West Oaks? No way. Not happening.
She was strong, and she could handle anything the world threw at her.
I am Danica Foster-Grant. My mother’s daughter. I can’t ever forget that.
“Do the police have any idea yet who’s targeting you?” Lindley asked. “Or what they want? Could it be related to the museum, somehow?”
“Not as far as we know.”
“But how did they know you’d be here on Friday at that time? Or today?”
Danica had been pondering the same thing. She’d meant to bring it up with Blake, her father’s chief of security. But he’d been too busy to meet with her over the weekend.
The door opened, and Rosie stepped back into the room.
“Have they caught him?” Danica asked.
“I’m afraid not. The police station isn’t far, so they sent a patrol car quickly. But we’ve been checking the area around the museum and haven’t seen anyone matching the description you gave me.”
“But you saw him, right? When I pointed him out? He was wearing a dark overcoat.”
Rosie opened her mouth, but didn’t speak.
Danica stood up. “Didn’t you?”
“I’m sorry, ma’am. I didn’t. Is it possible that you didn’t, either? Maybe it was someone else entirely.”
“No, that’s not possible. I know what I saw.”
“You sound agitated,” the bodyguard said calmly. “Are you feeling all right? Would you like us to escort you home?”
Lindley and Rosie were both staring at her with concern. Danica’s skin had flushed painfully.
She braced a hand on the back of the chair, then sat down again. “No, I don’t. I just want to get back to work. You can wait outside.”
Rosie left, and Danica regretted her sharp tone. The bodyguard wasn’t to blame for failing to see a random guy across the street. With the crush of reporters, it was any wonder Danica had seen him.
But she had seen him. Danica trusted herself, even if Rosie didn’t.
That afternoon, Blake finally offered to update Danica on the investigation.
She went down to the wing of the house reserved for staff. Whenever William was in residence, Blake stayed here, too. The decor was more subdued. It looked like a corporate hotel, simple but comfortable.
Tori, Blake’s assistant, was at her desk. She looked up as Danica approached. “Ms. Foster-Grant. Thanks for coming down. I’ll let Blake know you’re here.” She picked up her phone.
“Thanks.” Danica clasped her hands, looking up and down the hall. She felt a little awkward after having seen Tori and her father together the other night. Should she say something?
No, that would probably make Tori uncomfortable. And Danica would look like she’d been spying.
Usually, Tori barely said more than a few words to her on the phone, even when Danica had tried to make friendly conversation. Danica hadn’t met Tori in person until this visit, and she’d been surprised their gruff chief of security would hire such a shy, waif-like assistant.
“I heard what happened today,” Tori said. “It sounds really scary. Seeing one of the kidnappers again?”
“It was unsettling.”
Blake opened his office door, beckoning Danica inside. Tori looked down at her desk.
Danica sat down in an armchair in front of his desk. “What have the police found out?”
“We’re in communication with West Oaks PD. Our friends in the LA FBI office are working their angles as well, given your father’s public profile. There’s video surveillance footage from the museum and surrounding streets. Witness statements. A number of leads that we’re pursuing.”
She clenched her jaw. “That’s it? Tori said a detective was here.”
“I wish I had more specifics for you. As soon as I do, I will let you know.”
“But what about the man with the tattoo who was visiting the museum? Who I saw again today? I got a good look at his face, so the cameras must have as well. Have the police run facial recognition?”
“I assume they have. But they haven’t identified him, and we simply have no proof he was involved in the attempt to abduct you. As far as today, Rosie Consuelo couldn’t confirm she saw the man at all.”
“But I saw him.”
“And what did you think he was going to do? Grab you in front of all those reporters? Hardly an opportune moment for another kidnapping attempt.”
Danica rubbed her forehead. “Okay. Fine. Let’s set that aside. There’s something else that’s been bothering me. How could they have known I’d be at the museum at that time on Friday? It seems likely they knew my schedule beforehand.”
“Or you posted about visiting the museum on social media.”
“I didn’t. You know me better than that.” At least, she’d thought he did.
Their security chief was practically part of their family. Like a gruff uncle, perhaps. Blake and her father had been friends since Danica was a baby. Never question Blake’s loyalty to this family, her father often said. William’s highest praise.
“I know you wouldn’t have done it intentionally.” Blake spoke in his usual authoritative yet soothing tone. Neither quiet nor loud, but infused with confidence. “It’s natural to let things slip, though. Any number of people could’ve figured out where you’d be.”
“But are you looking into the possibility that someone within our organization leaked my location?”
For a long minute, Blake just looked at her.
“You’re under tremendous stress,” he finally said.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“It means you’re more likely to see connections that aren’t there.”
Danica shrank back. “You think I’m inventing conspiracies?”
“Rosie said there were a lot of reporters at the museum today, and you insisted on approaching them instead of avoiding a confrontation. You were agitated. It must’ve been upsetting, and you’ve already been subjected to a lot.”
“I don’t believe this.”
At first, Danica had liked her new bodyguard. But Rosie had been talking about her behind her back.
“You know that I care about you,” he said. “I’m only asking you to let me and the authorities handle this investigation. And perhaps it would be better if you work from home for the time being? To avoid reporters and crowds?”
She shot up to standing. “Absolutely not. If you think I’m going to hide in my father’s house, you don’t know me at all.”
“Danica—”
She turned on her heel and stormed out of his office.
Both her father and Blake were trying to shut her out of this investigation. Why? She was far from fragile.
Were they just being over-protective? Or was there something more going on?
Something they didn’t want her to know?
Back in her bedroom, Danica stared at the phone in her hand, wondering what she should do.