Page 14 of Let It Burn (The Barrington Billionaires 4)
To me it is. I carry the guilt of those who died because of my mistake. I killed them just as surely as if I’d rigged the box myself.
She pushed, “How? How did he say he caused it?”
“He didn’t. He just said he was sorry. We didn’t have a long heart-to-heart over it. He said he was in danger and begged me to take you back to Florida. You know the rest because you showed up.”
She turned to face away from him, shaking her head. “Whatever happened to your brother was an accident. My uncle might feel guilty about it, but he would never do anything to harm anyone.”
“I’m not so sure about that, Helene. A lot of people disappeared after my brother died. Their names are listed in my aunt’s journal.”
“Then maybe your aunt killed them, but my uncle never would.” She brought a trembling hand up to her lips. “If my uncle was that horrible a person he wouldn’t be afraid, would he? But if he’s afraid, he’s innocent.”
“I don’t know that one proves the other.”
“It does to me. Take me to the clinic and I’ll prove to you that my uncle did nothing wrong. I know where the records from that year are kept. They’re all in boxes in the back of the file room. My uncle said he was looking for them, but he didn’t know where they were. We could bring them to him, and he could prove his innocence.”
“He made it sound like whoever was coming for him might come soon.”
Her teary eyes flew to his. “And you left him?”
Andrew growled defensively, “He had just said he killed my brother.”
“No, he didn’t. He never said those words.”
Andrew threw up his hands. “I give up. You want to stay and try to clear your uncle’s name? Fine. You’ll probably get him killed, along with you and me, but you know what? At this point, you’re probably doing us all a favor.” He opened the passenger door again. “Get in.”
“Why?”
He left her there by the open door and walked around to the driver’s side. “We can walk to the clinic if you want, but driving is faster.”
She hastily climbed in the passenger seat and buckled herself in. “The files will clear everything up. You’ll see.”
He watched her muster a brave face, and his heart pounded loudly in his chest. She remained loyal to her uncle even through this shitstorm. Outside of the Corps, he couldn’t remember ever having that kind of faith in anyone or anyone having that kind of faith in him. He wanted her to find something to clear her uncle, but he didn’t believe for a second that she would.
Still, that didn’t stop him from starting the car and heading toward the clinic.
Chapter Eight
Helene used her name tag to open the front door of the clinic. The night security man recognized her and stood. “Ms. Franklin, I wasn’t expecting anyone tonight.”
“I wasn’t expecting to be here.” She spoke quickly thinking that everything would go a lot smoother if Andrew said as little as possible. “We were having dinner when my uncle realized he’d forgotten a box of old files he wanted to read through to decide if they should be shredded or added to the database. It could have waited until tomorrow, but you know my uncle. He likes things done right now. Family. They can’t fire you, but you can’t say no either, so here we are.” She shot him a bright smile that softened the other man’s expression.
“Of course. Tell me if you need me to help carry the box.”
Helene linked her arm with Andrew and gave him a tug. “I brought my own muscle, thanks.”
As she and Andrew walked down the hallway, Andrew whistled in appreciation. “You lie like a pro.”
She shrugged and, not wanting to draw attention from the security guard, forced herself to walk slowly. “I may not have traveled much, but that doesn’t mean I’m an idiot. It’s not like I could hide a year’s worth of files under my shirt.”
“I never said you were an idiot.”
“You don’t have to. I see it in your eyes. You think you’re smarter than I am. You’re not. And I’m going to prove it to you.”
She could have sworn she heard him say, “I hope you do,” but she wasn’t sure. She told herself that his opinion of her was insignificant in the face of everything going on. I should have told him I could do this part alone. She had a feeling, though, he wouldn’t have listened to her anyway.
He followed her through her office to the file room. She went straight to where she’d stacked the old file boxes. Since she hadn’t known how to do much when she’d first started working in the records department, she’d spent a good chunk of time in the beginning simply organizing. The boxes before her were completely out of order and some were shoved sideways as if someone had returned them to the pile in a hurry. She looked for the boxes that would have been full of files from the year Andrew’s brother died but didn’t see them.
“They have to be here,” she said, starting from one end of the pile of boxes and going over them again. “All of the other years are here. I don’t remember any missing.”
Andrew kept his silence beside her.
The sound of her office door opening and closing made Helene swing around. Andrew withdrew behind a stack of files and pulled his gun. He motioned for Helene to call out.
“Hello?” Helene said nervously. “Is someone there?”
The security guard appeared in the doorway. “Just me. I wanted to make sure you were able to get into the file room.”
Helene forced a smile. “I did. Thank you.”
The guard looked around. “Is your friend still with you?”
Andrew tucked his gun away again, quickly undid the buttons of his shirt, and mussed his hair before stepping out from behind the files. His grin was sheepishly guilty. He made a show of buttoning his shirt. “I am.”
“Oh,” the guard said and cleared his throat. “Well, I’ll be at my desk if you have trouble locking up.”
Helene met Andrew’s eyes and understood how his ruse might buy them a cover story for being there longer. “Please don’t tell my uncle.”
“Of course,” the guard said and turned on his heel, leaving with a haste that implied he wished he hadn’t checked on them.
When he was gone, Helene returned to hunting for the box. Thanks to Dr. Gunder, everyone at the clinic already thought she was sleeping with Andrew. Her reputation there was also the least of her worries. After checking and rechecking the pile, she hunted through the more recent files. Eventually she stopped and went to her computer. She searched every area of the database for anything about the Barringtons, but there was nothing. Eventually she asked, “What was the name of the nurse you were looking for?”
“Pamela Thorsen.”
“Nothing. There’s nothing here about your family or her. Do you have any of the other names?”
He named two doctors, the one who delivered the babies and another who was on duty that night, but she couldn’t find them either. Remembering what her uncle had said about not all the files being uploaded to the new database, she retrieved paper copies of random files from the years before and after. Everything from those files was in the database. Everything. She finally stopped typing in names and simply looked across at Andrew in confusion. “I don’t understand. It’s like your family was never here. There’s no record of anyone you’re looking for either. Are you sure you have the names right?”
“As certain as I am of anything in this mess.”
“Someone is covering their tracks, erasing everything from that time.”
“It looks that way.”
“We have to tell my uncle.”
Andrew crossed his arms across his chest. “I’m sure he knows.”
Helene stood. “You think he’s responsible?”
Andrew looked skyward as if appealing for help. “You don’t?”
Anger swept through Helene. Andrew didn’t know her uncle. He didn’t know anything about him. She pushed past him and walked out of her office without bothering to close or lock any of the doors behind her. Andrew fell into step b
eside her. “Where are you going?”
She didn’t answer him. She strode up to the security guard’s desk and plastered a huge smile on her face. “You’re not going to believe this, but I think someone already picked up the files we need. My uncle must have asked someone else to get them. Do you remember anyone leaving with a box of files recently?”
The guard shrugged. “No, but I work nights mostly.”
She bit her bottom lip and feigned a pout. “My uncle will be so upset with me if I tell him I don’t know where those files are. Is there anyone who would know?”
Andrew stepped forward. “Or is there a camera outside the office that you could review the footage?”
The guard reluctantly looked at the control panel in front of him. “How far back would I have to search?”
“Start with today,” Andrew said smoothly.
