Page 6 of Two Hearts' Subterfuge

And he was peering through binoculars into Rene’s Boutique from the edge of the parking lot.

Deciding to cautiously approach the vehicle to check things out, he shifted direction, heading along the sidewalk that led into the parking lot.

But before he reached the vehicle, whoever was gazing through the binoculars stopped, pretending to not be in a hurry when he stepped back into the running vehicle beside him. Since the car was pulled in near the sidewalk along the edge of the main road that led to the drop off zone at the Inn’s entrance, it was easy for whoever was driving to head directly out from the parking lot toward the exit.

Ben took note of the plate number of the car, which was most likely a rental.

Jogging back to the Inn, he entered the side door through the breezeway, making his way up the staircase to Dad’s private office apartment.

After walking inside, he quickly wrote down the number, checking the time on his watch to jot that down as well.

Ben pursed his lips, considering. Something about the situation felt worrisome, and Dad had always told him to go with his gut when something didn’t seem right.

Ben nodded decisively. As soon as he showered, he’d take it upon himself to view the parking lot security tapes.

* * *

The plate was registered to a rental agency, of course. Ben sighed, wondering just how far he should take it. He’d always had serious computer skills so it wouldn’t take much to hack into the company records to see whose name was on the rental agreement.

But Dad had warned him that he needed to be careful and not take things like that too far if he wanted to enter any kind of government training program after graduating high school. The last thing Ben needed to do was get caught doing something that was definitely shady if not illegal.

Although as a special FBI agent, Dad seemed to get away with doing that kind of stuff all the time. It was hard not to have itchy fingers when Ben knew he had access to all of Dad’s highly advanced equipment here in his private office.

Deciding that what he’d seen this afternoon warranted a closer look via the security camera, after heaving a sigh, Ben pulled out his cell phone, deciding to go through the proper channels first.

“Ben?” Dad answered. “What’s up?”

“Hey, Dad. This afternoon, I saw something odd.”

After telling Dad about the stranger he’d seen in the Inn’s parking lot earlier, he asked about viewing the parking lot footage.

“I’ll have Sean give you access, Ben. You’re right. We can’t be too careful, especially with all the military personnel we’ll have coming in tomorrow for the auction. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve had to come up with a quick plan to counteract an attempt at domestic terrorism here at the Inn. You said you have the plate number for the car?”

“I do. It looks like it was rented at the Eau Claire Airport. Don’t worry—I didn’t try to access the company files to get a name.”

“Good. We don’t need to invite trouble. Especially since we still have to talk your mom into understanding why you want to work and train in intelligence rather than just go to college,” Dad muttered.

“She just keeps on blowing it off every time I bring it up, doesn’t she?” Ben observed.

“We’ll just have to keep on working on her, I guess. Maybe as we get closer to your graduation, she might be more understanding. Since she didn’t get to see your older sister Eve grow up, she’s a little scared of letting go,” Dad confessed.

“I understand,” Ben admitted.

And he really did. Mom and Dad had only found out that Eve existed when she was thirteen years old, before Ben was even born. Mom had been told that the child she’d been pregnant with as a teenager had died at birth, not knowing that her grandmother had arranged for an adoption. Eve had eventually ended up in foster care, broken and abused.

But you would never know that now. Although Eve had been rebellious and angry at first, now she was so much like Mom, who’d been a Grammy winning vocalist. Eve had thrived under Mom’s tutelage and had become equally famous, winning multiple Grammys as well.

Along with an impressive list of entertainers, Eve would be performing tomorrow at the Christmas fundraising event andauction since she was taking a break from touring for a while to do some recording and spend time with her husband Harry, along with their new baby boy named Cameron.

“Leave that plate number beside the computer and I’ll access the records myself,” Dad said crisply.

Ben smiled wryly. Of course, Dad would.

“Let me know what you find on the security tape—okay? If this wasn’t our busiest week of the year, I’d run through it with you, but I know that you’re more than competent, Ben. Be sure to call me if you find anything.”

“Sure thing, Dad,” he replied, disconnecting.

A few minutes later, he had access to the video, via Dad’s computer. It appeared that the car had pulled up to the curb not long after Ben had left for his run.

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