Page 46 of Dangerous Secret

“We’re very sorry to hear that,” Cooper said. “Would you be willing to give us his contact information?”

“Yes. And you can tell him that he won’t get any references from me.”

Grayson smiled. “We’d be happy to pass on that message.” Along with a few choice words about taking a client’s life savings and not delivering any results. “Did Veronica seem excited or depressed or different in some way before she went missing?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. I was still living in Portugal at the time. My husband had recently died, and I was both grieving and trying to tie things up so I could move back here. Veronica was going to come and help me, and we were going to fly home together. She never showed up and stopped answering my calls. I knew something was wrong then.”

“But not before that?”

“Ever since she’s been missing, I’ve tried to recall anything that might give me a clue. My husband’s family owned the house we lived in, along with resorts in Lisbon and Braga, and they’re rich. Benedito loved me, and we were happy together, but his family never welcomed me because I’m American. They’d wanted him to marry a nice Portuguese girl. When he died, they were glad to see me leave. I’m telling you this because at the time, I was dealing with so much that it was hard to see past losing my belovedhusband and my home. If only I’d paid more attention to Veronica.”

He was disappointed that she wasn’t going to be much help.

“She did buy the tickets for our flight home, and when I told her she didn’t have to do that, that I had a little money saved, she said she had a big payday coming. Veronica was a Realtor, and I assumed she was expecting a good commission on something she’d sold.”

They needed to talk to Veronica’s employer to verify that. He doubted that was what Veronica was referring to. Based on the timeline, it fit with her expecting to get blackmail money from Pressley.

Cooper turned one of his I’m-your-friend smiles on Madeline. “Who did your daughter work for?”

They already knew that, but Cooper was easing her toward the more difficult questions. Grayson sat back and let Cooper charm the woman. He tuned them out for a few minutes while he thought about their next steps. The plan he’d decided on would be risky, but it was the best one he could think of to get close to Pressley.

“Was she seeing anyone?” Cooper asked.

The question caught his attention, and he turned back to the conversation.

Madeline nodded. “She was, but she never told me his name. She did say he was married but was getting a divorce. That was maybe four or five months before she went missing. I didn’t like that she was seeing a man who was still married, even if he was getting a divorce, and I told her so. She didn’t want to hear it.”

It had to be Pressley she was referring to.

“In her diary, she refers to him as A.”

“Diary?” Could they be so lucky as to have it all spelledout in Veronica’s own words? Maybe this wasn’t a wasted trip after all.

“Yes. I had to sell her condo after she disappeared. I couldn’t make the mortgage payments, and instead of letting the bank take it, I sold it. I didn’t spend any of the money from the sale,” she was quick to assure them. “It’s all in a bank account waiting for her, and I put all her things except for the diary in storage.”

He didn’t like that she felt guilty for being forced to do something she didn’t want to. “You did the right thing, Madeline. Veronica’s lucky to have you looking out for her. Do you still have her diary?” He wanted his hands on it.

“Yes. Do you want to read it?”

Did he ever. “Do you have it here?”

“Yes, I’ll get it.”

When she disappeared down the hallway, he gave Cooper a thumbs-up. “We may have hit pay dirt.”

“Let’s hope.”

“See if you can use that Cooper charm of yours to get her to let us borrow the diary.”

Cooper grinned. “I’m on it.”

Madeline returned a few minutes later, holding a dark red leather-bound journal. She sat back down and trailed her hand over the book, caressing it. She lifted her gaze to Grayson. “I’m going to let you read it in the hope that there’s something in here that will help you find her.”

Had she even considered that Veronica might no longer be of this earth? He took the journal when she handed it to him. He opened it and fanned the pages. It was filled in almost to the last page. It would take a while to read it all.

“Madeline,” Cooper said, his voice gentle. “We’re going to do everything possible to get you answers, and I hope you’re right, that something in there will lead us in the rightdirection. Would you allow us to borrow it? You have our word that we’ll return it to you. I’ll give you my personal cell phone number, and you can call me at any time if you have questions, or even if you just need to talk.”

“That’s very kind of you.” She shifted her gaze to the journal. “A part of me wants to not let it out of my sight. If she comes home before you return it, she’ll be furious that I let you read it.” Tears filled her eyes. “I’m trying not to let myself think it, but I’m not sure she’s ever going to come back to me. I’m going to trust you boys and let you take it.”

---