Page 54 of Not the Bodyguard's Widow
“Sure. Your traffic isn’t as bad as Chicago’s. I spend a lot of my time driving. I have an Illinois chauffeur’s license. Would you like to see it?” Andrew reached for his wallet.
Jax held up a hand. “No need.”
A car pulled crossways behind them. Hawthorn Thompson got out and came to the passenger-side door.
Kimberly rolled her window halfway down.
“Kimberly, dear, we’ve missed you so. Are you back to stay?” Her father-in-law stood on tiptoe to peer into the back of the van.
“No. I came to get a few photos of Mom for the funeral tomorrow and a few mementos. Jax says I can’t go in my house.”
“Kimberly, I’ve explained this before. This isn’t your house; it’s mine. I was letting you and Jeremy use it. I offered to let you stay. But since you said I was abusive, I don’t think I should let you in.”
“I recall more threats that I would have to leave if I didn’t produce items of Jeremy’s that I don’t have.” Kimberly needed to get him talking.
“It’s only natural that I want some of my son’s belongings.”
“Is that why you had people search the house and install cameras?”
“I needed to find some things Jeremy had. The cameras were for your protection.”
“Really? You needed to protect me in the studio, my bedroom, and my bathroom? Without my knowledge? That’s not protection—that’s voyeurism.” Kimberly spat the word.
“But what if you fell in the shower?”
“You did? You had one in my bathroom?”
A lecherous grin grew on his face.
No!Kimberly struggled to hide her shock and keep her breakfast down. She’d never found a camera in the bathroom or bedroom, only the studio. The bathroom had been a guess. “There was always a maid or two or a bodyguard around to hear me scream.”
“Let’s not talk about that in front of your friends. Come inside with me, and we can find your photos.”
“My friends are coming with me. I will not be alone with a father-in-law who’s admitted he watched me in the shower.”
“Kimberly, Kimberly.” Hawthorn Thompson shook his head and wrapped his hand around the half-open window. “There you go again, being hysterical over nothing. I never said I watched you in the shower. I worried about you falling. After losing three, or was it four, babies, I wanted to make sure nothing happened to this grandchild, my legacy.”
Bile rose in Kimberly’s throat. The image of opening the door and tossing up her accounts on her father-in-law’s shoes was very satisfying. But opening the door could put them all in danger. Kimberly took a deep breath. “So, what you are saying is I can only get my mother’s photo if I go with you alone?”
“If it would make you feel better, one of your little girlfriends can come too, but then Jax would need to be with us in case she has sticky fingers.” Kimberly looked at Agent Garcia, who tapped her fingers twice. No. “What if I tell you where the photo is and Jax goes in and gets it?”
“Sorry, Jax is security, not a gofer.”
“Then I guess I must hold the funeral without the photo.” Kimberly pushed the button to roll up the window.
“Wait!” Hawthorn held on to the window with enough force to keep it from going up. “Do you realize your $25 million could have saved my son’s life? If you’d let him invest it with me, he’d still be alive. What will the tabloids do with the story I have to tell? The children’s author who let her husband die.”
“That’s not true!” How could he say that? Jeremy told her not to invest with them.
“Yes, it is. Maybe Jeremy didn’t know what your little hobby was. Maybe that is why you are so good at keeping secrets. Give me what he left you, and I’ll leave you alone.”
Kimberly covered her mouth and closed her eyes. She needed to give the signal to leave but couldn’t.
“Hold!” shouted Andrew as he revved the van’s motor.
Agent Danes gripped Kimberly’s shoulders as they’d practiced in the event they needed to make a fast vehicular exit. As the van jerked and turned around, Kimberly opened her eyes and used her free hand to grab her armrest. The back of the van collided with her father-in-law’s BMW, pushing it out into the street. Andrew quickly moved from reverse into forward. Kimberly’s head jerked, and she swallowed the bile in her throat.
21
