Josh pulled his car into the parking lot next to the historic Graystone Building and entered the main lobby. He meandered down the dimly-lit hallway and found the door to the suite of offices open. The reception area where Fiona would sit was dark, but light was streaming out of the partly open door to the next office. Male voices were coming from behind the door.
Josh crept nearer to see if he could overhear the conversation. He recognized Lucas’s voice right away, then he realized who the other man was—his Uncle Sully.
“I need that hundred thousand dollars back, Lucas!” Sully demanded.
“I already told you that I would give it back to you in two weeks. You hold up your end of the bargain and I’ll hold up mine.”
What bargain? Josh couldn’t believe his uncle was in cahoots with this scumbag. He leaned in a little closer.
“I need it now,” he protested, “not in two weeks. That could be too late. I’ll be ruined!”
“Don’t be so dramatic, Mayor. You’ll live.”
Josh heard the coldness in Lucas’s voice. His muscles clenched and his fists curled into a tight ball at what he’d heard.
“I can’t let you do this to us,” Sully cried out in a shaky voice. “When everyone finds out this Whitetail Resort is a scam, we’ll all be arrested. Who’ll take care of my wife if I’m in prison? And what about Maggie? She’ll be ruined, too.”
“Hey, put that gun away!” Lucas hollered.
A gun? Josh took a small step forward and clanked into a metal waste basket. Had they heard him? Footsteps were coming toward the door, so he crouched down behind a file cabinet in time to see his uncle fly out of the room and into the main hallway. The sound of a heavy door slamming in the distance echoed through the office and he knew his uncle was gone.
He stood and stretched to his full height of over six feet tall and faced the door to Lucas’s office. Josh’s athletic body was vibrating with pure adrenaline. He couldn’t comprehend all of what was happening between Lucas and Sully, but he did understand that Lucas was planning to ruin his family, including his mother, and he wasn’t going to let him get away with it. He stormed into Lucas’s office to give him the beating of his life.
Lucas startled, likely expecting it was Sully returning. His eyes grew big when Josh reached out and grabbed him by the front of his shirt and dragged him to his feet. Lucas was a couple of inches taller than Josh, but he was not as young or physically toned.
Lucas threw the first punch, but Josh pummeled back until Lucas crumpled limp and bloodied on the floor. The man had gotten a few good punches in himself, but he was no match for the Navy-trained sailor.
“Get up!” Josh roared, standing over his nemesis, but Lucas did not move. Josh reached down and felt for Lucas’s carotid artery, afraid he had beaten the man to death.
A female voice singing in the distance cut the silence of the empty building. Josh froze and turned an ear toward the sound. Each note brought the voice closer.
He slinked out of the darkened office and stuck his head into the hall. He could hear footsteps coming down the staircase. He gingerly sprinted down the dim hallway, ducked beneath the staircase, and waited for the woman to pass.
He watched as Fiona adjusted the earphones on her iPod as she walked into the almost dark office, then he made his escape out the front door.
CHAPTER 12
Emily was able to keep Maggie distracted during dinner, trying not to let her know how angry Josh had sounded. He said he’d be home after his meeting and he would explain what was going on, but he still wasn’t home. Now that dinner was over and they had cleared the dishes, Emily wondered how she was going to keep Maggie’s mind off her son.
“Em, I expected Josh home by now.” Maggie looked at her watch.
Emily scrambled for something else to talk about. She glanced around the living room and her sight caught on a sparkling crystal paperweight on a book shelf. It was in the shape of a mountain with a sharp peak and spiky crags.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll be along soon.” She rose from her chair and moved over to the shelf.
Maggie looked out the living room window, scanning the street in both directions.
“This is beautiful.” Emily admired the artful piece.