No Way Out - Fern Michaels Page 0,61
I need.”
“And how often is that?” Kara repeated herself.
“Kara. I need to know if you are going to help me or not.” Ellie was getting adamant.
“OK. OK. Let’s think about this.” Kara paused. “Of course I am not going to agree to let Christian lend him the money.”
“Rick asked for him to deposit it into a PayPal account, correct?” Ellie asked.
“Yes. That was the first red flag. Actually, I suppose, the phone call was the first. Rick hadn’t been in touch for two years; and then, out of the blue, he calls asking for $5,000. Second red flag was asking for it to be deposited in a PayPal account. Third, the idea that he was involved in some kind of start-up was also odd.”
“Exactly,” Ellie agreed. “What if Christian tells him that in order to get him the money, it has to be in the form of a check. Then the question would be where should he mail the check?”
“Brilliant,” Kara exclaimed. “But then again, you always were.”
“Except for the time I was dating him,” Ellie scoffed.
“And so what happens if Rick gives him an address? I don’t want Christian to actually send him money.”
“Let’s take this one step at a time,” Ellie mused. “He gets the address from Rick. He doesn’t mail a check. Rick calls back, asking about it. That would indicate how desperate Rick is for the money. Plus, it would buy me some time.”
“Time for what?” Kara asked.
“A little undercover work.”
“Are you sure you want to do that?”
“No, but I am sure I need to do something. This seems like a good place to start. Who knows? I might not care once I find out.”
“I certainly hope you don’t care,” Kara added.
“I don’t care about him. I care about me, and I need to start moving past this, this thing.” Ellie was certain about that.
“OK, girlfriend. I will talk to Christian when he gets back later. The only thing is, we don’t know how to contact Rick, so we’re going to have to wait until he calls back.”
“Did he indicate when that might be?”
“He said a few days. I guess it depends on how eager he is.”
“Right you are.” Ellie relaxed her shoulders. She had been unaware of how tightly wound up she was. “Hang on a minute.” Ellie put the phone down and stretched her arms behind her back and moved her neck from side to side. She groaned and picked up the phone. “Sorry, I had to disconnect my shoulders from my ears.”
“Your what?” Kara asked.
“You know. The tightness in the neck and shoulders when you’re stressed? Well, now I feel much better.”
“Oh, yes. That’s the feeling I get when I have to go to a Junior League meeting.”
Ellie laughed. “Have you ever thought of quitting?”
“Nah. What would I have to complain about?” Kara chuckled.
Ellie looked over at Buddy. His tail was thumping. She knew she should end the call soon.
“OK. We have a plan,” Ellie said. “A work in progress. Kind of like my life.”
“You crack me up.” Kara chortled. “Yes, a plan.”
“I’m going to give you a phone number. Do not call me unless it’s urgent. Ring twice, and I will call you back.”
“Wow, you really are top secret, aren’t you?”
“You have no idea. Write this down—857-555-1968,” Ellie responded. “Gotta go. Love you.” Ellie ended the call.
Ellie had a surge of energy. It was a feeling of renewal.
It was at that moment she decided to invite Hector in for coffee. She scribbled a note:
Hector, I’d like you to join me for coffee. Let me know what’s good for you.
She jumped up from her desk. “Come on, guys,” she called to Buddy and Percy. Buddy needed no invitation. Percy yawned, stretched, and slowly moved his way to the floor. Buddy was hot on Ellie’s heels as Percy meandered down the steps.
Ellie put the note in her daily envelope to Hector and put it on the table next to the kitchen door, in the enclosed porch. She smiled at what she thought Hector’s reaction would be.
Looking at the kitchen clock, she noticed that Jackson hadn’t shown up yet. It was almost 4:00. She hoped she hadn’t hurt his feelings again. She didn’t know how she could have, but she hadn’t known the first time either. Not until she noticed his absence. She decided to give Colleen a call. Maybe she would be the next person to invite into her house. Easy girl. One visitor at a time.
Ellie searched for the phone she had designated