Free The Christmas Clue by Delores Fossen Page A

overheard, Annette is worried about Dominic. He’s involved in some kind of new deal, and she’s afraid it might put them all in danger. Annette is making plans to take Molly out of the country.”
    He mentally filled in the blanks. If Annette managed to get out of the country with Molly, then Matt might never find his daughter. But if Annette and Molly stayed, their lives were at risk.
    Matt didn’t care for either scenario.
    “Let’s go,” Matt ordered. “We’re leaving for Dominic’s estate. Now. ”

Chapter Seven
     
    Four hundred and seventy-three miles.
    That was the distance between Matt’s apartment in San Antonio and Dominic’s isolated Texas estate that was practically on the border with New Mexico. Cass knew the exact mileage because Matt and she had taken turns driving through the night to get there. But they’d finally arrived after a few stops for gasoline, clothes and fast food.
    Cass checked her watch. It was 9:00 a.m. Cold, gray and drizzling. It was hardly the hour or the ideal weather to attempt a break-in.
    Still, they might not have a choice.
    If Annette was leaving with Molly, they’d have to stop her.
    When the estate came into view, Matt slowed the car to a crawl on the narrow two-lane private road. Centered among acres of fenced flat land, it was the second time Cass had seen the place. Not a home, exactly. More like a fortress.
    Or the gateway to hell.
    The three-story Romanesque-style house was constructed of rough-faced squared gray stones that blended into the wintry landscape and gunmetal skies.
    Matt and she, however, wouldn’t blend.
    “Too bad we don’t have one of those cloaks like Harry Potter,” she mumbled. She took out her phone and pressed in the number for her contact, Hollis Becker. “Then we could make ourselves invisible and walk right onto the grounds and into the house.”
    Matt eased over onto the shoulder of the road and pointed to the trio of semis that were parked just inside the black wrought iron entry gates. He took some binoculars from his equipment bag and looked around.
    “They’re putting up Christmas decorations,” he relayed to her.
    “That’s for Dominic’s big Christmas Eve party. Thankfully, there’ll be so many temporary workers and guests, we won’t be noticed.”
    She hoped.
    “Hollis,” Cass greeted when the man answered the phone. “It’s me. We made it. How soon can you get us onto the estate?”
    “Now. Drive through the service entrance. I’ll meet you there and tell the guards that you’re part of today’s work crew. Keep your guns out of sight.”
    “Will do.” She tucked her gun in her back waist holster and stuffed the equipment bag under the seat. “Go straight ahead, then turn right at the service entrance.”
    Matt proceeded to do just that, and he slipped his own gun inside the brown bomber-style jacket they’d bought at a 24/7 discount store. Cass had gotten stuck with a blue wool coat that was at least two sizes too big, but it’d been the first one she’d grabbed off the rack.
    “How much do you trust Becker?” Matt asked.
    “Enough. I’ve paid him well.”
    He groaned softly and cursed, indicating that he didn’t approve of this arrangement. Neither did she, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t use Hollis’s assistance to get them onto the estate.
    “Correction—I’ve paid him very well. To the tune of a quarter of million dollars,” she added.
    Matt’s left eyebrow rose. “How did you get your hands on that kind of money? Your assets are frozen.”
    “The feds missed a safety deposit box that contained most of the family jewels. No pun intended. I sold or pawned nearly everything inside it.”
    His eyebrow stayed high.
    “We knew this would be risky coming in,” Cass said in defense of her plan. “Hollis might be in this for the money, but that doesn’t mean he’ll betray us. If you ask me, we’ve got more to worry about from your fellow co-agents, Libby and Rodney, than we do from