Free The Christmas Clue by Delores Fossen Page B

Hollis.”
    “Rodney helped us by getting us this car and the equipment. And in all the time I’ve worked with both of them, I haven’t seen anything to indicate they’re criminals.”
    “But we don’t know for sure what their motives are. Either of them could have been responsible for that leak in communications. Either of them could be on Dominic’s payroll.”
    Judging from the throaty grunt Matt tossed her way, he wanted to argue that, but he couldn’t. They approached the gate of the service entrance, where four armed guards were waiting for them.
    “They’re carrying AK-47s,” Matt relayed to her in a mumble. “These aren’t amateurs.”
    No. And there wouldn’t be amateurs inside the estate, either. As she’d already briefed Matt, Dominic had approximately a dozen guards on duty at all times, and every inch of the house was wired for surveillance.
    Just ahead, she spotted Hollis, the wind slapping against his combed over flame-red head of hair. He said something to one of the guards, and the man waved them through the security gate. Hollis pulled his hand from his thick parka so he could open the back door and climb in on the seat behind Cass.
    “Take a left up there,” Hollis said.
    His austere, almost gruffly barked order caused Matt to eyeball the man in his rearview mirror. “This had better not be a trap,” Matt warned.
    “As long as I get paid, no traps.”
    Matt glared at Hollis before exchanging glances with her. Obviously, Hollis’s comment did nothing to ease the distrust in Matt’s eyes.
    They used a road that ran along the perimeter of the estate and stopped at a trio of small gray stone cottages. “Stay in the one on the right,” Hollis informed them.
    “And the other two?” Matt asked.
    “Empty this time of year.” Hollis got out and started walking back toward the main house. Matt parked the car behind the cottage, so that it wouldn’t be in the direct line of sight of the main house. After he made sure that Hollis was indeed leaving, he grabbed the equipment bag, and they went inside.
    “Home sweet home,” Cass mumbled.
    It wasn’t the Ritz. Not that she’d expected it to be since these sleeping quarters were obviously for Dominic’s workers. Gray linoleum floors ruptured with thin cracks. A rust-scabbed fridge. A hotplate crusted with heaven knows what. A radio so old that it could be considered vintage. A closet-size bathroom that’d seen much better days.
    And a bed.
    Just one.
    A twin size at that.
    Either Matt or she was going to end up sleeping on that cold linoleum floor.
    But Matt didn’t pay any attention to the decor or sleeping arrangements. He also didn’t waste any time. He took a handheld device from the equipment bag and turned it on. He angled the device in all corners of the cottage, studied the screen and then went to her.
    And that wasn’t all.
    He put his mouth right against her ear.
    “No listening devices,” he whispered. His breath was warm, and it sent a shiver of heat through her.
    Cass quickly pushed that away and made sure she kept at least a few inches between them when she asked, “Then why are you whispering?”
    Once more, he closed the gap between them. His mouth went to her ear again. “There could be some long-range external monitors to detect the sound waves bouncing off the glass.”
    Oh. Well, this wasn’t going to be fun. One bed and they’d practically have to touch to speak, but at least they were on the estate and closer to getting what they both wanted.
    Matt turned on the radio, setting it on low volume. It was a country music station, and Keith Urban began to serenade them. “It’ll diffuse the sound waves if anyone is trying to listen,” he whispered.
    Matt then got to work setting up yet more equipment he took from the bag. One piece she recognized as an infrared monitor. Just as he’d done with the “bug” detector, he aimed it in all directions before pointing it at the house.
    “There’s no one in the