Free Marrying Kate by Kimberly Rae Jordan Page A

idea that Steven and Jen were dead. What happened?” Concern laced Garth’s words.
    “Plane accident last September. No one passed the message on to me, not even when I checked in in January.”
    “I’m sorry, Jared . I don’t understand how that could have happened. What number did Kate call?”
    “I’m not sure. She couldn’t find the paper.” He had been disappointed when he’d asked her for it earlier in the day and she’d been unable to locate it. “But why would no one have passed that message on to me?”
    “I’m not sure. I’ll have to look into it and see who was manning the call lines around that time, since it was likely one of those numbers she called. What numbers had you left with Steve?”
    Jared thought back. “Usually I took the time to write out a whole bunch of information for Steve, but this time was supposed to be my last time out so I confess that I wasn’t as careful about it as I had been. I think I just left him with what he had previously…which I think would have been your number, the main call number and maybe Everett’s?”
    Garth sighed. “Those numbers have all been switched around with the promotions that have gone out over the past year, year and a half. I’m not sure who she might have spoken to.”
    “You’d think there would be better organization, Garth.” Jared sighed. “How on earth can I track this down?”
    “Listen, I’ll do what I can on this end to see if I can figure out where the call might have gone. Not making any promises , but I’ll give it a try.”
    " Thanks." Jared paused, then asked, “Hey, what type of car accident was it that Philip died in?”
    “Type of car accident? Oh, it was a car bomb.”
    “Here in the States?” He still couldn’t believe that his friend was gone. But he did find it interesting that they’d both been in “accidents”, only Philip hadn’t been as fortunate as he had been.
    “No, he was in India…though we have no idea why.”
    “He wasn’t on a job?
    “Nope. I hadn’t heard from him since he’d finished off his last assignment. It honestly seemed like he’d dropped off the grid.”
    “How did you know it was him in the car bomb?”
    “We had a witness that identified him. While he wasn’t over there on a job, he had made contact with someone who has ties to the agency. They had just finished having lunch together. Philip got into his car, the guy said, and it exploded. Not much left to identify him any other way.”
    Interesting . Had there not been a witness, it would have been unlikely that Philip would have been identified. Cutting all ties. Was it possible…could it be possible that Philip had faked his death? There was no way he’d pose that question to Garth however. Not until he had a better idea of what was going on.
    He also decided against mentioning the helicopter accident. He’d read about it in the report and would no doubt contact him if he had more questions.
    “You back at Steve and Jen’s now?” Garth asked.
    “Yes, staying put here because of the kids.”
    “That’s a good idea. How are they dealing with things?”
    “As well as can be expected.” Jared was suddenly eager to get off the phone. “Listen, I’m gonna go here, but let me know if you dig up anything on the phone calls.”
    “I definitely will. Take care of yourself.” Garth said and then disconnected the call.
    Jared hung up his end with mixed feelings. He wanted to be able to trust Garth, but just something about Philip’s email made him feel like he really couldn’t trust anyone. But somehow he needed to keep his family safe. If he’d made a mistake in trusting someone he shouldn’t have, he needed to know that his family wouldn’t suffer for his mistake.
    He’d have to call Drake in the morning to talk about work and getting security set up. The house had an alarm but nothing an expert, like himself, couldn’t bypass. Jared double checked all the locks on the doors and windows and made sure the