Free Hostage Midwife by Cassie Miles Page A

other people. With the winter weather giving way to spring, it would be a lot easier to escape the isolated cabin.
    From there, she drove into Valiant and popped into Roxanne’s beauty shop. The bustling atmosphere in the salon was the opposite of the quiet surrounding the mountain cabin. She managed to get Roxanne away from her well-meaning stylistsfor a few private words, and learned that she’d been more exhausted than usual, too tired to cook dinner for her husband. Kelly didn’t even have to say her advice out loud. Roxanne knew that she was driving herself too hard to get everything done before the baby came.
    As she stepped out onto the main street that ran through the middle of Valiant, Kelly paused to enjoy the weather. With thetemperature in the mid-sixties with very little wind, it was just warm enough to be comfortable with a light jacket or sweater. On the opposite side of the street, she noticed a man leaning against a building and holding a newspaper that he wasn’t really reading. The “Murder or Suicide?” heading wasn’t what caught her attention. He seemed to be looking directly at her, as though he’d been waitingfor her to appear. He folded his paper and got into a white sedan that was parked on the street.
    Had he been watching for her? She took out her cell phone, thinking that she should call Nick and tell him, but he had enough to worry about without her getting all paranoid.
    After she made another two stops and got back into her van, she looked into the rearview mirror and saw the whitesedan following her. Was it a coincidence? There were a lot of white cars on the road. She drove into the parking lot for the supermarket and angled around until she had a clear view of the driver. It was the same man. His sedan turned right and headed in another direction.
    Cruising past the parking lot was a stretch limo with tinted windows. There was no mistaking that vehicle. Barry Radcliffwas in town. The driver didn’t stop. Had Radcliff been looking for her? That made no sense at all.
    Checking her wristwatch, she saw that the afternoon was almost over. After one more stop, she’d head over to the Spencer Building for her class at six. Last on her list was Daisy, the fresh-faced woman who kept everything organic. Her home on the outskirts of Valiant looked like a model fororganic living with a new baby. She happily showed Kelly the guest bedroom that she’d converted into a birthing room with soothing colors and a sophisticated sound system, created by her husband, the engineer.
    Daisy’s enthusiasm rubbed off on Kelly and lifted her spirits. By the time she left the house, she’d decided that there was a plausible explanation for Radcliff’s limo to be in Valiant.Clearly, he had other business.
    As she drove away from Daisy’s house, the white sedan pulled around the corner. The man who had been watching her had picked up a passenger. She caught a glimpse of his white hair. It was Trask.
    She couldn’t dismiss her fears. She was being stalked.
    Her fingers clenched on the steering wheel. What did these people want with her? Until two days ago,she’d never even met the Spencers. She’d never known Uncle Samuel.
    Windows up and doors locked, she drove to the Spencer Building. Every car she passed seemed like a threat. When someone honked, she nearly jumped out of her skin. To avoid the media who were still gathered near the front entrance, she went to the underground parking garage. A mistake? Anybody who watched thrillers knew thatbad things happened in enclosed parking lots.
    She grabbed her satchel from the back of her van, made a mad dash to the exit and raced up the staircase. Within seconds, she’d rushed into the building. It was almost five o’clock, and the people who worked here were leaving. Having lots of witnesses was a good thing.
    After ordering her coffee, she called Nick on her cell phone and toldhim she was downstairs on the ground floor.
    He picked up on the tension in her