Read A Stranger in Wynnedower for Free Online Page B

both ways.
    She drove through the
broken gates and down the old dirt road, looking in the rearview mirror one
last time, almost disbelieving she’d spent the night in Wynnedower Mansion.
    Thick woods lined
either side of the dirt road. The road followed a ridgeline, and it was about a
mile to the main road.
    With a little luck,
Jeremy would be at work when she arrived. He’d be sitting at his desk with a
perfectly obvious reason for why he was no longer at Wynnedower Mansion and why
he wasn’t answering his phone or returning voicemails. She’d listen, and then
she’d kill him for putting her through this worry.
    The car jolted down and
up again. She avoided a big rock and concentrated on navigating the ruts and
potholes.
    ****
    Strom and Sons was an
accounting firm on the west side of Richmond and probably only a thirty or
forty minute drive if she hadn’t gotten lost. The firm was the perfect employer
for Jeremy, poised, as he was, between a Bachelor of Science and the master’s
program he was beginning in September. Then the CPA exam. Rachel enjoyed
teasing him they were both making careers of counting things. He’d stopped
laughing a while ago, so she needed to think up a new joke.
    It was a building of
steel and glass. Only two stories, but shiny and appearing transparent at the
same time. Every angle was perfect.
    Rachel walked into the
lobby and stopped at the reception desk. “Hi.” She nodded at the receptionist,
a young man with perfectly mussed hair. “I’d like to see Jeremy Sevier.”
    He tilted his head as
if considering her request, then looked down to punch a button on the phone. He
listened, presumably to ringing. She found his manner dismissive.
    “He doesn’t answer.
Would you like to leave a message?”
    “I’d like to speak to
his manager.”
    “Do you know his
manager’s name?”
    “No, but surely, you can
find out.”
    “Excuse me.” He
consulted a list, then punched a line and looked away. When he turned back, he
said, “He doesn’t answer. You’re welcome to leave a message with me.”
    She leaned halfway
across the counter and dropped her voice to a low, more serious key.
    “My brother, Jeremy,
doesn’t answer his personal phone, and I don’t know where he is.”
    “We can’t give out
personal information.”
    “I understand, but if
he’s not showing up at work, then he’s missing, so I need to know.”
    “I’m sorry, ma’am. I can’t
help you.” He tapped his pen, one quick snap on the desktop.
    Arrogant twerp. He’d
said ‘ma’am’ like an indictment.
    She leaned against the
counter. “Understand this is a courtesy visit. A check with Strom and Sons
before I go to the police. The authorities will be around asking questions.
Hopefully, they’ll be discreet. Police tend to make clients nervous.”
    Would the police take
her concern seriously? She didn’t know, but she read in the twerp’s face that
he wasn’t willing to take a chance if it might boomerang back on him.
    “Have a seat over
there. I’ll see what I can do.”
    Rachel sat. He spoke
low into the phone, and she couldn’t hear a word. A few minutes later, an older
man entered the lobby and walked over to her.
    “Miss Sevier? I’m John
Brookes. Jeremy reports to me. May I see your ID? A driver’s license, maybe?”
    It was a commonsense
request. “Here it is.”
    “Thank you, Miss
Sevier.” He handed it back.
    “Please call me
Rachel.”
    “Thank you. Rachel,
Jeremy isn’t here. I’m sure that’s obvious; otherwise, he’d be out here
speaking with you. You understand I can’t give you specific information, but
I’m also sure Jeremy wouldn’t want you to worry. I can tell you he requested
some time off.”
    Relief lightened her
mood. “When will he be back? Do you know where he went?”
    He leaned toward her.
“That’s all I can say. Privacy, you know.”
    “But I’m his sister.
Surely, you can….”
    “If he wanted you to
know, or thought you needed to know, he would’ve