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oddly distorted. It took her a moment to realize the contractor was using some voice-disguising device. She was momentarily annoyed but decided to ignore it. “This is Lydia Moreland. To whom am I speaking?”
    There was a brief pause on the other end of the line. The thin, metallic voice sounded faintly amused. “If you need a name, you can call me Smith. Or Jones. Or anything else you choose. Any name I gave you would be a convenience, nothing more, Mrs. Moreland.”
    Lydia’s jaw tightened. “Very well, Smythe . I assume you’ve spoken with Roy Westerman.”
    “I have. I’ve also studied the documents he sent me—the results of your lawyer’s ‘search’.” Smythe’s tone was definitely contemptuous.
    “Inadequate, I know.” Lydia settled into the leather chair behind her desk. “That’s why I asked Westerman to find someone like you.”
    “Yes,” Smythe murmured. “Keeping things legal does tend to slow a search down. Particularly when the searchee doesn’t want to be found.”
    Once again there was a touch of amusement in the odd electronic voice that Lydia found annoying. “Then I assume you can find her more quickly.”
    “Certainly,” he purred. “Provided I’m adequately paid for it. The question is, what do you want me to do once I’ve found her?”
    “Do?” She frowned. Was he really that dense? “Notify me, of course.”
    “Really? And what will you do after that?” Again the note of amusement, mixed this time with a hint of sarcasm.
    “That is none of your concern,” she snapped.
    “Perhaps not. On the other hand, you might want to think about what you want to do once you’ve located your daughter-in-law. I’d hate to see my efforts go for nothing.” He sounded bored now.
    Lydia bit back her immediate retort. She wanted results. Up until now, she hadn’t gotten them. “What are you proposing, Smythe?”
    Again, a faint pause. “Is it your daughter-in-law you really want, Mrs. Moreland?”
    She stopped to think. “No. I don’t particularly want to see her again. But she has my grandson.”
    “Yes. But in fact it’s the child you’re interested in finding, isn’t it? Not the mother.”
    “Not the mother,” she echoed.
    “So if you could have the child without the mother, wouldn’t that make more sense, Mrs. Moreland?” The electronic voice hummed in her ear, rather like a finely tuned machine.
    She ran her tongue across her lips. “Is that a possibility, Smythe?”
    “Oh, it’s more than a possibility, Mrs. Moreland,” he murmured. “In fact, I’d say it’s the best solution to your problem, all around.”
    “But…” She paused to gather her thoughts. “You’d bring the child to me directly? Unharmed?”
    “If that’s what you want.” His voice was brisk. “Of course, it would require more compensation. My expenses would be greater.”
    “Of course.” She took a deep breath, considering. “Keep it as a possibility. For now, just find the woman and my grandson. Once that’s done, we’ll proceed from there.”
    “All right, Mrs. Moreland. I’ll be in touch.” The click of the disconnect sounded remarkably loud against her ear.
    Lydia sat staring at the cell phone in her hand as if she could see “Smythe’s” face through the screen. She wondered idly how far she was prepared to go, but the thought really was idle. In fact, she knew precisely how far she’d take this.
    And Smythe would get her there.
     
     
    Lars arrived at Jessamyn Carroll’s front door promptly at five. He’d been tempted to come early, but he wanted to give her the full day so that she’d know exactly what she was up against. Mrs. Melendez had frequently looked like she’d spent the day chasing a herd of cats when he’d appeared on her doorstep.
    Jessamyn Carroll didn’t look appreciably different from the way she’d looked at eight-thirty that morning. Her feathery golden hair framed her face, looking as if she’d run her fingers through it just before answering