Nothing Ordinary by M J Marlow (best ereader for academics txt) 📕

for detail.” “I used to sit in on classes at the base that interested me,” Annie told him. “Search and Rescue, Tracking, or anything having to do with medicine; especially. The teachers told my father I learned faster than most of the soldiers.” She bit her lip to keep from crying again. “My family is dead because of those files, Agent Taylor. He gave me a clue but he said I wouldn’t be safe if I got involved.” “You’re not safe now and you are involved,” Taylor said to her. “Tonight proved that. I don’t have the right to ask you this, Mrs. Owens, but I think you could help us.” Annie’s nod encouraged him to continue. “Your uncle, Doctor Bayer, wants you to go live with him. He is going to ask you if you would like the job as his and Guthrie’s secretary.” “You want me to spy for you?” Annie asked the man. “My grandfather was murdered because he did so. I don’t know anything about being a spy.” “We don’t expect you to do more than keep your eyes and ears open,” Taylor said to her. “If you do see or hear anything that might be of interest to the authorities, we’d like you to share that with us.” He went to the door and Clark walked in. “Nick will be your contact.” “You’re FBI?” Annie choked. She didn’t know whether to be angry at his lying to her or relieved. “I am going to continue playing the union rep,” Clark told her. “Your grandfather’s estate is still in need of work.” “So you will have a reason to stop by at work,” Annie realized. She looked at the man and felt a twinge. “I can’t pretend to have feelings for you that aren’t there, Agent Clark, so don’t ask me to accept you as a suitor,” Annie told him bluntly. “If anyone asks, you are just being a friend. Given my losses, I am in need of a friend or two.” “Very wise distinction,” Taylor nodded. “Then you’ll do it?” “These are the people who were going to frame my grandfather,” Annie replied tightly. “You really need to ask? Let me just run this past my…” The phone rang and she jumped. “Hello?” She nodded to them. “I am feeling better, Uncle,” she said softly. “Thank you for asking.” She closed her eyes a moment and Clark squeezed her hand as he saw the tears. “Yes, I will miss my grandfather a great deal, but at least I know I have my husband back.” “”Your husband is alive?” Taylor asked as she listened to Bayer. Annie nodded and smiled happily as she continued to listen to Bayer relate the job duties. “I have the skills, yes, but I have never worked as a Secretary. You should…” She looked very annoyed. “It is quite kind of you to offer this job to me, Uncle, but it would have to be on a temporary basis. I will be returning to Germany soon to rejoin my husband. Is that acceptable to you?” She nodded. “I will see you for lunch tomorrow then and we will discuss the matter.” “That was well done, Annie,” Taylor smiled at her in congratulations. He saw her angry expression. “Why are you so angry?” “He was so pushy,” Annie told him. “I do not like being pushed.” “Just remind yourself that you’re there to avenge your grandfather,” Clark advised her as he kept hold of her hand. “One of those doctors, maybe both, is involved in something illegal and they murdered your grandfather to keep it secret.” 5 Annie worked a week as her uncle’s and Doctor Guthrie’s secretary and was beginning to think he was not the man they had believed him to be. He was dedicated to his work and he was very single-minded, but he gave no indication of wrongdoing. She had access to all of his files and saw nothing in them that alarmed her. It was Guthrie who had files she was not allowed access to. So far, however, she had refused to move in with him and his daughter. She came into her office one morning with the lab reports she had to type up and saw a man seated in the small waiting area near her desk. There was something about his posture and the arrogant attitude that alerted her. He looked up as she entered and she knew those eyes. Somehow she managed to get herself to her desk and put her purse away. “Did Doctor Bayer or Doctor Guthrie have an appointment with you, sir?” she asked as she unlocked her computer and checked the calendar. “There is nothing on his appointment calendar.” “I am family,” the man replied. He ran his dark blue eyes over her face insolently and she shivered. “You’re new here.” “I started last week,” Annie nodded, steeling herself to stay calm. “My uncle, Doctor Bayer, was kind enough to offer me a job until I am ready to go home.” He kept his eyes examining her. “Did I put my lipstick on crooked or something?” The man actually flinched at her sharp tone and she felt better. “You’re Weber’s granddaughter, aren’t you?” the man replied calmly. “I am Gregory McCarthy.” He got up and held out his hand and she had to shake it. “Doctor Guthrie is my brother-in-law.” “I didn’t know Doctor Guthrie was married,” Annie replied. She had seen no family photos on the man’s desk and he never received personal phone calls. “He’s in the lab right now. Do you want me to call him for you?” “No,” Gregory shook his head. “Let him bury himself in his work. How about going to lunch with me?” “No,” Annie shook her head. There was no way she was going to let herself be alone with this man. “I have plans for lunch.” “Pretty thing like you,” Gregory smiled at her in a way that made her feel naked, “should have a boyfriend or two.” “My personal life is none of your business, Mr. McCarthy,” Annie said stiffly. “But if you must know, I have a husband and he would not approve of me having boyfriends. Did you want to leave a message for Doctor Guthrie?” He shook his head. “Then please leave. I have work to do.” “I’m not giving up you know,” Gregory said as he leaned closer. He smiled as she backed away from him as if she’d been burned. “You will go out with me,” he continued as he ran his fingers along her lips, “or else.” “Gregory!” Guthrie’s cold voice cut through the tension in the air like a knife. “I thank you to keep your hands off of my secretary.” He picked up the messages Annie had left in his in box. “Send my regrets to everyone but the Children’s Hospital benefit, Anneke; but run these other invites past your uncle.” He glared at Gregory. “Come into my office, Gregory.” Annie did not move until the men were gone. She turned her attention to her work and had almost forgotten the man when the door opened. She could feel his eyes on her as she kept her back to him. His low chuckle as he left sent a chill through her and she had to stop for a moment and take some aspirin. “Gregory is not a pleasant man, Anneke,” Guthrie said before she could speak. “If he bothers you again, let me know. I’ll see he doesn’t do it again.” “Thank you, Doctor,” Annie nodded. “He is very sure of himself, isn’t he?” She turned back to her work but Guthrie did not move. She looked at him and caught an expression of interest in his eyes that made her feel very uncomfortable. “Was there something else you wanted, Doctor?” “Your company,” Guthrie said after a moment of silence. “For dinner tonight.” “I have plans tonight, Doctor,” Annie shook her head. She looked at him bluntly. “That won’t jeopardize my position here, will it?” “Of course not, Annie,” Guthrie replied with some regret in his voice. “I am not looking for a relationship, Anneke,” he assured her. “I just thought you might like to do something besides work and worry.” Annie looked regretful but shook her head. “Your husband is a very lucky young man. Have you heard how he is doing?” “He came through the surgery well,” Annie told him, a contented smile on her face. “The General tells me he’s a bit depressed at the realization that he won’t look quite like himself. He always was a bit vain about his good looks.” She was too happy to realize that Guthrie was eyeing her hungrily. “He’ll be out of the bandages in a month and tells me I should give him at least another month before I come back. He wants to get used to his new self before he sees me again.” “So we have you here for two months,” He calmed himself. “I’ll be down in the lab for the rest of the day, so unless my house is burning down take messages.” Annie nodded and went back to work. In two months she would have her husband back! She focused her mind on her tasks and nearly screamed when a shadow crossed her desk. She looked up to see Jeffrey standing there with a single red rose in a vase in his hand. “Jeffrey!” she stammered as she looked at the clock. “I didn’t realize it was so late.” She smiled as he set the vase on her desk. “It’s lovely, but you didn’t need to do that.” “I thought it might brighten your day,” Jeffrey said as he got her jacket. He held it for her as she got her purse. “So how about Clancy’s for lunch?” Annie nodded and they left the Clinic. The moment she was out of the building, the fear left her and she let herself enjoy her time with her brother-in-law. He listened to her as she shared her worries with him and gave good advice. She shared her qualms about waiting so long to go back to James, but he said he agreed with his brother’s reasoning. After everything James had been through, she could give him a little time to adjust, couldn’t she? As they settled down, Nicholas Clark came to join them. “Doctor Guthrie had a visitor earlier,” Annie told him as they ate. “The name he gave me was Gregory McCarthy. He said he was Doctor Guthrie’s brother-in-law.” She took a bite of her lamb stew as she thought over her reactions. “He is the man who broke into my apartment. I’m almost sure of it.” “I’ll have Taylor run his name,” Clark told her. “Write down his description for me,” he said as he took out his notebook and slid a pen over. When she did, he read it over. “You didn’t say how many buttons he had on his jacket, Annie,” he teased her. “If it’s that important,” Annie smiled at him, “it was three.” He laughed and she shook her head at him. Nicholas Clark had become a friend over the past week; she was going to miss him. She froze as a man turned at the bar and she saw Gregory watching them with a dark frown on his face. “That’s him, Nick. Gregory McCarthy.” Her frown deepened. “He’s coming over here.” “I believe we’ve covered everything now, Annie,” Clark said as he became the official rep. “I confirmed this morning that your Grandfather’s finances are all in your name so you have nothing to worry about as far as money is concerned. I took the liberty of getting the plane tickets for you for when you go back to Germany in two months.” “I should hire you as a personal assistant, Nick,” Annie smiled at him. “You have been a great help and a good friend to me.” “I am just