Mountain Secrets by Elizabeth Goddard (good books to read for teens txt) 📕

your boss.” Sun and Ski was under suspicion. That meant this Mary person wasn’t off the hook yet.

“Yes.” Her smile lit up her whole face.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen you smile.”

“It’s the first time I’ve had a reason to smile since you met me.” She let out a laugh that reminded him of songbirds.

“Indeed.” For having known each other for such a short time, they’d been through a lot. The moment of connection between them seemed to make the car warmer and brighter. Guilt washed through him. He wished he could come clean with her. “Let’s go inside.”

She pushed open the door, taking in an intense breath. “I’ve got a lot of explaining to do to Mary for the condition of the house. The Wilsons will be there soon.”

He followed her into an office that had three desks. A fortyish woman with coppery hair stood by one of the workstations, her purse slung over her shoulder.

“Isabel, I’m about to run out to a house but I’m glad I caught up with you.” Her gaze rested on Jason.

Isabel glanced at Jason. “This is my friend. He gave me a ride.”

Mary furrowed her eyebrows. “Yes, I was just on the phone to the Wilsons. They got into town earlier than expected. I guess they told you they wouldn’t be here until the afternoon.”

“But they are safe?” said Isabel.

“Safe?” Mary looked perplexed. “Why wouldn’t they be? They said the house was in order. Only they wondered why your car was parked down the road and how the vase got broken. They found the shards in the garbage.”

“The house was in order?” The Wilsons must not have seen the studio’s broken window or found her clothes in Victoria’s closet.

“You are a great employee and I am sure there is an explanation for all this. I’d love to hear it when I have more time.” Mary tilted her head. “The problem I’m having, Isabel, is that they texted your personal phone to say they were coming early. All client calls need to go through Sun and Ski, regardless of what your relationship is with them. I need to know if one of our clients has had a change of plans.”

“I understand. I’m sorry.” Isabel hung her head. “I guess I was too focused on trying to keep the clients happy.”

Someone must have picked the thieves up. Maybe they’d taken the time to remove all traces that they’d been in the house to protect the smuggling operation.

“I need to run. I’ll catch up with you in a bit.” Mary winked at Isabel and patted her shoulder. “I do appreciate your going up there on your day off.” Mary hurried out the door. Her anger over Isabel not keeping her in the loop about the Wilsons’ early arrival set off alarm bells for Jason.

Isabel shook her head. “I don’t know what’s going on here. Why the place was cleaned up. Mary didn’t say anything about your van being there.”

He suspected the Bureau had already been up there to have it towed. “It’s just good that everything worked out.”

“No, it’s weird that everything worked out.” She studied him for a long moment, as if expecting him to explain further. The phone rang. She picked up. “Sun and Ski Property Management. This is Isabel speaking. How may I help you?”

Isabel listened for a moment. Her face drained of color and she slammed the phone down.

He took a step toward her. “What is it?”

Fear permeated each word she uttered. “That was...a man. He said I have something he wants. And that I better give it back or pay with my life.”

EIGHT

Jason had a hard time focusing on the road as they drove across town to the police station. Any hope he had about Isabel being safe had been removed. Maybe now she wouldn’t be upset if he chose to keep close to her until he could get her some protection.

Had it been the thieves who phoned or someone higher up in the smuggling ring?

He glanced over at Isabel. She offered him a nervous smile and then stared out the window. The problem was someone in the ring had contacted Isabel first. Either because they hadn’t figured out who he was or because she was the more vulnerable one. How was he going to get her out of this mess and make sure she wouldn’t be harmed? Maybe the threat would be enough for Michael to be motivated to spring for some protection.

“How do you suppose they figured out who I was?”

“Is there anything in your car that would have helped them trace you back to Sun and Ski?”

“There’s a logo on the back window. And my picture and name is on our website.” Her voice filled with fear.

He hadn’t noticed the logo.

He braked at a stoplight and studied her for a moment. Her fingers were laced together in her lap so tight that her knuckles had turned white.

“I’m sorry that you got dragged into all this.”

“I can’t live my life looking over my shoulder. A lot of the properties we manage are out in the middle of nowhere.”

“Look, I don’t have a lot going on. I’ll stay with you through your workday if you don’t mind my tagging along.” He kind of liked the idea of being with her.

The light turned green. He rolled through the street checking his rearview mirror. A dark car that had been behind them before followed them as he clicked his blinker and turned up a side street. He didn’t want to alarm Isabel. She was already scared enough.

She unlaced her fingers and rested her hands palm down in her lap. “You would do that for me?”

“Sure.”

“Guess I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I thought what I was doing was giving a hundred and ten percent to my job. That totally backfired.”

This was his chance to do a little probing. “Yes, your boss seemed more than a little miffed you didn’t keep her in the loop.”

“She’s not usually