The Sunstone Brooch : Time Travel Romance Katherine Logan (no david read aloud TXT) 📖

explain how I know about Ensley’s disappearance,” Elliott said.

“Tell him I got an alert,” David said.

“Just tell him the detective called me,” Penny said at the same time.

Elliott scrolled through his contact list, found George’s number, and punched it in. After two rings, George answered. “This is George.”

“George, this is Elliott Fraser.”

“Hi, Dr. Fraser. Did JC tell you about my cousin?”

Elliott put the call on speaker. “I haven’t spoken to him. What can ye tell me?”

“I’ve told this story so many times. I wish I’d made a recording. JC and I met Thursday night at the Porcellian Club. Then we took an Uber here to the Cambridge house to pick up Ensley for dinner. She wasn’t here, but all her belongings were. We got worried and called the police. They came over to investigate, and I filed a missing person report. We still haven’t heard anything. How’d you find out if you haven’t talked to JC? Did it make the news in Kentucky?”

“No, David McBain set up alerts when James Cullen went off to school. He’s never turned them off. He just now told me about Ensley. Since I couldn’t reach James Cullen, I decided to call ye directly. Is there any news?”

“Nothing. A friend of Ensley’s and I have been distributing flyers all over town. Nothing’s come up yet. I just now called JC and left a message. I didn’t expect him to answer but thought if he checked his messages, he’d at least have an update about Ensley.”

“Why didn’t ye expect him to answer?” Elliott asked.

“He said he was going out of town for a few days and would call when he returned.”

“I’m sure he will.” Elliott wanted more information but didn’t want to press.

“George, this is David McBain. I’ve been listening to the call. Do ye mind telling us what happened when ye arrived at the house, and what caused ye so much concern that ye called the police?”

“There was a funny odor all over the house. JC said it smelled like peat.”

“Did ye search the house immediately?” David asked.

“We did after we found her purse and stuff. I went downstairs to the exercise room, and JC went upstairs. He found wet towels in the bathroom and dirty clothes on top of her suitcase.”

“I don’t guess ye know what she was wearing,” David asked.

“Matter of fact, I do. Unless she changed her mind, she had plans to meet a group of women at a country music bar after dinner. They had all decided to wear jeans, cowboy boots, and hats. We didn’t see her boots or hat in the bedroom, so that’s likely what she was wearing.”

“I assume the detectives interviewed the women Ensley was going to meet later.”

“The detectives said they were going to the bar to interview the women, and it turns out one of them was in law school with JC and me. She called me after the interview and volunteered to help hand out flyers. She organized the group, and they spent all day Friday handing out flyers all over Boston.”

Elliott glanced at David, then at Penny, and both of them shrugged. “Look, George, I have connections. I’ll place a call and get additional help out there for ye.”

“Thanks for the offer, sir, but Dad hired a private detective agency that comes highly recommended. If they come up blank, I’ll call you back. But if you talk to JC, ask him to call me.”

“I’ll do that, and if ye think of anything I can help ye with—anything at all—be sure to call me.” Elliott disconnected and pocketed his phone. “What are the ladies doing today?”

“We’re leaving in about an hour,” Penny said. “Charlotte set up hair and nail appointments in Richmond. Why?”

“Meredith and I haven’t talked about plans for the day yet, and I’m not ready to tell her about this.” He studied Penny’s face. “Ye probably should leave the room, lass, so ye’ll have deniability.”

“I’m already in this, Elliott. I’m not leaving until I hear your plan.” She settled in again on the sofa, rearranging the pillows. “So, what are you going to do next?”

“Go to DC, track down my son, and try to figure out where Ensley went.”

“I’ll go with ye,” David said. “But if JC isn’t there, I’m not sure what ye can learn.”

Elliott gave David a subtle hand signal that Penny couldn’t see and wouldn’t understand if she did. Through the years, David remained the only person who could read them. Although Meredith knew a few signals, she couldn’t follow a conversation. The signal told David not to say anything more.

“JC’s assistant, Paul, should be there. He might know JC’s whereabouts,” Elliott said.

“Paul’s a good guy. I’ll go talk to him,” Penny said.

Elliott sat next to her on the sofa. “I don’t know what’s going on with James Cullen, but I’m determined to find out, and I don’t want to involve you or alarm Meredith. I’ll call a family meeting when we get back tonight, and then we can decide what to do about Ensley.”

“So, you’re asking me to spend the day with Meredith and the others and not say anything about another brooch showing up? You want me to lie to them.”

“Not telling them isn’t a lie.” A millisecond after he said it, Elliott knew he’d get pushback.

And Penny jumped right on it. “Psssh. A lie of omission is still a lie.”

“Wilhelmina, enough! This is how it’s going to be. David and I are going to Washington. We’ll be back late this afternoon. Ye are going with the other women to the spa. Tonight we will have a family meeting, and ye can tell everyone about yer part in this, or ye can remain silent, and I won’t mention yer call from the detective.”

“But—”

“There are no buts. Ye’re not going to Washington. Period.”

“Give me a good reason.”

“Ye’re pregnant, and we might have to bust some kneecaps. I don’t want to send ye into labor. If ye weren’t pregnant, I’d let ye have the first go-around with Paul.” Elliott