Minutes later she saw a figure rounding a corner a couple of blocks away. The crowd cheered him as he drew closer.
Okay, here we go, Sophie thought. She raised her camera, ready for the shot at the finish line.
The runner came closer and closer, and was within a hundred yards of the line as the other competitors came into view far behind him.
Sophie lowered the camera slightly to get a better look. Uh-oh. The winner wasn’t William Harrington. It was a man she’d never seen before. She quickly glanced back at those now approaching. Harrington wasn’t among them either.
Runner after runner came across the line, but still no Harrington. He wasn’t first—nor last—nor anywhere in between.
The man had simply disappeared.
JOURNAL ENTRY 23
ARCTIC CAMP
Eureka! We have identified the pack. Six adults and three pups. We were able to pick out the alpha male right away. He’s quite easy to identify because of his thick white coat tinged with a small dark patch across his back. He is also physically larger than the others. Brandon is thrilled with this new family we will study.
The alpha male is magnificent.
FIVE
IT WAS SOPHIE’S TURN TO PAY FOR DINNER.
Regan insisted on eating at The Hamilton, the flagship of her family’s five-star hotel chain. She reserved one of the private dining rooms adjacent to the atrium. The two-story windows looked out over Lake Michigan.
As Regan led the way to the table with Cordie and Sophie trailing behind, Sophie said, “I don’t understand why you insisted on eating here.”
“I told you. I was in the mood for scallops, and I love the way Chef Eduardo prepares them,” Regan declared.
Sophie wasn’t buying it. While it was true that Eduardo’s scallops were outstanding, she knew the real reason Regan wanted to eat there. If they ate at her family’s hotel, a bill wouldn’t be presented. Convenient, since it was Sophie’s turn to pay.
“You’re just doing this because you know I’m poor,” she said.
A waiter pulled out a chair for her. Sophie flashed him a smile, thanked him for the menu he offered her, then turned to Regan again.
“Admit it.”
“You don’t like dining here?” Cordie asked. She was looking at Sophie over the top of her menu.
“I love dining here, but that isn’t the issue. I simply want Regan to admit—”
“That you’re poor? Okay. You’re poor,” Regan said cheerfully.
Cordie nodded. “Yes, you are. Very poor. I’d say you were dirt poor, but you know, that expression doesn’t make any sense to me. What’s dirt poor?”
Sophie frowned. “Not being helpful, Cordie. Regan, I want you to admit that my being poor is the reason we’re eating here.”
“Of course it’s the reason,” Cordie said.
“Yes, it is,” Regan agreed amiably.
Cordie put her menu down. “You aren’t going to get huffy, are you, Soph?” Her smile indicated she wasn’t too concerned about the possibility.
“My being poor is all your fault, Regan, and yours, too, Cordie. I was perfectly happy going along with my life, buying whatever I wanted. I had a beautiful car, credit cards without limits, amazing clothes, and I didn’t have a single worry line.”
“You weren’t happy,” Regan countered. “Yes, you had to give up your car, but walking is better for you than driving. You still have beautiful clothes even if they’re last season’s. You don’t need credit cards, and you still don’t have a single worry line.”
“Poverty agrees with you,” Cordie said without laughing.
“You asked us to help you wean yourself off your father’s money,” Regan reminded her.
“Yes, but did you have to be so…enthusiastic about it? So rigid? What’s wrong with buying an occasional Prada blouse?”
“The clothes are gorgeous, but taking the money from your father to pay for the blouse is wrong,” Cordie said.
“The money your father gave you was gotten by illegal means,” Regan said.
Sophie reached for her water glass. “How do you know that for certain? He’s never been convicted of any crime, and aren’t you supposed to be innocent until proven guilty?”
“I don’t know it for certain,” Regan said. “That’s what you told us, which is why Cordie and I agreed to help you.”
“Help me be poor?”
“Help you do the right thing.”
Sophie impatiently brushed her bangs out of her eyes and sat back. “I really hate being poor.”
“It’s not so bad,” Cordie said. “You’ll learn to budget like I do.”
“Oh please, you’re not poor. You have a huge trust fund your father set up for you, and Kane Automotive is now nationwide. You know what your problem is? You don’t care about money because you have it. I want to buy…stuff. Oh, God, I sound shallow.”
Before Cordie could argue, Sophie said, “Let’s not talk about money anymore. I’m starving. I want to order dinner.”
Although the room was quite elegant with candlelight and crystal, none of the three had champagne appetites. Sophie ordered salad and soup. Cordie wanted grilled chicken, and Regan ordered a grilled cheese instead of the scallops. None of them wanted to drink anything stronger than iced tea.
“Do you realize it was on this very day a million years ago that the three of us met in kindergarten at the Briarwood School?” Regan asked.
“You two became my sisters that day,” Cordie said.
“I remember you arrived in a limo,” Regan told Sophie. “I thought you were a princess with your white-blond hair and blue eyes.”
“You arrived in a limo, too,” Sophie said.
“My father drove me in his old pickup truck,” Cordie laughed.
“Sophie, you got us into so much trouble with your schemes,” Regan said. “You were always the champion for anyone you thought was being treated unfairly.”
“You’re still that way,” Cordie told her.
“Do you remember the time we got locked inside the coat closet?” Regan asked.
Cordie chimed in. “We were positive no one would ever find us. When we discovered a candy bar in the pocket of Billy Miller’s jacket, we were so relieved because we figured we could ration it among the three of us and survive for days.”
One memory led to another and another as the three reminisced about their childhood antics. Dinner was served and devoured while each of them told her favorite stories.
“I wondered why you reserved a private dining room, but now I know why. We make a lot of noise laughing and carrying on,” Cordie said.
“Aiden suggested this room,” Regan said. “He says we get rowdy.”
“Your brother’s right.”
“When did you talk to Aiden?” Cordie asked. “Is he coming home soon?” She realized how eager she sounded and quickly added, “I’m just curious. That’s all. I lead a very dull life. I do,” she insisted when she thought her friends were going to protest. “Think about it. I teach high school chemistry to kids who just want to blow up stuff, and when I’m not teaching or preparing lesson plans, I’m working on my thesis. I don’t even know anymore why I’m doing it. If one more student brings Mentos to my lab with bottles of Coke, I won’t be responsible for my actions. I need to know that there are people out there doing exciting things. All three of your brothers travel the world building hotels. They lead glamorous and fascinating lives, and I love hearing about them.”
“Not them, him,” Sophie said. “You love hearing about Aiden.”
“Why wouldn’t I? He’s the oldest and the most sophisticated. He’s probably on a jet flying around Australia this weekend. You know what I did yesterday afternoon and all day today? Research. I was stuck in a library doing research.”
“Oh, please. I’ve so got you beat,” Sophie said. “I gave up my Friday night to sit and listen to the most obnoxious, self-centered, narcissistic man talk about himself. I also had to get up before dawn today to meet him in the park and listen to him yet again. His name is William Harrington. My boss wanted me to write an article on him, but Harrington bailed on me.”
She then told them about the 5K and how Harrington had disappeared.
“Do you think he got sick?” Cordie asked.
“Maybe he was hurt warming up,” Regan offered.
“No, I think I know what happened,” Sophie said. “I talked to a couple of the event coordinators after the race. They told me they knew Harrington and that he’d never checked in. The winner of the race was a newcomer named Brett Mason, and everyone was talking about how fast he was. I think Harrington heard all the talk before the race and was afraid of the competition. He wasn’t about to take the chance that he might lose his twenty-fifth race, so he took off. I can’t believe I wasted all that time on him and ended up without a story. I don’t know what happened to him, but I’m determined to find out and make him apologize.”
Regan shook her head at her two friends and their frustrations. “Do you know what both of you need?” she asked.
Sophie groaned.
Cordie sighed and said, “Let me guess. You think we need to fall in love and get married. That’s easy for you to say, you found the perfect man.”
Regan’s lips curled upward in a dreamy smile. “Yes, that’s true. Alec is perfect.” She quickly switched back to being serious. “But we’re not talking about Alec and me. We’re talking about the two of you. I don’t think you have to get married necessarily. Just fall in love. Make room for a relationship, that’s all I’m suggesting. I know both of you could go out with a different man every night of the week if you wanted to…”
“You’re not going to tell us we’re too particular, are you?” Cordie asked.
“No, no, of course not. But I think you’re doing what I used to do before Alec came along. You’re dating the wrong kind of men. They’re all…I don’t know…country club. You know what I mean?”
Ignoring their dismissive frowns, she continued, “I want to fix both of you up with real men.”
“Real men as opposed to…?” Sophie asked.
“I don’t do blind dates,” Cordie said at the same time.
Regan ignored their protests. “Alec has lots of friends. He has a partner now. He’s really good-looking, and he’s unattached. Sophie, I think you should go out with him.”
For a second or two Sophie thought Regan was joking. When she realized she was serious, she said, “He’s FBI. You can’t honestly think I would be interested in him, and he certainly wouldn’t be interested in me. You do remember who my father is?”
Regan shrugged. “I didn’t forget, but I think going out with an FBI agent might help you get over your aversion to anyone associated with law enforcement.”
“What is this? Behavior modification? I don’t have an aversion,” she protested. “You know I love Alec, and I like his friends Gil and John, and they’re both in law enforcement.”
“Gil’s retired, and you’ve known both John and him for a long time. You’ve gotten used to them, and they don’t work with the agents who have been investigating your father. It’s not the same thing. You still have the aversion. I really think you ought to give it a shot. His name is Jack MacAlister, and I’m sure Alec could talk him into a blind date.”
“You’re joking, right? You have to be joking. You are, aren’t you?”
Regan didn’t answer. “I have news. Alec and I are going to be looking for a place to live here in Chicago.”
“You’re staying permanently?” Sophie asked excitedly.
Everyone started talking at once. Sophie couldn’t stop smiling. Regan and Alec had moved a couple of times since he’d joined the FBI.
Cordie was also thrilled. “How did this happen? Did Alec put in for a transfer? I knew he was tired of undercover work, but how—”
“No, he didn’t have to ask. The last year and a half, he’s had cases in Chicago, so the agency has decided to assign him here permanently. His new partner had something to do with it, too. Sort of, anyway.”
“Then I already love him,” Cordie said.
“How was he responsible?”
“When you get home, get on the Internet and go to YouTube. Type in Jack MacAlister’s name. You’ll see.”
“Just tell us,” Sophie said.
“Oh, no. You have to see it.”
“It?” Cordie repeated.
“A video. That’s all I’m going to tell you, and since you just said you already love his partner, I think you should go out with him.”
“Oh, no you don’t,” Sophie said. “You’re not taking Cordie to the dark side. One FBI agent in this family is enough.”
Regan beamed. “So you’ve accepted Alec into our family?”
“I guess I have.”
Regan held up her glass. “Time for a toast. To family.”
JOURNAL ENTRY 28
ARCTIC CAMP
Kirk named the alpha male Ricky. The alpha female that Ricky has selected as his mate we call Lucy. Ricky is very partial to her. Lucy appears to be mischievous and playful, while Ricky seems a bit put out by her antics.
The adults head out in the morning and bring their prey back to Lucy and her pups.
This morning we waited until they were far enough away, then Brandon and I used dart guns to sedate the adults. We had to work quickly to attach the tracking monitors. I wanted to take blood samples, but he convinced me there wasn’t enough time.
We hunkered down a far distance away and used our binoculars to observe. We were too far away for any of them to see us, though we know they had our scent. Ricky was the first to wake. When he finally was able to stand, he appeared to look directly at us. Did he know what we had done? His unwavering stare made me think he did.
He bared his teeth at us, and the wind carried his growl.
I got a cold feeling inside.
SIX
WHILE SOPHIE AND HER FRIENDS WERE CHATTING IN the dining room, another gathering was taking place on the other side of the hotel lobby.
Once a month Alec’s poker club met at the Hamilton.
There were a dozen players in the club, and most of them were in law enforcement, but because of their complicated work schedules, never more than half that number could make it each month. During the summer when the weather cooperated, they met on the rooftop garden, and when it didn’t, they met in a private room connected to the bar on the first floor of the hotel.