Just Believe Read Online Free Page A

she
could use his brother. The added bonus brightened the whole
scenario.
    Peeking through the pile of bills and
papers on the coffee table by the telephone, Annabelle searched for
an address book or a telephone book. There was a university
catalog. Erin said Gaelen Riley was a professor of Celtic Lit at
the university, so he had to be listed. Annabelle thumbed through,
quickly locating Riley among the language department members. His
credentials were very impressive: B.A. in Linguistics from Rutgers,
master's degree from Johns Hopkins, Ph.D. from Harvard, now a full
professor at UNC.
    "Pretty toney background. Wonder if
he's old money?"
    His office number was listed there, so
she dialed.
    "Dr. Riley's office."
    "Is Dr. Riley in?"
    "No, I'm sorry he isn't. May I ask
who's calling?"
    Who? All her years in tabloid
journalism hadn't been for nothing.
    "My name is Erin Tinker. I'm a..."
Annabelle paused so the full effect of the word would hit Riley's
secretary, "Friend of his brother, Lucas."
    "Oh, Erin! I didn't recognize your
voice. It's Susie."
    Uh-oh. What now?
    "Oh, Susie. Sure. I didn't recognize
you either." Annabelle decided to use the misunderstanding to her
benefit. "Susie, I don't have a lot of time. Is Gaelen there? I
need to talk to him about Lucas."
    "Is something wrong?" Susie was a good
friend if the concern in her voice was sincere. Annabelle felt
guilty using her like this.
    "I'm not sure. I haven't seen him for a
couple of days. We had a little fight." Why not juice up the story
a little? "I just wanted to make sure he was all right."
    "Gee, I'm sorry. I haven't seen him
since, I guess it was Monday."
    Could it be a coincidence Lucas hadn't
been seen by a close friend since Monday, the same day of Erin's
ill-fated date with him?
    "Erin?" Again Annabelle noted the
concern in Susie's voice. A needle-sharp prick of envy pierced her
heart. She didn't have a close friend who'd care what happened to
her. The only person she'd told about her trip to North Carolina
had been her editor.
    "Erin?" Susie asked again. "Are you
okay? What's happened?"
    Annabelle shook off her self-pity.
"It's nothing, Susie. Can you tell me where Gaelen is?"
    "You just missed him. He got a call a
few minutes ago and dashed out. He said he'd be back as soon as he
could, but he didn't say where he was going. Didn't sound like he'd
be gone long, though."
    The mysterious convocation he'd
mentioned in his message? Where was it? What was it?
    "You sure you're okay?"
    "Yeah, I'm sure. Don't worry.
Thanks."
    As Annabelle hung up the phone on
Susie's next question, she hoped she hadn't ruined her sister's
friendship with her deception.
    More important, though, she'd hit a
dead end.

Chapter Three

    "Of all the inconsiderate, arrogant,
downright sassenach things to do!" His footsteps and angry words
echoed off the stone walls, reverberating through the hand-hewn
hallway descending beneath the New Jersey countryside.
    Gaelen didn't care. The Council had to
know this was a bad time to call a convocation. His paper was due
next week at the editorial offices of Celtic Review, and he still
had exams to grade from last semester.
    "But we can't take the time to check
people's calendars. Oh, no. Just-" He raised his hand and snapped
his fingers in front of his face. "And we're supposed to come
flyin'!"
    Rounding the corner, he headed for the
chamber at the end of the corridor. The reddish glow from the
doorway froze him for a moment, giving him a chill of uncertainty.
Had he missed something in Eochy's terse summons? No matter. Gaelen
swept his uneasiness aside. So the better acoustics in this section
of the tunnel could warn Eochy and the others of his sour mood,
Gaelen raised his voice. Let them know what to expect before he
entered.
    "I've got a life, unlike some people!"
He shouted toward the open door.
    "Hurry up, Gaelen," came the reply from
the chamber. "We've got lives, too, and they're wastin' away
waitin' on you."
    A rumble of male laughter and a