Turner's Vision Read Online Free Page B

me.”
    Claudia read the concern on his face. He’s lost a lover. For some reason, that thought didn’t settle easily on her mind. She shook off the feeling. That was his concern, not hers. She wasn’t going to be swayed from her own mission by a man searching for a lost love.
    “She is missing? You must love her a great deal to be seeking her here.”
    “Yes, I do. She came from Georgia to Washington to visit a friend, but she never arrived at the friend’s. No one has seen her since she left the family home. Through some inquiries, I have learned she was in the company of a man of dubious principles. So once again, I ask, how do you know Jonathan Gibson?”
    “Before I answer, may I ask whom this young lady is?”
    Micah tapped his fingers against the arm of the chair several times. Pain crossed his strong features. “She is my younger sister, Patrice.”
    He wasn’t looking for a lover. He was searching for a sister. A lover was one thing. A sister was another matter altogether. Her heart sank. She knew she could do nothing but help him, even if it meant turning over all the information she had gathered on the murder and Gibson.
    “Claudia?” he gently probed.
    A deep sigh escaped her. She settled back in the cushions of the settee a little more comfortably, compassion resting on her heart, resignation weighing heavily upon her mind. “When Laura left town the day after the murder, I received several interesting visitors, beginning with Laura’s aunt and cousin. They inquired as to her whereabouts and were none-too-happy to hear that I truly had no idea where she might be. As they left, they hinted that I would be in big trouble if I didn’t divulge any information I might have. The very next day, who should arrive on my doorstep but Nigel Blackwood.”
    “He was here?”
    Claudia smiled at the fierceness in his question. “Yes, the worm tried to pass himself off as some government official. The problem was, he couldn’t hide his British accent very well.”
    “What did he want?”
    “The same as Laura’s relatives, to know where she was.”
    A sardonic look crossed his features. “And you lied to him as well?”
    “Oh, there was no need to lie, Micah.” She laughed. “I truly had no idea where Laura was. Spinster Jones showed the most appropriate amount of confusion, distress and surprise at her dearest friend’s disappearance.”
    Micah’s eyebrow rose. “Blackwood left none the wiser than when he arrived, I take it.”
    Claudia lifted her hands in confirmation. “But of course.”
    “This is all very interesting, Claudia. However, it doesn’t answer my question regarding Gibson.”
    “I’m getting to that.” He was impatient about her tale. Good! He wanted her information, he could just wait while she told it in her own fashion. Otherwise, she wouldn’t tell it at all. She looked up as Henderson and the boys came back into the room.
    “I’ll be seeing Master Adam and Master Joseph to bed now, Miss Claudia,” Henderson said from the doorway. He looked pointedly at Micah, then back to her. “If you have no further need of me.”
    Claudia smiled at the trio. “No, I think Mr. Turner and I will be just fine. Good night, Adam. Good night Joey.”
    The boys wished her goodnight. With a wary glance at Micah they turned, heading up the stairs to the room they shared.
    “How did those two lads come to live with you?” Micah’s question turned her attention back to him.
    “I met them some time ago through Laura. They were orphans, living on the streets. She clothed and shod them. Then she and I took turns feeding them meals. When Laura left town, they both came to live with me. We were afraid to leave them out on their own with a murderer loose. So, Henderson suggested to them I needed extra bodyguards.” She shifted slightly on the settee. “This may be the first home either has ever known.”
    He nodded. “They’re very lucky, indeed.”
    His praise touched an odd spot in her heart.