Captured by a Sheikh by Jacqueline Diamond

Author:Jacqueline Diamond
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

From a phone booth at a gas station, Zahad called the clinic. His first step was to determine whether Manuel Estrellas had been taken into police custody and was, therefore, out of their reach.

“Crestline View,” a female voice answered.

“Manuel Estrellas, please.” A diesel truck lumbered into the station, drowning her response. “Excuse me?”

“I said, he doesn’t work here anymore.”

“Can you tell me where to reach him?” He wondered whether the police were already tracing the call. Surely they couldn’t track every inquiry that came into the medical clinic.

“I’m sorry, I can’t give out his home address or phone number,” the woman said.

He ought to hang up. But caution had never been Zahad’s style. “Does he have an e-mail address or another work number, by any chance?”

There was a pause. Was she alerting someone? “May I ask what this concerns?”

He had prepared a story, of course. “My name is Mitchell Kahn. I was talking to Mr. Estrellas about buying some life insurance.”

“Life insurance? That’s funny,” she said. “He isn’t married or anything. Oh, can I put you on hold?”

“No, thanks.” He hung up and hurried to his motorcycle. If the police were on their way, Zahad didn’t intend to stick around and wait for them.

He’d already checked the phone book to make sure there was no listing under the name Manuel Estrellas. The only other possible connection to the man was Dr. Lowrie, but the physician would be even more unlikely than the receptionist to reveal anything.

Alice Frey might prove a useful connection, or a dangerous one. Her involvement with the doctor aroused Zahad’s suspicions. He preferred to deal with her himself and keep her away from Holly and Sharif.

He set a course for the Sunshine Lane Salon. Earlier today, when he swung by for reconnaissance, he’d determined that there was road work going on nearby. Hence the blue coveralls and the hard hat.

As he drove, he kept watch for any suspicious vehicle. Because it was legal here for a motorcycle to zip between lanes of traffic, he moved in such a deliberately erratic manner that any car trying to keep pace would call attention to itself. None did.

On the bike, he went through a fast-food drive-in line and picked up a chicken sandwich. A construction worker eating a late lunch would attract less attention than a man loitering.

The beauty shop was located in a string of small businesses, whose shared parking lot was half-full. Between the small center and a supermarket lay a modest park. Along with a playground and a few wooden picnic tables, it offered a partial view of the salon.

On the far side of the street sprawled a light industrial park. In front of it, construction work blocked a lane of traffic.

As he’d told Sharif and Holly, Zahad wanted to see who visited Alice and who might be conducting surveillance on her. If he saw nothing disturbing, he would watch for an opportunity to approach her directly.

Overhead, storm clouds bulked. As he parked behind the grassy area, Zahad wondered how soon the rain would start.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.