In His Thoughts by Kate Bold

Author:Kate Bold [Bold, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kate Bold
Published: 2023-08-23T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“Woah,” Eve said, pulling the Ford to a stop in front of a tall, mechanized gate barring the entrance of a long, smoothly paved driveway and peeling the sunglasses from her face.

The house beyond was a sloping, glass-faced new-age megalith, a testament to post-modern architectural design. Cloistered in a manicured paradise of lawns, trees, and blooming floral shrubs, the house looked like an enormous glass teardrop jutting to point in the sky. The peak of the spire appeared to be made of gold.

“Some house,” Thompson said, “Vishni wasn’t exaggerating about the trust fund.”

The eyes of both agents fell on the digital keypad, which stood on a post beside the gate. There was, as Eve could see, an intercom built into it.

"What do you say?" Thompson asked, gesturing with her chin in the direction of the intercom, "Do we try our luck and ask to be buzzed in? If he's guilty or skittish, he might make a run for it or simply refuse to open the gate."

“That’s a chance we’ll have to take. It’s better than going over the fence like thieves,” Eve said, eyeing the unfriendly points on the tips of the iron rods of the gate. She pulled the car a little closer to the standing keypad and rolled her window down.

"Here goes nothing," she said and reached out to press the call button on the keypad.

There was a quiet buzzing sound.

For a moment, nothing happened. Eve tried the buzzer again, this time giving the button a gentle double-tap. This time, a voice came on the line.

“Yeah? Who is it?” the voice that came through the little speaker in the box sounded masculine and annoyed.

“Mr. Harding?” Eve inquired.

“That’s right,” the voice replied, somewhat suspiciously, “What do you want?”

"A few minutes of your time, Mr. Harding," Eve replied. She couldn't see a security camera anywhere, but she gave a friendly smile anyway. A house like this was likely to have multiple layers of covert security in place. "We've got a few questions about a friend of yours – Selma Vishni."

There was another pause. The silence was tense. Eve looked over at Thompson, who raised her eyebrows as if to say, "Moment of truth."

Then, with a smooth grinding of unseen mechanisms, the gate began to open. Eve let out her breath with relief.

“Come on in. We’ll talk it over inside,” said the voice over the intercom, no longer sounding annoyed.

"Thanks," Eve replied earnestly and rolled her window back up as she eased the car forward. She nosed up the massive driveway and parked behind a convertible Audi R8, which in turn was parked behind a vintage Lamborghini Countach. The spiral driveway made it impossible to block the cars in.

“He’s certainly got expensive taste,” Thompson commented as she undid her seatbelt and sprung the passenger door open.

“Gawdy and pretentious, in my opinion,” Eve replied.

“The house or the cars?”

“Yes.”

The intricately etched glass door of the house opened as the agents started to walk up the front steps. They found themselves looking at a well-built man in his late thirties.

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