Nine by Jan Burke

Author:Jan Burke [Burke, Jan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: thriller

Now he turned up the road leading to his home. “I should warn you,” he said, “that I’ve hired a security team. It might take a little getting used to…”

Meghan frowned. “I hope you haven’t gone to a lot of expense because of me.”

“No, they’re here most of the time.”

“You trust them with the house while you’re gone?”

“I’d trust Moriarty with my life,” he said.

“Moriarty!” Spooky shrieked in delight.

“Moriarty?” Meghan said, and gave an exaggerated shiver. “Didn’t you ever read The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes?”

He smiled. “This one is no villain.”

“He’s the best!” Spooky said.

They approached a flat, concrete pad that extended several yards on either side of the car. A black wrought-iron gate and concrete-and-steel posts formed one set of barriers. Just beyond them, tall trees formed another. Meghan noticed that no branches were allowed to overhang the brick and wrought-iron fence that ran the length of the property. The thick fence appeared to be about twelve feet high. The gate was flanked by two pillars-cameras were perched on top of each.

A set of bright lights came on, illuminating the SUV and the flat concrete area around it, then the gate rolled open. A second, equally sturdy gate stood not far ahead. As Kit drove forward, the first gate closed behind them, penning the vehicle in a brick and iron box. A guard dressed in a dark green uniform and combat boots, wearing a sidearm, knife, and baton came forward.

“Good evening, Mr. Logan.”

“Good evening, Joe. ‘Long time the manxome foe he sought.’”

“Thank you, sir. Good to see you again.”

The guard spoke into a radio attached to the shoulder of his uniform, and the second gate opened.

“What did you say to him?” Spooky asked.

“It’s from Jabberwocky. A password of sorts. If I hadn’t said it, he would have known I was in some sort of trouble, perhaps being forced to drive in.”

“Teach it to me!”

“I’ll teach you Jabberwocky, if you’d like, but the password will change now.”

They came up a long, steep drive bordered by trees that kept the house hidden from the road. At the crest of it was a house that had been built in the 1950s along modern lines-a two-story structure that curved with the hilltop, with wide decks and tall windows of dark glass overlooking canyons and cliffs, and beyond them, the Pacific.

Kit caught Meghan looking at it with a wistful expression. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m remembering your grandmother. She always made Gabe and me feel so welcomed here. Do you miss her when you visit this house?”

He nodded, not trusting his voice. How had she known?

He stopped the car near the front steps. “We’re home,” he said, then wondered immediately what had led him to use the phrase.

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