~ Savannah's Secret ~

by

Marie Held

Her father’s eyes narrowed and the frown on his forehead deepened perceptively.

“And you mean to tell me, young man, that you left my daughter alone all night in an apartment that you knew was being watched?”

“No, sir,” Brent’s answer was brief.

“I see.” The fingers were again pressing at the temples. “So at least at this point you were concerned for her welfare.” He raised his eyebrows in Brent’s direction.

“I had realized who she was the night before at the restaurant, when she mentioned your name,” Brent answered.

Serena answered for Brent. “He did stay over. I believe the term he used was ‘guard dog.’ He slept on the sofa just to make sure that I would be all right.”

“Ah, so now we get to the part that made you so unbelievably rude this evening.” Her father looked very pleased with himself. “Brent took the printout...”

“And the notes,” Serena interjected.

“And headed for parts unknown, or so you thought.”

“I had no idea who he was,” Serena spoke out in her own defense.

“I’m amazed the name didn’t ring a bell,” her father sounded disappointed.

“I was very young when I would have heard the name. Besides, most of the time you only used first names.”

“So true. One of the disadvantages of being a modern parent,” he sighed. “That still doesn’t explain why you are so exceptionally angry. I could understand if you were upset, but I do feel you have carried it a bit far. Particularly in view of the fact that Brent is not likely to be aware of your excellent memory. It would have been very little trouble for you to simply reconstruct the title information.”

“You haven’t seen the printout yet,” Serena murmured rebelliously. “It was not simple. I mean I did it, but there was a lot of work involved.”

“You did what!” Brent exploded.

“My dear man,” her father explained patiently, “you must bear in mind that you are dealing with my daughter. To be perfectly honest with you, I would probably give up before she would even consider the possibility.”

“But she gave me her word she would let it be,” Brent set his cup down hard.

“She gave her word,” Morris said thoughtfully. “Knowing my daughter, I would venture to say that she probably kept silent while Matt and his girlfriend gave their word.” He paused to collect his thoughts. “Even so, remember that was before she thought you had betrayed her.”

“But I didn’t ..” Brent waited as Morris raised his hand to indicate he had not yet finished.

“Also, this is the same young lady who assured me that she had told me everything about the break-in. Somehow she failed to mention the fact that her apartment was under surveillance.”

Serena retreated from the steely stare of her father. “I thought he had made it up. I mean, that’s what I thought after he disappeared with my printout.”

“Brent Kirvin would never lie about something so serious,” Morris Watson continued his stare in Serena’s direction.

“But I didn’t know who he was,” Serena protested.

“That, of course, is Brent’s fault.” Morris turned his attention back to Brent. “As a matter of hindsight, it would have been best to let her know.”

“Yes,” chimed in Serena. “You realize that a simple phone call would have cleared up this whole misunderstanding.” She was more than willing now to be graceful about coming to a compromise. Her father’s offhand praise was ringing in her ears.

“She can be very good at digging up material, but she certainly has a lot to learn about what to do with it once she has it,” Brent spoke to her father.

“True,” her father agreed. “But remember, she’s not in your line of business.”

Serena felt her ears steaming. “And just why couldn’t you call me?”

“Because I was being watched very closely. Any contact with you would have put them back on your track.” He looked at her with sympathy for her lack of knowledge about these things. “I had gone to a lot of trouble to make sure the two men saw me carry the envelope out to the car, drop it into the box and then return later in the morning to pick it up.”

“There is no such post office box,” Serena interrupted.

“No,” Brent agreed, “it’s only a code number, tells them to hold it until picked up by someone with the proper identification.” The dark eyes showed only a trace of his surprise. “To have done anything to get in touch with you then would have put you in immediate danger.” At this he looked to Morris Watson for confirmation.

Serena saw her father nod in agreement. “Not that you didn’t do a very good job of that on your own.”

“Me?” Serena exclaimed in astonishment.

“Yes you,” Brent spoke patiently. “There is nothing more obvious than calling all over the eastern seaboard in an attempt to track down two very noticeable names.”

“But I did get some information,” Serena tried to justify herself.

“You certainly did and it almost got you killed tonight.” Serena was surprised at Brent’s explosive tone.

“What happened was not a major accident that could have killed me,” Serena protested. “All I received was a bump, however nasty, on the head.”

“And I will lay odds that at some time this afternoon you received some very tempting information that would have lured you through some rough, unpopulated terrain. The car would have crashed at a high rate of speed and very probably burned, with you and the envelope in it.”

“He’s quite right, you know,” her father added. “That is the way it is done.”

Serena looked at the two of them in horror. Her fingers slipped down to her pocketbook and opened the clasp. She looked at the yellow message slip with the directions to Tybee Island scribbled across the bottom.

“You must realize, Serena,” her father spoke carefully. “These people have no way of knowing that you probably do not pose a real threat to them.”

“What your father means,” Brent leaned forward with a delighted smirk on his face, “is that they don’t know that you aren’t in the ‘business’ and really are just a junior reporter with an overactive curiosity.”

“Of all the …” Serena felt her neck hairs bristle at the insult. Yet, as she clutched the slip in her hand she felt the first stirrings of panic.

“It is not something to take offense at,” her father reminded her. “It is simply the truth.”

Nervously, Serena handed him the message slip.

He glanced at it knowingly and passed it over to Brent, who nodded in return.

“Now I want you to listen carefully, both of you.” Morris Watson shifted slightly forward in his seat. “Serena, I want you to understand that I have asked Brent to help me bail you out of this, uh, shall we say circumstance. Admittedly, I would have preferred that he be a little more open about it. A lot of unnecessary confusion would have been avoided. Regardless, you are now to give him your utmost cooperation. I will not tolerate less.”