Page 71 of Asher's Assignment
“Honey, you don’t know me and my friends.” Edie looked up after sending the text. “You lucked out getting Esther as Leah’s teacher. She knows people. Including me.”
Connie stayed silent, the set to her shoulders and the thinly veiled panic in her eyes saying she didn’t believe them. Esther couldn’t do anything about that right now. She’d need convincing, and the only way to do it was to just get on with things.
Edie filled the teakettle with water and set it on the stove to heat. It had barely warmed when there was another knock on the door.
Buster barked and squirmed in Connie’s arms.
“He’s getting up,” Edie said, watching Landon.
Murmurs reached them a few seconds later.
“Connie? Sweetie, it’s Audra from work. We’re all just worried sick about you and your family.”
Esther bit back a smile at Audra’s Americanized voice. She nudged Connie and tipped her head toward the door.
The other woman stared at her for a moment, a flash of defiance in her eyes, but soon stood. “This better be worth it.” She put Buster outside in the backyard, then exited the kitchen.
“Poor Landon,” Esther murmured, getting up to stand in the doorway with Edie.
“I almost feel sorry for him. But he shouldn’t have been put in this position,” Edie said.
Esther agreed. Stroud was being rather protective. Maybe he’d noticed Connie’s hesitation when answering his questions last night too.
Landon glared at the group of women as they traipsed inside. He gave the door a toss behind Annabeth, and it shut with a little more force than necessary. Esther stepped back as Connie led the others into the kitchen.
“Hello,” Esther said, holding out a hand. “I’m Esther, Leah’s teacher. This is my sister, Edie.” They needed to make this look legit. Landon would question things if they seemed to know each other right off the bat.
“I’m Audra. These are my friends, Brooke and Annabeth.”
“We were about to have some tea. Would you like to join us?” Edie asked.
“That would be lovely,” Audra said.
With pleasantries exchanged, they moved deeper into the kitchen.
“Tell me what’s going on,” Connie said, keeping her voice low as they settled around the table. Edie stayed near the stove and Annabeth leaned against the wall while the others sat.
“Esther, you start,” Audra said, dropping the accent.
Connie’s eyes widened at the transformation. “Who are you people?”
“We’ll get to that,” Esther said. “But I’m going to start at the beginning, okay?”
The woman nodded.
“When I took this job, it was for the extra money. I didn’t give a thought to where it was or anything like that. But—and I don’t mean any offense—you don’t live in the greatest neighborhood. Being here sometimes gave me the heebie-jeebies, and I told Edie that. My sister is a former Army officer. She lives in Costa Rica now, which is why I wanted the extra cash; so I could go see her more. Anyway, she’s one of several former military and government agent-type people who live in the same area down there. Remember how I said last night I was concerned about someone lurking outside your house and mine?”
Connie nodded.
“Asher is a friend of Edie’s from Costa Rica. When I mentioned to her what was going on, she got concerned and talked to him about it. He’s a former intelligence analyst. The man can find information buried beneath layers and layers of red tape and hogwash.” Esther lowered her voice. “He discovered some discrepancies in Leah’s birth certificate and your identity. It was enough to make him come up here as a favor to her.”
Connie shot out of her chair, her eyes flashing with panicked rage. “I knew it was his fault! You two brought this upon us!”
Esther stood and patted the air. “Please keep your voice down, Mrs. Tyler.”
“Everything okay in here?” Landon appeared in the doorway.
Balling her fists, Esther kept her back to him and silently implored Connie to assure him they were fine.
