"Strange in what way?" Ian asked.

Matty wagged her head. "There were a couple of pictures from New Orleans after Katrina. A few from what I think is Haiti after the earthquake and a couple others I didnt recognize. They arent nice pictures but they arent anything you wouldnt have seen in the media."

"And that was it?" Dash said.

Matty nodded, then paused a moment before adding, "There were two pictures that had names written on the back, but I dont know who they are and havent had a chance to look them up. The names are written on the back much like my mom used to write the names of other kids in pictures with me, so she wouldnt forget who they were. It kind of reminded me of that."

The table was silent for a moment while Rob brought their meals.

But when Rob was gone, Ian leaned forward. "I dont want to make you worry or anything, Matty, but have you talked to Brad since he left?"

Stalling for time, Matty ate a spoonful of onion soup before answering. She wanted to respond to Ians question but didnt really want to get into the dynamics of her family.

"Brad and I arent close, but the answer to your question is no, I havent heard from him. Ive called and left a few messages, but he hasnt gotten back to me."

To her surprise, Dash laid a reassuring hand on her leg under the table. She gave him a grateful look. She didnt feel under attack, or even all that worried, but it was nice that he recognized her unease in discussing family.

"Ill call him tonight and leave a message myself," Dash said. "Maybe if he thinks Im calling about one of his animals hell call back."

Ian looked like he was about to say something but Vivi cut him off. "So, hows the book coming along, Matty?"

Matty smiled at Vivis show of support, even though Ian had a little frown lingering on his lips. "Its going really well; between talking with Chen Zheng, a friend of Brads and an expert on Chinese politics, and just having some time away, Im almost back on track-nearly done, actually. But enough about me," she added. "Tell me about the wedding plans?"

And they spent the rest of the dinner talking about the invitations, the food, the drinks, and how over the top Vivis family was being about the whole thing. The two women even got Ian and Dash to smile and laugh a few times. All in all, the second half of the meal was much more enjoyable than the first-as far as Matty was concerned. But that didnt mean she was oblivious to what Ian had been suggesting earlier.

Pulling Vivi to the side as they walked toward their respective cars after the meal, Matty spoke. "Im not nave, Vivi. I know that the things Brad left for me to find, along with not answering his calls, could mean something not very good. Its possible he got himself mixed up in something and needed to get away, but the truth is, I dont know. And I dont know enough about him to know whether hes the kind of person whod get mixed up in something bad or the kind of person whod just take off camping in the wilds for two weeks."

Vivi gave her a sympathetic look. "So, what do you want to do?"

Matty shook her head. "I dont know. I dont know what I can do other than what Im already doing-calling, leaving messages. Maybe if he doesnt come back when he said he would, then I could do something then?"

Placing a hand on her arm, Vivi made a suggestion. "Why dont you let me look into a couple of things over the next few days? Ill see if I can get a trace on his cell, maybe check his credit cards, that sort of thing. It might not tell us anything, but it may give us some indication if hes traveling."

Matty let out a small sigh. "Can you do that legally? I dont want you to get in trouble."

Vivi smiled. "Ill come by tomorrow and you can fill out an official report that expresses your concern about him being a potential missing person. It should be enough to justify my actions if anyone ever questions them."

"And what about them?" Matty asked, gesturing to the two men engaged in conversation a short distance away.

"Well keep it between us, for now."

"Thanks, Vivi, I really appreciate it."

"Appreciate what?" Dash asked, walking toward them.

"Nothing," Matty said. Judging by the look on both mens faces, neither was buying it.

"Time for us to go," Vivi interjected, preventing any questions. "I have an eleven oclock dress fitting in Boston tomorrow. Lucky me."

"Oh, I think youre pretty lucky," Matty said with a smile and a pointed look at Ian.

Vivi laughed and wrapped her arms around her fiance, who draped his arm over her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. "No doubt about it," Vivi agreed.

CHAPTER 10.

FROM HER POSITION LYING PRONE on the bed at Brads house, Matty watched Dash step out of the shower. It was quite a nice morning show.

"Ill be late for work if you keep looking at me like that," he said, shooting her a smile.

"Do you ever have a day off?" she asked, genuinely curious. She hadnt given it much thought, but he seemed to have been working every day shed seen him or spoken to him since shed arrived.

He pulled on his boxers and a pair of jeans. "Its not usually so busy, but the part-time vet I have to help out at the clinic is on vacation. She gets back in a few days. I do have a half day today, though, so Im off this afternoon. Maybe we can do something." He pulled on his undershirt before sitting on the side of the bed to put his socks on.

"Like what?" she teased, inching her bare leg from under the covers and nudging him with her big toe. He caught her calf and ran his hand up her thigh.

"Im sure we can think of something," he said, placing a kiss on the inside of her knee.

"I imagine we can."

"Imagine away. All day," he said, leaning over her and brushing his lips first against her cheek, then settling them on her mouth. Pulling away he grinned, showing his dimple. "Ill call you this afternoon."

And for the second morning in a row, Matty listened to the sounds of Dash taking care of the animals and then his truck fading down the driveway. Only this morning she wasnt going to write. She felt like the book was in a good enough place that it could wait a few hours, so instead she rose, showered, checked on the outdoor animals, and tended the garden again. She didnt have to think too hard about how the day would end, but she thought it might be fun to actually make a nice dinner using things from the garden. Shed pick up some local meat later in the day and a good bottle of wine.

She was looking forward to the leisurely afternoon and evening ahead when she a heard a car coming up the drive and the dogs, predictably, going crazy. Coming around the house, basket of lettuce and other veggies in hand, she watched as a beige luxury sedan pulled to a stop.

Matty didnt recognize the older man opening the drivers door so she stood her ground beside the house, still a bit of a distance away. She knew he was probably harmless, but the cautious city girl in her wasnt going to be dismissed.

The man didnt seem bothered by the dogs quickly advancing on him in a mass of squirming bodies and tails. He patted them and looked around until he caught sight of her.

"Hello, Im Alexander Traynor. Im here to meet with Brad Brooks," he called out.

Matty took a few steps forward. "In regards, to?" she asked.

He inclined his head. "Im from First Federal, Brads employer, he and I had an appointment today."

She frowned. "When did he schedule the meeting?"

"He didnt, I did. We spoke about ten days ago. He suggested I come by. Is he here?"

"Im sorry, hes not here."

The man pursed his lips. "I see."

"Is there a problem?"

"Do you know when hell be back?"

Matty shook her head.

"I see," he said again.

Matty took another few steps forward. Maybe this man would have some insight into what was going on. "Im Matty, a friend of Brads," she said, offering her hand. "He asked me to house-sit for him while hes away. Im sorry youve had to drive here all the way from-?"

"New York City," he supplied.

"Would you like to come in for a glass of iced tea or lemonade?"

He looked about to decline, but something must have changed his mind. "Yes, thank you. That would be nice."

Matty ushered him inside and offered him a seat at the kitchen table while she poured two glasses of tea. "It has some fresh mint from the garden, I hope you dont mind?" she said, setting the glasses down.

"No, thank you. This is great. Brad has some extensive gardens," Mr. Traynor commented, his eyes turned toward a window with a view of the chicken coop and several of the more elaborate flower beds.

Matty inclined her head. "Im a city girl myself so Im not used to it, but Ive definitely found myself taking advantage of all the work Brad must have put in earlier in the season," she said, gesturing toward the basket full of goodies. "Do you garden?"

He shook his head. "My wife used to, but she passed away two years ago. Since then, I moved into the city and just have a small terrace. Its not as homey as where we lived, but its just me and I didnt need all the space. Or upkeep."

"There is sense in that. Have you ever been up here?"

He shook his head. "No, Brad just started working for us about a year ago. Im sure you know he manages investment portfolios."

She hadnt known that, but she nodded, encouraging him to go on.

"Hes very good at what he does. Our clients love him."

She heard a "but" in there, but didnt press. "Its always good to have good customer service. Especially in todays economy," she said. A small frown touched his lips and Matty sensed she had touched a nerve.

"Im not sure what the nature of your meeting was today, but maybe he left something for you? Would he have done that? I can always look for you, if you like," she offered, hoping Mr. Traynor might give her some more information.

He seemed to debate the propriety of this before inclining his head. "We were going to talk about a specific account hes managing. Maybe he left a file for me? Or perhaps its on his computer?"

"Lets go have a look," she said, standing and leading him into the office. She opened a file cabinet and asked, "Is there a name I should look for?" Having already gone through the cabinet when she was on one of her cleaning missions, she knew there would be nothing in it; it held only Brads personal tax files, bills, and other sorts of documents relevant to his life, but Mr. Traynor didnt know that.

"He wouldnt have filed anything under the clients name, for security purposes. But the ID he would have used was 5639."

Matty made a show of thumbing through everything. "Would it be a big file or a smaller one?"

"If he did what I asked him to do, it should be a big file with the complete records of the accounts of the client."

That was interesting.

"I dont see anything in here," she said. "Is there something else I can or should look at?"

"Is that his computer?" Mr. Traynor asked, pointing to the laptop on the shelf.

"Its a computer," Matty answered, taking it in hand. "But I think its probably his personal computer since it doesnt have any asset tags or anything that would mark it as the banks."

She handed the device to him and he looked it over. "Would you mind if I kept this?" he asked. That he was interested in looking at Brads personal belongings didnt come as too much of a surprise; it was obvious he wasnt happy with either Brad or something he thought Brad had done. But that hed asked to keep the device was surprising.

"Actually, Im sorry, but I do. If it were the banks computer, I wouldnt mind at all, but since I dont even know if its Brads and, even if it is, its clearly a personal computer, Im sure you can understand," she said, holding out her hand to take it back from him. After a slight pause, Mr. Traynor handed the computer over.

"I dont mean to pry, and you probably cant say anyway, but has Brad done something wrong?" Matty laced her voice with so much innocent concern that even she had a hard time not laughing at herself.

"Youre right, I cant really say. If you talk to him, or the next time you see him, will you have him give me a call? Its very important." He took a card from his wallet and handed it to her as he spoke.

The visit was clearly over so Matty slid the card into her pocket, nodded, and walked him to the door. "Im sorry you had to come up here for nothing, Mr. Traynor, and Ill be sure to tell Brad to call you."

The man nodded in response and left. She stood on the patio, holding the computer, watching the driveway for several moments after his car had disappeared. She let the meeting and Alexander Traynors words, expressions, and actions settle into her mind. And the picture they were forming wasnt good.

She had just put the computer back in the office when the dogs went ballistic once again, heralding the arrival of someone else. Walking back out onto the patio, she recognized Chens car driving toward her. While she wasnt annoyed at seeing him, she certainly wasnt excited. What she wanted to do was boot up the laptop, figure out if it was Brads in the first place, then see if she could find anything in the files. She didnt hold out much hope, but it was better than doing nothing.

Only it wasnt Chen who slid from the drivers seat. "Matty, I was out and about-I hope you dont mind me stopping by?" Mai, Chens sister, said as she walked across the gravel toward Matty.

"Of course not, Mai. Its nice to see you. How was the concert the other night?" she asked. Shed liked Mai when theyd met at dinner. It had turned out that Brad was friends with many members of the Zheng family, not just Chen. Mai was incredibly intelligent but also quick to laugh, and Matty liked how she tended to poke fun-affectionately-at Chen.

"Tanglewood is always a pleasure. Listen, I hate to bother you, but I was hoping to get in touch with Brad. He doesnt seem to be answering his cell phone. Do you happen to know where he might have gone?" Mai asked.

"No, I dont." Matty shook her head and ushered Mai inside, out of the heat. "I wish I did though. Therere a few things Id like to discuss with him. Iced tea? Lemonade?" she asked as they entered the kitchen.

"Iced tea, please, thank you. You dont sound very happy with him." Mai observed.

Matty shrugged, not wanting to get into it with Mai. She still didnt know what to think about Mr. Traynors visit, but she wasnt going to discuss it with anyone. As much as she disliked her half brother, she still believed a person was innocent until proven guilty and didnt want to be the one responsible for starting rumors.

"Brad didnt exactly let me know what I was getting into when I agreed to come up here, but he did introduce me to your brother and I have access to a bountiful garden and incredibly productive chickens, so I cant complain too much," Matty said, handing Mai a glass of iced tea.

"But you really have no idea where he might have gone? Maybe visiting family? Or friends?"

Again Matty shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. Probably better."

"Why do you say that? Because you two arent close?" Mai asked as she leaned against the counter and took a sip of her tea.

"Something like that," Matty answered. "Can I get you anything else? Maybe some eggs, some tomatoes?" she asked, deliberately changing the subject.

"How about lunch one of these days? I know a great local farm-to-table place about twenty minutes from here. A good girls getaway," she added with a smile.

Matty was debating accepting-she liked Mai, but didnt want to get too embroiled in Chens family. He seemed interested in her in a way that wasnt reciprocated and until she felt like the air was clear between the two of them, spending time with his family didnt seem like a good idea. She was trying to think of a polite way to decline when her phone rang. Excusing herself, she answered Dashs call.

"I got an emergency call this afternoon. Im not going to be able to get off work until its over," he said.

Glancing at Mai, Matty wondered if she could fit a couple of hours of writing in after her guest left. Or a couple of hours trying to break into the laptop.