Chapter Four
Clayton put his own napkin on the table as he watched Jo leave. There was no denying that she was a beautiful woman. Her body was thick and curvy and when she’d come in to look at the paintings he’d found it difficult not to stare at her ass.
He was a man deprived, there was no denying that, but there was something else as well. Clayton put a hand through his thick hair and over his face.
A little warning bell had been going off ever since Jo arrived. What was it? She was lying, he was certain of that, but why? She was not dressed for camping, and the eyes of the girl he’d seen in the woods had not been the eyes of someone merely separated from her friends.
Getting up from the table, he walked out of the dining room and down the hall. He stepped out onto his balcony where he could smell the trees. There was nothing like the smell of the forest. He left his window open every night to let the fresh air come in.
As Clayton’s eyes scanned the darkening horizon he noticed a movement close to home. He stood waiting until a small group of men came into view. Clayton shifted his weight as he watched them approach his home.
“Jack,” Clayton extended his hand as he walked out to meet the men. “What brings you out here?”
“Hunting of a sort,” Jack’s hand felt like shoe leather in Clayton’s hand.
“Hunting? Not out here I hope, I’d have to report you,” Clayton signaled for the group to follow him inside.
“I meant that we’ve been scouting out raw materials, that sort of thing,” Jack’s voice followed behind him.
“All the way up here? I think you’re on the wrong track, we are looking far south of here, are we not?” Clayton felt himself getting annoyed. One perk of being the big boss was not having to repeat himself. He employed people who understood his vision and understood it the first time.
“Right, it just seems that there may not be the resources we are looking for down there,” Jack’s voice remained calm and persistent. Clayton stopped walking and turned to the men who pulled up short behind him. There was a pause as Clayton stared at Jack.
“I’ll get you some refreshments before you head back down to the original site. That’s where we’ll be doing our business,” Clayton didn’t turn away from Jack but waited for the reply.
“Yes, of course, sir,” Jack half smiled at Clayton.
The group walked back into the house and Clayton was just about to call for Lincoln when he ran into Jo.
“Sorry…” she put her hands on him to steady herself and his skin felt like it was burning under her touch. Jo stopped talking when she saw Jack. Her face went white and her fingers gripped Clayton’s arms.
“This is Jack Henderson, he works for me,” Clayton meant to turn toward Jack in his introduction but he was too interested in Jo’s expression and grip to change anything.
"I think we've met before," Jack's voice was that of a guy at a bar. Clayton looked at Jack then back to Jo. Jo seemed to notice her hands clutching onto Clayton and she quickly let go.
“I should…” Jo didn’t take her eyes off of Jack but began moving away from the group toward the stairs.
“Are you feeling ok Ms. Wentlandt?” Jack asked as Jo backed away.
Clayton watched as a look of complete fear took over Jo’s face as Jack said her name. Jo didn’t even try to respond but continued moving out of sight until she’d rounded the corner leading to the staircase. Clayton turned his attention back to Jack.
“You know Josephine?” Clayton asked.
"I know her well enough. She's not all there, that one," Jack nodded his head in the direction Jo had just gone. There was a sparkle in his eyes that Clayton didn't understand. A lover maybe? "I think she might even be a little scared of me."
Clayton watched Jack. There could be no doubt that Jo was scared of this man. But why?
“I thought we could stay the evening here, looks to be plenty of room, since we came on foot,” Jack gave a half smile to Clayton.
“You came on foot?” Clayton asked.
“Hmm, what with our scouting,” Jack looked brazenly back at Clayton.
“I’m afraid you’re mistaken, there is no extra room here. I will have Lincoln drive you back to town…tonight,” Clayton said with a straight face.
Clayton arranged for the men to leave shortly after they arrived.
“I already looked at his company profile,” Clayton said into the library phone, “but there is something I don’t like about that man. See if there’s anything else you can pull up about him.” He shifted his weight before hanging up.
“You might be the only person who still has a landline,” Jo’s voice came from behind him and Clayton turned to see Jo peering around one of the large brown leather chairs.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to listen in,” Jo leaned back into the chair. Clayton walked around to the twin chair.
“I thought you would be fast asleep,” Clayton studied the woman next to him.
“I’m not all that tired anymore.”
“Since Jack?” Clayton watched Jo but she gave little away.
Jo tapped her fingers on the arm of the chair then looked back up at him.
“Can I trust you?” Jo’s blue eyes flicked to Clayton and he saw something raw and exposed in them.
"Yes," Clayton said before thinking the question over. Had he thought more about it, he would have said maybe, he would have said that it depended on what Jo was about to tell him, but somehow he already knew that he would protect Jo with his life.
“That man,” Jo wrapped her arms around her chest, “I’ve never officially met him before in my life.”
She paused and looked to Clayton.
"He knew your name, though." Clayton remembered the way her face had changed when Jack had said her name.
“He did something…” Jo searched Clayton’s face.
“What did he do?” Clayton felt himself growing tense. He began to imagine things he didn’t want to imagine. He saw Jack hurting Jo, he saw… he closed his eyes. His jaw tensed and he leaned forward, opening his eyes again. “What did he do to you?”
“Not me…it’s much worse. I…I came out with a group of people to protest your new project,” Jo licked her lips and waited. Clayton said nothing. “Rick organized everything, he was a friend of mine and he was causing a lot of disturbances. He…” Jo shook her head.
“Do you need some water?” Clayton was about to stand.
“That man killed Rick,” Jo’s voice was almost a whisper and Clayton wasn’t sure he’d heard her right.
He let his full weight move into the chair, “Say that again.”
“My friend and our group we were causing problems for your company…problems for that man… I saw him shoot and kill my friend.”
This time Clayton had heard everything.
“When did this happen?”
“The morning before I came here,” a tear shot straight down her cheek. “After I saw it I ran, that man…Jack…he chased me. I went into the woods and…”
“That’s why you were crying,” Clayton said to himself but Jo heard him.
“When was I crying?” Jo paused in thought.
Clayton realized his mistake too late, “When you arrived, it looked like you’d been crying.”
Jo studied him for a long time before nodding.
“We need to tell the police,” Clayton stood turning back toward the phone.
“But what if he’s already paid the police off?” Jo stood behind him. He could hear the fear in her voice.
He looked back at her, “You are with me now…you have nothing to worry about anymore. I have friends in high places.” He turned fully to her and looked her right in the eyes. “You will be safe here.”
“What if he says you told him to do it?”
“Then it’s my word against his,” Clayton looked at her.
Jo shook her head slowly.
“What is it?”
“It’s just,” she looked into the empty fireplace, “well it’s your company right? He hardly has a good enough motivation for murder unless he’s being coerced by you.”
“Coerced by me?” Clayton moved back to the chair but didn’t sit. “You think I had something to do with your friend’s murder?”
Jo looked up to Clayton. She held his gaze for a long time, “No…I don’t.”
“Then there’s nothing to worry about,” Clayton waited to hear what was running through Jo’s mind. “What is it?”
“Well, someone else isn’t likely to believe that, are they?” Jo shifted in her chair. “Maybe we should…maybe there is something else going on…maybe we should find out what.”
“That is what the police are for,” Clayton turned back to the phone and called out.