"How did you get a mobile phone?" I demand. He isn't supposed to be allowed to call me. The warden assured me of that.
Reginald sniggers. "You'd be surprised what I can get from the prison black market. Mobiles are easy. Getting out, that's a lot more difficult."
Getting out? No, he can't have escaped. The warden would've called me. I'd made a sizable donation to the prison library to ensure I would be informed of any changes regarding Reginald Hewitt. Naturally, dear old Reggie has wormed his way into the prison crime syndicate and found a means of escape.
"Going home to Australia, are you?" I ask.
He sniggers again. "No, Your Highness, I'm not going anywhere. Not until I've made you suffer for turning me in."
"You betrayed me first, Reggie."
I'm snarling the words, but I can't seem to calm myself. This man conspired with a student at Thensmore to steal three Babylonian tablets and sell them to a collector on the black market. Since I had sort of borrowed the tablets from the university museum, I could've gone to prison for theft too, even though I'd planned to return them. Reginald and Falk Mullane had hoped to make a fortune selling those artifacts on the black market and send me to prison as a bonus. "Borrowing" artifacts might not be strictly legal, but I meant to put them back before anyone knew they'd gone. Am I as bad as Reginald and Falk?
A chill whispers over my skin, lifting all the fine hairs. Am I that bad? Do I deserve to be punished for my sins?
"You needed to be betrayed," Reginald says, "and brought down a peg or two—or five. You think you're so bloody high and mighty, the king of your self-made castle. I put up with you for three years, just waiting for a chance to make my move. Falk Mullane gave me that chance. Now I'm going to force-feed you a taste of your own medicine."
"What did I ever do to you? Paying you a ridiculously large salary for being my fucking butler?" I snort. "You disgust me, Reggie. Go rot in the Australian outback. With any luck, dingoes will devour your useless carcass." I disconnect the call and dial another number. When Warden Bill Drummond answers, I say, "How did Reginald Hewitt escape from your facility? And why wasn't I informed?"
Drummond groans. "I was going to call you, but Hewitt escaped only this morning. A few hours ago. We've barely had time to search the grounds and contact the state police. Believe me, I was going to let you know."
I rub my hand over my eyes and sink back in my chair. "I'm sorry, Warden. I know you would've told me. It's just that I heard from Reginald a few minutes ago, and he made what could be classified as a threat against me."
"The state guys will talk to you, I'm sure. Other than that, there's not a hell of a lot I can do."
"Yes, I understand."
"Soon as I hear anything, I'll let you know."
"Thank you. Goodbye, Warden."
I hang up and toss my phone onto my desk.
A taste of my own medicine. What on earth did Reginald mean by that? He wants to punish me. I know that much for certain. Maybe I should force Catriona to go home to Scotland, where she'll be out of the line of fire.
But it's too late, isn't it? Reginald mentioned my "woman." How does he know about Catriona? He must, given his statement. I need to convince her to leave, but she won't go along with that—unless I tell her everything. A segment of everything, not the whole puzzle. A jigsaw with missing pieces is all I dare let her see.
If I have to, I'll drug Cat and dump her on a jet to Scotland.
Chapter Fourteen
Catriona
I decide to visit my office on campus today, so I'm changing into work-appropriate clothes. Planning my lectures for next week seems like something I ought to do in my office. That's what I intend to do, but I'm only half dressed when Alex storms into the bedroom.
"Ever hear of knocking?" I ask. Though I have on nothing but a bra and knickers, I don't bother trying to cover myself up with a dressing gown. Alex has seen me naked before, so I don't feel the need to bother.
"No time for knocking," he says, sounding as somber as he looks. "There's a problem I need to make you aware of."
"All right."
He seems to have finally noticed my state of partial dress, skimming his gaze over my body. He scrubs a hand over his mouth, blinks rapidly, and focuses on my face. "A man who used to work for me, Reginald Hewitt, has escaped from prison. He may be coming here."
"I gather it's not a friendly reunion."
Alex huffs. "He wants to punish me. For what, I don't know. Being here with me is not the safest choice for you under these circumstances."
I grab my blouse, shrugging into it, and start to button it up. "Is this the same Reginald that Logan mentioned?"
"Yes."
"What did this man do? Why was he in prison?"
"He conspired to aid and abet the theft of priceless artifacts from the Thensmore History Museum. He also embezzled from me."
"That doesn't sound like a reason to panic." I pull on the skirt I've decided to wear, tuck my blouse into it, and tug the side zipper closed. "I'm sure the authorities can handle the situation."
Alex stalks closer, hunched over slightly, and his voice drops to a deep, dark register. "Reginald is dangerous, more so than even I realized. He has a grudge against me. He also made a veiled threat against you. Please leave, Catriona. Get away from here as fast as you can."
I stare at him for a moment, studying his expression and his eyes and the tension in his body. On the day I left him twelve years ago, he'd been calm and seemingly unaffected. Today, he behaves like a man on the edge of panic.
"Tell me what's going on," I say. "All of it, Alex, please. Serena and Logan said Reginald secretly despised you."
Alex shambles to the bed and drops onto it. "I met Reginald three years ago, not long after Logan did that spot of work for me. I needed a right-hand man, someone to take care of the household and anything else that might require an extra set of hands. Reginald and I got on from the start. I thought we were mates."
I sit down beside Alex, but I don't try to touch him, unsure if he will want that. "What happened?"
"When Logan found Falk Mullane, the sniveling idiot who stole those Babylonian tablets, Falk claimed he'd paid Reginald to be his mole. Reggie told Falk when I sent Logan after him."
Alex almost spits the name Reggie.
"I thought we were mates," he says again. "What a ruddy moron I am, eh? Thinking I'm cleverer than anyone on earth, that no one can fool me. Yet I had that bastard living in my house for three years and never realized he hates me."
"Everyone makes mistakes. It doesn't mean you're a fool."
He grunts, and one side of his mouth slants into a half sneer. "Not realizing the truth when it's right in front of you is the definition of being a fool. I've made too many mistakes to say this was a one-off, but it isn't my worst mistake."