Tropical Safeguard (Men Of The Secret Service) by Stella Kelly Page B

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    With the oncoming sound of footsteps,
Katrina and Jacque stopped talking. A moment later, Gloria walked into the
kitchen. They could tell something was wrong right away.
    “Gloria, darling, who
killed your dog?” Jacque asked directly.
    “Huh?”
    “What’s wrong, Gloria,
you look really upset,” Katrina asked.
    “Another threatening
letter arrived today for Secretary Mitchell.” Gloria took a seat beside
Katrina, looking glum. “I’m starting to feel a little vulnerable with this new
crowd. We have two Secret Service agents here yet someone still manages to
harass our guests. I have a strange feeling that something’s going to happen,
and we’re not going to like it.”
    “What do you mean
another letter came? What kind of letter?” Katrina asked. She’d missed out on
the gossip of the first letter.
    “Didn’t Jacque tell
you?” Gloria looked over at Jacque and he scrunched his shoulders.
    “I thought everyone
already knew,” he confessed.
    “An anonymous letter
arrived yesterday. It was very threatening. It said something like, ‘You can
run, but you can’t hide. I’ll find you.’ It’s enough to make everyone lose
sleep.”
    At Gloria’s words,
Katrina’s heart skipped. “Was the letter addressed directly to The Secretary?”
she asked with a slight chill in her voice.
    “No, it was pretty
general. And now we have a second one in the span of a day. I’m starting to
feel a little unsafe.”
    “What did the second
letter say?” Jacque asked.
    “I didn’t read it. I
brought it directly to Agent Nielsen this time and he opened it in private. Who
knows what will happen now.”
    “I suppose there won’t
be any trips into town for the rest of the week. Maybe we’ll be on lock-down or
something. I cringe at the thought!” Jacques said, worried that his trips to
the fish market would be put on hold.
    “Don’t worry, Gloria.
I’m sure this kind of thing happens everyday for The Secretary. Every political
figure experiences threats from people who don’t agree with their agenda.”
Katrina tried to comfort her, though she herself was shaking to the core.
    Back in her room,
Katrina paced the floor with worry. Could her ex have sent those letters? She
wouldn’t put it past him. The nagging belief in his presence heightened. She
was positive she’d seen him downtown yesterday and those letters confirmed it.
They were meant for her and her alone. She was in grave danger.
    Katrina picked up her
cell phone from the top of her dresser. She punched in the numbers of an
untraceable calling card and waited.
    “Hello.”
    “Dad, it’s me.”
    “Hey there, Katchup! How
are things there?”
    “Okay. Can’t complain.
How’s Mom?”
    “Oh, fine as usual.
Keeping busy. She’s at the grocery store right now. She’ll be sorry she missed
your call. She says she wants to whip up something special for me tonight. She
loves her cooking class and likes to make me surprises. And I love eating her
homework!” Allen Turner chuckled, but he didn’t hear his daughter reciprocate.
Her silence said it all. “Katrina, is something wrong?”
    “Dad, I’m calling to see
if anyone’s been asking where I am. Some strange letters have arrived here
recently and they have me a little nervous.” Katrina downplayed the severity of
the situation. She wanted to protect her father from further worry. She’d
caused her parents enough. She noticed his long pause and knew something wasn’t
right. She fought down a rising flutter of terror in her chest with each
passing second.
    “Well,” he finally spoke
with some caution, “there was a bit of an incident here last week but Mom and I
didn’t want to make you worry about us.”
    “What kind of an incident?”
    “A little break-in, but
it was nothing. Probably teenagers or something. Neither of us was home so
we’re okay. We reported it.”
    “Did anyone else in the
condo