The Daughter. BEVERLY BARTON

best table in the restaurant. Webb ordered for both of them, the way he’d done since Ella was a child. Even though she wanted to remind him that she was thirty now and not six, she didn’t protest. One of the things she loved about her father was the fact that he never changed. He was her rock, her support, her friend and her hero. She had always worshiped the ground Webb Porter walked on.

      ‘I promise not to lose my temper, so feel free to share this upsetting news with me. It isn’t something about Cybil, is it? If it is, I hope we can keep it from your mother. You know how she gets upset over her sister’s antics.’

      ‘No, Daddy, it isn’t about Aunt Cybil.’ Ella laid her purse on the table, opened it and withdrew two white envelopes, both wrinkled from having been crushed in her hand. ‘I received one of these three days ago and the other this morning. And I’ve had three phone calls where the person on the other end didn’t do anything except breathe heavily.’ She handed the letters to her father.

      Webb removed the first letter from the envelope and read it slowly and thoroughly. His face darkened with rage, but he didn’t say a word. Then he read the second letter. His breathing quickened.

      ‘If you received one of these letters three days ago, why didn’t you tell me then?’ Webb slipped the letters inside his coat pocket.

      ‘I thought … well, I hoped that it would just be the one letter.’

      ‘You realize who sent these, don’t you?’ He tapped his jacket, where the letters rested inside his pocket. ‘But if he thinks he can get away with harassing my daughter, he’d better think again.’ Webb’s voice grew louder with each word he spoke. ‘I’ll put his ass back in prison where he belongs.’

      ‘Daddy, you can’t be one hundred percent sure it’s—’

      ‘Of course it’s Reed Conway. Who else could it be?’

      Patrons seated nearby turned their heads to stare at Webb. Ella reached across the table and laid her hand over her father’s big fist. ‘Calm down. People are staring.’

      Webb glanced around at the curious faces. Placing a fake politician’s smile on his face, he nodded at several acquaintances, then opened his tight fist and clutched Ella’s hand.

      ‘If that man ever comes near you, I’ll kill him!’ Webb spoke in a low but deadly serious voice.

      ‘I was afraid you would react this way. That’s why I hesitated to tell you.’

      With a large serving tray hoisted on one hand, their waitress paused by the side of the table. Webb released Ella’s hand and offered the waitress a smile.

      ‘Please let me know if you need anything else, Senator Porter.’

      ‘I’ll surely do that.’

      The minute the waitress served the food and went on to take the order at another table, Webb lifted his steak knife and cut into the thick T-bone. Blood oozed from the rare meat.

      ‘You leave everything to me,’ he said. ‘After lunch, I’m going straight to Frank Nelson’s office. Reed Conway won’t be bothering you again.’

      Ella eyed her filet mignon. ‘You have no proof that Reed sent those letters. Without proof, what can Frank do?’

      ‘First of all, he can have these letters tested for fingerprints other than yours and mine. And in the meantime, he can put the fear of God into that boy. Let him know that we won’t tolerate such behavior from him.’

      ‘Daddy, Reed’s fingerprints will be on the first letter,’ Ella said reluctantly. Although she didn’t want to explain how Reed’s fingerprints came to be on the letter, she had no choice but to tell her father the truth. She wasn’t going to allow her silence to condemn a possibly innocent man.

      ‘How do you know his fingerprints are on the first letter?’ Webb asked. He glared at her, his dark eyes narrowing.

      ‘I confronted Reed with the letter the day I received it.’

      ‘You what?’

      ‘Lower your voice. People are staring again.’

      ‘To hell with people staring!’ Webb dropped his knife and fork onto his plate. The metal clanged against the china. ‘Are you telling me that you—’

      ‘He swore to me that he didn’t do it – that he didn’t write the letter. And strange as it may sound to you, I think I believe him.’

      ‘Little girl, you stay away from the likes of Reed Conway. Do you hear me? I thought you had better sense than to go anywhere near him. Don’t you know that he’d like nothing better than to hurt you in order to get to me?’

      ‘Yes, of course, I’m aware of your past history with him and the fact that he swore revenge against you and—’

      ‘Promise me that you’ll never go anywhere near him again.’

      ‘But Daddy—’

      ‘Dammit, promise me.’

      ‘I … I promise.’

      By now Ella would have received the second letter. No doubt that was the reason she had been seen having lunch with her father at Callahan’s. She had run to her daddy. Ella was so predictable. Using her was almost too easy. Webb’s next stop would be at Frank Nelson’s office.

      Laughter filled the room. Self-satisfied laughter. Making Webb miserable was such a pleasure. It was past time that the senator suffered for his sins. And nothing made Webb Porter suffer more than to think his precious daughter was in danger.

      Ella wasn’t in any real danger. Not now. Not yet. One did what one had to do to survive, to protect one’s self. And to get a little sweet revenge.

      A short walk across the room to the computer on the desk. A few clicks and the screen opened to the word processing program. One more message, similar to the others, and then it would be time to up the ante, raise the stakes, unnerve the senator’s daughter to a greater degree.

      ‘I want you to go over to where he’s working at his cousin’s garage and warn him to stay away from my family – my daughter in particular.’

      Frank Nelson watched Webb Porter, his father’s old friend, as he paced the floor. The man was more agitated than he’d ever seen him. There was a sense of desperation in Webb that Frank didn’t think he’d ever seen. But when it came to Ella, Webb was a typical father. Only he was a father who possessed a great deal of power and influence.

      ‘I can give him an unofficial warning, but that’s all I can do unless we can come up with some proof that he’s the one harassing Ella,’ Frank explained.

      ‘Of course he’s the one.’

      ‘I agree. He probably is, but without proof—’

      ‘That boy was trouble fifteen years ago and he’s even more trouble now.’ Webb forked his fingers through his silver hair. ‘His mother didn’t deserve the problems he created for her.’

      ‘Yes, sir, I agree. Judy Conway is a good woman. God knows what she’s gone through over the years.’

      Webb cleared his throat. ‘Yes, well, Judy’s almost a member of the family, you know. She’s been with Jeff Henry and Cybil for ages.’

      Frank tapped the envelopes lying on his desk. ‘Webb, you leave these letters with me and I’ll drive over to the Conways’ later on today and have a talk with Reed.’

      ‘Thanks, Frank. I knew I could count on you.’

      Judy said her goodbyes to Carolyn Porter and slipped away quietly while Viola lifted the crippled woman into her arms and carried her back to her bed. Judy closed the door behind her. She both pitied and envied Carolyn, as she was sure almost everyone in town did. The poor thing had been an invalid for over thirty years. Judy made a point of not coming to the Porter house unless she had no other choice. There was too much bad