The Second Man (18 page)

“I don’t know what the date was.” Her skin flushed. “But what about the other things he said? Why isn’t there a record of your car accident? Or your parents? Or your birth? Do you know? Care to share about that?”

“No.”

“And what’s with that guy you met in Solvang the other day. Did you know he’s some kind of international crook?”

“I wouldn’t believe everything Andrew told you.”

“Why not?”

Max looked away.

Jill cleared her throat. “I need some answers from you, Max. I deserve them.”

“I think I deserve a few answers, too.” He met her eyes. “When did you find out about Ben? And from who?”

His tone sent a chill skittering down Jill’s neck. “You go first.”

Max tented his hands together. “There are some things about my family’s past that I was not forthcoming about. My father did sensitive work for the government during his career, and made some serious enemies. Certain details about him are still secret. As for me, everything I’ve told you during the last week about my life and business is true. But I also have professional associations which necessitate my carrying a gun when I travel.” He leaned back in the chair. “As for the businessman I met for lunch,
ja
, I’m aware he’s wanted by Interpol.”

“Holy crap! So what, your dad was a spy and you’re some kind of Swedish secret agent?”

His green eyes were weary. “Neither of those statements is accurate.”

She waited, but it was clear Max was not going to clarify anything further. “I’m going to tell you some things I’ve been keeping secret.”

Max swiped at an unruly strand of hair that fell across his forehead. “Please, go ahead.”

She told him everything. About Andrew’s request that she work undercover at the reunion because of Ben Pierce’s murder.

She told him what Dave had found out about Ben’s career, and about the St. John’s ring found at the scene.

And then she told him that Mary Millard had given her a thumb drive full of private student information, and that their professor had been visited by two agents who were seen talking with a redheaded, leather-coat-wearing goon, a twin of the one Max had disarmed in her garage.

Max tensed. He tapped the floor with his left foot, and loosened the shirt button at his neck as she went on.

Jill took a breath. “So what do you have to say about that?”

“Which part?”

“Any of it.”

Max sighed. “I’m sorry. This must be stressing you out even more than worrying about your mother.”

“What I’m stressed about more than anything is you. Why won’t you tell me what it is you do that you need to be armed?”

“Because you do not need to know about that part of my life. It doesn’t concern you.”

“Jesus! Can’t you see when you hedge like that my mind concludes you must be some kind of freaking James Bond or something?”

A shadow of a smile played over his handsome face. “You’d make a great Bond girl.”

Jill crossed her arms to keep from smacking him. “This is the night from hell.” She pointed to her cell phone. “A few minutes before Andrew showed up, Marissa Pierce called and asked to meet tomorrow so she could tell me something she thought was weird about Andrew, and about your St. John’s class ring that she evidently still has.”

“I had a St. John’s class ring?”

“I never saw one, but that’s what Marissa said. Of course, now I can’t get her to answer her damn cell.” Jill got up and grabbed a box of cookies out of the pantry, crunching one as she paced in a circle.

“What are you planning on doing with all this information?” His words were clipped.

“I’m going to give Millard’s thumb drive to Dave Hart as soon as I can call him this morning. And Marissa’s phone number. He can call her and maybe he can make some sense of whatever it is that is going on. God knows I can’t.”

“Professor Millard took a huge risk giving you confidential information.”

Jill opened the last sleeve of cookies. “She’s worried about her students. She trusts me enough to see if I might see something that was a red flag about the men she was asked about. Which means she wanted me to check and make sure you weren’t in trouble.”

“Who was she asked about again, aside from me?”

She told him.

“I doubt fifteen-year-old college records would hold any clues to Ben Pierce’s death.”

“I don’t either, and I didn’t see anything. But I think the best thing to do is pass them onto Dave. Maybe he’ll find something relevant.”

“Are you giving him my file, too?”

“Yes. You should be happy. At least it confirms what you said about your father’s work.” Jill stuck another cookie in her mouth and chewed. It was dry as dust. “Should I not do that?”

Max picked up the box and stared at her for three beats of silence. “If you think it might help him get to the bottom of what’s going on, I don’t care.”

She took a gulp of tea, inordinately relieved that he hadn’t asked her to conceal the truth from Dave. “Would you please go get that gun that was kicked under my car? I’ll give that to Dave, too. Let’s leave this mess to professionals. Although I guess you’re some kind of pro, too. Even if you won’t specify what kind.”

Max took the two remaining cookies out of the box and stuck a whole one in his mouth.

He crunched for a moment, staring at her.

She could see he was mulling over everything she said. But she didn’t have a clue as to what he was thinking.

Max swallowed the second cookie. “These are good. What are they called?”

“Do-si-dos. My neighbor’s daughter sells them for her Girl Scout troop.” She got up and put the box in the trash, careful not to touch the gun on the counter. “I’m glad they’re finally gone.”

“I’m not. I like cookies with nuts. These are pecans?”

“Peanuts.”

“Oh. They remind me of
Finska pinnar
,
Finnish fingers
you would say in English. Swedes don’t eat a lot of sweets, but we like cookies with our coffee.”

Am I talking cookies with a secret agent?
Jill quashed a laugh that would surely sound hysterical and stared at Max, waiting.

He picked up the revolver from the counter and stuck it in a holster at the base of his spine.

The man has a holster.
That confirmed the gun thing was not a rare event. “So what happens now?” she asked.

“I would like to go with you to see Carly’s Dad.”

“Are you going to explain why you are traveling the world with a gun in your pants?”

A beat of silence passed. “No.”

“Or about your special side job?”

“No.”

“Then I think it’s better if I go by myself. Dave is not going to be happy when I tell him I told you everything. And he’ll be even less happy when I tell him what happened tonight. He might call and have you arrested himself.”

“Why?”

“He’s an ex-detective, Max. Suspicion is second nature to American cops. He’s worried about Carly. And me. He’s looking into this crazy tragedy of Ben being killed by someone who might be a classmate, so if you’re not going to level with him about why you are armed, well, that’s not going to lead anywhere good.”

“I see.” He glanced at the clock. It was nearly four a.m. “You must be exhausted.”

“I am. Aren’t you?”

“May I stay? I want to make sure you’re not paid any more visits tonight. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

The last thing she wanted was to be alone, but she knew she could not lie comfortably in Max’s arms for what remained of the night.

Jill shivered, fatigue, fear, and worry shifting inside her head like sand. “I have to get up early and go see my Mom. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Remember, I’ve got a gun, too. And bullets.”

For the first time since he walked back into her life, Max seemed very much different from the college boy she fell in love with. The lines in his face were deep, and he had a weariness about him, as if he was a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

“Everything I told you about my accident fifteen years ago is true,” he said. “I hope you are not doubting that. I also pray you are not doubting that when I told you I didn’t remember you, I didn’t. And I mostly hope you aren’t doubting what I said about my feelings for you.”

“To be honest, I don’t know how I feel about anything right now.” Her voice trembled. “If you would tell me what’s going on.”

“We’ve got the rest of our lives to work this through, Jill. If you’ll trust me . . .”

“Trust you? How do you expect me to trust you if you don’t trust me? If you have secrets you’re not willing to share with me?”

He tilted his head back. The agony she saw in his eyes matched how she felt inside.

“I’ll get that gun from the garage so you can take it to Dave.” He walked out.

Jill got up and poured a glass of water and drank it down. She picked up the empty cookie box and stared at it, remembering it was the one Andrew had pulled out and helped himself to when he was here.

She frowned.

“We’re still on for the reunion dinner tomorrow,
ja?
”

Jill jumped at his voice. “What? Yes, I’ll be there. We promised Professor Millard we’d sing that duet.” “Even though I don’t sing.”

“Just fake it. It seems you’re pretty capable of that.”

Max drew back as if she had slapped him.

Carefully he set the gun down that he had wrapped in a rag from her garage. He placed six bullets beside it. “Dave may want to find out who this is registered to. I think you should put it in a bag of some kind. Not your purse. You don’t want to touch it more than necessary.”

“Thanks for the tip.”

“You’re welcome.” A nerve under his eye twitched.

“Don’t sit out in your car and watch my house.”

“Okay. I’ll see you at the reunion dinner.” With that, Max walked to the front door. He used more force than necessary to shut it behind him.

Jill stared at the gun, and wiped her eyes.

After a moment, she threw the empty cookie box into the trash and then hurried back to her computer. 

He knew now he was going to have to kill her, and the sooner the better.

She knew too much, might guess the rest, and would surely run to the authorities if she did, even if he disappeared.

The man who killed Ben Pierce sat in his car in the hotel parking lot and drank cognac directly from the bottle.

The horizon over the ocean was brightening, the air was warm, the gun in his pocket hard against his back. He took another drink and sighed, wishing he had never come to the reunion.

But it was too late now.

Chapter 17

Jill sat in Dave Hart’s tidy office in the back of the house where she and Carly had spent hundreds of hours of their youth. She talked for ten minutes straight to bring him up to date on Professor Millard and the nightmarish confrontation in her garage that ended with Max showing up like the cavalry.

She handed him the thumb drive.

Dave copied the information onto his computer and slid it across the desk back to her. “Have Professor Millard get rid of that.”

She nodded and gave him the large baggie with the gun Andrew’s man had given up. Dave raised his eyebrows but said nothing.

“Did Andrew specifically threaten you?”

“Well, yes. But, no. I mean, he said he was about to knock on the door when I came out into the garage. And I probably did leave the garage open, I was so upset when I got home.”

“Did you feel in physical danger?”

“Yes. But only because they startled me. The man didn’t pull out his gun until Max showed up with one. Andrew said he’s some kind of bodyguard.”

“I don’t like this at all.” Dave glowered. “And where the hell did Max get a gun?”

“He said he legally carries one for work.” She took a deep breath. “He wouldn’t tell me anything more. Do you think he’s going to get arrested like Andrew claims?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know what kind of case Denton made to whoever it is he’s working for. But I doubt it. My take from talking to my contacts is this is a multi-agency investigation, so unless Max is the mastermind behind the fraud case, or they have proof he met with Ben Pierce in Paris, I doubt they’d move on him on Andrew’s say so. They would have to verify everything, and that will take time.”

Hearing Dave say that made her angry, and then dizzy. She pawed through her bag and pulled out an envelope and dropped it on Dave’s desk.

“I wanted to give you this, too. It’s Andrew’s business card. If you want to check out those numbers for Pandora Security, there they are. For my money, Andrew has been lying to me the whole time. I am not even sure he’s actually got a contract with the government.”

“You might be right. But whatever his game is, he’s showing a lot of aggression.” The ex-detective shook his head. He picked-up the business card. “You got this from Andrew?”

“Yes. I made him give it to me last night.”

“Okay.”

Jill squeezed her hands together in her lap and watched Dave’s face. “Will you confirm the story those men who visited Dr. Millard gave her? Here’s their information.” She reached into her pocket and took out a folded paper she got from Millard this morning.

He held out his hand. “I will. If these guys are legitimate agents, then they might be interested in some things I’ve found out about your ex.”

“What things? And what do you mean, legitimate agents?”

“Anyone can get a business card printed up. It bothers me that Professor Millard saw them talking to a guy who is the muscle for Denton. They might be thugs posing as feds.”

“I didn’t think of that,” she said. “What did you find out about Andrew?”

Dave spoke carefully. “Don’t pass this on to Dr. Millard, or Max, or even Carly.”

“Okay.”

“As you know, Andrew was an only child, raised by his mother who worked for Immigration. I was told by a retired INS guy who once worked for his mom that the rumor was that Andrew was adopted illegally, and brought back to the States with her.”

“I read that he was adopted in the application files.” She nodded at the thumb drive. “But why all the intrigue with a criminal? His mother could have adopted a baby here.”

“She was single, and spent most of her work life traveling. I don’t know, Jill, it was harder for a woman in those circumstances to adopt a child thirty-five years ago.”

Jill’s head was spinning. “Wow. So his mother used her connections to take a short cut through the laws more than once.”

“Yes.” Dave leaned forward. “The question I have is, is Andrew Denton even a U.S. citizen? This information, if found out, could complicate his life enormously.”

“Why? He was a kid. He didn’t sneak into the country.”

“Immigration law, as you know, is pretty rigid. Lots of illegal immigrants get kicked out of our country. He could be in a world of trouble if his adoption wasn’t on the up and up. He could get deported, even if he isn’t at fault. The INS is pretty tough on this issue.”

Jill blinked.
Did I
hit a nerve when I threw that out at Andrew last night?
“This is all so confusing. Andrew’s convinced that Max is a criminal, and that he’s hiding things about his life that are making him look guilty, and no one seems to know the real reason poor Ben was killed.”

“You’re right. I don’t know how all those pieces fit together, but for right now, I’m going to tell you what your father would tell you, steer clear of both of those men until we know more.”

She had not expected him to say that. “Okay.”

“Hang out with Carly and Hamilton tonight. I’ll get going on some more calls, and I’ll let you know as soon as I find out anything.”

Jill nodded slowly. “I’m going over to see my mother and then I’ve got a couple of errands before I get ready for the tonight. Please call me if you hear anything.”

“I will.” He stared at her closely. “Carly and Julia are coming to stay at my house next week. You’re welcome to stay too. If you don’t want to be home until this is all resolved.”

“Thanks. But I’ll be fine.”

“I know you will.” He gave her hug. “Keep the faith, honey. This time next week we’ll probably know a whole lot more.”

Jill hugged him back, and walked out to her car, wondering what shape her life would be in this time next week if they did know how all those puzzle parts fit together.

Jill signed in at Friend’s House and was hurrying down the hall when someone called out “Miss Farrell!” behind her. She turned and Karen, the director, was walking toward her.

She stopped, her stomach churning.

“Thank you for waiting, Miss Farrell. I was going to call you but when I saw you signing in, I ran to catch up. I didn’t want you to go into see your mother before I spoke to you.”

“What’s wrong?” Jill turned toward the hallway. “Did something happen?”

“Your mother had an incident. But everything is fine.” Karen fell into step beside her as they headed for Dorothy’s room.

“What kind of incident?”

“She got out of the building somehow and was missing for an hour or so before we found her. She’s unhurt, except for . . .”

“How did she get out? She’s in a locked wing!” Jill stopped dead.

“It happens, I’m sorry to say. A visitor or a nurse presses the code numbers onto the number pad and the door opens and they don’t notice a resident standing nearby. A lot of them sneak out before the door closes.”

“Where did you find her?” Jill started walking toward the door again.

“She was in the grassy area right outside the window of her room, by the bird feeders. She was on the bench there.”

Jill pushed her mother’s door opened. Dorothy was sitting in the rocking chair by the window, her head back as if she was dosing.

“Hey, Mom, how are you doing?”

Dorothy’s eyes fluttered opened and she stared at Jill. “It’s Friday.”

“Well, it’s Saturday, but that’s pretty close.” Jill was so relieved she felt dizzy. She gently squeezed her mother’s shoulder and turned to the nursing home administrator. “She’s got scratches on her face.”

Barbara walked closer. “Yes. I think she probably picked those up on the bushes by the side of the building. She’s got a scrape on her left knee too.” She leaned down and raised Dorothy’s pant leg to show Jill a small bandage there.

“How long was she gone?”

“The nurse came in at 7:30 a.m. to help her up and walked her to breakfast. When the attendants took the residents back to their rooms, one of them helped your mom down the hallway, but she said she wanted to look out the window, so they left her there. It was about an hour later they found her outside.”

“Why didn’t you call me?” It was all she could do to not raise her voice. Her hands were clammy and her voice cracked, she was so shocked.

“I was going to. But then I saw you . . .”

“I mean why didn’t you call me the minute you knew she was missing?”

“I understand you’re upset, Miss Farrell. But our residents aren’t confined to their rooms. It’s not uncommon for something like this to happen. There are a lot of staff members walking in and out of the buildings. So she wouldn’t have gone unnoticed long.”

“Buketa, buketa, buketa, Uncle John,” Dorothy mumbled. She rubbed her neck and cringed. “Who was that man?”

Jill leaned down to look at Dorothy’s skin and saw a red welt where her mother was rubbing. She turned to Karen. “What happened to her neck?”

Karen blinked and walked over to peer at what Jill was talking about. “I don’t know. It looks like, what, an abrasion?”

“Where’s her necklace?” Jill’s voice was getting louder.

“What necklace?”

“Her locket. The gold locket. It has her initials on the back. It’s the only piece of jewelry I left with her.”

“Let me call the nurse in who found her, Miss Farrell. There was nothing in the report about your mother losing her necklace.”

Jill squeezed Dorothy’s hand. Her mother was staring at her vacantly. “Mom, did you pull your necklace off? Your locket.” She touched her hand to her mother’s inflamed skin and Dorothy winced.

“Max,” Dorothy whispered, resting her hand on the red line on her neck. “Scat, kitty cat. Don’t come back.”

Jill hurried into Professor Millard’s office at St. John’s and closed the door behind her.

“Jill, dear, have a seat.” Millard turned her ancient leather swivel chair toward her. It was six-thirty in the evening. Jill had called and offered to drive Millard to the reunion dinner, as well as meet to talk about the files Millard had pilfered. “So what did you think about the records? Anything helpful?”

“Nothing I could see. But like I told you on the phone, Carly’s father has a copy of them now, too.”

“He’s a retired detective?”

“Yes. Not that they ever retire.” Jill sat opposite Dr. Millard, the brooding picture of the orchestra conductor behind her looking down on her. “Dave also verified the two men who came to see you are actual ATF agents.”

He had not had any luck yet getting a lead on ‘Irv’, the red-haired guy, who Millard had seen speaking to the agents. The investigator claimed not to know what Millard was talking about, which Dave said concerned him, but Jill wasn’t going to share that information with the professor.

“Well, that’s good news. Did you find anything that worried you about Max? Did he ever mention the facts about his father working for the government?”

“No. He didn’t. But I guess that’s not surprising.” Jill took the thumb drive out of her pocket and handed it to Millard. “You must erase this, or destroy it. Dave made a copy of it but doesn’t want you to have it in your possession. Do the same thing with the scanned documents on your computer, okay? You don’t want to be found with personal student information.”

“I will. Thanks for keeping my butt out of jail, my dear.” Millard slipped the device in her pocket and stood up. “You look absolutely stunning in that color. Pink on blondes always puts me in mind of Mary Cassatt. The female subjects in her paintings are usually in that color, all glowing and soft.”

Jill gently touched the dress Carly had brought her from Paris. “It was a gift. I wouldn’t have chosen if for myself. Seems too elegant for me.”

“Nonsense. It flatters you in every way. Is Max going to meet you at the restaurant, or is he waiting in the car downstairs?”

“I’m not sure.” She had called to tell him it was better that they didn’t see each other for a few days, but he had not answered. Or called her back.

She had no idea if he was even coming tonight.

The professor linked her arm through Jill’s as they walked to the door. “Do I sense trouble in paradise?”

“There are some issues.”

“There are always issues in love,” Millard said.

“He’s a man of secrets, Dr. Millard. It’s difficult for me to imagine a future with a man of secrets. And he lives in France. That’s a pretty big hurdle all by itself.”

“I see.” The older woman sighed. “Your heart has a long history with the man, or with two men, the Max of then and now. But to him, you’re a brand new love. I doubt he knows you well enough to know how cautious you are.”

They walked out to the parking lot.

“I guess I am,” Jill agreed. “I like to think everything through. And my mother can’t move anywhere now. So it’s tough.”

“I know it is. But you need to trust your heart. You’re a good catholic girl, so don’t be afraid to take a leap of faith every now and then.”

“That’s good advice. But you know, it’s hard to leap sometimes. A lot of things have changed about Max since I was with him before. He’s secretive, and stubborn, for example. Even bossy.” She thought of his insistence he buy her those bullets. “I remember him as much more easy-going.”

“We all change,” Millard said, stepping into Jill’s car. “Haven’t you?”

“Yes. I have.” She shut the door on Millard’s side.

Millard stopped asking questions about Max. As they drove to the restaurant, the professor inquired about Dorothy, and Jill told her about what happened to her mother this morning, and her distress over what seemed like lax standards at the nursing home.