Beneath the Cracks (10 page)

"How long?"

Conall met my eyes in the mirror.  At
least that's what I thought he was looking at – me.  "He's
behind us right now.  Said he's had the place under
surveillance all day."

"He's watching
me
?  What
for?"  Outrage melted away some of my panic.

Briscoe and Conall shared a look.  The
kind that says: we know something but we're not telling you. 
How long had this secret surveillance been going on?  And what
purpose did they have for spying on me? 

Oh God.  Seleeby.  That son of a
bitch.  My brain jumped into plot mode.  How could I take
him out without making myself look like more of a suspect than I
already was?  Too bad my mad bomber, Jim Daltry was already
incarcerated.  He did a decent job on my rental car four
months ago.

Orion yanked the back door of the sedan
open.  "Get out."

Way too stern. 
Shit
.  To
outthink the best minds at the FBI, to sidestep their every move,
it was impressive.  But to be taken by the morons in Darkwater
Bay?  Unacceptable.  I glared up at him.

"Now, Helen."  His eyes darted to the
perimeter of my property.  "You two keep watch."

Briscoe pulled his gun, followed quickly by
Conall.

"This is a mistake, Orion.  I already
told Briscoe that the car in my driveway was occupied by FBI
agents.  They're no threat –"

"Bullshit.  In the house.  Now,
Helen."

Protests accomplished nothing.  I
tiptoed into the realm of damage control. 
Think
fast.  How little can you tell him without raising more
questions?  Think, Helen, think!

Orion wrested the key ring from my grip and
opened the front door.  "Give me the security code."

"I most certainly will not!"

"Helen."

"Nine one three one nine four five," I
muttered.

He punched in the code and shut the
door.  "Well?"

"I don't owe you answers.  I don't owe
you
anything
despite what you think now or thought in the
past."

"Fine.  You don't want to talk? 
I'll do the talking for now."  Orion gripped my arm and
dragged me into the living room.  A forceful move put me front
and center on the sofa.  "Over the past couple of weeks, we
became aware that you've been under surveillance.  Because
these people were very careful in other words, we never were able
to get photos of them, we've been unable to ascertain who they
are."

"I just told you who they are."

"Yes," he nodded.  "But why are they
watching you so intently before reporting to Danny Datello?"

Sometimes maintaining a bland expression is
the most difficult thing to do.  My relief had to be carefully
hidden.  Without realizing it, Orion had tipped his
hand.  The answers would be easy at this point. 

"There are things about me that you don't
know."

"Clearly.  Start talking."

"The FBI didn't just have suspicion. 
My ex-husband
was
guilty of laundering money for Sully
Marcos."

Orion dropped onto the sofa beside me and
ran a hand through his hair.  "Jesus.  Well, that
explains a lot."

"Of course, because I was his wife, and an
FBI agent, I had to have known what he was doing."  Bitterness
at the old insult crept into my voice.  The slight was based
more on the fact that I
hadn't
known that I married a
criminal, not that he was one.  "Even filing for divorce
immediately didn't mute the suspicion of me."

"But your ex is dead."

Deep breath.  Why won't this go
away?
  "Yes, he is, Johnny." 
That's right. 
Play on his feelings.

"So why are they pursuing this
investigation?  It's not like the guy can testify against
Marcos from the great beyond…"  Orion's voice faded. 
"Helen."

"Yeah."

"The Washington Post said it was
murder.  How exactly was he killed?"

"He was shot once in the head in an isolated
area of a state park outside D.C."

"Christ.  An assassination."

In the stereotypical sense, yes.  Why
could Orion connect dots that even the bureau refused to see? 
I cleared my throat.  "That was the prevailing theory at the
crime scene."

"You were
there
?"

Do it, Helen.  Convince him how much
pain this still causes you.
  My eyes lifted, and I allowed
the frustration to evoke something from me that seldom ever
appeared.  Tears.  "He was my husband, Johnny.  What
he did broke my heart, but I still love him."  Hard swallow
preceded breathy whisper.   "
Loved
him."

Ready.  Aim.  Fire.  Kill
shot. 

Orion's eyes fluttered shut.  "I
see."

"Do you?"  My hand crept across the
narrow gap between us and touched his hand.

Johnny shot off the sofa and started
pacing.  "Sure, it's pretty clear what's going on now. 
The feds are trying a different route at Marcos, this time through
his scumbag nephew."

Logical.  I liked it.  Better yet,
I could work with it.

"That doesn't explain why they're watching
you."  He pinned me with a hard stare.  "Nor does it
explain why Crevan thought you were
surrendering
to those
agents, Helen."

"They pissed me off.  Seleeby said
things.  I called his bluff."

"Hmm."

"Johnny, there is no mystery to this, at
least not for me.  I'm completely familiar with Seleeby's lame
tactics.  He can't let it go that Marcos got to his best,
quickest shot at building a case against the family when Rick
died.  Now he's turning to the next best thing – me. 
He's determined to prove that I knew about my ex-husband's illegal
activities, and therefore can be the surrogate he uses to finally
arrest Marcos."

His eyes narrowed.  "Then why tip his
hand with Datello?"

Good question.  Bad truthful
answer.  Could Seleeby have somehow uncovered the family
connection between Rick and Danny Datello?  No way.  If
he knew, he'd have arrested me without telling a stupid lie about
evidence I knew he didn't have.

I opted for truthful this time.  "I
have no idea."

"Bullshit."

"You think I'm lying?"

"Not exactly, but I'm convinced there's more
going on than you've told me, Doc."

The hated nickname was a panacea to my
soul.  Anger gone.  Suspicion yielding to trust. 
The Johnny Orion who wanted in my pants was about to rush in on his
white steed and save me.  One little push in the right
direction was all it would take to make sure his doubts
evaporated.  I rose and stepped in his path.  One hand
stroked down his chest.

"Johnny…"

He anchored my chin with the tip of his
index finger.  "Do you still love him?  Is that why you…I
shouldn't have pushed last night, should I?"

It hurt to see the sincerity and regret
swirling in the deep blue eyes.  Conscience seemed to
resuscitate in such close proximity to Orion.  I felt guilty
for using his feelings to my advantage, glossing over the fact that
he's been stirring something genuine in me from the day we first
met.

"It's very complicated."

"I get that, I really do."

"But?"

"I'm not sure you understand that you don't
have to face all of this alone.  It doesn't have to be you
against the entire FBI.  You don't have to grieve for Rick
alone either, Helen."

A wave ov bile crested in the back of my
throat.  The very notion that I felt anything less than
elation that the bastard was dead repulsed me. 
For God's
sake, don't show it, Helen.
  I took a deep breath and
said, "These aren't your issues."

"No, but they're the problems haunting
someone I happen to…to care about very much.  Helen, I can't
stand to see this eating you up inside.  And don't tell me
that you're handling it.  You're not.  You spotted those
PI's Jerry Lowe had following you around without batting an
eye.  But you didn't see the FBI watching you for nearly two
weeks?"

I hadn't noticed it.  Maybe rejecting
the lessons of my father hadn't been such a good plan after
all.  It dulled my senses, made me vulnerable to a surprise by
Seleeby.  I took a mental step back toward the Gospel
according to Wendell.  "Why have you been watching me?"

"I wasn't," Johnny muttered.  Yet I saw
the deception flicker in his eyes. "I was trying to respect your
request for space.  Then all of a sudden, some new activity
starts with Datello, and bingo.  I realize you're being
watched.  I thought they worked for him, not the
government."

"Oh." And just that quickly, Dad's guard
went up in my arsenal of defenses.

"I wanted to tell you, but Crevan thought it
might be better while we worked on figuring out why Datello was
interested in you all of a sudden, if we tried to keep you engaged
with cases at Downey.  That way –"

"I had built in body guards."  I sighed
and resumed the forehead massage.  "I wish you'd come to me
and told me the truth from the beginning.  It would've been
far more helpful if I'd seen Seleeby coming today.  Hell, I
could've called David and found out what he was doing."

"And you believe Levine would've told you
the truth?"

"David and I were very close friends,
Johnny.  He would've told me.  In fact, if he'd known
about any of this, he would've called me.  If I'd had a heads
up, David could've started questioning what Mark was doing before
things got to this point."

"I suppose that means you plan to drag him
into this."

"I can take all the help I can get,
apparently," I muttered.

"Except from me."

"Johnny, that's not what I said or
meant.  David is merely –"

"I don't need to hear this."

"I think you do.  He's in a position to
help put a stop to Mark's harassment once and for all.  And if
the bureau really believes that I'm the next best testimony against
Sully Marcos, David will know.  He'll level with me and not
play games or try to intimidate me into cooperating with
them.  He is my friend, above all else."

"And you really believe that?"

I nodded.

"All right.  I won't interfere."

"Johnny, I'm not rejecting your help."

He snorted softly.  "No, of course
not.  I just don't have the same clout as David Levine
does.  Even though my boss is the governor, who is pals with
the president, who plays golf with him and the director of the FBI
whenever he's in Washington.  That makes no difference at
all."

"Seleeby needs to exhaust this or he'll
never let it go."

"So…we let him harass you?"

"I wouldn't go that far.  Eventually,
he's got to realize that there is no evidence that I knew what my
husband was doing because I didn't know.  At that point, I'll
demand an apology and tell him that if I ever see him again, I may
be tempted to pursue legal action."

Johnny gripped my upper arms and kneaded
softly.  "I'm sorry I didn't tell you this before now. 
We were only trying to protect you, Doc."

I stepped into the circle of his arms and
rested my head against Johnny's chest.  "I know.  Thank
you for looking out for me.  In the future, it would be better
if you told me someone was watching.  Deal?"

His chin rested on the top of my head. 
"Doc, I…yeah, it's a deal."

Relief was the only thing that made me relax
into the embrace.  Yeah, this was just simple, run of the mill
relief.  I bought time.  Now I had multiple balls to
juggle, but the most important one had to be getting Seleeby off my
ass before he inadvertently raised questions I absolutely couldn't
answer.

If today felt like pouring rain, tomorrow
began the monsoon.

Chapter 9

After Briscoe and Conall were summoned
inside, the rest of my cheesecake disappeared while Orion filled us
in on his conversation with Jacob Cox two weeks ago.  I kept
glancing at my watch, wondering about Maya and feeling tentacles of
guilt strangling me for abandoning her in her time of need. 
If only I'd insisted that she not spend the evening alone, none of
this other mess would've happened.

"Are we keepin' you from somethin' more
important, Eriksson?"

"I need to make a call."

"Right now?" Johnny's eyebrows melded almost
to his hairline.

I hadn't explained to him that I wouldn't be
available Monday.  If it wouldn't have caused a riot, I
would've kissed Crevan for intervening.

"I think Helen has a personal situation that
is making her worried at the moment."  He reached over and
patted my hand.  "Go make your call.  We'll wait."

It was becoming a little amazing to me, how
sensitive Conall was to me without knowing any details about my
life.

Maya sounded unexpectedly bright when she
answered the phone.

"Maya?"

"Hey, Helen!"

I frowned.  "Are you all right?"

"Um…"

"Are you alone?"  Soft music filtered
over the phone line.

"Uh…"

I laughed.  "I've been worried sick
thinking you must feel utterly abandoned because I didn't even have
the good etiquette to call.  Are we still on for six?"

"Yeah," big smile in one word.  "I'll
talk to you then.  And Helen?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you
so
much.  You have no
idea how much."

I had the distinct feeling that she'd fill
me in on the depths of her gratitude first thing in the
morning.  In the meantime, one of my heavy burdens
lifted.  When I came back to my kitchen table, Orion had
opened a bottle of wine.  A modest glass was waiting for
me.

Speaking of gratitude for small
kindnesses.

"So when Jake and I last spoke, he told me
he was following up on a couple of leads, things he thought
probably wouldn't pan out or lead anywhere, but needed a closer
look just the same."