Careless Rapture (31 page)

Thirty minutes later, Jackie nodded at Faye,
who stood by the copy machine. “There she is.”

Adriana glanced at her shoes. “Then you have
a problem.”

“What?”

“She might wear expensive shoes, but those
are screaming Payless.”

Jackie rested a hand on her hip. “Oh,
great.”

“That jacket, however, is something else
entirely. Excuse me.” She walked to the copy machine. “Faye
Radcliff?”

Faye turned to her with a professional smile.
“Yes?”

“Hi. I’m Adriana Graham, Jackie’s
sister-in-law. She’s told me so much about you, it’s a pleasure to
meet you finally. Right now I’m on a mission to get her out of
these boring clothes and I couldn’t help but notice your jacket.
It’s gorgeous. Where can I get one?”

“You can’t. It’s from a celebrity
giveaway.”

“I’m jealous.”

“Don’t be.” She lowered her voice to a
conspiratorial tone. “I admit to being a fiend when it comes to
giveaways and estate sales. I may not be rich, but I can dress like
royalty. You should see my closet.”

Adriana grinned. “You should see mine.”

“Can you get inside?”

“Hardly. I’m debating on whether to leave my
husband any space at all.”

She laughed. Jackie stared at Faye, amazed.
She’d never seen her so open and friendly before. “There’s another
estate sale coming up soon. I could give you the address and we
could go together and get Jackie something.”

Adriana sighed with regret. “Thank you, but
my husband would kill me.”

“Think about it. Jackie has my number.”

“I certainly will. It was a pleasure to meet
you.”

Faye nodded, then returned to her office.
Jackie walked Adriana to the elevators. “Sometimes I wonder if I’m
missing the female gene,” Jackie said.

Adriana pressed the DOWN button with a smirk.
“Clay doesn’t think so.”

“You know what I mean. The ability to chat
about clothes and shopping. I could never make a quick friend the
way you did.”

Adriana shrugged. “Oh, that was idle chatter.
That shouldn’t be confused with a lasting friendship.” They stepped
into the elevator.

She sent her a cautious glance. “Like
us?”

Adriana adjusted her necklace. “We’re getting
there. Does this place have a cafeteria?”

“Yes.”

“Great, then you can treat me to coffee.” She
playfully nudged her. “All good lasting friendships begin that
way.”

Jackie and Adriana chatted for half an hour
before Adriana returned to work. Jackie finished her biscotti. A
man slid into the chair in front of her. She glanced up and tried
not to groan out loud.

“I finally got you alone,” said William
Chavis, the accountant who wouldn’t give up asking her out.

“I’m about to leave.”

“You can spare a few minutes. It won’t hurt
you.”

“No, but you want to go out with me and
that’s impossible because I’m seeing someone.”

He sat back, undeterred. “Until there’s a
ring on your finger, there’s still hope.”

Too tired to argue, Jackie had two cups of
coffee with him. He proved to be just as boring as she’d feared.
She struggled to keep her eyes open as he shared his hobby of
collecting pens. “How would you like to see my collection?”

“Perhaps another time.”

“You’re a hard woman to know.”

“Yes, but my boss is single,” she said,
hoping to redirect his interest.

“Faye Radcliff. She certainly doesn’t act
it.”

“She’s dedicated to her work.”

“I want a woman dedicated to me.”

Jackie stood. “I’m afraid you won’t find her
at this table, but good luck.”

***

Clay wasn’t used to living with someone. He
wasn’t sure he ever would be. Bertha had been with him a few days
and he still felt uncomfortable with the situation. He would have
preferred a bird—a bird didn’t ask for money, talk to him when he
wanted to be silent, or try to make up childhood memories he was
certain had never happened. Though he appreciated the attempt.

He walked into his apartment, wondering if
he’d find the familiar smoking figure on the couch. She was either
there or out somewhere, she never told him where. Since she was
usually out, he hadn’t had the chance to talk to her about his
sister. He would try tonight. First, he needed to unwind. Walking
past his mother, who was stretched out on the couch, he went
straight to the fridge, opened it, and scowled. “Mum, stop drinking
off my beers,” he grumbled, grabbing the last one.

“Do you realize you have an empty birdcage?”
she called.

“It’s not empty.” He popped the top of the
can and took a swallow. “I just have a really tiny bird inside.
Can’t you hear it? It’s singing right now.”

She kissed her teeth. “Cheeky monkey.”

He sat down. “What are you watching?”

“Rubbish.”

He picked up the remote. “So we can change
the channel?”

She snatched it away. “No, it’s good rubbish.
How was work?”

“Fine.” He took another swallow, then set his
beer down. “What did you know about Doreen?”

“Blunt, aren’t you?”

“I’m curious.”

“About what?”

“You told Jackie that Rennie failed to stop
Emmerick.”

She dragged on her cigarette and squinted her
eyes. “Did I?”

“Yes. Why did you say that?”

She exhaled, surrounding herself in a cloud
of smoke. “Probably because it was true.”

“How do you know that when you weren’t even
there? Rennie barely spoke to you. There were no phones in the
house and—”

She tapped the ashes of the cigarette in her
new Lincoln Memorial ashtray. “Rennie didn’t tell me.”

“Don’t say—”

She shook her head. “No, that Prince fellow
didn’t tell me- either. It was some woman. I don’t remember her
name. One of his wives, maybe, or a friend. But she said Rennie had
betrayed the trust. That she had tried to stop them. She’d left the
main house and moved into one of the trailers and that had angered
Emmerick. No one could think of any other reason for her behavior
except your leaving.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I don’t believe we were talking at the time
and she was already dead.” She reached for his beer; he moved it
out of the way.”Come on, just a sip.”

“No. Keep talking.”

“Personally, I’m not sure that is real
helpful now.”

“Did the woman say how Rennie tried to stop
him?”

“She tried to go to the police.”

“The police?” That was definitely a break
from community code. What would have prompted that? What would she
have on Emmerick that the police could have used?

The phone rang; Bertha grabbed it before he
had a chance to.

“Yes?” she said. “Okay, meet you there.” She
hung up and stubbed out her cigarette.

“You’re going out again?”

“Yes.”

“Who is he?”

She shrugged. “Just a man.”

“Yes, I know
what
he is. I worked that
out myself. What’s his name?”

“You don’t need to worry.”

Clay folded his arms and shook his head.
“Amazing how history repeats itself. You claim to come all this way
to see me and in less than two weeks you’ve already met a man.”

Bertha took out her compact and applied
foundation. “It’s not like that.”

“Why won’t you tell me a little about him? I
would like to know what guy is so enamored with you that he has you
out almost every night, calls at three and five in the morning, and
has you coming home with less money than you left with. I thought
the man was supposed to pay. At least some of the time.”

She snapped her compact closed. “I’ll be back
late.”

“You can’t keep this up. You’re playing a
dangerous game.”

Bertha stood and grabbed her handbag. “The
same one you are.” She opened the door. “You can’t stop him.”

“Watch me.”

“No time, love. Bye.” She left.

Clay stared at the door, then took a long
swallow. He refused to be upset. Bertha could do what she bloody
well pleased—he wasn’t her guardian and she was old enough to take
care of herself. He had other things to think about anyway. Clay
set his beer down and swore. A life he had once prided himself on
keeping so simple, so easily managed, was now so complicated. He
had a brother-in-law who felt betrayed, another whose health
worried him, a half-sister who wouldn’t speak to him, a visiting
mother, a case that continued to make no sense, a partner that had
turned into a friend, and a girlfriend. He actually had a
girlfriend
. How had this happened?

He rested his head back and ran a tired hand
down his face. In moments like this, he wished he hadn’t let Laura
go. He could have used her silly tricks or bright chirping right
now. But he’d never see her again. She was probably part of someone
else’s life now, bringing joy into it, and they’d be smart enough
not to let her go. He wouldn’t regret his decision. It wasn’t like
him and he still had better things to do with his time. He had to
think. He had to focus.

He unpacked the puzzle of the hawk Jackie had
given to him. It was the best exercise in creating order out of
chaos that he could think of. It calmed his mind. He loved the
search for the right piece, slowly seeing the picture come
together. If only he could do the same with this case. In essence,
it was over. He’d discovered who the invisible man was. But as Mack
had mentioned, he couldn’t let it go because it was about revenge.
Clay couldn’t let it go until he avenged Emmerick’s silent
victims.

First, there was Rennie, whose death may not
have been due to a beating that had gotten out of hand or an
accident on the stairs, but intentional murder. Then there was
Melanie, the only one of the HOPE clients who spoke about the
Careless Rapture Ministry. Althea was supposedly a victim, though
she had just disappeared, and now there was Claudia, who had killed
herself only days after sounding so hopeful to her aunt.

Clay fitted a piece that formed the hawk’s
wing. Emmerick hadn’t called Jackie in a while. He couldn’t figure
out why he had started in the first place. Harassment wasn’t his
style. Plus, Jackie wasn’t the type of woman he liked to
target.

He shook his head, frustrated. He had the
pieces and they didn’t fit together—he’d have to start from the
beginning. Mr. Hamlick’s death and the clients canceling. He
believed the key started there.

Clay quietly worked on his puzzle, thinking
about his setup with Mack. Getting Emmerick to talk to new recruits
would be easy, but not the end. He knew there was another piece he
was overlooking and he needed to find out what. He needed to know
more about the company. Suddenly Clay thought of an idea and the
one person who could help him. He groaned.

***

Kevin was enjoying a dip in the sauna with
two attractive dancers when his assistant told him Clay was on the
phone. He excused himself, then answered. “I don’t believe it.
You’re taking me up on my offer?”

“No.” He sighed with regret. “I’m afraid I
could use your help.”

“No need to flatter me.”

“I’m not trying to. Jackie told me you’re not
donating.”

“No. I---”

“You don’t have to explain. It’s your money
and that’s your business. I just want you to pretend that you might
be.”

Kevin frowned. “Pretend?”

“Yes, let them think that you will. I don’t
care how you convince them, just do it.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to see if certain pieces
begin to fall into place.”

Two days later, Clay received an expected
call from Jackie. “Faye is beside herself,” she said excitedly.
“Someone really big and influential is thinking of donating, isn’t
that great?”

“Wonderful,” he said, pleased with Kevin’s
fast work.

“The thing is, he wanted to take her out and
since she’s sort of awkward and wants to really impress him, she
invited me along. I thought we could make it a double date.”

“A double date?” He frowned. “Isn’t that
something where two women chat while the men look at each other and
do nothing?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll have to make sure Clayton Dubois is
available.”

“Clayton Dubois?”

“Yes, the other man you’re seeing. Remember,
she doesn’t know who I really am. That night I am Clayton Dubois, a
reporter who writes about nonprofit organizations for
Outline,
a local newspaper. We have been seeing each other
casually since we met in the office, after we both discovered an
interest in pygmy art.”

“I don’t know anything about pygmy art,” she
protested.

“Does she know that?”

“No.”

“Good. We’ve had about two dates that were
very uneventful. One was at a Japanese restaurant, where you had
your first taste of tofu. The next date was a lunch date at a
little deli off of Sixteenth Street. We don’t remember the name,
but the food was delicious.”

“Why does all this matter?” Jackie asked,
doubtful.

“If you readily supply information, people
tend to believe you. Add details and they’ll trust you.”

“You’ve really thought this through.”

“Lying takes a certain amount of planning.
Besides, deceiving people is part of my job.”

“Well, it’s not part of mine,” she said,
becoming anxious. “I hope I don’t slip and say something I
shouldn’t.”

“Talk about the company and you won’t have to
worry. Oh, and by the way . . .”

“What?”

“Expect a big surprise.”

Jackie had
expected a lot of things when she and Clay walked into the lush
elegance of the Silk Garden restaurant, but nothing would have
prepared her for Kevin sitting next to Faye. Jackie turned to Clay
and jerked her head in the direction of the pair. “Did you know
about this?”

“Aren’t you happy to see him?”

“No. And I find it disturbing that you are.”
Clay had a different, more aggressive energy. Everything about him
tonight was disturbing.