Flames Of Deceit (9 page)

Mia’s eyes widened. “Dan could ask—“

“They wouldn’t release that information. He doesn’t have connections to the case.” Jake held up a finger. “If they searched his interest, it would lead them to us.”

Shoulders slumping, Mia heaved a loud sigh. “I need coffee.”

“I’ll whip up breakfast.” Jake moved past her. “What was Pam Foley looking for in the model’s apartment?”

***

Several hours later, Mia slammed the laptop shut and stared across the coffee table at Jake. She hadn’t slept. Her mind wouldn’t stop thinking about Leigh Anne’s body, lying in a pile of ashes with her throat slit.

And the murderer following them.

And Jake Stone lying in bed in the next room.

“I can’t find a thing linking Leigh Anne to Pam Foley other than the fact that they worked at the same company.” After hours of combing through Leigh Anne’s files, Mia’s head ached.

“Then we’ll fall back on plan B. Ask her for an interview.”

“What plan B? You think she’d talk to me?” Mia leaned back on the sofa.

“You’re a reporter.” Jake rubbed a hand over his day old beard. “I’ll go along as your cameraman.”

“What camera?” Mia lifted a brow. “Do you think she was the one we heard in the condo?”

“Someone there, but it wasn’t the secretary.”

Mia glared at him. “How do you know? We didn’t see who was upstairs.”

“Time,” Jake tapped his wrist. “The news anchor said Pam Foley was arrested around three A.M. We were back here by twelve. And don’t forget someone followed us.”

Mia’s imagination supplied the watch he wasn’t wearing, but it didn’t stop there. The dark hair on his arms made her wonder if he had hair on his chest or if—what was wrong with her?

The intruder could have killed them last night. Or they might have been arrested like the secretary had, but all she could think about was how appealing she found Jake.

“You don’t think Pam was the person following us?” She asked, knowing the answer, but not liking it all the same. At least an interview wouldn’t be breaking the law. “I’ll make the call.”

***

Pam Foley agreed to meet Mia, alone, in a public place. Mia suggested the bookstore at Center Towne Mall in one hour.

Jake stopped at Best Buy on the way and picked up a Flip camcorder. Then they headed for the mall. Arriving early, they entered Barnes and Noble from two different doors. Jake ordered coffee and picked a seat.

Mia got in line and ordered two coffees, and chose a seat near Jake so he could record the interview. Sipping coffee, she went over her questions as she waited.

Pam Foley arrived ten minutes later. “Sorry to make you wait but I wanted to make sure you came alone.”

Mia swallowed the urge to blurt the truth as the red-haired secretary pulled off dark glasses and a knitted cap. The dark circles under the woman’s fair skin, showed Pam’s fear.

Mia kept her tone friendly as she nodded toward the table in the corner, near the exit. The redhead had been sitting there when Mia arrived. “I didn’t know that was you.”

“Yeah, well, I have to be careful.”

“Is this private enough for you?” Mia indicated their seat near the coffee bar.

Pam shrugged. “I haven’t seen anyone I recognized. I guess this place is as safe. Why did you call me?”

“Are you willing to answer questions about Leigh Anne Saddler?” Mia probed.

“That bitch?” Pam rolled her eyes and stirred the coffee Mia passed her so energetically, so sloshed out on the table. “Sorry. I just get so angry when I think—“

Clamping her lips shut, she shook her head. “My lawyer would have a fit if he knew I was talking to you.”

“Why did you agree to meet me?” Mia couldn’t resist asking.

“Because I didn’t murder Leigh Anne. She was a two-timing bitch, but I didn’t kill her.”

Mia studied the lines of stress on the woman’s face and wondered if she was looking at the face of a killer. “So you weren’t friends?”

“We were when she first came to work at Stern-McHamlin, but Leigh Anne didn’t need female friends. All she cared about was men.” Pam glared at Mia across the table. “I know what you’re thinking. That I’m speaking ill of the dead and she can’t defend herself, but it’s the truth. Leigh Anne dated any VP who asked her out.”

“Did that cause tension among the vice-presidents?” Mia swallowed. Could this be the evidence Leigh Anne had hidden? Notes on the company VPs, not Phil? But why claim Phil had fathered her child? Had she lied? “Anyone special?”

Pam’s eyes filled with tears and she sat silent for several seconds. “The man I loved for one.”

Almost tasting the pain in Pam’s voice, Mia passed her a napkin to wipe the tears streaming down her pale cheeks. “Can you tell me his name?”

Pam scrubbed her eyes and tossed the napkin on the table. “I shouldn’t tell you. You probably think if I really loved him, I wouldn’t reveal his name and risk getting him in trouble. But I gave him everything. Everything, for fifteen years, and it wasn’t enough. I laid down my life to make him happy. Catered to his every whim at work and after hours…” she sniffed, and grabbed the napkin again. “Well, you can guess what I did after hours. I was in love. Then Leigh Anne Saddler appeared on the scene.”

“How did Leigh Anne’s arrival change things?” Mia crossed her fingers under the table, hoping the answer to that question would give her reason to believe Phil’s claims.

“Nothing changed, at first. She was friendly. We got close and she guessed I was in love.” Tears streamed down Pam’s cheeks. “She started flashing him her model smile and that sexy look she had and…suddenly I found myself with free time at night.”

“She went after your—“

“My boss! I may as well tell you. You probably already figured it out, anyway.” Pam sniffed and dabbed tears. “He thought I wouldn’t guess, that I’d back off and watch him go after another woman.”

“You caught on?”

Pam nodded her head. “I followed him to a motel. Leigh Anne met him there.” Tears streamed down her face. “Silly man didn’t even know she was sleeping with someone else at the same time.”

“How did you know?”

Pam jerked her head up. Sparks burned in her eyes. “Are you kidding? A woman like Leigh Anne doesn’t keep her conquests secret. There’s no fun in that. If she slept with a new man, she wasn’t happy until everyone knew.”

“Who was the other man?”

Pam clamped her lips and shrugged. “I’ve said too much already. If my lawyer heard what I’ve told you he would drop my case.”

“I’m not going to the police, Pam. I’m after a story.”

“Your story could land me in jail for murder. I’ve said too much.” Pam picked up her hat.

Desperate, fearing Pam would stop before she had enough information; Mia clutched her coffee cup and looked at Pam over the rim. “So, you let her get away with stealing your man?”

“She’s dead. What difference does it make, now?” Pam snapped.

“It makes a difference here,” Mia tapped her head, “and here.” She pointed to her heart. “You were used and tossed aside. Why let the past eat at you when you can make things right by telling the whole story?”

Brow wrinkled, Pam settled back in the chair. Shoulders sagging, she stared at nothing for long seconds. Then a noisy sigh left her lips. “I don’t know the whole story. Leigh Anne got cagey for some reason and stopped bragging. I know she slept with two VPs.”

Mia’s fingers clenched the cup in her hand. “Which two?”

After asking the question, Mia held her breath. If Pam clammed up now, she might never find out the truth. One thousand one, one thousand two…

“My boss, Edward Poole, and Charlie Hart,” Pam’s voice clogged with tears. “There was someone else, too, and that senator, but she was welcome to them. All I cared about was Edward. She knew how I felt, that’s why she seduced him.”

“You’re saying there was another man you didn’t know? How did you find out?”

Pam shrugged. “She dropped hints about catching a big fish.”

“It wasn’t the senator?”

“Phil Clark, no. He was old news. She had some guy she really liked.”

“Any idea who he was?” Mia tried to keep her voice calm. This might be the lead she needed to clear Phil’s name.

Pam shook her head. “She was really into him though, I know that much. So that means he had money and power. Take a guess, that’s all I can do.”

Shoving back disappointment, Mia toyed with the stirring stick in her cup. “If you had to guess, who would you pick?”

Pam huffed. “The two most powerful men at work are George Ward and Thomas Goldman, but I don’t know if it was either one of them.” She checked her watch. “I’ve got to go.”

Mia felt the urge to hug the woman. Leigh Anne had made Pam’s life miserable and she’d been arrested for plundering the model’s condominium. “What did you do when you found out she dated your boss?”

Pam stood and pulled the knitted cap over her head. “I went after Phil Clark and dated Leigh Anne’s senator.”

Unable to move, Mia stared as Pam turned and raced out the door. Had she heard the woman right? Pam Foley had dated Phil?

After all the time she’d spent trying to prove Phil was innocent of Leigh Anne’s charges,  and he’d dated not one, but two women at Stern-McHamlin? How could he do that to his wife and children? To his career? To…mother.

“You don’t know that she’s telling the truth.”

Mia gave her head a shake to break free of the ice freezing her in place. “She had no reason to lie.”

“She knew your name. How hard is it to connect you to the senator?”

“She didn’t mention a thing about us being related. And she’s heart-broken. I could see the devastation in her eyes. I felt sorry for her. I don’t think she lied.”

“We’ll check her story. Find out more about Stern-McHamlin and the vice-presidents.”

“I’m going to talk to Phil.”

“You can’t.”

Mia angled her chin and glared. “He’s my brother. I’ll ask him what I want.”

Jake leaned over and whispered. “We’re hiding out, remember?”

Mia opened her mouth to argue. How could Phil do this? If he didn’t care about his career, what about his family? “Okay, I’ll wait…but when this is over, he is going to answer my questions.”

A muffled scream filtered in the door. People on the sidewalk outside the store started running toward the parking lot.

Mia glanced at Jake. “Pam went out that way.”

Without another word, they jumped up and rushed for the door. In the parking lot, they joined the crowd gathering in a dark area.

“Stay back, people. This is a crime scene.” A mall security guard held his arms out to keep people at a distance.

Mia grabbed Jake’s arm. “I can’t see anything.”

“It’s a woman,” the man in front of them said. “I think she’s dead.”

Gasps sounded from the people who heard the words. Mia’s knees trembled. Smoke from someone’s cigarette drifted past her nose. Her stomach tumbled. The stench of burning wood filled her head. She couldn’t breathe. Panic almost bent her double. “Jake--“

Jake wrapped his arm around her, pulled her into his body and whispered in her ear. “We don’t know it’s her.”

“Sorry, it’s…the smoke…what if it is--”

Gasping in deep breaths of cold air, Mia managed to stop trembling and forced her body away from Jake’s strength. It was so easy to lean on him. But she couldn’t. She couldn’t get in the habit of depending on him. Look at Phil’s betrayal. And her own. If she couldn’t be honest about the rivalry she felt toward her brother, how could she get involved in a romantic relationship? “The smell of smoke brought it all back.”

Afraid someone around them would fit the pieces together, she didn’t say more, but she moved away from the man that was smoking. Looking down to watch her step in the dim light, she gasped and almost tumbled to the ground in shock. One-step in front of her, a rainbow stripped cap lay on the ground.

“Careful,” Jake stepped close and held her arm tight.

Mia stared at him and pointed to the ground as light exploded behind her eyes.

Jake frowned and looked down. “Hell.” His head jerked up. His stare bored into hers for about five seconds, then he tugged on her arm. “Come on. We need to get out of here.”

Mia stumbled as he tugged her arm. “What—“

“Don’t talk. Run.”

“Why? Won’t the cops think we’re guilty or something?”

“Good point,” Jake slowed his steps, and glanced around. “Keep your eyes open.”

“What are we looking for?” Mia twisted her head, searching for the Jeep.

“For the person that killed Pam Foley.” Jake held her close to his side as they crossed to the Jeep. “Someone knew about her meeting with you.”

“Oh, no, the cops will think I had something to do with her murder.”

“Stay calm. The bookstore was busy. I doubt anyone noticed you sitting with her.”

“Someone did.” Mia wanted to believe him, but every time she turned around another body appeared. This time, she might have been the last person to see the murder victim alive. How long before police started searching for her?

***

Jake made and effort to keep his speed well below the posted limit as he left the mall parking lot. Drawing attention to their departure could bring unwanted interest in them. At the mall exit, he turned right on Renaissance Parkway. Keeping a keen glance on the rearview mirror, he made a right turn into Target’s parking lot about two blocks away.

“Why are we stopping?” Mia’s voice quivered. “I want to go home.”

Driving to the darkest corner of the lot, Jake backed in a parking space that allowed a view of the entrance and turned off the engine. He wanted to reassure Mia, tell her that everything was okay, but the two murdered women proved him wrong.

The next best thing he could think to do was wrap Mia in his arms and hold her tight. But he couldn’t even do that. He was certain she didn’t have anything to do with Pam Foley’s death. She was with him…unless she had an accomplice…how could she? Yet…someone had known they were meeting at the mall.

How? If Mia hadn’t told them, how did they find out? Would Pam Foley tell someone who would turn around and murder her? Why would Mia want Pam dead? Because Pam dated her brother? That didn’t make sense…unless…Mia had gone to all this trouble for one reason. She wanted to clear Phil’s name. Her family’s name. Did she want that goal enough to kill the woman who dated her married brother?

He didn’t believe that for one second. But until had proof Mia was telling him the truth, he couldn’t lose control of his emotions. He’d spent every day of the past six years working to pursue justice. Harboring feelings for an arsonist or murder, went against everything he believed in.

Yet every instinct in him shouted that he could trust Mia.

“We’ll wait a few minutes to make sure no one is following us.” Jake fastened his gaze on traffic entering the parking lot and tried to ignore the woman beside him.

“It’s my fault.”

Losing the battle, Jake reached across in the dark and wrapped her hand in his. The chill of her skin told him as much about her state of mind as her words. “You didn’t murder Pam Foley. But we will find out who did.”

“What if the police discover Pam met me in the bookstore? They’ll start searching for me. When they can’t find me, I’ll look guilty.”

“Good points. We need to solve these murders fast.” Jake squeezed her hand, then let go to start the Jeep. “I think we’re safe. No one seems to be following us. When we get back to the cabin, we’ll go over your files on Stern-McHamlin. There has to be some connection to these murders.”

“Leigh Anne and Pam were both secretaries to a vice-president. If there’s a connection, it has to be something related to the company.”

“Or their personal lives.” Jake heard her gasp, but after a quick glance in the rearview mirror, he continued. “Both women dated the same two men, maybe more. But that isn’t reason enough to commit murder, unless—“

“You think my brother killed them to protect his political career, don’t you?”

Ignoring her anger, Jake checked the mirror. “That’s the obvious conclusion.”

“Phil didn’t—“

“But we need to look beyond the obvious. Thanks to your brother’s social activities outside his marriage, he’s easy to frame for the murders.”

“You mean his adultery.” Pain sharpened her voice. “Why don’t you just say Phil is a lying, cheating husband? It’s what you’re thinking. And you’re right.” She gasped for air. “I can’t believe he would cheat on his wife like this, and betray his family.”

“If what Pam Foley said is true, and all we have to go on is her word, then your brother is all those things. But that doesn’t make him the killer. The big question is why?”

“Why what? Why did he cheat? I can’t imagine. He loves his kids. I thought his marriage was strong, even with his political career making demands.”

“Don’t stop there. Ask yourself, why Pam would say those things if they weren’t true?” Jake glanced at her and turned back to the road. Lights glared in his rearview mirror, but he resisted the urge to press the gas pedal to the floor.

“Pam was jealous of Leigh Anne for dating her boss, but that doesn’t explain why she would lie about dating Phil.”

“She hated Leigh Anne for dating her boss. I could hear it in her voice.” Jake put a hand to his shirt pocket. “We’ve got it on tape.”

“Pam felt betrayed because she accepted Leigh Anne as a friend. But none of that seems like enough reason to commit murder.”

Jake checked again on the vehicle behind them. It wasn’t passing or falling behind, just keeping pace with them. “With Leigh Anne out of the picture, Pam might think she could win her boss’s affections again, but that doesn’t seem like a motive strong enough to commit murder.”

“A woman couldn’t have carried Leigh Anne’s body up those stairs to the second floor.” Mia reminded.

Jake slapped the steering wheel. “We need to get our hands on the corner’s report, but that isn’t likely if we can’t go to police.”

“They’ll think I’m guilty, won’t they?”

“No.” He frowned. “Maybe. It will look suspicious when they can’t find you. Don’t worry. When this is over, I’ll explain that I took you into protective custody.”

“If we survive.” Mia looked over her shoulder. “That vehicle could have passed any time in the past fifteen minutes, but it just sits back there, with the headlights glaring in your eyes.”

“Not everyone drives at top speed.”

“Take the next exit and see if the car follows us.”

Jake shook his head. “I thought about that, but I need to wait until we get to an area I’m familiar with. If the car followed, I don’t want to get lost and play into their hands.”

“Even if Pam did murder Leigh Anne, who murdered Pam? It wasn’t Leigh Anne. And that leaves Phil.”

“If Pam isn’t the killer, and your brother is innocent, who wants both women dead?” Jake played along with her questions, hoping to ease the tremor in her voice. But the vehicle behind them had him concerned for their safety. He eased off the gas, not enough that Mia would notice, but enough to slow their speed, and still the car behind hadn’t passed them.

“If we leave Phil out, the only man we’re certain the two women had in common is Pam’s boss. Both women dated Edward Poole. Both knew he cheated on his wife. What other secrets does he have?”

Jake clenched his hands on the wheel. “What do you know about Edward Poole?”

Mia glanced over her shoulder. “They aren’t going to pass, are they?”

If he could reassure her, he would, but they could face disaster any second. Mia deserved the truth. “No, slowed down, but they’re hanging right behind us.”

“If they had a gun, they would have used it by now, don’t you think? The road’s been empty for miles.”

Jake glanced at her. “You think the slasher is in that car?”

“Don’t you?” Mia demanded.

Seeing a road sign for the next exit, Jake felt a twinge of relief. There were two more exits before their turn off. If he was going to check if the car behind was following them, he had to do it now. When the sign for the exit to Hwy. 87 appeared, he reached put the turn signal on, but jerked back. Why give the car behind notice? “It’s now or never.”

“Where are we?”

“How adventurous do you feel?”

Mia turned wide eyes on him. “Do you know where you’re going?”

“Hang on.” Jake took the exit faster than the posted speed. For a second, he thought they were safe. Then the car behind turned off, too. Muttering under his breath, he made a sharp right turn into the first gas station still open.

“Do you think they will stop?”

“I doubt anyone will try to murder us with witnesses in sight.” Jake nodded to the attendants looking out the station windows. “But we’ll see.”

Two seconds later, the other car passed by the station. Mia let out a loud sigh.

“Don’t get your hopes up, yet,” Jake warned. “They can’t be too obvious or they know we’ll call police.”

“W-what if it is the police?”

“It wasn’t a patrol car, or a county sheriff’s car.” Jake frowned as he stared after the vehicle.

“It could be an unmarked car.”

“Why follow us? Why not stop us and drag us in if they want to question us?” Jake watched the road for long minutes but the car didn’t return. Keeping a careful watch for any sign of the car returning, he took a left to on Hwy. 64 and headed back in the direction they had come.

After two more fake turns, he eased the Jeep off the right exit and drove toward the cabin. Once they were inside, he checked the house carefully, then dropped to the sofa beside Mia.

“This is more serious than I thought.”

***

Two hours later, Jake took a slug from his coffee mug and grimaced at the cold bitter taste. Cutting a glance to Mia’s pale face and drooping shoulders, he leaned back against the sofa with a gusty sigh. “You should get some rest.”

Mia turned eyes burning with intensity on him. “How can I rest? I might have caused two women to die, and my brother might be guilty of all the things Leigh Anne claimed?”

She looked so fragile in the dim light from the one lamp they had turned on, Jake wanted to wrap her in his arms and tell her everything would be all right. But the load of guilt from his past held him back, that and the fact that he knew those words weren’t true.

Yet, the urge to comfort her shattered the restraints he usually held on his emotions. He’d made those mistakes once. He didn’t want to repeat them. He wanted to ease her pain.

Reaching for her hand, he tugged Mia against his chest. Arms wrapped around her, his chin resting on top of her head, he voiced the words they both dreaded. “Do you want to talk about Phil?”

Mia rubbed her head against his shirtfront, making him feel warmer than he had in a long time. Mia wasn’t like women he dated in the past. In college, he’d picked the cute, helpless, damsel in distress types. He had loved being a hero for his wife…and their son. But his hero days had ended with the accident.