Mr. And Miss Anonymous (17 page)

Josh walked through the small apartment, surprised at how neat and tidy it was. The furniture in the living room, while there wasn’t much of it, was nice and looked comfortable. A big-screen television covered one wall and there was a DVD player. The bedroom surprised him. Bigger than the living room, it had a king-size bed, a large double dresser with a double mirror, a comfortable chair, and a second TV.

Josh moved the penlight and was startled to see the framed picture on the double dresser. “Look at this, Tom. It’s Mr. Dickey and Miss Carmody. He has his arm around her. Do you think…?”

“Yeah, he was sweet on her. Most everyone knew it. We talked about it, Josh. Didn’t you notice they were always making moon eyes at each other? You can look at all this later and think about it. Take a shower so the people sleeping next door don’t hear the water running. You don’t know who goes to work during the day and who stays home. I’m sure Mr. Dickey has some clothes that will fit you.”

“Damn, Tom, I don’t think I can wear a dead guy’s clothes. Especially his underwear.”

“Get over it. You’re in the outside world now. You have to adapt and do what you have to do. We’re talking about your survival, Josh.”

“Okay, okay, but I don’t like it. I don’t know if I can sleep in his bed either. Jeez, what if they…you know…”

“Had sex in the bed? It’s a given they did. Get over it. You need sleep, so move. Before you know it, the sun will be up.”

“I really liked Mr. Dickey. I don’t feel right about any of this,” Josh muttered as he stepped into the shower. He lathered up, washed his hair and rinsed, then did it all over again. A towel wrapped around his middle, he padded out to the bedroom and started to go through Adam Dickey’s drawers. He found a pair of pajamas that smelled just like their former owner. He winced when he put them on, but when nothing happened, he shrugged. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

Suddenly he wasn’t as sleepy as he’d been when he had first entered the apartment. He used the time to munch on the cheese in his bag as he rifled through the teacher’s drawers.

“Hey, look at this, Tom. Mr. Dickey had a passport. He’d never used it. Do you think maybe he was going to go on a honeymoon?”

“Maybe.”

“There’s $260 in an envelope. I guess I have to steal it. For sure I’m going to go to hell for all this stuff I’m doing.” Josh moved on to the closet, where he checked the contents. A ring of heat spread around his neck when he recognized some of Miss Carmody’s clothes hanging next to Mr. Dickey’s.

His head whirling and twirling, Josh headed over to the huge king-size bed and pulled down the covers. It looked like the sheets were clean and fresh. He sniffed them. They smelled like detergent. He sighed with relief as he settled himself between the covers. “Keep watch, Tom, okay?”

“You know it, buddy. Sweet dreams.”

W
alking hand in hand, Pete and Lily, Winston at their side, walked past Zolly’s villa. Winston stopped when the big man loped down the path to confront the late-night strollers.

“This is a no-no, boss.”

Pete sighed. “Don’t you ever sleep, Zolly? We’re just strolling before turning in. Winston’s with us. It’s three thirty in the morning. You should be in bed.”

The big man reached down to stroke Winston’s head. “The short answer is no, I don’t sleep. How can I when you keep breaking the rules? Will you be returning to your own villa or the one next door?”

Lily grinned in the darkness as she waited for Pete’s reply.

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t ask me that. Good night, Zolly.”

As they walked along, Lily sniffed at the fragrant evening. How lush all the flowers were, how deeply scented, how perfect everything seemed to be in the quiet of the night. The sky was star-spangled, some of the stars winking at her as she gazed upward. She searched for and found the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper and smiled to herself. A childhood thing. Almost perfect. She took a moment to wonder if things were ever actually perfect. Probably not, she decided.

Pete waited till they were out of sight of the villa and Zolly before he said, “I don’t know how to tell Zolly he won’t be going to Montana with us. I put a retirement package in place for him, but he’s going to fight me. So will the board. Winston will miss him, that’s for sure. I just want to be John Q. Citizen again. God, if you only knew how anxious I am to get out there and start a new life.”

“I think I know, Pete. Zolly will adapt. What’s that noise?”

Winston backed up and raced off, leaving little clumps of grass in his wake. “Must be a rabbit or something,” Pete muttered. Seconds later when the noise grew louder, he added, “Or an elephant.”

“I hear voices,” Lily whispered.

Pete reached for Lily’s hand as they ran off, trampling through the flower beds. The grass was covered with dew, soaking through their sandals. Pete stopped short when he was within eyesight of the villa. He jerked Lily backward and hissed, “It’s Tessie. Listen.”

Both Pete and Lily stepped deeper into the shrubbery as they unabashedly listened to the conversation.

“So, big guy, what—are you some kind of vampire, or do you always walk around with a gun at three thirty in the morning?”

“What are you doing here at this hour, Miz Dancer?”

“If I told you that, I’d have to kill you. Where’s your boss?”

“That’s NTK, in other words, need to know, Miz Dancer. The boss didn’t tell me he was expecting visitors. He always tells me when visitors are expected. That means you were not expected, so you need to leave. Like now.”

This last was said so defensively, Pete found himself grinning. His money at the moment was on Tessie.

“What are you? A nanny, a babysitter, a squatter, or just a royal pain in the ass? Get your boss and stop jerking my chain.”

“Ladies shouldn’t talk like that. Ladies are supposed to be refined. And, for your information, I am a security guard. The board of directors of PAK Industries has entrusted the care of Mr. Kelly to me. I take my responsibilities very seriously. Now, get on your broom and fly off and come back after breakfast but be sure to call for an appointment.” Zolly waved his gun for emphasis.

Lily clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. Pete stomped his feet in the wet grass. Zolly had met his match.

“Is that big old bad gun supposed to scare me? I could take you out right now and not even break a sweat. Wanna see me do it?”

“You and what army?” Zolly sputtered.

“No army. Just me. Well?”

Tessie reached into her bag and brought out a cigarette. She stuck it between her lips, then talked around it. “See this cigarette? It isn’t really a cigarette, it’s a dart. If I blow it right at your privates, woo-hoo, you’re out for…like…a long time. And then you’ll never be the same again. In…uh…that area. What we have here is a stalemate. Now, where in the hell is your boss? My patience just ran out.”

Winston whined and nudged Zolly’s leg, which meant, give in already.

Before Zolly knew what was happening, the reporter was pressed up against him, then she was kissing him so hard he thought he was going to black out.

Winston yelped and pawed the ground at these strange goings-on.

“That’s to remember me by and do not, I repeat, do not, ever try to tell me you’ve been kissed like that in your whole life. Now, again, where in the hell is your boss? I have business with him. You… I’ll get back to you later, and we can pick up where we left off.”

Winston pushed hard against Zolly’s leg to get him to turn around. When that didn’t work, he ran back to where Pete and Lily were desperately trying not to laugh. He tugged at Pete’s pants leg to get him to move.

“Whatever you do, Lily, do not let either one of them know we heard what just went on,” Pete hissed. “Let’s go now and pretend we just got here.”

Pete stepped out of the shadows, pulling Lily behind him. “I thought I heard voices,” he said. “Tessie, what a nice surprise. Lily and I just took a stroll since it’s such a nice night. Come in, come in. Good night, Zolly.”

“Don’t mind him. He just had a life-altering experience. He’ll be okay by morning. Nice doggie, take Mr. Zolly back to his lair while your master and I have a conversation.” Tessie giggled.

The shepherd eyed the big woman, listened to her tone of voice, and decided it was in his best interest to obey the order. He pushed and growled until Zolly finally moved in the direction of his villa. Winston then marched forward to Lily’s villa and waited for her to open the door.

Pete led the parade straight to the sitting area. “What’s up?”

His voice sounded so anxious, Tessie patted his arm to reassure him. “Which do you want first, the bad news or the terribly bad news?”

“Does it matter, Tessie?”

“No, I guess it doesn’t matter. My source is extremely upset at what he says we are mixed up in. This particular source is pretty unflappable, but he was flapping big-time this evening when I met with him. He wouldn’t part with any of his information until I told him who you were. Once I told him it was you and Lily, he was okay with telling me what he found out because he said you two could take care of yourselves because you’re so high-profile.”

“What…what did he find out?” Lily asked.

“That minihospital attached to the fertility clinic. It seems nineteen years ago, which is our time frame, there was a surrogate program. He managed to track down one of the surrogates. They were artificially inseminated, monitored for nine months, then gave birth at the fertility clinic. This particular surrogate was paid fifty thousand dollars. It was all legal. Lawyers and all. My source traced one of the lawyers, but found he died three years ago. The lawyer’s widow was less than forthcoming, and she’s old now and in frail health. Still, the proper authorities can have a go at her when the time is right.”

“Well, where the hell did the children go?” Pete demanded.

“My source doesn’t know. He hit a blank wall. He has suspicions. He thinks the lawyer’s widow knows. The surrogate might know, but she clammed up because she has a family now and doesn’t want them to know what she did back then. My source thinks it was a ring back then for…nefarious purposes.”

Pete sucked in his breath. “What…what kind of nefarious purposes?” He could feel Lily start to tremble next to him. He put his arm around her as they both waited for Tessie’s response.

“Human testing of some kind, which was probably illegal. Guinea pigs, for want of a better term. I don’t know, Pete. What I do know is if they were paying fifty thousand dollars to a surrogate to deliver a baby, the return on that money would have to be substantial. Do the math. The one thing I can tell you for certain is your, uh…donations did not go to childless couples, directly or indirectly, as you were led to believe. There is absolutely no record of that anywhere, and if there was, my source would have found it.”

“Are…is the school involved in some way? Did your source find out who owns the sperm bank, the fertility clinic, and the school?”

“Yes and no. It’s a consortium. Four organizations. Well, that’s not quite true, it’s four individuals from very wealthy organizations. Three foreign and one American. The American is the one who calls the shots because the sperm bank and fertility clinic are here in California. There are other schools besides the California Academy of Higher Learning.”

Pete leaned across the table, his eyes blazing in the lamplight. “Do you have a name for the American?”

“My source has it. He wouldn’t give it to me for what he said was my own good. He said even you, Pete, as high-profile as you are, are not immune to this guy’s power.”

“That’s bullshit! Are you afraid, Tessie?”

Tessie thought about the question. “ ‘Afraid’ isn’t the right word. ‘Cautious’ might be a word I’d choose. The man I’m thinking of is ruthless. Having said that, even ruthless people have an Achilles’ heel. I’ve found over the years in my line of work that there are more ways than one to skin a cat.”

“Do you
think
you know who it is, Tessie?” Lily asked.

“I think I have a pretty good idea, and my source is right—he’s as powerful as they come.”

“Is there anything we can do to get to him?” Pete asked.

“Do you mean like having a Plan A, B, or maybe C? I have to think about it. I rushed over here to tell you as soon as I got myself together. This is one of those rare times when you have to take a step backward and think about the repercussions of continuing. I can handle my end of it, I am a reporter. My paper, now, that’s a different story. I want to say
yes
, but I do have some reservations. Like I said, Pete, I want to think about this a little more.”

“Who is it, Tessie? C’mon, this involves my kid, and, yeah, he’s mine, and I’ll never believe otherwise. Even if he wasn’t my kid, I’d still be standing here talking to you and pleading my case,” Pete said.

“Why don’t we just say for the moment if it is the guy I’m thinking it is, he has many friends in high places and can waltz in and out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue any time of the day or night.”

Diesel Morgan stepped off the red-eye and headed for the restroom, where he washed his face and ran the razor over the stubble on his cheeks and his now-bald head that he’d shaved before leaving the Daniel Marley house.

Traveling as David Mason, he wore a conservative Armani suit that hung exquisitely on his lean frame. He pulled a fresh white shirt and tie out of a carry-on that he would ditch the minute no one was looking. He stared into the huge mirror until he was satisfied with his image before he departed the men’s room in search of breakfast.

Two cups of coffee, six pancakes, three eggs, and assorted bacon and sausage later, Morgan felt prepared enough to hail a taxi to take him to his employer’s prestigious home in Georgetown. He felt giddy as he anticipated the look on the man’s face when he stepped into what Morgan knew would be an elegant home. Yessireee, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

He’d been able to learn his employer’s schedule by finding an article by a
Washington Post
political reporter who had been given access to the man’s daily routine, so Morgan knew what he needed to know. Morgan looked at his watch. He had a good thirty-three minutes until his quarry would step out of his house, all pressed and smelling good, and into the waiting limo that picked him up every morning to take him to his office, where he toiled to make the world a better place to live.

Before he headed for parts unknown, Morgan made a promise to himself that he would kill the guy to save the world from his bullshit. Yeah, yeah, that’s what he’d do, then he’d send a letter to every newspaper in the country telling them about his act of generosity.

The moment the taxi cruised to a stop outside a redbrick Colonial house on P Street, Morgan handed the driver a fifty-dollar bill and told him to keep the change. He walked up the brick path leading to the front door and rang the bell. A Hispanic-looking maid complete with gray uniform, white apron, and some kind of fancy white lace thing on her head opened the door.

“Yes?”

“I have an appointment,” Morgan said, shouldering his way inside past the startled maid and made his way to the dining room, where he knew his quarry would be having coffee.

“Good morning, sir. I thought I’d join you for a cup of coffee. You might want to call your driver to tell him you’re running late this morning. Do it!” Morgan said, steel ringing in his voice.

“
Señor, señor,
you cannot…sir, he…”

“It’s all right, Consuelo. Fetch some coffee for my guest and call my driver and tell him I’m running late.”

The man was livid and trying to control his emotions. But, he appeared unafraid. Morgan thought that very strange. He wondered if something was going on that he didn’t know about. Like all things, he’d just have to play it by ear.

“I told you we were never to meet. What part of that didn’t you understand?”

Morgan propped his elbows on the linen-covered table, with its array of silver-domed plates and crystal. The rich really did know how to live. “The part where I do what you say when you say it. Our contract didn’t specify details like that, as you well know. I came here to tell you that I cannot fulfill the second half of our contract. I thought I owed you that much. I did try, but the FBI got in the way, not to mention that computer guy. Your ass is in a sling, mister, and they’re closing in on you. I also wanted to tell you I am not returning your money. So, if you have anything to say, say it now before I leave. Oh, there is one other thing I want to show you in case you get any funny ideas.”

The maid entered the dining room through a swinging door that Morgan assumed led into the kitchen. She placed an exquisite china cup in front of him. He waited until the door swung shut behind her before he spoke again.

“Listen to this,” Morgan said as he shoved his arm next to the man’s ear.

The man’s face drained. “Shut that thing off. What do you want?”