The Deception (30 page)

He gave her a long, lingering goodbye kiss. Once it was over, she returned the kiss before climbing into the van. He stood by as she programed the
GPS
device. They had one final kiss before he closed the van door. Carrie fastened her seat belt and rolled down the window.

"Call me as soon as you get to San Diego."

"I will."

"And by the way, I have a surprise for you once you get there."

"You do? What is it?"

"Now if I told you it would spoil the surprise. Drive safe, Carrie-Anne. You're still my best friend."

He watched as she started up the engine and began to drive away. She looked into the rearview mirror, watching him wave goodbye as she headed down the hill. She suddenly felt a deep pang of loneliness shoot through her body. It too was unexpected.

She stopped to pick up Carlos and Tina before heading west on the Interstate. As the hours passed they began sharing their stories. Both were part-time college students doing modeling work to help finance their educations. They reminded Carrie of her own youth and she began to see them as kindred spirits when she described her time as a child model.

The drive to San Diego passed quickly. By midafternoon they entered the city and were in awe of the spectacular view of the bay. The
GPS
guided them to their motel and Carlos helped unload their bags. Carrie followed him as he carried her bag into her room, thanking him as he stepped out. Her room may not have been as plush as her suite at the Double-Diamond Resort, but the accommodations were clean and comfortable.

She opened a window, taking in the cool ocean air before grabbing her phone. She plopped down on the bed and called Alex. He was relieved to hear she'd arrived safely and she realized she missed him more than she thought. After ending the call, she grabbed the remote and turned on the
TV
. She surfed until she found a news channel. A short time later she heard a knock on the door. She looked through the peephole, expecting to see Carlos or Tina. Instead it was a young couple with a small child. The woman was also very pregnant. She cautiously opened the door.

"Hey, there, Carrie Daniels. Long time no see," said the man.

"Of course," she replied, not wanting to tip her hand. He looked somewhat familiar, although she couldn't quite place him.

"What, you don't remember me?" He turned to the woman. "She doesn't remember me. She doesn't have a clue."

As he turned back to face Carrie, she noticed his features were similar to his brother's. However he was taller, with a stockier build, and his wavy hair was dark brown.

"Mark? Mark Montoya?"

"That would be me." He gave her a quick hug.

"My gosh, you're all grown up. You were a sophomore in high school the last time I saw you. You were starting to get tall, but you were a lot thinner." She invited them in and Mark introduced her to his wife, Olivia. "And who is this?" She knelt down to see the young boy at eye level. His looks reminded her of his uncle.

"That's Jacob," Mark proudly announced. "He's two and a half."

"Hi, Jacob." She gently stroked the top of his head. At first the child seemed a little unsure, then he smiled and hugged her. She looked up at Mark.

"Do you mind?"

"Not at all."

Carrie picked the boy up and started talking to him. It was obvious that she loved children and had strong maternal instincts. Mark asked if she had any plans for dinner.

"Not yet. My two models mentioned something about eatin
g in. They both need to be well
rested for tomorrow morning, so it looks like I'm free and available, although I can't make it a late night either. We have to be up before dawn. We start right after sunrise."

"Not a problem," said Olivia. "When you have a two-year-old, you don't do late nights."

"Yep," agreed Mark. "Kids really change your life, but you get used to it after while."

They headed out to Mark's Jeep. Olivia offered to take the backseat with Jacob, but Carrie wouldn't hear of it. They took her to the San Diego Maritime Museum for a late afternoon stroll. She stopped to photograph the ships, including the famous Star of India. The USS Midway was docked nearby. The retired carrier had also been turned into a museum. She pointed out the big ship.

"That's where we'll be doing our shoot. The dealer will deliver the motorcycle at five o'clock tomorrow morning. We have to be out of there before nine, when the museum opens to the public. After that we head up to Venice Beach for our next shoot."

"Sounds like you're going to be busy," said Mark.

"Yep."

Carrie hoped the next two weeks would pass quickly. She was already missing Alex. They walked to a nearby seafood restaurant, getting a table by a window looking over the pier.

"Mark didn't hang around us that much," she explained to Olivia after they were seated. "He was the big man on campus and he had his own circle of friends. Alex and I did our own thing. The challenge was keeping Mark and his buddies out of our way."

"Everyone loved me. What else can I say?"

Mark went on the tell Carrie about going to college at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. Like his brother, he'd won a scholarship. He went to graduate school at
USC
where he met Olivia, who worked in one of the college libraries. They'd been married five years, and the new baby was due in six weeks. Their dinner soon arrived. Carrie offered to help Jacob with his meal.

"You have a real knack for kids," observed Olivia. "Do you have any at home?"

"Unfortunately no. I wasted ten years on a relationship with the wrong guy. Now I'm in my thirties. I'd really like to have a couple kids, but I'm not sure it'll happen."

"It'll happen," said Mark, matter-of-factly.

Carrie decided to change the subject, but once the meal was finished Jacob started getting fussy.

"Almost bedtime, huh?"

She put the child in her lap and tried to calm him down. Her efforts worked as he soon nodded off. When the time came to leave, she carried him back to the Jeep, somehow managing to get him into his car seat without waking him.

"I wish I could take him home with me," she said as she took the seat next to him.

"Trust me, there've been a few times when we needed a break," laughed Mark. "He has his moments."

"But he's a good kid, and I can tell the two of you are good parents."

"We try," said Olivia, "but it's not always easy. We'll see how we do once his little brother arrives. We were hoping for a girl this time, but we'll take another boy. Then that's it. We're not having any more."

They dropped Carrie off at her motel. She carefully got out of the Jeep, not wanting to disturb Jacob. Once again she thanked Mark and Olivia for the night out. They waited until she was safely in her room before Mark backed the Jeep out.

"Nice lady," said Olivia as they drove away. "I like her a lot better than Casey."

"Me too. I've known her since I was eight years old. She and Alex always were close. She was one of the few people who really understood him. Give it six months, maybe a year. She'll be my sister-in-law."

"Y
ou again? Don't you have better ways to spend our taxpayer dollars?"

Once again, Ken O'Dell, along with another female agent, was at Maggie's door.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, Mrs. Andrews, but I'm going to have to take you back in for more questioning."

"What for?"

"We need to fingerprint you."

"What! I'm not going with you."

"Sorry, Mrs. Andrews," he said, firmly. "There's been another incident involving the Daniels case, and while you may not be a suspect, you're still a person of interest."

"Am I being arrested?"

"Not at this time, ma'am, but just like before, it would be best if you cooperated."

Maggie let out a sigh and picked up her purse. As usual, O'Dell was right. It had been several days since she'd mailed the letter to Carrie Daniels. No doubt she'd received it by now. Crybaby that Carrie was, she would have brought in the authorities again. But then, if all went according to plan, they'd pin the blame on Scott and put him back in jail. She smiled to herself as O'Dell led her to his vehicle. She cooperated fully once they arrived at the field office and as she wiped the ink off her fingers Billie came in to take her back into the interrogation room where O'Dell was waiting, along with someone with the Postal Inspector's office.

"We just have a few questions that we need to ask you," said Billie, "and then someone will take you home."

"Of course."

"Someone's mailed a death threat to Carrie Daniels." The Postal Inspector noted the date the letter was mailed as he explained that any crime involving the U.S. Mail fell under his jurisdiction. The
FBI
would be assisting him in his investigation. "So, Mrs. Andrews, can you tell me where you were the day this letter was mailed?"

"I can't quite recall, sir, although I was probably at home."

"Were you?" asked O'Dell. "According to our sources, you were working on an assignment for a temp agency in Phoenix that day."

"That's right. I'm so sorry. Yes, I'm working with a temp agency. Some days I'm working and others I'm not. Since I don't have a regular schedule it's sometimes hard for me to remember where I was any given day. Sorry for the confusion."

"Nice try, Mrs. Andrews, but you're not fooling us one bit," he said, firmly. "Someone mailed a death threat to Carrie Daniels, from Phoenix, the same day you were working in Phoenix."

"So what are you trying to say? Are you saying that I'm the one who wrote it? How many million people live in Phoenix? I'm sure Carrie Daniels has slept with more than one woman's husband. Why am I being singled out?"

"You're not being singled out, Mrs. Andrews," explained the Postal Inspector. "In fact, your husband was our prime suspect."

"Makes sense. So where is Scott? Is he back in jail?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, Maggie," said O'Dell, "but this time Scott has an airtight alibi."

Maggie's heart skipped a beat. She let out a tiny gasp while O'Dell was talking. She hoped he and the others hadn't heard it.

"You look surprised, Maggie. Is there anything you'd like to tell me?"

"Only that I'm through talking to you. I'm not saying anything else without my lawyer."

"Okay, Maggie," said Billie. "You're not under arrest at this time, and I'll be happy to take you home."

"Thank you, ma'am, I appreciate it. And just so you know, you won't find my fingerprints on whatever it is you think I've touched, because I've never mailed anything to Carrie Daniels. Maybe you should stop wasting your time harassing me and go look for the real suspect."

"That's what we're doing, ma'am," said the Postal Inspector.

"You know what, Maggie," said O'Dell, "before you were only facing forgery and identity theft charges. Now you're looking at mailing a threatening communication, and even more jail time."

"Scott's the one who stole her identity and forged her signature, not me, and I never mailed a letter to Ms. Daniels. Why would I? Scott left me for Nancy Edwards, not Carrie Daniels."

O'Dell leaned across the table. His eyes bore into hers.

"So you say, but we both know better, don't we, Maggie?"

"I've heard enough, O'Dell. You either charge me, right now, or you let me go."

"Get her out of here, Billie." Maggie could hear the tone of disgust in his voice. "Don't worry, Mrs. Andrews, we'll be seeing more of one another."

O'Dell stormed out of the room and quickly walked back to his cubicle.

Maggie remained silent during the ride home, offering only a brief thank you when Billie pulled up to the curb. She realized she'd overplayed her hand. Fortunately, she'd been careful handling the envelope the letter had been mailed in and she was positive she hadn't left any prints.

"Damn it," she muttered after she stepped inside. "So Carrie, it looks like I've made a teeny-weeny little mistake, but it's nothing I can't recover from. Next time I'll be more careful, and yes, Carrie, there will be a next time. You can count on it. You may have O'Dell fooled about your innocence, but not me. I'll bet you're even sleeping with O'Dell too. Enjoy your little reprieve while you can, because I'll be back when you least expect it."

T
he weather had cooperated so far and the all the photo shoots had gone well. Carrie and the two models had been working on a sunrise shoot near San Luis Obispo with a beautiful secluded beach in the background. She wanted to finish before the beach got too crowded.

"Okay, Tina, one more with your right hand on the handlebars and... that's it." She snapped the photos. "Now, one more, looking up at Carlos, there you go, and that's it. We're done."

Both models let out sighs of relief as they began to relax.

"What time is it?" asked Carlos.