The Truant Officer (24 page)

The next picture was of his mother, Paula. Her blonde-haired, blue-eyed features were the direct opposite of Karl’s, as was her personality, which was all fire and brimstone. The photo was from her fiftieth birthday party with her arms wrapped around her two most precious jewels—Nick and Sasha—whom she gave up her music career to raise. He could still hear her voice at his hockey games,
C’mon Zellen, skate, don’t give up, skate Zellen!
Even her yelling was melodic.

Sasha was alone in the picture he had of her, just as the little diva would want it. She was never one to share the spotlight, but she never had trouble sharing how she felt. And since their mother died, her emotions turned into a Category-5 hurricane. And that’s why it was so hard for Nick to leave her.

Sasha predictably refused to go into protective custody. She had inherited their mother’s stubbornness. Nick did risk his cover to meet her when she was at a skating competition in Phoenix—the only danger turned out to be when Lilly thought she was a girl he was seeing behind her back—but now he needed to get back to New York to protect her.

The last photo was of Audrey—not that he needed one in this room. Although, the woman he fell in love with in New York was different from the Devol version. She could meld into the city and be herself. She was able to live, instead of having people living vicariously through her. The Audrey he knew had a sarcastic wit and was quite a spectacle when she got a few drinks in her. She was also tough, as the guy who tried to steal her purse on the subway found out the hard way. She wasn’t a sinner, but she wasn’t the saint they made her out to be here in Devol. When he came back here that Christmas, it was like she was putting on a Broadway play for the people, reprising a role she thought they wanted her to play. He thought it was too bad they never got to see the real Audrey.

Their last conversation was so rushed that he didn’t get to tell her everything he wanted. He instructed her to get out of the country, and made it clear that it would be too dangerous to return to her apartment, or here to Oklahoma. The next thing he knew he was at her funeral. His lasting memory was of the disguised federal agents whisking him away, back into protection, before her body was even in the ground.

Unable to sleep, he wandered into the hallway. The door to the Mays’ room was ajar, and he slipped inside. He stared at them like a parent might at a newborn. They were sleeping, but not soundly. He spent an hour their room. Before he left, he whispered how sorry he was that he failed to protect their daughter. They didn’t wake, but he felt like they had heard him.

When he returned to Audrey’s room, he skimmed through some old yearbooks, getting a particular kick out of some of her historical hairstyles. He found prom photos that she attended with a boy named Luke, whom she posed with next to his pickup truck. She couldn’t have looked more beautiful.

There were no posters of pop stars, or teenybopper magazines. And with her father being the reverend, she had no shortage of bibles and crucifixes. But most of the room was dedicated to the great love of Audrey’s life—her music.

He browsed through a pile of demo tapes that she had compiled over the years. Many featured Audrey singing at her father’s church, while others were auditions for Juilliard, but some were pop songs that she probably hid away from her parents.

Nick took one of the “pop” tapes and slid it into an old Walkman that he found on her nightstand. He put the headphones on and let Audrey’s powerful voice overtake his senses. He could listen to that voice all night.

One song sounded familiar to him. He rewound the tape and played it again. At first he thought Audrey had her music stolen from her, but then he realized it was her. He had heard the song numerous times on the radio, but hadn’t really listened to it before.

He picked up the
Rolling Stone
magazine that he had borrowed from Lilly. He studied the picture of Natalie Gold that graced the cover. He mentally dissected the image, removing the top layer. First the hair, then the enhanced breasts, and finally the trashy clothes. What was left took his breath away.

Nick played the demo song again. The lyrics had been altered, but it was the same song. It was “Vengeance,” the smash hit by Israeli pop star Natalie Gold

Who was being managed by Viktor Sarvydas!

Nick was wrong—he could be shocked again.

“What are you up to, Audrey?” he said to himself.

Chapter 54

Darren couldn’t stop the banging in his head. It was like two lead pipes rhythmically clanging together.

He woke up in fear, finding himself on the couch in the same clothes as last night and smelling like a fraternity party. As yesterday came back into focus, he remembered it was actually a high school party.

He realized the banging sound was coming from the front door. He struggled off the couch and found his way to the door, shielding his eyes from the Tuesday morning sun that was flooding through the windows. Despite the bright light, Darren felt like he was trapped in a dark room. He looked through the peephole and groaned. The nightmare just wouldn’t stop.

Agent LaPoint burst in without even a hello. “We need to talk.”

“Do you have new information on my wife?”

“We tracked them from Las Vegas to Colorado, and now Dallas. But they continue to be one step ahead of us.”

“Why would they be going to all these places?”

“If I knew I wouldn’t be here talking to you, now would I?”

“Since I don’t know anything, I guess we have nothing to talk about. So if you’ll excuse me, I need to go find my wife. Dallas, you say?”

“You have travel plans today, Mr. McLaughlin, but you’re not going to Dallas.”

Darren looked defiantly at LaPoint. He wanted to give him a piece of his mind, order him to get a warrant or some other line he’d heard on
Law & Order
, and toss him out of his house. But as he weighed his best course of action, Becks wandered out of the master bedroom, her hair a tangled nest of pink and blonde. She wore the same T-shirt she had on last night, barely covering a skimpy pair of panties.

“What’s with the tension convention?” she asked with an annoyed look, like she’d been awoken from a perfect sleep.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” LaPoint responded.

Becks sneered at him. “I don’t know what you’re looking at. I don’t do threesomes, so maybe go take your horn dog for a walk in a different neighborhood, pervert.”

Darren didn’t know what she was implying, but nothing like that happened last night. Not only weren’t there any threesomes going on here, there weren’t any twosomes, or onesomes, for that matter.

He turned to LaPoint, “This isn’t what you think.”

“You don’t even want to know what I’m thinking, Mr. McLaughlin.”

“She just came over last night and…” Darren started, causing LaPoint’s eyebrows to rise. “What I mean is that we went to a party and…”

Darren kept digging a bigger hole, so he decided he would choose not to further incriminate himself.

“What you’re telling me is that you attended a party with an underage girl, then you brought her back to your place for an innocent little sleepover while your wife is away.”

“Not that it’s any of your business,” Becks snarled, “but I’m eighteen, so I can bang anyone I want.”

Darren wanted to sink into the floor. He held up a stop sign and said, “Nothing was banged, or even lightly tapped.” He then tried to set the story straight. “Listen, I let her stay here last night. Maybe it wasn’t the smartest move, but nothing happened, so can we just move on?”

“Seems like you and your wife make similar decisions.”

Darren wasn’t going to take the bait. “I’m responsible for her being here, so now I’m going to make sure she gets to school on time.”

“Who do you think you are, a truant officer?” LaPoint asked with a grin.

Becks sighed loudly. “What, did you two take some sort of old people bad joke class?”

LaPoint ignored her, turning serious. “Nobody is going anywhere without my say so. Mr. McLaughlin has a date in New York, and I will be escorting him to the airport to make sure he is on his flight. But first I will drop Miss Ryan at school, so she can further her education, and hopefully one day make a positive contribution to society, although I’m not holding my breath on that one.”

“So after you finish carpooling, will you have that surgery to loosen up your tight ass?” Becks wasn’t done fighting. Her hangover had made her even more cantankerous and confrontational, if that were possible.

LaPoint smiled back at her, as if she’d met her match. “I will be headed to spend my day in Oklahoma, so consider yourself lucky.”

“I’m going with you,” Becks stated to befuddled looks.

“Going with me where?”

“To Oklahoma. Obviously that’s where you think Brett is. Why else would anyone go to Oklahoma? We have a big chemistry test today and I wouldn’t want Brett to miss it. Think of me as a truant officer, just like you two. Only cuter.”

“May I remind you, Miss Ryan, that Brett Buckley is the victim in this case,” LaPoint said calmly.

“The problem is, he’s been putting his victim where it don’t belong, so I’m going to turn him into a victimless crime. And then we all live happily ever after.”

Darren was starting to get the feeling that would never be the case ever again.

Chapter 55

Darren was instructed to prepare like he was going to be on his normal flight schedule. That would be his cover. Why a cover was needed, he had no idea, but he didn’t have time to think about it. LaPoint gave him five minutes to dress into his pilot uniform and prepare for his trip.

Becks went over the allotted time. But nobody could argue with the results. Darren barely recognized the sophisticated woman before him—she looked like she had aged ten years, in a good way. She wore one of Lilly’s business suits with mid-thigh skirt, and her hair was stylishly tied up.

She smiled at the stares and did a pirouette. “I figured since your wife stole my boyfriend, the least she could do was let me borrow her clothes.

Just the mention of Lilly sent Darren crashing back to reality.

They drove in LaPoint’s car. The first stop was South Chandler High. Becks might have looked classier, but it hadn’t yet carried over to her actions. She slammed the door upon arrival and gave them the finger. She disappeared between a couple of school buses, walking awkwardly in Lilly’s heels.

LaPoint then escorted Darren to Sky Harbor Airport. With Becks’ impressionable ears out of the way, he explained the day’s itinerary. Upon arrival in New York, Darren would be met by a team of federal agents who would escort him to the office of US Attorney Aaron Eicher, where he would be briefed on the details of Lilly’s case. LaPoint refused to answer any further questions.

Before they parted ways, Darren again assured LaPoint that nothing had gone on with Becks at his house last night. “I’m an honorable man, Agent LaPoint, and I would never take advantage of a young girl like that.”

“I know, Mr. McLaughlin. But unfortunately people take advantage of the honorable in this world.”

He knew he meant Lilly. And he couldn’t blame him for thinking that. But LaPoint didn’t know her like he did.

Darren walked to his normal sign-in for his flight, and then to his gate. The federal agents weren’t surrounding him like a pack of Secret Service around the president. They were spread out in tactical positions disguised as airport officials.

His comfort level rose when he met the flight crew. Especially the familiar face of Ron Treadwell. He looked pleasantly surprised to see Darren, and greeted him with, “And here I thought Sunday was our last flight. The things you’ll do for a free night out in Manhattan.”

Darren actually came close to a smile. He was thankful for Treadwell’s presence, as he was the one person who could possibly take his mind off what awaited him in New York.

According to LaPoint, nobody knew the reason for his trip, including the flight crew. No explanation was given for Darren’s riding in the cockpit, other than it was approved by the airline. Treadwell didn’t question it, but his newbie first officer appeared concerned that Darren was doing an evaluation of him, and was on his best behavior.

As they took off, Treadwell began giddily singing “New York, New York”.
“Start spreading the news…I’m leaving today...”

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” Darren asked as they hit their cruising altitude.

“That Kelli chick from the other night emailed me. Said she wants to meet up next time I’m in New York, which thanks to you messing up my schedule, my friend, is today.” A big grin formed on his face. “I guess my charm outweighed my complicated nature.”

He handed Darren his phone with instructions to check out the pictures she had sent him. The first one was that group shot from Sunday night in which Darren served as the third wheel. He couldn’t believe today was only Tuesday. It was like the world had slowed to a painful crawl. The next pictures were the ones Darren believed Treadwell wanted him to see. Suggestive photos of Kelli with an attached message.

“She says she can’t stop thinking of you. I wonder if there’s a vaccine for that,” Darren said, and this time did smile.

Treadwell laughed.

Their moment was broken up by the intercom—the flight attendant requesting access to the cockpit, which Treadwell granted. But when the door opened, a girl burst in, almost knocking the flight attendant over in the process.

“Wow, what a big cockpit you boys have,” the intruder exclaimed.

Darren looked back to see a smiling Becks.

Chapter 56

Darren stepped into John F. Kennedy Airport, just as he’d done on hundreds of occasions. But this time was different—each step he took through the crowded airport was a step further into the unknown.

He was still surrounded by his invisible net of federal agents. During the flight, he tried to come up with reasons as to why his wife’s case attracted this much priority. But came up empty.