Undercover Marriage (13 page)

Maybe they hadn’t lost the Munderses’ trail, after all. This wasn’t over yet. There was still a chance to bring Fred and Matilda Munders to justice and save innocent lives.

But ending the one would also put an end to the charade of a marriage between him and Serena.

* * *

Serena climbed out of the SUV and stared at the stately 1900s home of Fred and Matilda Munders. The large redbrick and stonework house had ornate gables, dormer windows in a mix of historic styles. A wide walkway led to the oversize front door.

Behind her, Burke and Josh climbed out of the vehicle and joined her on the porch. She was glad the chief had instructed Burke to join them. His presence kept the conversation limited to the case, since the love she harbored for Josh was too new, too raw, for her to deal with yet.

Well, at least she and Burke had talked about the case while Josh contributed a few grunts.

She understood his brooding mood. He was anxious to bring Munders in. He’d anticipated the meeting today being the nail in the proverbial coffin. But with Fred Munders in the wind their chances of bringing him to justice were dwindling. They had to find him and Matilda before they left the country.

Serena hoped the house staff, and she had no doubt there were some, knew where their employers would go.

They approached the door. Josh banged the large gold door knocker. The metal-on-metal sound bounced off the cavernous stone porch.

A moment later Matilda Munders opened the door. Her normally coiffed hair was mussed and her face devoid of makeup. She was wearing a yellow housecoat and slippers. She blinked at them. “Jeannie?” A huge smile broke out on her wrinkled face. She opened her arms to Serena. “Darling, you’ve come home.”

Serena threw Josh a panicked glance before Matilda enveloped her in a warm hug. The woman felt fragile in Serena’s arms. She patted the woman’s back.

“Uh, Mrs. Munders,” Serena said after a long moment.

Matilda pulled away to stare at Serena. Confusion clouded Matilda’s eyes. “Oh, my. You’re not my Jeannie.”

Feeling sorry for the older woman, Serena smiled. “No, I’m not.”

Matilda’s gaze bounced to Josh then to Burke then back to Serena. “I know you. Susan, right?”

“Yes.” Seemed easiest to go with her undercover identity than to try to explain who she really was. “Mrs. Munders, where is your husband?”

“Fred is on his way home. We’re leaving.” Matilda’s eyes widened. “Oh, no. I’m not ready. He said to be ready at noon.” Her gaze darted to the large, ornately carved grandfather clock dominating the entryway. “He’ll be here soon. I must dress.” She shuffled away toward the grand staircase.

“Wait a minute,” Burke said, bustling forward. “We have to take her into custody.”

Josh put a restraining hand on him. “Let Serena take care of her.”

Touched by Josh’s consideration of Matilda’s modesty, Serena followed Matilda upstairs. She wouldn’t take Mrs. Munders into custody in her robe and slippers. Behind her, Serena heard Josh and Burke arguing.

Moving boxes filled the bedroom. The bed was stripped; the cupboards of the beautiful armoire that Matilda stood in front of were empty. Empathy twisted in Serena’s chest at the confused look on the older woman’s face.

“I don’t know where my clothes went,” Matilda said, her voice small. “Clarice took them away.”

“Clarice?” Serena asked gently.

Matilda whirled around as if only realizing now that Serena had followed her into the bedroom. “Oh, goodness, you’re still here.” She went to a box and ripped open the tape and started flinging clothes out. “Clarice is our housekeeper, but Fred fired her this morning. He fired everyone this morning. Then he left.”

“Do you know where he went?”

Matilda waved a hand in the air. “I’m not his keeper. He’ll be back when he’s back. Then we’ll go.”

“Where are you going?”

The older woman tilted her head to the side. “I don’t know. Fred didn’t say. Only that we had to leave right away.”

“Do you know why you have to leave?”

Clutching a shirt to her chest, she frowned. “I— No. Susan, what are you doing here? Did we have an appointment?”

“Mrs. Munders, my name isn’t Susan Andrews. I’m U.S. Marshal Serena Summers.”

Matilda’s gaze narrowed on Serena. “Marshal?” She backed up a step, her eyes widening. “Fred said the marshals were after him. What have you done with my husband?”

Holding up a hand, Serena strove to calm the older woman. “We have done nothing with your husband. We’re looking for him. Do you know where he is?”

“Why? What do you want with him?”

“Mrs. Munders, do you know where the babies that you place come from?”

“From mothers who don’t want them,” she replied, her tone suggesting that Serena should know the answer. “I make sure the wee ones have good homes with people who will provide a better life for them.”

“Have you met the birth mothers?”

Matilda took an armful of clothes and headed toward the bathroom to change. “That’s Fred’s job. I meet with prospective families.” She paused. “He gave me a purpose after my Jeannie died. I help others have what I lost.” With that she went into the bathroom and slammed the door closed.

Just as Serena had thought. Fred was behind the adoption scam. But that didn’t give Matilda a free pass. Now if they could find Fred, then justice would be served, and she and Josh could concentrate on finding her brother’s killer. And then?

She and Josh would have to figure out their future.

THIRTEEN

“W
here’s Mrs. Munders?” Josh asked Serena when he stepped into the Munderses’ master bedroom. He wasn’t surprised to see the packing boxes stacked around. The rest of the house showed signs of moving, as well. The Munderses had had a busy weekend.

After Serena and Mrs. Munders had gone upstairs, Josh had searched the house in case Fred Munders was hiding. Unfortunately, he was nowhere to be found. He’d left his wife alone, unprotected. Why Josh was surprised by that he couldn’t say.

Serena stood at the window overlooking the street. She pointed to a closed door on his left. “She’s changing her clothes.”

“Did she tell you where her husband went?”

“No. But she knows we’re after him.”

Figures.
Frustration tensed the muscles in his neck. The department leak had given Munders a heads-up. “Does she know where they are going?”

“Not that I can tell. But she confirmed Fred is the mastermind. He brings her the babies. She claims she’d never met any of the children’s mothers. She truly believes she’s doing a good deed by finding the babies homes with adoptive parents.”

“Doesn’t matter what she believes,” Josh stated. “Police officers are here to take her into custody.”

Serena nodded and walked to the closed door. Knocking softly, she said, “Mrs. Munders, we need you to come out now.”

No response.

Josh moved closer, concerned that the woman might have done something to herself. If she realized they were there to arrest her, she might hurt herself to get out of going to jail. From the troubled frown marring Serena’s brow, she, too, was fearful of what Mrs. Munders might do. Serena banged louder on the door. “Mrs. Munders? Matilda?”

The door swung open. Serena and Josh jumped back. Josh’s hand rested on the butt of his gun. He wasn’t sure what to expect from Mrs. Munders. If she went psycho on them, he wanted to be ready. He caught the chiding look Serena sent his way and shrugged.

Matilda blinked at them, clearly startled to see them. She swept past them wearing a purple silk blouse and a flowered skirt. She’d brushed her hair and applied a touch of makeup. She appeared more like the woman they’d come to know at the adoption agency. “I wasn’t expecting to see you today. I’m going on a trip with my husband. Have you seen him? Have you seen Fred?”

Josh arched an eyebrow. “Mrs. Munders, we need to take you downtown.”

Serena edged closer, holding out a hand. “We’ll help you find your husband.”

Matilda smiled fondly at Serena and slipped her hand into Serena’s. “Thank you, Jeannie. You’re such a sweet girl.”

They led Mrs. Munders downstairs and outside, where St. Louis police officers waited to take her into custody.

Burke pointed to Mrs. Munders and barked, “Arrest that woman.”

Matilda halted and snatched her hand back from Serena. “I don’t understand.” Her voice shook, her eyes widened with fear. “What’s happening?” She whirled to face Serena. “Susan? Susan, please tell me what’s happening. Where’s Fred?”

Josh’s heart twisted at the look of empathy on Serena’s face as she tried to soothe the older woman’s fears.

“I’m Marshal Summers, remember?” Serena took her hand again. “Everything will be all right, Mrs. Munders. These men will take you someplace safe.”

“But I don’t understand. I haven’t done anything wrong,” Matilda insisted. She resisted going with the officers as they tried propelling her toward the waiting cruiser.

“Some of the infants your husband found for you weren’t given freely. They were taken illegally,” Serena explained.

“But I gave them good homes. Better homes than they would have had. Why am I being punished for that?” Tears rolled down Matilda’s cheeks.

When one of the officers placed handcuffs around Matilda’s wrists, Serena protested. “Are those really necessary?”

The officer hesitated as if assessing the threat Matilda presented, then apparently deciding the cuffs weren’t required, he removed them.

Josh cupped Serena’s elbow and tugged her back. “Let them do their jobs.”

“Did she tell you where to find her husband?” Burke asked Serena.

“No. She doesn’t know. He’s supposed to be here at noon to pick her up.”

“Then we’d better stay put,” Burke stated, crossing his arms over his chest. “In case he shows.”

“Good idea,” Josh said, though he doubted Fred would show. The leak would most likely tell him they had taken his wife into custody. “You stay. We have somewhere we have to be.”

He met Serena’s gaze. As quickly as a question formed in her eyes, dawning realization had her mouthing an
oh
with an eager nod. They needed to go to the crime lab to hear the cleaned-up audio from Daniel’s message. Her grateful smile smacked into him like a right cross. They moved in tandem at a brisk pace toward the SUV.

“What?” Burke sputtered. “You’re going to leave me here alone?”

“Not alone,” Josh replied over his shoulder. “You’ll have SLMPD to watch your back.”

“Where are you going?” Burke demanded.

Josh opened the passenger door for Serena and waited for her to climb in before shutting the door and rounding the front end. Before sliding into the driver’s seat, he called out, “Let me know if Munders shows.”

* * *

“I feel bad for Mrs. Munders.”

Josh gave Serena a sideways glance. “You going soft on me, Summers?”

“I know I shouldn’t. The woman’s up to her neck in the illegal activities and has to be held accountable for the wrong she’s done, but I can’t help thinking her mind is not operating at full speed.”

“I wondered if the diminished capacity was more than mere old-age-induced dementia.”

“That’s what I’m thinking,” Serena said. “Because she’s not that old. It could be early-onset Alzheimer’s.”

“Call the chief. Fill him in on her status.”

“Good idea.” The pleased note in her voice warmed him.

When they arrived at the St. Louis forensic crime lab, all thoughts of the Munderses left Josh as anticipation knotted in his chest. He sent up a silent prayer that whatever they heard on the tape would be the key to finding Daniel’s murderer. They headed to the fourth floor of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, where the new thirty-thousand-square-foot crime lab had recently been completed, making the state-of-the-art forensic unit the most sophisticated in Missouri.

They met the deputy director of the lab, Maria Sanchez, a pretty woman in her forties. She escorted them past large cubicles where machines hummed and technicians studied various pieces of evidence. None of the techs seemed to notice them; each was intent on the work before them. Josh figured it took a certain kind of person to be willingly trapped inside a lab for hours on end studying a variety of substances collected at crime scenes. He much preferred to be out in the field.

Maria led them to an office in the corner. High-end recording and editing equipment filled the room.

“Colin, this is U.S. Marshals McCall and Summers. Colin O’Riley is our chief technical engineer,” Maria explained before walking away.

Of medium height and build, with thick glasses and a white technician’s lab coat, Colin shot them a quick smile of greeting. “I was hoping you’d show up soon. I’m about to go on vacation. My kids are chomping at the bit. We’re heading to Disney World.”

“Tell us what you have and we’ll let you get on your way,” Josh said, as anxious to get down to business as O’Riley seemed to be.

Colin moved to one of the machines. “I’ve cleaned up the sound quality on the recording as best I could and isolated the section in question.” He flipped some switches and fiddled with a dial. “Here we go.”

Josh flinched, just as he had the last two times he heard the message. Serena threaded
her fingers through his. Her words reverberated through his mind:
At some point you’ll have to forgive yourself. Or you’ll always be burdened by unnecessary guilt.

But it wasn’t unnecessary. Or was it?

Colin stopped the tape. “This is the section you wanted enhanced. I’ve done what I could. I’ll turn up the volume, but you’ll still have to listen closely.”

The scuffling noise of Daniel adjusting the phone and covering the phone’s mic with his hand filled the room. The muffled timbre of Daniel’s words weren’t clear. Then just muffled silence. No, wait. Josh clearly heard something.

“Play that back,” Serena said. Obviously, she’d heard it, too.

Colin smiled. “You caught that. Good.” He rewound the message. Stopped, then hit Play.

Josh strained to make out the voice of the other person. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on listening. The words
come
and
with
were barely audible. Something tugged at him, as if he should know that voice.

“‘Come with,’” Serena said. “I definitely heard the words ‘come with.’”

Josh nodded. “Me, too.”

“Does the voice sound familiar to either of you?” Colin asked.

“Maybe,” Josh said, searching his memory for something to indicate who the voice belonged to, but nothing solidified. “I don’t know.”

“Same here,” Serena said, frustration flashing in her brown eyes. “It’s like I should know who that is, but yet it’s not distinct enough for me to really hear the voice. Does that make sense?”

“Yes.” Josh turned to Colin. “There’s no way to make the voice clearer?”

“Like I said, I’ve done what I could.” Impatience threaded through Colin’s voice. “Do you need to hear it again, or are we done?”

Josh didn’t need to have the message repeated, didn’t want to feel the slicing guilt again at hearing Daniel’s voice, or his request for help. “Can you play that one section over?”

Colin did. The voice still proved elusive to Josh’s memory banks. Irritated with himself, he turned to Serena. She was watching him with a look in her eyes that made his heart thump. “What? Did you recognize the voice?”

“No. Unfortunately.” She turned to Colin. “I want a copy of that section but nothing else.” Glancing at Josh, she said, “Maybe someone else in the department will recognize the voice.”

“Good idea.” Respect and admiration for Serena rushed through Josh. She wanted to see if anyone knew that voice, yet she wanted to protect him and Daniel.

They took the copy of the recording and left the crime lab. Once they were in the car, Josh drove to the Marshals Service building, one of the tallest structures in the city.

As he parked by the elevator his cell phone rang. He checked the caller ID. Munders! His heart sped up. He tapped Serena’s knee as he pressed the answer button and then put the phone on speaker. “Jack Andrews.”

“Give it up, Marshal McCall,” Munders gravelly voice came out of the little device. “I know who you are.”

Josh blinked. The traitor in the department was letting it all fly. “Then you know we have your wife in custody,” Josh stated. “Give yourself up, Munders. You’re done. There will be no more illegal adoptions.”

“You need to let my wife go!” Munders cried. “She’s not involved in this.”

“But she is,” Josh countered. “She brokered the adoptions. Adoptions of infants you stole from their mothers.”

“She didn’t know,” Munders insisted. “She has the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s. She can’t be held responsible.”

Josh exchanged a glance with Serena. From her expression, he could tell she thought that made sense.

“The only way she’ll get leniency is if you give yourself up,” Josh said. “And give us the names of all your underlings and the records of all the babies you’ve stolen.”

“I’m not the one in charge,” Munders stated. “I only do what I’m told. If you want to know who’s behind the illegal adoptions then come to the Arch at noon.”

The line went dead.

“Isn’t Congressman Peter Simms holding a press conference at the Arch to announce his candidacy?” Serena asked.

Glancing at his watch, Josh nodded. “Yep. In fifteen minutes.” He handed her his phone. “Call the chief. Let him know about this latest development.” Josh started the SUV. Checking to see if anyone recognized the voice on the tape would have to wait.

“Do you think Munders is hinting that the congressman is the one behind the illegal adoption ring?” Serena asked, rebuckling her seat belt.

“I don’t know, but I intend to find out.”

* * *

Heart pounding with anticipation, Serena followed on Josh’s heels as they threaded their way single file through the crowd gathering on the lawn beneath the famed and iconic monument symbolizing the westward expansion of the United States: the Gateway Arch.

Serena had visited the site as a kid with her grade school class and as an adult once with Daniel. She’d stood beneath the steel structure, marveling at the grandeur of the architectural wonder and feeling patriotic. Today, however, her focus was on Peter Simms. And how he might play into the illegal adoption ring.

There was no mistaking the tall, elegant, black-haired man wearing a tailored navy suit and red tie taking the podium beneath an arch of red, white and blue balloons waving merrily in the noon breeze.

The crowd cheered. The congressman raised a hand.

Keeping her weapon concealed in the folds of her skirt, Serena searched the audience, spotting several plain-clothed officers and three U.S. marshals sent by the chief. They formed a perimeter around the gathering; each held a photo of Fred Munders.

For a moment a familiar face appeared near the podium. Serena grabbed Josh’s sleeve. “Hey, Bud’s here, near the platform.”

Josh stretched to see over the heads of the many people congregating on the lawn. “Where? I don’t see him.”

Serena didn’t now, either. “I’m sure it was him, wearing a light-colored polo shirt, khaki pants and a Cardinals baseball cap. I thought he’d called in sick.”

“That’s what Burke said.” Josh grabbed her hand. “Come on, let’s get closer.”

On the dais, Simms began his speech. “Thank you, good citizens of St. Louis and the great state of Missouri. What a great turnout.”

People clapped. Photographers snapped photos. Energy charged the air. Serena concentrated on the sea of faces, looking for Mr. Munders.

“We gather here today out of love for our state, for our country. We gather here today out of concern for our country.” Simms smiled wide, his bright blue gaze grazing over the audience. “We have an opportunity today to effect some change. Our country is in turmoil. We need new leadership.” A roar of agreement went up from the crowd. After a beat, Simms said, “I am going to be that leader. I’m announcing my bid for the office of president of the United States.”