by Nora Roberts
almost begin to taste the lobster bisque or rare roast beef. He talked of other guests until she could begin to imagine the music, the fashions, the conversations. And just when she’d lose herself in the moment, he’d shift into business mode and list, painstakingly, his current investments and interest rates, along with his own pedantic views on the politics that drove them.
He was a man, Tia learned, who loved his money and loved spending it, who doted on his children and grandchildren and considered good food one of life’s greatest pleasures.
His pride in Wyley Antiques was paramount, and his ambition to make it the most prestigious dealer a steady drive. Out of that ambition had come his interest, and his desire, for the Three Fates.
Here, he had done his research. He’d tracked Clotho to Washington, D.C., in the fall of 1914. A large section of the journal was devoted to his delighted boasting of wheeling and dealing, and his ultimate purchase of the silver Fate for four hundred twenty-five dollars.
Highway robbery, he’d called it, and Tia could only agree.
He had, by his own account, all but stolen the statue that would be, in less than a year, stolen from him in turn.
But old Henry, unaware of his own fate, kept his ear to the ground. He seemed to delight in the hunt every bit as much as he did in the anticipation of a seven-course meal.
In the spring of that next year, he had linked Lachesis to a wealthy barrister named Simon White-Smythe, Mansfield Court, London.
He booked passage for himself and his wife, Edith, on the doomed ship, believing he would finagle the second Fate for himself, for Wyley’s, then follow his next lead, toward Atropus, to Bath.
Uniting the Three Fates was his great ambition. For the sake of art, yes, but more for the sheen it would layer over Wyleys and his family. And, Tia thought, even more than that, for the sheer fun of it all.
As she read, Tia made her own notes. She’d check his facts, use his detailing to find more.
She had an ambition and an anticipation of her own now. Though they had sprung out of injured pride and anger, they were no less formidable than her ancestor’s.
She would track down the Fates, and would—in a manner she’d yet to completely pin down—reclaim Henry’s property.
She would find them with meticulous research, consistent logic, careful cross-referencing, just as he had done. When she had them, she would astonish her father, one-up the oh-so-clever Anita Gaye and skewer the detestable Malachi Sullivan.
When her phone rang, she was sitting at the desk in her office, her glasses perched on her nose as she sipped a protein supplement. As usual when she was working, she told herself to let the machine pick up. And as usual, she worried it might be some sort of emergency only she could handle.
She fretted over that for two rings, then gave in.
“Hello?”
“Dr. Marsh?”
“Yes.”
“I’d like to speak to you about your work. Specific areas of your work.”
She frowned at the phone, at the unrecognizable male voice. “My work? Who is this?”
“I think we have a mutual interest. So . . . what are you wearing?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I bet you’ve got on silk panties. Red silk—”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” She slammed down the phone. Embarrassed, shaken, she hugged herself and rocked. “Pervert. That’s it. I’m getting an unlisted number.”
She picked up the journal again. Set it down. You’d think being listed as T. J. Marsh would be enough to protect a woman from rude, disgusting calls by sick people.
She brooded over it and pulled out the white pages to look up the phone company’s business office when her doorbell chimed.
Her first reaction was annoyance at the interruption, and on its heels rushed a paralyzing fear. It was the man on the phone. He would break into her apartment, attack her. Rape her. Then slit her throat from ear to ear with the large, jagged-edge knife he carried.
“Don’t be stupid, don’t be stupid.” She rubbed a hand over her mouth as she got to her feet. “Obscene phone callers are idiots, nuisances who hide behind technology. It’s just your mother, or Mrs. Lockley from downstairs. It’s nothing.”
But she inched her way out of the office, staring at the front door as she crossed the room. With her heart hammering, she eased up on her toes and looked through the peep.
The sight of the big, tough-faced man in a black leather jacket had her gasping, spinning around with her hand to her throat, which she imagined was about to be cut. She looked around wildly and grabbed the closest weapon. Armed with a bronze figure of Circe, she squeezed her eyes tight.
“Who are you? What do you want?”
“Dr. Marsh? Dr. Tia Marsh?”
“I’m calling the police.”
“I am the police. Detective Burdett, ma’am, NYPD. I’m holding my shield up to the judas hole.”
She’d read a book once in which the homicidal maniac had shot one of his victims through the peephole. A bullet in the eye and straight into the brain. Shaking now, she jerked toward the peep and away again, trying to get a look without risking a violent death.
It looked like proper identification.
“What’s this about, Detective Burdett?”
“I’d just like to ask you a few questions, Dr. Marsh. If I could come in? You can leave the door open if you’d be more comfortable.”
She bit her lip. If you couldn’t trust the police, she told herself, where were you? She set the bronze aside and unlocked the door. “Is there a problem, Detective?”
He smiled now, a friendly, reassuring gesture. “That’s what I’d like to talk to you about.” He stepped inside, pleased that she felt safe enough to shut the door behind him.
“Has there been some trouble in the building?”
“No, ma’am. Could we sit down?”
“Yes, of course.” She gestured to a chair, then perched on the edge of another when he sat.
“Nice place.”
“Thank you.”
“I guess you get your taste for antiques and such from your father.”
The blood drained out of her face. “Is something wrong with my father?”
“No. But this has something to do with your father’s line of work, and yours. What do you know about a set of silver statues known as the Three Fates?”
He saw her pupils dilate. That quick jolt of shock. And knew his instincts here were on target. “What is this about?” she demanded. “Is this about Malachi Sullivan?”
“Does he have something to do with the Fates?”
“I hope you’ve arrested him,” she said bitterly. “I hope you have him in jail this minute. And if he gave you my name thinking I’d help him wheedle out, you’re wasting your time.”
“Dr. Marsh—”
He saw the instant she made him, heard the quick gasp an instant before she tried to leap up. He was faster, and pinned her back in the chair.
“Take it easy now.”
“You’re the one who called on the phone. You’re not a cop at all. He sent you, didn’t he?”
Jack had expected tears, screams, and was impressed when she stared holes through him instead.
“I don’t know your Malachi Sullivan, Tia. My name’s Jack Burdett, Burdett Securities.”
“You’re just another liar, and a pervert on top of it.” Fury was shrinking back, and she could feel her throat closing. “I need my inhaler.”
“You need to stay calm,” he corrected when she started to wheeze. “I’ve done business with your father. You can check with him.”
“My father doesn’t do business with perverts.”
“Listen, I’m sorry about that. Your phone’s tapped; when I realized it, I said the first thing that came to mind.”
“My phone is not tapped.”
“Honey, I make my living knowing this stuff. Now, I want you to relax. I’m going to give you my phone; it’s secure. I want you to call t
he Sixty-first Precinct and ask for Detective Robbins, Bob Robbins. You ask him if he knows me, if he’ll vouch for me. If he doesn’t, you tell him to send a radio car to this address. Okay with that?”
She pressed her lips together. He had hands like rock, she thought, and a cold expression on his face that warned her she wasn’t going to get away. “Give me the phone.”
He eased back, reached one hand into his jacket and took out both a small phone and a business card.
“That’s my company. I’d let you call your father for another reference, but I don’t know if his phones are secure.”
She kept her attention on Jack as she contacted information. “I want the number for the Sixty-first Precinct in Manhattan. I want you to connect me.”
Jack nodded. “Ask for the Detectives Division, Bob Robbins.”
She did, and worked on her breathing. “Detective Robbins? Yes, this is Tia Marsh.” She spoke clearly, gave her address down to the apartment number.
Good, Jack thought. She wasn’t an idiot.
“There’s a man in my apartment. He gained entrance by impersonating a police officer. He says his name is Jack Burdett and that you’ll reassure me as to his character.” She lifted her brows. “About six-two, two hundred thirty. Dark blond hair, gray eyes. Yes, a small scar, right side of the mouth. I see. Yes, I see. I couldn’t agree more, thank you.”
She tilted her ear away from the phone for a moment. “Detective Robbins confirms that he knows you, that you’re not a psychopath, and assures me he’ll be happy to kick your butt for impersonating an officer, as well as issue a warrant for your arrest should I want to pursue that option. He also says you owe him twenty dollars. He’d like to speak with you.”
“Thanks.” Jack took the phone, and a step back. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll fill you in first chance I get. What fake ID? I don’t know what you’re talking about. Later.” He broke the connection, pocketing the phone. “Okay?” he asked Tia.
“No, it’s not okay. It’s certainly not okay. Excuse me.”
She popped out of the chair and marched out of the room. Because he wasn’t entirely sure she wasn’t going for a weapon, Jack followed her.
She opened a cupboard in the kitchen, and his brows shot up at the rows of pill bottles. She snagged aspirin, wrenched open the refrigerator. “I have a tension headache, thank you very much.”
“I apologize. I couldn’t risk the phone. Look.” He lifted the kitchen portable off its stand, opened the mouthpiece. “See this? It’s a tap—decent quality.”
“Since I wouldn’t know a listening device from a horned toad, I’ll just have to take your word, won’t I?”
His research hadn’t indicated she was quick. “Guess you will. I’d be careful what I said on this line.”
“Why should I take your word, Mr. Burdett?”
“Jack, make it Jack. Got any coffee?” Her withering look made him shrug. “Okay. Anita Gaye.” He smiled when she slowly lowered the water bottle. “Thought that would ring a bell. Odds are she’s the one who got your phone tapped. She wants the Fates, and you and your family have a connection to them. Henry Wyley’s statue of Clotho wasn’t lost on the Lusitania, was it, Tia?”
“If you and Anita are friends, ask her.”
“I didn’t say we were friends. I’m a collector. That’s something you can confirm with your father, but I’d appreciate it if you’d do it face-to-face so Anita isn’t tracking my moves. I’ve bought some nice pieces from Wyley’s. The latest was a Lalique vase, molded. Six nude maidens pouring water from urns. I like naked women,” he said with a chuckle. “Sue me.”
“I thought you liked red silk panties.”
“I haven’t got anything against them.”
“I can’t help you, Mr. Burdett. You might as well go back and tell Ms. Gaye she’s wasting her time with me.”
“I don’t work with or for Anita. I work for myself, and I have a personal interest in the Fates. Anita dropped some bait on me, gotta figure she’s hoping I’ll do some of her legwork and lead her to them. She miscalculated. She’s covering bases with you, too,” he added, gesturing toward the phone. “I’m betting you know something she doesn’t. I think we can help each other out.”
“Why should I help you, even if I could?”
“Because I’m really good at what I do. You tell me what you know and I’ll find them. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”
“I haven’t decided what I know.”
“Who’s Malachi Sullivan?”
“That’s one thing I’m sure of.” Sure because the mere mention of his name made her chest tight. “He’s a liar and a cheat. He claimed that Anita duped him, but for all I know they’re thick as . . . thieves,” she decided.
“Where would I find him?”
“I assume he’s back in Ireland. Cobh. But I’d prefer he was roasting in hell.”
“What’s his connection?”
She hesitated, then could find no reason not to elaborate. “He claims that Anita stole one of the Fates from him, but as his tongue would probably turn black if it tasted truth, I’ve reason to doubt that. Now, this has been very interesting, but you’ve interrupted my work.”
“You’ve got my card. You think about it, get in touch.” He started out, then turned and looked back at her. “If you know anything, be careful where you step. Anita’s a snake, Tia, the kind that likes to gulp down soft, pretty things.”
“And what are you, Mr. Burdett?”
“I’m a man who respects and appreciates the whims of fate.”
Malachi Sullivan, he thought as he walked out.
It looked as if Jack was going to take a trip to Ireland.
IT WAS A long trip from London to New York. Longer when you were wedged into a center seat the size of a postage stamp between a woman whose legs were nearly as long as your own and a man who used his elbows like switchblades.
Gideon tried to bury himself in his book, but even Steinbeck’s brilliant prose couldn’t compete. So he spent the hours thinking, winding his way through the morass of the situation he, and his family, had gotten themselves into.
He survived the flight, then shuffled brainlessly through the agony of customs and baggage retrieval.
“You’re sure about this friend of yours,” he asked Cleo.
“Look, you asked me to come up with a friend in the city who’d put us up for a few days, no questions, no hassles because you’re too cheap to spring for a hotel. That’s Mikey.”
“I can’t afford a bloody hotel at this point, and I don’t know how you can trust a grown man named Mikey.”
“You’re just cranky.” Cleo took deep gulps of air as they walked through the terminal. It was airport air, but it was New York. “You should’ve slept on the plane. I slept like a log.”
“I know it, and for that single act, I’ll hate you till my dying day.”
“Bitch, bitch, bitch. It won’t bother me a bit.” She stepped outside, into the choking exhaust and helacious noise. “Oh baby, I am back!”
He’d hoped to doze in the cab, but the driver had some sort of eye-twitching Indian music on the radio.
“How long have you known this Mikey?”
“I don’t know. Six, seven years, I guess. We’ve done some gigs together.”
“He’s a stripper?”
“No, he’s not a stripper,” Cleo retorted. “He’s a dancer, and so am I. Look, I’ve done Broadway.” Briefly, but she’d done it. “We were partnered up in the revival of Grease. Did the road tour.”
“The two of you have a thing going?”
“No.” She tucked her tongue in her cheek. “Mikey’s a lot more likely to hit on you than on me.”
“Oh. Wonderful.”