The Betrayal

by Chris Taylor

  “Um, yes, I do. We… We met at a police function about six months ago. It was kind of a meet-and-greet night for the latest recruits.”

  Chloe frowned. “That’s strange. My uncle said he didn’t know you.” A moment later, she shrugged. “I guess he attends numerous functions every week. My Aunt Nellie’s forever bemoaning the fact he’s never at home. I can understand why she chooses to stay in most of the time. It must be tiring going out night after night.”

  Declan nodded wordlessly, his mind turning furiously.

  She didn’t know.

  She couldn’t know. If she knew she wouldn’t be babbling on about the social life, or lack thereof, of her family—as if that mattered.

  Declan clenched his fists, at a loss about what to do next. He turned away. His thoughts continued to churn.

  “Are you all right?”

  Her concern nearly undid him. He couldn’t tell her. He couldn’t. “I’m fine,” he managed, his voice strangled.

  She eyed him curiously. “You didn’t answer my question,” she said at last.

  He cleared his throat and prayed for strength. “What question?”

  “About Eric Stoltenberg. Is there any way he could be behind this?”

  Declan blew out his breath on a sigh, relieved the conversation had moved away from her uncle.

  “I’ve never met the man. I’ve never even heard of him, until tonight. I can’t imagine what reason he’d have to do this.”

  “You said the same thing about Charlie and yet it’s more and more obvious he’s involved. Why else would he give sworn evidence and risk a charge of perjury if he had nothing to gain? Either for himself, or someone who matters to him.”

  Declan shook his head in disbelief, even knowing what she said made sense. Charlie may not have done it for himself, but what if someone close to him had something to gain from Declan’s fall from grace? Someone Declan wasn’t even aware of?

  Chloe paced the length of his living room with her arms crossed defensively over her chest. He could almost feel her agitation. A moment later, she halted and drew in a deep breath. She turned to him, her expression grave. “There’s something else.”

  Her words reverberated against his brain. He stared at her, his heart pounding. Christ, how much more could he take?

  “I think my uncle’s involved.”

  He felt her words like an elephant kick straight to his gut. He stepped back and instinctively raised his hands, as if to ward off a blow.

  “Whoa, what are you telling me…?”

  She stared at him, her expression grave.

  “Fuck.” He shook his head, not wanting to accept the reality of the awful thought he’d skirted around ever since she’d mentioned the connection to the Home Affairs Office.

  As if unable to stand still, Chloe recommenced her pacing. Wringing her hands, she paused intermittently to gaze blindly out at the night through the balcony window.

  Declan understood her agitation. His thoughts were in turmoil. But he needed answers. He needed to hear how she’d arrived at such an appalling conclusion.

  He walked back to the couch and took a seat at one end and set the water he’d all but forgotten on the coffee table in front of him. Reaching across to the small end table that housed an antique lamp, he switched it on to better illuminate the room. He turned back to the woman whose steps had slowed with the onset of the soft glow of light.

  “Talk to me, Chloe,” he implored quietly. “Tell me what you know.”

  She turned to him with stricken features, looking lost and vulnerable. “I tried to call your lawyer. It’s-it’s time he knew about this. I-I wanted you to know, but this—this is so hard.” He stifled the urge to close the distance between them and take her into his arms. He needed answers and she was the only person who could provide them. He patted the leather beside him, but she shook her head.

  “No, I need to do this from over here. Please.”

  He nodded. She drew in a deep shuddering breath and he braced himself against what was to come.

  “When I found out about Eric, I went to see my uncle.”

  “Right.”

  She grimaced. “It wasn’t only because Eric works in my uncle’s office that I went to see him.”

  Dread stole through Declan’s veins, but he kept his tone as light as he could manage. “Okay.”

  “The HR manager told me that Eric had said he was there at the Minister’s request. When I told my uncle what Eric had said, he flatly denied knowing anything about it.”

  “And you believed him?”

  Chloe stopped moving and sighed. Turning to face him, she picked up her margarita and took a gulp.

  “Until now, yes. He’s my uncle. I’ve known him all my life. I had no reason to think he’d lie to me.”

  “So, what happened to change your mind?”

  Lifting her glass again, she emptied its contents in two swallows. As if coming to a decision, she closed the distance between them and took a seat beside him on the couch.

  Declan’s gaze locked with hers. He steeled his heart against the surge of emotion her nearness evoked. Her eyes were wide—whirlpools of confusion and disbelief.

  Again, he resisted the urge to offer her comfort. He tightened his fists and forced his arms to remain by his side. His jaw clenched with the effort.

  Chloe drew in a ragged breath. “A little while ago, I asked you if you knew my uncle and you told me you did, but when I asked my uncle about you, he couldn’t recall you.”

  Unease held Declan in a death grip. He ignored it and forced a grin. “Like you said, he probably goes to hundreds of functions a year. I only met him once.”

  “That’s true, but I also asked him about Charlie. He told me he didn’t know him, either.”

  “Okay,” Declan managed, relieved that the topic had shifted away from him. “Is there any reason why you think he’d know Charlie?”

  Chloe scrubbed her fingers through her hair and scrunched her eyes closed. A few moments later, her hands lowered and her shoulders slumped. She looked at him.

  Tears welled in her eyes, sparkling like diamonds in the golden glow of the lamp. Her mouth opened. Declan heard her soft intake of breath. The pain on her face almost killed him.

  “I don’t know why I asked him about Charlie,” she whispered. “There was no reason for my uncle to know him. It just came out. When my uncle told me Charlie’s name wasn’t familiar, I didn’t think any more about it.” She looked away and then continued.

  “Uncle Ronnie’s a busy man. He deals with thousands of officers under his command every day. There’s no way anyone would expect him to remember every single one of them.”

  Despite himself, he reached for her hand. “What happened, Chloe? What happened to change your mind?”

  She shuddered and returned the pressure of his fingers. “I re-interviewed Charlie,” she whispered.

  Declan sat upright, shock and excitement arcing through him. “You spoke to the son of a bitch? I’ve lost count of the number of messages I’ve left for him. He’s refusing to answer my calls. How did you get hold of him?”

  “He’s transferred to a different department. Fraud Squad. Once I found out, I left a message for him and he eventually called me back. He came into my office late this afternoon and we talked.”

  “Did you ask him about that bullshit performance he put on at court?”

  “Yes, of course. His claim that you’d exhibited interest in children six months ago was totally contrary to what he’d told me in his first interview. I had to find out why he’d lied. And when.”

  She lowered her gaze and the significance of her comment slowly sank in. His anger stirred.

  So, his guilt or innocence was still under consideration. He tensed and pulled his hand out of hers.

  “You still think he might have been telling the truth in his court testimony? Are you kidding me?”

  Chloe ignored him and continued speaking. “I asked him if he knew Eric Stoltenberg. He sai
d he did. That’s how I know there’s a connection between the two of them. Then I asked him if he knew my uncle.” She drew in a raspy breath. “He said he did.”

  “So what? There wouldn’t be a single agent who doesn’t know the Minister and if Charlie’s ever had cause to go to the Minister’s Office, he’d probably see his clerk.”

  “Charlie told me he’d met my uncle on several occasions. That they’d shared conversations.”

  “Big deal. That hardly—” Declan jumped up, his fists clenched. “Wait a minute, didn’t you say your uncle denied knowing him?”

  Chloe nodded, her face grim. “Now do you see where I’m going with this?”

  Excitement and adrenaline rushed through him, leaving him tingling. He moved closer to the couch, his arms spread wide.

  “Don’t you see? It has to be him. He lied about knowing Stanford and he lied about knowing me. Why would he do that unless he had something to hide? Even better, his clerk told the HR manager he was there on the Minister’s orders. It all makes sense.”

  Chloe sat forward on the couch. “I think you’re right. The only thing I don’t understand is why.”

  Time stood still. Declan’s heart thumped hard against his chest. Blood pulsed in his ears. She lifted her head and stared at him and whispered the words he’d been dreading.

  “Tell me again how you know my uncle.”

  CHAPTER 18

  A cold pit of dread formed a hard lump in Chloe’s belly. She stared at Declan, almost willing the words back. Did she really want to know why her uncle would deny any memory of meeting him? If there was nothing to hide, why would he pretend it had never happened? After all, according to Declan, they’d only met six months ago, nowhere near long enough to forget about it.

  A raft of emotions darkened Declan’s features until they hardened into a mask of cold anger. Chloe shivered and almost wished again that she’d kept her mouth shut.

  “Once I tell you about this, things will never be the same for you and your family. I’m assuming since your uncle denied any knowledge of me, he’s also denied who he is—or more to the point, what he is—to everyone who knows him.”

  At his words, fear and foreboding congealed in her heart. Her pulse pounded in her ears. Chloe gripped the soft leather of the couch, digging her fingernails in until it hurt.

  As if sensing her unease, Declan moved closer, his eyes searching hers. “Are you still sure you want to know?”

  No, she wanted to scream. She didn’t want to know. She could tell by the look on his face that what he was going to say would tear her apart, would destroy her world as she knew it…would devastate her family.

  And it could never be taken back.

  But she was an officer of the law. A seeker of the truth. Hadn’t she spouted that very phrase to her boss not more than ninety minutes ago? How could she turn her back on an innocent man in the name of protecting a member of her family who may not even be worthy of her protection? Her respect? Her love?

  Determination surged through her. She held his gaze with a steely resolve.

  “Tell me.”

  He stared at her, probing her with eyes that pierced through her uncertainty and laid it bare.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Tell me.”

  After another long moment, Declan broke eye contact and stood and moved away, almost as if putting physical distance between them could soften the blow. He drew in a deep breath. Chloe braced herself.

  “I met your uncle at a work function. I’d been with the CPU about six months. Although it was touted as a meet-and-greet thing for the latest intake of AFP recruits, they were also raising money to be donated to a charity that arranged for counseling for children whose lives had been touched by crime.

  “We were all urged to attend. It was held at the Hyatt in Yarralumla. A really swanky affair. Tuxedoes, ball gowns and five hundred dollar tickets.

  “I went with my oldest brother, Tom. He’s been a police officer for most of his adult life. It was his daughter who’d had a narrow escape from a pedophile a little over a year ago.”

  “Cassie,” she murmured, remembering.

  Declan nodded, his mouth grim. “Yes, Cassie.”

  “Go on,” she urged quietly.

  “Neither Tom nor I had a date. Tom’s wife, Lily, was sick at home with the flu. They live in Sydney and she didn’t want to make the trip down. Tom was reluctant to go without her, but she’d urged him to go along and show their support. I was single, footloose and fancy free.”

  He threw her a wry look. “Long after Meg Harvey, I’d been seeing a lawyer. We’d been together a few years, but it didn’t work out. The breakup was pretty rough on me and finding a replacement girlfriend had been way down on my list of priorities.”

  Chloe remained silent, even though a part of her was dying to know more. She bit her lip and waited for him to continue.

  Declan scrubbed at his face with his hands, seemingly lost in his memories. His voice was deeper, hoarser when he began again.

  “I was alone at the bar when your uncle approached me. I knew before he introduced himself who he was—hardly a week goes by that his face isn’t pictured in the news for one reason or another—but I’d never met him. I was drinking beer and he asked the bartender to refresh my drink. Then he introduced himself.”

  Chloe shivered with unease and rubbed her palms up and down her arms. Declan grimaced.

  “It’s not too late, Chloe. Say the word and I’ll stop. You’ll never hear another sound.”

  A part of her jumped at the offer, wanting nothing more than to run screaming from the room with her hands jammed tightly against her ears. She drew in another breath and shook her head. “Go on.”

  A spark of admiration lit up the depths of Declan’s eyes. He seemed to come to some decision and nodded.

  “Your uncle asked me about myself, how old I was, how long I’d been with the AFP, whether I was married. I didn’t find his interest rude; in fact, I was kind of flattered. Although I’d been an officer for more than a decade under the New South Wales system, I’d never come to the notice of anyone at the top. And here I was, barely six months into my new career and the Minister for Home Affairs, the boss of bosses, was interested in me.”

  Declan paced the length of the living room, his movements becoming more agitated. He drew in a deep breath and continued.

  “We ordered another round of drinks and the banter remained friendly. I had my leg propped up on the rail that ran along the bar. Without warning, he moved closer and put his hand on my thigh and squeezed.”

  Chloe gasped. Shock ricocheted through her, turning her rigid. Blood pumped hard in her veins. She strained to hear him over the roar in her ears.

  “I jumped back like I’d been scalded. I had no idea he was gay. In some confused part of my brain, I could even remember thinking I’d heard about a wife and a child somewhere. I told him rather abruptly that I wasn’t gay and his advances weren’t welcome. He didn’t take it well. I could tell by the look on his face that I’d made a dangerous enemy.”

  Chloe’s mind reeled with Declan’s revelations. With every fiber of her being, she wanted to scream at him that he was wrong. This was her uncle! Her father’s brother. A man who had always been there for her. A man who treated her like his very own daughter.

  An angry denial instinctively forced its way into her mouth. She shook her head back and forth. Leaping up, she confronted Declan, her hands on her hips. “You must have misunderstood him.”

  Declan stared at her, his eyes unfathomable. “No.”

  Her heart pumped furiously. “He’s been married for forty years. He has a daughter. It can’t be right. You might have thought he was coming on to you, but did he actually say anything in that vein?”

  “No, he didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. It was obvious what he meant.”

  She spun on her heel, still unwilling to accept the possibility her beloved uncle was living a double life. “Okay, okay, maybe he
touched you—”

  “Maybe?” His eyes narrowed dangerously. “What the hell are you implying? That I don’t know whether the man touched me or not? Are you for real?” A flush crept up his neck. Anger glittered in his eyes. Chloe took a deep breath and backed up a step.

  “Okay, he touched you. I get it. But, there must be some mistake about his intention. Maybe it was accidental? Maybe he leaned over to pick up his drink and he accidentally brushed your leg?”

  This time, there was no mistaking Declan’s ire. He strode toward her, coming to a halt inches from where she stood. The tension in his body emanated fury with every step.

  “He squeezed my thigh, Chloe! With his fingers. He leaned toward me and squeezed my thigh. How you could even think that might be accidental is beyond me.”

  Her thoughts whirled around inside her head. Panic dimmed her vision.

  It couldn’t be true. It couldn’t. There had to be some mistake. There had to. The alternative was inconceivable.

  She had to get out of there.

  The thought had barely registered when she whirled around. Finding her briefcase, she rifled inside for her keys and then strode toward the door.

  “Chloe, we need to talk about this. We need to—”

  The sound of blood pounding in her ears blocked out the rest of Declan’s plea. She made it to the door and flung it open. Stumbling into the corridor, she headed for the elevator.

  She didn’t look back.

  CHAPTER 19

  Chloe cracked open her eyes and shielded them against the morning light that seeped through her open curtains. In her haste to get home and hide beneath her covers, wanting nothing more than a chance to block out the world and the recent shocking blows it had dealt her, she’d forgotten to draw them.

  She glanced at the clock on her nightstand and groaned. If she didn’t get moving, she’d be late for work. The thought of fronting up to her office and to her boss filled her with dread. She’d tossed and turned and paced up and down her bedroom for most of the night. Declan’s words echoed in her head. Images of her uncle, her aunt, Stanford and Stoltenberg had chased each other in a kaleidoscope of frenzied color and motion. She’d done her best to block out the roaring in her ears.