After Cecelia left, Amy grimaced. “Sorry. You didn’t need that.”
“You still mad at your mother?”
Amy’s lips tightened. “She just makes me crazy. I’ll check in on Alexis and be back to see you before too long. Take care.”
Then her parents were bidding her goodbye and she gave her father an extra-long—extremely gentle—hug. He had tears in his eyes when he pulled back. “I’m glad God wasn’t finished with you yet, honey.”
She studied his eyes. Total sincerity. He’d made mistakes in the past, but he was a forgiven child of God now. Cassidy felt her throat close up with emotion and had to clear it to speak. “Me, too, Dad. God’s not finished with you, either.”
He nodded.
Christina took his hand. “Come on, Jonathan. Obviously, everyone is giving credit to God for Cassidy’s survival, so I guess I need to reconsider Him. After all, when Cassidy was lying on the floor bleeding to death, I did something I hadn’t done in a really long time. I prayed. Maybe He was listening.”
Jonathan’s eyes shot wide-open and a grin split his lips. Cassidy’s heart went wild with joy. Her parents left and she lay there feeling happy and dizzy. She didn’t think it was all due to the drugs flooding her system. She slid into a light doze thanking God for His goodness—and the invention of painkillers.
Twelve hours later, Gabe sat in the hospital cafeteria contemplating the events of the last two days. Craig called and wanted to meet with him, so Gabe told him to come to the cafeteria. He’d traded shifts with another doctor so that he could be here with Cassidy. Right now her parents were visiting so she had company to keep her occupied until he could get back up there to check on her. Gabe swallowed the last of his coffee and tried to decide if he wanted another cup or not.
“Hey there, buddy. How’s it going?” Craig dropped into the chair opposite Gabe and slapped a file folder on the table between them.
“Okay, I guess. What you got?”
“Well, DNA proves one part of Cindy Patterson’s story.”
“The black clothes.”
Craig pushed the folder over to Gabe. “These are e-mails we pulled from her laptop. She was staying in a hotel on the west side of town. We ran her phone records, too, made and received calls from the hotel phone. No evidence of a cell phone.” He pointed to several numbers that had been highlighted in yellow. “See these numbers here? It took us all night, but we’ve figured out that they’re all from clone phones and only short quick calls to keep the legitimate subscriber from realizing someone has hacked into his cell. We checked all of them. Somebody was real smart. And I’d stake my pension on that somebody being Cindy’s contact.”
Gabe sighed, “Yeah, but who? This somebody would have to know how to hack into a cell-phone company’s records.” Frustration was giving him a headache. “Brian is the logical one, but there’s no connection between him and Cindy. Her job was to simply get rid of Cassidy and report in to the number and e-mail address provided by her contact. No trails anywhere.”
“Well, one trail.” Craig flipped to the back of the folder and pulled out four sheets of paper. “Letters from a post-office box.”
“Who’s it registered to?”
“I’m waiting on that phone call. I’ve also got our department professionals working overtime to see where these e-mails came from. They’re tracking the IP addresses. Unfortunately, they’re well covered up and routed through several different computers. It’s a waiting game right now.”
Gabe sighed. “So our best hope is the e-mails or the letters.”
“That would be it.”
Gabe curled one hand into a fist and resisted pounding it on the table. He leaned forward, tension radiating from him. “Craig, we’ve got to find this person fast. Something just doesn’t add up. Cassidy’s got personal bodyguards, a state-of-the-art home alarm system that someone bypassed. She had extremely tight security last night at the benefit and Cindy was able to sneak a gun in and shoot her. How? What happened to the metal detectors? How did they fail? Unless…” Gabe trailed off, not liking where his thoughts were taking him.
“She didn’t sneak it in,” Craig finished the sentence for him.
Gabe went still then breathed, “It was planted.”
“An inside job,” Craig said.
“Yeah.” Gabe blew out a breath. “But who would benefit from it? At first I thought it was the whole custody thing with Alexis. But that’s been resolved. We’ve got Cindy, and while I’m not sure I buy the fact that she doesn’t know who hired her, she’s not talking.”
Craig nodded his agreement. “So who else would benefit from Cassidy’s death?” His cell phone rang and he pulled it off the clip to bark into it, “Monahan.” He listened for a few moments. “Okay, thanks.”
Craig snapped the phone shut. He looked at Gabe and said, “The post-office box is registered to a woman by the name of Juanita Morales.”
Recognition zinged through him. “Juanita Morales. Why does that name sound familiar?” Gabe thought; realization dawned. He snapped his fingers. “Rafael’s sister? Why would a woman who’s been missing for over thirty years have a post-office box here in town and be sending letters to the woman who tried to shoot Cassidy? How would she even know about Cassidy and why would this woman want Cassidy dead?”
Craig shook his head. “I’m confused, man.” His phone chirped again. Once again, he listened; this time his eyebrows shot up into his hairline. He hung up and looked at Gabe, consternation written on his handsome features. “You’re not going to believe this.”
“What now?”
“Those e-mails came from a computer in Senator Graham’s house.”
Gabe blew out a shocked breath. Craig was right. He didn’t believe it. “Amy? It’s a setup. It has to be.”
“Think about it, Gabe. Amy is Cassidy’s best friend. You just said it had to be an inside job. Who else would have access to all of Cassidy’s information…and her home-alarm code? And she’s good on a computer.”
Gabe just had another thought. “Oh, man. And Amy was there fixing up Alexis’s room while Cassidy was in Brazil, remember? She could have been the one to leave the attic window open for Rafael.” Gabe shuddered. “And she was visiting Cassidy before the dinner. She could have easily snuck the gun in, then told Cindy where to find it.” This would shatter Cassidy. Gabe questioned, “But why? What’s her motive?”
“Jealousy?” Craig asked.
“Of what? She has everything Cassidy has.”
“Except Cassidy’s father beat out Amy’s father in the bid for the ambassadorial position. If he were gone or incapacitated with grief, the senator just might move up without a problem.”
Gabe let out a tense breath. “Well, whatever the motive, we’ve got to find Amy. Now.”
TWENTY-ONE
Cassidy dozed in and out, thanks to the pain medicine. So when she heard the squeak of the door, she didn’t bother to open her eyes. Her head felt heavy and her mouth dry. She wanted water but felt too fuzzy to try to reach for the cup on the tray beside the bed. Maybe her visitor would get it for her. It was probably Gabe.
She rolled her head toward the door and opened her eyes. Nope, not Gabe. She hid her disappointment, smiled and said, “Hi.”
“Hello, Cassidy.”
“Did you forget something?”
“No, I just had some unfinished business to take care of. I told you I’d be back.”
Confusion made her frown. “Sorry, I’m a little fuzzy right now. What kind of business?” She gave a weak laugh.
The person moved closer and around the side of the bed to the IV pole. A syringe appeared in the well-manicured hand.
Cassidy struggled to think. “What are you doing?”
“Something that has to be done, unfortunately. I’m being kind, though.” The hand waved the syringe of fluid. “You won’t feel a thing. Potassium is a quick-acting little thing.”
The syringe moved toward the part of the IV where medication was in
jected. A lovely little invention that saved the patient from having to be stuck with a needle every time medication was needed. However, it made it awfully easy to inject a fatal amount of potassium that would go straight to the heart.
Awareness exploded in Cassidy’s brain, but she felt so sluggish she knew it would be impossible to fight. The needle entered the IV. She croaked, “Tell me why. You owe me that at least.” The figure paused and glanced down at Cassidy.
“Yes, Mother, you owe her that.” Amy stood in the doorway, tears trembling on her long lashes. Two spots of color stood out on her otherwise ashen cheeks. Gabe and Craig pushed in after her. Gabe started toward Cassidy, fear written all over his pale face.
Cecelia Graham didn’t bother to lower the syringe, but a flicker of fear crossed her face before hardening back into a stony mask of determination. “I thought you would be busy a little longer.”
Gabe’s eyes flitted between the syringe and Cassidy.
Cassidy felt almost numb. Between the drugs and her disbelief that a woman she loved, trusted and respected was trying to kill her, she was reeling.
Dizziness threatened, but she pushed it back and moved her left hand over her right to find what she needed. Never taking her eyes from Cecelia and her needle, Cassidy slipped her fingernail under the tape. She had a large-bore catheter due to the blood loss she’d endured. If Cecelia pushed that potassium in, Cassidy knew she’d be dead before she could blink.
Cecelia’s scornful voice twisted Cassidy’s heart into a painful thing. Amy was devastated. Her mother was a murderer. Cassidy whispered again, “Why?”
“I think I know,” Amy rasped. “I’ve done a little research over the last several days.”
“Research?” Wariness crossed Cecelia’s features.
Amy hissed, “Oh, yes, Mother. You see, I got so frustrated with you messing with my computer that I went to lock it with a password. Then just out of curiosity I started researching what you’d been doing on it.”
Cassidy felt it hard to stay alert but she had to. She pulled some more of the tape, hoping she wasn’t making any noise. Fortunately, Amy had her mother’s full attention. Gabe shifted closer.
Amy went on, “You’d been accessing my e-mail. That’s how you found Cassidy’s home-alarm code to pass on to Rafael.”
“Amy, you need to shut up now.”
Gabe took over. “You knew Cassidy was going to Brazil to get Alexis. You knew which lawyer’s office was handling the case, and you also knew Cassidy’s father had something going on because he was paying out a large sum of money each month for years. We found the letters you, as Juanita Morales, wrote to Cindy.”
Cecelia turned white at this announcement.
Amy sobbed a ragged breath and said, “I found out who you really are.”
“What?” Cassidy whispered. “What are you saying?”
Amy choked back a sob.
Gabe said, “Amy found us in the cafeteria and shared a lot of information with us on the way up here. What she’s saying is that she’s a pretty good computer hacker. She found all kinds of interesting stuff on her computer, Mrs. Graham. And your husband’s. Everything Jonathan has done in the last six years since his appointment as ambassador to Brazil. Apparently, you’re more skilled with computers than you wanted anyone to know.”
Cassidy couldn’t take it all in. “But why? Just tell me, why?”
Cecelia hissed between clenched teeth, “Because he stole that appointment from my husband. Jonathan had no right to take that job. When he did, it messed up everything. Everything that I’ve worked for years to achieve.”
Cassidy shook her head and tried to clear it. She still didn’t understand. Amy advanced toward the bed. She’d dammed up the tears, determined to finish presenting the evidence she’d gathered. “Don’t you see, Cass? When your father took that position as ambassador, my mother knew his main focus would be human trafficking. And while she had absolutely no intention of ever setting foot in Brazil again, she had to have my father in that position.”
“Why should she care?”
At this, Amy let the tears fall.
Gabe shifted closer to the bed and spoke again. “Because that’s where the money comes from. And has for years. There is no old family money in a trust fund. When Amy’s grandfather died, he was broke. This sent Cecelia into a panic. She had to find a way to keep the cash flow steady. So she contacted the one person she hadn’t talked to in years. Rafael Juan Morales. Her brother.”
“That’s enough. You don’t know what you’re saying. You…” Stunned disbelief crowded Cecelia’s features.
“No, let’s finish it.” Gabe kept his eyes on the syringe and knew whatever was in it couldn’t be good. If he kept her talking, maybe he could figure out a way to get it out of her hand. He said, “Once you knew Jonathan was going to become ambassador, you had to find a way to get rid of him. Only it would be too obvious, not to mention difficult, if something were to happen to him personally.”
Amy took over. “You were so involved in Dad’s bid for that appointment, you had to make sure it couldn’t come back to haunt you if something happened to Jonathan. So you set up Micah. Jonathan’s pride and joy are his children and you used that.”
“Micah?” Cassidy asked, confused.
Gabe sucked the air from the room. Amy hadn’t mentioned Micah when she’d brought them the evidence against her mother. Amy continued, “Since my father is on the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, he works with the Special Forces and all their missions. Micah let my father know that he was changing missions briefly. Mother had my father’s password that enabled her to access top-secret information. She found out about this mission Micah would be going on and alerted the drug lord.” Amy glared at her mother through her tears.
“I can’t believe you’d betray me like this,” Cecelia spat.
“You had twelve men killed, Mother. A little boy died because of your interference in that operation. An operation you weren’t even supposed to be aware of. The only one to survive was Gabe. All because Micah found out about your past. Yeah, I found that e-mail, too. After I found that, it all clicked into place.”
Cassidy turned to Amy. “What did Micah find out?”
Cecelia’s thin lips twisted into a disgusted curl. “Micah was working on something in Brazil and saw my missing person’s picture posted on a wall in a police department. It nagged at him until he realized who it reminded him of. He sent an e-mail with the wanted poster attached to our home, asking if it was me. Fortunately, I came across it first. If my husband…” She gave a shudder then said mockingly, “Poor little Juanita Morales, born to Brazilian trash. After years on the street selling myself, compliments of my brother, I got out. Snuck into the United States, changed my name, worked my fingers to the bone for an education, watched how the rich lived, talked, walked. And married a senator. If my past ever got out, I was finished. My husband would be dead in the political waters. So I set everything up to get rid of my problem. Micah died on the mission. Unfortunately that didn’t distract Jonathan. After Rafael failed in Brazil,” she sneered, “I needed something on the man. He was costing me money every day. Finally, my search paid off. An illegitimate child. Unfortunately, just revealing that he had a child from an affair wouldn’t faze anyone these days. I had to go a step further. Once I found the money trail, contacting Cindy was simple. Finding out she was a bitter young lady who wanted revenge on the father that dumped her mother and never claimed her as his daughter was just pure luck.”
“You’re evil,” Amy whispered with disbelief.
Craig stepped up and said, “You need to move away from Cassidy, Mrs. Graham.” His gaze went to the needle in the IV.
Cecelia shrieked, “Get out! All of you, or I push this potassium in.”
For the first time in his life, Gabe thought he would faint. Sweet Jesus, please…
Craig wheedled, “Mrs. Graham, you know we can’t leave. There’s no reason to kill Cassidy now
. You’re going to be arrested no matter what at this point, so why not give it up peacefully and we’ll talk with your lawyer.”
Cassidy pulled her hand out from under the covers. The end of the IV dangled from her fingers, but the hole in her arm bled in a thick steady stream.
“Could someone get me a Band-Aid, please?” she asked.
Cecelia screeched and lunged toward Cassidy, the syringe held to stab her. Cassidy ducked, Gabe swiped his foot across the woman’s path. Cecelia let out another yell as she went down to the floor, spread-eagle. Craig stepped on the hand that still clutched the poison.
“Ow! You’re hurting my hand.” Cecelia wept uncontrollably, her sophisticated veneer stripped clean. Amy leaned against the wall, silent tears streaming down her cheeks.
As Craig led the deranged woman from the hospital room, Amy followed with a tearful glance over her shoulder at Cassidy. Gabe clamped a hand over the hole in the crook of her elbow and reached for the tissue box beside the bed.
It would do until he could get a sterile bandage. He wadded it up and placed it over the wound to put pressure on the wound. He looked down at the woman he loved and demanded, “Will you marry me, please? I think it’s the only way I’m going to be able to keep you out of trouble.”
Cassidy blinked and Gabe could see the yes dancing on her lips.
“I…I—” She stopped.
Gabe frowned. “I know, I know. I’m sorry. You deserve flowers, a seven-course meal, the works, but I almost lost you, Cass. I don’t want to spend another minute away from you.”
Cassidy gulped and blurted out, “I want to know what you know about Micah—and I want to know now.”
Gabe froze. “What do you mean?”
Cassidy narrowed her eyes at him. “Micah was on your last mission. And there was a lot more involved than what’s been told. I want to know. I have to know. And his body’s never been found. Is he still alive?”
Gabe felt his entire soul go cold.
“Cassidy, the details are classified information. You know he’s dead. Here, bend your arm to hold the tissues in place.” She obeyed absently, her attention focused on him. Gabe got up to wash his hands while he racked his brains as to what to say to her. He watched the liquid swirl in the sink then go down the drain. He thought it ironically symbolized his relationship with Cassidy. If he told her, he broke a confidence he swore to uphold; if he didn’t tell her…How much could he reveal without compromising his promise?
Lethal Deception Page 18