“Thanks. You look pretty dashing yourself. That black double-breasted suit fits you. You should wear one more often.”
He finished with the tie and gave her a sideways look. “I don’t think so.”
Lee took out the gun he had under his jacket and checked it.
“Please be careful with that,” Erin said. “I’d hate for you to shoot yourself somewhere important.”
“Don’t worry,” he assured her. “I don’t plan on ever getting shot again. Twice was definitely enough.” He holstered the gun again and then helped Erin into the car.
They drove back to Jamesbrook in plenty of time for the showing which was starting at two-thirty.
“Are you ready?” Lee asked as they pulled up to Burke’s estate.
“I guess.”
Erin’s little sports car didn’t look too out of place. The young valet who took the keys from Lee even commented that he couldn’t wait to drive it. Lee made sure they didn’t arrive first or last so they could walk right in with the crowd.
“I don’t know, Lee. This suddenly seems too easy,” Erin whispered once they were ushered into a wide hall. “I feel like we’ve just entered the lions’ den, only the lions haven’t been let in yet.”
“Don’t worry. We’re going to beard this lion in his den, Erin,” he whispered back. “Look at this one, darling,” he said more loudly. “Do you like it?” He gently pulled her to the nearest painting and pretended to be interested. A woman in a maid’s uniform came by carrying a tray and offered them champagne. Lee declined for both of them. He needed to keep his head clear.
Another couple approached and admired the painting. Once they were gone, Lee asked, “Where do you guess Burke would be?”
“Probably in the torture chamber in the dungeon, if I had to guess.”
“He’s probably even got a hunchback as a sidekick.” Lee took Erin’s hand again and maneuvered them to another painting, heading toward a doorway. At the door, he made sure there was no one about and ventured into the next room, Erin at his side. They moved in the direction the maid had disappeared once her tray was empty. They found themselves in a large, formal dining room. It was empty.
“Come on,” Lee said softly. He pulled her with him. Erin didn’t protest.
She did, however, grasp his fingers tightly enough to nearly cut off his circulation. It was the only indication that she was afraid.
Across the room, a door led to the kitchen where the maid and another woman were intent on artistically placing hors d’oeuvres on silver trays. Without a sound, Lee pulled Erin back and led her to the other door in the room.
This one led to the hall off the foyer. They were now on the tiled floor and it was virtually impossible not to make a sound. Just ahead was a wide, curving staircase. Its railing was wrought iron, the stairs carpeted. The two of them climbed up it silently.
At the top of the stairs, they paused to listen and glance down a long, carpeted hallway lined with doors. Only silence greeted them. Erin still clung to his hand. At that moment, Lee needed her as much as she seemed to need him. He wouldn’t have let go of her hand to save his own life. The first two rooms they checked were bedrooms. Void of any personality, both rooms held nothing more than a bed and dresser.
“That motel we stayed in the night before last was more inviting than this,” Erin whispered. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think Burke lived in a display home.”
However, the third room held enough personality to make up for the other two.
“Burke’s room,” Erin whispered again.
Lee pulled her in and closed the door without a sound.
Yes, there was no mistaking Burke’s room. Decorated in Southwestern taste, Lee was reminded of the way the man dressed. True, he wore the best suits a tailor could make, but he had the habit of topping them off with bolo ties instead of neckties. In more than one picture, Lee had seen him wearing snakeskin boots.
Snakeskin for a true snake, he thought, remembering.
The man’s room was decorated lavishly, with plush carpeting and expensive wall hangings. The coverlet on the bed was in earthy Southwestern colors, but it was folded back neatly to reveal the satin sheets underneath.
Erin looked out the French doors that led onto a balcony overlooking the backyard of the estate. A lake was in the distance, surrounded by trees. A bit of garden could be seen below. The flower beds had been readied for planting, but this early in spring nothing was yet blooming.
She stared out for a long moment, until Lee came up behind her. “What is it?” he whispered in her ear. He was close enough that her softness touched him. He breathed in the scent of her.
“To think Burke lives in a place like this and is nothing more than a criminal,” she replied quietly. “I don’t understand so much greed or unfairness.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “I’m sure he’ll grow to appreciate all this when his only view is through the bars of his cell.”
Lee thought the doorway across the room led to a bath, until he heard voices beyond it. Both he and Erin pressed an ear to the door and listened.
“Has there been any word on where they might be, Mr. Doreli?”
The question was formal, the words very crisp and precise.
Burke. Lee mouthed the single word to Erin. She nodded.
“No, sir,” came the reply from someone who had to be the infamous Jimmy Doreli. “Nothing. We searched all night again, but we found no trace of Erin Flemming or her protective friend. Perhaps they’ve left the state.”
“Perhaps,” Burke muttered. “In the meantime, I shall call my contact to see if he knows anything regarding his colleague. I want this business with that pesky reporter stopped for good before the end of the day. Guests have filled the gallery downstairs. Why don’t you go down and make sure things are falling into place for the auction this afternoon. I don’t want anything going wrong. If we’re going to get The Cornucopia and the other works safely out of the country, there can be no mistakes. Our federal friends are watching everything very closely these days. When these deals are complete, I think we should take an extended vacation in Europe.”
“That would be nice, sir.”
“You’ve checked for recording devices and microphones today?”
“Of course,” Doreli assured his boss. “Everything’s clean and clear.”
“Good. This is becoming so tiresome,” Burke muttered.
“Yes, sir. Can I send Mrs. Dobbs up with anything for you?” Jimmy Doreli asked.
“No, thank you. When I’m finished with my call, I’ll come down myself. I want to see how everything is progressing. I’m sure you understand the importance of my mingling with the guests at the showing,” Burke replied.
“Of course.”
Erin and Lee heard another door open and close with Doreli’s departure. Faintly, they heard Forest Burke pick up the receiver, drop it on the desk and follow it with a muttered oath at his clumsiness. A moment later, they heard his voice.
“Hello,” he greeted the person on the other end of the line.
A pause.
“Don’t get so irate. I’m well aware that I’m calling you at your office, but no one’s watching you. They are all too busy watching me, and I assure you, my telephone is clean. They will never connect me to you.”
Another pause.
“Now, have your people found Erin Flemming?”
Another pause.
“What do you mean, you don’t have a clue? That man she’s with is one of you. He’s even been to your office and has been reinstated. Doesn’t he call in?”
Your office. The words buzzed through Lee’s mind. The only office he’d been to was Tom’s. Oh, God, why did it have to be Tom? he cried out silently. Thinking it and knowing it for certain were two different things. Knowing it for certain caused an anguish worse than being shot. Why did it have to be Tom who had betrayed him and hung him out to dry? Please, not Tom, the only man Lee felt had been a true friend.
Lee
closed his eyes and tried to swallow down the sick feeling mixed with the unstoppable frustration that swept over him. Oh, Tom, how could you, you bastard? He wanted to strangle Tom with his bare hands.
He still held Erin’s hand, and she squeezed his tightly. Looking into the green pool of her eyes grounded him and brought him back to reality.
He’d deal with Tom later. After he finished with Burke. He didn’t know which one he would enjoy tearing apart the most.
“Well, you’d damn well better keep me informed,” Burke went on. “I want this problem taken care of—for good—by the end of today. I plan to leave the country first thing in the morning to get away from all these federal agents who seem to enjoy watching me so much. And I don’t need this complication following me.”
His words “for good” sent a tingle up Lee’s spine and left the hair on the back of his neck standing up. He knew what that meant, even though Burke didn’t say the word. Final. Complete. Dead. By the end of today.
Lee looked at Erin. She knew the meaning of his words, too. It was written in the paleness of her face and her wide, shock-filled eyes.
Well, it would be taken care of—for good—by the end of today, but it wasn’t going to go the way Burke had planned it. Lee would make certain of that. He just wasn’t sure how. The thought nearly brought on a grin, but he fought against letting it out, knowing full well that Erin would think he’d lost his mind if he starting grinning now.
In the next room, Burke slammed down the receiver. A moment later, they heard the door close with his leaving.
Erin let out a heavy sigh.
“When I get my hands on Tom, I’m going to kill him slowly,” Lee whispered, fighting the rage and frustration that still swept through him at knowing who the leak was. “I can’t believe I ever trusted him.”
“You don’t know for certain it was Tom,” she said.
“Who else could it be?”
“Anyone who saw us come to the office. We didn’t meet Tom secretly by any means. And until you know for certain...”
“Tom knew we were going to the safe house,” Lee persisted.
“How many other officers in your department know that safe house exists?” Erin asked. “The leak could have told Burke about a number of safe houses and Burke could have had men watching all of them.”
She was right, of course. But it didn’t ease the pain he was feeling, and Lee didn’t want to deal with it. So before she could continue, Lee gripped the doorknob and turned it.
“What are you doing?”
Lee had the door open and was quietly making his way in before she got out the question. Since he still held her hand, refusing to let her go for even a second, he took her with him.
“He could return any minute.” She tried to pull him back, but she was no match and could do little but follow him to the desk.
“He’s probably downstairs stuffing his ugly beak with Mrs. Dobbs’s hors d’oeuvres.” Lee’s voice was filled with anger.
“He does sort of look like a bird, doesn’t he?” Erin returned.
“Like some bird of prey,” Lee muttered. His anger at Tom was flowing through his body. He gritted his teeth against it.
“You’re breaking my fingers,” Erin complained mildly. Lee let out a heavy breath and loosened his grip on her, but only enough so he was no longer hurting her.
“What are you going to do now?” she asked.
“Find out for certain if it was Tom,” he snapped.
“How?”
His only reply was to pick up the phone and punch the redial button.
The phone rang on the other end, and Lee waited. He had every intention of telling Tom that he was coming to get him as soon as he took care of Burke. Then someone answered the phone.
But it wasn’t Tom’s voice on the other end. Lee smiled at the voice. This man would be even easier to take down. “You filthy traitor,” Lee whispered harshly. “There isn’t anywhere you can hide that I won’t find you!”
“He’s coming back!” Erin’s urgent plea hit Lee like a brick.
Lee set down the phone, mentally picturing the terror that must be on the face of the man he’d just hung up on.
Yes, Burke was coming back. His muffled voice could be heard in the hall. He was almost to the door.
“Come on!” Erin pulled him around to the other side of the desk and through the nearest door.
Into a closet.
Lee swore silently. This was all he needed. To be stuck the rest of the afternoon in a tight space with Erin—with death waiting just on the other side of the door. Erin pulled the door closed just as the other door opened.
Had Burke seen them? Had he heard the closet door close?
Lee waited, holding both of Erin’s hands, holding his breath, trying to ignore the loud pounding of his heart. A touch of light filtered in from beneath the door. Through the dark of the small space, he could barely make out the sparkle in her eyes. Just enough to see she was trying to look up at him. He knew what she was thinking. It was the same thing he was thinking.
This was it. If Burke had heard them, he’d be opening the closet door any second. And that would be the end.
Burke’s voice grew louder as he came into the office. It took Lee a moment to realize exactly what he was saying.
“Thank God my security cameras are working, especially when my men all seem to be sleeping. Search the entire grounds,” he said, sounding suddenly like a growling bear. “Everywhere! Those two walked right in with everyone else and no one even noticed! I want them found—now! Drag them out from whatever rock they’re hiding under!”
Doreli answered. “Yes, sir, right away.”
“And bring them to me when you find them!” Burke finished.
Lee couldn’t help but smile at the frustration in Burke’s voice. Burke obviously thought going after Erin was little more than fun and games. Well, Lee could show Burke fun and games. Lee could show Burke the real meaning of vulnerability. Maybe he still would, if he got the chance.
Together, Lee and Erin waited. Seconds ticked by. Lee could hear his pulse throbbing in his ears. He finally forced himself to take a slow, deep, calming breath. And realized he shouldn’t have when all he succeeded in doing was breathing in a healthy dose of Erin’s sweet, woman scent.
Oh, she was so close. How could he even think about her at a time like this, when Burke was just on the other side of the door? It was the fear, he realized. The fear tingling through him heightened every other emotion, too, and desire was at the top of the list.
There was a single suit jacket hanging in the closet, and the wool of it pressed against him. He fought against letting go of Erin to push it away. He fought against the urge to scratch his head where the fabric touched it. He fought against the urge to swallow. He fought against the urge to pull Erin closer to him, to hold her against him and feel the length of her, to shelter her when Burke pulled the door open to find them....
But Burke never came to the closet door. He barked some orders over the phone, then called the man managing the gate and yelled obscenities at him. “Just how in the hell did anyone get past you? What were you doing anyway, sleeping? How would you like to take a nice long rest—at the bottom of Lake Michigan?” Burke went on to yell at someone else who was in charge of the parking attendants.
A few moments later, he slammed the phone down and then the door on his way out of the office once again. Lee sucked in a long breath and shakily let it out. Erin relaxed within his grasp. He chuckled softly, wanting to really let out a long hoot of laughter.
“What?” Erin whispered.
“I wanted to give him a bad day, and it looks as though I have,” he whispered back. Finally releasing Erin’s hands, Lee reached up to push the suit jacket away. At the same time, Erin shifted, but reached for the wall to keep her balance in the small space.
She let out a gasp as that same wall gave way beneath her touch. Instinctively, Lee grabbed her to keep her from falling.
; “What is that?” she asked after regaining her balance, even though she never let go of Lee.
“It looks like a hidden staircase.”
Lee looked at Erin.
Erin looked at Lee.
“I think the FBI might be interested in this, don’t you?” he said, grinning.
Erin smiled up at him. “I do. But I think we should make sure first.”
Taking her hand, Lee led her into the darkness, feeling his way down the narrow wooden stairs with his other hand. The secret panel slid back into place, as though on a spring, once they were through. Beneath his touch, the brick wall was smooth and cool. Once they left the closet and the wall closed again behind them, they were virtually in the dark.
“Lee?” she whispered. “I don’t like this.”
Lee didn’t like it either, this feeling their way around. He took each step carefully, terrified that the stairs would suddenly end and they would step off and fall into some deep, dark, bottomless pit. Discovering this hidden place had seemed a golden opportunity until they’d been swallowed up in the darkness. Now, the hair on the back of his neck was standing up.
He reached the bottom first. Sensing the difference between the wood of the step and the earth floor beneath his feet, Lee stopped, his hand still on the brick wall. His hand hit the light switch with a suddenness that nearly startled him.
They were momentarily blinded by the bright light that hit them when he flipped the switch and had to blink against it for a few seconds. What they saw in the room once they were able to focus startled them even more.
“Oh, my,” Erin breathed, still one step up behind him.
The room was filled with art. All sorts of art. Paintings, sculptures... There were also quite a few boxes.
Lee’s hands were sweating, and for the first time, he let go of Erin and moved farther into the room. In size, it was hardly bigger than his kitchen at home. And yet it held so much.
“Do you know much about art, Erin?” he asked quietly.
“Like what?”
“Like enough to know how valuable any of this is. I’d hate to send in the FBI only to find it’s all worthless.”
Crime Of The Heart Page 17