The Secrets Duet

by Brownell, Rachael

  Most of all, I can’t dream of Maggie. I don’t want to know how I will feel when I wake up. I don’t want those emotions stirred. I don’t think I will be able to stay away from her during the day if she invades my thoughts while I sleep. I need to get my body and mind under control. I start to lose control the second I think about her.

  She said it during her interview, how she felt a magnetic pull or some shit like that. I can’t disagree with her statement. I want to call her again right now. I want to drive over to her apartment and demand that she let me in. I want to take her against a wall, on her kitchen counter, in her bed. I want to take her everywhere she will let me.

  I know I can’t do any of these things. Well, I could, but I shouldn’t and I won’t let myself. I need to practice restraint. I need to figure out how in the hell I am going to work with her, see her and smell her, five days a week and not go bat shit crazy. Yeah, I need to figure that out first.

  My phone rings off in the distance. I make no move to answer it. There is no one I want to talk to right now. At least, no one who would be calling me. The ringing stops and starts again a few seconds later. It’s obviously important or else they wouldn’t be calling me back.

  I make my way across the room and snag my phone off the table. I look down expecting to see Scott or Branch calling me. It’s not them. It’s not anyone I want to talk to so I let it go to voicemail. I count to three and the ringing starts again.

  She’s not going to stop calling. I can’t imagine what she wants this late at night.

  “Taylor,” I say, my voice sounding rough.

  “We need to talk. I think your new assistant is one of them.” She’s talking fast and I can hear loud music in the background.

  “Jessica, I think you’ve had too much to drink and are imagining things. Her background check is clear.” Why am I even explaining this to her?

  “No. Really. I haven’t been drinking. I just got here. I’ve been thinking about it all day. There is something about her which doesn’t sit right with me.” She pauses, but I know she’s not done. I hear her take a deep breath and then she’s yelling in my ear again. “You told me part of my job was to weed people out, to focus on their nonverbal cues. You said you hired me to be the receptionist because I was so good at reading people and you thought I could help keep us safe. Well, Mr. Taylor, I believe that girl is not working for us, but against us.”

  I don’t say anything for a minute because she has a point. I put her in that position for a reason and I pay her exceptionally well because of her skill. She’s saved our asses a few times over the years. Her instincts haven’t led us astray.

  “All right, what exactly is it about her which triggered this feeling?” My curiosity is piqued now. This better be good.

  “It was the way she was looking at you when you exited the elevator this morning. She was grinning at you, but it wasn’t seductive or lustful like most women. It was different. I can’t put my finger on it.” She’s out of breath, thankfully.

  “Let’s sit on this until Monday. I want you to watch her as much as you can in the office. Don’t make it obvious. Try to make nice, befriend her. I’ll review the security footage.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “And, Jessica?”

  “Yes, Mr. Taylor?”

  “Have a nice night. See you Monday.”

  I hang up because there is nothing left to say. I didn’t expect her to call. I didn’t expect her to tell me she got a vibe from Maggie. I didn’t expect any of this, but I can’t say it didn’t come at a perfect time. She’s given me enough doubt in Maggie to want to overlook how I feel. Finally.

  I call a meeting in my office early Saturday morning. Scott and Branch drag themselves in still smelling of alcohol and smoke. They must have partied the night away with Jessica. I don’t give a shit. They know they are at my beck and call twenty-four hours a day. They’re lucky I didn’t call the meeting last night.

  “Grab a drink and have a seat, guys. We have a ton of stuff to go over.”

  “Why are we here on a Saturday, Taylor? I thought we were done working weekends.” Branch’s bitching bothers me. I know he’s probably only sour because he’s hung over. He’ll live.

  “Quit your bitching and this will go faster. I need Maggie’s file. We are going to go through it line by line again. There has to be something we missed.”

  This catches Scott’s attention and he eyes me cautiously. “Why? What is it you think we missed?”

  “I don’t know, asshole, or else we wouldn’t be looking for it.” They can hear my frustration loud and clear. He knows better than to question me and I don’t have time for his shit. I just want to figure this out.

  “You sure have changed your tune since yesterday afternoon.” He’s baiting me and I’m about to let him under my skin. I don’t want to, but maybe he’ll shut up if I tell him.

  “Well, I value Jessica’s opinion and she called last night with some insight. So, if you’re done interrogating me, let’s get down to business. We need to find a loophole. We need to find something which will get me closer to her so I can figure out whose side she’s on.”

  Neither of them spoke. We each took a portion of the information we had on Magdelyn Becker and started to look through it. I’m staring at her resume. It’s pretty straight forward. It looks like she used a standard template to type in her information.

  I’m scanning the document. Nothing out of the ordinary. I’m about to flip the page when I see it, when it all clicks. Her address. When she sent her resume in, she was still living in Texas. Why does this have her new address on it?

  “Scott. Do me a favor and pull up Maggie’s address in the search engine.” He nods in my direction and moves to the computer. I hear his fingers tapping quickly. I read over her background check twice while I wait for him to find what I’m looking for.

  “It looks like she started renting her apartment sometime last month. Why is this important?”

  “Does it say when she moved in?”

  “No. I have a copy of her lease pulled up and it only tells me the start and end dates. What are you getting at, Taylor?”

  “I think she’s playing us. I have a feeling she’s not really who she wants us to believe she is. I need to get inside her place. I need to get inside her life and try to break her.”

  “It’s a good plan,” Branch says from behind me, “but how do you think you are going to be able to do that?”

  “Well, to start, I am going to buy her apartment building. I need for you to get that moving, Scott. Then, I am going to take her to dinner.”

  “That’s it? You think dinner and a movie will get her to let you in?” I hear the uncertainty in Branch’s voice.

  “No, Branch, but it will be enough for me to convince her that she wants to spend more time with me. It’s a start.”

  I leave them to take care of all the details while I go shopping for a few things I’m going to need. My first stop, the flower shop. What color roses do I buy? I need something which says “I want you” without causing her to be alarmed. When I see the coral roses in the cooler I can’t help but smile to myself. They are perfect.

  Now, to wait it out a day. I want to call her now, to get this show on the road, but I can’t. I need to make sure the sale of the building goes through first. I need to be able to get inside anytime I want. I need her to wonder how I got in. I need to scare her a little by showing her how powerful I am.

  3.

  Maggie

  I hate flying. I hate take off with the pressure which pushes you back into your seat as the plane lifts from the ground. I hate how my ears refuse to pop as the plane changes elevation. Mostly, I hate landing. I’m not sure why, but it always feels like we are going to crash. Like right now.

  I feel us slowly begin our descent into the Hartsfield-Jackson airport. The pressure in my ears begins to build and then they pop. I close my eyes and grip the armrests. Thankfully I’m the only passenger on the plane so I don’
t have to worry about embarrassing myself. I hear the engines of the plane make a loud noise and a tear slips from my eye.

  Then the wheels touch down on the tarmac with a screech and a thump and the flashback starts.

  I hear metal scraping against metal. I hear the screech of tires on the asphalt. I hear my brother, Jason, scream next to me and I open my eyes to see the car is spinning in circles. I look to my right and see Jason’s mouth is wide open. He looks like he’s still screaming yet no sound is coming out. I look to my left and see Joshua is still sound asleep against the door.

  It’s like everything is in slow motion all the sudden. I look at my dad. He’s gripping the steering wheel, trying to right the car, turning it in one direction and then furiously in the other direction. My mom has her hands on the dashboard, pushing against it. She’s screaming something, probably at my dad.

  Then we hit, just as I’m looking back to Joshua, trying to decide if I should wake him up or let him sleep through all of it. I look up and see the tree as I put my hand on Joshua’s arm. His eyes open and then I hear the crunch of our car against the tree.

  I expect us to stop moving, but we don’t. The tree acts as a springboard and sends us flying in another direction. I look over at Jason. He’s still paralyzed, mouth agape. I look past him and see the truck which is spinning out of control and headed right for us.

  I close my eyes and begin to pray. I grab Jason’s and Joshua’s hands and pray. I feel my body being bounced around, thrown from one side of the car to the other. I hear the crunch of metal. I hear Joshua scream. I hear my mom scream. Then something hits us hard enough that Jason is pushed into my side, I’m pushed into Joshua and the car stops moving. It’s cold all of the sudden. It feels like there is snow landing on my face.

  I continue to pray, eyes closed. I know this is not going to end well. I can feel it in my bones, but all I can think to do is pray. I pray I make it out of the crash alive. I pray my family makes it out alive. I pray all of it ends soon.

  The world around me feels like its still spinning. I’m dizzy, disoriented from having my eyes closed. I wait a few seconds for my head to stop spinning before I open my eyes. When I do, my world changes completely and all I can do is scream and hope someone comes to help me, to help my family.

  “Welcome to Atlanta, Georgia. It is 72 degrees and sunny this morning. We should be arriving at our terminal in less than two minutes. You are free to unbuckle and gather your things if you like.”

  The captain’s voice brings me out of my nightmare and back to reality. I’m thankful for that. I know I need a couple of minutes to collect myself and freshen up before I would be able to face Montgomery. I do every time.

  I grab my purse and head to the bathroom while the plane navigates towards the private terminal. I quickly wash my face and reapply some powder. I add a little lipstick and some mascara. I don’t look good, but it’s the best I’ll be able to do.

  The effects of my crying are evident on my face. I put a couple of eye drops in each eye and the red starts to disappear a little. Better. Not much, but hopefully Montgomery won’t notice or won’t ask.

  I exit the bathroom to find Montgomery standing in the middle of the plane, holding my bag in his hand. “Ready?”

  Shit!

  He’s pissed off and I haven’t even said anything yet. I nod and he turns and exits the plane. I walk down the stairs and follow him to his car. He tosses my stuff in the back seat and gets in. I round the hood and I feel him watching my every move. I cautiously get in the passenger seat, buckle up and then he takes off.

  He’s silent as we head down the highway towards the office. There’s really not much to say. I stepped out of line, over the line to be exact, and moved forward without permission. No one was able to assess the situation before I decided, unconsciously, to move to the next stage in the plan. I’ve either set us back or jumped us ahead. Either way, I didn’t have permission to do so and being a new agent, this being my first assignment and a personal one to Montgomery at that, I knew I was in for a verbal lashing. I wish he would get it over with already.

  I walk into the main office and am greeted with smiles and a warm welcome from the other agents. I stopped to hug Frank. When I pull back I see Montgomery has stopped and is staring at me. If there was any doubt at all that he wasn’t pissed at me anymore, it’s gone now. His fists are clenched by his sides and if it were possible, I think steam might start to come out of his ears any second.

  We enter the conference room and Montgomery drops my bag in the corner and heads to the coffee pot. I take a seat, expecting him to take this opportunity to lash out at me, to get it all off his chest. I’m prepared to take it. I know I overstepped and I’ll deal with the repercussions.

  “Everyone should be here in the next ten minutes or so and then we can get started. We are going to rewrite the plan this morning and you’ll be on the plane and back in Seattle by sunrise tomorrow morning.”

  I watch as he puts too much sugar in his coffee followed by even more creamer. I smile because I know his wife, Kat, is the reason he drinks his coffee like that. I remember asking him about it once. That’s the one and only thing he’s ever told me about her. Aside from the fact this case is personal because of her.

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  “Can we stick to this one or would you rather just jump back on the plane right now and wing it?” His back is still to me, but I hear his anger. This is the conversation I’ve been dreading.

  “I know things didn’t go as planned, and I took action without permission, but I will not apologize for those actions. I read the situation and made a decision. Give me one good reason I should have waited to bait him. Give me a reason and I’ll apologize.”

  I know better than to question Montgomery. I know better than to talk back to my superior. I also know I made the right decision and I want him to know that. Now, I need him to know my judgment is sound and my head is clear.

  “I’m not asking you to apologize, Maggie.” Shit! He just called me Maggie. He never calls me by my first name. He turns around and we make eye contact. I forget he’s my boss, just for a brief moment, when I see the concern in his eyes. Then he speaks and I remember this is supposed to be a lecture. “I need to know you did it for the right reasons. I need to know five months from now you aren’t going to be questioning your position with us because you’ve fallen for him, fallen for his lines of bullshit, and want out. I need to know our operation is still fully intact and active. Where’s your head right now?”

  “Honestly? I’m not sure. He’s charming. He’s easy on the eyes. He knows all the right things to say at all the right times. He has an effect on my body which I can’t always control.” I pause, take a deep breath and take a few steps towards him, never breaking eye contact so he knows I’m not lying to him. “He’s also a murderer. He’s a liar. He’s deceitful and he’s a thief. I know all these things. My head is on straight. It’s just taking more effort on my part to keep it that way than I thought it would. The operation is intact, Montgomery, and it will remain that way. You just have to give me a chance.”

  He takes a seat and puts his head in his hands. “I trust you, Becker. This is your chance to prove to everyone why I sought you out for this particular case. Why I chose you over the dozens of other applicants. I need you to bring your A game, to give it your all, to go all in.”

  “I am all in.”

  “Good. As soon as this meeting is over I want you to take a look at something for me. I think it will help you understand Taylor a little better.”

  I nod as people start to enter the room. I look to Montgomery to reassure him everything is going to be fine, but he’s not looking at me, he’s looking at Davis. I look up and Davis nods once and then exits the room as quickly and quietly as he entered.

  We run through my interview and my contract. I explain all the precautionary measures about not being able to have a copy. I explain the amendments. I tell them about having lunch with
Taylor, walk them through the floor plan of his apartment the best I can, and give them the address. We break everything down, moment by moment, question by question, and piece by piece. I’m mentally exhausted by the time we begin to form our next steps in the plan.

  No one was surprised that Taylor took a liking to me as quickly as he did. No one cared that I jumped at the opportunity to move ahead in the plan. No one except Montgomery, that is. I’m sure I’ll put the pieces of that puzzle together later today.

  Once everyone leaves, I head to the locker rooms to freshen up and get changed. I hate flying, but overnight flights suck even worse since there is no chance that I’ll be able to sleep. I’ll be afraid the nightmares will last longer and feel even more real than they already do. I should have taken a sleeping pill. I don’t dream when I take them.

  I shower quickly, pull my hair up and get dressed. Davis and Montgomery are waiting for me in the conference room when I’m done. I sit without being asked and Davis slides a folder across the table. It comes to a stop in front of me and the first thing I do is look at the name on the folder. Courtney Martin

  “Who is Courtney Martin?” I’m speaking before I even realize it.

  “My wife,” Montgomery answers. “Her name is Katherine Montgomery now, but she was born Courtney Lynn Martin. Agent Stone is her father, my father-in-law. They are both part of the Witness Protection Program.”

  I’m a little shocked. I realize I’m probably not supposed to be receiving this information, not today and not ever. He’s trusting me with it for some reason.

  “Okay. So why am I about to look at her file? Why do we even have a file on her?”

  “That’s her WP file. It tracks everywhere she’s been and every name she’s used. I need for you to read through it, memorize anything you think might be important. You are going to have to commit everything to memory. Do not write anything down.”